Chasing Forever

by Lisa Cardiff

Lucas looked skeptical. “Maybe. The partners would have to approve the switch and I’m not comfortable disclosing my history with Regan.”

  Drew snorted. “Yeah. I can’t imagine you would maintain your squeaky clean, golden boy image after that type of disclosure.” Drew tilted his head to the side. “Well, who knows? Maybe they’d be impressed with your ability to blur ethical lines.”

  Guilt twisting in his gut, Lucas looked at the ceiling. “Fuck you, Drew. I had my reasons. You know that. I don’t want to talk about it. It can’t be undone.”

  Drew stared at Lucas. Then, he sighed. “Fine. We won’t talk about that night, but for the record, I warned you not to do it. I told you to make Olivia deal with her own mess instead of letting her drag you down into the mud with her.”

  Lucas threw a twenty down on the table and stood up. “I have to work early. Same time next week?” Lucas knew Drew meant well, but he couldn’t deal with his ‘I told you so’ speech. From the second he first saw Regan with her dainty features, blazing green eyes, and dark auburn hair wrapped up in a package of incorruptibility, he didn’t want to help Olivia. In fact, he had adamantly refused to have anything to do with it. He only approached Regan later on an impulsive whim because he couldn’t stop himself. He couldn’t explain why he did what he did to anyone because it didn’t even make sense in his own head.

  Drew nodded. “Yep. Good luck this week.”

  Chapter Five

  At seven-thirty the next morning, Regan walked into her small interior office at Martin and Black, a camel leather tote bag in one hand and her third cup of coffee in the other. Thanks to Lucas Evanston, she hadn’t slept more than four hours last night. Seeing him again had triggered so many memories that she had a hard time stopping the endless loop in her head. She couldn’t understand why a person she knew for three short months could still make her so angry.

  Thanks to a lack of sleep and him, she was more nervous for work than she had been yesterday. Now that she knew Lucas would be her mentor for the summer, the sole person who determined whether she received a favorable reference, her body couldn’t stop vibrating with anxiety. Six years ago¸ she couldn’t wait to see his face, talk to him, and touch him. Now…not so much.

  Sliding into the chair behind what would be her desk for the next three months, unless she killed or otherwise caused bodily harmed to Lucas asshole Evanston, she reminded herself that she’d earned this summer associate position. She belonged here. She was ranked number one in her class, she was president of the law review, she had published a few articles, and she worked damn hard to get here. So she took a deep breath, pushed her hair out of her face and logged onto to her computer.

  A friendly looking middle-aged woman with beautifully maintained brunette hair walked into her office. “Good morning, Regan. I’m Annabelle Jones, Mr. Evanston’s assistant.” She held out her hand in greeting and Regan stood up from behind her desk and shook it. “Sorry we didn’t get a chance to chat yesterday. I had a family emergency and I left early.”

  “No problem,” Regan said, smiling. “I spent most of the day familiarizing myself with Mr. Evanston’s cases.”

  “Great. Mr. Evanston would like you to meet him in his office in twenty minutes. I think he sent you an email to that effect, but you just arrived so I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss the meeting.” Annabelle turned to leave, then stopped. “He’s an early riser, so he’s normally in the office by six-thirty.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Just a helpful tip.”

  “I remember,” Regan mumbled.

  “What?” Annabelle responded, tilting her head to the side, confused.

  “Nothing. I think he told me that yesterday. He just didn’t mention how early.” Despite all the memories that had resurfaced after seeing Lucas yesterday, she hadn’t remembered Lucas’s early morning habits until that moment. Unlike most kids in college, Lucas woke up insanely early to train. He ran at least five miles and then lifted weights. Back then she both admired and hated his discipline. Judging from the way his suit fit, he still refused to skip his early morning workouts.

  Fifteen minutes later, she made the walk down the hallway to Lucas’s slightly larger office with a view. When she reached his office, his door was partially closed, but she could hear him talking on the speakerphone. Uncomfortable knocking, she decided to wait until he finished the call. She didn’t want to give him grounds to criticize her. Knowing him, he was probably looking for a reason to get rid of her. She refused to give him one. She planned to be the best damn summer associate to walk through the doors of Martin and Black.

  “Yes, Richard,” Lucas said, running his hands through his hair.

  “I need you to cover the Jennings deposition today. I have a last minute settlement conference for the Vickers case. I think they’re finally ready to settle,” came Richard’s gravelly voice through the speakerphone. Regan had met Richard briefly during her second interview. He ran the corporate department, so she knew Lucas wouldn’t refuse. It looked as though she would be staring at file summaries again today.

  “What time?” Lucas answered, his voice brisk.

  “Nine at Baker and Wright.”

  Lucas leaned toward his computer checking his appointments. “Okay. Do you have an outline prepared?”

  “It’s on the server. If you can’t find it, ask Annabelle. Thanks.”

  When the phone call ended, Regan raised her hand to knock on the door.

  “You didn’t have to wait outside until I finished the call,” Lucas commented without turning around. “When I make a call that requires privacy, I close the door. When it’s open, you can enter.” He lowered his voice. “I hate it when people hover outside my door. It’s distracting.”

  Regan visualized tossing her coffee in his direction, then exhaled loudly and repeatedly chanted in her head, I can do this. I can make it through the summer without maiming Lucas asshole Evanston.

  He swiveled his chair to face her, and Regan realized she still hadn’t moved or responded to his comment. Her hand hung in the air poised to knock. She dropped it to her side and balled it into a fist. “Sure. Whatever you want.”

  “Did you hear the plans for today?” he asked, rolling his pen back and forth between his hands.

  “You’re taking the Jennings deposition today. Can I sit?” He nodded and Regan sat in the chair in front of his desk and crossed her legs.

  “No. We’re taking the Jennings deposition today. Have Annabelle pull the outline off the server and print two copies, one for me and one for you. Meet me in the lobby at eight-thirty. I’ll drive. We’re taking our client to lunch when it’s over, so we won’t be back until two or three in the afternoon. We can discuss your role for the summer when we get back to the office.”

  “Wow. That sounds interesting, but I don’t know much about the case.” Regan shrugged her shoulders, feigning disinterest. Most summer associates spent the entire summer buried in research. Attending a deposition was huge, drool-worthy, and she would love to go, but not with Lucas. Declining to go wasn’t very professional, but self-preservation was the key to surviving the summer. She would not spend the entire morning and a good part of the afternoon following Lucas around. Not today. Maybe in a couple days or next week. By then, she would have adjusted to the reality of being close to him on a daily basis. “The Jennings case wasn’t included in the case summary. If you give me a quick project, I’ll be fine until you return this afternoon.”

  Lucas nodded, then his eyes narrowed. “Hmm, I guess your recommendations were inaccurate.” He rifled through his drawer, pulled out a thin blue folder and thumbed through the papers. “Here it is.” He held up a piece of paper and tossed it in her direction. “Your corporate law professor said something about you being one of the most ambitious and brilliant students she had the privilege of teaching in the last ten years. That’s what I remember, but maybe I didn’t read it closely….” he shrugged carelessly, “or maybe she’s wrong.”

  Jerk. Regan resisted the urge t
o roll her eyes. “I’ll meet you in the lobby at eight-thirty, but I’ll drive myself.”

  He smiled that smile—dimple, white teeth, and roguish eyes—the one that had literally crushed her heart into millions of pieces six years ago. “Nope. That won’t work. I need to give you background information on the case before we get to Baker and Wright, but I don’t have the time right now. We’ll have thirty uninterrupted minutes in the car so we might as well take advantage of it.”

  She took a sip of her coffee. Totally blasé. “Great idea. I can’t wait.”

  With that, she stood up and walked out of his office. Lucas always manipulated everything in his favor from the minute she met him. Just like six years ago, he obviously had an agenda today too, but if he thought she would play the tragic heroine this time, he was absolutely wrong. She would never be that girl again. She would never fall for anything related to Lucas Evanston. She’d been there and done that, and there was absolutely no reason to repeat the ride because it sucked.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Epilogue

  Chapter Six

  Lucas opened the car door for Regan, and he could practically feel the anger vibrating through her body. That was okay. He had plenty of anger himself except his was mixed with equal doses of guilt and regret.

  For reasons he’d prefer not to consider, he wanted her to come with him on this deposition. Was it necessary or even advisable to take a summer associate to a deposition where millions of dollars were on the line? No, but the minute the idea flashed through his mind, he wanted her to come. When she prevaricated acting as if she didn’t want to go, he refused to let her get away with it because he knew she would jump at the chance to be included if he were anyone else—any summer associate with a scrap of ambition would.

  Now, as he pulled out of the parking garage, he realized his spur of the moment decision wasn’t a very good idea, but when it came to Regan, he never made very enlightened choices.

  From the corner of his eye, he noticed the way her black pencil skirt slid up her thigh. For such a petite girl, she had long shapely legs. Years ago, he couldn’t stop touching them. Right now he wanted to.

  Regan cleared her throat and pulled on the hem of her skirt. “So are you going to give me the history of this case?”

  Lucas tapped his fingers on the steering wheel waiting for the light to turn green. “Did you read the deposition outline?”

  “Yes. Jennings and Peterson entered into a partnership ten years ago. Two years ago they decided to terminate the partnership. It looks like they came to an agreement on the division of assets and signed on it, but now Jennings wants to renegotiate the agreement.”

  “That’s the gist of it except that there are millions of dollars on the line because the partnership purchased some mines years ago that have now been reopened as a result of new mining techniques. Former worthless land is now worth millions. Jennings agreed to give Peterson the mines before he realized their worth.”

  Regan shrugged. “It sounds as if he made a mistake and wants to unwind the deal.”

  Lucas tilted his head to the side studying the way she managed to look both innocent and sensual biting on her lower lip. “Maybe, but there’s evidence that North Relief Mining Corporation approached Peterson before the dissolution of the partnership with an offer to purchase the mines for twenty million dollars. Peterson initiated the dissolution of the partnership a few days later without disclosing the inquiry to Jennings. North Relief has since contracted to purchase the mines. Jennings received one million dollars in assets as part of the partnership dissolution.”

  “Wow, that’s really underhanded,” Regan said, her eyebrows arched in disbelief.

  “So today, we’re taking a 30(b)(6) deposition of Michael Anderson, a representative of North Relief Mining Corporation. Do you know what that is?” Lucas parked his car in a meter in front of a tall gray building.

  “Yes, it’s a deposition of an agent of a corporation. Everything the agent says can be held against the corporation.” Regan reached for the car door handle and smiled at him. “I may be a lowly second, soon to be third-year law student, but I did learn a few things my first two years.”

  “Wait.” Lucas placed his hand on her arm and squeezed it lightly. He liked talking to Regan. He always had and suddenly he hated the idea of spending the summer sparring with her. He never wanted to hurt her. What happened six years ago was never about her. It wasn’t even about him. They both suffered, her more than him. The difference was that he willingly let Olivia turn him into a pawn. Regan, on the other hand, never had a clue. “Before we go in there, I wanted to talk a little bit about what happened between us.”

  She eyed his hand on her arm, then shrugged it away. “It’s kind of old news. Let’s move on and get through this summer.”

  Lucas ran his hand through his hair. “Well, it may be old news, but I’ve never apologized. So here it is. I’m really sorry for what happened between us. I know what it looked like, but I never actually planned to hurt you. Olivia wanted—”

  “Nope.” Regan held up her hand, shaking her head. “I don’t want to revisit this. I don’t care anymore. I stopped thinking about what you did to me, how you used me and made a fool of me years ago. Let’s pretend it didn’t happen and hopefully we won’t run into each other after this summer.”

  “I still care about what happened,” Lucas said as he pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear.

  She stared at him for an instant, her eyes wide and unsure and then she laughed. “I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but I’m not interested. There is no way to take back what happened between us so don’t waste one minute trying.” She stepped out of the car and slammed the door.

  Lucas exhaled loudly as he shut the car door. He wouldn’t fight with her all summer. The hatred in her eyes drove him crazy. He had to repair the damage his childish behavior had caused. When they reached the elevator inside the lobby of the building, he turned to look at Regan. “If I knew how to fix what happened six years ago, I would do it in a heartbeat.”

  Regan stepped into the elevator. “It’s impossible so don’t bother.”

  He joined her on the elevator, pushed the button for the eighth floor, and smiled. “I’m still going to try. I’ve heard from a reliable source that I can be pretty charming when I put my mind to it.”

  Regan tapped her fingers against her lips and he watched, strangely fascinated by every movement. In fact, he couldn’t look away. He loved her lips. They were the most sinful things he’d ever seen in his life. He could lie to himself and say he hadn’t conjured up those lips in some of his late night fantasies over the last few years, but what was the point. Self-delusion didn’t change the facts.

  “Hmm…interesting theory.” She dropped her fingers, resting her hand on her hip as she smiled wickedly. “But I’m pretty damn confident I’m immune to your charm.”

  He leaned toward her, unable to stop the grin from spreading across his face. “I think you forgot one small detail.”

  She raised her eyebrows defiantly. “And what detail is that?”

  “I love
a challenge.”

  Chapter Seven

  Later that afternoon, Regan sat at the table of an Italian Restaurant in the Marina District of San Francisco across from Jack Jennings and next to Lucas. She hated that the hostess seated them in a booth. Lucas was way too close, had been way too close for several hours.

  The way his legs brushed against hers every few minutes, reminding her he was there, made her jumpy and completely on edge. She couldn’t tell if he did it on purpose. His face gave nothing away. He just sat there making small talk and flashing a bland business-like smile when appropriate. She exhaled loudly and painted a smile on her face to match his. Lucas Evanston would not distract her from her goals. He’d done it before, and she’d paid the price. She couldn’t afford to let her guard down even if an infinitely small part of her still enjoyed being next to him. She needed to squash that part immediately.

  “You don’t like your food?” Lucas asked, leaning into her shoulder.

  Of course she liked her food. It looked amazing. It smelled amazing. She didn’t like being forced to spend the day in close contact with him. It reminded her of how pathetic she acted six years ago craving more time with him as if she were a lost puppy with no life outside of him. “It tastes fine. I’m not hungry.”

  Lucas arched one eyebrow. “If you say so.”

  “So Regan, how do you like working for Martin and Black?” Jack asked, drawing her attention away from Lucas’s compelling amber eyes. Couldn’t his eyes be a little less noteworthy?

  Like black to match his heart, she thought bitterly. He had long dark lashes, a perfectly sculpted jaw line, and dimples. If God was fair, he would have spread the genetic wealth. But no, Lucas got it all.

  Regan placed her fork diagonally across her plate. “I haven’t been there long, but I’m really excited about being part of the team this summer.”

  Jack took a sip of water. “You’re lucky the partners paired you up with Lucas. He’s a great attorney, one of the best at Martin and Black, even if he hasn’t officially made partner yet. I’m sure you’ll learn a lot from him.”