when he’d thought he could fall in love with Sally Dawson. Smart, quirky Sally, who was unlike anyone he’d ever met. Then he’d gone and ruined it. But now she needed him. Now he finally had an in. So what did he want?
“All right, Sally,” he began coolly. “I’ll talk to Jack, tell him I want your help. I’ll let you tag along on my review interviews, and I’ll promise to keep an open mind. If you can convince me that Mitch Kruger committed murder, I’ll help you plead your case to Jack. But if I’m not convinced, or if I think an error in judgment was made...I can’t promise results.”
“Fine, I get that. And in return?”
He moved his hands to his waist. “Anything, right?”
She peered at him from narrowed eyes. “Keep it family friendly, Ben.”
He lowered himself toward her, watching her eyes widen as he reduced the distance between them. “You sneer at me.”
“I don’t.” But she blinked several times and leaned slightly away from him. Busted.
“You know you do. You’ve barely spoken to me since the first year of law school. You can hardly stand to look at me now, and we’re going to be working across the hall from each other.”
“Well, and so what?” She folded her arms across her chest like a belligerent child.
“So what? The ‘so what’ is that now you want something from me. You made my welcome as cold as possible this morning, and now you suddenly want us to work together.”
“You’re mad that I didn’t smile at you enough?” She rolled her eyes. “This is great. So what? You’re going to get even, I suppose. Humiliate me? Make me wash your car in a bikini?”
That was an image worth dwelling on, but he had to stay focused. “Worse. I want a second chance.” He pulled his back straighter. “I want you to have dinner with me.”
* * *
It was as if someone had hit an erase button in her mind. She lost her words, her thoughts slid away into some great expanse of forgotten information, and all that came out of her mouth was, “Ha!”
Have dinner with Ben? Oh, that was rich. She’d put that one in her diary and read it the next time she needed a laugh.
His face was unmoving. “Is that all you have to say?”
“What else is there to say? How about, ‘thank you, but I’d rather set my hair on fire.’”
“That seems like a dramatic response,” he said mildly, then shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
He turned and walked toward the door, leaving her standing there dumbly. “That’s it? Suit yourself?”
He paused to issue a second nonchalant shrug. “That’s the deal. If you’re not willing to bargain, then we’re done.”
“And...what? What happens to your review of my files?”
“I’ll proceed as Jack requested. I’ll conduct some interviews, check under rocks for missing clues, exactly what you’d expect.” He pulled at the knot on his tie. “I’ll submit some kind of report to Jack, let him know how, exactly, a murder victim walked back into town. He’ll take it from there.”
Sally’s stomach worked itself into a ball. “Without me? You mean you’re going to cut me out? But I can tell you the subtleties of the case, who to talk to.”
“I’ll interview you, of course.” Now he turned his gaze directly to her. “You’ll be a part of my inquiry. But I’ll do the rest independently, just as Jack requested. You were a brilliant law student, and I’m sure you’re a good attorney, Sally. You shouldn’t have anything to be worried about.”
Her pulse quickened. He was going to complete a review of her file, and she’d have to sit back and wait for the result? Torture. She couldn’t trust Ben with her job like that. What if he overlooked something obvious, and she was left formulating a defense? She had to maintain some control.
“I’ll talk to Jack myself,” she announced. “I’ll explain the need to help you with your investigation.”
“You can do whatever you want, but I think we both know that he’s not likely to be receptive. But if I suggested it, on the other hand, told him that I thought it would be valuable to have your input at all stages of the review, given the time pressures...” His voice trailed off.
Sally opened her mouth to argue, but then snapped it shut again. Ben was right. If she asked Jack again to be involved in the follow-up investigation, she’d appear self-serving and even suspicious, as if she was trying to hide something. He’d already turned her down once. If Ben insisted that he needed her help, well, that just might work. Jack wanted an answer, and quickly. He would probably be open to anything Ben suggested as long as it might speed up his review. She frowned. “You’re blackmailing me.”
“Now wait a second.” Ben spun to face her. “This exchange was your idea. You know my terms. If you don’t want to do it, no problem. I can promise you I’ll be a complete professional in my review.”
“But your terms are...unseemly.”
“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry you find the idea of having dinner with me so offensive.”
She balled her fists. He knew how she felt about him. He knew this would be the one thing she couldn’t take, but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of being right.
She could do this. Yes, it might be awkward to go out with him—the idea made her palms sweat—but she’d live. She could even fake a headache and leave early. No appetizers, no dessert. Really, what was the big deal? She’d suffer through an evening with him in exchange for having more control over a file she cared about. Dinner in exchange for information that she could use to save her job, repair her reputation and bring Mitch Kruger to justice.
“Fine,” she said through clenched teeth. “I’ll have dinner with you.”
He didn’t smile. She didn’t expect him to. Her tight-jawed acquiescence wasn’t a victory by any measure. Instead he nodded slowly and turned back to the door. “Then I’ll speak with Jack about getting you involved with the investigation.”
“Great. At least one of us will enjoy this.” She flung her gaze to the far wall, directing her words to a large potted plant on the bookshelf.
Ben stood in place, and when he spoke, his tone had softened. “Listen. I’ve done some things I’m not proud of. I was hoping that I could do this to make it... I’m not doing anything to hurt you.”
“You want me to give you a second chance by coercion. That may work on other women, but it won’t fly with me.”
“Sally. Come on now. That was ten years ago—”
She wasn’t listening as she bustled around her office. “I don’t have time for soliloquies. I’m meeting Dennis Marlow and Ronnie Kruger downstairs.” She picked up a few scattered pens on her desk and dropped them with a thud into the pen holder. Then she swept round her desk.
Ben stepped into
