Her father had been taking on clients who couldn’t pay their bills. For a man who had always been motivated by money, it made no sense.
As she walked through the medical complex, Lindsey wondered if she should tell her father about her meeting with Mark, and decided against it. Bringing up a replacement for Mark seemed an even worse idea. But sometime soon it would have to be discussed. Lindsey found her father sitting in the courtyard, a large elm tree offering him shade.
When he spotted her, a tired smile turned up the corners of his mouth. “Hi, Lindsey. What a surprise. I’m so happy you came.”
Lindsey bent down and kissed his cheek. It baffled her, the way he pretended three years of silence between them had never occurred. She forced a half smile to her lips. This place reminded her of her mother’s car accident, and her death. Of the bedside prayers for her recovery.
“How do you feel, Daddy?”
As she waited for his answer, she examined him more closely. The cancer treatments were taking a toll. His hair was sparse, and he was too thin. The remaining hair that had seemed only peppered with gray on her last visit now seemed to be a cap of silver. She didn’t want to think about him dying. She swallowed hard against the pain and fear. They might not have a good relationship, but facing his death wouldn’t be easy. In fact, their strained relationship might make it harder.
She needed to make peace with him. And she would. Soon.
He reached for her hand. “I’m better now that you are here.” Not a man who showed affection, his action took her off-guard. Her chest tightened with emotion. What was with the sudden change of temperament? God, was he going to die soon and he just wasn’t telling her? Trying to act calm and controlled, she forced light conversation, afraid to hear an answer to the question buzzing through her head. “Aren’t you hot out here? Do you want me to roll your chair inside?”
He patted her hand. “No, I asked the nurse to bring me out for some sun.” He pointed at a woman who stood several feet away, and a scowl filled his face. “She watches me like I’m a child or something.”
Lindsey almost laughed. Here was the Edward Paxton she knew. His bad temperament made her tension ease a bit. “She is just doing her job, Daddy.”
He flicked a sneer at the woman and then lifted his gaze to Lindsey. “I know honey. I just wish she wasn’t so damn irritating as she did it.” He paused a minute. “Anyway, it’s so good to have you back home again.”
Lindsey opened her mouth to speak and then clamped it shut again. This wasn’t the time to tell him this wasn’t her home anymore. “How are the treatments going?”
His response was cranky. “My stomach feels like I swallowed rocks, my head is almost bald, and I am stuck in this damn place. How do you think they are going?” Then he started coughing to the point that he hunched over and seemed to gag.
Lindsey looked towards the nurse in nervous desperation. She hurried towards them. Her father got a glimpse of her movement and pointed at her. “No, I am fine.” He coughed again, and scowled at her. The nurse looked at him with a keen eye, and then stepped back to her original spot. Lindsey suspected she had backed off only because his coughing had subsided.
He settled back in his chair. “How are things at the firm, Lindsey?”
“Oh fine, I guess,” she said, not up to the conflict of saying otherwise. Not after his little attack. “Ms. Moore hasn’t changed a bit. I love her as much as ever.”
He smiled softly at the mention of his long-term assistant, surprising Lindsey once again with the play of emotions in his usually cold eyes. “Yes, she loves you too. Change She’s always asking about you. How’s everyone else at the office?”
Lindsey leaned her bottom against the tree trunk. “Fine,” she said with a shrug. “As far as I can tell. You know I really haven’t had time to figure out much of anything.”
He nodded and coughed again. “Yes, I suppose that’s true.”
She cleared her throat. “Daddy, I do have a few questions.”
His eyes narrowed. “Ask away.” His tone was cautious, contradicting the lightness of his words.
“Tell me why you think Williams is innocent.”
He seemed to relax, his shoulders dropping a bit as if he had been holding himself stiff, waiting on her first question. “For one thing, the evidence is circumstantial. In my opinion, our wonderful police force had a lot of public pressure and needed someone to call guilty. He is as much a victim as the murdered girls.” He looked at Lindsey’s darkened expression and added, “Well, not as much of a victim, of course, considering he’s alive and they aren’t.”
Lindsey nodded and pushed away from the tree, dropping to the grass Indian style, glad she had on slacks. Her expression was thoughtful as she pushed her fingers into the grass beneath her. “But there hasn’t been another victim since he was arrested, correct?”
He grimaced. “Oh, come now, Lindsey, surely you don’t think that means anything? Any smart person would take the arrest as a sure-fire way to get the heat off. I suspect the real killer moved along to another state or is simply sitting back laughing.”
“He? Are you sure it’s a he?”
“The police profile says yes.” Ticking off items with his fingers, he went on, “White male, mid-twenties, likely to have a middle class background, white collar. Autopsy reports support the profile.”
Lindsey took in the information, feeling an odd familiarity to the Hudson case. She sucked in a deep breath and then exhaled before continuing. If her father noticed, he didn’t show it. “That said, have you gotten any certain evidence of his innocence?”
“Very little so far, I’m sorry to say. I fell ill just after taking the case.” He started to cough again.
Lindsey hated the gruff-sounding cough. Leaning forward on her knees, she patted his back. “Daddy, are you okay?”
“Yes, yes fine. Stop acting like a worrywart. Now, back to Williams. I wouldn’t have taken it if I didn’t feel he was innocent. Have you reviewed the file?”
Lindsey moved to a squat position, feeling a nervous need to reposition herself, and then leaned back on the heels of her feet. “Not in detail,” she said, and quickly thought up an excuse so he wouldn’t guess she had been avoiding the case. “I haven’t had time. Just wondered what your thoughts were, is all.”
He frowned and succinctly reprimanded her. “Don’t you think you need to get the man’s defense going?”
Lindsey clamped her jaws together. He had a lot of nerve acting as if she was slouching on a job she didn’t even want. Irritated, she blurted out her next question. Speaking without thought wasn’t her style. But then she wasn’t quite herself, and she knew it. “Why did you part ways with Mark Reeves?”
His eyes darkened. “I don’t want to talk about that man. Not now. Not ever.”
So much for tact, thought Lindsey. Now he was defensive. “Wouldn’t he be far more qualified than me to fill in for you? I haven’t practiced law in years.”
He shot her a look that would have most people squirming. For Lindsey it was just another one of his ways of intimidation that no longer affected her. “I refuse to have this conversation. Mark Reeves is out of the picture. Next question.”
Her response was quick. She wasn’t his little yes-girl any longer. “I want to finish with this subject first. Why not ask Mark Reeves to return?”
“Is this why you came here, to stir up a subject better left closed?” he demanded.
“You have a lot of time invested in Mark Reeves,” she said, ignoring his question.
He snorted. “Wasted time.”
Lindsey eyed him intently. “He’s a good man. I need to understand what happened.”
He waved a dismissive hand. “How would you know? You don’t even know the man.”
She sighed. This wasn’t going to be pretty, but she might as well get all the ugly out in the open and done with at once. “I’ve met him Daddy, and I know people. He is a good guy. Besides, just his reputation alone says he
is an honest, hardworking man.”
His eyes widened. “What do you mean you have met him?”
She shut her eyes a minute, grasping for patience before continuing, “It really isn’t relevant how I met him.” She gave him a hard stare. “Make me understand why I am here doing what he should be doing.”
His face was pale, and his breathing rapid. “Lindsey, enough. We concluded our relationship on a sour note—the end. If you’re such a damn good judge of character, stop blaming yourself for Hudson, and do what you’re supposed to do. Run the damn firm.”
Lindsey flinched. That was a low blow even for him. Anything to get his way. “I’m not taking over the firm, so I suggest you reconsider your position on Mark.”
He crossed his arms in front of his body. “You belong here. Your home is in Manhattan.”
She shook her head and pushed to her feet. “My home is in Washington.”
He pointed at her, anger making his ears redden. His pale face seemed more chalk-like against their brightness. “You have responsibilities here, and you need to live up to them.”
The nurse appeared at his side. Lindsey hadn’t even noticed her approach. “Mr. Paxton, it’s not good for you to get so upset. I’m afraid we need to break this up. You need your rest.”
Not wanting to listen to her father chastise the nurse, she spoke before he could. “Fine, I’ll leave.” Lindsey touched his shoulder, guilt over upsetting him twisting in her stomach. “Get some rest. I’ll check on you tomorrow.”
By phone, she thought, and turned and walked away before he could say another word. She couldn’t count on her control any longer. Distance. She needed distance from the suffocating pressure she was feeling.
Chapter Three
Her elbow hit the coffee mug, and it plunged into her lap.
Lindsey jumped as the hot liquid splashed her skin and seeped into her dress. “Great! Just great.” She reached for a tissue in the top desk drawer. “Figures,” she mumbled grumpily. “Bad day, bad luck, bad everything.”
She blotted at the moisture on the silky material for a moment and then dropped her elbows to her desk, letting her face fall into her hands. She needed a minute. It had been a long night of no sleep, her thoughts and emotions raw from her argument with her father. Sighing heavily, she yanked more napkins from the drawer and stood up. Tugging at her dress, she lifted the damp cloth away from her skin.
“Need some help?” A deep, masculine voice came from nowhere, it seemed. Lindsey jumped yet again, one hand flying to her chest.
She looked up to find Mark Reeves standing in the doorway. Her eyes went wide at the sight he made. Sexy, powerful, and far too attractive for Lindsey’s comfort, he seemed to fill the room with his presence. A warm awareness danced along her nerve endings. This man got to her without even trying.
She had forgotten what it was like to have sex—until now. Mark sent vivid, not-so-pure thoughts, racing through her mind. Just being near him seemed to remind every inch of her body what she had been missing the past few years. She wasn’t immune to her carnal needs. They just hadn’t been stimulated.
Until now.
He wore a well-tailored blue suit with a powder blue tie. In some cases, a suit made the man. In this case, the man definitely made the suit. Looking like something out of GQ magazine seemed to come natural for him. Only he was flesh and blood and standing in her office. He was like a piece of Godiva chocolate, perfectly wrapped, and she was quite certain, even sweeter unwrapped.
“I take it I pass inspection?” he said, leaning a shoulder against the doorframe. The amusement in his voice made her eyes dart to his face.
A tinge of red filled her cheeks. Busted. Damn. Chewing her bottom lip, she tried to muster up a good response. What was it about this man that made her lose good sense? Trying to sound as normal as possible, she grasped for words but faltered. “Sorry, you look so, so . . .” she paused, wondering why she had forgotten how to use the vocabulary she had spent years of schooling to develop. Where was the cool attorney who could ice an ice princess in the courtroom?
Mark raised an inquiring brow, a challenge twinkling in his eyes.
She cleared her throat. “Different,” she finished. “I didn’t mean to . . .” She paused again. To, what? Dream about seeing you naked? Admire your hot body? What, Lindsey?
He laughed softly. “I didn’t mind.”
* * * * *
Any apprehension Mark had felt about coming back through the doors of Paxton was gone the minute he saw Lindsey again.
She needed him.
For some insane reason, that really mattered. There was simply something about her that called out to him. He’d seen the torment in her eyes when he’d watched her from the door. Before she had ever known he was there.
His eyes traveled her body in a slow inspection. Soft white skin peeked out of her black dress in perfect contrast. Even the dark smudges under her eyes couldn’t hide the perfection of her complexion. Her dress was simple, but a woman like Lindsey didn’t need a lot of frills. The soft material fell over her slim waist, accenting her luscious curves.
She was gorgeous, plain and simple. But her appeal came from inside out. His eyes moved back to her face. She was blushing. How many women, who had seen the things Lindsey had seen, could still blush? A woman with many facets, he thought, and he would love to unfold each and every one of them.
“What are you doing here?” She asked the question and then averted her gaze, feigning all-consuming interest in her already mopped-up dress.
He was making her nervous. “I was invited, remember?” He sauntered towards the middle of the room, watching her, trying to decide how to approach her. She was on edge, ready to attack.
“You declined,” she said in a clipped tone. Swiping the tissues at her dress one last time, she tossed them into the trash.
“I’ve changed my mind,” he said as he propped himself on the arm of a chair directly in front of the desk, remaining at eye level with her.
Lindsey’s eyes jerked up to his face, her eyes narrowing. “Why?”
He chuckled softly. “You get right to the point, don’t you?”
She just stared at him with those amazing green eyes. Damn, this woman got to him. He let one brow inch upward. “I thought this is what you wanted?”
Suspicion clouded her gaze. “It was,” she agreed reluctantly. “But you made your position abundantly clear. You said you wouldn’t come back, period. You don’t strike me as a man who changes his mind without good reason.”
“I guess that means I have a good reason.”
She rested one hand on the desk, palm down, peering at him with intent. “Which is?”
She killed him. In a good way. She practically begged for his help, and now she demanded to know why he offered it. “Does it matter?”
There was a brief silence as she thought about his question. “Yes, I think it might.”
He was here for her, plain and simple. She wasn’t ready to hear that anymore than he was willing to say it. “My reasons are my reasons. You have what you wanted. I’m here, aren’t I?”
He was attracted to Lindsey, but his reasons for being here were so much more immense. The shadows and fear he’d seen, still saw, in her eyes, had haunted him for days. She wouldn’t like that, he was certain.
Lindsey’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, you are, aren’t you?” Uneasiness laced her tone. “You were adamant you wouldn’t come back to Paxton. Make me understand your change of heart.”
Mark was careful to keep his expression blank. Lindsey didn’t want to need anyone. But she needed him. He didn’t know why he knew this. He just did. He also knew she wouldn’t take his help if he made it seem as if he thought she was weak.
Giving her another reason seemed critical. A strategy formed in his mind. “Okay, if you must know, I care about my reputation. After some thought, I’ve decided the link between me and this place could hurt my consulting business, if I don’t step in and get it under control.?
??
He gave himself a silent pat on the back for giving her such a damn good excuse.
She gave him a measuring stare. “So you’re here to protect your reputation?”
“Right.”
“So you’ll take the firm back?” She seemed skeptical.
He gave her another single, cool nod. “Under certain conditions.”
She sat down behind the massive desk, as if she wanted the barrier between them. “Ah.” She gave him a knowing look. “I figured there was a catch.” Her arms crossed in front of her body as she leaned back in her chair.
Waiting.
He arched a brow. “Did you now?”
He saw a flash of frustration in her eyes. “Mark, please don’t play games with me. I can’t take games right now.”
His eyes softened. He loved hearing her say his name. Everything male in him wanted to grab her and pull her into his arms and tell her everything would work out. But that wasn’t what she needed. She needed help getting Paxton back in shape, and she needed help bringing her life back in order. “Here is what I’m willing to offer. I’ll come back.” He let his words linger in the air for several moments before adding, “But for no longer than six months.”
Lindsey started to object, but he held up a staying hand. When he knew she was listening again, he continued, “I will mentor you to take back over the firm. A lot has changed since you were last here. We’ll rebuild it together, and most importantly, I’ll help you with the Williams case.”
She sat up, hands on the edge of her chair, anger in her tone. “I don’t want to be mentored for a job I don’t even want,” she blurted quickly, her face filled with exasperation.
He looked at her, completely unscathed by her declaration. He had expected as much. “Look Lindsey, if you choose to leave after the six months, that’s your choice. This way you’ll know what you need to know to pass along the gauntlet. And don’t forget, you’ll have Williams behind you by then.”
“No,” she said. No compromise in her tone.