by Carsen Taite
“You’d be wrong. Dad didn’t have a problem with me going into the legal profession. Matter of fact, the minute I announced my plans, he was on the phone with the deans of admission at the stuffiest schools in the country to find out what size donation he needed to make to get his wayward daughter accepted in their incoming class.”
“I’ll guess again. UT Law School wasn’t his first choice.”
“Hardly. Only Ivy League for dear old Dad.”
“Which is exactly why she decided to go to UT instead,” Ian said. “They barely spoke all three years she was there.”
“True,” Landon said. “He did show up for graduation, though. He said, ‘Now that you’ve had your fun, I’ve secured you a spot in the legal division of Holt Industries. It’s entry level, but Holts aren’t afraid of hard work, and it’s time you stopped acting like a child.’ I tossed him out of my apartment and we hadn’t spoken again until today.” She crossed her arms. “In the scheme of things, I know there are worse problems, but you would never guess how many people assume that because my last name is Holt, I had a leg up.”
“I didn’t,” Carly said.
Landon considered. She’d had her doubts, especially since Carly had pressed her to talk about family on more than one occasion. Was it possible that Carly’s questions had been more in the realm of getting to know her and less about social gossip? The sincere look on Carly’s face was all the answer she needed. She could trust Carly to tell her the truth. “I know. Thank you.” She cleared her throat. “Now enough about unpleasant family. We have nachos to make.”
Later, when they were slouched on the patio drinking beer and eating the best nachos ever, Landon wondered if she should’ve told the rest of the story about her father, and how his attempt to manipulate her personal life, not just her professional one, was the real reason she’d shut the door on their relationship. Ian was the only one she’d ever told. Sharing her story with Carly was a whole new level of personal, and while she might be ready to hold hands, baring her soul wasn’t on the agenda. Not now anyway.
* * *
“I had fun today,” Carly said as the Uber driver pulled up to the offices of Sturges and Lloyd. The ride from Ian’s had been shorter than she’d anticipated, definitely not long enough to explore the newfound feelings of respect and camaraderie she’d developed for Landon. Probably best anyway to unpack all this emotion later, out of Landon’s bigger-than-life presence.
“Me too, although I’m not sure I delivered as promised.”
“You did.” Carly wanted to say more. Like how she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had this much fun. How she enjoyed feeling part of something and hanging out with a bunch of people who had no preconceived notions about her lack of social skills or intense focus on her work. But when she looked at Landon, shadows danced across her face and her full lips parted, and Carly’s words faded into the night air.
They stepped out of the car. “I should go.”
“Okay.”
Had she heard a trace of regret in Landon’s voice? It was only one word, so not likely. “Okay.”
“Can I walk you to your car?” Landon asked.
“Yes, please.”
Landon tipped the driver and sent him on his way. The parking lot was empty, which made sense since they were the only two attorneys at the firm likely to be working late on a Sunday. Landon didn’t take her hand, but their arms brushed as they walked across the lot. With each step, Carly cast about for a way to prolong the contact. She opened her car door and hesitated before getting in. “I could give you a ride to your hotel.”
“It’s just across the street.”
“I know.” Carly held Landon’s gaze and waited. She was taking a big risk because she didn’t know what came next. She held her breath as the moments ticked by, the expression on Landon’s face unreadable.
Without saying anything, Landon leaned close to Carly’s ear, her breath light and caressing. “I had fun today too, but I should go.” She didn’t wait for an answer, but placed her hand on the car door and drew it open wider, inviting Carly to step in. Carly slid behind the wheel and watched Landon in her rearview mirror, walking farther and farther away. When Landon was no longer in sight, Carly drove off, unsure if she was disappointed or relieved to be driving home alone.
Chapter Nine
Thursday afternoon, Landon stretched her legs across her desk and reread the file private investigator Skye Keaton had prepared on Vanessa Meyers. She’d already read it five times, but she kept hoping she’d come across something, anything that would cast some light on who else might have had a motive to kill her. She’d turned up nothing except a list of character witnesses Donna Wilhelm would likely call to demonstrate exactly how big a loss it was when Vanessa died because everyone loved her. Everyone except Trevor.
But that was the thing. Except for the two calls to the police, all evidence pointed to Trevor loving her too. Friends reported he’d even been looking at rings and started making plans to pop the question. Landon was well acquainted with domestic abuse cases and how outward appearances often didn’t have anything to do with what was going on inside a house, but Trevor’s emphatic denials that he’d ever threatened Vanessa or harmed her in any way were pretty believable. And there was no actual evidence to support past violence. There was more to this mystery, but one thing was clear—all the evidence was circumstantial, which was likely the reason Carly’s brief in support of getting Trevor’s suspension tossed had been granted even if the victory was short-lived.
Landon pushed the file aside. She’d spent a lot of time over the last week avoiding thoughts of Carly, but proximity in the office made it impossible to ignore her existence. Not that she wanted to ignore her. All she really wanted was for all her thoughts—make that feelings—about Carly to fade into the background so she could concentrate on her work, but she was failing miserably. She should’ve kissed Carly the other night in the parking lot and gotten it out of her system.
Except she was a little scared acting on her impulses would only have her coming back for more, and more would be a distraction that could derail her chance at the partnership. Memories of a warning her father had once issued rang in her head: It’s not true that business isn’t personal. Good business is always personal, which means you have to guard against letting anyone or anything rank higher than your professional desires or your business will fail.
She’d spent her life rebelling against and suffering the consequences of his callous approach, but she had to admit he’d been spot-on before, even if she’d been too stubborn to admit it. If she was serious about winning this partnership, focus was key. Kissing Carly was the very opposite of focus, which was probably why she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Her desk phone buzzed and Russell’s voice interrupted her obsessive thoughts. “Landon, you have a visitor.”
She glanced at her cell phone calendar, hoping she hadn’t forgotten an important appointment. Nope. “Who is it?” she asked.
“It’s your brother, you know, the good-looking one.” She looked up at the sound of the voice coming from her doorway, where Ian stood wearing a big grin. “It’s lunchtime, and I want to try this new place downtown. Come with?”
“You know, most people wait until the person they come to see agrees to see them. Proper channels and all.”
“Since when are you proper?” Ian didn’t wait for an answer. He walked into the room and sat in one of the chairs across from her desk. “Before you tell me you’re busy, let me extol the virtues of food on the brain. Hungry people make bad decisions.”
Landon glanced from the pile of paperwork on her desk to her bulging email inbox. Greg had been sending messages on the regular with questions about her pending cases in Austin, and she was beginning to feel like she was holding down two jobs. Maybe a bit of a break was in order. “Okay, but not some long, lingering, order one of everything on the menu lunches. I have work to do.”
“Fine. We’ll shove one entree each into
our mouths as fast as we can so you can get back to it. Come on, let’s go.”
Landon shook her head and grabbed her suit jacket. “Where are we going?”
“Nowhere long and lingering.” Ian followed her out of her office. “Hey, where’s Carly? Should we invite her?”
Before Landon could respond, she heard Carly’s voice.
“Hi, Ian, invite her to what?”
Shit. Carly was standing in the hallway outside of her office. Two more minutes and they would’ve escaped without seeing her. Landon wanted to grab Ian’s arm and run out of the building, but the sight of Carly in tall boots, a wool skirt, and a figure-hugging sweater had her rooted in place. Carly was gorgeous, and the sight of her had Landon questioning the whole kissing not kissing decision again. Exactly the reason she should be running.
“Lunch,” Ian said without missing a beat. “Some people understand how important it is to fuel the mind, but my sis here? Not so much. Where do you fall on the feed a starving lawyer spectrum?”
“I’m sure Carly’s too busy for lunch,” Landon said before Carly could respond. “We’re working on a deadline. Besides, it would be boring since we’re just going to discuss that family thing.” She pointed to the door. “We should get going or we’re going to be late.” She didn’t wait for an answer and pulled Ian with her to the lobby and out the front door.
“Hey,” Ian protested. “That was rude.”
Landon punched the elevator button several times in quick succession. “You know what’s rude? Not asking a person if they want another person to join them for lunch. That’s what.”
The door dinged and they stepped inside. When the door closed, Ian took up a position with his back to the door. “You’re not leaving this car until you tell me why we just ditched Carly.”
“I thought we were going to lunch, just you and me.”
“Uh-huh.”
“What?”
Ian cocked his head and flashed a knowing smile. She hated that expression and wanted to wipe it off his face. “Stop acting smug. You’ve got this all wrong.”
“Care to tell me what I’m missing?”
Landon fished around for something to tell him and settled on the truth. Partly. “Carly is not my office friend or lunch buddy. She’s my fierce, competitive rival. Got it?”
Ian took a minute to consider her words. “Okay.” He nodded slowly. “Do we hate her?”
Landon silently cursed. Things would be a lot easier if she hated Carly, but right now she’d have to settle for acting like she did to keep from acting on how she really felt. “Hate’s an awfully strong word. How about we just agree that she’s someone to be cautious about? I’ll keep you updated.”
“See that you do.”
Landon moved quickly to steer the conversation in a different direction. “What’s for lunch?”
“I’m thinking sushi. You up for that? We can even walk if you’re game.”
“Lead the way.” The office was close to one of the urban dwellings that had popped up all over the city. Condos surrounded by shops and restaurants so the busy, single professionals who lived in the condos didn’t have to wander far to spend their salaries. As they walked past the rental office, Landon grabbed a brochure.
Ian waited until they’d ordered at the restaurant before pointing to the paper in her hand. “You looking for a place to live?”
“Maybe.”
“In Dallas?”
“Maybe.” She looked up into his grinning face and smacked him with the menu. “Quit acting like it’s a done deal.”
“I can’t help it. You’re my favorite sibling.”
“Jerry,” she said, referring to their other brother, “isn’t a sibling. He’s an android programmed to do Dad’s will without question. You and I are obviously the product of some kind of gene experiment.”
“I can’t argue with you there.” Landon often lamented the lack of closeness with her older brother while simultaneously praising the gods for Ian. She couldn’t imagine having to grow up as the only wild child in the family. “The whole moving to Dallas thing is contingent on whether I make partner.”
Ian brushed his hand through the air. “As if you wouldn’t. Jane loves you. She talks about you to Dad all the time.”
“That probably makes him crazy.” Landon hated that Jane ran in some of the same circles as her father.
“Maybe a little. But seriously, I’m certain she’ll promote you.”
She wanted to just nod in agreement and not get into the whole plan Jane had hatched, but she’d always shared the truth with Ian, and frankly she could use a confidant right about now. “There’s a catch. They do plan to promote an associate this year, but only one, and they’ve narrowed it down to two people.”
Ian sucked in a breath. “Oh no. Gorgeous Girl is your rival?”
“Don’t be an ass—that’s not her name.”
“You don’t be an ass. I know her name. So, how is Jane going to decide which one of you to promote?”
The waiter appeared with their order, and they were momentarily distracted by the beautiful omakase platter, listening intently as he described each piece. “This looks amazing,” Landon said, grabbing a piece of tuna with her chopsticks and swooning at the buttery taste of the fish melting in her mouth. “I haven’t had sushi in forever.”
“We’ll get back to that travesty, but in the meantime, tell me more about this race for the partnership. How’s it going to work?”
“Simple really. We’re supposed to work together on Trevor Kincade’s case, and when it’s over, Jane promotes whichever one of us did the best work.”
“Which she measures how?”
“Hell, I don’t know. She may wind up flipping a coin for all I know.”
“You don’t sound like you really want the gig.”
Landon rolled his comment over in her head. She did want it. She wanted it bad. The promotion would be a symbol of her hard work, but mostly it would be a big fuck you to her father. She wondered what motivation Carly had for wanting the job, and that was a problem. What Carly wanted shouldn’t factor into her plan. Not one ounce. Not at all.
“I do want it, but more importantly, I’m going to get it.” Landon inserted all the conviction she could muster into the words. Eventually, she would believe them, and as for how her win would affect Carly, well, she’d deal with that when the time came.
* * *
Carly reached into her bag and fished out the half of the sandwich she hadn’t eaten at lunch. She hadn’t been hungry then, and she wasn’t particularly hungry now, but munching might keep her mind from wandering to thoughts of Landon and what she was doing right now.
Silly really. Landon’s office was two doors down, and she should just get up and wander over there and check in. Except there were two problems with that approach. First, she kind of hated it when coworkers showed up in her doorway unannounced. Second, Landon obviously didn’t want to hang with her based on the not so subtle way she’d ditched her at lunchtime. She shouldn’t care, but after feeling so included when Landon took her to Ian’s house, Landon’s abrupt snub had stung.
It was for the best. She was busy formulating her strategy for the grand jury packet and didn’t need the distraction of Landon’s effortless good looks and bigger than life charm. If she wasn’t careful, she’d get sucked into letting Landon show her up on this case. It wouldn’t be hard. Carly was used to being the behind the scenes hero, letting her mad research skills prop everyone else up onstage. If she was going to win this partnership, she needed to step up her game and take center stage. No more second chair, no more managing the fallout. She needed to make things happen.
Loaded with resolution, she grabbed her iPad and took the long way around the floor to Jane’s office. She’d timed the trip perfectly because Rhonda would be in the office kitchen brewing her afternoon tea right now. Jane’s door was slightly ajar, but she gave it a solid knock, determined to make her case.
“Come in. I’m
almost finished with it.”
Carly stood in front of Jane’s desk, waiting for her to look up. Jane’s office was the epitome of power femme. Glass and steel combined with orchids and pops of color. Nothing about her space resembled Carly’s office, where the walls were bare except for bookshelves lined with reference materials.
When Jane finally looked up, her expression was one of surprise. “Oh, hi, Carly. I thought you were Rhonda. Have you seen her?”
“I haven’t, but if you have a minute, I’d like to run something by you.”
Jane pushed aside the files on her desk and motioned for Carly to take a seat. “Sure. Let’s hear it.”
Carly hesitated for a second but pressed on, mentally chanting go big or go home. “It’s about the grand jury hearing. I’ve reviewed all the evidence we have so far and, if left unrefuted, I think there’s a better than even chance Trevor will be indicted.”
“I think you’re right.”
Carly masked her surprise. She wasn’t used to hearing Jane say anything negative when it came to case outcomes. She’d cheer her team on even when everyone in the office knew all hope was lost. Carly had always figured it was Jane’s way of trying to get them to go the extra mile, not to mention the solid optimism helped convince the client to keep funding the retainer. “Then why do you have us working so hard on a grand jury packet?”
“It’s a good exercise, and we’ll be even more prepared for trial. Trevor’s going to want a quick trial, and like Landon suggested, a speedy trial request is likely to leave the prosecutor scrambling. Donna Wilhelm is swamped right now with several other complex cases, and I’m willing to bet she’s pulling together a bare-bones case with just enough evidence to get Trevor indicted. If she has to get ready for trial quickly, she’s going to be in over her head.”
“What if he didn’t get indicted? Would he be back on the field this season?”
“Shelby has the team’s word that if the case gets kicked for any reason, Trevor will be back in uniform, catching passes faster than you can say touchdown.” Jane shook her head. “But let’s be real. That’s a pipe dream.”