by Savina Joyce
“Since we’re alone here, what do you say we go make out in my office?”
“Why, Mr. Thomas, I thought you would never ask,” Phaedra replied with a grin.
Logan led Phaedra to his office. He knew it was unprofessional, but who could blame him. Only a fool would pass up a chance like this.
Luckily, Logan had cleaned off his desk the previous day. There was no need to dramatically sweep everything on to the floor. He scooped Phaedra up in his arms and perched her on the edge of his desk while kicking the door closed with his foot. A smile spread across Phaedra’s face. Even in slacks, the way she parted her legs seduced him, drawing him closer.
He placed his hands on opposite sides of the desk and felt his body sink into hers. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Phaedra pulled his lips to hers. Their kiss was anything but chaste from the moment their lips touched.
Every moment with Phaedra convinced Logan that dreams really do come true.
One of Phaedra’s hands snaked down Logan’s chest and began pulling his shirt loose from where it was tucked under his belt. She reached underneath and slid her hand up over his chiseled abs. Logan sucked in his breath and buried his face in her neck. Just as Phaedra’s hands began unbuckling his belt, his phone rang.
“Ignore it,” Phaedra whispered in his ear.
Logan moaned. He wanted nothing more than to ignore it, but he had to face the fact that he was at work. It could be a client or a colleague calling. He pulled himself away just as Phaedra got his belt undone. Logan caught her hand in his.
“None of that,” he said. “I’m still at work. I have to do the right thing. This job pays for the apartment that I just gave you the key to.”
Phaedra let out an exasperated sigh. “It’s hard to argue with logic.”
“Of course it is. If there was no logic, you would be nude on my desk right now.”
“There’s still time. I can get naked on your desk while you work if you like.” Phaedra smirked.
Logan let out a strangled noise. He took a moment to compose himself. The image of Phaedra nude on his desk was seared into his brain.
“That didn’t sound like a no.”
“That is definitely a no. You know as well as I do that I wouldn’t get any work done.”
“I have something you can work on.”
“Don’t make me call security.”
If Shelly had stayed, he wouldn’t be kissing the love of his life on his desk in the first place.
“Logan Thomas, how can I help you?” he asked as he got his clothing back in order.
Phaedra giggled softly and kissed him on the cheek before she headed out of his office. Waving goodbye, she shut the door behind her.
Later that afternoon, Logan’s phone rang again. Shelly, back at her desk, picked up the phone right away. She usually picked up after one and a half rings, and she did the same this time. After speaking on the phone for a moment, she came and lightly knocked on Logan’s door.
“Logan, this is the big one.”
“A big message?”
Shelly rolled her eyes. “No, Logan. The big time. It’s one of the big guys from upstairs.” Shelly pointed up, fully extending her arm. She always did have a taste for drama.
“Is that why you’re not transferring the call to me?”
“Of course I’m going to transfer the call to you. I just wanted to give you a heads up, so you could prepare. You know, put your game face on.”
Logan laughed. “I think I can handle it. Put the call through.”
Shelly scurried off to her desk and transferred the call.
It was Mr. [Morgan]. “Logan Thomas, I’ve heard a lot of good things about you since our last corporate event. I think you might be just what we need for a new partner. Are you interested?”
Logan didn’t answer for a beat. He was stunned. He thought it would be harder. He definitely hadn’t expected a casual phone call. He always imagined being pulled into a stuffy meeting. Logan reminded himself that this was probably a preliminary conversation. He realized that he hadn’t answered.
“Yes sir. I am very interested in making partner.”
“Now, I’m sure that you’re worried about the whole work life balance. I completely understand that. Making partner now is different than it was years ago, when I joined the firm. We all know that you’re getting married soon. Things will be more flexible than one would expect. We’re a growing firm and we have to keep up with the times. People don’t want to drown themselves in work anymore.”
Logan opened and closed his mouth in surprise. “Yes sir. Thank you, sir. I’m sure Phaedra will appreciate that as well.”
“Great. I will have my assistant send down more information and we’ll take it from there.”
“I look forward to that, sir.”
“I’m sure you are. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
“You do the same, sir.”
CHAPTER FIVE
PHAEDRA
P haedra sighed to herself as she rode the elevator back downstairs. She was glad that the questionable spur-of-the-moment decision turned out so well. When Logan asked her to pose as his fiancé, she thought he was nuts. Yet, here she was. It was only a matter of time before she started doodling her name in her notebooks with his last name.
Part of her wanted to rush right over to his apartment and climb into his bed just so she could surround herself with his scent. Sadly, she had work to do. At least this job was light and fun. Today’s job was a pet photoshoot. A couple Phaedra had photographed before asked her to document their puppy adoption announcement. They wanted to make it similar to a birth announcement. Anything to stop their family from putting baby pressure on them. Life as a newlywed could be tough.
Phaedra knew that there was no chance that plan would work, but it was a fun idea. Who doesn’t love puppies?
The best part of the shoot was that Phaedra could afford to be distracted by thoughts of Logan. There wasn’t much direction that you could take with an adult dog, let alone a puppy. If her mind should wander to thoughts of her beloved, the shoot wouldn’t suffer.
Phaedra had agreed to meet the couple in Central Park. It was fall, so the leaves would be crunchy, which the puppy would be sure to love. That also meant that it would be crowded. It wouldn’t be just New Yorkers in the park; there would also be leaf chasers. The number of people that came to the Northeast just to watch the leaves change was still amazing to Phaedra. She understood that in places like Florida they didn’t necessarily have changing seasons, but she didn’t understand how the color of the leaves was alluring enough to pack the whole family into the car and drive for hours.
That gave Phaedra an idea. She could run a special for fall photoshoots. If she advertised on social media, then tourists and locals alike could take advantage of the sale. That would get her out of the stuffy office and enable her to meet new people. It might even keep her mind off of Logan for a few minutes. Phaedra made a mental note to place the ad as soon as this shoot was finished. There was no reason to delay capitalizing on what was probably a great idea. If Logan had taught her anything, it was that going after what you want is never a bad decision.
Once she arrived at the park, it took Phaedra a few minutes to locate her happy couple. They had agreed to meet near the Balto statue. It seemed fitting. Sure enough, there they were, looking on fondly as their puppy rolled in a pile of leaves. They looked just as proud as any parent would be watching their baby take her first steps.
Quietly, Phaedra slipped her camera out of her bag and began taking candid photos. Even if none of the other photos in the shoot came out well, these would be perfect. Phaedra’s favorite was a picture of the wife throwing a pile of leaves in the air and watching them rain down around the puppy. The tiny dog was jumping and barking, trying to snap them between his tiny muzzle.
Phaedra let them play with the puppy for a few more moments before walking over and saying hello. She didn’t mention the candid photos. It would be a welcome surpr
ise for them when she sent them their digital proofs.
After all the greetings were exchanged, they got down to business. The puppy proved to be the perfect model. He was curious, and even looked right at the lens whenever Phaedra called his name. He was more cooperative than some of the children she had photographed in the past. The shoot went off without a hitch. In an hour, Phaedra had dozens of amazing photos.
Phaedra found herself wondering if she and Logan would ever have a pet together. If they stayed together, her cat River would be his, too. An adult cat shared in a relationship wasn’t the same thing as raising a baby animal together. She wondered what kind of puppy parent Logan would be. She didn’t even know if he liked dogs. Everyone liked dogs, so he should too.
What kind of parent would Logan be? Just the thought of Logan as a parent left her dumbstruck. Logan becoming a parent might mean Phaedra would be too. Phaedra shook her head, trying to shake that troublesome thought loose. There was no way that she was ready for a baby.
Phaedra wrapped up the shoot and bid the couple farewell. She decided to head back to her place in Connecticut. She didn’t want to overdo the Logan time. Getting a key didn’t mean that she had to be at his apartment every minute of the day. A little bit of space never hurt anyone.
CHAPTER SIX
LOGAN
When Logan finally got out of work, he rushed straight home. He didn’t want to admit it to himself, but he was hoping that Phaedra would be there. He thought about stopping to grab takeout, but then he would have to call to see what she wanted. That would ruin the surprise. He told himself not to get his hopes up, but he hoped that he would find her waiting for him.
Coming around the corner, Logan saw that all the lights were out in his apartment. He told himself that there was still a chance that Phaedra might be there. By the time he reached the door, he had nearly convinced himself that she had fallen asleep inside.
As he walked through his apartment, Logan came to the realization that his girlfriend wasn’t there. He knew that he hadn’t invited her. They hadn’t even discussed the option of her coming over tonight. It wasn’t fair for him to expect her to be a mind reader. After all, she had just gone out of her way to surprise him at work with one of his favorite things.
Logan was ashamed to admit that he already missed her. If he was being completely honest, he missed her whenever she wasn’t around. Maybe he should have just asked her to move in. Logan rubbed his hand over his chin. He had never had the desire to move in with any of his previous girlfriends. Logan might be losing his edge. He hoped that this didn’t transfer to the courtroom.
Logan poured himself a bowl of cereal and ate it standing at the counter. He thought back to the man he had been before he met Phaedra. Work had been his sole focus when he joined the firm. There were girls that he spent time with. He even went on dates, but it was never anything serious. Even that only happened when he was sure that it wouldn’t disrupt his caseload.
Logan had never let a woman distract him on the job before. It was amazing to him, how things that he had once so easily pushed aside were now consuming him. He wondered if this was how to tell if someone was “the one.”
The idea of one true love was just another thing that Logan had always believed was a fairytale. Now, he couldn’t get the idea out of his mind. Not only had he met his one and only girl. She was also wearing his ring. Granted, he had given her the ring as part of an arrangement, but the more he saw it, the more he liked seeing it on her finger.
Logan knew that he was getting ahead of himself. There was no denying that he was in love with her. He didn’t want to lose sight of himself, though. It wouldn’t kill them to have a night apart.
Finishing his cereal, he pushed the bowl away. After giving it a few minutes thought, he realized that he could do the things that he used to do before he had to worry about how his girlfriend would react. Logan grabbed a beer out of the fridge and headed for the living room. He stripped down to his boxers, tossing his clothes through his bedroom doorway.
He settled onto the couch and put on the game. It was one of those rare nights when he didn’t have a brief to work on at home. Logan planned to take advantage of this opportunity. He kicked his feet up onto the coffee table. Without his gorgeous woman to distract him, Logan quickly got absorbed in the game. He hollered and cheered for his favorite team. He had forgotten how much he enjoyed this.
It was nice to just kick back and do something with no expectations and no one to impress. Phaedra accepted Logan as he was, but she still made him nervous from time to time. It was hard not to be intimidated by such a beautiful, brilliant woman. Logan couldn’t have her thinking that he just sat around in his underwear all the time, whether it was true or not.
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind when the phone rang. It was a video call. Phaedra. Logan scrambled to find something to cover himself with, but his clothes were in the other room. He hurried to pick up the phone before the call dropped.
“Was I thinking about you out loud?”
“I hope so. You are wearing my favorite outfit,” Phaedra replied, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Oh, now the truth comes out. You have a thing for topless men.”
“Not all topless men. Just you. How was the rest of your day?”
“Not bad. I found myself missing my favorite girl.”
“Does she know that you have a girlfriend?”
“I don’t know if she cares. Just because she’s my favorite doesn’t mean I’m hers.”
That made Phaedra laugh. Logan bit back a lovesick sigh. He could listen to her laugh every day.
“So you did nothing but weep and miss me?”
“Actually, I watched the game. It was a good one.”
“Oh yeah? Did your team win?”
“They did. It’s probably because I watched it. If I had taken the time to watch it and they lost, I would have been devastated.”
“Sounds like today is your lucky day.”
“I guess so.”
“I had a relaxing night, too,” Phaedra said. “I watched one of those remodeling shows. I have a lot of ideas for when I get my own house. If you behave, I’ll even let you see my house when it’s done.”
“Have you secretly bought a house that I don’t know about?” Logan asked with a chuckle.
“Not yet. There’s a show coming out about that next. I’ll definitely be taking notes.”
“Does that mean that you don’t want to talk to me all night long?”
“I just wanted to see how you were doing and let you know that I was thinking about you.”
“You’re so sweet.”
“You’re right. I’m good like that.” Phaedra replied. She burst out laughing when Logan’s eyebrows shot up. “Do you know how hard that was to say with a straight face?”
“If you hadn’t laughed, I would have thought you were serious.”
“I’ll have to work on my poker face. In the meantime, I’m going to call it an early night. I’ve had a long day.”
“I should probably do the same thing. It was great talking to you.”
Phaedra brought her phone close to her lips and gave Logan a cyber kiss before ending the call. Logan smiled. Phaedra was definitely the one.
CHAPTER SEVEN
PHAEDRA
P haedra woke up with a powerful hunger. She’d been so tired. The night before she had fallen asleep before ten o’clock. She was wide awake now and tearing the house apart looking for something to eat. The fastest thing she could get in her system was yogurt and granola. She scarfed it down like a starving man. She wasn’t sure what had come over her.
Phaedra was getting ready for work as usual when she had the same awful queasy feeling she’d had at Logan’s office. She rushed to the bathroom and made it just a moment before she threw up.
She hoped she wasn’t getting some king of stomach bug. When she was done losing her breakfast, she sat on the bathroom floor, gasping for breath. There was nothing that P
haedra hated more than throwing up. This was the second time in as many days. She did not like this pattern.
Her stomach rumbled. Phaedra couldn’t believe that she was hungry again. She wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. She brushed her teeth and decided maybe a smoothie was her best option.
Today, she was taking photos of Seaside Park for their annual calendar. It was a nice change of pace from photographing people. Phaedra appreciated the freedom of being able to take photos of the landscape in ways that suited her creative vision. It was hard to take a bad picture of a lighthouse.
Once she reached the park, Phaedra took a deep breath. She always did like the smell of salt air. The beach always calmed her, no matter the time or the reason. Today was no exception. It was a fairly still day with only a slight breeze. There was just enough wind to convince Phaedra that she wasn’t dreaming.
Taking out her camera, Phaedra began shooting. Horizon shots wouldn’t be too interesting until the sun started to set, but she took some, anyway. From time to time, photos that she thought would be boring came out amazing. She made sure to take as many photos as possible.
She was just wrapping up when she caught the scent of something that turned her stomach. Someone nearby was eating egg salad. Just the idea of it made her stomach lurch. Phaedra struggled to keep her composure. A nearby woman who was very pregnant looked at her with a knowing smile over her egg salad sandwich.
“Sorry, dear. I know how you feel,” the woman said patting her stomach. “I had the same issue a few months ago. How far along are you?”
“Oh, I’m not pregnant,” Phaedra replied quickly.
“Really? Does egg salad normally turn you this shade of green?”
“Well…no. I think I have a bit of a stomach bug.”
“You definitely do. A big one. It’s called a baby.”