Broken Melody (Rock With You #2) Rock Star Romance

By Adriana Hunter

Rock Star Erotic Romance
Rock With You (#2)

Adriana Hunter

http://www.AdrianaHunter.com

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This is a work of fiction. All names, characters,
locations and places are solely the product of the author’s imagination. 
Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, including events, areas,
locations and situations is entirely coincidental.

The last place Melody Lawson wanted to be
was at work. But she had responsibilities to her clients, Logan MacKenzie among
them.

Logan…her
heart clenched at the thought of him, the worry lines that had been a permanent
fixture on her face since last night deepening. Logan… she loved him, and he
loved her.
Love at first sight…

Her
desk was a mess, and there was a new paralegal standing in her doorway,
hesitant, anxious, almost painfully eager to please. Melody looked at her,
already exasperated. Ryan Marshall, exerting his control as her boss, had
apparently cut Melody out of the hiring process; she’d interviewed no
one—not even been given the chance—and this woman wouldn’t have
been her first choice. Not that she cared. At this point she just wanted to get
through the day.
And to try to find Logan.

“Come
in. You’ll need to get used to the chaos…and learn to help me control it.” Melody
waved the woman to the chair by the desk.

“Your
name is? I had your resume…” Melody shuffled the papers on her desk.

“Victoria
Hull…Victoria is what I go by. It’s nice to meet you.” The woman looked at Melody,
made a half-hearted attempt to extend a hand, and then withdrew it.

“Look,
Victoria. I’ll be frank. I’ve got a mess here. Melissa, my…the previous
paralegal, left abruptly. I’m under some pressure here, on a lot of fronts, and
things have gotten a bit out of control. I’m trying to keep things—really
important things—from falling through the cracks.”

She
scooped up a stack of envelopes and papers. “What I’d like you to start with is
this. It’s mail from the last few days. Open it, look for notices of filings,
requests for information, stuff that needs my attention. Date stamp and put it
back on my desk. The rest, correspondence and stuff, date stamp and save. I’ll
look through it later.”

Victoria
took the pile of papers from Melody, rifling through the stack. “Anything
you’re looking for in particular?”

“Yes,
actually, anything to do with the MacKenzie-Ashton case. Here’s the case file.
It was just filed and I’m hoping for a quick reply from Ashton, or possibly a
counterclaim. But anything really.”

Just
saying Logan’s name sent a flood of emotions through Melody. Chief among them
at the moment was the smoldering anger directed toward Ryan Marshall.

And
to be honest, anger at herself, for letting things with Ryan get so far out of
hand. She’d spent most of her sleepless night berating herself for what had
happened, for letting Ryan manipulate her so thoroughly. She had yet to think
about facing him, but it was inevitable, sooner or later, she would have to
deal with Ryan.
After I get the paralegal settled.

“I’m
going to ask you to sit in with me on client meetings as well. We have one
scheduled at ten in the conference…” Melody’s frowned deepened. Victoria was
shaking her head.

“Mr.
Marshall asked that I don’t do that…at least for now. He said he’d let me know
when I could start sitting in.” Victoria’s finally words trailed off into a
whisper.

Melody
clenched her fists as the first flush of anger rose in her cheeks, and by the look
on Victoria’s face, Melody was pretty certain her face radiated pure anger at
the moment. She took a deep breath, held it and then let it out slowly.
It’s
not her fault…

Forcing
a smile on her face, she relaxed her hands, folding them demurely on her desk.
“Fine. We’ll work up to that. For now, take the mail and the file. If you have
questions, ask me. If I’m not here, ask Lori, Mr. Marshall’s paralegal. She’s
been here longer than anyone and she’ll know what to do.”

Melody
rose, but Victoria remained seated, looking at Logan’s file. Melody resisted
the urge to tap her foot. At the moment, she wanted to see Ryan, to ask him why
he was now taking over the training of her paralegal. She took another deep
breath.

“Is
this Logan MacKenzie from Revival? I wanted to see them in concert for so long,
but all the US dates have been sold out for months. He’s great. They’re heading
back to Europe though, I think next week, so there goes my chance till the next
tour.” She sighed, gathering up the files and papers, finally heading toward
the door.

“Thanks,
Victoria.” Melody all but pushed the woman out of her office, closing the door
behind her. She was angry at Ryan for so many things, but Victoria’s comment
about the tour made Melody’s heart leap.

She
could find Logan by his tour schedule. It was so simple, there right in front
of her, but she’d been so overwhelmed by what had happened, by Ryan’s sudden
and utterly unexpected appearance at her door the night before. By his almost
delusional statements about wanting her, long before she’d become involved with
Logan. It all made her sick to her stomach.

And
then Logan was there in the open doorway, watching as Ryan held her, kissed
her…touched her. She didn’t know how much Logan saw or heard, but it was enough
to make him leave. Enough to not take her calls, to check out of his hotel
without a word.

Melody
sat behind her desk, clicking a few keys on her computer and doing a quick
search for Revival’s schedule. She quickly found the band’s website. They were
playing one more show in the States, tonight, in Boston.

“Damn…”
Her calendar was booked with clients through the end of the day. There was no
way she could get to Boston for the concert. And, as Victoria had said, it was
sold out.

She
scrolled further down the page. There were concerts listed in Europe, the first
in London in just a few days, also listed as sold out. But there was one in
Scotland, in Inverness the day after that, at what appeared to be like a small,
local place. She clicked on the link and scanned quickly through the
information, her heart racing. One more click, one more link and she found what
she wanted.
Yes!

She
had a ticket to the concert.
Now, I just need a flight…and to tell Ryan I’m
taking off from work.

The
flight proved to be costly but doable. She booked the flight for the day after
next, and leaned back in her chair. She had no real plan other than to get to
Inverness, but at least she knew she’d be in the same place as Logan. For the
hundredth time that day, she dialed his cell phone. It went straight to
voicemail and she left the same message she’d left so many times over the past
twelve hours.

“
Logan,
please…please call me. I can explain. Please…”

There
was nothing more she could do now, except face Ryan.

* * *

Ryan’s
door was open and she knocked lightly. He was sitting at his desk, reading
glasses perched on his nose, a file open on his desk. Glancing up, he regarded
her a moment before closing the file. With deliberation he removed his glasses,
briefly pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I’ll
never get used to these things, I guess.” He smiled and rose, coming around his
desk. “Come in. Please, have a seat.”

She
stepped into his office. “I’d rather not sit. I’m not going to be here that
long.” She tried to steady her breathing, but her heart raced and her hands
were shaking.
Get it under control, Melody.

“I’m
taking some time off, soon. Starting tomorrow afternoon. I’m…I don’t know when
I’ll be back. Maybe not for a week.”

She
knew she was treading on thin ice with Ryan. Even when their working
relationship had been more stable, he’d required at least a week’s notice for
time off. But now, with Logan leaving for Scotland at any moment, Melody was
desperate. And she was angry enough with Ryan at this point to deal with
however he reacted.

“Melody,
you know you can’t take leave with such short notice, unless it’s an
emergency.”

He
walked toward her, reaching behind her to push the door closed. The sound of
the door slamming was loud and she jumped.

“What’s
gotten in to you? You’re jumpy, you’re rushing off to who knows where on a
whim…I bet I know where you’re going…who you’re’ going after.” Ryan watched her
a moment, hands clasped behind his back, moving slowly behind her.
I’m the
prey and he’s the lion.

He
stopped behind her and she felt his hands come down on her shoulders. “I think
there’s something you’re not telling me. And I want to know where you’re
going.”

“Ryan.
Take your hands off of me. Now.”

The
stir of his breath on her neck as he spoke made her cringe. “Or? We’ve had this
conversation before. You’ll go to Human Resources, you’ll file a complaint. I
know…you’ve told me this. And I’ve said go ahead. Because no one will believe
you. And now you’re being an insubordinate employee, by not following protocol.
You’re being willfully disobedient. I could write you up, you know.”

His
lips were suddenly on her neck and she jerked out of his grip, spinning around,
anger fueling her movements.

But
Ryan was watching her calmly, a smug smile on his face.

“Are
you going to slap me again, Melody? I enjoyed your little outburst last night.”
He moved closer. “And I liked the pain.”

“You’re
sick, you know that?”

“As
to your leave…”

“I’m
taking it. I’ll be out of the office after lunch tomorrow. You can check with
the new paralegal that you hired—I forget her name—if you need
anything with my cases. Or Lori can help you. And you can write me up, if you
want.”

Melody
could hear the rising anger in her voice, but for once did nothing to lower her
voice.

“There
are things in my life you cannot control, and this is one of them.”

“You’re
making an unwise choice, Melody. I’m sorry to see things heading in this
direction.”

Ryan
walked behind his desk and sat down, opening the file in front of him, adjusted
his glasses. Without looking up he spoke.

“You’re
granted leave…indefinite leave. Do what you think you must. Just know there are
consequences facing you when you return.”

Melody’s
hands were shaking as she opened the door. Lori was at her desk, looking up
briefly as Melody walked past.

“Melody,
about Victoria…” Lori swiveled in her chair as Melody hurried past.

“Later,
Lori. Not now.”

She
pushed open the stairwell door, walking one flight down before she stopped,
sinking down on the top step.  The last thing she wanted to do was anger
Ryan further, but there was no way that she was going to let him stand between
her and any chance she might have with Logan.

When
her hands had stopped shaking and her trip-hammering heart had slowed, she
finished the descent back to her floor.

Victoria
flagged Melody down as soon as she came into view, waving an envelope. Melody
detoured to Victoria’s desk, as the woman waved an envelope in the air.

“From
Ashton’s attorney. I thought you’d want to see it right away.”

“Yes,
thanks.” Melody ripped open the thick envelope, pulling out the creamy sheets
of paper, scanning them quickly, a scowl creasing her forehead.

“Shit…they
want to file a counterclaim. I thought this might happen.”

‘What
are you going to do?” Victoria’s words were left behind as she walked away,
still reading through the dense legal language on the papers.  She
disappeared into her office, closing the door behind her.

Melody
tossed the papers on her desk, pacing the room in agitation.  Logan
MacKenzie was her client and she had a duty to him to deal with this
counterclaim from Ashton, but there wasn’t time right now. Not if she wanted Logan
back in her life.

Logan
was the man she loved. The man who loved her…or at least he had. Maybe still
did. But if she didn’t do something to somehow try to find him quickly, to make
him listen to reason, she would surely lose him forever.

But
if she neglected his case, her career would be on the line.  This was a
big case, the kind that people in her industry would deem ‘career changing’. It
was big for her but also big for the firm.

The
decision was hers alone to make: choose her career, or choose her love for Logan.
And as she pondered what to do she realized that it was a simple decision after
all.

* * *

Melody
tried to sleep on the flight, but it was no use. Anxiety and uncertainty over
what exactly she would do when she reached Scotland, much less what she would
do when she finally tracked down Logan, made her restless. The interminable
layovers, one in Paris and another in Amsterdam, almost drove her mad. She
paced the airports from end to end, too tired to enjoy the architecture of
either place, too keyed up to even eat.

Inverness
was cold and raining, the sky low and heavy with gray clouds. She asked the
taxi driver to take her a local shopping mall so she could grab something
warmer. The light jacket that had been fine in New York was little protection
against the elements, and she shivered as she stood on the narrow street. She
ducked into the first shop that sold women’s clothing and bought a thick, wool sweater.