long-suffering sigh. “I’m sure you don’t.” She busied herself putting away her things and latching her briefcase.
“Good afternoon, folks.” A voice sounded on the loudspeaker, from the cockpit of the small plane. “We’re about ready to begin our descent, so go ahead and fasten your seatbelts…”
The captain’s voice prevented any further talk. Mallory checked her safety belt and stared out the window. She obviously had no desire to finish their conversation. Yet she’d gone and given him an odd, empty feeling in his gut. As though in the brief minutes of their discussion, she’d judged him and found him lacking.
He didn’t like the sensation of coming up short in her estimation and he wasn’t sure why. Once again, she had him off balance, only this time she’d left him with the burning desire to shift both her negative opinion as well as her lack of interest.
Jack loved a challenge, but he only acted when that challenge made sense. And his interest in Mallory Sinclair did not.
A WARM BREEZE blew off the ocean, carrying the scent of salt water in the air. Mallory’s hair frizzed in the humidity, destroying the bun she’d worked hard to make earlier this morning. She glanced at her watch. It was 8:00 a.m. and there was still no sign of their host.
“He’ll be here,” Jack said in response to her unspoken aggravation. “He said to go ahead and have breakfast and he’d meet up with us by the time we were finished.”
She raised her gaze from the cinnamon-raisin French toast on her plate to glance at Jack’s face—something she’d been avoiding doing all morning. If she’d thought him devastating in a suit, he was overwhelmingly handsome in khaki shorts and a collared, short-sleeved shirt. Powerful muscles flexed in his arms and tanned skin peeked through the open buttons over his chest. His jet-black hair had been combed neatly back, and a pair of Oakley sunglasses covered his piercing gray eyes. He was perfection in a masculine package while she was a frizzy mess of conservatism in a bland, navy dress.
Oh, well. She wasn’t here to impress Jack with her looks, she was here to dazzle both him and the client with her brains. If only she could pull her thoughts off his sexy frame and focus on the task ahead of them. She’d spent last night in her room across from his, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Unable to forget the scent of his musky cologne or his deep, rumbling voice.
“Glad you could make it. So what do you think of my place?” A booming male voice interrupted her inappropriate thoughts before she could take them to the sensual conclusion she’d experienced in her dreams.
“It’s incredible, but then you already know that.” Jack rose from his seat and Mallory followed suit. “Makes me realize I’m in the wrong line of work,” Jack said and laughed.
“You’re welcome out here any time,” a burly man said. “Now help me get rid of the albatross I married and I’ll name a suite after you and this colleague of yours.”
Mallory did her best not to wince at the callous words he used to describe his wife. The woman he’d married, for better or worse. The woman she assumed he’d once loved.
“Paul Lederman meet Mallory Sinclair, one of our top associates. Mallory, Paul Lederman.” Jack gestured between Mallory and their client who was dressed even more informally than Jack in boxerlike bathing trunks. Eccentric was putting it mildly, she thought.
She extended her hand. “Nice to meet you at last, Mr. Lederman.”
“Call me Paul.” He pumped her hand with enthusiasm. “Can’t be so formal while sitting at the beach and looking at this view.”
She glanced over his shoulder, taking in the clear blue sky and the glistening water in the background. He was right. She’d been so caught up in not watching Jack, she’d all but ignored the beauty in front of her. “You’re a lucky man, Mr. Lederman.”
He corrected her with a shake of his head.
“I mean Paul. Jack’s right. This place is incredible.”
“Then after we talk, make sure you let loose and enjoy it a bit. I like my attorneys on the same wavelength as I am.” He pulled out a chair and joined them at the table beneath the large umbrella. “Marriage.” He shook his head. “Risky business.”
Mallory grabbed for her pad and pen, while Jack leaned back in his seat. “Yours made it twenty-five years. Something must have held you two together,” Jack said.
Mallory liked the fact that Jack didn’t automatically bow to Lederman’s point of view, even if he silently agreed with the man.
“My money,” Lederman muttered.
“And children,” Jack added.
“The kids are on their own now.”
“So what are you looking for?” Mallory asked. “A quick out or…”
She didn’t get a chance to finish before he picked up speed. “I don’t care about quick. I just don’t want to be taken for all I’ve got. All I’ve worked for my whole life.”
“Does your wife work?” she asked.
“Hell no. Unless you count spending my money work.”
“What about raising your kids, Paul? When did that stop counting for something?” a female voice asked.
Mallory looked up.
An older but still beautiful brunette stood behind Paul Lederman. “And what about catering your parties? Seeing to your important guests? Your whims? Your needs? Your health?” The woman met Mallory’s gaze in an obvious search for feminine understanding.
In the brown depths, Mallory glimpsed a sadness and weariness that tore at her heart. Without knowing all the facts, Mallory imagined Mrs. Lederman as a woman much like her own mother, who sacrificed everything in order to further her husband’s desires. If her mother had focused even for a moment on anything other than her husband, she might have taken notice of the daughter she’d borne, then ignored when her father had decreed her a disappointment. With a sigh, Mallory shook off the personal memories, but her heart went out to Mrs. Lederman.
But she couldn’t afford to pity her client’s wife. Not if she was going to convince the man she could represent him to the best of her abilities. With difficulty, Mallory tore her gaze away from the woman’s pleading expression and focused on her client instead.
She couldn’t read the man or his feelings for his soon-to-be ex-wife. But she did see an aging man with a slight paunch and receding hairline who was married to an elegant, attractive woman who still desired to be his wife.
“I suggest you two do all communication through your attorneys from now on,” Jack said, in a kind but firm voice.
Mallory glanced up through hooded eyes. The sadness in Mrs. Lederman’s countenance grew.
“I didn’t realize you’d already hired yours,” his wife said.
Paul Lederman coughed once. “I haven’t finalized a decision yet.”
“But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t protect yourself,” Mallory advised.
