“Other woman?” I asked, then paused as the way he worded it clicked. “Wait, it’s a partnered position?”

“Don’t worry. Delilah works very hard and is very dedicated to her job.”

Delilah? What kind of name was that? How old was she? The name alone sounded ancient, especially since she was obviously born before the song that made it a popular name again. Grace once had it on her list of names for girls, along with a hundred others.

Maybe Delilah moved to the position as a transition from the courtroom.

“There’s time, but please, think about it, Nate. I really think it would be good for you.”

I nodded and agreed to at least do that. As we ate, the idea grew on me, festered under my skin. The idea of working with the law again perked up a forgotten part of me.

After eating and getting updates on the rest of the Holloways, we loaded back into Jack’s car and back to his office.

“Mary wants you to come to dinner.”

I shook my head.

He glanced over and grimaced. “Yeah, that’s what I told her. She misses you. We all do.”

All. The Holloways were my second family from the time I was nineteen—brothers, parents, cousins, aunts and uncles.

“Maybe once you’ve agreed to take the position, I can then convince you to come to a celebratory dinner.”

“I don’t celebrate anything,” I said. Celebrations were nothing but a reminder of what I lost.

Jack nodded. “Right.”

“But I might be convinced to come to a regular dinner.” For Mary.

His lips twitched up into a small smile. “She’d like that.”

After pulling into a parking spot, we exited his car. I stepped around to say goodbye before heading back to the emptiness of my apartment.

I held out my hand, and Jack narrowed his eyes on me before opening up his arms.

“They’re not going to kill me over a hug,” he said.

Stepping forward, I wrapped my arms around him. Enveloped in the arms of another person was almost foreign, but my body hadn’t forgotten how good such a small sign of affection could be.

“Think it over, and I’ll give you a call in a few days. Sound good?” Jack asked as he pulled back.

I nodded. “I’ll think about it.”

He headed back into his office, and as I walked back to my car, I found my gaze searching for the woman from before—my enigma. It was best she wasn’t there anyway. Better to forget I’d even seen her. Then again, taking Jack up on his offer could result in bumping into her.

Part of me was excited for that, my beast, but the rest of me closed the door on any more thoughts of her.

Climbing into my car, I turned it on and rolled all the windows down to let the hot air out. I sat there, thinking more and more about his offer.

Jack had me by the balls—what the fuck else was I going to do with my time? Just fucking sit around and wait to die? Fucking die of boredom, but at least his way I’d be doing something I once loved, or at least something in the same vein.

My whole life was going to have to change, starting from the outside, if I took him up on his offer. Effort would need to be exerted, strength I hadn’t called upon in years, and I would need help from my parents.

I stared into the vanity mirror at my tired eyes and dull expression. Could I even put on a front for eight plus hours a day? Every once in a while was fine, but was it possible to do it all day, every day? If I dug deep enough, called upon the person I was before Marconi and the accident, maybe. Back when I had strength, was cocky as fuck, and charismatic.

It was the only way working at Holloway and Holloway was even a possibility.

Grabbing my phone, I swiped at the screen and pulled up a number a good son would call more often. The phone ringing resonated in my ear, and I waited for someone to pick up.

“Hello?” the familiar male voice said.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Nathan? How are you?”

“Another bad day,” I said with a sigh.

“Anything I can do to help?”

Yeah, I’d been that much of a shit of a son that my own father was chomping at the bit for any interaction with me.

It’s better this way, the beast reminded me.

“Are you free? I’d like to come over.”

I didn’t really want to, but if I was going to take Jack up on his offer, I needed their help. Starting from scratch wasn’t going to be easy.

“I’ll be home in ten minutes.”

“Thanks, Dad. I’ll see you soon.”

I hung up the phone and stared out the window for a moment before throwing the car into drive. Maybe I could do it, but maybe I couldn’t. Maybe I should talk to Darren.

Either way, I was giving it the most serious consideration of anything since I woke up from the coma. Something that threw me into the world instead of away from it, and that alone was anxiety inducing.

CHAPTER 3

Six months later…

I sat in my car.

New car. New suit. New home.

New life.

Almost.

The old one still haunted me, lurked around every corner.

It took Jack hours of back and forth to convince me to take his offer, but in the end, I relented, with conditions. No litigation—that was key. I couldn’t do litigation again. Checking to make sure the verbiage was correct and there were no loopholes in contracts? That I could do.

It had taken six months of paperwork and Continuing Legal Education courses to get my license reinstated after having dropped off the face of the earth. In that time, the woman Jack had talked about firing up and left them high and dry one day. He was furious, and helped me get things moving faster.

My heart raced, hands shaking as I sat there waiting for the numbers on the clock to change. Every part of me wanted to run away. But what would I be running to? Back to the black hole I’d been living in for years? At least there was a good chance my mind would be pulled away from my hell.

The parking lot was still pretty empty when a sedan pulled up beside me. I glanced over out of habit, and my eyes widened beneath my sunglasses.

It was her.

The blonde woman I’d seen months ago in the same parking lot. The enigma.

I couldn’t help but stare, watching as she threw her hair up into a bun. The frown as she noticed something I wasn’t able to see. Couldn’t look away when she lifted her hips, dragging her skirt up to her waist. Her thumbs hooked into her pantyhose and pushed them down over her fuck-perfect round ass.