Undone (3 page)

Embry’s ears perked up. The research assistant position would be the perfect solution to her problem. She could make the money she needed and still focus on law. All she had to do was impress the professor. “I’m going to go check that out.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “Apply at your own risk. I hear she can be pretty tough.”

“Thanks for the warning.” She waved good-bye and made her way to the front of the room.

Embry walked out of the classroom in a far better mood than when she had entered it. Professor Coleman seemed nice, and Embry had a good feeling about her chances of getting the position. She was actually excited for the semester to officially start. She fished her phone out of her purse to text Morgan, and when she glanced up, she froze.

Walking toward her was the sexy stranger. He was farther away, and she had time to take in his beauty. He was tall, well over six feet, and wore a tight gray V-neck shirt and faded jeans. His dark hair set off those blue eyes, framed by long lashes.
Gorgeous
. He was carrying a box, and it must have been heavy because his muscles strained against his T-shirt and Embry couldn’t look away. When she finally dragged her eyes from his biceps, she found his baby blues searching hers. He held her gaze as he walked toward her, causing her cheeks to flush under the intensity of his stare. As he drew nearer, she noticed his lips twisting into an amused smirk.

“We have to stop meeting like this,” he joked, stopping in front of her.

She was momentarily stunned but recovered quickly. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were following me.”

“Maybe I am,” he said, and then he smiled. Not a polite smile shared with a stranger, but a real smile. A gorgeous smile. An all-out, eyes-crinkling, dimples-popping, panty-dropping smile.

Something stirred inside of Embry. Her knees loosened, heat crept up her neck, and a swarm of butterflies took up residence in her stomach. Before she had time to acknowledge her reaction, he turned and walked away again. Sauntered, really. As she studied his backside, she realized she was in big trouble.

The rest of the week flew by with classes during the day and more studying than was imaginable at night. On top of the overwhelming amount of reading assigned, the professors required that students brief each case in a specific format. Those briefs were then collected randomly to ensure everyone was keeping up with the assignments.

Jeremy had been right about Professor Coleman. She was tough, and Embry was kicking herself for volunteering for the research assistant position. After seeing Coleman tear a few students apart in class, Embry felt extremely intimidated.

Coleman had walked into their second class with a stack of sixty-four index cards, one for each student. On the card was the student’s name and ID picture so that she could learn each student’s name and face. She shuffled the cards and called on students at random. No one was prepared for the interrogation that followed. Coleman easily undermined and embarrassed even the most articulate students.

Embry caught a lucky break at the end of the last class. As Coleman flipped through the stack of cards, Embry got a quick glimpse of her picture. Her card was next up in the pile. She knew she’d be called on first in her next class, so she spent extra time preparing the night before.

As she sat typing up her case briefs, Embry was interrupted by her cell phone vibrating across the desk. She saw Morgan’s name flash across the screen. “Hey, Morgan.”

“Hey, Bree. How’s the studying going?”

“Never ending. I’m working on my briefs for tomorrow.”

“Yeah, me too. I still have about another fifty pages of reading, too. Hey, do you want to go to the social at Scandal tomorrow night?”

“What social?” Embry answered distractedly. She held the phone between her ear and shoulder as she continued to read and highlight the case she was working on.

“For the law school. We got an email about it a while ago. Have you come up for air at all?”

“Oh, nope, I haven’t checked my email. I’ve been so wrapped up in preparing for class,” Embry answered.

“The Student Bar Association put something together for Whitman students. All we have to do is show our school IDs at the door, and we get free entry and two drink tickets. Then drinks are half price for the rest of the night. We have to go. We can celebrate surviving our first week in law school!”

“I don’t know,” Embry said, unsure. She and Morgan always had a great time when they went out, but the last thing she needed was a distraction. She had to maintain a 3.0 GPA to keep her scholarship. “The semester’s just starting, and it’s only going to get more intense. I want to get some extra reading done this weekend to get ahead.”

“Come on, Bree, you said it yourself, it’s only gonna get worse from here on out. We might as well have some fun while we still can.”

“Yeah but—”

“But nothing,” Morgan whined. “We haven’t been out together in forever. Just one night. Come on, don’t make me beg!”

“Well … I’m getting called on in Coleman’s class tomorrow. I’ll probably need a drink, or five, after that.”

“That a girl! So can I take that as a yes?” Morgan screeched.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Embry fought a smile. “I’ll go.”

“Woohoo! You won’t regret it. We’re gonna have a blast!”

“Yeah, yeah. Let me go finish these briefs so Coleman doesn’t eat me alive tomorrow.” She hung up and spent the rest of the night reading cases and reviewing her notes.

Embry felt a tug on her bag as she left her criminal law class the next day.

“Hey, Blondie, wait up,” Jeremy called.

Embry turned, her lips quirking into a smile. “What did you call me?”

“Um, Blondie?” Jeremy gave her an impish grin and lifted up a piece of her blond hair as he fell into step beside her.

“I thought we covered this already. Just Embry.” She nudged him.

Embry and Jeremy had become fast friends. They sat next to each other in most classes and grabbed lunch together during breaks. It was nice to have an ally in her section. Jeremy was called on in criminal law, and he’d analyzed the case perfectly. He even got praise from their professor.

“You did good in there, by the way,” Embry said.

“Thanks. Professor Dawson wasn’t as bad as I expected. Where are you running off to?”

“Just headed to the café to grab a bite. Then I’m going to hide away and go over the cases again for contracts. I don’t want to give Coleman the opportunity to catch me with my pants down.”

“Now there’s a visual” Jeremy joked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Oh, you know what I meant, perv,” Embry said, rolling her eyes as he laughed.

“Would you like some company?” he offered. “I can quiz you on the cases. I’m meeting with Dawson at twelve thirty, but I’m all yours until then.”

“Actually that would be great. Thanks, Jer. What are you meeting with Dawson for?” she asked.

“I want to talk to him about criminal law. My dad’s firm does mostly corporate and transactional stuff, so it’s probably pointless …” Jeremy trailed off.

“No, it isn’t,” Embry said. “You should definitely check it out if you really like it.”

Jeremy’s dad expected him to carry on in the family business, but Jeremy didn’t seem too excited about working in corporate law. She felt bad that on top of the normal pressures of law school, he had the family name to live up to.

“Yeah, well, we’ll see. Anyway, I’m going to run to my car and grab my contracts book. I’ll meet you in the atrium in five?”

“Sure thing,” she said, and walked off toward the café.

Embry studied with Jeremy until he left for his meeting. She walked toward her classroom while reviewing her notes for the last time and preparing for the onslaught that was Professor Coleman. She looked around as she tucked her notes back into her bag and wished the sexy stranger would make another appearance. No matter how focused she was on her studies, she couldn’t get those piercing blue eyes out of her head. She wanted to see him again.

“Whoa! Hey there, chicky.”

Embry jumped as she nearly collided with her best friend. “Oh, uh … hey, Morgan.”

“Hey. What’s going on? Are you all right? You look a little flustered.”

Oh yeah, I’m fine. Just, you know, daydreaming about sexy run-ins with a total stranger.
“I’m fine. Sorry, I was just lost in my head. You know, getting called on today and everything.”

“You’re gonna do great, Bree, don’t sweat it! You’ve been studying these cases for the past twenty-four hours. You know them like the back of your hand.”

Embry barely heard Morgan’s words of encouragement as her mind flitted back to her previous hallway encounter. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“I know I’m right. Good luck, and call me when you get home so we can make a plan for tonight!” Morgan called as she strode away.

Embry was actually looking forward to their night out. Between the stress of getting called on in class and daydreaming about a gorgeous guy she didn’t even know, she would definitely need a drink.

Jeremy slid in next to her as she set up her computer.

“Hey, how’d the meeting go?” she asked, trying to distract herself from the nerves brewing in her stomach.

“It was cool. Professor Dawson has a private criminal practice, and we spoke about possible internship opportunities depending on my grades at the end of the semester.”

“That’s great, Jer!” Embry said.

“Yeah, except I doubt my dad would go for it. He expects me to come home and work for the firm this summer.”

Embry heard the disappointment in his voice. “Well, the summer is a long ways away. You have plenty of time to butter him up.”

“True.” Jeremy motioned toward the front of the classroom where Professor Coleman waited for the class to quiet down. He squeezed Embry’s hand. “You’re up, kiddo. Good luck.”

She took a deep breath and pulled out her notes, ready for whatever her professor threw at her.

Just as she had expected, Coleman called on her for the very first case. Embry was more than prepared. She’d rattled off the facts of the case without having to consult her brief, and answered all of Professor Coleman’s questions. Granted, Coleman turned every answer around and made her second guess herself, but Embry held her own. The same couldn’t be said of the next girl, who looked as if she were about to burst into tears after Coleman called her out for being unprepared.