“Alright. Dinner. That’s all…and no Macallan.” She smiled, waving a finger at him. “I think you used it like some Scottish magic potion or something, got me all confused and took advantage of me.”
Logan shook his head, the corners of his mouth turning up in a roguish grin. Melody noticed how his smile reached all the way to his eyes. It was infectious and it made her roll her eyes, her own smile deepening, his accent broadening for a moment.
“Aye, ye discovered my secret then. But I’ll not ply ye with the Macallan tonight. I’ll let you order your own drinks and not try to influence you unduly.”
Melody laughed. “Fine. Dinner tonight then.”
There was a knock at the door and Melody swiveled her chair around. Ryan opened the door, taking a step into the room. He stopped abruptly, his eyes darkening, looking back and forth between Logan and Melody. A muscle twitched in his jaw. She felt Logan’s grip tighten on her hand. A strange undercurrent of tension suddenly sprang up in the room, catching Melody off guard.
Then Ryan smiled, his face relaxing and the tension was gone. He walked into the room, resting his hands on the back of a nearby chair.
“I see you’re done with the initial interview. Melody, I’ll need to meet with you, so we can formulate our initial game plan.”
Melody realized Logan was still holding her and she extricated herself from his grasp, pushing away from the table. The look on Ryan’s face had startled her; it was an odd mixture of anger and what Melody thought was jealousy. But then it was gone, replaced by his usual smooth professional demeanor.
Gathering her legal pad, she rose from her chair. Logan stood as well and she felt his hand on the small of her back, a warm, solid presence. Or someone staking a claim?
“Yes, we’re finished, for now.” She turned to Logan. “I’ll have Melissa contact you about the documents and I’ll be in touch in a few days.”
She saw Logan’s brows pull together and she held his gaze a moment longer. “Why don’t you give me your contact number as well, so I’ll be able to reach you, if I need anything before that?” She took a business card from her pocket and slid it toward Logan.
He took her pen, scribbling on the back of the card. He handed it to her and she glanced down before tucking it into her pocket. She recognized the name of a restaurant and a time, along with a phone number.
“Let me walk you out, Logan.” Ryan was already inserting himself between Melody and Logan, sliding his arm around Logan’s shoulders, ushering him toward the door. Logan looked back and Melody gave him a smile and a nod.
“It was nice meeting you, Ms. Lawson.”
Ryan turned back. “Melody, meet me in my office and we’ll see where we’re at.”
Melody nodded again, following the men out of the conference room, Ryan steering Logan toward the elevator, deep in conversation. Instead of heading to Ryan’s office, she took the stairs to her own floor, slipping into her office and closing the door.
She fished the card out of her pocket and counted to a hundred, then dialed the number. It rang once and she heard Logan’s voice.
“Are you alone?” She whispered and instantly felt silly. She heard Logan’s rich laugh on the other end of the line.
“Aye, he was in a hurry to see me gone. Will you meet me tonight then?”
“Yes. I’ll be there at eight. Listen, I have to go now. I’ll see you tonight.” She hung up, gathering her legal pad, heading back up to Ryan’s office. He was at Lori’s desk when she came around the corner.
“There you are. Come in. We’ve got some things to discuss.” He motioned Melody into his office, closing the door behind her. She sat at the small table, opening her notes, ready to give Ryan the details of the information Logan had told her.
Ryan sat down across from her. “First, let me start by saying we’re not getting off to a good start here. I’m going out on a limb here by giving you this case. I’m not sure if I was clear earlier. The other partners don’t feel you’re ready for this, and frankly, after your actions today, I’m think I might agree with them.”
Melody felt as if someone had thrown cold water in her face. “I’m not sure what you mean, Ryan. It was your idea to give me this case, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, based on your performance here. But today…between being late and your inappropriate behavior with the client, I have my doubts.”
Ryan stood, moving around the table toward Melody. He sat on the edge of the table, his body blocking Melody from standing. She felt pinned in her chair, Ryan looming over her. Ryan leaned toward her, his face close to hers.
“Same page, remember? I’m going to have a hard time explaining your behavior to the other partners, unless we can come to an understanding.”
Ryan reached out, his fingers beneath Melody’s chin, tilting her face to his. He leaned further and before she could react, his lips were on hers, hard and insistent. She tried pulling away, but his fingers gripped her hard, holding her fast.
When he broke the kiss, he still held her. “I do want you to succeed, Melody. And I think you know how to make sure that happens. There is a lot I can do for you here, with this case, in you making partner…”
Melody looked up at him, afraid she really did understand what he meant. He leaned back, letting go of her chin, calmly folding his hands on his leg.
“You want me to sleep with you to keep this case…and to make partner?” She sputtered out the words, pressing herself back into the leather chair.
“It’s pretty clear to me, Melody, that’s what you want. You’ve been making advances toward me, remember? In the bar. Here, earlier today in my office. Now. It’s obvious…not only to me, but others. Lori even commented about your behavior.”
“But…you…I didn’t…that’s not how it happened!” Melody was aghast, looking up at Ryan in disbelief. “You…not me. You just kissed me!”
Ryan laughed softly. “You think anyone will believe you? I have an impeccable record here…and you’re in a rather vulnerable spot right now, with this big case just given to you. Let’s just say…we can help each other. You want something from me and I can give that to you, along with helping you with this case. We both win. The firm wins.”
Melody shook her head. “No, I don’t play that game.” She tried to stand, but Ryan remained perched on the edge of the table, not giving her room to stand.
“I think we should schedule some time to go over the file, don’t you?” Ryan glanced at his watch. “It’s late, almost quitting time…how about coming back tonight? We could go over your notes…”
“No…” Melody was still shaking her head. What was this? This wasn’t the Ryan she’d known, the mentor she’d grown to trust.
“Why are you doing this?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“I want you…to succeed.” Ryan slid off the table, opening the door to his office. “Think about it, Melody. Let me know tomorrow how you want to proceed.”
Melody shuffled her papers together with shaking hands, dropping her pen in her haste to leave Ryan’s office. He bent to retrieve it, holding it out to Melody. She regarded it warily, as if it might bite, clutching her files to her chest. Ryan laughed, setting the pen on the table.
“We’ll start tomorrow then. I see you’re not really in the right mind-set for my help right now. I want a willing partner on my team, not someone who’s indecisive.”
Ryan placed a hand on Melody’s back, guiding her toward the open door. For a brief moment, his fingers slid lower, caressing her hip with firm fingers.
Melody was suddenly aware of the sounds of the office outside Ryan’s door, the others who were leaving for the day, walking past the open door. She saw Lori at her desk, holding her purse, watching as Ryan and Melody walked past her cubicle.
“See you tomorrow, Ryan.” Lori caught Melody’s eye, a frown passing briefly over her face. “Good-night, Melody.”
“See you bright and early, Lori. We’ll have the MacKenzie case to work on tomorrow so you can plan for that.”
Ryan walked Melody to the elevators. “You know, I’ve been thinking. We should use Lori for this case, not Melissa.”
Melody opened her mouth but Ryan went on. “She’s more experienced and lately, well, Melissa’s been all over the place. And she’s clearly ineffective when it comes to working with someone of Logan’s magnitude.” Ryan shook his head. “Sad…I thought she had promise.”
The elevator arrived and Melody hurried into the car, pressing the button for her floor. She panicked briefly, thinking Ryan was going to ride down with her, but he remained on his floor. She watched him disappear behind the doors of the elevator, finally taking a deep breath.
Melissa was already gone when Melody got back to her office. One less confrontation for today, thank heavens.
How was she going to tell Melissa she was off the case? Melody’s head was swirling. She sat at her desk, the case file spread in front of her. Logan’s case.
“Oh, god. Logan…dinner.” She glanced at her watch. It was still early, she had time to get home, change out of her business suit and get a cab back to meet Logan. She gave a rueful laugh. Never thought I’d be looking forward to seeing Logan MacKenzie.
* * *
Melody was still late, arriving breathlessly at the restaurant. She stood at the maître d’ station, restlessly scanning the dark restaurant, looking for Logan among the seated diners. She jumped when someone touched her arm, as a warm breath brushed against her cheek.
“You’re late, but still a welcome sight.” His voice was soft against her ear.
She turned, looking up at Logan. “Oh…you scared me.”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to. You’re a bit skittish, no? Is it me, or something else?” He nodded over her head, steering her after the retreating back of the maître d’ as the man lead them to their table.
She waited until they were seated before she spoke. “Surprisingly, it’s not just you.”
Logan glanced at the wine list, ordering something Melody didn’t catch. The waiter returned with the bottle, pouring Logan a glass of the deep, red win. He took a sip, nodded and the waiter poured a glass for Melody. She took a long swallow of hers, scowling as Logan grinned at her.
“On your way to getting wrecked again? I’ll not be responsible for you…or what I might do to you…if you do.”
Melody shook her head. “No, if you mean am I getting drunk. It’s been a long, strange day. I needed a drink, and this is really good.” She set the glass on the table, noticing there was far less in it than when she’d first picked it up.
Slow down, Melody… or you’ll be right back to where you were last time.
“And I suspect I was the start of it?” Logan took a sip of wine. “Couldn’t have been easy for you to find me at your office, knowing how you feel about me.”