Now You See Me Read online

  Though she wasn’t exactly experienced in these things, Carson was well aware that her romantic interests leaned toward the feminine. She never understood the crushes her classmates claimed over boys their age. It just didn’t make sense. Men were clumsy, lumbering and had an unpleasant aroma, even the ones who insisted they had just taken a shower.

  When her first and only crush did finally come, it was in the form of a gorgeous dark haired female athlete in her freshman year of college. Carson had been very young at the time, only thirteen, but she still remembered the chiseled muscles of the beautiful track star.

  Carson followed every major track and field event that year when she wasn’t studying or in classes, but she was still destined to get her heart broken. One night as she was walking back to the dorm after studying at the library, she found her crush locked in the arms of a tall, male jock who looked as though he’d crawled out of a caveman movie.

  She had seen the young man before at one of the track events, and knew many considered him handsome and quite a catch, but the only thing Carson caught when she saw them kissing was a case of unrequited puppy love. It took a while to get over it, but she knew that men were not anything she could ever seriously consider.

  Years later, and after so much hard work that she hadn’t time to explore the possibility of another relationship, she enlisted Ray Eldridge. That was when she saw Erin Donovan and her heart started to melt from the cold lump of ice it had become.

  She was embarrassed to have made every excuse she could think of to visit the Holcomb Building during the past six months, just to see Ms. Donovan. She knew that Erin only spotted her a handful of times since she did her best to stay out of sight, but it was worth it. Erin possessed a classic beauty, similar to a film star from the forties or fifties. Her deep red hair was vibrant even under the glow of artificial lights, and Carson was firmly of the opinion that they just didn’t make women like that anymore.

  Lost in her daydreams, Carson took Interstate 94 North past the famous Wrigley Field before she exited onto the roadway that would take her along the scenic drive past Lake Michigan. For a few miles, traffic was bumper to bumper; another reminder of her desire for the quiet life. Maybe after she earned her second billion she would appoint a chairperson to run her company and hide quietly at home where she didn’t have to drive anywhere.

  Eventually she turned off onto a private lane and, two hundred yards up a narrow paved road, she pulled into a large driveway. The garage door opened automatically when she crossed the sensor and she drove into the triple-car heated garage, only slowing a little to accommodate the rise of the doors. When she finally stopped and shut off the engine, Carson sighed in relief.

  This place was her sanctuary, and although she had paid almost three quarters of million dollars for it, it was worth every penny.

  She smiled thinking how Joyce said the house was too big for her. Carson loved that it had two stories with a full basement that she had converted into a library and wine cellar. There were four bedrooms with three and a half baths. A fireplace took up one wall of the first floor family room, and all of the wood décor throughout was Brazilian cherry. Nine and a half foot ceilings gave the place a roomy feel, and the bubbling slate spa on the enclosed patio was a comfort on these cold, stormy days. The house was a world away from the cramped trailer from her youth.

  On sunny days, Carson would stand on the Juliet balcony, situated on the top floor outside the other family room and gaze out across her property. The whole area was quiet and untainted by other humans and was often a balm to soothe her soul. Today, her thoughts and feelings were a little more maudlin.

  She entered through the kitchen door and tried to ignore the loneliness of a place that usually comforted her. For the first time, the roominess reminded her that, of all the things she had achieved in life, the one thing she hadn’t managed was someone to share it with. She thought of Erin Donovan and her heart clenched painfully.

  Even the father she had never gotten along with had finally abandoned her altogether.

  He never forgave me for Mom’s death. Even after I succeeded with the company, he didn’t want anything to do with me. I tried to buy him a new home, get him out of that dilapidated trailer, but he wouldn’t even talk to me, she thought sadly.

  They were never close and when he passed away, she was unsurprised that she didn’t feel much of anything.

  Carson growled and pushed the melancholy feelings away. She needed to change clothes and gather some of her things from the warehouse before she returned to the Holcomb Building. She swapped her Armani for a silk button-down shirt because she liked the feel of it. Quickly donning dark blue jeans, thick socks, and hiking boots with a heavy tread, she then exchanged the heavily furred overcoat for a fleece-lined leather bomber jacket.

  No one would recognize her in her current garb, but this was what she preferred. She didn’t care if instead of driving a Lexus SUV, she drove a beat up old truck in need of a muffler but she realized that she had an image to protect. If she persistently ran around in a vehicle that looked as though it had seen better days, her company would go down the drain eventually.

  And it is nice to have the Bose stereo system and heated seats, she thought with a grin.

  Carson moved nimbly down the stairs and walked into the well-supplied kitchen. A quick mocha from the espresso machine and she was out the door. Her heart thumped in anticipation of seeing Ms. Donovan again as she drove toward the warehouse district. In a few hours, she’d have the opportunity to glimpse Erin, and hopefully, this time she wouldn’t act like a complete idiot.

  She wondered just how bad an impression she’d made on the lawyer and whether she would ever be able to look her in the face again.

  ACROSS TOWN, ERIN Donovan, corporate attorney at law, had all but forgotten about her encounter with the Armani clad businesswoman. The task of showing her partner’s insufferable client around was complete and, as far as she was concerned, Carson Tierney was now officially Ray Eldridge’s problem. If he needed another stand in, he could call on their other partner, Robert.

  The day passed quickly as she concentrated on her work. She finished the discovery in record time, which was good as it turned out, since her first client meeting went long by an hour. When her schedule finally cleared, she found that James had completed the briefs she wanted and had already placed them on her desk for approval. Lunchtime came and went without notice as she perused the documents and signed them. Then it was time for her one o’clock appointment.

  Erin stood up and pulled on the suit jacket she had draped over the back of her chair. It managed to give her a fresh and professional appearance, even if she felt as though she was ready to collapse from exhaustion. She didn’t think the collapse was far off.

  She’d barely been able to snag a bagel on the way to work this morning and her stomach had started to protest her strict caffeine diet. The heavy workload of the day and the encounter with the princess certainly hadn’t helped.

  Erin glanced at her watch again, hefted the folder with the material she needed for the meeting, and walked out of her office. Conference room one was just down the hall and she only had a few minutes or she would be late.

  “Ms. Donovan,” Amy said when she walked through the receptionist’s office. “You were busy when the lunch cart went by so I got you a Reuben on rye.”

  The secretary held up a sandwich covered in clear wrap and waved it temptingly in the air.

  “Bless you, Amy. You’re a Godsend. Put it on my desk if you don’t mind and I’ll get to it when I finish with the meeting.”

  The secretary tisked at her and cast a worried look, but she knew better than try to lecture Ms. Donovan about her work ethics.

  Erin entered the conference room to find that she was the final one to arrive. Her clients from Burlier Pharmaceuticals sat pensively around the huge oak table and watched her carefully for any sign she might give, good or bad. She tried not to show the elation that always ca
me when she had good news for her clients. Instead, she slowly sat her heavy file on the table and sat down before she carefully met the gaze of all three men who waited for her.

  She took a deep breath and began without preamble, “Legal and financial experts on the Eastern Seaboard favor the view that preliminary steps to a merger, even if they are in contractual form, are conditional and do not preclude later acceptance of better offers from third parties.”

  Erin could see that she had not only gotten their attention, but that they all looked extremely disconcerted by this news. Undeterred, she continued. “Trade customs in large commercial centers assume prospective mergers are primarily concerned with maximizing shareholder benefits and are therefore open to competing offers until the deal is closed.”

  Burlier Pharmaceuticals had been in preliminary negations with a local hospital to form a merger. The deal would have kept Burlier from filing bankruptcy, and helped the hospital reduce medicine costs. Before the deal finalized, Carcroft Industries had stepped in and underbid Burlier, stealing the deal and signing everything off before they knew what was happening. Burlier was now facing bankruptcy and went to Erin in a last ditch effort to find some legal loophole. From what she had just said, they didn’t have a leg to stand on. She saw the desperation in their faces, but she still had a trump up her sleeve.

  “However, there is precedent on the books to the contrary. In 1984 during Pennzoil v. Texaco , the Supreme Court ruled that although the contract was verbal, it was still binding.”

  Shocked expressions from the men sitting around the table delighted her beyond words. She had spent a great deal of time researching their dilemma, convinced in the beginning that they didn’t have a chance. After all, there was nothing on paper to indicate such a merger was in the process, and she just didn’t see what she could do to help them. Stumbling on the old case had been a welcome accident.

  “What are you saying?” Rick Gardner, a palsied man in his sixties with a painfully receding hairline asked tremulously.

  Erin saw the glimmer of carefully guarded hope in his rheumatic eyes, and grinned before she answered him. “It means that in this state a verbal agreement is just as good as a signed document.The hospital has already admitted that they were in preliminary negotiations with your company, and don’t seem to realize that was their tactical error. They can’t deny it now. In fact, during the case that I mentioned earlier, the Supreme Court required Texaco to pay an eleven million dollar penalty for the breach of contract. Of course they eventually settled out of court for three million rather than declare bankruptcy, but I see no reason why your case isn’t just as good.”

  Chapter Three

  IT TOOK A while for Erin to convince them that they weren’t dreaming, but eventually she was successful. There was definitely a relieved bounce in their step when they finally left the conference room. Erin was tired, but happy, as she walked back toward her office.

  Her empty stomach complained bitterly and her mouth salivated at the thought of the cold Reuben sandwich that waited on her desk. Erin hefted the folder and looked up just in time to avoid running smack into Amy, who was on her way out. The secretary stood in the hall waiting impatiently for the elevator.

  Erin frowned in confusion and glanced at her watch. It was only three o’clock, and a little early for anyone to be leaving work. “Amy?”

  “Scott is picking me up for the Christmas party with his family, remember?”

  A nervous glint in her secretary’s eye reminded Erin that Amy was not looking forward to this annual event. She asked off early for it every year, yet dreaded going to the forced celebration. Her husband’s family didn’t exactly like her, but Amy still kept trying.

  “Don’t worry,” Erin said, smiling. “I’m sure you’re wearing them down.”

  The chime sounded to let the women know that the car had arrived and the doors were ready to open. Amy smiled nervously at her boss.

  “What about you? When are you going to find yourself a boyfriend, and have some fun instead of working all the time?”

  Erin smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you have something else to do besides worry about my private life, Amy?”

  Her private life, or lack thereof, wasn’t something she was in the habit of discussing with anyone. None of her business contacts knew of her orientation and she preferred to keep it that way. It was all right to have a woman corporate attorney represent your company, but most of her clients would no doubt run away, screaming, if they discovered that she was a lesbian.

  The doors parted and Erin suddenly found herself looking into a pair of ice-blue eyes. She felt her features harden, and diligently ignored the curious look she noticed on Amy’s face. Carson Tierney was in the car holding a huge cardboard box. Even loaded down, hair slightly mussed, and with a dark smudge on one cheek, she looked aggravatingly composed.

  Carson hesitated for an instant before she stepped off the elevator and Amy took her place. They stood staring at one another until the lift doors closed and the secretary left them alone. Erin wondered what would have prompted the head of Delphi Technologies to initiate contact with her after their earlier interaction. Maybe she expects me to carry her box, she thought hatefully.

  CARSON WAITED UNCERTAINLY in front of the lawyer. From the instant the lift doors opened and she saw the smaller woman standing there, she knew she had to do something to mend the rift between them. Instead, she saw the walls coming up over hooded amber eyes. Carson started to back down, but then firmed her resolve. As inexperienced as she was with making overtures, she had to try.

  “I...I wanted to apologize,” Carson began nervously. She saw that she had startled Ms. Donovan by her admission and forged ahead. “I wanted to say that I’m sorry. For earlier. I’m not usually quite so rude when I first meet someone. I...don’t know what came over me.”

  Ms. Donovan didn’t seem to know what to make of the apology. She just stood there and looked at Carson. Apparently, the attorney wasn’t ready to forgive her, and if she was so petty that she couldn’t allow for one lapse in etiquette, maybe Carson was wrong about her. Perhaps it was time to be done with her crush on the pretty lawyer. It was sad really. Here she was experiencing her first real romantic interest in years, and the woman wasn’t as special as she thought.

  “Well,” Carson finally said into the silence. “I suppose I should get back to it.”

  She hefted the box of files by way of explanation and started to turn toward the elevators.

  “Thank you, Ms. Tierney.”

  Carson turned back around at the sound of the gravelly tones. What this woman could do to her insides with that voice.

  “I appreciate that,” Erin continued. “You didn’t have to apologize...but thank you.”

  Carson dipped her head in acknowledgment. “You’re welcome, and it’s Carson. Please.”

  Erin smiled and Carson felt like the sun had broken through the clouds just for her.

  Did it suddenly get hot in here? Butterflies swarmed in her stomach and she swallowed against an unusually dry throat.

  “Only if you’ll agree to call me Erin.”

  “Erin?” Carson was dazed by the brilliant smile directed her way. If she really was straight, it was such a terrible waste. “Oh, of course. Erin. Well, I should go.”

  She felt inane for the lack of original comment, but the box was getting heavy. Carson leaned forward and pressed the button for the elevator car with her elbow. She turned back around to find that Erin was looking at her oddly. Just then, the dynamic attorney seemed to realize what she was doing and turned a bright red.

  “Right, well, I should get back to work anyway,” Erin said.

  Regardless of her words, Carson noticed that Ms. Donovan stood rooted in place, silently watching as the lift doors opened and she stepped inside. Their eyes met and held until the doors closed and Erin was gone.

  The look in the soft brown eyes remained with her, especially how they had lightened. The flash of stron
g, white teeth had left her breathless, and Carson thought she might crawl out of her skin. It was a sensation she had never experienced before, and she finally understood what prompted countless poets to write about love throughout the ages. She wasn’t saying she was in love with Erin Donovan, she barely knew her, but she also knew that she found the woman utterly captivating.

  When she stepped off the elevator, the first thing she noticed was the continued sound of the renovation going on overhead. Even the pounding and continuous scraping couldn’t dim her smile. The rest of the team wasn’t due to arrive until next week, and surely they could put up with the inconvenience for a while. She knew it would certainly be worth it to her.

  Carson sat the heavy box down in the hallway, and wandered from one office to the next. She had spent a considerable amount of time up here with Erin earlier, but really hadn’t noticed the layout. As much as she pretended to survey the space, she’d been more interested in the corporate lawyer’s features. She clearly remembered the light dusting of freckles across the pert nose when the fluorescent lights illuminated her face.

  Tense lines around the eyes and lips hinted at the strain Erin was under, and Carson wondered if they were from working too hard or from her own rudeness. Each time Erin checked the time on her watch Carson noticed how small her hands were. Although they were tiny, they were strong and she found them fascinating. Just as she did everything else about Erin Donovan.

  Abruptly Carson came back to the present and realized she was slumped against the wall lost in thought. Her hands were shaking when she lifted them and pushed the hair back from her face.

  This is silly!

  As intriguing as Erin was, Carson still had work to do. This adolescent fawning was becoming too much of a distraction. She had a business to run and she wouldn’t let her feelings interfere with that. Her work was her salvation, and had always been the one thing she could rely on, the one thing that had never let her down or judged her.