But now, she’d crossed the line. And it was all Patrick’s fault. She scooped up another spoonful of ice cream, the creamy chocolate melting on her tongue. If he hadn’t been such a jerk, hadn’t broken up with her via text, for heaven’s sake…and after she’s won her first case…she wouldn’t have been drowning her sorrows at the bar, an easy mark for Mr. Logan MacKenzie. Easy mark; that was her. And Logan had taken advantage of her. That was clear.
And now, here she was, drowning her sorrows in a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. She licked the spoon, reluctantly put the cover back on and stashed the pint in the back of the freezer. Men were her downfall. So was ice cream, but that was a different story.
“No good…any of them. None of them.” She muttered to herself as she went back to her room. Her headache had returned and now she really did crave a nap, and aspirin. But the nap came first. Curled up on her bed, she muttered a resolution to the room at large.
“No more men.” Only work; that at least she knew she did well. She would dive into whatever her boss gave her, one hundred and ten percent, and work late if necessary. She’d bury herself in her client load and put all of this behind her.
Rolling over, her eyes closed, she decided that really was the best thing to do.
* * *
Monday found Melody at work early, already behind her desk, her attention focused on a brief, when Melissa knocked on her door.
“Hey, good morning. Come in.” She cleared a spot on the edge of her desk as Melissa sat in the chair across from her. Melissa had her usual stack of docket books and case files, ready to give Melody the list of the week’s upcoming deadlines.
“So, how was your weekend? I called you, but you must have been having a wild time with Patrick….” Melissa stopped as Melody dropped her gaze, shaking her head.
“Is something wrong? Did I say something…?”
“No, you’re fine. It’s Patrick.” Melody straightened her back, looking at Melissa. She knew she’d have to talk about it with her co-workers at some point. Everyone knew they’d gotten engaged, knew about the wedding plans; she’d made such a big deal about all of it. She felt embarrassed now, but decided to look at this as an opportunity. She’d deal with this head on, get past it and get back to work. Run toward the monster, not away.
“He broke off the engagement on Friday night.” Melody watched, not without a bit of amusement, as a range of emotions flash across Melissa’s face, including a brief smile of something that resembled relief. She felt a frown crease her forehead.
Melody had suspected Melissa had a bit of a harmless crush on Patrick; the girl blushed crimson any time he’d come to visit Melody at the office, and became giddy and giggly if they all went out for drinks. Melissa was young and Melody chalked it up to girlishness and inexperience with men.
Melissa’s face finally settled into an expression of concern. “I’m so sorry, Melody. That must have been awful, especially after the high you were on from winning the Montague case. Did he ask for the ring back?” Melissa nodded toward Melody’s left hand, the ring finger bare.
“No, actually…he broke up via text.”
“You’re kidding! Patrick? I would never have thought…he’s such…he always seemed such a gentleman. Did he give you a reason?”
Melody shook her head, waving her hand. “No. Just that this ‘wasn’t the right time’…something vague.” She really didn’t want to get into that much detail with Melissa, certainly not at the office. Maybe after work sometime. Melody still really wasn’t sure of Patrick’s reasons, and right now, he was the last thing she wanted to talk about.
“So, what’s on the docket for this week?” Melody sat forward, picking up her pen, smiling at Melissa.
“Oh, okay.” Melissa took the cue and opened up the red leather docket book, scanning the dated columns.
“So, you have three filings due, Benton on Wednesday; Phillips, and Monroe on Thursday. All of them are on your desk…” Melissa pointed to the stack at Melody’s elbow.
“And I see you’re already working on the Benton case.” Melissa nodded toward the open file in front of Melody.
“Do you think Benton will go to trial or will they settle?”
“I think they’ll settle. I don’t think either party wants to drag this out. The Montague case was the exception, you know. Not everyone wants their day in court, or is as stubborn as Frank Montague is.” Montague was a high rolling casino owner who enjoyed the limelight. His favorite quote was ‘Bad publicity is still my name in the paper.’
“Most are willing to work out a deal. Sometimes it’s just a matter of a client feeling they were listened to and being treated fairly. I get that’s more what Benton is looking for at this point.”
“But the Montague case made Mr. Marshall happy and makes you the star of the week.” Melissa blushed at the mention of Ryan Marshall, managing partner and Melody’s boss.
Melody laughed. “Well, yes, a big case and a win equals a big fee for the firm. And I can’t deny I’m still enjoying the good feelings from winning my first big case.”
Melissa hesitated and Melody knew there was more the girl was aching to know. “So…are you okay, Melody? I tried calling, like I said, but you didn’t answer. Were you upset after, well, the thing with Patrick?”
Melody debated only briefly how to answer. She was still appalled over what had happened with Logan, and wild horses wouldn’t drag it out of her, much less Melissa. She shook her head.
“I drowned my sorrows in a pint of ice cream, nothing more. Totally dove into that, and slept, and didn’t come up for air till Sunday.”
“Oh…yeah. That’s probably what I would have done.” Melissa stood, clutching her stack of notebooks and folders. “Well, back to work. Drop the Benton file on my desk when you’re ready.”
Melody spent the rest of the day immersed in her work, trying hard to push everything from the weekend out of her head. But fleeting images of Logan MacKenzie kept cropping up unexpectedly, pushing their way to her consciousness. Images of him as he held her, kissed her, as he did things that drove her crazy, as she gave in to him. As he took advantage of her.
It was well after lunch when she heard a knock at her door. Her boss, Ryan Marshall was leaning against the doorframe.
“Hey, how’s my star today? I’ve been meaning to drop by, but the partners’ meeting ran longer than I anticipated.”
Melody blew out a breath, waving Ryan toward a chair. “Come in. I’m fine. Back in the thick of it. Did you want an update on my cases?” She shuffled the case files on her desk, trying to restore some semblance of order.
“No, not today. I checked with Melissa on your docket and you have a fairly light week. There’s nothing new on the foreseeable horizon. But we all know that can change with jut a phone call.” Ryan stepped into her office, closing the door behind him.
“She told me about Patrick. I’m really sorry, Melody. I know how much you love…him. How much you were looking forward to getting married. You must be absolutely devastated.”
Melody cringed. She’d wanted to avoid this conversation with Ryan, or at least been more prepared for it. And now I have Melissa telling tales at work.
Ryan had seemed to have a difficult time after Melody announced her engagement. She’d long suspected he’d had some kind of feelings for her, but his consummate professionalism had kept him from acting on them. She was apprehensive now that all that might change.
But Ryan appeared sincerely concerned, and she relaxed.
“Thank you, Ryan. It is…was hard. I’m not really ready to talk about it, so…” She smiled and Ryan took his cue, rising from his chair.
“I understand. I’m here for you, Melody, whatever you need. Even if it’s just to talk. Or not talk…” He laughed. “You know what I mean. I value your friendship, you know that. My door is always open.”
Melody watched as Ryan left her office. She idly tapped her pen against her teeth, lost in thought, a whirlwind of emotions suddenly surfacing. And chief among them was the regret she felt over her night with Logan MacKenzie, combined with a persistent and annoying visual of Logan, his dark hair sexy messy, watching her in the throes of passion, as he did things to her no man had ever done. It was the alcohol…that damned Macallan.
She shook her head, trying to dislodge the image. “Work, Melody…just do your work.”
But over the next several days, Melody found it increasingly difficult to forget her night with Logan. She’d be blindsided at odd moments by a thought of him, at hearing a voice that sounded like his. Catching a glimpse of any tall dark-haired man would make her gasp. And hearing his latest hit song on the radio almost drove her over the edge. There was nothing between them, but a one-night stand…a damn good one, but just one night. And he took advantage of the situation, of my emotional state and…I was drunk.
It wasn’t until a couple of weeks had passed before she forced herself to take the time to think about what had happened. She’d accepted an invitation from Ryan for drinks after work, and had invited Melissa along. Ryan had been good-natured about Melissa showing up with her, but Melody sensed an undercurrent of mild annoyance.
But Ryan had been his ever-charming self, attentive to Melody, even more so after Melissa had gone home. But she couldn’t focus on Ryan after a couple of drinks. Her thoughts kept going back to Logan, to their night together. She was distant and it wasn’t long before Ryan picked up on it.
“Is there something bothering you, Melody? Is it Patrick?”
She winced. Patrick was the least of her worries. She hadn’t thought about him in days. In fact, it surprised her at how easily she had been able to just push the whole thing out of her mind. He’d called a few times, once asking for the ring back as Melissa had predicted. She wasn’t sure what that said about their relationship…or lack thereof.
“Not so much Patrick as my reaction to what happened. I did something…rash.” She took a sip of her drink, playing with the little plastic sword that held a cherry that lay at the bottom of the glass.
“I can’t imagine you doing something rash.” Ryan chuckled softly, leaning on the bar watching her closely. “You’re the epitome of clear thinking. It can’t be that bad.”
“I had a drunken, one-night stand with a complete stranger.” There, the words were out. She’d admitted her foolish mistake. Ryan was quiet for a moment, looking at her with a serious expression on his handsome face.
“Well, I guess that was a rash move. But still…” he reached out, his hand resting on hers, squeezing her fingers briefly, warm and solid against her skin. “It’s not like you’ve continued that pattern. You’re not a wanton woman; I’m sure it was just an extreme reaction to an extreme situation.”
Melody’s head jerked, a fragment of memory sliding through her mind. Never leave the Macallan, even for a beautiful wanton woman. Damn Logan MacKenzie.