Rachel laughed and pulled away from her brother. “No, she was trying to drown you out.” Resting up against the counter with her arms crossed over her chest, she reiterated, “I just need some space. I need to be on my own for a bit. I love you all, but lately, I just need—”
“Space,” Mason answered for her. He pushed his hands back into the pockets of his jeans and nodded. “Fair enough, Rach. But the suit? Really?”
Thinking about Cole for a moment, Rachel had a flash of everything beneath the suit. She gave Mason a swift nod. “Guess we’ll see. He’s not that bad.”
“Yeah, he seems like a real barrel of laughs,” Mason muttered, moving out from behind the counter. “Okay, I’ll leave it alone. For now.”
When he got to the door, he reached out and put his palm on the handle, but then he turned, looking back at her. “Leave your phone on, would you?”
Rachel quirked her eyebrow. “Only if you promise not to call me every five minutes.”
Mason nodded. “See you tomorrow night?”
“Yep, I’ll be there. Oh, Mase?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t worry, okay? It’s not you guys. It’s me. I’ll work this out.”
Mason didn’t look all that convinced, but he tried for a smile before he opened the door and stepped out into the cold air.
Rachel looked down at Tulip, sitting by her feet, as Tulip looked up at her as if to say, Uh, hello? You still haven’t fed me. Rachel stepped over the hairy annoyance and made her way to the back.
Feeling calm for the first time in a long while, she decided to really look at her life choices. She was going to take the week to not only be with Cole but to hopefully also be with herself. By the end of the week, maybe she would have some sense of direction and know exactly what it was she wanted out of life.
And if not? Well, at least, I’ll have a hell of a time getting to that final conclusion.
At their weekly Monday meeting, Cole sat in the boardroom with the other lawyers of the firm, looking down at his watch. Logan was running through the usual points of interest at work while flirting his way around the table as each attendee discussed the cases he or she had acquired. It wasn’t until the room fell silent that Cole realized everyone was staring at him.
“Cole, would you like to contribute in any way to your business and the running of it?” Logan questioned, his voice dripping with saccharine sweetness.
Cole sat up in his chair and frowned over at his partner. “Sorry, what was the question?”
Logan, who was usually the easygoing one, narrowed curious eyes on him. “Nothing. Don’t you worry your brooding self about it. Okay, everyone, that’ll be all. Go and win. Oh, and have fun crushing your opponent, of course.”
They all laughed as they filed out of the conference room one at a time, leaving Cole where he was sitting with Logan at the other end of the boardroom table.
“What’s up with you today, Madison? You’ve been a virtual space cadet.”
Cole shook his head and pushed up from his chair to stand. He straightened his suit and picked up his file.
“Is it your mom?” Logan asked.
“It’s nothing. My mind was just somewhere else.”
Logan gave him a shit-eating grin. “Really? I hadn’t noticed.”
“Logan?”
“Yep?” he replied, still aiming his smug, superior face in Cole’s direction.
“Shut up.”
“Aww, don’t be like that. It just isn’t like you to zone out. It’s more like me.”
“I’m sorry, boss. It won’t happen again,” Cole told him, making his way over to the door.
Logan got up and followed Cole, clapping him on the shoulder. “I’m just concerned.”
Cole glared at the other man. “Bullshit.”
From behind black-framed glasses, Logan’s blue eyes were laughing at him.
“You’re not concerned. You’re nosy.”
Logan moved away from him, and when he was halfway down the aisle to his office, he chuckled and shouted back, “Well, I’m always here for you when you want to talk, dear.”
Cole held back what he really wanted to yell in response as he walked back to his own office. As he was about to pass Jane’s desk, he stopped and tapped his fingers gently on the cool polished surface.
She looked up at him with a smile. “Is there something you need, Mr. Madison?”
“Yes, actually. For the next week, I would like all my meetings scheduled to end before five. I want to be walking out of the office at 4:59 p.m., and no later. Can you do that?”
Jane frowned, but she assured him, “Of course. Is there anything else?”
Cole thought about it for a minute. “Yes. Any calls that come in late should be directed to Logan. I’ll let him know I’m unavailable this week.”
“Okay, I’ll get the outgoing message switched.” She paused for a moment. “Will you still be attending the dinner for the new District Attorney on Thursday night?”
Oh shit, Cole thought with a groan before he had a thought. “Yes, I’ll still be there. Please let them know I will have a plus one.”
When he saw Jane’s mouth twitch, Cole took a moment to tease her. “Is something amusing you, Jane?”
“Not at all, sir.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Please hold my calls until I let you know otherwise.”
He moved past her and into his office. Closing the door behind him, he walked over to his desk, picked up his cell, and sat down. Twisting his chair around, he looked out the window. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. Ever since he had watched the cab pull away from his curb this morning, he had wondered if she would show up tonight. Not knowing was driving him insane.
Usually, he was the one consumed by work, not by a woman with huge blue eyes and multicolored hair. As he tapped his phone against his knee, he considered the possibility of her not returning, and then he found himself devising a plan to get near her again.
Convincing himself he had a good reason to call, he scrolled through his phone, and when he found her number, he hit call. After the second ring, she picked it up, and he felt his mouth pulling into a grin at her greeting.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Cole Madison.” Rachel leaned back against her couch and played with her skirt.
She had closed the store at four and made her way home, wondering when she would next hear from him. When his number had flashed on her phone’s screen, she had felt her stomach jump and her thighs squeeze together at the thought of talking to him again.
“So, it would seem,” he confirmed.
His low voice sent a delicious thrill of anticipation through her.
“And what can I do for you this afternoon?” she teased, tongue-in-cheek.