A Silken Thread - Brenda Jackson [24]
She smiled as she curled into her chair. Her toys were okay when she needed a quick fix, but of course she much preferred the real thing. She licked her lips when she thought of Brian Lawson. He was an extremely good-looking man, well spoken and highly intelligent, and she knew he was going places.
He had charisma and charm and he radiated the confidence that only a natural-born leader could display. He was well liked by everyone at the firm and highly respected. And his knowledge of corporate law truly amazed her. She knew she could learn a lot from him, both in and out of the bedroom.
It meant nothing to her that he was engaged to be married. There was no such thing as a true-blue committed fiancé and she wondered how long it would take to tempt him mercilessly and get what she wanted.
There was only one way to find out.
The secretary smiled over at Brian. “Mr. Brown and Mr. Samuels would like to see you now, Mr. Lawson.”
Brian returned her smile as he stood to his feet. He figured the two men had asked to meet with him because of his successful handling of the charity drive for children with leukemia. Every year one of the attorneys working for the firm would chair the event. This had been his year and he had helped raise over five hundred thousand dollars on the firm’s behalf.
“Come on in, Brian,” Talbert Brown called out to him the moment he opened the door. “Please come join me and Minor in a toast.” It was then that he saw the bottle of champagne on ice and the glasses already filled with the bubbly drink.
Brian nodded and then accepted the glass of champagne that Mr. Brown handed to him. He figured the partners were going all out just for a good showing in the charity drive.
“Do you know why we invited you here today, Brian?”
He met Talbert Brown’s deep blue eyes. “I assume it’s to celebrate the money we raised for the Leukemia Foundation drive.”
Minor Samuels chuckled. “There is a reason to celebrate that, too, but that’s not why you’re here.”
Brian lifted a brow. “It’s not?”
Talbert leaned against his desk. “Your father worked hard for this firm and it saddened us to remove his name as partner when he passed away.”
Brian remembered his father working for the firm. According to his mother he’d become employed with them right after college. He’d been partner for five years when he died.
“Minor and I worked right alongside of him and the three of us made partners the same time under my father’s leadership.” A sad smile touched his lips before he added, “We went out to celebrate the following weekend and it was one of the last times we had a chance to really party together on the town. After that we spent every waking moment working our butts off.”
Brian wondered why they were telling him all of this now. Evidently that question was reflected in his gaze, because Talbert then said, “You’ve been doing a fine job for us, Brian, one that we are proud of, one that your father would be proud of. So it seems right that you should take his place in this firm.”
Brian wasn’t sure he was hearing correctly. Were they saying what he thought they were saying?
“Yes, that’s what we’re saying,” Talbert said, as if he was reading his mind again. “And it’s not that we think we owe you anything because of your father, son. It’s because you’ve earned a place here. Effective Monday, this firm will become Brown, Samuels and Lawson.”
The words sent instant shudders through Brian and he stared at the two men in disbelief. He hadn’t expected to be considered for partner for a couple more years down the road. There were others who’d been working at the firm longer than he had.
“That’s not all, Brian.”
He blinked. “It’s not?”
“No. We have more good news to share,” Talbert said, beaming.
Brian wasn’t sure he could handle any more good news. “You do?”
“Yes. Your father became partner on your tenth birthday. I can remember it clearly because we couldn’t celebrate that day because he had to leave to cohost your party. One of the perks of becoming partner is the firm’s trust fund that can be set up for