Hollywood's Baddest Read Online Free Page B

so hard to attain. If you decline to take the case… well… you are welcome to find a position with another law firm. You will take this case, and you will win it, or you will no longer be employed here.”
    His words hit her like a massive stone, crushing her as they landed on her. She was being ordered to take the case. If she didn’t, her only alternative was to lose her job. He had made that much crystal clear to her. Anger burned in her stomach and she swallowed the defiant words that rose up and culminated in her mouth. She could not say that it was ridiculous to give the case to her, and that anyone else could have taken it.
    She could not say that he was an arrogant, irresponsible man who had just been caught breaking the law and probably deserved to not only be put behind bars, but to stay there. She could not say that every other case she was working on at that moment was significantly more important to her.
    He wasn’t going to listen to any of that. All he wanted from her was a yes. All he wanted to know was if she was going to take the case or give up her job at his law firm. Bitterness tangled itself in her and she clenched the back of her jaw for a moment, relaxing it right away so as not to give away her surging emotion to the man before her.
    “Well.” She replied quietly. “It looks as if I will be taking the case.” She tried to rein in the angry thought that he had left her with no choice. There was no way she would ever leave this firm of her own accord. She wanted to be there too much, and she wasn’t about to let something like a drug addict movie star who got himself into trouble, take that away from her.
    Anderson leaned back slightly then and gave her a nod. “Good. I gave Mr. Paul your phone number. He’ll be contacting you soon to meet with you about it.”
    She managed somehow to maintain an air of professionalism, and did not let a single glimpse of her true emotions show through. Instead, she rose up from her chair and gave him a nod. “Thank you, Mr. Nolan.” She was feeling anything but thankful.
    “Good luck with it.” He told her sincerely, and she gave him a nod once more and turned to leave his office.
    Anger coursed through every vein in her body, and the anticipation she had felt on her way up to see him a short while before was completely gone. There was no doubt in her mind that her time and talents could not have been more wasted than they would be on Lucas Ryan; Hollywood’s favorite bad boy, and newest big name drug bust.
    She stalked down the hallway to her office and Bea looked up at her with a smile that faded as fast as morning mist when she saw the expression on Alexis’ face. Alexis didn’t stop to speak to her at all, but instead went straight into her office, closing the door behind her forcefully.
    A lump had formed in her throat and tears began to burn at her eyes as she sat down behind her desk. She buried her face in her hands and tried to breathe in deeply to calm herself. She couldn’t imagine how any part of what she was being forced to do could go well for her, but she knew she was going to have to face the music, because there was no way out of it for her.
    Anderson Nolan had given her no choice at all, and it was infuriating to think that she was being made to defend a man who had no regard for the law, no moral decency, and no grounded connection with the real world. Her time and her work was far more valuable than what he would require. All Lucas Ryan needed was a lawyer who would get him probation and a slap on the wrist. He deserved more than that, but he wouldn’t get more than that.
    Then the whole thing would blow over in a few months, and the only people who would ever bring it back up again would be the fish wrapper newspapers that sensationalized everything that celebrities did. The news rags would go back to his story from time to time, whenever they felt it was necessary, and that would be it.
    She wanted no part of that. She