Logan's Redemption (5 page)

Amusement flickered in his eyes. “I don’t encourage them.” He threw her a bone-melting smile that made heat curl in her stomach. “I admit I enjoy their attention.” His mouth tilted in a teasing grin.  

She stiffened, fighting her attraction to him. And her jealousy. “This is a place of business. Take you’re, uh, flirting, somewhere else.” She sounded like an old prude. What had gotten into her?

“I’ll take care of the problem,” he said. He raked fingers through his thick wavy hair.

Memories flooded her. Did his hair still have the same silky texture? She picked up her gold pen and wrapped her hand around it as if its cool smoothness could dampen her dangerous thoughts.

Their gazes caught. She swallowed, unable to look away.

“Is that all you wanted?” His glance slid to her mouth.

She licked her lips. Desire leapt into his eyes. Afraid he could see the same longings revealed in hers, she dropped her gaze.

“Hey, Doriana!” She jerked her head up and dropped her pen at the sound of her brother’s voice.

Franco swaggered into the office, followed by Janine, his blonde
dujour
, a model from New York.

Doriana threw them a genuine smile, thankful that their appearance relieved the sexual tension that hovered in the air whenever she was alone with Logan.

Franco slapped a folder on her desk and gave her his most charming smile.

“What do you want, Franco?”  She braced herself, waiting for the favor he would try to cajole from her.

Instead he turned to Logan and held out his hand. “Franco Callahan,” he said. “Have we met before?”

Logan stood and shook the proffered hand. “I don’t believe so. Logan Tanner. I’m filling in while Doriana’s assistant is on leave.”

Janine hooked her arm through Franco’s and scanned Logan’s body. “Assistant, huh? Lucky Doriana. I’m Janine.”

Logan grinned at her. “Nice to meet you.”

Janine fluttered her eyelashes. Did women still do that? Doriana thought.

Franco frowned at Janine then looked back at Logan. “Are you sure we haven’t met before? You look damn familiar.”

“What do you want, Franco?” Doriana repeated, more sharply than she’d intended. Her fear that Franco would see the resemblance between Logan and Josh plucked her already strung-out nerves.

“What makes you think I want something?” Franco asked. “Maybe I just had to see my beautiful big sister.” He smiled with the suave charm of a crooked building inspector.  

“Cut the insincere flattery,” Doriana said.

Franco laughed and leaned over the desk. “The Tremont report is in here,” he said, tapping the folder he’d laid on her desk. “Some of the numbers need rechecking. Dad wants it Monday, but Janine’s in town for only a few days.”

He straightened and snaked his arm around the model’s waist, pulling her against him. He kissed her lightly on the lips. “We have some very interesting plans, don’t we, baby?”

Janine giggled and bile rose in Doriana’s throat. She glanced at Logan. He stared at Franco with an expression of disgust. Logan turned to Doriana and smiled. Her heart swelled. Logan understood.

“Be a doll, sis,” Franco said. “Finish the report for me.”

Confidence lit Franco’s blue eyes. He always got what he wanted. Not this time. Doriana rounded the desk until she stood face-to-face with him.

“Maybe I have plans for the weekend,” she said in a tight voice. “Do your own report.”

His low laugh made her bristle.

“Get real,” he said. “You with plans? You’ll probably spend all weekend at work like you always do. As long as you’re here, you might as well finish my report.”

“Dad gave you the job, not me.” She placed a hand on her hip and glared at him.

“Please, Doriana,” Janine said in a little girl voice. “Franco and I are so much in love.”

Until the next blonde comes along
. Ashamed at her meanness, Doriana bit her lip.

“Doriana and I will do the report for you,” Logan said.

Doriana swung around to stare at him. “What?”

Logan leveled his gaze at her. “Let your brother and his friend have their weekend. With the two of us working together, we’ll get the report done.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. What the hell had gotten into Logan?

 “Come on, Doriana,” Franco said. “Logan’s right. You and he will do a better job.” He ran his hand down Janine’s arm. “I couldn’t concentrate with this tigress distracting me.” The blonde nibbled on his earlobe. Doriana wanted to retch.    

Franco turned to Logan. “Damn generous of you. Let me know if I can do anything for you.” His mouth curved in a wolfish grin. “I can introduce you around. I know some of the hottest people in the city.”

“And I have lots of model friends who would love a date with you,” Janine purred.

“Thanks for the offer,” Logan said. “I’ll be working.”

Janine stared wide-eyed at him. Doriana suppressed a laugh. Bet that was something the woman didn’t hear often.              

But things were getting out of hand. “This is my office, not a dating service,” Doriana said. “Leave, Franco. I won’t do your report.”

“We can do it.” The firmness in Logan’s voice held her. “It’s important to your dad, Doriana. And I know you want what’s best for him and the company. Don’t worry. We’ll get it done. I’ll work with you all weekend.”

Apprehension mixed with excitement, making Doriana shiver. She and Logan together in a nearly empty building? She pressed a hand to her stomach. She couldn’t do it.

“Thanks, both of you,” Franco said before she had a chance to protest again. Arm in arm, he and Janine strode quickly from the room.

“Wait,” Doriana shouted. Too late. The outer door clicked behind them.

She turned to Logan, her breathing labored. “Why did you do that? This is my office. I dictate what work I’ll do. You had no right.”

His hazel eyes shadowed. “I’m sorry. I thought I was helping you and your company.”

She crossed her arms. “I’ll decide what’s best for me and the company.”

He ran a hand over his face. When he looked at her again, his eyes had softened. “Franco wouldn’t have done that report and you know it. Your father would have given it to you Monday and you would have been up all night working on it. I didn’t want that to happen.” The truth of his words made her throat thicken. She swallowed. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He moved closer. She felt his warm breath on her face and inhaled his faint citrus scent. Her insides trembled with need.

“You know it’s the truth. Anyone can see how devoted you are to this company and your father.” He stroked a gentle finger along her cheek. “Beautiful, smart, and loyal,” he whispered. “A sexy combination.”

Heat pulled low in her stomach. His closeness and his touch made her ache for something more, something dangerous. Fear brought her back to reality and she stepped away from him. “Don’t talk like that,” she said in a voice that shook. “We’re co-workers. You report to me, at least temporarily. I thought we agreed on a strictly business relationship.”

He scanned her face. “Sorry. I forgot myself for a minute.” He smiled, not looking contrite at all. “You are beautiful, you know.”

“Stop it.” But she couldn’t stop the jolts of pleasure that swept her. Trying to collect her wayward thoughts, she glanced at her watch. “I guess we’re stuck with this report. Let’s take a dinner break and meet back here in an hour and a half.”

Feeling more in control, she looked up to find him staring at her with hooded eyes...eyes that seemed to know a reality she couldn’t face. She dropped her gaze, fighting the longings she’d kept tightly wrapped all these years. Longings he released in her.

He moved closer and hooked his finger beneath her chin, tilting her face toward his. “Have dinner with me,” he whispered. “We can discuss the report.”

“No,” she said, pulling free of his scorching touch. The part of her that could still think straight knew if she sat across a dinner table from Logan, the report would be the last thing on her mind. Working with him all weekend would test her enough. She needed a break to regroup her senses.

 She glanced over at Josh’s picture. “I have uh-babysitting arrangements to make.” Not a complete lie. Josh had been on his best behavior lately, but she couldn’t trust him alone most of the weekend. She’d insist he stay at her parents’. He’d fight her, but he’d not risk another grounding.

“My offer for dinner is always open,” Logan said.

Her chest tightened. Could she keep up this masquerade for six months? She had to. Raising her chin, she said, “Thanks for the invitation, but no dinner. Not now. Not ever.”

“We’ll see,” he said. “I never give up, Doriana.”

She grabbed her purse from the desk drawer. “See you in an hour and a half.” As she hurried from the room, she pulled her cell phone from her handbag. She’d order a pizza for her and Josh.
Do not think about Logan
.
Think about the food
. But thoughts of Logan filled her and she knew she fought a losing battle.

* * * *

Logan watched her leave. Damn. He flirted with danger, danger to his psyche. He had to stay away from Doriana. They weren’t right for each other. Had never been right for each other.

He strode to his office and pulled his jacket from the coat rack. A brisk walk in the chill November air would cool him. Shrugging into his jacket, he let out a low, bitter laugh.

He needed more than a walk. He needed Doriana. His body and soul burned for her. He’d tried to forget her. Other women had tried to break through the wall he’d built around his heart. None had come close. There was always Doriana. Just one more night with her, that was all he asked. One night to hold her and possess her and she’d be out of his system for good. He could go on with his life. He slammed the door, shutting out the lie, and headed down the hall.

~~~~

CHAPTER FOUR

The key Callahan gave him fit easily into the lock. Logan turned it gently until he heard the click. He stepped into the office housing the sales department and closed the door softly behind him. Security lights illuminated the early-morning paleness. He stood still, allowing his eyes to adjust and getting the lay of the place.

A lucky break to have an excuse to be in the building on a Saturday. With Callahan’s keys he could let himself in at any time, but he didn’t want to arouse the suspicions of the guards who were on duty round the clock.

Working on the report with Doriana gave him reason to be in the building, but he wanted to help her because she’d end up with the job anyway. He wanted to make things easier for her. Was it guilt? What happened between them was a long time ago. And he’d been forced to run. He pushed the thought aside for another time. He had a job to do.

He glanced at the digital clock on one of the desks. Six. He’d meet Doriana in her office in an hour. She had looked so tired when they finally quit work after midnight. He hoped she’d gotten more sleep than he had. He’d tossed and turned, his sleeplessness broken by dreams of Doriana. Hot, spicy dreams filled with a soul-baring yearning he couldn’t shake, even awake.

When they’d first started work last night, tension cut around them like glass shards, but once they delved into the project, the atmosphere lightened. He’d always felt good around Doriana. When they were teens she had a way of making him feel special. He drew a deep, cleansing breath. Those memories belonged in the past. He knew better than to go there.  

Logan moved farther into the room and forced himself to focus. His instincts and bits of evidence pointed to someone in Sales leaking the bids. Director Bryce James? That was almost too obvious. But he had to consider all possibilities.

Logan wanted to get a feel for the place, to see where everyone sat, visualize the culprit taking the sealed bids from the safe or hacking into the computer. His covert operations with the Special Forces had taught him to look for things easily missed by others, to pay attention to the slightest detail.

He circled the room, treading carefully, stopping at each desk and going through drawers and wastebaskets. Thankfully, the cleaning crew wouldn’t come in until later today.

He found Candi’s desk and sat in her chair. Framed pictures of her adorned every free space. Picking up one of the photos, he studied it. A beach picture, Candi wore a skimpy white bikini that exposed her lush charms. The skinny, dark-haired man in the picture with her had a sour expression on his face, as if life had dealt him a bowl of lemons.

Interesting. The man stood with his arm draped around a woman who left most men salivating and he looked angry. Logan needed to get the boyfriend’s name from Candi or one of the other employees and check it against the list of fired workers. And he had to stay on good terms with Candi. A few subtle questions and she might give him the information he needed to crack this case.

He poked around her desk, pulling open drawers. A piece of paper stuck in the corner of one drawer caught his attention. He pulled it out and read it. Smiling, he carefully replaced the paper where he found it.