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  “Besides Ms. Tierney you probably have a pretty busy day planned, huh?”

  Erin sat behind her desk and redirected her gaze to Amy. She’d already started to shift into business mode and found it difficult to resist the pull. Well aware of her reputation for working too hard, Erin focused with a little effort and replied.

  “I suppose so, if you call reviewing two writs, a deposition, preparing a discovery, and three client meetings a busy day.”

  “Ouch. In that case I’ll leave you to it.”

  She was almost to the door when Erin added, “Oh Amy, would you bring me another coffee?”

  “Sure.”

  Erin had already started to boot her computer and hardly heard the response. She stopped for a moment to change from the heavy winter boots into footwear that was more traditional for a corporate attorney. Her feet were cold from slugging through the snow and slush, and the high heels were almost a relief.

  She grinned wryly at the thought of pumps being comfortable and knew that they wouldn’t be by the end of the day. Erin settled behind her desk and logged into her computer.

  For the next hour, she was lost in the world of corporate law. The intricacies of the work were a constant challenge that thrilled her daily with the new and innovative approaches to timeless problems. What she was working on today wasn’t exactly precedent setting, but it was vital to one of her clients, and she didn’t intend to let him down.

  Mr. Jameson’s wife was suing him for half the worth of his business ventures, a chain of high-end restaurants, and his IRA. She claimed that he divorced her after a torrid affair and refused to pay child support or alimony. The ex-Mrs. Jameson claimed that if she didn’t receive full restitution she and her son would be living out of their Mercedes.

  Garret Jameson had confided that Mrs. Jameson was the one having the affair and was better off with her own money than anything he could provide for her. He insisted he had been paying all child support required by the courts and even provided documentation to prove it.

  Unfortunately, the legal system usually sided with the mother, which left her client’s divorce attorney the difficult task of proving that Mrs. Jameson was trying to take him to the cleaners. Her husband had previously filed the discovery with his divorce lawyer, but then asked Erin to look at the results. He was concerned that she would somehow be able to get controlling interest in the chain of restaurants that he’d built from the ground up, and wanted to know if Erin thought his ex-wife had a case.

  Erin frowned as she read Trudy Jameson’s history and discovered an indirect relation to the Marsters family, owners of Marsters Research Corporation. The company kept a lab on the eleventh floor of Erin’s own building. Mrs. Jameson was a first cousin to the president, Douglas Marsters. If Mr. Jameson hadn’t provided her with a complete family history, which she had thought superfluous at the time, she never would have known it.

  She vaguely remembered that Marsters was the company involved in a wrongful death lawsuit five years earlier. The charges were something to do with spewing toxins into the air from one of their chemical plants. Several people in a twenty-mile radius contracted a rare form of cancer and the families blamed the company.

  Douglas Marsters asked Erin to represent them at the time, but after a preliminary investigation, she refused the case on moral grounds. Their safety protocols seemed to be non-existent and a lot of their research was labeled top secret. It smacked of clandestine military biological warfare, even though she wasn't able to uncover anything to prove it.

  When she turned them down, another up and coming law firm eagerly snapped it up. No doubt, they received a huge retainer. Dickson and Dickson found a sympathetic judge and in the end, the Marsters Corporation only got a slap on the wrist. The victims’ families received barely enough to pay for the funerals. From what Erin understood, the cancer had been extremely virulent and incurable. Most of the victims had already succumbed to the disease.

  If Mrs. Jameson really was a relative, she had to be loaded. Even after the settlement from the wrongful death case, the Marsters Corporation was worth billions.

  Erin started at the sound of raised voices from just outside her closed door.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am, but you can’t go in there.”

  Amy’s voice was high and frustrated, as though she had been arguing strenuously with the woman in question. The heavy oak door flew open and bounced off the wall. A tall, regal blonde woman, with severe features and immaculately tailored garments, stalked into the room.

  “I am Carson Tierney. I am here to see the offices on the tenth floor.”

  Chapter Two

  ERIN STOOD UP slowly and appraised the woman on the other side of her desk. The rich bitch in the blue Armani power suit was undoubtedly accustomed to getting everything she wanted, when she wanted it and Erin felt her hackles rise. Their paths had crossed once before outside Ray Eldridge’s office. They hadn’t spoken, but Tierney’s infamous haughty, arrogant demeanor had rolled off her in waves. Even so, Erin couldn’t help thinking that she was still as gorgeous as she remembered. Being gorgeous, however, didn’t excuse bad manners.

  “Are you in the habit of stalking into other people’s offices unannounced?”

  Tierney’s cold expression remained solidly fixed. Accustomed to people backing down quickly when she used that tone, it irked Erin that the blonde woman wasn't even fazed.

  “For a five hundred thousand dollar retainer? Yes.”

  Okay, she had a point, but Erin wasn’t quite ready to let it go. “Do you think you could at least stop disrespecting my people?”

  The only response Erin got was a raised eyebrow and she felt the first throb of a headache. “Fine. Thank you, Amy. I’ll handle things from here.”

  Amy shot her a grateful look and closed the door on her way out. Erin reached for a folder on the corner of her desk and passed it across to the new client.

  What is she anyway, Erin wondered irritably, six feet? She ignored the fact that Ms. Tierney’s Nordic beauty made her feel like an old frump.

  “Here are the schematics for the offices on the tenth floor. They also include the locations of the new outlets and phone jacks that you requested.”

  Ms. Tierney abruptly snatched the folder from her hand and Erin had the sudden urge to slap the stranger across the face. She resisted the impulse and watched the executive shove the folder under her arm without glancing at it. A thick, fur-lined overcoat all but obscured the manila folder.

  “My research team will look at the schematics. We will have the entire tenth floor, correct?”

  Erin nodded.

  “I will see the space...now,” Tierney said.

  It was not a request and Erin squashed another violent urge. How the hell did Ray put up with this?

  Tugging down the hem of her jacket, Erin stepped from behind the desk. She could do this. It would only take twenty minutes, at the most, to show the annoying woman the tenth floor, and then she would never have to speak to Carson Tierney again.

  I can do this.

  Erin led Ms. Tierney to the nearest elevator bank. The cars would carry them directly to the tenth floor without any convoluted detours. Someone could even travel to the roof if they had the proper key. As a senior partner of Eldridge, Donovan, and White, Erin had a key but had never used it. She doubted she ever would.

  “Here we are. The tenth floor.”

  Erin almost ran smack into James Evans when the doors opened. The law clerk had grime on his face and dark smudges on his white shirt. His suit jacket was nowhere in sight. She had forgotten that he was supposed to come to see her after he finished showing the electrician around.

  “Mr. Evans! What are you still doing up here?”

  “Um, I was helping the electrician. Nothing’s too good for the client’s satisfaction, right?”

  Ms. Tierney breezed out of the elevator. “At least some of your staff has the proper attitude.”

  From the puppy look James lavished on the
irrepressible Ms. Tierney, Erin doubted that it was only satisfaction he wanted to give her. Well, maybe that too.

  “I pay you to assist the law firm, Mr. Evans, not learn another trade. I want those briefs prepared for the one o’clock meeting, finished and on my desk within the hour. Is that understood?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  He answered respectfully, but his eyes still followed the computer executive as she wandered the tenth floor. Erin wanted to slap him on the back of the head. She’d never felt so many violent urges in such a short amount of time before. This was getting ridiculous!

  She settled for pushing him back through the open elevator doors. “And clean your face,” she said.

  It wasn’t the scathing retort she wanted, but he had the grace to flush and mumble an apology before the doors closed. Erin turned around and unexpectedly caught Ms. Tierney with an unguarded expression as she inspected the office space. She really couldn’t blame James. With the stony look gone, she really was quite beautiful.

  Her eyes were the color of liquid ice, and her skin was fresh cream, pure and unblemished. Erin felt a sudden desire to run her thumb across the cleft of that proud chin. Lights from overhead made the blonde hair shine like summer wheat. A shiver of desire traveled up Erin’s spine.

  For God’s sake, she’s the Ice Queen! What the hell’s wrong with me?

  Erin shook the thoughts away and walked toward the client.

  “There are seven private offices as well as a formal lobby and receptionist area on this floor. It also boasts a janitor’s closet, two supply niches, a large conference room with the additional outlets and phone jacks requested, and it even has a small kitchen. A lavatory at the end of the hall contains a locker room and a shower. You could practically live up here without the need to see the outside world.”

  The sound of a hammer and power tools dimly filled the air from overhead and Erin realized that the construction crew was getting started for the day. With the building so well insulated and sound proofed, the noise was faint, but there was no mistaking it. She wondered if the client would suddenly tell her that the space was unacceptable and walk out.

  Instead, Carson Tierney asked curiously, “What’s on the floor above us?”

  Taken off guard by the civil tone, Erin answered softly. “The eleventh floor is being renovated with new windows, plumbing and carpet. Actually, the senior partners of my firm are thinking of relocating to that floor after the remodel is complete.”

  Ms. Tierney only nodded and continued to wander from room to room. She seemed to be in no hurry and inspected every little nook and cranny. When she finally finished, Erin was convinced the woman had even counted every strand of the small spider web at the rear left corner of the hallway. It was all she could do not to tap her foot while she waited.

  After the tenth time she checked her watch, Erin was ready to inform the woman that she was going to leave her on her own, but Ms. Tierney suddenly decided that she was finished. Erin wondered if she’d managed to notice her impatience.

  “When did you plan on moving in?”

  “When are you going to give me the keys?”

  Erin tried not to flinch at the sarcasm and wordlessly held up the spare set. Ms. Tierney grabbed the keys in the same fashion as she had the folder and Erin honestly thought she would throttle her. It took a second to swallow her ire but then she handed Ray’s client an elevator pass card.

  “This one is temporary until your identification tag is finished. It will operate the elevators after they shut down at six. Digital readers are located inside the stairwell at each exit, but the cards will only work for your company’s floor and the lobby after hours. That is, of course, a security measure due to the sensitive nature of the business conducted in this building. In the event of an emergency or power loss, all of the stairwell doors will unlock automatically.”

  “I’ll be back this afternoon to settle in.”

  Not even an acknowledgment of my words, Erin thought. Can the woman get any ruder?

  “I assume you mean you will send your crew to move you in?”

  The snide remark was uncalled for, but she just couldn’t help

  herself. At first, Erin was proud of her quick retort but the brief, uncharacteristic flash of hurt on the woman’s face made her wish she could bite off her own tongue. Then the look was gone and Erin wondered if it had been a product of her imagination.

  Hurt feelings or not, Ms. Tierney was still an important client and Erin’s behavior was bordering on unprofessional. She prided herself on not letting anyone get under her skin and this woman had managed it almost on sight. It was time to get things back under control.

  The doors opened onto the sixth floor and Erin stepped off, but she turned and put her foot in the way of the sensor to prevent the doors from closing.

  “If you need anything,” she said. “Please call me.”

  Erin handed the executive her business card. One of the special ones given out only to a select few as it had her home number on the back. To her surprise, Ms. Tierney accepted the card gracefully and Erin stepped back. Just before the doors closed, their eyes made contact. Confusion swam in the blue depths and then Ms. Tierney was gone.

  What the hell is going on?

  Erin shook herself like a dog shedding water, trying to throw off the surreal experience that was Ms. Carson Tierney. She had work to do and it was time to concentrate.

  AS SOON AS the elevator doors closed, Carson slumped against the wall and heaved a relieved sigh. She felt as if she’d just gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson.

  That went well, she thought sarcastically.

  She’d tried to prepare for this meeting all week and it had still caught her off guard. Carson just hadn’t expected Erin Donovan to overwhelm her so completely even though she had insisted that the unexpectedly young senior partner show her the tenth floor when she learned that Ray wouldn’t be available.

  Her nerves had won out when Carson walked into Ms. Donovan’s lobby and she didn’t even wait for the secretary to announce her. She’d walked in as if she owned the place, and demanded that the attorney interrupt her busy day to accommodate her. The amazing amber brown eyes that she had fantasized about from the first time she saw the woman, turned to hard, cold stone and the change took the wind right out of Carson’s sails.

  When Ms. Donovan handed her the folder, she’d snatched it away out of fear that their fingers would touch. Carson knew she couldn’t survive the electric contact, and she unwittingly made things even worse. She just wasn’t good at some things. Mathematics was easy, especially the language of ones and zeros. What never made any sense were the social niceties. She hadn’t ever understood them and had, inside thirty seconds, managed to alienate the first adult female she was attracted to.

  The image of her father flashed briefly in her mind and Carson pushed the unwanted vision away. She tried not to blame him. Her mother died when she was just a small child and since then he had wanted nothing to do with her. He’d still gone to his job as a backhoe operator every day, but had left the girl to her own devices. He’d never tried to teach her anything about getting along with other people.

  All Carson ever wanted was to get away from him and the ramshackle trailer in which they lived. Even at five years old, she realized the only way she could make that happen was through school. Buried in the world of academia, Carson never considered people important in any fashion. All they did was cause her pain.

  And I was successful, too, she thought. I started my own company by the time I was twenty.

  Initially she focused on computer software development, but eventually diversified into testing and shoring up the security programs at other major software companies to prevent people from hacking into their programming. Now the company had grown to the point where working out of a warehouse was no longer sufficient or desirable. Carson needed a fresh, new, sophisticated look for Delphi.

  She employed a large group of handpicked programmers and
technicians who now needed more room to work. Ray Eldridge had come highly recommended by a colleague and she decided he was the one to protect her business interests. That he charged a healthy retainer didn’t even cause her to flinch. She needed the best to look out for their legal welfare in order to prevent unexpected and frivolous suits.

  So why is it that I can’t even look at her without melting into the floor like a spineless pool of protoplasm, she wondered anxiously.

  The first time she’d walked into the Holcomb Building to meet with Ray, Carson saw Erin. When he suggested the move to the tenth floor, it seemed an excellent opportunity to keep running into the redheaded goddess. She hadn’t been able to get Erin out of her mind since then.

  The elevator doors opened in the lobby and Carson immediately straightened from her slumped position. She let the cold mask of neutrality slide into place with practiced ease, and strode across the lobby. Men and women alike turned their heads when she walked past, but she ignored them and walked toward the condensation covered glass doors, unaware of the vision she created.

  The door attendant called for her car, and she waited impatiently for the valet to pull the Lexus SUV around. At least it would be warm inside and she wouldn’t have to wait for the engine to warm up.

  Carson drove home on the slippery streets with great care. In her opinion, people just didn’t know how to drive in this weather, and the holiday rush only compounded things. Dirty snow created huge banks on the sides of the roads and she refused to look at them.

  She didn’t care for Chicago in the wintertime, and had initially started to make plans to expand to California once the Chicago office was set up to her liking. The profits from Delphi ensured that she could comfortably expand three times without feeling the financial impact, and at least the weather would be better on the Pacific Coast.

  Seeing Erin Donovan changed her focus. For the first time, the world of numbers had to move to one side and make a little room for her heart. Carson wasn’t fooling herself. She knew Ms. Donovan couldn’t be remotely interested in her. She probably had a long line of male suitors waiting in the wings.