Iris groaned and dropped her bags near her desk before reclaiming her seat. “We always have a situation,” she mumbled and opened the thin file. She lifted a magazine from it and held it up. “What’s this for?”
A wicked smile curved Noelle’s ruby-red lips. “Do you know who that is on the cover?”
Iris frowned and laid the magazine on top of the open file folder, and stared into the face of one of the most famous—and beautiful—men in the country. “Nash Dupree. So?”
“Sooo, that delicious eye candy wants to hire you to take care of a legal matter.”
“Nash Dupree? The Nash Dupree?” Iris’s clients included numerous high-profile people in the Atlanta area, but none who could match the wealth or the good looks of Nash Dupree.
Noelle grinned. “Yes, the tall, dark and sexy business mogul and president of Dupree Enterprises, who has graced the covers of almost every national magazine there is, contacted us a short while ago.” Noelle twirled the pen between her fingers and swung her leg back and forth. “He wants you.”
Iris lifted a perfectly arched eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
Noelle laughed. “He wants you to handle his niece’s case. Although―” her friend placed both feet on the floor and leaned forward in her seat, putting her elbows on the desk “―once he lays eyes on you, he will probably want more than legal counsel.”
“Oh, please.” Iris waved her friend off and scanned the information sheet that one of the assistants had most likely put together. Mr. Dupree’s fifteen-year-old niece, of whom he was the legal guardian, was arrested for drug possession.
“Don’t ‘oh, please’ me. I hate when you do that!” Noelle banged her fist against the desk. “You are one of the smartest, most accomplished and selfless women I know, and don’t get me started on how gorgeous you are! If you would give the men out here half a chance, they would be knocking each other over to get to you.”
If it wasn’t Noelle, it was one of her sisters saying the same thing. Iris in no way saw herself as gorgeous, but to let one of them tell it, she was every man’s fantasy. Sure, she wanted to find her Mr. Right, fall in love and live happily ever after, but she lived in the real world. There was no way a man as hot as Nash Dupree would give her a second look. She was too tall and not skinny enough, and her skin was too dark. From what she’d seen, he only dated rod-thin, light-skinned women who made her look like the ugly stepsister, which was how she felt most days. Growing up with two “cute” foster sisters had done nothing to help Iris’s low self-esteem.
She glanced back at the magazine cover. Nope, no one who looked half as good as Nash Dupree had ever asked her out. She set the magazine aside and folded her hands on top of the file folder.
“Let’s get back to Mr. Dupree,” Iris said. “I mentioned to you and Kyle a couple of weeks ago that I wasn’t taking on any more cases until after I return from vacation. And just glancing at this information about the Dupree kid, either of you or one of the associates could handle this with your eyes closed.”
“When I talked with Mr. Dupree, I offered my services, but he insists you’re the one he wants. Have you ever met him?”
Iris shook her head as she glanced back at the information in the file. “Never. Did someone refer him or did he say exactly why he wanted me?”
“I don’t know if anyone referred him. I just assumed he wanted the best.” Noelle smirked, but shrugged when Iris narrowed her gaze. “Face it, Iris, you are the best. You not only have heart, but you’re the only defense attorney who can connect with these teens.”
Iris cocked her head. “What is this, Stroke Iris’s Ego Day?”
Noelle stood and tugged on her tiny skirt. “It should be. You have been winning cases left and right. With the victory today, the phones will be ringing off the hook with parents who have teens in trouble, or nonprofit youth organizations vying for your volunteer services. Mercy Youth Community Center won’t be the only agency begging for your time and expertise.” She stopped at the door and turned to Iris. “Oh, and Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome will be here shortly. You might want to check your hair and freshen up your makeup.”
Yeah, whatever.
Iris glanced at her watch. It was going on four o’clock. Even if she were able to take on the case, by the time she heard Mr. Dupree out, it would be too late to go before a judge, which meant his niece might have to spend the night in juvenile detention. It also meant Iris might be late meeting with her sisters for dinner, and she would never hear the end of how she always put work before them.
“Iris,” her assistant said from the doorway before walking farther into the office. “Mr. Dupree is waiting for you in conference room B. Also, I talked with Mahone Construction this afternoon and put the information you requested inside your to-be-read file on your computer.”
“Melissa, you’re the best,” Iris said to the short, thin woman whom she couldn’t imagine her life without. Melissa had been with her for the past three years and she was Iris’s right arm, keeping her professional life organized and her personal life drama-free. She was the person who helped maintain what little sanity Iris had left. “If I’m not out of this meeting by five o’clock—”
“I’ll come a-knocking.” Melissa smiled and strolled out of the office.
Iris gathered the file, a notepad and her favorite pen. She would hear Mr. Dupree out, but let him know that she would have to assign someone else to his case. She moved to the door, but stopped. It wasn’t every day she had the opportunity to meet someone like the sexy Nash Dupree. She doubled back to her desk and whipped out the mirrored compact from her purse, checked her makeup and freshened her lipstick. She might as well look her best when she broke the news to him.
Iris walked into the conference room, intending to greet Nash Dupree and promptly refer him to another attorney, but a deep, baritone voice halted her the moment she stepped across the threshold. She quickly glanced around the room, thinking that Barry White himself had to be there, but he wasn’t. Instead, standing on the other side of the room, talking on a cell phone, was a man whose voice made her toes curl. The deep, melodious tone was strong and intoxicating. She had always been a sucker for a man with a mysterious, sexy voice.
So this is Nash Dupree. Though his body was slightly angled toward the window, she couldn’t help but notice how his broad shoulders tapered down to a narrow waist and how his long legs seemed to go on forever. Tall for a woman, Iris didn’t often come in contact with men she had to look up to, literally. With one hand holding his cell phone and the other stuffed casually into his pants pocket, he appeared confident and relaxed, despite his family’s recent legal issues.
“Alright, I guess it has to be this evening. Just let me know where,” Nash said to the caller. He turned away from the window, but was looking down and hadn’t noticed her.
Iris took in his honey-brown complexion, black wavy hair cropped close to his head, and his perfect body. The magazine photos and the few times that she’d seen him on TV hadn’t done him justice. He looked every bit the powerful man that the media portrayed him to be. As for the playboy reputation he had garnered in the tabloids, she could see why women threw themselves at him. He oozed virility and wealth.
Ogling him from across the room felt unprofessional, but she couldn’t help herself. Spending most of her days in her office or in a courtroom hadn’t allowed her much opportunity to socialize, especially with someone who looked like Nash Dupree.
“Oh, wait, can you also let...” Nash started, but stopped when he looked up and spotted Iris. For a moment, all he did was hold the phone and stare at her. His gaze slowly traveled over her from the top of her head down to her three-inch navy blue pumps and then back up to her eyes. A small smile lifted the left corner of his tempting mouth and Iris’s pulse quickened at the effect