LITMIR.BIZ

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the wise-beyond-her-years look she had perfected in the tenth grade. “You sure your problem is really with the note?”

      “Meaning?”

      “We’ve known each other forever, Ben. I can see it. The way you grumble. The short temper. The longer than usual hours in the office.”

      “You do think I’m being an ass.”

      Emma smiled. “I think you’re attracted to her.”

      “Who?” Oh, he knew, but stalling for time seemed like the best plan of action at the moment.

      “Don’t play dumb. I’m talking about the bodyguard you stare at every second you think she’s not looking.”

      Hell, a guy couldn’t even plan a move without having an audience. “Exaggerating a bit, aren’t you?”

      “Not by much.”

      “Yeah, well, you’ve read this all wrong. Callie is a menace. She swears like a drunken defendant and insists she runs the place. She’s been here for two days and the entire office is upside down. I haven’t had a second alone except to take a piss—” He held up his hand. “Sorry.”

      “I’ve heard worse.”

      “Probably from me.”

      “And others, but none of that changes the facts. She pushes you.”

      “Exactly.” He snapped his fingers. “That’s what I’m saying.”

      “And you like it. You like her, even though you’re too thick to admit it.” Emma played with a pen on the edge of his desk. “Callie is different from your usual dates. She gets you riled, challenges you.”

      “You somehow get attraction from that? I get frustration, anger. The desire to fire her ass.”

      “You love the hunt. That’s always been a huge turn-on for you, which is why you seem so uninterested in the women in your life lately.”

      Where had that come from? “Jesus, you make me sound like a predator.”

      “More like a single guy who thinks he needs one type of woman but really wants another.” Emma continued to spin the pen. “You get bombarded with offers from women who are more interested in your position than about who you are. You go out and get bored and move on.”

      “You’ve clearly spent some time thinking about this subject.”

      “I’ve watched this dance for years. The more they fight it, the more effort you put in. It’s part of why you hate the whole playboy talk. It suggests you’ll drag anyone home. You and I both know you’re more discriminating than that.” She lined the pens back up in straight lines again. “I know the man behind the superstar judge persona.”

      He pounded his fist against his chest in false bravado. “There’s just more superstar underneath.”

      She reached over and took his hand. “No, there’s a sensitive guy who long ago lost the desire to chase an easy score.”

      “Emma—”

      “When people said things about us, you didn’t lose your temper or rush to deny. You kept your control and ignored the lies.”

      “That’s different.”

      Emma squeezed his hand. “Of course it is. Because there’s nothing between us.” She pressed even tighter when he tried to talk. “But there is something between you and Callie. She digs and you take the bait. It’s interesting to watch, actually.”

      Ben folded his free hand over their joined ones. “Happy I could entertain you.”

      After a barely audible knock, the door to his office flew open. Callie stepped in, ready to say something he was sure would annoy him. But her mouth froze in the open position. She stared at their hands on the desk before looking up at him again with red-stained cheeks.

      He couldn’t believe she managed to stay quiet for a full ten seconds. “Yes?”

      “Sorry. I’ll wait outside.” Callie slammed the door shut again before he could yell at her for interrupting.

      “That was interesting.” Emma eased her hand out from under his and stood up. She brushed the wrinkles out of her skirt. Made quite a show of the process, as if she were trying not to look at him. Or laugh.

      “You mean the part where Callie is a grown person but for some reason doesn’t know when to knock on a closed door?”

      “I was too busy noticing the stunned look on her face.”

      He refused to read anything into Callie’s shocked flush. She was rushing around and feeling left out. Nothing else. “She’s probably upset that I had five minutes of freedom.”

      Emma cocked her head to the side. “Come on.”

      “I’m serious.”

      “You know women better than that.”

      “She’s not a typical woman.”

      “Sure seems like one.”

      Subjects like Callie’s looks and exactly how he planned on undressing her once he got her alone were off limits. He shared a lot with Emma but drew the line at locker-room talk. “I admit Callie is attractive in a could-kick-my-ass sort of way.”

      Emma laughed. “See, many men would not find that aspect of her too compelling. You do.”

      Which only proved men were idiots. “I was kidding.”

      “Sure you were.” Emma’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “You still trying to tell me there’s nothing between the two of you?”

      Something pulsed there with Callie. It breathed and kicked, begging to get free, and he had no idea what the hell it was. “She’s ticked off.”

      “And the funniest part is that you don’t even know why.” Emma winked at him. “But you will, and I can’t wait to be there to see you figure it out.”

      Chapter Five

      Seven hours later, they left the courtroom with Callie convinced the mind-numbing afternoon killed off a few thousand brain cells. She thought about telling Ben that little fact, but he practically ran back to his office, ignoring her every step of the way.

      Then he tried to close the office door on her face. Apparently he thought she could watch over him from the crack under the door.

      Jackass.

      “What’s wrong with you now?” Callie pushed the door open and then banged it shut as hard as she could behind her.

      Ben slowly turned around. Something rumbled around inside him and it wasn’t happiness. Tension radiated off him, pulling every part of his body tight. For the first time all afternoon he glanced at her.

      An apology for his grumpiness was in order. He should have been embarrassed for flirting with her while his true love Emma sat only an office away. Instead, his brown eyes smoldered with…was that fury?

      “Don’t do that again,” he said through a clenched jaw.

      “What?” she asked, mystified about the cause of his sour mood.

      “Slam my door.” He threw his files against his desk with enough force to send a few flying to the carpet.

      She sure as hell hoped he didn’t think it was her job to race around and pick those up. Just to be clear on that point she didn’t move. “But I like the sound.”

      “Well, I don’t, and since I run this office I decide what happens here. It’s about time you realized that.”

      Looked like they were back to the me-boss-you-stupid-girl routine. “Care to tell me what crawled up your ass?”

      “Excuse me?”

      “Up.

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