Legal Heat

by Sarah Castille

  Julia looked up in surprise. “The last lawyer Hi-Tech sent told Peter not to take his agreement to another lawyer. He said the offer would be withdrawn if anyone saw it.”

  “You may have misunderstood.” Mark’s jaw clenched. He had no doubt Gordon had obtained the signatures under duress.

  Julia shook her head. “We don’t need another lawyer involved and we don’t have the time to find someone. Peter doesn’t have long to live. We’ll sign the agreements.”

  It took Mark only a few minutes to deal with the formalities and bid farewell to the Davidsons. When the door closed behind him, anxiety flooded through his veins. The entire meeting had left him uneasy. He had always known Gordon played fast and loose with the law, but this time innocent people had suffered and they deserved proper compensation.

  Even more unsettling had been the subtle shake of Peter’s head when Julia had mentioned the accident.

  No, no, no.

  Chapter Seven

  What am I missing?

  Katy flipped through Martha’s file for the third time in an hour and then stared out the glass walls of her office. Why would Hi-Tech continue to defend the case in the face of the overwhelming evidence against it? She had interviewed two senior Hi-Tech employees and both had confirmed Martha’s exemplary performance. Neither of them had been aware of any policy about after-hours’ access. She suspected it didn’t exist. Despite her repeated requests, Mark had yet to produce the policy or any other relevant document.

  Totally unacceptable.

  Too bad she couldn’t see his face when he received her application requesting access to all Hi-Tech’s documents, and not just those relevant to the case. A blatant fishing expedition. She could hardly wait for the fireworks. The buzz of yesterday’s courtroom battle still hadn’t worn off. Nor had her embarrassment at her inappropriate behavior. But the minute he had touched her, rational thought had fled. She wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

  She placed the document in the file and Martha’s note fell to the floor. She hadn’t followed up on the list of names since her dismal call with Martin. Had he really taken a risk by giving Martha the names and numbers? Was the lead worth pursuing? Even if she uncovered some hidden agenda at Hi-Tech, it wouldn’t help Martha’s case unless she could tie it directly to the dismissal.

  Still, the call with Martin had roused her curiosity. Lives at risk. A mystery to unravel. She tapped her pen on her desk. She didn’t have to bill every second of the time she spent on the file. She could pursue the investigation on her own and if it came to nothing, Martha wouldn’t have to bear the cost.

  Decision made, she lifted the phone and dialed the number for the first name on the list, Robert Cunningham. She introduced herself as a lawyer working against Hi-Tech, and explained the case to the woman on the phone who identified herself as his wife, Patricia.

  “He’s very ill. He can’t come to the phone.” Patricia’s flat, monotone voice said more than a dozen tears.

  Katy sucked in a breath. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. What’s wrong?”

  “Cancer. It came on very suddenly. We were adjusting to his other injuries when we got this diagnosis.” Her voice dropped to a suspicious whisper. “What do you have against Hi-Tech?”

  No harm in telling her. The case is on the public record. “We’re alleging Hi-Tech wrongfully dismissed my client from her position as a lab tech at the company. I’m investigating the reasons behind her dismissal. She gave me Robert’s name and said she thought he might be able to help.”

  “How can Robert help?” Patricia’s voice tightened. “He was a night contractor. He wouldn’t have known any of the permanent employees.”

  “Did he ever mention hearing or seeing anything unusual?”

  Patricia’s icy silence told her she had hit a sensitive spot.

  “I’m sorry.” Katy softened her voice. “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”

  “I would like to help you but I’m not allowed to talk about it,” Patricia whispered. “Their lawyer had Robert sign something saying we couldn’t discuss what happened the night of the accident.”

  Mark?

  Something clicked in her brain. “Did you sign it too?”

  “No, just Robert. Why?”

  Katy struggled to keep the emotion out of her voice. “You aren’t bound by an agreement you didn’t sign. Robert may not be allowed to talk about it, but you are.”

  Patricia’s breath hitched. “I am? Nothing will happen to me? They can’t take back the money?”

  “Legally, no.”

  Patricia let loose a ragged sob. “It would be such a relief to talk to someone. Robert doesn’t have long to live, and I’ve been so afraid.”

  Katy’s heart pounded. She forced herself to remain calm and not let her excitement seep into her voice. “I’ll come to you, Patricia. Tell me when and where.”

  “Could I take your number? We have so many hospital appointments. I need to figure out the best time.”

  Katy gave her contact details and hung up the phone. Buoyed by her success, she dialed the second number, belonging to Peter Davidson. She didn’t get past her introduction. His wife, Julia, refused in no uncertain terms to speak to her and hung up without a goodbye.

  Katy checked the clock. Too late for any more calls. She closed the file, packed her briefcase and tidied up her desk.

  The Crazy Frog ring tone blared in the quiet of her office. Katy fished around in her purse and pulled out her phone as the irritating tune played again. She should never have let Justin near her cell.

  “Hello?”

  “Katy.”

  She trembled and warmed at the sound of Mark’s deep-timbered voice.

  “How did you get this number?” She spoke quietly for no reason other than the fact that he had called on her personal line.

  “You gave it to James at the police station. I have an excellent memory.”

  “And you’re exceedingly modest.” She walked across the room to close her office door. Even if he had called about business, she didn’t want to share him with anyone.

  “I had an incentive,” he said. “If I didn’t remember your number, I would have had to ask James for it and that might be considered a privacy breach and worthy of sanction by the Law Society.”

  Katy laughed. “I’m glad to know professional responsibility was foremost in your mind when you considered engaging your friend in the unethical disclosure of personal information.”

  “I won’t offend your delicate sensibilities by telling you exactly what is foremost in my mind when it comes to you,” he murmured.

  Katy choked back a gasp as need shot straight to her core. She closed her eyes and tried to bring her racing pulse under control. “So what can I do for you this evening?”

  “Mmmmm.” His voice rumbled over the phone.

  “Mark?”

  “Shhh. I’m thinking about your question and I’ve come up with several suggestions.”

  Katy snorted a laugh. “Behave.”

  “Unfortunately, none of my suggestions involve me behaving. Or you, for that matter.”

  “Then this is going to be a very short conversation.” If he wasn’t calling about business, she should hang up although it was the last thing she wanted to do. “I’m still waiting to hear why you called.”

  “I’m still trying to remember,” he murmured. “Whenever I hear your voice, I get distracted.”

  Her pulse pounded in her throat, beating in time to the throbbing in her core. “Excellent. I’ll make sure I do a lot of talking in court, and we’ll be able to pound out a settlement in no time.”

  Mark chuckled. “I like it when you talk dirty, sugar.”

  “Mark…please.” Her voice dropped from low to husky.

  “If you’re going to speak to me like that, you’ll have to come to my office to find out why I called.” His velvet smooth voice sent warm tingles down her spine.

  “Are you crazy? Why don’t we just march down to the
Law Society, hand over our practicing certificates and let them know what’s going on?”

  “What is going on? I’m interested to know.”

  Katy picked up her pen and tapped it on the desk. “Absolutely nothing. And I have to go. It’s late.”

  “Maybe we should discuss absolutely nothing on Wednesday night,” he said. “Steele and I are going to Seattle and I might have an answer on the settlement proposal you sent over this afternoon. If you’re interested, you can call my cell. You have my number now.”

  Interested? An evening listening to his dark, sensual voice? Not really a decision, but a foregone conclusion. “Um. Okay.”

  “Not very eloquent for a lawyer who just sent me a twenty-page document request and a stern letter reminding of my legal duty regarding disclosure.”

  Katy blushed, glad he couldn’t see her face. “That’s different. One is business and the other is pleasure.” She whipped her hand over her mouth as soon as she realized her error.

  “Is pleasure what you want from me, sugar?”

  Her breath quickened. “Yes. No. Stop it. I’m in the office.”

  “The office? It’s very late. You should be in bed.”

  With you. “Look who’s talking. I asked around about you. Everyone says you’re a workaholic. Case in point, you’re in your office right now.”

  “True,” he said. “But now I’m curious. What else did you hear about me?”

  Katy leaned back in her chair and kicked off her shoes. Might as well make herself comfortable. “Well, apparently, you’re devastatingly handsome and—”

  “Apparently?”

  She imagined him raising an eyebrow and tried not to laugh. “I’m not feeding your overblown ego. I’ve also heard you’re an incorrigible bachelor who has never been seen with a woman for more than one night.” She sat forward, breathless, waiting for his response.

  “True again.”

  She froze. “Which part?”

  “Which part is the least incriminating?”

  Katy snorted. Typical lawyer, answering a question with another question. Either way, he was unavailable…and she wasn’t looking for a man.

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It matters to me.”

  She bit her lip as the weight of his words sank in. Too heavy. A little flirting she could handle, but nothing more. “I’ve got to go.”

  “I’m not letting you run away yet.” His tone lightened. “What are you working on?”

  Katy looked at the stacks of files on her desk. What wasn’t she working on? “You know I can’t tell you.”

  “You can be generic. I enjoy listening to the sound of your voice.”

  Her lips curled into a wicked smile. “I’ve got this big case that could make or break my career, and defense counsel is being a real jerk about document disclosure, so I’m going to drag his sorry ass into court and make him explain himself.”

  His laughter surprised her, especially since she had just insulted him. “I’m sure he would be delighted with anything you might do to his sorry ass, as you so eloquently put it. When are you going to serve your application on this hypothetical defense counsel, just out of curiosity?”

  “Tomorrow. I’ve just finished it.”

  “Now.” His voice dropped and his low growl reverberated in her belly. God, he could probably make her come without even laying a finger on her.

  “What?”

  “He’s at his office. You could serve him personally. Save on postage.”

  Sweat trickled down her back as his words translated into raw heat. “I can’t. I have…other responsibilities.” A babysitter who had to get home. Children. She didn’t want him to know about her kids. Not yet.

  “What are you afraid of, sugar?”

  Not what but who. I’m afraid of me.

  Tap, tap, tap.

  Mark pulled the microphone out of its stand and walked to the front of the stage in the Fairmont Hotel’s palatial meeting room. “Thank you for joining us for our seminar, Pharmaceutical Regulation in North America. Our guest speaker tonight is Darkon Steele, CEO of Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals.” He rattled off Steele’s impressive bio and then took a seat near the back of the stage.

  Richards & Moretti’s annual pharmaceutical industry lecture always attracted an equal number of lawyers and pharma execs, easily distinguishable by their choice of attire. The pharma crowd favored chinos and button-down shirts, and the lawyers, who had come for the client development opportunity, were all wearing dark suits.

  All but one.

  Mark sucked in a breath when he saw Katy standing in the doorway, wearing a sinfully tight gray suit and black stilettos. With her long hair fanned out over her shoulders and her pink lips plump and glistening, she was almost too alluring to be real. Every muscle in his body tightened with desire.

  She caught his gaze but didn’t smile. Instead, she folded her arms under her full breasts, pushing them up and out as if for his appraisal as one trim ankle crossed over the other.

  Effortlessly sexy.

  Achingly beautiful.

  For a moment he indulged in his favorite fantasy: trapping Katy in a courtroom, stripping off her clothing, restraining her with his tie and taking her hard on the judge’s desk. His cock stiffened and pressed painfully against his fly.

  Damn.

  With a shake of his head, he snapped his attention back to the lecture. He wouldn’t be able to answer questions if he didn’t even know what Steele had said. Worse, he would have to stand up.

  “It can take ten to fifteen years to research and develop a drug before it gets to market,” Steele explained to the audience. “Usually only one potential drug out of one thousand will make it past the developmental stage, and it can take eight to ten years of further research before it receives approval from regulatory agencies for public sale. However, a successful drug can be worth billions of dollars and the time investment will pay off in the long run.” Steele paused to change his slide and then launched into an explanation of the testing procedures.

  Mark glanced up at the doorway and frowned. Where was she? Had she come to see him or listen to Steele? He relaxed slightly when she returned and tensed when she left the doorway again.

  After a painful hour of watching Katy appear and reappear, Mark joined Steele at the front of the stage. He hadn’t expected such a large turnout, but the legal complexities of pharmaceutical regulation apparently held wide appeal. Or maybe their guests had come for the open bar. He kept one eye on the doorway during the panel discussion and the subsequent Q&A session, waiting for her to reappear.

  Aha. Back again. But not smiling. He desperately wanted to get away, but the questions kept coming. A victim of his own success. After half an hour of torture, he wrapped up the Q&A and invited the crowd to join them at the bar. He headed for the door, only to be accosted by Phillip Keegan, just a few feet short of his goal.

  “Nice to see you again. Interesting lecture.”

  “Keegan. What are you doing here? I can’t imagine pharma regulation will make a good crime story.” He had known Keegan in first year law school. After a brief stint reporting for the law school newspaper, Keegan realized he had found his true calling. He had dropped out and never looked back.

  “I never know where I’ll find a story. Plus, I like to learn new things. Makes me a better reporter.”

  “You never liked to learn. I don’t think I ever saw you in class.” Mark tried to focus on the conversation, but his gaze drifted to the doorway.

  Keegan affected a desolate expression. “What is it with law types and reporters? We’re on the same side, fighting for justice. We should all be friends.”

  Damn. Where was she? “You don’t care about justice. You care about the story.”

  “And you care about the money.”

  Mark laughed. “I’ll never tell you what I care about.”

  “The girl in the doorway.”

  Mark froze. “What?”

  “Reporter trick. It�
�s called being observant. You didn’t take your eyes off her during the entire lecture. And now, even while you’re talking to me, you’re looking for her. You’re wondering how long I’ll keep you here and how you can politely escape before she disappears again.”

  So true.

  Mark folded his arms and gave Keegan his full, undivided attention. “How did you get in here? The seminar is by invitation only. I didn’t put your name on the list.”

  Keegan winked. “Probably the same way she did. I walked. Although I’m sure I didn’t look quite as hot. Damn, that girl can wiggle.”

  Mark growled at the spark of interest in Keegan’s eyes.

  “Down, boy.” Keegan laughed. “I’d better let you go before you drool all over my new shoes. I have some questions for Mr. Steele and I want to look my best.” He glanced behind him at the doorway and raised an eyebrow. “Oops. I must have delayed you too long. The mysterious lady has disappeared again.”

  Katy paced up and down the hallway outside the Fairmont’s conference room. Where could he be? The lecture had finished twenty minutes ago. The wait had done nothing to cool her temper. Poor Martha had called, wanting to drop the case. Someone had threatened her. Katy damn well knew who it was. Good thing Steven had the kids on Tuesday nights. Blood boiling after the call, she had wanted to confront Mark right away, and his secretary had sent her here. She hadn’t expected to see Steele at the lecture, but she wasn’t complaining. After she gave Mark a piece of her mind, Steele would be next.

  She chanced another glance at the doorway and almost wished she hadn’t. Dressed in yet another beautifully tailored suit, Mark watched her, the faintest smile softening the planes of his face. Katy experienced a flare of annoyance as her heart slammed against her ribs, her body yet again defying the rational side of her brain. She folded her arms and glared.

  His eyes narrowed as he got the message. Shame. She loved the way they crinkled when he smiled.

  “I was hoping this was a social call.” He crossed the hallway, his muscular legs eating up the distance between them in a heartbeat.