Indicted (Bad Judgment #1) by Leigh James Page B

sexy new outfits for work, sexy outfits that could be covered by one of the new, cute jackets I’d just bought so I didn’t look too sexy at work. Now, if I wanted to take the jacket off while I was with Walker, that was another thing. But no one needed to know about that, not even me, so I shoved the thought away.
    I checked my messages when I was back outside the store. Three texts from Mike, wondering if I could meet him for a quick dinner tonight: sorry, I have to work , I texted back, relieved and guilty all at the same time. One from David Proctor: we have Blue files, sending it to a new file on server. Review it with Walker before hearing. Meet me in lobby at two.
    Okay, I texted back.
    My phone buzzed again. Where are you? It was from Walker. My heart skipped a beat.
    Newbury Street, I texted. You?
    What number, he texted back.
    41, I wrote.
    Stay right there. Be there in 5.
    Precisely five minutes later, his gorgeous black car pulled up to the curb where I was standing. He rolled his window down.
    “Counselor,” he said, and smiled at me.
    “Good morning, Walker,” I said. “It’s awfully nice of you to pick me up.”
    He flashed a blinding smile at me. “I kicked my very expensive babysitter out last night because I was having a temper tantrum. So I figured the least I could do was give her a ride to work.”
    “You didn’t have a temper tantrum, Walker,” I said. “It’s okay for you to be upset. It’s a big deal. It’s such a big deal that I went shopping, during work hours, and I never do that.
    “Now, can you help me with these bags?”
    He jumped out and grabbed them, leaving the car running. I looked back towards the store and saw all the sales clerks in the window, ogling him. Natasha, the one who’d helped me, gave me a thumbs up. This is my client, I mouthed, pointing at him. She just gave me a double thumbs up.
    “What the fuck did you buy?” he asked, not unkindly, as he tried to fit it all into the trunk. “A wardrobe?”
    I flushed and just shrugged. “People told me I didn’t look so good at the press conference yesterday,” I said, my flush creeping up my neck. Walker’s arraignment is this afternoon, his freedom is on the line, and I’m worried about what I’m going to wear. Not the best advertisement for an astute legal defense.
    “Who’s everybody?” he asked, smiling at me casually. If he was bothered that I’d been shopping instead of working, he showed no signs. In fact, he showed no signs that he was being arraigned this afternoon, and that he might be going to jail. He was the opposite of how I’d left him last night. I noticed he had on jeans and a thin tee-shirt, both of which showed off how powerfully built he was. I just stared at him blankly for a moment. Forgetting the rules, forgetting that he might go to jail this afternoon, forgetting the tenor of his mood. Forgetting everything.
    “Nicole?” he asked, and smiled.
    “Huh?” I said, and I noticed I was twirling my hair.
    “Was Senator Blake’s daughter the one who said you looked bad?” he asked, and opened the car door for me. I slid inside and the feel of the cool leather snapped me out of my reverie.
    “Among others,” I sniffed. “But yes, she was the primary one.”
    “She’s just jealous,” he said.
    I think I might love you, I thought. “I’m glad you seem better than you were last night,” I said.
    “I am. I’m back to righteous anger.”
    “Good,” I said. “Then let’s get ready for this afternoon,” I said. “Do you mind if that stuff stays in your trunk?”
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    “ O kay ,” I said, spreading out my papers and logging onto the server. We were seated in Walker’s living room, me on the floor at the coffee table, Walker in what I was garnering was his favorite chair. “David sent me some documents,” I said, opening the files. I scanned them while Walker read through his emails.
    “David said that I’m not going to speak today. I’m just going to answer the Judge