by Lea Coll
I walked the few steps between the firm’s front door and the Hapkido studio’s, carrying the attorney-client agreement and proposed contracts in a file. I’d spent a good portion of the weekend drafting various contract options for his karate studio. I didn’t have to, but I wanted to impress Cade, so he’d refer us to his business associates and friends. At least that’s what I told myself. It had nothing to do with impressing him as a man who I was interested in. I needed this. I needed a sign that I hadn’t made a huge mistake in tying up all my savings in this firm.
As long as I didn’t act on my attraction to him, I’d be fine. And so far, Cade hadn’t given me any indication that he saw me as anything more.
I peered into the studio’s dark windows. It was fifteen minutes until his four p.m. class. He said he usually arrived earlier, but all the lights were off. Maybe he was in his office. I knocked.
“What are you doing here?” a deep rumbly voice came from behind, startling me.
I turned around and came face to face with Cade. “Oh, hi. I thought you were—” I gestured behind me at the studio “—in there.”
His lips twitched in amusement. It was so unexpected I couldn’t take my eyes from his lips and almost missed his words. “I just got here.”
My face heated and I lifted the folder of documents I clutched in my fingers between us. “I wanted to drop these off. It’s your attorney-client agreement and the proposed contracts.”
He raised his brow. “You drafted the contract already?”
I nodded, suddenly worried my hard work made me seem overeager. “A few options. We can go over them, see if they align with what you were thinking.”
Cade unlocked the door and held it open. I brushed past him as I walked inside. His familiar smell washed over me. My hair caught on the scruff on his chin. I turned just as he brushed it off and our eyes caught. An overwhelming desire to go on tiptoes and kiss the scruff on his chin coursed through me. I wanted to rest my hand on his chest to see if it was as hard as it looked.
I needed him to sign this damn agreement, so I’d stop thinking of him as a man and start thinking of him as a client, one I had no business thinking about beyond his legal needs.
“Let’s go to my office.” His voice was gruff, as if he was just as affected as I was.
I followed him down the hallway, through a door on the right.
“I’m sorry. I haven’t had a chance to get my files together yet.”
“Oh, that’s okay. I was anxious to get started.” I looked around his small office with its tall metal file cabinets, a basket of lollipops on his desk, and uniforms folded neatly on a shelf. He sat behind the empty desk. I sat in the only other chair, thinking he must not have many guests. Then I opened the folder on the desk between us and slid the agreement over to him.
“There’s nothing wrong with working hard.” He clasped his hands in front of him.
I ignored the compliment, not wanting him to be kind and understanding on top of being attractive. I needed to maintain my professionalism. “You can read, review, and sign it when you’re ready. I’ll be happy to answer any questions. The estimate for the work we agreed on is attached.”
He leaned his elbows on the desk and read through the agreement while I waited. The walls were empty. There were no degrees or pictures of a family. There was nothing that would tell me more about him. There wasn’t even a mug with a saying on it that would tell me if he was a secret comedian or owned a cat or a dog. There was nothing.
I was so focused on trying to read the spines of the books on the shelf behind him I didn’t realize he was signing the agreement until I heard the scratch of his pen on paper. “Sorry, did you have any questions?”
“No. It was self-explanatory.” He pushed the signed paperwork across the desk.
I scanned the document before I added my signature under his. I stared at our names on the lines as the knowledge I couldn’t pursue anything with him pierced my heart. I covered my disappointment with a smile. “I’ll make you a copy and drop it by later.”
“What else do you have for me?” He nodded at the rest of the paperwork in the file.
“I drafted membership contracts based on various incentives.”
He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost four p.m. I hadn’t noticed it before, but the sounds of talking and laughter filtered down the hall through the door to his open door.
I rose from the chair, gathering my things. “I’m sorry. I’ll go so you can get ready for class.”
“It’s not a problem. I’ll take a look and call to set up an appointment.”
I stepped toward the door when he said, “Did you forget this?”
I turned to find him holding the agreement in his hands.
I flushed and took the agreement. “Thanks for reminding me.”
He put his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels. “Have you thought any more about taking classes? I don’t mean to pressure you, but you’re giving me legal services for a reduced rate. A few classes are the least I could offer in return.”
I tilted my head, wondering if he was creating an opportunity for us to spend time together, or he was just nice. “Oh, you don’t have to do that. You’re doing me a favor.”
“Come to my adult class. I teach one at six p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. There are teenagers and adults.”
We wouldn’t be alone. His offer could have been a friendly one. I couldn’t resist seeing him again outside my capacity as his attorney. “Okay.”
“Great.” Then he smiled—the first actual smile I’d gotten from him. I practically stumbled I was so surprised. “Thanks for this. You’re helping me in more ways than one.”
“You’re welcome.” My voice came out strangled. I couldn’t take my eyes off the way his smile made him look younger.
“I’d better get dressed.” His smile turned almost teasing.
“Oh, right. Sorry.” Sorry, I was distracted by the way your smile transformed your face into someone else—someone younger and carefree. And now I was thinking of him changing out of his work clothes into his uniform. I imagined him naked. Heat flooded my face as I whirled out of his office.
I didn’t meet the eyes of anyone who was in the waiting room. I needed to get back to my office where I could analyze the conversation word by word and take a mental picture of his smile to remember it later. I hadn’t known him long, but something told me he didn’t smile often, if at all. Yet he’d smiled at me.
Cade
I followed her to my office door, watching her until she left the studio. Then I softly closed and locked the door so I could change into my uniform. When I asked her to come to a class, I’d held my breath. I’d wanted her to say yes, even if it probably wasn’t a good idea. She was my attorney. We had a professional relationship. Why was I so drawn to her? Part of it was that I got the feeling she was looking for something, or she needed something. In a way, she was lost too. I recognized the need to be seen when I looked into her eyes.
A general feeling of well-being stayed with me for the rest of the day. I’d committed to improving my businesses, my home, and the relationships within my family. I tried not to think about whether this would stick or if I’d slide backward. When I was around Hadley, hope filled my lungs, making it easier to breathe.
Chapter Nine
Hadley
The rest of the week, I busied myself reviewing new cases. I couldn’t stop thinking about Cade’s offer for me to take a few free classes. I didn’t have friends other than Avery or a social life, so I didn’t have an excuse. People said they put kids into karate to gain confidence which was something I sorely needed now.
I was on my own for the first time in my life. I was supposed to be discovering who I was and what I wanted even though I hadn’t made any progress.
The phone rang. I picked it up, hoping it was a new client—someone who’d seen our advertisement and wanted to hire us. “Arrington, Gannon, & Winters, how can I help you?”
“We need to talk,” Dad said.
Ugh. Why hadn’t I checked the caller ID before answering? “I’m at work.”
“The Kids Speak gala is coming up. We were going to announce the expansion to other cities and ask people to invest in your idea. How can we do that if you’re not here?” Dad’s voice was gruff; it was one he used when you weren’t supposed to argue with him.
“I’ll be there.” Frustration crept up my neck. I’d hired a director to run Kids Speak in New Orleans, but I still oversaw it from Annapolis and was the face of the company.
“Permanently?”
“No, we’ve discussed this. My life is here.”
He was quiet for so long I thought maybe he was going to let it go. “If the business goes under, I won’t have the money to invest.”
My stomach dropped. Could I run the charity without his help? Would I get enough donations at the upcoming gala to run it on my own? “I’m not sure what I can do about that.”
“You need to prove to everyone things are good between you and Layton. If you do, Aiden Black will sign the deal, so you’ll have the money for Kids Speak. Think what you can do with both of us backing you.”
Putting me in this impossible situation felt like a vice was squeezing my heart. Support his business and Layton, then my nonprofit would survive. Don’t and everything I worked so hard for would be gone. I’d looked forward to expanding the program here to be more hands-on. I wanted to see the joy on a child’s face when he or she read a sentence without stuttering or when they said his or her Rs correctly. I closed my eyes, hoping I wasn’t making a huge mistake. “I’ll be there representing Kids Speak. But everything isn’t fine with Layton and I won’t pretend otherwise.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
It was precisely the sort of pressure-filled situation I’d moved away from. The heavy weight of responsibilities and expectations settled back on my chest. This was the moment I needed to take a stand. “My life is here. I’m not working for your company and I’m not pretending things are fine with Layton.”
“If you want me to invest in Kids Speak, then you need to work for me. Put on a show for Layton and his father. I don’t care if you marry him, but you sure as hell better make up with him. Do whatever it takes.” He hung up without waiting for a response.
I dropped my head into my hands. I had to go to the gala, but I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about the rest of it. I wanted to stay strong. I wanted to be my own person even if I was still a long way from figuring out who I was.
“Are you okay?” Avery asked.
I raised my head to find her in the doorway her concerned gaze on me. “Yeah, it was just my dad.”
“There’s no ‘just your dad’ when it’s your dad.” Avery leaned her shoulder against the doorway.
Avery didn’t know all of the details, but she knew he was the reason I’d moved here. “True. I have the gala coming up for my charity, Kids Speak. We were going to announce our intention to expand to other cities. So far, my biggest investor is my dad and he can’t continue to back me if his company is going under.”
“That sucks. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I don’t have any extra capital for it. I can ask for donations at the gala, but that’s not a long-term solution. Without his backing, I’d need to plan more fundraisers.” The money my dad was fronting was the reason my charity had gained ground so quickly when other nonprofits faltered. Without him, I couldn’t expand. I couldn’t help as many kids.
“What if we did something here? We don’t have the funds to invest at this point, but what if the firm backs it and we have an event here to raise money. Highlight why we need to expand in Anne Arundel County and the good it could do.” Avery’s voice got more and more animated as she talked. “We could approach possible donors. I know Dylan would love to be involved.”
“It gets the firm’s name out there too. It could work.”
“Will your ex be at the charity gala?” Avery raised her brow and moved a few steps into the room.
“Yes, my dad wants me to make nice with him, so Layton’s father will invest in his company.”
Avery slid into my guest chair. “He wants you to marry him?”
I grimaced. “He said he doesn’t care if I marry him, but I’m supposed to do quote unquote whatever it takes.”
“You’re not going to get back with him, are you?”
My phone buzzed with an incoming email. I clicked on the message when I saw the subject line Hadley’s itinerary and held my phone up to Avery. “His assistant already sent me my itinerary with airline tickets.”
“I thought his business was having financial troubles?”
“I guess I’m a good investment if I can get Layton’s dad to come around. It’s always the same. He manipulates me to do what he needs. Whatever benefits him or the family in some way, but this feels different. He’s threatening the thing I’m most proud of.” I glanced at the photo on the edge of my desk. Me, in my law school cap and gown, with a shiny ivory sash indicating graduating summa cum laude across my chest. Not even my graduation from law school topped what I’d accomplished with Kids Speak and if Dad had his way, we wouldn’t continue operating as we had.
“Is it the same this time?”
This felt bigger. Dad needed me to walk away from the firm I’d invested my savings into, to work for him, and make-up with Layton—someone I didn’t love or even respect that much. The thought made it difficult to get air into my lungs. “What do I do?”
Avery blew out a breath. “I don’t know. I’ve never dealt with anyone that controlling. I can’t even imagine having a parent who would go to such lengths. How important is Kids Speak?”
“It’s more important than anything. It’s the thing I’m most proud of.” I’d hoped the firm would be a success and I could slowly take back control of the charity from my dad. But it looked like that would have to come sooner than I thought.
“Then we’ll do whatever it takes to make sure it survives and thrives.”
“Thank you.” The idea of the firm backing Kids Speak and its expansion had possibilities. But doing what my dad wanted was a sure thing.
Chapter Ten
Hadley
For the rest of the day, my unease escalated until my heart thudded painfully in my chest, my stomach twisting into knots. No amount of pain medication eased my tension headache. I was no closer to finding a solution or prepping my case for the next day, so I decided to run home and grab work-out clothes to attend the adult Hapkido class.
I pulled open the door to Cade’s studio, my heart rate kicking up for a different reason. I was excited and nervous to see him. He stood in the center of the room in his black uniform, red and black striped belt, his feet bare on the mat as he instructed the kids. His voice was soft yet commanding—the kids listened to him with rapt attention and a little bit of awe.
He was right. He was good at this and it made him even more attractive.
“Are you new?” a woman dressed in a black uniform and brown belt asked.
“Yes. I don’t have a uniform yet.”
“That’s okay. Cade will get you one after your first session if you like it. Have you practiced before?”
“When I was a kid.”
“What made you come back?” The woman eyed me as if checking out the competition.
My eyes flew to Cade’s, wondering how to get out of this conversation. “I work at the law firm next door and—” I couldn’t say he came to me for work necessarily because of attorney-client privilege. “I saw the sign and wanted to check it out.”
“Have you met Cade?” the woman asked.
“She has.” Cade’s voice came from in front of us, low and full of promise—or at least that’s how I interrupted it. Each time I heard his rumbly voice, I yearned to be closer to him.
My eyes traveled up his chest to the stubble on his chin and finally to his blue eyes. He looked pleased to see me and my tr
aitorous heart thumped faster.
“Hi.” My voice was soft and breathless. I hoped the woman next to us didn’t notice.
“You have a new student?” the woman asked. She was shorter and stockier than me, with curly hair and brown eyes. She was cute, but she was even younger than me.
“I hope we do,” Cade said to her, keeping his eyes on mine.
My nerves tingled with anticipation.
“We’ll see.” I couldn’t stop the flirty tone from coming through my words as I cocked my hip, drawing his eyes down my skin-tight tank and black leggings. His gaze was like a smooth caress.
“I hope she doesn’t slow class down,” the woman said, irritation crept into her voice.
“Vanessa, you know everyone is welcome to come to the adult class. I tested her myself.”
Vanessa huffed.
Cade was different from the first time we met. Then he’d been subdued. Now he took in everything—my body, my actions, and his eyes lingered on my lips when I talked. My blood pumped faster, in anticipation of what, I wasn’t sure.
I wanted to ask if he was okay but not in front of Vanessa. I’d been worried about being so close to him since I was attracted to him, but I hadn’t accounted for the fact that another woman liked him—and probably had for a while. Vanessa concluded there was something between Cade and me. She’d pegged me as her competition when I wasn’t.
“Let’s get you a uniform. Come back to my office.”
I felt the animosity rolling off Vanessa in waves as I followed him to his office. The belt around his waist accentuated his trim waist and broad shoulders.
He stopped in front of the shelf with neatly folded uniforms. “I’m surprised to see you here so soon. I thought you’d think about it for a few weeks, or I wouldn’t see you at all.”
“I planned to think it over longer, but things changed.” I didn’t want him to think I was desperate to see him.