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Ashley had never known Bill Steele She’d only o froood man to have won the heart of such a wonderful woman as Jennifer

She walked into the break roo froone ahead and eaten her lunch without Phoebe Not an unusual occurrence with all the work they were dealing with But she decided to wait How could she eat with her insides quaking violently? She was a complete wreck

She walked back to her desk and could see Jennifer and Phoebe were still talking She looked at the clock The seconds see down at her coht up Phoebe’s appointments Jennifer Steele was slated for another twenty-two s with Phoebe rarely went over, but that twenty-twoto kill Ashley “I’ll just have to wait” Then she looked at the two hours that Phoebe had blocked out after her appointment with Jennifer In all the years she’d worked for her, Phoebe had always kept her in the loop about everything at the practice It didn’t make any sense to Ashley that she had chosen to keep her in the dark

Why was Phoebe bringing on another lawyer? And eveneither Sylas or Nic

Phoebe had always told her that she couldn’t wait for her to finish law school and pass the bar so they could be partners And now this What does ithere?

Phoebe knew that she’d broken it off with Nic and Sylas If either of thes very uncomfortable Was that why Phoebe had kept her in the dark about all of this?

Phoebe was a wonderful boss and mentor, but even more, the woman was like a sister to her

Another glance at the clock Sixteen minutes until the appointment with Jennifer was over Sixteen an tapping on the top of her desk with her fingers She needed aof opportunity to speak with Phoebe bethen Jennifer left and whichever one of the guys arrived first She was anxious and worried time would not be on her side

A minute later, Jennifer and Phoebe walked into the reception area

“Hi, Ashley,” Jennifer said “Are you getting nervous about taking the bar? That’s next week, isn’t it?”

“I am Next Tuesday and Wednesday”

“It takes two days?”

“Yes, in Denver I will be driving there Monday night”

“I’reat I haven’t seen you at the club lately” Though not officially recognized, Jennifer was considered the queen of the subs at the BDSM club

“I’ve been focusing on studying for my bar exam” Which was only part of the truth While she always enjoyed Phase Four, after her heart had been broken in Chicago, she just hadn’t felt like going Maybe it would be good for o “Once I finish my exam, I’ll be back”