Second Time Lucky

by Debbi Rawlins

  She stared blankly at him, the memory of last week fading like an old, mistreated photograph. Had he listened to her at all? “Whose idea was this?”

  He hesitated. “My father’s. Harrison and Peter also are in agreement. We’re all in agreement,” he corrected.

  “I don’t understand.” She shook her head again, overwhelmed with confusion, thoughts swirling and crashing in her head. “Why?”

  “You’re a brilliant attorney. We simply want you back.”

  The old David sat before her, professional, stoic, too rigid, as if one tiny slip would expose him, that he’d give her a glimpse of the man who’d made passionate love to her and picked macadamia nuts out of his ice cream. “I’ve barely spoken to your father or your uncle in the three years I worked there.”

  “Trust me, they keep abreast of everything that goes on at Pearson and Stern, including associates’ performances.”

  “I can understand offering a raise to get someone back, but a promotion? Karen, Ron and Steve have all been there longer than me. What would they say about this?”

  “May I assume from your concern that you’re considering our offer?” He sat there, waiting, his dark unfathomable eyes giving nothing away.

  She stared back, clenching her teeth, her anger growing. “You know what, David, screw you. Or sorry, maybe I should call you ‘Mr. Pearson’.”

  Regret flickered in his face. “Mia.” He started to reach for her hand again, but clearly saw he wasn’t welcome and stopped himself.

  She folded her hands in her lap under the table. A horrible, devastating thought suddenly occurred to her. Fear tripped her up and she didn’t know if she had the guts to ask the question. No, she couldn’t ignore it. “Did you know about the offer before Hawaii?”

  Not so much as an eyelash moved. “Yes.”

  For a second she thought she was going to be sick. Even if she wanted to hurl an accusation at him, she couldn’t speak.

  “My going to Hawaii had nothing to do with the firm. That was strictly personal.” His composure faltered. A hint of desperation echoed in the deep resonance of his voice. “I wanted to be with you, Mia. Please believe that.”

  She wanted to believe him, and a part of her did. She was a good judge of character, and she’d known him a long time. David was an honorable man. Still, he’d given up so much of himself for the firm. It wouldn’t be a leap to give them up, as well. “You knew you’d eventually be making the offer, and if I were to accept, where would that leave us?”

  “I admit, that’s tricky. More for the sake of office morale than anything, we’d have to keep our relationship private.”

  “Who knew you went to Hawaii?”

  “My father and Harrison.”

  “Did they know it was personal?” she asked, feeling as if she were being torn in half, and resenting his ability to keep his reactions under such tight control.

  “I didn’t spell it out, no.”

  So they likely thought the sweet-talking to lure her back was all part of the job, and for all she knew, it had been. The pain of that thought cut so deep it hurt just to breathe.

  “Off the record, I didn’t want to make this offer, but I virtually had no choice.”

  “Really?” She scoffed. He’d had a choice. They both knew that.

  Yet the agony in his face looked real. “What I’m about to tell you is strictly confidential. We’ve had some setbacks at the firm. For reasons that have nothing to do with our performance, two of our largest clients are jumping ship.”

  “Who?” she asked, stunned.

  “I’d rather not go into details. There’s been no official announcement yet.”

  After all they’d shared in Hawaii, his secrecy hurt. “Then how can you afford to offer me a raise and a promotion?”

  “A potential new client has asked for you to manage their estate, which includes a very large charitable foundation.”

  “What? Who? I don’t do estate planning.”

  “They won’t identify themselves unless we meet their terms. Unfortunately, you’re a deal-breaker.”

  She shook her head, still confused over who would make such a demand. “I have my own commitments—”

  “What about coming in part-time?”

  Mia’s brain could barely handle the stream of information. But one thing registered clearly. The firm was desperate, so was David. And sadly, desperate men did desperate things.

  14

  “I DON’T REMEMBER THIS PLACE being so small,” Shelby said, trailing Mia through the loft. “Good thing all my stuff is going straight to storage.”

  “Our names are on a list for a three-bedroom, but it’s going to be a while.” Mia sidestepped Lindsey’s enormous suitcase and led Shelby into the tiny second bedroom, or so named by the landlord. Mia had seen bigger walk-in closets.

  “It’s not as if we’ll be at home much.” Shelby shrugged. “When did Lindsey get here?”

  “About twenty minutes ago. She went to get us coffee.”

  Shelby studied the small room. “How are we divvying up space?”

  “I figured we’d discuss it when Lindsey got back.”

  “She talk to you about Rick?”

  Mia shook her head. “Like I said, she hasn’t been here long.”

  “She’s still being really secretive. I think she may be putting up a front. She say anything at all to you?”

  They heard the front door open and then Lindsey call out, “It’s just me. I have coffee and lattes.”

  “Caffeine. Good.” Mia massaged her left temple as they went to meet Lindsey in the kitchen. She really didn’t want to talk about their friend’s love problems because that meant the conversation would inevitably turn to David, and Mia so wasn’t ready for that to happen. Not that she had much choice. She had a decision to make, and it involved her friends.

  Lindsey’s blond hair was tied back in a haphazard ponytail, the darkness under her eyes making her look as bad as Mia felt. “Did you just get here?” Lindsey asked Shelby.

  “Yep. Traffic was brutal.”

  “You’re going to be so sorry you brought that cute little Mustang convertible of yours.”

  “That’s right,” Shelby said. “Rub it in.”

  Lindsey grinned, looking as if she hadn’t a care in the world. So maybe everything was good with Rick. Somehow that didn’t make Mia feel better, and being a bitch by not sharing in her friend’s happiness made her feel even worse.

  The throbbing at Mia’s temple grew worse. She grabbed a coffee Lindsey had set on the counter. “Guys, I know you just got here, but there’s something I have to discuss with you.”

  “Uh-oh.” Shelby scooped up a latte. “I don’t like that tone.”

  Mia led the way into the living room, then took the chrome director’s chair and left the tan leather couch for them.

  She was exhausted from staying up most of the night, weighing the pros and cons of returning to the firm, even if it was only part-time. The identity of the potential client still puzzled her. Who could possibly want her so badly that they were holding the firm hostage? She didn’t know anybody with that kind of money. Not personally anyway. Unless they were already a client that she’d met at some point.

  Of all the reasons not to return to the firm, the emotional toll of seeing David weighed the most heavily. She desperately wanted to believe he wasn’t the kind of man who would have used her to meet his objective, but she’d be a fool to ignore how much his family and the firm’s reputation meant to him.

  And of course, there was the launch of Anything Goes to consider…

  God, she hated even bringing up the subject. They had so much work to do before next Monday when their first ad would hit the papers and the flyers were to be distributed telling all of New York City they’d be open for business. No one, least of all her, needed to be distracted by David or his problem.

  She waited until they were both curled up on opposite corners of the couch. “David wants me to go back to the firm.�
�

  “You’re kidding.” Shelby’s eyes narrowed. “He knows about Anything Goes, right?”

  Lindsey looked confused. “But if you’re working for him again, then how can you see each other?”

  “I’m not worried about that,” Mia said, annoyed that her voice cracked.

  “Meaning?” Shelby asked.

  “Could we stay on point?”

  Not the slightest bit deterred by her no-nonsense tone, they both said, “No.”

  Mia sighed, then gave them an abbreviated and less personal version of their meeting last night, careful not to give away too much about the firm’s trouble or her misery. Oddly she still felt protective toward David and Pearson and Stern in general. Of course, as an employer, they had been good to her and there was no reason not to preserve their privacy.

  After a long, thoughtful silence, it was Shelby who asked, “So what are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know. That’s what we need to discuss.”

  Lindsey frowned. “Didn’t you say he’s in kind of a jam?”

  “Yes, but that doesn’t mean it has to be my problem.” Mia bit her lower lip. She hadn’t meant to sound sharp.

  “Okay,” Shelby drawled. “What are you not telling us?”

  Damn, as good as David was at concealing his feelings, Mia was terrible at it. The stupid bastard. He even had that over her. She sipped her coffee, groping wildly for some witty, distracting remark. The only thing that emerged was a startling awareness of how much her resentment toward David had been building. “Guess I know why he followed me to Hawaii.”

  Shelby’s eyes widened, and she seemed truly stunned. “You don’t think that whole thing was a ploy to get you back.”

  She sighed. “What am I supposed to think?”

  “I saw him with you, Mia. There is no way that man was there for any reason other than he’s in love with you.”

  At the outrageous claim, Mia snorted, and then to her utter horror, hope actually filled her chest. “Right. You couldn’t be further off base.”

  “Come on, girl, you’re not that stupid.”

  “Shelby,” Lindsey admonished in a low hushed voice.

  “You didn’t see them together like I did,” Shelby said testily. “It’s crazy to think that he doesn’t—Okay, look, shoving all that ‘he loves me, he loves me not’ crap aside, let’s talk about this rationally.”

  The menacing look that Lindsey gave Shelby almost made Mia smile. Usually it was her and Shelby who went head to head, and Lindsey who smoothed things over.

  “From what I understand,” Shelby continued, unfazed, “you can go back part-time, yes?”

  Mia nodded absently, her thoughts lagging. Shelby didn’t know what she was talking about. Oh, for a few moments last week, Mia had foolishly thought her and David’s physical attraction to each other had crossed a threshold, but now she knew better. She alone had made the leap to love. That’s what had her so upset. It wasn’t lust or infatuation or the thrill of finally getting something that had been withheld from her. She’d fallen in love with him. But how could she?

  “Mia, are you listening?”

  “Yes,” she lied, and realized she’d missed a lot. Somehow, in those few moments of inattention, Shelby had swung Lindsey to her side. They both looked at her with a mixture of concern and expectation.

  “If you didn’t mind working a couple of days a week,” Shelby said, “it would be kind of nice to have money for rent and such without dipping into savings or into the business fund.”

  “But only if you want to,” Lindsey said, and Shelby gave her the eye.

  Mia sighed. “Like I don’t know you two are trying to manipulate me.”

  “Is it working?” Shelby asked, and then offered a faint smile. “I know you, sweetie, you’re going to throw yourself into work and never give yourself the chance to find out if what you have with David is real.”

  “I don’t see how going back to the firm will help me do that,” Mia muttered crossly. “Anyway, I don’t want to be a practicing lawyer.”

  “Hmm, I hadn’t considered that,” Lindsey said thoughtfully, her head cocked to the side as she stared speculatively at Mia. “But have you considered that it wasn’t practicing law you were running away from?”

  IT WAS AFTER FIVE when David’s private line rang, and he inhaled a deep calming breath before picking up the receiver. He knew it was her. “Mia?”

  She hesitated. “Yes.”

  “Did Shelby and Lindsey make it in all right?” About an hour ago, he’d been ready to go knock down her door. He was tired from lack of sleep and stressed to the max from the gloomy tension hanging over the office, to which he’d contributed with his foul mood. Everyone, including his good-natured assistant, had steered clear of him all day. Suited him just fine.

  She softly cleared her throat. “Yes, they did.”

  “Good.” This time he paused, tempted to tell her that he didn’t want to know her answer, to forget about the job. What he really wanted was to ask if she’d catch the next flight back to Hawaii with him. “So you’ve thought about the offer?”

  “I discussed it with Shelby and Lindsey, considering they are my business partners and will be impacted by my decision.” She sounded stiff, formal. What had he expected? “I have—”

  “Can we do this in person?”

  “I don’t see the point.”

  He rubbed the knot at the back of his neck. “We didn’t finish our dinner last night.”

  After a long silence, she said, “I still don’t see the point.”

  “Mia, please. I’m not the enemy.”

  “I never said you were. This is business. That’s all. And frankly, I’m surprised you’re not more eager to hear my answer.” She paused. “This being such an urgent matter.”

  He squeezed his tired eyes shut, but only for a second, and then stared at his jacket hanging limply on the back of his door. He’d hoped she would have mellowed out over night, remember the things they’d said to each other in Hawaii, but she sounded angrier today. “I want to see you.”

  “David, please, don’t make this harder than it already is.”

  Damn her. She should have trusted him. Obviously she didn’t. “Fine. What’s your answer?” His voice was all business. It seemed that’s what she wanted.

  “I have my own terms. I work two days a week until I familiarize myself with the client and the type of trusts that need to be established. Those two days will be at my discretion, and later, after the groundwork is complete, I come in only one day a week.”

  “All right,” he said slowly, irritation with himself deepening because he was already thinking ahead to what that meant for them personally.

  “I’m not finished,” she said, her tone equally curt.

  “Go on.” Probably better that they hadn’t meant in person. This was intolerable.

  “I won’t take the promotion, but I will take the raise. And I want Karen Flint working with me. She’s a good attorney and can easily replace me when the time comes that I can permanently separate myself from the firm.”

  Something about the way her voice lowered at the end, how she clearly enunciated each word, fed David’s uneasiness. Now this was personal. It was him she wanted out of her life, not the firm. He went numb. “Anything else?”

  “No, I—” She softly cleared her throat. He might have interpreted the pause as regret, but chose not to. “I think that’s it.”

  “Fine. Pearson and Stern agrees to your terms. We’ll draw up a contract. In the meantime, I’ll need to call our new client and set up an appointment. What day can you come in?”

  “I’ll call and let you know.”

  “Great. I’ll talk to you then.” He started to pull the receiver away from his ear, and stopped. “Thank you,” he said, his words cut short by the disconnecting click.

  AS SOON AS MIA GOT INTO the elevator, she tugged at the hem of her suit jacket, then at the cuffs, and finally brushed some lint off her skirt. It was r
idiculous to be so nervous. She didn’t recall her first day at the firm being this bad, although in all likelihood it had been worse. Then again, she hadn’t yet slept with her boss.

  She groaned, smoothed back the hair that she’d rolled into a French twist, glad she’d decided to come in extra early. David would be there, but no one else yet. Any awkward moments between them would be over and done with before the others arrived.

  Part of her phone conversation with David popped unbidden into her head. She’d had too many unguarded moments like that since she’d last spoken to him. Admittedly she’d been one shade short of abrupt, and she shouldn’t have expected him to grovel or beg her forgiveness or make some grand, outrageous gesture like show up at her door with three dozen roses.

  But a small part of her had longed for him to ignore the crap she’d dished out, ride in on a stupid horse and use his mouth, hands and body to show her how wrong she was. Whisper sweet nothings until she was convinced. She wanted her big, strong hero back. She honestly hadn’t expected him to throw her coldness back at her.

  The elevator dinged its arrival. God, she hoped this wasn’t a mistake. Once she spoke with the new client and became immersed in work, it would be okay, she assured herself as the doors slid open.

  For a split second she thought she’d pressed the wrong button. There were people, a good many of them, sitting in their cubicles or at their desks or hovering over someone else’s. One by one they looked up, varying degrees of surprise registering on their faces as they watched her leave the elevator.

  She knew all of the junior associates, of course, and most of the admin staff, but no one looked particularly happy to see her. Not that she expected a welcoming committee, but wow, what a way to come back. What the hell had David told them about her return?

  “Good morning,” she said to Laura, the receptionist, who gave her the first genuine smile.

  “Hi, Mia, you’re looking nice and tan—lucky you,” she said, her smile turning enigmatic. “Bet you’re here for your plant.”

  “My plant?”

  Laura gestured toward the bushy green fern sitting at the end of the reception counter.