Chapter 1
“Calum’s mom bought a new titty, so why can’t you?” my five-year-old wailed.
Crouching next to my son, I brushed the hair out of his face. “Felix, mijo, do you remember what I told you about using your indoor voice?”
He blinked at me, then looked around my parents' backyard that was filled with uncles, cousins, and people who claimed to be relatives but I’d never met before today. “But we’re outside.”
“We should still use our indoor voices, because not everyone wants to hear that you want a kitty.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “But I want a titty.”
Cringing at his still-loud voice, I forced a smile to my face, then stood up.
About once a year, the whole family got together, meeting at someone’s house. This year my parents were hosting. The good news was I lived with them, so we didn’t have to travel far. The bad news was I lived with them.
I wouldn’t get any sleep until tomorrow. My family loved throwing parties. Especially if it involved endless supplies of ponche and margaritas.
Mamá blocked my vision of the party, hands on her hips, something that never meant good things for me. “Malena, where are the napkins? Rosa is making a mess of her dress.”
She waved her arms toward my little cousin, who looked like she was beyond help. Her dress was covered from top to bottom in tacos, rice, something red (most likely tomatoes—good luck to her mom getting that out), something green (most likely peppers—probably a slightly higher chance of getting the stains out), and various other unidentifiable stains.
The only reason Felix was still mostly clean was his recent refusal to eat anything but sausages and pasta.
I’d been on my way inside to get more napkins when Felix yelled his desire to get a kitty.
“I’ll get them now.” Turning to Felix, I sighed in relief when I saw he was busy chewing. At least he was eating, even though it was the same thing he’d been eating for the last three weeks. “Tesoro, do you want to come inside with me?”
He shook his head. “I’ll stay with Lita.” He couldn’t say “abuelita” when he was younger, and the nickname for his grandmother had stuck since then.
“All right. I’ll be right back.” Leaving him with Mamá, I made my way inside.
I searched in the kitchen first, but there were so many people preparing food, I couldn’t open any cupboards. Papá usually had napkins in the garage as well. He was obsessed with sales and bought more than we could ever use in this lifetime whenever he smelled a bargain—which was why he owned about twenty containers of napkins, as many boxes of toilet paper, empty glass jars, disgusting-smelling shower gel, and ketchup.
After the ketchup, Mamá had put her foot down, but the damage was already done, and there was no room left to park any of our cars in the garage.
I made my way through the small path between the boxes in search of the napkins. Felix loved playing in here, calling it his labyrinth.
Spotting the right box, I struggled to get it down. Once I’d finally moved it enough to let it slide down, I jumped out of the way, and it dropped with a loud thump.
As I was ripping it open, my phone rang in the back pocket of my jeans. I always had it with me in case they needed me at the office. I answered when I saw it was my boss calling.
“Hi, Kent. How are you?”
“Cortez. I need you to come into the office.”
“Now?” I didn’t usually question him, but it was the weekend. And my family would not be happy if I walked out in the middle of the party.
“Yes, now. Bolton is getting another divorce, and his wife threatened to go public with evidence that he misappropriated company funds and committed fraud if she doesn’t get what she wants.”
I sat down on the box I’d pulled down. “But she signed a prenup.”
“She did. And now she wants more money.”
Bolton was one of our biggest clients and I handled all of his contracts. I’d drawn it up and knew it included a ridiculous number in case of a divorce. His soon-to-be ex-wife would have more money than she could spend in this lifetime.
“Give me two hours.”
He grunted, then hung up.
I dropped the napkins in the kitchen, then went to my room to change into a suit. After gathering my files and computer, I was ready. When I stepped outside, the first thing I saw was Mamá’s disapproving frown. The closer I came, the darker her expression grew.
She held up a hand once I’d reached her. “No. No way. You’re not going to the office. Not today.”
“Mamá, I’m so sorry. But I have to go.”
“They can survive a day without you.”
Giving her a tight-lipped smile, I shrugged. “You know I want to make partner. I can’t say no when they call.”
She scoffed, crossing her arms under her ample bosom. “Pendejada. And why do you want to become partner, anyway? You already work too much. What do you think will change?”
I carefully leaned in, then quickly kissed her cheek before retreating again. “Will you make sure Felix goes to bed? And eats before he does?”
She harrumphed, narrowing her eyes at me.
I stepped back, clutching the handle of my bag tightly. “Te amo.”
She didn’t respond, and I retreated before she came up with a reason I had to stay. After I hugged Felix goodbye, I drove into Denver.
I lived in a small town, and the trip to the office took a little over an hour. I’d thought about moving many times, but then I wouldn’t have my family around. And I depended on them more than was healthy.
I pulled into the underground parking lot and cursed when I spotted a black Aston Martin in my bay. Technically, we didn’t have assigned spots, but everyone knew it was mine.
And the only person who didn’t care drove a black Aston Martin. The car whose tires I’d been tempted to let the air out of many times. But that would have been even more immature than parking in someone else’s space.
I pulled in next to his driver’s side, getting as close as I could without scratching my car.
When I walked into the office a few minutes later, voices sounded from my boss’s corner office.
Schooling my features, I tugged my clothes into place, put my shoulders back, and marched into the lion’s den.
“Cortez. Good of you to join us.”
Nodding at Kent, my boss, I took a seat, ignoring the other person in the room.
If only he would do the same.
“Malena. Looking ravishing, as always.”
Facing forward, I growled at him under my breath. “You took my parking spot.”
“It’s not yours. It belongs to the company. So unless you bought either the building or the company, it’s everyone’s.”
Turning my head with a scowl firmly in place, I met startingly green eyes that were wasted on the jerk. “It’s common courtesy. Everyone knows I always park there.”
A folder smacking down on the desk made me jump in my seat and turn my attention back to Kent. “If you guys are done, can we get to work?”
Chastised, I bit my lip, nodding. “Of course. I apologize.”
The jerk didn’t say anything because God forbid he ever apologized.
Kent walked us through the case, and I typed notes on my laptop like my life depended on it. I’d always been an obsessive notetaker. Something that now came in handy.
A familiar mix of cologne and cedar drifted around me, and I tensed, refusing to admit that I loved the smell. “Can you send me the notes afterward?” the jerk had the audacity to ask while invading my personal space.
Not looking up, I continued typing. “Why would I do that? Did you break your fingers?”
“Didn’t Kent tell you? We’ll be working on the case together.”
My hands froze over the keyboard, and I snapped my head up to look at my boss.
He nodded, raising a brow to dare me to disagree with him. “Thad wants to get more exposure to family law. This is the perfect case for him. You’ll help him win, won’t you, Cortez?”
Gritting my teeth, I gave him a tight nod. “Of course.”
The last thing I wanted was to work on a case with Thad. He was a preppy rich guy who knew everything better and didn’t take directions. He also had more freedom than any other lawyer at the firm. Despite not being a partner, he was certainly treated like one.
I’d call the next few weeks a success if we both made it through alive.