Lawful Lover (Eternal Bachelors Club #2) (14 page)

Sabrina looked around the office and realized that Daniel’s desk was a mess. Some of his papers had fallen onto the floor. She went around the desk and bent down to pick up the papers, trying to organize them.

Her eyes automatically scanned the documents.

Shock made her rock back on her heels when she saw a familiar name in the subject line of a letter: Hannigan.

She shot up from her crouching position, her eyes darting farther down the document.

“Oh my god!” she murmured to herself. She continued reading, reaching the third page when the sound of the bathroom door opening made her snap her head and stare at Daniel as he emerged from it.

Sabrina held up the papers. “You assaulted Hannigan?”

Daniel’s eyes widened in surprise and his jaw line tightened. “He deserved it. He sexually harassed you.”

Anger churned up from her gut. “Yes, and now he’s suing you! For five million dollars! Was it worth that?”

With a defiant glare in his eyes, Daniel approached. “It was worth every red cent. I’d do it again, given the same circumstances. Nobody is allowed to hurt you and get away with it.”

She sighed and shook her head. “No man has ever gotten into a physical fight for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m flattered. It’s sweet that you defended me. But it wasn’t a very smart thing to do.” She pointed to the letter. “Especially not in front of witnesses.”

He shrugged. “What’s done is done. Don’t worry about it. My lawyer is handling it.”

She waved the letter in the air. “Yes, about that. When were you gonna tell me about this lawsuit?”

“I wasn’t.”

She shook her head and pointed to a paragraph. “Your lawyer wants to depose me, but according to this, you told him that it’s not an option. You didn’t even ask me, Daniel! Of course, I’ll testify.”

Daniel stepped closer and took the letter from her hand. “No, you won’t. I can handle this without you. There’s no need for you to get dragged into this. It’s only going to upset you.”

“Upset me? Daniel, I’m upset because you didn’t tell me about this. You should have come to me immediately and told me what was going on. We’re a team.”

“Hannigan has put you through enough. I don’t want you to have to relive it.”

She sighed. “I appreciate your concern. I do. But you shouldn’t have kept this from me. This relationship isn’t going to work if you keep secrets from me.”

“I’m not keeping secrets from you. I’m just trying to protect you from this nasty jerk.”

“I don’t need to be protected. I’m not some weak, naïve, helpless woman who needs a man to protect her. I can handle this. I can help you with this if only you would let me. I know Hannigan better than you do. I know his weak points.”

“I know you’re not weak or naïve or helpless. Nevertheless, please stay out of this, Sabrina. I got myself into this mess and I’ll dig myself out of it again.” He brought his hand to her cheek and caressed it. “Please.”

Sabrina searched his eyes and found only determination there. “I wish you’d let me help you, Daniel. Isn’t that what a relationship is about? That we’re there for one another? That we help each other? It doesn’t work when you shut me out from a part of your life.”

Daniel dropped his lids. “I’m sorry, I should have listened to Tim. As usual he was right.”

“Tim? What was he right about?”

“He said if I don’t tell you about it, it’ll come back to bite me in the ass.”

“You should listen to him more often. That guy has a smart head on his shoulders.” Sabrina smirked.

“Yep, he does.” He kissed her softly on the cheek.

“Daniel, promise me something.”

He met her gaze. “Yes?”

“Promise never to keep anything from me ever again Whatever it is, I can handle it. I’m stronger than you think.”

He nodded, then dropped his forehead to hers. “I know that. I promise you. Are we good now?”

“Yes, we’re good.”

Daniel smiled. “Good. What do you say we head home? Maybe you’d like to punish me for hiding this from you and sexually harass me again.” He winked.

“Sexually harass you? That’s what you think I did tonight?” She laughed out loud.

Then she stopped herself. She suddenly knew how to get Hannigan to withdraw his lawsuit. It was almost too easy, like taking milk from a baby.

17

It had been three days since Sabrina had shown up at his office half-naked. Daniel swore he could still smell her scent lingering in his office, reminding him of their lovemaking.

It had been wrong to hide Hannigan’s lawsuit from her, and he still felt a tad bit guilty about it, though he knew that she’d forgiven him. And for that he wanted to thank her. Not just with words, but with a gift.

Daniel tossed his pen on his desk and rose. He grabbed his jacket and opened the door. Frances sat at her desk just outside his office. She immediately looked up.

“Leaving for the day?” she asked.

“Yes. For the next hour, please transfer all calls to my cell phone. After that, I’m unavailable. I’ll be shopping at Saks,” he informed her.

“Buying a new suit?” she asked politely.

He grinned. “I was thinking of buying something nice for my girlfriend.

She nodded. “That’s sweet.”

He turned to leave. “Oh, and Frances, feel free to go home early today. You’ve been working too much.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you.”

Daniel left the building and stepped out into the warm late afternoon sun. It was only a few blocks to Saks, so he decided to walk instead of hailing a cab. The exercise would do him good, considering he’d been skipping many of his regular morning workouts.

Upon arriving at Saks, he headed straight for the lingerie department and started browsing. He saw only a few customers, all of them female, and felt their looks on him. When he caught the eye of one woman, she smiled at him and approached.

“For your wife?” she asked, pointing at the negligees he was perusing.

“Girlfriend,” he answered.

She pointed to another display table. “The ones over there are much smoother on the skin than these here,” she said quietly, her eyes darting to a sales woman who was folding merchandise. “But the sales staff here is always trying to push this brand, because it’s more expensive.”

“Thanks for the tip,” he said, and smiled at her as she sauntered away.

He walked to the table she’d pointed out and pulled a red silk negligee from the stack. He had to admit it felt much softer than the one he’d looked at earlier.

“Beautiful, aren’t they?” a female voice he’d hoped never to hear again said from behind him. His stomach plummeted and the hairs on the back of his neck rose in irritation.

Slowly, he turned to face her. “Audrey.”

Even saying her name made him sick. What had he ever seen in this woman? A hot body. Yes, maybe. However, he now wondered whether he’d been insane during the time he’d dated her. No other explanation was possible.

Audrey smiled sweetly. “Such a huge city and we just happen to run into each other at the same department store. Funny how things work out sometimes.”

Daniel eyed her suspiciously. From the way she smiled at him, he knew that running into him was no coincidence. She had to have followed him from his office building. Had she camped out there, waiting for her chance to see him?

“Odd,” he said dryly.

She lifted one of the negligees and looked at it. “Ah, yeah, the cheap stuff.” Then she dropped it as if she’d touched something toxic.

“What do you want?” he asked icily, not liking the implication in her words.

“Just catching up on old times. Do you remember the weekend we spent in the Hamptons with your parents? I surprised you with that blue camisole and the garter belt. We were so hot for each other we snuck out of the house and had sex on the beach. You said you had to get me out of the house so that your parents wouldn’t hear me scream when you—”

“That’s enough, Audrey!”

He remembered the weekend in question. Yes, he’d definitely been insane when he’d been dating her. What had ever gotten into him, bringing her to meet his parents, when deep down he’d known even then that he’d never ask Audrey to marry him?

She laughed. “What do you say we sneak into a dressing room and give a repeat performance?” Audrey reached over and put her hand on his shoulder.

Daniel shrugged it off and stepped away. “Well, what would Judd say about that?”

Audrey flinched, but quickly regained her composure. “Oh, baby, Judd will never be like you. Only you can make me scream like that.”

She took another step toward him, and he backed away, realizing too late that he was trapped between her and a display of oversized bras behind him.

Audrey walked her fingers up his chest and leaned in, her face too close for comfort. The smell of her flowery perfume made him gag.

“Daniel, don’t tell me you don’t miss me. Really, I know you. You’re just too proud to come back to me. I know that woman can’t possibly give you what you need.”

“Stop it, Audrey. Not another word!” he warned her. If she continued to insult Sabrina, he would forget his good manners.

“I won’t even ask for an apology for your little affair.”

“Affair?” Daniel grabbed her upper arms. “I’m not having an affair. I love Sabrina.” His anger was instant and all-consuming. “I never loved you!”

“You say that now, but I remember things differently. You and I, we were a power couple. And we can be one again.”

“I’m not interested.”

Audrey’s eyes flashed with annoyance. “What does she have that I don’t?”

“A heart, a conscience, compassion… ”

“A heart?” She closed the distance between them again. “Do you really think I have no heart? Oh, Daniel, you’re hurting me. Right here.”

She took his hand and pressed it against her breast so quickly, that he couldn’t pull it back in time. His palm connected with her ample bosom, while her other hand slid to his nape and pulled him down to her.

Furious about her attempt at getting him to kiss her, he shoved her back, so she crashed against a display table. When she looked back at him, her face was distorted into an ugly grimace.

“You’ll pay for this, I swear!” She righted her handbag and adjusted the newspaper that stuck out from it.

Then she spun on her heels and stormed off.

Daniel ran a hand through his hair and blew out a heavy breath as he tried to force himself to calm down. He hoped that finally Audrey had gotten the message that he would never come back to her. He shuddered at the thought of how his future would look if he hadn’t caught Audrey in bed with his attorney and if he were still dating her.

Trying to ban those thoughts from his mind, he rushed home. He needed to feel Sabrina in his arms to know that he’d dodged that bullet.

When he opened the door to his apartment a half-hour later, he called out to her, “Sabrina? I’m home.”

There was no reply. Frowning, he walked into the bedroom, but it was empty. “Sabrina?” he repeated, then marched through the living room and entered the kitchen.

On the kitchen island, a piece of paper contrasted against the dark marble. He read it.

Daniel, I’m at the law library, studying. Don’t wait up for me. Sabrina.

Disappointment coursed through him. He’d longed to spend the evening with her, to nuzzle his head in the crook of her neck, to hold her close. To kiss her senseless. To make love to her.

Daniel glanced around his empty apartment. Without Sabrina it just wasn’t the same anymore. Was this how Sabrina felt when he didn’t come home until late?

He didn’t like the feeling, and he knew that Sabrina didn’t like it either, even though she tried to hide it from him. What a fool he was! He’d brought Sabrina to live with him, yet he hadn’t changed his life for her. He was still living as if he were a bachelor and had made no sacrifices.

His encounter with Audrey had driven reality home. He’d been a neglectful boyfriend with Audrey, and he wasn’t going to make the same mistake with Sabrina. He would make sure that Sabrina would never have a reason to leave him.

18

“Law Offices of Brand, Freeman and Merriweather; how may I direct your call?”

Sabrina smiled. “Hi Caroline. It’s Sabrina Palmer.”

Caroline gasped. “Oh my god. Sabrina! How are you?”

“I’m doing well. How are you?”

Sabrina sat cross-legged on the couch, the phone tucked between her ear and her shoulder. A pen and notebook sat atop the pillow that rested in her lap.

“I’m good. My husband just started a new job and he loves it.”

“That’s great, Caroline.”

“Yes. It’s nice to see him happy again.”

“I bet it is. So, how are things at the office?”

“So much better now that Hannigan is gone.” Caroline laughed. “But it’s not the same without you here.”

“Aw, thanks.” Sabrina smiled.

She missed the women from her old firm and the camaraderie they all used to share. “Speaking of Hannigan, do you remember a client by the name of Daniel Sinclair?”

There was a slight hesitation. “How could anybody forget him?”

Sabrina sighed. “It’s all right, Caroline, I know what happened in the office. I know about Daniel beating up Hannigan.”

“Oh!” Caroline let out a quick breath. “I would have told you, honestly, but Merriweather said if we breathed a word to you about it… ”

“No worries. It’s fine,” she interrupted her.

“So it’s true what I hear then. That he’s your boyfriend and that he’s the reason you moved?”

“Good news travels fast, huh?” She chuckled. “Yes, I live with him in New York now. But there are still some issues regarding Hannigan. Would you do me a favor and transfer me to Helen please?”

“Of course. And, Sabrina, if I don’t speak to you, I wish you all the best with him. He seems worth it.”

“He is.” A moment later, Sabrina heard a click in the line, then, “Helen Choi.”

“Hi, Helen, it’s Sabrina.”

Helen was a capable paralegal with over twenty years of experience and just the person who could help Sabrina.

There was only a second’s pause, before she heard Helen’s reply. “Wow, Sabrina. What a surprise,” Helen said, her voice full of both shock and excitement. “How’s it going?”