Club Wonderland Read Free Page A

sir?”
    He flinched.
    What the hell?
    Whatever that had been, the moment passed as he straightened up, his gaze locked on hers. “I forgot to say thank you. I appreciate you helping out. You’re the best person to ensure things get done properly, and I have every confidence you’ll make things right.” He gave her that rare smile of his, sending her heart racing.
    Whoa. “Thank you, Mr. Hernandez.”
    “Please. Call me Gael.” He nodded once and closed the door.
    Fuck.
    Fuckity fuck! He wanted her to call him Gael!
    Alice balled her hands into fists to hide their shaking. He’d given her permission to call him by his first name. Although being casual wasn’t a big deal with most of the lawyers, Alice had always felt Gael didn’t want that same level of familiarity. Well, not from her at any rate. This was huge!
    Opening Petra’s email, she stumbled through a response, knowing she needed to get focused on her new assignment quickly if she wanted any chance of getting it done in time.

    Pet. Congratulations!! I had no doubt Sexcapades would final in the Web Awards. The organizers aren’t a bunch of idiots after all. I’ll take you shopping and I’ll pick out something super sexy for you to wear. You never know who you might run into while you’re there.
    And remind me to tell you what happened with You-Know-Who, today. I’m shaking, Pet. Shaking!
    TTYL!

    She was being only slightly more rational than a preteen at a Justin Beiber concert. Gael Hernandez, successful and handsome lawyer who seemed focused on his job and nothing else, had said thank you and smiled at her. Today was turning out to be pretty fantastic after all.
    Opening the file, Alice did her best to ignore the sensation that she was being watched, and got to work proving that Mr. Anderson was trying to take his insurance company for a ride.

Chapter Two
    Gael sat at his desk and stared at the closed door. He’d begun to squeeze the edge of his desk as a way to keep from getting back up and marching out to the office to demand that Alice call him Sir again. It was doing nothing to stop his overactive imagination from stripping off her dress and telling her exactly how she could help him.
    Fuck, he didn’t need this, not now.
    Six months. He’d been in the role of associate lawyer with Gibson, Murphy and Dow for only six months. In that time he’d taken everything that had been thrown at him. Difficult clients, impossible cases, shortened time lines—he had overcome every obstacle. His uncle had made it perfectly clear the only way Gael would make partner was to put in his time in the trenches, which suited him perfectly. One year slogging it out without anyone knowing who he really was, before his uncle Stephen would put him forward for consideration.
    He needed to make partner.
    The call from his mother last night hadn’t helped put him in a good mood. Apparently she and his father only had a few months left before their company’s bank account ran dry and they would be unable to manage their bills. His parents would be forced to sell their cottage and mortgage the house if they couldn’t turn things around soon.
    Gael wasn’t by nature the type of man who stayed to the sidelines. He’d been a part of his parent’s software company all through his time at university. He’d intended to take a role on their fledgling legal team, ensuring that everything went right. Start-ups were risky at best, but it was his father’s dream. They’d put everything they owned into this company and Gael would do whatever he could to help his parents succeed. Even if that meant going to work with his asshole of an uncle.
    The rules—he had to follow every single one of them if he wanted to make partner, giving him the income he’d need to help his parents:
    No telling the staff he was related to Stephen Gibson.
    No complaining, arguing, or doing anything to make his uncle look bad.
    No dating anyone who worked in the office.
    And under no circumstances