Dill My Pickle (Sample - First 5 Chapters)

5 Ain't Never Say No To A Party

I don't believe I have ceased smiling since I dropped Addison back off at her place last night and she rebuffed my advances easily, even calling me Mr. Taylor as she hopped out of my car, white lace trailing after her just below the curve of her perfect ass. It drove me wild when she called me that, even more so now that she had made her deal with me. What we both wanted was off the table until her family's case was finished. Needless to say, I arrived at work the next morning with an undeniable lift in my motivation. So far this morning, I had already killed it in a team meeting, devised a plan to settle a major client's lawsuit out of court, and assured William that I was well past our little spat from before.

Now, with all of my other work out of the way, I turned my focus to the Harris Farms case, diving into the archives of old country deeds, zoning documents, and old legal disputes. Property law had never interested me before but lately I found this to be the case that I looked most forward to working on. I was lost in the depths of an ancient land judgement when I heard someone clear their throat from the doorway. I looked up to see Meredith leaning against the threshold, glasses balanced precariously on her nose, pouting out her glossed lips, legs crossed at the ankles. I wondered how long she had spent posing like that before getting my attention.

"Meredith," I said in greeting, turning my attention back to my screen and hoping that she would take the hint. No such luck. She sauntered into my office and stood in front of my desk, leaning down to give me a clear view down the front of her dress. I kept my gaze locked on her face as I asked, "What can I do for you?"

Her cheshire cat grin made me regret the question.

"You've been on fire lately, dear Elliot," she crooned, wiggling to try to draw my attention to her cleavage. It wasn't working. "I wondered what had you so motivated."

I couldn't help but smile when an image of Addison sitting across from me in that gorgeous lace dress, tossing her head back laughing at a joke I'd made, flitted across my mind's eye. Unfortunately, Meredith mistook my smirk to be for her benefit and she smiled right back.

"My pro bono case," I spat quickly. "It's been quite... enlightening. I suppose it's given me a boost of sorts."

"Ah, your pro bono case," she repeated, pressing her arms together to puff out her chest. "What was it again?"

"I'm helping a family of farmers keep their ancestral home," I told her, eyes trailing back to the computer. "At least, I hope so."

"Wow. Well, Elliot. I always suspected you had a big..." her eyes shot down to my trousers as her tongue flicked against her teeth, "heart."

Suddenly there was a knock on my office door and Meredith whirled around to see who was interrupting. She came face to face with Jenny who stood in the doorway with her arms crossed and the only expression I had ever seen on her face that wasn't a smile. It was a doozy too. She seemed to be channeling a combination of the gruffness of her older brother and the fire of her sister. She glared at Meredith, eyes narrowed and jaw clenched. The presence of such a rage on the face of the bubbliest girl I had ever met stunned me so that I didn't even notice Austin at her side at first.

"Speaking of my clients," I said then, standing up and grabbing my briefcase and suit jacket. "I've got a meeting with them now. Enjoy your afternoon, Meredith."

She at least had the decency to look embarrassed about being caught in such a comment by perceived clients as I passed her and joined Austin in the hall. He had to pull a glaring Jenny out of the threshold and back toward the lobby. The way she was fuming, I wondered if she might have actually tried to fight Meredith. Suddenly, I was regretting my decision to hasten our exit.

Outside, the valet brought out Jenny's Prius and we got in, me sitting in the back. She waited until Austin had pulled away from the curb to vocalize her frustration. It came out in an adorable little grunt. Austin looked over, all concern, but I could tell he was trying not to smile and I could see why. Jenny Harris was cute when she was mad. And boy was she mad.