Rhyme

by Lexy Timms

  “Here you are.” Ryan handed the folder back to Lori. “Are you filing this now?”

  “Yes. In the next hour or so. I’ll email you the confirmation.”

  As she left, Lori gave another pointed glance in Olivia’s direction. What’s with her today? Am I on everyone’s black list.

  Ryan returned to the table, leaving the door open. Olivia was wary, but for the next half hour he discussed the Graham-Ashton case, laying out a strategy for her to follow in interviewing Logan.

  “I think you should schedule that interview soon,” he said as the conversation wrapped up. “Tomorrow, if possible. I suspect that you know how to reach Mr. Graham on such short notice?”

  Olivia grimaced at Ryan’s condescending tone but chose to ignore it. “Yes. I’ll have Victoria make the arrangements and let you know.”

  She rose, turning toward the door. Ryan followed. The heat of his body was too close, and as she stepped out of his office she felt his hand briefly brush against her hip. She took a quick step out of reach.

  “Remember,” Ryan said, making her turn back to look at him. “I want you to succeed on this case just as much as you do. Make sure you’re not doing anything to jeopardize that.”

  Olivia gave him a sharp nod, then turned and hurried toward the elevators, ignoring the way two pairs of eyes followed her as she went.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Logan had checked into a small hotel not far from Olivia’s office. She met him there after work, excited to see him again, though she was still in a prickly mood instigated by Ryan and his latest advances.

  “I had room service send something up for dinner,” Logan said as she dropped her purse and coat on the couch. “I think it’s best if we stay out of sight for a time, rather than give Ashton any more ammunition for his case.”

  Olivia walked into his open arms, nuzzling against his chest to breath in the warm, clean smells of aftershave and soap, and the underlying scent of Logan himself: rich and utterly masculine.

  “I think you’re brilliant.” She smiled up at him, taking in the lines of his face, his dark eyes, his sensuous mouth. She wanted to commit every part of him to her memory, so that even when they were apart the picture of him would be clear in her mind. Out of habit that was maybe becoming something of an obsession, she traced his lips with her fingers.

  He looked more rested than he had in days, she thought, but there was still worry and tension in his eyes, in the way he held his mouth. The case, and especially the breakup of the band, which he had yet to talk about, were weighing on him. With a guilty twist in her stomach, Olivia realized that the business with Ryan must be too.

  Logan leaned down to kiss her, and Olivia tipped her face up to him, her eyes closing. For a moment, all thoughts of the case and Ashton and Ryan left her mind. When he broke the kiss, she sighed.

  “I wish we could just stay here, in a cocoon, for a long, long time.”

  “Aye. I’d gladly agree. But we’re stuck with what we have at the moment: a case and a jackass.” He huffed a laugh. “Actually, two jackasses.”

  “That reminds me. Did you get a call from the office? From my paralegal? Ryan wants to interview you as soon as possible.”

  “She did call. Left a message.” Logan pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, scrolling through the messages. “I wanted to ask you about it before I agreed. Make sure I wasn’t being set up again.” He gave her a wry grin. “I’m not particularly fond of being set up by that man.”

  Olivia watched as he searched for the message, scowling briefly at his phone.

  “Here it is.” He set the phone on the coffee table, and they listened to Victoria’s voice.

  When the recording had run through, Logan stuck the phone back in his pocket.”

  “Call in the morning and take the meeting,” Olivia said. “It’ll be at one o’clock and in Ryan’s office. Lori will probably come get you from reception to bring you upstairs.”

  “And you’ll already be there?” Logan’s tone was somber. “Alone in that room with him until I arrive?”

  Olivia sighed. “Not for long. I’ll stay in my own office until the absolute last minute. Believe me, I don’t want to spend any more time around him than I have to.”

  Logan sat back on the couch, pulling her in close. “It drives me mad thinking of you there, with him, every day. Knowing what he’s doing, what he’s trying to do to you, it’s hard to take, mo chridhe.”

  She leaned into Logan’s shoulder, wrapping an arm across his chest. “It can’t be that much longer. I just have to keep my head down and work the case. Eventually he’ll slip up or give up.”

  They ate by candlelight, the distant rumble of thunder and the brief flashes of lightning lending a sense of anticipation to the already romantic meal. After dinner, Logan carried one tall candlestick into the bedroom, setting it on the night stand.

  In the candlelight, and in silence, Logan slowly undressed Olivia, taking his time with each piece of clothing. She could feel his eyes moving over her body as he uncovered her, looking at her with something like awe. The gentleness in his gaze, the love for her so plain in his every motion, brought tears to her eyes. Logan looked puzzled, pulling her against him, his lips tracing the track of a tear that rolled down her cheek.

  “Did you know that tears of happiness are chemically different from tears of anger?” He murmured the words against her neck. Olivia suppressed a small, sudden giggle.

  “No. I didn’t. And why do you?”

  Logan straightened, looking into her eyes. “I read on the road. Picked it up somewhere. These...” He ran a finger over her cheek. “Are tears of happiness.”

  Olivia raised an eyebrow. “You can tell?”

  “Aye. They taste like happiness. They taste like you. And I have no reason to doubt that you’re happy. Am I right?”

  “You’re right,” Olivia agreed, smiling. “Very right.”

  Logan picked her up, settling her on the bed. Images from their first night together came flooding back. The heady feeling of being with this strange man, not thinking at all about anything but the look of him standing naked beside the bed. The confidence he exuded, the blatant sex appeal. All of which pointed to the promise of a fantastic night of sex...and nothing more.

  But here she was, in love with him. And he loved her. That took her breath away and made everything that was happening to her at the office fade into the distance. With Logan here, in bed with her, his body pressed against hers, there was nothing else she needed or wanted.

  Their lovemaking was long and slow, the candle melting down into long fingers of wax, then finally guttering out and leaving them illuminated only by intermittent flashes of lightning.

  Sometime toward morning, as Olivia held Logan tight in her arms, the force of his release taking her breath away, she was carried along with him, on the strength of his passion, the movement of his body leading hers, sending her on a spinning ride of her own.

  They clung to each other for a long time, breath rasping from their throats, finally coming down from their shared high. Gradually, they untangled themselves: moving apart, rearranging and finding each other again. Eventually settling into comfortably entwined arms and legs.

  Olivia was drifting, warm and relaxed, enjoying the magical sensation of not knowing where her limbs ended and Logan’s began.

  But after some time, she realized Logan was still awake.

  “Is something wrong? You’re not asleep.”

  “I’m thinking about the band,” Logan admitted. “About the breakup of the band, more to the point.” She could hear the echo of sadness in his voice.

  “You haven’t said anything about the band since we left Scotland,” Olivia said, curling closer to him, her voice soft.

  “It’s hard. One of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”

  “You’ve known them a long time. It must have been like a betrayal, when they broke away.”

  Logan shifted beneath her. “No. You’ve got it tur
ned about. It wasn’t that they broke up with me. It was me that broke up with them.”

  Olivia turned toward Logan. In the soft light from the window, she could see his face, watched as he stared up at the ceiling.

  “Why, Logan? I thought you were trying to hold them all together.”

  “I was. But in the end, it was like keeping a relationship together just because it’s always been. Even if it’s broken.” He swallowed and went on. “And we were broken, leannon. We weren’t playing music because we loved it. We were playing because it was expected. There was no joy in it. We knew it and the fans knew it. London was sold out, but when they left the crowd was disappointed and so were we.”

  Logan sighed heavily. “And so I told them one more show. At home. Where they love us for us and the music is second. And the show was good, because we were playing for our families, and for the memories of who we were before the fame and the changes and the split.”

  Olivia felt Logan reaching for her hand, finding it and pulling it against his chest. “I knew you were there, at the Ironworks. I saw you walk in. But I couldn’t face you until I’d faced my fans.”

  She took a deep breath, steadying her voice. Logan needed her comfort, not the other way around. “I’m so sorry. That night must have been torture for you.”

  “It was hard. But it’s in the past. I have you now. And the band... I love them like brothers. But Colin and Duff are mad at me. Probably will be for some time. Angus was the only one to see it my way.”

  Olivia reached up with her free hand to curl her palm against his cheek, and he turned his face into the touch.

  “What are you going to do for music, then? Are you going to go solo?”

  He moved beneath her, shifting his arm to pull her closer against his chest. “No. Not for the moment. I think I’d like to just make it through this mess with Ashton before I think about it.

  “And I’d like to get to know you, Olivia. Spend my days and nights with you, having nothing but time for us.”

  The smile was there in his voice, though it was still touched with sadness. She leaned over, her mouth seeking his and finding it. The longing she’d come to expect was gone. There was only desire in the kiss, only passion and hunger, and it thrilled her to the core knowing it was for her. He held her against his chest, his hands sliding down her back and caressing her skin, sending shivers along her spine.

  Logan rolled over, pinning her deliciously beneath his weight. “You’re an amazement to me, Olivia. You truly are. I count my lucky stars that we’re here now, together. An I keep hoping and praying everything that stands in front of us gets resolved as well. That we can be together without all of that nonsense hanging over our heads.”

  Before she could answer, he claimed her mouth again in a kiss that left her gasping. And then he was doing things that had both of them breathless.

  The thunder rumbled and flashes of light cast shadows in their room, but neither noticed the storm raging on outside.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The storm had passed and the sun had just started tinting the gray sky shades of pink when Olivia finally fell asleep. Just a few hours later, the alarm woke her. As much as she longed to remain in bed with Logan, there were things that needed to be done.

  She woke Logan, barely able to resist his attempts to lure her back to bed as she stood by the side of the mattress, clutching her robe together. Logan was lazily tugging at the sash with one hand, the other caressing her thigh. She pulled the sash away from him and backed up from the bed.

  “I need to be at work and you need to make a phone call. I want this interview scheduled for today. You know how important it is.”

  Logan propped himself up against the head of the bed, the sheet draped across his lap. His hair was tousled, his eyes still heavy-lidded with sleep. She bit her lip, wavering for a moment before resolutely turning toward the bathroom. His reach laugh made her smile, and then the chirp of his cell phone interrupted them.

  She looked back, watching as he climbed out of bed and retrieved the phone from the coffee table. He swiped a thumb across the screen and glanced down at it before setting the phone aside. Olivia hadn’t moved from her place. She might have been staring.

  He glanced up at her, a seductive smile on his face. Olivia’s knees went weak.

  “Exerting your will power today, mo chridhe?”

  She fled to the bathroom, closing the door behind her and letting herself lean against it, a smile on her lips. If he only knew.

  AN HOUR LATER, OLIVIA was at her desk, dressed in an impeccable suit—crisp and professional. She’d taken extra care in getting dressed, wanting to project just the right image for her meeting with Logan and Ryan.

  The morning dragged on as she waited for either Lori or Victoria to send an invitation to the meeting. Despite her resolution not to, she bit her nails, anxious to call Logan to make sure he’d made the phone call, but he’d said she would and she was going to trust him. Maybe Ryan’s not in today. Or has another meeting.

  It was well after ten o’clock when the ping of her computer made her jump. She clicked on the message and resisted the urge to do a fist-pump. The interview with Logan was set for three o’clock that afternoon. Again, she resisted the urge to call him.

  Since the night Ryan had shown up at her door when she’d been expecting Logan, she’d thought long and hard about just how he knew Logan would be there, right down to the specific time. Ran had even had the nerve to repeat her conversation with Logan back to her. Either he’d been lurking outside her door, or he’d been listening in on her phone calls. That, or he had a spy in the office.

  Olivia shook her head. Am I really that paranoid? She probably was, but it was definitely justified.

  Victoria was in and out of her office periodically, dropping off files, helping Olivia organize her desk. Even though Olivia had initially had reservations about her, Victoria was proving to be quite perceptive, quickly picking up on Olivia’s routine.

  It occurred to her that she had never called Melissa. Olivia froze with a page half-turned in her hand. What kind of friend was she, that she had abandoned someone she was close to just because she was a little busy in her own life?

  She’d have to make it up to her. A gift. Dinner out. A long, heartfelt conversation. Just as soon as she got home, she promised herself, she would call.

  The clock seemed to stop completely after lunch, crawling toward three with all the speed of a hungover sloth. Olivia was so on edge she finally banished Victoria from her office, giving her a complaint to type, even though it was clear Victoria wasn’t yet ready to handle a document that complex.

  Just before three, Olivia grabbed her legal pad and pen and stepped out of her office.

  “I’m heading up to Ryan’s office for the interview with Logan Graham,” she said, heading for the elevator.

  “Wait. I’ll ride up with you.”

  Olivia turned back. “Ride with me where?”

  “Mr. Marshall asked that I sit in on the interview.”

  Olivia was stunned. “I thought he didn’t want you sitting in yet. When did that change?”

  “Oh, well, he said that this case was pretty important and I could learn a great deal by sitting in.”

  What kind of game was Ryan playing? Olivia frowned at Victoria. “Well, I’d prefer that you stay here and work on that complaint I gave you to type. The Graham-Ashton case is in mid-stream right now. I’m not sure how much you’ll pick up coming in this late. The next case, you’ll be involved from the start.”

  Victoria hesitate, clearly torn between conflicting directions. But her phone rang, and she turned back to her desk. Olivia took the opportunity and quickly walked to the elevator.

  Ryan’s door was ajar, and she knocked lightly. He was standing by the window and turned, his charming smile already in place.

  “Olivia. Right on time. Can’t say the same for our client, though, can we?”

  Olivia stepped into Ryan’s office. As she
was closing the door behind her, she glanced up, catching the startled expression on Lori’s face. She had the overwhelming urge to wink at the woman but managed to control herself.

  She walked forward, dropping her pad and pen on the table. Then she undid the single button on the front of her suit jacket, sliding the garment off and draping it over the back of a chair.

  The blouse Olivia wore wasn’t particularly provocative by most standards. When she had Logan had discussed the plan over dinner the night before, she’d decided it would be better to give as much appearance of propriety as possible. If Ryan was going down, there wouldn’t be any ambiguity about it.

  But although the deep blue button-up was workplace appropriate, Olivia knew just how good she looked in it. The sleek silk accented the curves of her breasts, the line of her throat. She’d left just one button undone. Just enough to tease.

  Ryan’s eyes widened slightly, moving down slowly over her body. They lingered on her breasts. Her hips. The skirt of her suit was tight, and she knew it hugged every curve. She perched on the edge of the table, legs crossed demurely, and pretended not to know that when the skirt rode up it showed the barest flash of lace where her stocking tops started.

  “He called and left a message with Victoria. Some kind of problem with his band. He’s going to be a little later, closer to four o’clock.”

  Her boss’ blue eyes snapped back to her face. Olivia pushed away from the table, back arching with the motion. The silk of the blouse slid against her breasts. Ryan’s hungry gaze drifted downward.

  “I’m glad he’s late. It gives me a chance to talk to you for a minute.”

  Olivia had berated herself for being so passive. For freezing when Ryan approached her, letting her concern for her career keep her from knocking his hands away when he laid them on her. She still regretted it. But it did have one advantage. It had made Ryan complacent.

  He was so sure of victory, she thought as he stepped in closer. So certain that he could never be toppled from his place at the pinnacle of the firm. But all it took to lose a case was a single slip.