Love Proof (Laws of Attraction) (3 page)

He could tell her she had the most brilliant legal mind of the
twenty-first century—that she was beautiful, gorgeous, that he couldn’t believe
he had lived without her all this time—and it wouldn’t make up for one minute
of the anguish he’d put her through.  He could think whatever he wanted to about
her.  Sarah was there to do a job.

And if she could somehow figure out a way to win this case against him
as part of the bargain, then bonus.

She retrieved her carry-on bag from where she had stored it in the
corner of the room, thanked Marcela for her work, then nodded to Chapman and
Burke.  “Gentlemen.”  Then she strode through the door and headed for the hotel
lobby.

She could see taxis lined up outside.  She wanted to get to one before
either of the other lawyers could catch up with her and suggest they share a
ride to the airport.

She needed the time alone.  This was only her first day, and already
she felt drained.  Not from the two depositions—those were nothing.  It was
Joe.  Being in the same room with him.  Hearing his voice again.  Seeing the
way his body had changed, improved, and wondering what new muscles and contours
hid beneath those expensive lawyer clothes.  Looking into that face again and
realizing it had only grown more handsome and masculine over time.

Damn him.

Her friend Mickey had asked her, point blank, once they were alone
again in his boss’s office and Sarah had just accepted the job, “Are you going
to be able to handle spending all that time with Burke?”

She pretended it was a stupid question.  “Of course.”

“I mean without killing him?”

“We were children back then,” she said.

“I don’t know,” Mickey said.  “I seem to recall I had a kid of my own
by then, so we all must have been at least out of puberty.”

“Barely, in his case,” Sarah said.

“This could go one of two ways,” Mickey said.  “Either you’re going to
be the best lawyer our client could ever have for this case because you’ll
pummel Burke to the ground.  Or . . . ”

Sarah waited, but Mickey was having too much fun.

“Or?” she prompted, knowing she was playing into his hands.

“Or Burke is going to steal you away from me for the second time.”

“You and I were never together, Mickey.”

“In my dreams we were.”

“How’s Julie doing?”

“Julie who?” he asked.

***

Sarah sat in the gate area eating a teriyaki vegetable and rice bowl
from the food court and checking her e-mail on her phone.  She saw Joe out of
the corner of her eye, but continued staring at the small screen.  Even though
she could almost feel him as he came within the last ten feet of her.

Without asking, he took the seat next to her.

Sarah couldn’t help but turn her head just the slightest and glance at
him, but then she went back to appearing busy.

“How are you, Sarah?”

“Fantastic.”  She could feel the heat from his nearest leg and arm,
even though both were at least four inches away.

“No,” Joe said, his voice serious, “I mean how are you really?”

Sarah forced herself to turn to him and smile.  “What, are we going to
talk about our hopes and feelings now, Burke?  I don’t think so.”

He studied her face for one long moment, then nodded.  He stood and grasped
the handle on his bag and found another seat far away.

Sarah looked down at her phone again, pretending to be absorbed.  But
she couldn’t help swallowing the bitter taste in her mouth.  She had planned to
say something exactly like that to Burke, but it felt much better in her
imagination.  He looked hurt, and she should have been glad.  She’d rehearsed
it that way.

She sat up straighter and crossed a different leg.  She still wore her
suit.  She could have changed into something more comfortable in one of the
airport bathrooms, but Sarah preferred keeping her armor on until she was safely
away from Joe for the night.

She had dressed very carefully that morning, all the way down to the
black bra and panties that reminded her she was a warrior, a black belt in this
game.  She had no intention of ruining the effect by packing her outfit away
and putting on the only other outfit she’d brought:  loose workout pants, a T-shirt,
and running shoes.  She noticed Joe had taken off his coat and tie, but he
still wore the suit pants and shirt.

Everything was power, Sarah knew, clothes in particular.  She had known
that since childhood, when her own generic jeans and off-brand shoes had marked
her as poorer than most of the kids at her school, even though none of them
would have qualified as rich.

There were so many nuances to how people saw you, Sarah thought: 
whether they assumed you were better than they were or worse.  And she intended
to capture and hold every single advantage she might gain now in her adult life,
no matter how small that advantage might seem to someone else.

If wearing a tight skirt and high heels for a few more hours might make
her appear more powerful than she felt at the moment, then they were worth it.

She took another bite of vegetables and rice, no longer enjoying the
taste.  But she needed the energy.  It was the same reason she decided to make
sure she got at least seven hours of sleep every night while she was on the
road.  And she wouldn’t have a drop of alcohol, even if a day spent with both
Paul Chapman and Joe Burke would drive any woman to drink.  Each of them for
different reasons.

Sarah understood the rules of engagement:  stay alert, always be
watching for opportunities, and never let your guard down.

Check, check, and check.

She stole a glance at Joe, who now sat reading his own phone.  Keeping
his own gravitational force to himself, way on the other side of the room.

She felt it, and it bothered her.  That familiar, comfortable pull of a
body she used to know so well.  A body she used to claim with as much right as
if it had been her own.  And a body that treated hers the same way.

Sarah sighed and stopped trying to read the irritating little screen. 
Her eyes naturally wandered in search of something more interesting.

And found Joe’s in return.

Sarah didn’t look away this time.  She needed to be fiercer than that. 
The key was to have absolutely no expression on her face.

Joe obviously played by the same rule book.  When he was done looking
at her, a few long moments later, he calmly returned to his own work.

But Sarah knew:  no matter how he acted now, she had gotten to him, if
only just a little.  How did she know?  Because he was the one to make the
first move.

And she was the one who shut it down.

Victory would taste a lot sweeter if only her chest would unclench. 
She’d have to work on that.

That, and the way all the cells in her body seemed to pull her in one
direction whenever the man came too near.

But that was easy to fix:  just stay as far away as possible.

Four

Paul Chapman lumbered past her up the aisle of the airplane.

“I’m in back,” he said unnecessarily.  Sarah nodded as if she cared.

Joe had already boarded and sat a few rows ahead of her.  Close enough
that she had a view of him sitting in his aisle seat.

What was it, she wondered, that made him look so different?  It wasn’t
just his filled-out frame.  It was the way he carried himself now, no longer
slouching with that easy-going gait.  Like the difference between a
loose-jointed puppy and a full-grown dog.

And his hair looked good cropped close like that.  Not unruly the way
she remembered.  Everything about him looked better, unfortunately.

Sarah closed her eyes and leaned back.

“Here on business?” the man next to her asked.

“Mm,” she answered, hoping to discourage any conversation.

“What are you, one of those women stockbrokers?” he asked.

Good guess, Sarah thought, for a guy obviously using it as a line.  He
must think a woman would appreciate being taken for a stockbroker instead of someone’s
assistant or a salesgirl or whatever else he really thought she was.

Sarah turned and opened her eyes just a slit.  “Surgeon,” she said.  “I
took out a brain today.  I’m really exhausted.  So if you don’t mind . . . ” 
She closed her eyes and leaned back again.

“Surgeon?” the man said loudly enough that when Sarah opened her eyes
again she could see Joe looking back at her with a smile playing on his lips.

“Yep,” she answered just as loudly.  “Today brains, tomorrow
intestines.  We do it all.”

“Are you shittin’ me?” the man asked.

“No, I am not shitting you,” she said with perfect enunciation.  “Now
if you don’t want me to kill my next patient in the morning, you’d better let
me get some sleep.”

“You’re shittin’ me,” the guy muttered.

Sarah risked one more quick check on Joe.  He’d obviously been waiting
for her to meet his eye, because as soon as she did, he turned his fingers into
scissors and cut at a downward angle.

“Big vasectomy tomorrow afternoon,” Sarah added.  “Wouldn’t want me to
make a mistake there, would you?”

Joe nodded, satisfied.  Then he turned back around.

And Sarah immediately regretted what she had done.

Why was she playing with Burke?  They weren’t friends.  They weren’t
anything.  If she could take back that last statement, she would.

“Now I know you’re shittin’ me,” the man said with renewed confidence. 
“Nobody does all that.”

Sarah shrugged.  “I’m the best.  And we’re done here, sport.  No more
talking.”  She popped in her ear buds, even though she wouldn’t be able to turn
on her music until the plane leveled off.

She wished she had never let herself get drawn into the conversation. 
She could tell herself it was because she couldn’t resist making her seatmate
look like a fool, but she knew the real reason:  she was showing off for
Burke.  As soon as she knew he was listening, she just had to remind him how
clever and smart-mouthed she could be.

Why?
she
scolded herself. 
Why do you have to prove anything to that man?

Because
, she
answered honestly,
it would be worse to think he forgot.

Five

As soon as the plane landed at LAX, Sarah prepared to make a fast
exit.  Joe’s row emptied before hers, so there was nothing she could do about
that, but she could certainly beat Paul Chapman out of the airport before he
felt compelled to ask for or offer her a ride.

Sarah had the feeling he didn’t understand the boundaries of co-defense
attorneys who worked for different clients.  Yes, Chapman was technically on
her same side against all of Joe’s plaintiffs, but Chapman’s client was the
main manufacturer, whereas Sarah’s was just the subcontractor.  If she had any
chance at all to heap all the blame on Chapman’s client and get hers released
from the case entirely, she would take that victory any day.  There was no
chumminess on the defense side of the table as far as she was concerned.

She also had the feeling Chapman undervalued her because of her looks. 
And, no doubt, her age.  It wasn’t so much any particular thing he had said,
but just this overall demeanor toward her of
All right there, little lady,
you go ahead, but try not to hurt yourself asking all your big girl questions.

Maybe it was her imagination, but she didn’t think so.  She could
usually smell a jerk.

Too bad she had missed the scent on Joe.

Although he never seemed to underestimate her intelligence, so maybe
that wasn’t a fair comparison.  If she was worried about being fair.

She saw him up ahead, reading his phone while he made his way toward
the baggage area and ground transportation.  She had no idea where he lived,
but assumed it had to be somewhere in the Los Angeles area, since he worked in
the city.  Her place was in Culver City, close enough to tomorrow’s deposition
in Pasadena that she decided not to stay at the hotel, but to spend the night
in her own apartment instead.  She would have to leave with plenty of time to
spare in the morning in case of traffic, but it was worth rushing a little in
exchange for sleeping in her own bed.

As they neared the doors to go outside, Sarah saw the line of
black-jacketed drivers holding up signs with their passengers’ names.  Sarah
saw one that read “Burke.”

Joe approached the driver, said something, then the two of them
continued on.  At the last moment Joe turned around and saw Sarah just a few
paces behind him.

He’s going to ask me, she thought.  He was going to offer her a ride. 
Then she would tell him no, and finally their first day together would come to
a close.  She liked it ending on another no.

But Joe simply noted her presence, then turned around and kept
walking.  Leaving Sarah to fend for herself.