Out Of Order

by Barbara Dunlop

“Allison?” It was Greg’s voice all right, but he didn’t sound sexy, he sounded mad. “I want to know what the hell’s going on back there! I don’t think this is funny. If you’ve got something to say to me, just spit it out. Phone me. Now.”

  Shelby blinked openmouthed at Allison, and Allison blinked back.

  DALLAS GOT OUT of the shower to a ringing telephone. He strode quickly across the bedroom, hoping against hope it was Shelby. He’d been thinking that perhaps a one-shot deal could include an entire weekend, not just a single night.

  He grabbed the receiver. “Yeah?”

  “You son of a bitch!”

  “Greg?”

  “If I wasn’t in New York, I’d be breaking down your freaking door and—”

  “Whoa.” Had Greg heard about Shelby? Was he this upset that Dallas had slept with their receptionist?

  “Don’t you whoa me.”

  “I had no idea you’d be this upset,” said Dallas. “No idea I’d…”

  “Listen. Hey. If I’d known, I never would have done it.” Now there was a lie. No force on earth could have kept him from making love with Shelby last night, nor again this morning.

  “As far as I’m concerned,” shouted Greg, “our partnership is dissolved right now.”

  “What?”

  “Start the paperwork.”

  “Hey, I know I slept with her, but she was willing—”

  “You slept with her, too?”

  “What do you mean, too?”

  “I mean, in addition to taking porn pictures.”

  Dallas’s entire stomach collapsed as he clued in to Greg’s mistake. “What?” was all was he able to rasp.

  “They arrived in the middle of a meeting. Imagine my freaking surprise when I opened the—”

  “Whoa, Greg, stop right there.”

  “Shut up.”

  “No really. No. No. You’ve got to listen.”

  The line went dead, and Dallas nearly screamed at the phone. Still dripping wet, he hung up and punched in Greg’s cell number. It rang and rang, but Greg didn’t pick up.

  Dallas cursed out loud as he dialed directory assistance and got the hotel phone number in New York. He tapped his foot in impatience as the hotel operator put him through to Greg’s room.

  “Hello?”

  “Shut up and listen. I mean it, Greg. I didn’t take the pictures. I never saw the pictures. It was Shelby. Shelby. I never even opened the damned envelope!”

  There was silence on the other end of the line.

  “Greg? Shelby took the pictures. I slept with Shelby. Allison wasn’t even here. She doesn’t even know I know about the pictures.” Dallas paused for a breath. “Say something, Greg.”

  On the other end of the phone, Greg cleared his throat. “You slept with Shelby?”

  “Yeah.” Dallas sat down on the bed.

  “But you don’t like Shelby.”

  “I got over it.”

  “Is she hot?”

  “Oh, yeah. Listen, you can’t let on to Allison that I know about those pictures. Shelby nearly killed herself to keep me from finding out they existed.”

  “You mean, she slept with you to shut you up.”

  “No, she didn’t…Well, yeah, I guess she sort of did.”

  “So, my fiancée takes erotic pictures, and you get lucky?”

  “Pretty much. You’ll keep your mouth shut, right?”

  “Uh-oh.”

  Dallas stilled. “What ‘uh-oh’?”

  “I just called Allison.”

  “You what?”

  “I got her machine. Asked her what the hell was going on back there and told her to call me.”

  Dallas swore. “You didn’t mention my name?”

  “I didn’t mention your name.”

  Dallas let out a sigh of relief, wiping one hand over his wet thigh and shaking off the water droplets. As he struggled to come up with a plan of action, the humor of the situation percolated through his brain. “You do realize that your fiancée thinks you’re mad because she sent you sexy pictures.”

  Greg swore, and it occurred to Dallas that this was becoming a one-word conversation.

  “If Shelby thought I was repressed, they’re really going to wonder about you.”

  Greg swore even more colorfully. “Fix this,” he demanded.

  It took Dallas a minute to bring his laughter under control. “Okay, we need a plan. You can’t tell Allison that you talked to me, because then she’ll know I know about the pictures.”

  “Right.”

  “But I can tell Shelby to pretend she talked to you and explained that the pictures weren’t from me.”

  Greg spoke a little more hesitantly this time. “Right…”

  “Don’t worry, Shelby lies really well.”

  “Oh, good. Just what we want in a law office.”

  “Trust me,” said Dallas. “It comes in handy.”

  “So, what do I do?”

  Dallas smiled into the phone. “Sit back and enjoy the photographs. Oh, and I’d show up on Tuesday with some jewelry and a really great dinner reservation if I was you. Maybe a bed-and-breakfast.”

  “Yeah,” said Greg, his voice sounding distant.

  “You’re looking at them now, aren’t you?” The line went dead.

  9

  SHELBY BEAT DALLAS to the office on Monday morning. When he arrived, he headed straight for her desk.

  “Good morning,” he said, glancing at the two clients in the waiting area and at Margaret who was at the water cooler.

  “Good morning,” Shelby replied, trying her best to look like she hadn’t banged his brains out over the weekend, and like the two of them weren’t engaged in a counterespionage plot. Under the circumstances, it was a little hard to find the correct expression.

  “Stop that,” he hissed under his breath.

  “What?”

  “You look like we’re plotting something.”

  “Sorry.”

  Dallas glanced over his shoulder, and Margaret gazed speculatively at them as she headed down the hall.

  After Margaret left, Dallas turned back to Shelby. “Did she fall for it?”

  “Allison?”

  Dallas nodded.

  “Yes.” Shelby had made up a story about calling Greg. She told Allison that Greg was confused because the pictures had come from Dallas’s apartment. Then she told Allison she’d cleared up the misunderstanding, and that Greg had sounded very interested in seeing Allison as soon as he got home.

  “Good,” said Dallas. “Coffee with Randy still on for ten?”

  Shelby nodded.

  “You remember what I told you?”

  “Let him lead the conversation. Don’t try to take over. And act naive, not Southern belle.”

  “I’m going to move for a continuance this afternoon. I want you to let that slip. Watch his expression when you do.”

  “I will.”

  “And come and see me when you get back.”

  “Roger.” She had an urge to salute, but grinned instead.

  Dallas grimaced. “And quit having so much fun. This isn’t a game.”

  Shelby swallowed and sobered, almost. “Right.”

  Dallas sighed in disgust and turned away.

  Shelby couldn’t help it, she was excited at the thought of spying. Not only did she have a real job, with a real salary, in a real law firm, she was getting involved in one of their important cases.

  Sure, it was only to flirt with the other team, but she swore she was going to do even better than Dallas expected. She was going to get loads of information that would help him.

  Her morning crawled slowly by.

  At five to ten, she gathered her purse, stopped by the ladies’ room to freshen her makeup, popped a breath mint into her mouth and headed for Frappino’s. Randy had beat her there, and motioned to a corner table, pointing to the coffee he’d obviously ordered for her.

  She wound her way through the scattered tables and the morning crowd. “Am I late?�
� she asked as prettily as she could.

  “I was early,” he assured her. “Sit down. Sit down. I bought a few pastries.” He pointed to the plate in the middle of the table. “Didn’t know what you’d like.”

  “This is perfect,” Shelby breathed. Then she smiled at him, remembering Dallas’s instructions. She kept her lips firmly zipped, and let Randy start the conversation.

  He pushed the pastry tray toward her. “Would you like a brownie? A croissant? A lemon tart?”

  “Lemon,” she said, reaching out. It looked like the sexiest thing to eat. No harm in reducing Randy’s brain power. She set the tart on a napkin beside her coffee.

  “All set for another week?” asked Randy.

  “Yes, I am.” She dipped her index finger into the lemon filling, then licked it clean. “Mmm. Great choice.”

  Randy cleared his throat. “Anything exciting going on this week?”

  Shelby made a show of pondering hard. “Not that I can think of off hand.”

  “I saw something in the newspaper about Perth…I think it was Perth-Abercrombie and embezzlement?”

  Shelby nodded, but didn’t offer any information. Make him dig a little harder.

  “Isn’t that Dallas Williams’s case?”

  She snapped her fingers. “You know, you’re right. It is. As a matter of fact, Dallas was talking to Allan about it just this morning…”

  Randy leaned forward, the interest level in his eyes leaping. “And…”

  She broke off a section of the tart and placed it on her tongue. “Something about the courthouse.”

  “Yes. The hearing starts this afternoon,” Randy prompted.

  “He’s asking for a…continuation…”

  Randy’s eyes got wider. “Continuance?”

  “That’s it.”

  “Why?”

  Shelby shrugged and took another bit of the tart. “I dunno.”

  “Did they say anything else?” He cleared his throat and backed off. “I mean, I find that very interesting.”

  “Really? I find it pretty boring. Brokerage houses. I mean, what’s the big deal?”

  Randy smiled a little condescendingly. “They’re a very big deal. They help rich people invest in the stock market, buy bonds, move money.”

  No kidding, Einstein. Shelby blinked, trying to look impressed.

  “Why don’t you ask Dallas some more about the case? I bet you’d find his take on it more interesting than what’s in the newspaper.”

  “Ask him what?”

  Randy shrugged again, stirring his coffee before taking a drink. “Maybe his approach to the prosecution. The evidence. What financial records they plan to use.”

  “I don’t know…”

  “Go for it,” said Randy. “Maybe we could meet again tomorrow and talk?” His gaze softened on her face. “I find you a very beautiful and very fascinating woman.”

  Shelby pretended to be flattered. “I’d like that.”

  Randy stood up and took her hand, helping her to rise. “Let me walk you to the lobby.”

  She resisted the urge to pull her hand out of his grasp. She was determined to impress Dallas. And letting Randy think she was attracted to him seemed like the best method at the moment.

  When they stopped in front of the elevators, he turned to face her—too close, way too close.

  “Tomorrow?” he whispered.

  “Tomorrow,” she agreed, trying to look like his slick, salesman come-on had appealed to her.

  She must have hit the right note, because he leaned forward unexpectedly and kissed her.

  Damn. This was not what she wanted. But she stayed still, even let her lips soften. But when his tongue flicked out, she quickly backed off.

  She stepped away. “Thanks for the coffee.”

  His lips curved into a self-satisfied smile. “My pleasure.”

  Shelby quickly turned away before her shudder could show on her face. She made her way back upstairs, wishing she had a toothbrush. But a quick trip to the ladies’ room to rinse her mouth and pop another breath mint was the best she could do.

  Then she headed down the office hallway. Margaret saw her and closely watched her progress.

  Shelby gave her an open, innocent smile and knocked on Dallas’s door.

  “Come in,” he called.

  She slipped inside and closed the door behind her.

  Dallas stood up from his chair, a frown on his face. “Playing both sides against the middle, are we?”

  Shelby stopped, glancing quickly behind her to see if he was talking to someone else. The office was empty. She turned back to Dallas. “Huh?”

  “Tell me.” He strolled around the end of the desk, tossing a pen onto the desktop. “What’s your real relationship to Randy?”

  Shelby squinted.

  “What did you do?” asked Dallas. “Go down there and tell him every damn thing I said?”

  It occurred to Shelby that she may have been too quick to trust Dallas. Maybe he was actually a psycho.

  “Well?” he asked, moving toward her.

  She debated screaming and running from the room, but then decided there wasn’t much he could do to her in the middle of an office full of people. She folded her arms over her chest. “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”

  His smile turned menacing. “I saw the kiss.”

  “The kiss?”

  “I saw you kiss Randy.”

  “I didn’t kiss Randy.”

  Dallas leaned forward, glaring at her.

  “Oh, good grief.” She threw up her hands. “That wasn’t a kiss.” Then she squared her shoulders and stepped up in front of him.

  This served him bloody well right.

  She took his cheeks between her palms and pulled him in for a hot, openmouthed, long-lasting kiss that came from her soul.

  “That.” She backed off. “Was a kiss. I was playacting with Randy.”

  Dallas blinked in silence, lips parted, expression looking as if it had frozen in place.

  “You told me I was supposed to get information from him.” She paused. “Dallas?” She snapped her fingers in front of his face.

  “You’re incorrigible,” he growled.

  “Yeah? Well, you’ll have to spank me later.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Shelby grinned. “You are such an easy target.”

  “You think I wouldn’t spank you?”

  Shelby rocked her head back and forth, grinning in delight. “My, my, Dallas. For a staid guy, you definitely have a kinky side.”

  He leaned in, wrapping one arm around her waist and hauling her flush against his torso. “I can have any side you want me to have.”

  “I won’t have an affair with you.”

  “I don’t want an affair. I just want sex.”

  “Sex once, is just sex. Even twice. But once you hit three times, it’s an affair.”

  “We already had sex three times.”

  “We counted the first two as one, remember?”

  “I like that logic. So can three and four count as one, so we’d only be at two?”

  Shelby grinned. “Afraid not. Too much time has passed.”

  “Your eyes are jade again.”

  “What?”

  “Never mind. Just a personal cross to bear. So, that’s it? We’re done forever?”

  “Once more, and it’s an affair. And, let’s face it, Dallas. We liked it. We’d probably keep going. And if we hit ten, we’re in a relationship. Then I’m back to dating my boss, and you have to start taking me to parties where I’ll embarrass you, and you’ll lose all your clients.”

  Dallas took a deep breath. “Which means I have to let go of you now.”

  “If you don’t want to ruin both of our lives, yes.”

  Dallas swore. “What about kissing?”

  “Kissing leads to sex.” She dropped her gaze to his full lips, trying hard not to think about what she was giving up. “Especially with you.”

  “You’r
e killin’ me here, Shelby.”

  “I got some information from Randy.”

  His eyebrows jumped. “Well, if I can’t take you on the desktop, I suppose I’ll have to settle for that.”

  “Good choice.” Shelby pulled back while she still could. “He wants me to talk to you about the case.”

  Dallas retreated around his desk once again, motioning for her to take one of the guest chairs. “Go on.”

  “He said I should ask you about your approach to the prosecution, the evidence and what financial records you plan to use.”

  Dallas rocked back, the playfulness completely leaving his face. This was the Dallas she’d first met—the one she wanted on her side. The one she didn’t want going up against her.

  “They already know which financial records we plan to use,” he said. “The ones that show their client, Ralph McQueen, siphoned off three-hundred-thousand dollars. Which means…”

  His jaw tightened and he hit the intercom button on his desk. “Margaret?”

  “Yes?”

  “Can you have someone bring in the evidence boxes for the Perth-Abercrombie case?”

  There was a pause at Margaret’s end. “All of them?”

  “All of them.”

  Shelby sat up straight. “Oh, good. Now she’ll know we’re not having an affair.”

  “What?”

  “Margaret’s not stupid. I bet your last receptionist didn’t have lengthy meetings in here with the door closed.”

  Dallas’s eye narrowed.

  Oops. Not a good time for a joke.

  The door opened and the mailroom boy came in balancing two cardboard boxes, one of top of the other.

  Shelby jumped up and moved her chair out of the way.

  “Put them on the floor in the corner,” said Dallas.

  “There are twenty more,” said the boy.

  “Bring ’em all,” said Dallas.

  “Can I help?” asked Shelby.

  Dallas clasped the back of his neck with his hand. “It would sure be a lot easier if we knew what we were looking for.”

  “I did a lot of work with the financial records at Terra Suma.”

  He shot her a look of disbelief. “That was a cocktail lounge, not a brokerage house.”

  Shelby tried to hide her disappointment. “Right. Okay.” She moved toward the door. Maybe flirting was more her area of expertise.

  “Wait,” said Dallas.

  She stopped.