After the process server leaves, Ray swings his feet to the floor. “Unfortunate timing.”

“There is no good timing when Farnsworth is involved.” I throw myself onto the couch beside Ray. My blood chills as I flip through page after page after page. “I can’t believe this. He’s making every application in the known universe. It will take me months to address them all, maybe even half a year. Usually attorneys try to drag out a case, but I can see what he’s doing. He’s coming down hard and fast, hoping to scare me off.” I toss the documents on the couch and bury my face in my hands.

“You need help, you just ask.” Ray gives my shoulder a squeeze.

“You know I’m happy to work overtime,” Penny says.

“Thanks.” I choke up before I can tell them it’s not just the time; it’s the money. And Farnsworth must know I don’t have much. Certainly not enough to hire the number of contract attorneys I now know I will need to run this case, and definitely not enough to afford big law fees to hire someone else to run the case. My parents are out of the picture. No way could I borrow more money from Max, and no bank will lend me money with my loan to Max outstanding. What the hell was I thinking? How could I have been so naïve?

Before they can ask any questions, I head toward my office. Once I’m at my desk, I bury my face in my arms, resting my forehead against the cool wood, and take a few deep breaths. My only option is to sell my grandmother’s house. It’s just a house, and really, it’s too big for one person. I’ll be able to keep the furniture my grandmother and I bought together and the special ornaments and furnishings. I’ll have her memories in my heart. And I can use the money to keep the business going, pay Ray and Penny, rent a new apartment, and best of all, see justice done.

Hands shaking, I pick up the phone and call the real estate agent.

An hour passes. I try out different screensavers and different variations of my initials. Then I comb through the Redemption website and pull up a picture of Jake, triumphant after a victory in the cage. He is covered in sweat, bruised, and battered, but he looks beautiful to me. I imagine calling him up and telling him about my house and how much it hurts to sell it. I imagine he puts his arms around me and hugs the pain away. I imagine it so hard I ache inside.

The phone rings and Jake’s name appears on the screen. Speak of the devil.

“Hey, baby.” His deep, rich voice chases away some of my sadness, and a fierce longing grips me hard, frightening me with its intensity.

“Hey, yourself.” I stifle a sigh and try to sound cheery.

“I had a break between meetings and I had a favor to ask,” he says softly. “But…you sound kinda down. Is something wrong?”

My throat seizes, and for a moment I can’t breathe. The words sit on the tip of my tongue. But what would be the point of telling him? He can’t do anything to help me. With a failing business to manage and a fight career to get off the ground, he has enough on his plate. Why add to his stress or to mine?

“No. Just the usual Farnsworth delivery where he tries to hammer home the point I’m just one lawyer and he has a firm full of minions ready and willing to do his bidding.”

“Anything I can do?”

“No, I’m good,” I say quickly, maybe too quickly. “I’ve got it under control.”

Jake sighs and his voice tightens, almost imperceptibly. “You always say that even when it’s not true. Just like you always say you don’t need help when you do.”

His words cut so close, my pain bleeds out. “That’s because the people I’ve been close to have let me down. It’s because I was left on my own so much I learned how to figure things out for myself. It’s easier if I don’t rely on anyone. That way, I’m never disappointed.”

But this is Jake, and he’s not letting me off so easy. “You think you can’t open up. You think you can’t give yourself. But in the last few minutes you’ve told me more about yourself than you ever did in our two months together and I’m still here. I’m not going anywhere. Our night in the cage isn’t how I imagined our first night back together would be, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It just makes me want you more, but this time I’ll make love to you the way I imagined the first time I saw you again.”

Warmth spreads through my body, rippling outward to my fingers and toes. “I like the sound of that. When are you back from Portland?”

Jake chuckles. “Late tomorrow night…which is part of the reason I called to ask for your help. Note how I’m asking for help and I’m still breathing.”

“Ha ha. Funny guy. What’s up?”

Jake sighs. “I kinda dropped the ball on that case I brought to you at Farnsworth & Tillman and missed the deadline for filing a response. Now Duel Properties has applied to have a default entered against us. There’s been so much upheaval in our office that I also missed the fact that the hearing is tomorrow afternoon and I’m stuck in Portland until late tomorrow night.”

“You want me to represent you?”

Silence. And then, “Would you…or is there an issue since we…”

I stifle a laugh. “Actually, if you had wanted to retain me before we’d had amazing sex, then yes, it might have been a problem. However, our night of wild monkey sex smoothes the way for me to represent your company if that’s what you want.”