Chapter 2

two

. . .

Henley

I went to the restroom to wash my coffee-stained hands. I shouldn’t be surprised that my father would hire a pretentious prick to run the office. Easton had been highly annoyed by me when I’d set off the alarm, and then I’d spilled hot coffee all over him. Not like I’d done either on purpose!

Off to a great start, Henley.

I tried to apologize for the alarm, and he’d ripped my head off.

I’d made matters worse with the coffee, but I’d apologized for that, as well.

But did he need to be so harsh about it?

Was I mortified that I’d started off the day like this? Of course.

I’d thought that working out of this office instead of the office in the city with my father would give me a chance to make a name for myself.

Obviously, my last name preceded me. It was painted on the door. I was Charles Holloway’s daughter, so there’d already be people who hated me here.

I get it.

Birthright could be a blessing and a curse.

I’d been born into a family with a ridiculous amount of money. I’d attended the best schools, traveled the world, and wanted for nothing.

That, by design, makes me a spoiled brat in the eyes of many.

But there was more to my story. So much more.

I’d worked hard at everything I’d ever done from as early as I could remember.

I’d always been a straight-A student, and I’d just graduated first in my class at Harvard Law.

That had nothing to do with my name.

I’d played collegiate tennis all through undergrad and considered playing professionally for a brief period of time.

My point was—I worked hard to get here.

But very few people ever considered that. I’d walked through these doors today with a big target on my back. It was the reason I’d considered staying back east and working for a firm that didn’t have my name on the building.

But my father and my grandfather dreamed of me eventually taking over this firm that they’d built.

And I wouldn’t avoid it just because people would judge me and think it had been handed to me.

I’d just have to prove myself.

Clearly, I hadn’t started off on the best foot, but I was determined to show Easton Chadwick that I wasn’t a burden. I had a lot to offer, and I just needed some time to show him.

I’d dealt with assholes like Easton before.

He was supposed to be a coworker and a mentor. Yes, he was my senior, and he had several years’ experience over me, but he didn’t need to act like I was an inexperienced intern.

I’d worked with some of the greatest legal minds out there during my internships in law school. I did not require a babysitter, which was how he was acting.

I’d actually been looking forward to working with Easton Chadwick. He had a reputation of being arrogant, but it was justified if you looked at what he’d already accomplished.

Which, of course, I’d done.

I’d read about his cases, and I admired what he’d already accomplished at a young age.

But at the end of the day, I was here to do my job. If he didn’t like it, he could pass me on to someone else.

Or just leave me alone.

I was a resourceful girl. I knew how to take care of myself. I knew how to do my job. I knew how to win cases.

I stared in the mirror for a few seconds, giving myself a silent pep talk.

You’ve got this. You’ve earned this. You’ve worked your ass off. Hold your head high and pull it together.

It was a mantra I’d been saying since I was in high school.

I blew out a breath and stopped in my office to grab my notebook and pen and made my way to Easton’s office.

I knocked on the door, and he barked at me to come in.

Once I pushed the door open, he gestured for me to take the seat across from him.

His office was large. Much larger than mine, thankfully. I hadn’t asked for my own office. My father had just insisted I take it.

Dad and I were close, but he’d always been a workaholic. So gifts were his love language. Time wasn’t something he had a lot of, so I’d always soaked up those moments that we’d had together from a young age, and Sunday mornings had been our thing when I was young. It was the time that was set aside for the two of us. It had been my favorite day of the week up until the time I left for boarding school.

I shook off the memory.

I sat down and noted the crisp white dress shirt that Easton was now wearing. This one was not covered in coffee.

“You keep a spare here at the office?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

“Yes. You aren’t the first person to startle in my presence.” His tone was dry and lacked any emotion.

“I wouldn’t say I startled in your presence.” I tried to hide my irritation by the insinuation. “We just sort of slammed into one another.”

He was staring at his monitor before he looked up at me. “It’s the staff lounge. It shouldn’t be surprising that people are coming and going.”

“Can I pay to have your shirt dry-cleaned as a peace offering?” It was my olive branch. I’d offer it once, and it was up to him if he wanted to start fresh. We’d be working together; no sense starting off as enemies.

He narrowed his gaze. “How about you just focus on doing your job.”

“That’s what I’m here to do.” I cleared my throat.

“Great. Because I’ve got a heavy caseload, so I guess we’ll see if that Harvard law degree was worth it.”

So much for the olive branch.

I let out a strained breath and folded my hands together, looking down to see my knuckles turn stark white. I needed to be professional. I wanted this to work, after all.

“Listen, I get it. This is a hassle for you. But I assure you that I can handle whatever you throw at me. My Harvard law degree was not handed to me. I earned it.”

He raised a brow and nodded. “Your father attended Harvard, didn’t he? And your grandfather?” he said, and I knew what he was insinuating, so I finished the next statement for him.

“Correct. And my great-grandfather also graduated from Harvard Law. I’m a legacy. It’s public knowledge.” I glared at him, trying hard to control my voice so it didn’t shake. “But if you did your homework and bothered to read my résumé, you’d know that I scored a 180 on my LSAT, so I believe that receiving a perfect score helped me get into Harvard, too. It wasn’t only my name.”

His eyes widened, and he sat back in his chair. “Your father didn’t mention that.”

“Maybe he assumes you would have done your research, especially with that sterling reputation you have in the courtroom. But it appears you just made assumptions before looking beyond my last name.”

He nodded slowly as the door opened, and a woman walked inside with a coffee mug in her hand. “Good morning. You must be Ms. Holloway. I’m Rosie, Easton’s assistant.”

She was probably in her forties, short dark hair cut in a blunt bob style just beneath her ears.

“Yes, I’m Henley. It’s nice to meet you.” I extended my arm after she set the coffee down on Easton’s desk, and she shook my hand.

“Can I get you a coffee?”

I glanced over at Easton, and he raised a brow as if the idea of me holding a hot cup of coffee in his presence was not a good idea.

“I’m okay. I got in early, so I’ve already had a healthy dose of caffeine this morning. But thank you for the offer.”

“Of course. And if you need anything, just let me know.”

“Henley already has a corner office. She doesn’t get to add in an administrative assistant when she’s just starting out,” Easton hissed, and Rosie raised a brow. I didn’t miss the questioning look that she gave him before leaving his office.

So clearly, he wasn’t always an asshole.

He must be reserving this attitude especially for me.

Once the door closed, he tossed a stack of files in my direction, and they landed on the desk in front of me. “Get to work on these. They aren’t big cases, but that’s not what matters. We want to win as many as we can. Big and small. So cut your teeth on these. See what you can come up with, and you can present your findings to me at lunch.”

I looked down at the four files now in my hands. He expected me to research all of these by lunchtime?

“Not a problem,” I said, clenching my teeth hard as I pushed to my feet.

“Henley,” he barked, just as my hand wrapped around the door handle, and I turned around to face him.

“Yes.”

“I wasn’t being a dick when I said that you didn’t have access to Rosie. I was actually trying to help you.”

My hand fell from the door handle, and I stared at him. “You were trying to help me?”

“Correct.”

“Which part? The part where you said that I only got into law school because of my last name? Or the part where you insinuated that I only got this job because of my last name? Or the part where you acted like I wasn’t capable of doing my job?”

“All of those, Princess.” He leaned back in his chair, his dark hair longer in the front and shorter on the sides. His eyes were a deep gray and intense. My gaze moved lower, where the fabric strained against his muscled arms that were crossed. I tried to forget about the six-pack abs that were on full display when he’d unbuttoned his dress shirt to place a cold cloth there just a few minutes ago. “Listen, if this is what I’m thinking, trust me, it’s what everyone else is thinking, too. So accessing Rosie just makes you less likable than you already are.”

“So, you’re basically saying everyone hates me before they’ve even met me?”

He shrugged. “The boss’s daughter moves to town and buys a big house on the river, gets a corner office, and wants her own admin? You’re the youngest hire at this firm. That wouldn’t happen to anyone else.”

“I’m a year younger than you were when you got hired.”

“Yeah. And I sat in a cubicle and worked my ass off the first year. I didn’t have an office or an admin. But they still hated me for being young. For being smarter than they were. So I put my head down, and I worked. I worked hard, and I made a name for myself. And it sure as shit isn’t Holloway. So, yeah, you’ve got your work cut out for you.”

“I can’t change my last name.” I tucked my lips between my teeth, determined not to get upset, as I pushed the lump from my throat.

“I’m aware of that. So don’t take any more perks if you want this to work. They’ll hate you for it. Let your work do the talking. If you’re as smart as you say you are, it shouldn’t be a problem. And I gave you plenty to work with, so how about you start proving yourself right now.” He reached for his coffee.

The pompous ass.

“Not a problem, Mr. Chadwick.” I turned toward the door and walked out.

“His bark is bigger than his bite,” Rosie whispered. “But if you tell him I said that, I’ll deny it.”

“I won’t say a word.” I stopped at her desk and glanced over my shoulder to make sure I’d pulled his office door closed behind me. “Hey, is one of those cubicles open over there?”

She followed my gaze to the open room, where three rows of cubicles were lined up.

“Yes, the two at the end are open.” She quirked a brow curiously.

“Great. I’m setting up there. I don’t need an office. I just need a desk to set my laptop on.”

“I like you already,” Rosie said with a chuckle.

“That makes you the first one today. Let’s hope everyone else gives me a chance before they presume I’m the devil, like my mentor just did.”

“No one else will be hard to win over. Easton is going to be the most challenging. They don’t call him the shark for no reason.”

“The shark?” I groaned.

“Yes. That’s what they call Easton. He got the nickname because he works harder than anyone in the industry, and he never backs down. He always finds an angle, and that’s how he continues to win cases.”

“Great. The guy I answer to is called the shark,” I said, before shaking my head in disbelief. “Isn’t his ego already big enough?”

“You have no idea.” She chuckled. “But he’s actually a great guy beneath all that intensity. If you can survive working under him, he’ll make you the best. Because he won’t settle for anything less.”

I nodded. “Great. I have a high threshold for suffering. He can put me through as much as he wants to; I’m not going anywhere.”

“Buckle up, because he’s going to test you.”

“Got it. Thanks for the heads-up. I’m going to go get my stuff, and I’ll set up out here.”

“Looks like you’re up for the challenge,” she said, taking a sip of her coffee.

“Always.”

And that was the truth.

An insufferable boss would be a minor hurdle.

Easton Chadwick was not going to run me off.

I was going to show him that my last name had nothing to do with the reason that I was here.