Heartstrings (Rock With You #1) Rock Star Romance (9 page)

And
Melissa was gone. Melody shook her head, not quite sure where Melissa fell in
all of this. Granted there was a grain of truth to Ryan’s claims of
unprofessionalism, but Melissa’s overall performance far outshone the
occasional lapse in meetings with clients.

Melody
finally rose, leaving the library and taking the elevator to her floor. The
sight of Melissa’s empty desk made her heart sink.
I’ll call her at lunch…

Sitting
behind her desk, eyes scanning over the clutter, she wondered where to start.
Glancing at her watch she decided to give Logan’s case a good solid hour before
anything else. Pushing Ryan from her mind, she opened the case file and notes
and lost herself in the details of the case, in the precise language of law,
knowing she was doing this for Logan.

A
knock at her door startled Melody and she looked up. Melissa was standing in
the doorway, holding a cardboard box.

“Melissa!
Come in…please.” Melody came around her desk, reaching out for Melissa’s arm.

But
Melissa stood just outside Melody’s office, her face solemn, not speaking. It
wasn’t until Melody stepped into the hall that she noticed Joe Hunter, from
Human Resources, standing at Melissa’s desk.

“I’m
here to get my stuff and I wanted to say good-bye,” Melissa mumbled, head down.
Melody wanted to hug the girl, but with Joe standing there, practically
guarding her, it didn’t seem the right thing to do.

“I’ll
call you. Okay? Tonight.”

Melissa
nodded and Melody could see tears gathering in her friend’s eyes. Rather than
embarrass Melissa, and herself, she went back to her office, closing the door
quietly.

Melody
forced herself to focus on Logan’s case. She felt he had some solid grounds to
go after Ashton, but all of it would depend on the financial documents both
sides produced.

It
was just before lunch when Melody felt she had enough to take to Ryan. But she
hesitated, not wanting to face him again, so soon after the morning’s confusing
and shocking meeting.

Glancing
at her watch, Melody decided to take the file to Ryan’s office. If she were
lucky, he’d be at lunch and she could just leave it on his desk. If not, she’d
leave it with Lori and just avoid him altogether.
Not the best plan, but I
can’t face him again right now.

But
when she came around the corner on Ryan’s floor, Lori was gone. Ryan was
standing at Lori’s desk, reading a file. He looked up as she came to an abrupt
halt several feet away, clutching the file to her chest.

Her
first instinct was to bolt, but she forced herself to make her feet move toward
Ryan. After all, what could he do to her, here, in the middle of the office?

“Melody.
Just coming to find you. Do you have a minute?” Ryan inclined his head toward
his office.

“Well,
actually…I was just dropping off the MacKenzie file with the complaint for you
to review, like you asked for.” She held the file at arm’s length, hoping he
would take it.

“Yes,
I see.” Ryan reached out and Melody handed him the file. He was looking at her
with a calculated gaze. She felt like she was being studied, and found wanting.

“As
you wish. I’ll read through this and if it’s acceptable, I’ll have Lori type it
up. We should be able to file tomorrow morning.”

Ryan
tapped the folder on the edge of Lori’s desk. “Do you have time for lunch? I
was just heading out to grab a bite…”

Melody
was shaking her head before Ryan finished his sentence. She registered the
darkening look on his face, but went on. “Um…no. I have…more to do. I have a
filing due today, if you remember, on a different case. And with Melissa gone…I
don’t want to fall behind.”

“Right.
That reminds me…come into my office.”

At
the repeated invitation, Melody felt her heart begin to race. She glanced
around the area. The last place she wanted to be was in Ryan’s office, when the
rest of the floor was deserted, secretaries and paralegals at lunch, several
nearby offices dark.

Ryan
was waiting for her. She reluctantly walked into his office, careful to stay in
the doorway.

“Why
so shy? You were anything but this morning.” Ryan was behind his desk, watching
her closely. He finally shrugged, taking a file from his desk.

“Here…it’s
a list of paralegals who’ve submitted resumes to the firm. Read through them,
pick out five or so that interest you and let Joe Hunter know which you like.
They’ll set up interviews and we’ll have someone for you as soon as we can.”

Melody
took the file, stepping back into the hall. “Thanks, Ryan. I’ll do that.”

As
she turned away, she felt Ryan’s eyes still watching her. She barely resisted the
urge to run.

In
her office, she closed the door, tossing the file on her desk. She wanted to
call Melissa, but more than that, she wanted to hear Logan’s voice, the soft
cadence of his speech, maybe he’d tell her again that he loved her.

In
the heat of the moment last night, and the rush of the morning, Melody hadn’t
had time to savor Logan’s words, their full meaning. He had said he loved her.

She
closed her eyes, letting all the wonderful feelings those three words created
wash over her. It was most secure, the happiest she’d felt in weeks. She didn’t
know if she felt same about Logan; it was too soon for her to tell. He’d said
he didn’t expect the same from her; he seemed satisfied just to say it himself,
to put it there for her, like a gift. And right now, that was enough for Melody.

When
the phone rang, she jumped. The display showed an external incoming call, but
the number was marked private.

“Melody
Lawton.”

“Melody…”
Logan’s voice on the phone made her smile.

“Logan!
I was just thinking of you.” She cringed.
Such a cliché.

“Well,
I have to say I was thinking of you, too, since I’m calling. Before that, I’ll
admit you haven’t been at the top of my thoughts, sorry to say. I would much
rather have been thinking of you, but my morning hasn’t been to my liking.”

Something
in Logan’s tone made her clutch the receiver tightly. “What is it?”

“The
band…and Ashton. The band has threatened to boot me out, permanently. Ashton’s
told them enough lies to make them believe I’ve left them. And in the midst of
that, Aston called. He’d gotten wind of the lawsuit somehow and is furious.
Claims it’s all something I’ve made up, which is a load of crap. But you know
that…”

She
heard the frustration in his voice. “I’m sorry, Logan. This is horrible for you.
Did Ashton say how he found out about the suit?”

“No,
just that he would see me in hell before he’d admit he’d done anything wrong.
Claims he can ruin me before we even get to court.”

Melody
sighed. This wasn’t anything new; there had been cases before where the mud slinging
started well before the case even got to court. She had always been
professionally distant from the client’s day-to-day issues, but this was Logan
and she felt his pain.

“Well,
I can tell you we’re filing tomorrow. Aston will receive a summons and have to
make a formal answer to the claims. He may counter-sue then, most likely he
will, by the sounds of it. But we’ve done what we can for the moment. The ball
will be in his court and then, from there, we’ll know what his answers are to
the complaints and what we’ll need to do from there.”

“Thank
you, Melody. I mean it. I can’t think of anyone I’d want in my corner but you,
for many reasons. But I trust you, above all. Can’t say that about many
people.”

“I’ll
do my best, Logan. You know that.”

“Let’s
have dinner. You never really got to have any last night, if I remember. I
asked you out to dinner and then made it quite difficult for you to eat.” Logan’s
tone had lightened and she smiled. She envisioned him from the night before,
his easy smile lighting his eyes.

“Yes.
I’d like that.”

“I’ll
call…

There
was a knock at her door and it swung open, Ryan standing in the doorway.

“Melody,
I…” He stopped abruptly when he noticed she was on the phone, but remained
standing in the doorway.

“That’s
fine. I’ll call you later when we have confirmation of the filing. I believe I
have your contact information right here.”

Without
waiting for Logan to answer, she replaced the receiver.

“Sorry
to interrupt, but Hunter is waiting for those resumes, if you’ve had a chance
to look them over.”

“Just
getting to that now. I’ll have them to him within an hour.”

Ryan
hesitated briefly. “Logan MacKenzie on the phone?”

Melody
resisted the urge to lie. Logan was her client, after all – she was
allowed to speak to him on the phone.

“Yes.
He was looking for an update on the case. Seems the band has threatened to fire
him and Ashton knows about the suit. I suspect he’ll file a counter-claim, but
we’ll have to wait. I’m not sure if the band’s actions have any bearing on the
initial claim. We may need to address that before we file.”

“Yes,
we should discuss that. I have a meeting now that will take me through most of
the afternoon. Stop by my office after five.”

Before
she could answer, Ryan was gone.

She
quickly dialed Logan’s cell phone but it went to voice mail. She left an
apology for abruptly ending the call and asked him to call her later, with a
time and place. And that she was very much looking forward to dinner.

An
uneasy feeling dogged Melody for the rest of the afternoon. She read through
the resumes in the file, heartsick at the thought of replacing Melissa. When
she returned the file to Joe’s office, he seemed remote and cold, and Melody
wondered if Ryan had had any conversations with him about her. She decided she
was being paranoid and went back to her office, delving into her other cases.

It
was just after four o’clock and Logan hadn’t returned her call. She debated
calling him before she went to see Ryan, but her phone buzzed, her heart
skipping at the thought that it was Logan. But the digital display showed Ryan’s
office number, and she frowned. She picked up, almost dreading the sound of his
voice.

“Come
on up. I finished my meetings early. We can get this done tonight, Lori can
make the changes tomorrow and it’ll be filed.”

She
took the stairs to Ryan’s office, her feet dragging.
Get it over with and
look forward to dinner with Logan.

Ryan’s
door was open and she knocked, hesitating in the doorway.

“Have
a seat.” He walked over to the small table, pushing the door closed. The sound
of the latch made Melody jump.

“Hunter’s
lined up several candidates. He’ll do the initial interviews and then you can
have the top three to interview, along with Joe and I. That should get you
someone within a few weeks, assuming they need to give notice.”

Melody
nodded, making a note on her pad. Ryan had Logan’s case file and he spread the
documents out on the table, turning them toward her, before rising and walking
behind his desk.

The
room had grown quiet and she was focused on the complaint, making notes in the
margins.

Ryan’s
sudden presence by her chair made her jump. He leaned over, one hand on the
back of her chair, the other on the table. Again, she felt pinned by him, as he
looked over her shoulder at the complaint. She was overly aware of the scent of
his aftershave, of the warmth of his body.

“Very
good…I like this.” He pointed to an area of her notes, tapping the paper with
his finger.

“I
like this very much.” His voice was low and Melody could feel his warm breath
on her cheek.

“Ryan…”
She didn’t even know what she wanted to say but before she could continue, he
put his hand on her shoulder, his fingers moving upward, into the hair along
the nape of her neck.

“Shhh…just
relax. You’re so tense. I can feel it. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Nothing
here that you don’t want.”

“Please…Ryan.
Stop.” She wanted to get out from under his touch, but he moved closer, his
body pressing against her shoulder.

“I’ll
stop when you do…you know you want this as much as I do. Ever since Patrick,
you’ve been playing me, making it clear how this is going. And I’m just
following your lead.”

She
shook her head. “But, not…not this.”

“Not
this? We’ve had this conversation, Melody. The same page, remember? I know what
you want…you want partner. You want it so bad you can taste it. And I want it
for you. And we can do it together.”

The
brush of his lips on her neck made her cringe. She pulled away, turning her
head.

Ryan
stood, drawing in a sharp breath. “Have you changed your mind then? We’re not
talking the same language anymore, are we?”

He
pulled out the chair across from her, sitting stiffly against the high leather
back, hands folded in his lap.