More Than Promised Read online

  “Yes, it has been,” I said, and we stared at each other for a long time after that. He studied me as I studied him, and I wondered what he saw. Was it the successful lawyer who had the highest success rate in the city of New York? Or did he see the coward who’d abandoned him when he needed him most?

  “This isn’t awkward at all,” Aaron said, breaking the moment. Riley glanced at Aaron and his brows furrowed.

  “Do I know you?” he asked, and Aaron’s eyes went wide. He glanced at me before he looked back to Riley who was studying him closely. He looked like a shark, hunting his prey and Aaron didn’t stand a chance.

  “No, I don’t believe you do,” Aaron replied which wasn’t a lie. Aaron never approached Riley whenever I sent him to check in on him. Whether it was a debate competition or a track meet. He never introduced himself.

  Riley tilted his head as he studied Aaron further. I could see Aaron beginning to sweat and for a moment I thought Riley would have been better off in law enforcement. That stare was impenetrable.

  “That’s funny because you look strangely familiar. I could have sworn I’ve seen you before. Multiple times actually…” he trailed off and a smirk appeared on his face. A smirk that really did make him look like a predator. Maybe he had chosen the right career path.

  “I just have one of those faces,” Aaron said but Riley’s smirk never left his face. I could see Aaron melting into a puddle. My best friend had a power kink and unfortunately Riley hit all of his buttons. All Riley had to do was command Aaron to tell him the truth and Aaron would crack quicker than a whip on a horse’s ass.

  “Aaron, can you give us a moment?” I said, saving my friend from himself. Aaron sagged in relief and practically ran from the room. Riley stared after him and when the door slammed shut his gaze came back to me, his eyebrow raised.

  “I’m pretty sure I’ve seen than man at least eight times in my life. It’s only now that I’m connecting the dots,” he said as he continued to stare me down. I wasn’t Aaron, I didn’t crack easily but Riley deserved to know the truth, so I told him.

  “Aaron is my friend and my partner in the firm.”

  “That was Aaron Banks?” Riley said incredulously and I laughed.

  “Yes. Aaron is a lot different from the shark he is in the courtroom. He’s a bit of a conundrum.” I said and Riley chuckled, the sound husky and more than appealing. “Anyway, he stood in for me when I couldn’t attend some of your milestones.”

  Riley’s eyes narrowed and his jaw worked as he forced out, “So all of them?”

  He said it calmly, but I could feel the hurt and anger behind his words. I’d let him down and now I knew it. I couldn’t argue with him because there was no argument to be had so I simply nodded. Riley’s jaw ticked once, twice, before he took in a deep breath. A mask fell over his face and the anger was gone. His face was stoic, almost as if no emotion was there and it scared the hell out of me how quickly it had happened. It had taken me years of practice to perfect that look. Indifference was hard to pull off, but Riley wore it like he’d been doing it his entire life and that worried me.

  “Not that I’m not glad to see you,” I said and the masked slipped for only a second. His eyes told me he was calling bullshit before the mask was back on. “But what can I do for you Riley?”

  Riley sighed before he took a seat and pulled a sheet of paper from the folder in his hands and handed it to me. I looked down at it in shock when I realized it was his resume. I glanced from the paper to him before I laid the resume on my desk.

  “You want to work for me?” I asked and he nodded.

  To say I was stunned was an understatement. I sat back in my chair as I stared at Riley and asked him the same question, I asked all potential employees. “Why Carter and Banks?”

  The mask slipped and Riley looked surprised by my question, as if he hadn’t expected me to take him seriously. He blinked a few times before he shook his head and sat up straighter.

  “It’s not a secret that Carter and Banks is the best firm in the state. I also know that you only hire the best. I am the best. I graduated at the top of my class and scored a 380 on my bar exam and if I’m being honest here, I’ve been scouted by most firms in the state.”

  I knew most of this, but I pretended not to. This was his interview and I had to treat him as a client. Not as his legal guardian. Or past legal guardian.

  “You have other offers?” I asked and Riley confirmed his answer with a nod. “From?” I asked.

  “Smith, Cole, and Erickson is the latest, but I also have offers from most firms across the city.

  I smiled and laced my fingers together as I took Riley in. “And you turned down the position at the second-best law firm in the state.”

  Riley smiled as well, and my heart cracked at the site of his dimples. His mother had, had the deepest dimples I’d ever seen, and I knew Riley had them as well, but they only got deep when he was really happy, in that moment they barely peeked out which told me the smile was fake and practiced.

  “As you said, second best. And I’m not an idiot Mr. Carter, I told them I had other offers and was considering my options. Not to sound cocky or anything but I’m a bit of a hot commodity. I’m very sought after but I’m here. I’m here because I know I have what it takes to make a difference in other people’s lives and that it will mean something. I know this firm’s success rate and I know you don’t take on just any case. You take on the ones you believe in. I want to be a part of that. I want to be someone who can go home at night and rest east knowing I did my best and that my work is worth something. That is Carter and Banks represents for me.”

  I would be lying if I said I wasn’t stunned by his answer, but I was. Not many people look the time to look into our background, at least not deep enough to see the pattern of cases we took on. We cared about our clients and always gave them a hundred percent of us. It was why we were so successful, and I appreciated Riley for noticing.

  “So, what makes you an asset? I have to be honest here, Mr. White. We have resumes from lawyers much older and much more experienced than you that are looking for a spot here. What makes you the better choice?”

  Riley swallowed thickly and smoothed out his tie. He cleared his throat and held my gaze as he said, “I respect everyone who chooses this profession. It isn’t an easy job to take on. I witnessed a lot of things during my internships that made me lose sleep at night. Most people do their jobs because it pays the bills or because it’s convenient. I’m passionate about helping people. I could do this every day and not earn a dime because I know I’d sleep easy at night, knowing I did my best to help someone. That may not seem like a redeeming quality to you Mr. Carter but my character is everything to me.”

  I kept my face neutral even though I wanted to smile and cry at the same time. He was so much like his father; it made my chest ache. He spoke with conviction and passion. I believed every word he said and knew that he meant them. It was refreshing.

  I tapped my finger on the desk as I watched him, waiting for any sign of nervousness. But he held my gaze and didn’t break a sweat.

  “I’ll tell you what, Mr. White. I’m going to hold on to this,” I tapped his resume and continued, “and I’ll speak with Aaron. We’ll discuss and make a final decision.”

  Riley smiles and nods before he holds out his hand. “I hope to hear from you soon, Mr. Carter.”

  I reached out and took his hand in mine. His grip was tight, and his palm was a bit clammy, his only true sign of nervousness.

  “Thank you for your time. Mr. Carter.”

  “Absolutely, Mr. White.”

  We held our shake for a few seconds longer than necessary. Riley stared down at her hands and the mask slipped. The interview was over, and I was now standing in front of Riley White, the person, not the lawyer.

  “It’s good to see you’re still breathing, William.” He met my gaze and I could see the hurt in them. My heart pinched as he let my hand go and stepped away. “You should
stop by and see Izzy sometime. She worries.”

  “Riley,” I began but he shook his head, stopping me from speaking further. I hadn’t really thought about what my absence meant. I’d truly thought that Riley wouldn’t care about me not being around, but it was clear I was wrong. Sure, he wanted to work for my firm, but I wasn’t so sure he wanted to work for me. The look in his eyes told me he felt something for me, but it wasn’t anything positive.

  He moved toward the door and I called his name again. “You’ll hear from me soon,” I said as he looked over his shoulder. He studied my face for a long moment before he turned and walked out the door.

  I didn’t breathe again until the door closed behind him. I flopped down in my chair and sighed heavily as I looked over his resume. I didn’t really need to speak with Aaron because I already knew what his answer would be. Even if Riley wasn’t qualified for the job, Aaron would want him around just to torture me or at least he thought it was torturing me.

  I sighed and opened an email to send to my assistant. Riley was going to need his contract drawn up and I was going to give him the best offer possible.

  Chapter Three

  Riley

  It had been two days since my interview, and I was worried that I’d bombed it. I’d gone into it with all the confidence in the world, even if my emotions were at war with themselves. I was angry and sad all at once, but I kept it together until the end.

  When I’d decided to apply William’s firm it hadn’t been with good intentions like I’d said. Sure, what I’d told him in the interview was true, but I’d wanted him to feel uncomfortable. I’d wanted him to look at my face and feel the guilt of basically abandoning me after all these years. But none of that happened. He was shocked, sure but there wasn’t much if any other emotion there. I’d seen a hint of sadness but that was to be expected. I was the mirror image of my father and I suspected it was hard for him to look at me and not see his face.

  But I did want this job. It was unheard of, of a fresh out of law school student to be hired at the highest ranked law firm in the state of New York. But I wasn’t any ordinary law student. I’d had job offers before I’d even passed my bar exam with a nearly perfect score. I was well known in the circuit because during my internship days, I was building a reputation for myself. I held myself with all the confidence I had in me because I knew my worth and I knew what I could contribute to a company.

  Working for William would be the biggest jumps start to my career. Yes, it will be weird working in the same office as him, but it was necessary. I was no longer a child which meant William was no longer financially responsible for me. It was time for me to make my own way in the world.

  I was sitting at the kitchen table pushing my eggs around on my plate. The house was quite due to the fact that both Sam and Cat were gone. They’d moved out the week before I’d graduated so it was just Izzy and me. They still came around the house and stuck around as if they hadn’t moved out, but I missed them on days like this one, when it was too quiet, and I was stuck in my head.

  “He’ll call,” Izzy said, and I looked up to meet her soft smile. She stirred her tea and pointed a finger at me. “You’re too good to let go. He’ll see that. I’m not sure what the holdup is but if I know William, he’s thinking very hard on it. But I have no doubts this job is yours.”

  “Thanks, Iz,” I said with a small smile of my own. Izzy was getting older and I knew her job as my caretaker was over, but William had left her this house. This was her home away from home. Every summer, Izzy would take Cat, Sam and I to Columbia where Izzy was originally from. I’d always looked forward to the summers. It was a beautiful country and I could tell Izzy missed it terribly. I’d always wondered if she’d return home once we were all grown and out of the house. I was the last to leave and I did so because I hated the thought of Izzy being in this big house by herself. I was sure she knew it too, but she never called me out on it. She was my mom in every way that mattered, and I worried about her.

  “What are you going to do when I’m working all the time?” I asked with a smile and Izzy barked out a laugh.

  “What am I not going to do is the question. All of my kids are gown up and moving forward with their lives. Maybe I’ll take up a new hobby. Do some more traveling. Who knows? I might actually get out there and find a boyfriend before you do.”

  I barked out a laugh and shook my head. I came out to Izzy around the same year William stopped coming around. I’d noticed when I was younger that I found boys attractive. While my friends had been talking about boobs and girls, I hadn’t found it very appealing. Sure, I thought girls were pretty, but it was like how I thought Cat was pretty. It was just a fact, but it didn’t leave me feeling the way my friends did.

  There had been a kid in my eighth-grade class named Reese, who was gay. Everyone knew it and he’d been teased mercilessly about it. I remembered feeling angry for him because I didn’t think it was okay for people to tease him for liking what he liked. So, one day, I’d stood up for him. My friends that I thought were my friends called me gay slurs and though it has hurt at first, I was proud of myself.

  We started hanging out and I learned there was nothing different about him, other than him liking boys. He was funny, athletic and really good at video games. One day we’d been playing on my PlayStation when I’d asked him, how he knew he’d liked boys. I’d been seeing him differently and had started getting boners at night when I thought about him. It was weird and he was the only gay person I knew.

  Reese had grinned and said, “I knew because whenever I was watching Disney movies, I wanted to be the princess. Not because I wanted to be a girl but because I wanted the prince to fall in love with me.”

  I’d felt my stomach churn because hadn’t I just been watching a movie with Izzy and wondered what it would be like to be kissed by the male lead?

  Reese had turned to look at me with concern in his eyes and asked, “Riley, do you think you might like guys?” he asked, and I’d frozen. Fear flowed through me because I hadn’t voiced it out loud but yes, I’d been wondering for a while. So, when I nodded, Reese had given me a gentle smile and said, “Hey, dude, it’s okay. You’ve got time to figure it out.”

  We’d gone back to playing the game, but my brain wouldn’t shut up. Was I gay? Did I like guys? Was I okay with that? Eventually I’d tossed down my controller and turned to face Reese.

  “Can I kiss you?” I asked and his eyes widened before he smiled.

  “Sure, dude.”

  I’d looked at him for a long time, taking in his light blonde hair and crystal blue eyes and I remembered thinking he reminded me of William which gave me half a boner. That should have been the first sign.

  When Reese finally pressed his lips to mine it was like all the mixed-up puzzle pieced in my head fell into place. Nothing in the world had felt more right to me than kissing Reese. I hadn’t felt electricity zipping through me when I’d kissed Angela Pierson behind the bleachers at the football game. But with Reese, it had flowed through me like I’d stuck my finger into an electrical socket.

  I’d freaked out after that. Not at Reese but at the situation. I’d cried for a long time and Reese held my hand through it all. He’d been an amazing friend to me. He’d been more than happy to let me test out my newfound sexuality on him. We were kids, still so young and hand no idea what the hell we were doing. But we’d fumbled our way through our firsthand jobs, and it was then I knew for sure that I was a fan of dick.

  I’d sat Izzy down one day because the secret was eating me alive. She’d listened to me intently as I cried my way through telling her I was gay. I was terrified she’d leave me. That she’d tell me what I was feeling was wrong. Izzy had always been big on taking us to church and teaching us the bible and so I always thought being gay was wrong. I thought Izzy would disown me and damn me to hell.

  But I should have known better. She’d cried but not because she was disappointed but because she was scared. Scared of the way the worl
d would perceive me, scared of the way I’d be treated. She loved me, and all she wanted was for me to be happy. But the world was a cruel place to anyone who was different.

  We’d gone to counseling. Not because she wanted to change me but because she wanted to know how to better help me. Izzy truly was the best thing William had given me.

  I hadn’t known if Izzy had told William about my sexuality. I figured she had to because he was technically my guardian. I also figured she’d done so when suddenly Reese wasn’t allowed in my room with the door closed anymore. I was sure that was more Izzy’s idea than anyone’s but then William had showed up and glared at Reese like he was going to murder him.

  Reese hadn’t run away though. No, the asshole stuck around for years. He was currently backpacking through some forest in some country I couldn’t name. I’d get post cards every month from his many different adventures and I saved them all. He was my very best friend and I missed him terribly. He was due to be back state side in a few weeks and I couldn’t wait to see him.

  “Yeah, you’ll probably have more luck with that than I would,” I said finally responding to Izzy’s jab. “If I get this job at the firm, there won’t be much time for boyfriends.”

  “Don’t forget that life is more than just work. You need to find things that make you happy. Things that balance you out. Otherwise you’ll get burned out.”

  She spoke as if from experience and it made my chest hurt. “Is that how you feel?” I asked and Izzy’s eyes turned angry.

  “You were never work for me. Taking care of you and loving you has never been a job for me. My greatest joy in life has been raising my children and that includes you, Riley Christian White. You were not a job, a task nor a burden. If I could speak to the dead, I’d thank your parents for trusting me with you all of these years. You are my son, in every way that counts. You are my happiness, you, your brother and your sister have always been my happiness. But you guys are adults now and I have to find other things that will fill me with as much joy as being your mother does.”