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did, he didn’t say anything to her about it. He continued on with what he was saying. It became evident to her that it was not a conversation, it was a directive.
    “You’ll take this case and make it your first priority; everything falls in line behind this one.” His voice was firm, and she knew that it was without a doubt, about to become her biggest case. Something about it didn’t sit right with her. She didn’t care about Lucas Ryan. She didn’t want a high profile case.
    She lowered one brow slightly as she looked at Anderson Nolan sitting across from her in his dark suit and his bold power tie. She lifted her chin and took a big breath. “Mr. Nolan, I’m flattered that you thought of me for this case, and even more so that Mr. Paul requested me after you told him about me, but I feel as though I have a duty to you both to let you know that I don’t think I’m the best attorney for the case.”
    He remained unruffled, but she saw a spark of surprise in his eyes, and she knew she had caught him a little off guard. “This is a truly high profile case, as you mentioned, and I feel that there are other counselors here who would be a better fit for it. I’m working diligently on several other cases right now; cases that I feel are more aligned with my expertise and ability… cases that I feel warrant my devotion, my hard work, attention, and time.
    Cases, which I know I can win, and win well. I feel as though I could be much more effective  with those than with this one, and it seems to me that perhaps Mr. Paul didn’t realize that when he asked for me to do this case.”
    She had always felt that honesty really was the best policy, and she had no qualms about letting Anderson Nolan know just how she felt about it. He stared at her with just a hint of surprise in his expression.
    “Miss Harper,” he said using her last name, “this is one of the biggest cases that you’d ever  be likely to land. This is a case of paramount importance.” He pressed the vitality of it and she tried to bite her tongue.
    It wasn’t a case of paramount importance. It was just another Hollywood big shot who had gotten so wrapped up in his life that he’d been caught with drugs at his house and gotten himself arrested. There was nothing big about it, except that he was one of the most celebrated actors in the global industry. He was at the top of the A list.
    It was a high profile case , she thought to herself, not a high priority case. The environmental case sitting on her desk two floors down, in which a city’s water supply had been contaminated by an indifferent corporation; that was a high priority case to her. Lucas Paul getting busted for drugs and needing a lawyer to get him off the hook was not, and she knew full well that her talents would be put to better use on just about anything else.
    Anderson Nolan narrowed his eyes just a fraction as he gazed at her. “This is one of the biggest cases at this firm right now. It is of the utmost importance, Miss Harper.” She didn’t like that he had used her last name twice. Somewhere in the back of her mind, where it should have mattered most, a little warning bell had begun to go off, and she knew she should be listening to it, but her heart led her onward.
    “I realize that, but I feel that my efforts would be better applied elsewhere,” she told him again in a calm voice, hoping that he would see the truth of that statement.
    He leaned forward a little and met her gaze directly. “You have an opportunity here to show that you are more diverse in your ability than just doing the work that you have been doing since you began here. You are up for a promotion soon, and you are in some pretty tight competition for that promotion. I am not offering you a choice on this case. I am telling you that you will take it. You were specifically requested, and it will be you who defends Mr. Ryan.
    If you win the case, you may very well achieve that promotion that you are working