LITMIR.BIZ

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in her father’s office, hovering about like some vulture waiting for its prey to die so it could start eating.

      “No telling how long you’ll have to wait,” she warned him.

      “I don’t mind,” Logan told her flatly. “I’m being well compensated for my time.”

      Andy struggled to keep her temper in check, something that ordinarily wasn’t a problem for her.

      But she absolutely hated not knowing why he was here. There was something about this man and his perfectly groomed exterior that made her nervous, as if something was going to happen, something that she wouldn’t be able to fix.

      People with nothing to hide were far more open than he was being. Granted, he’d said he was a lawyer and lawyers were closemouthed unless they were on the floor of a courtroom, grandstanding and thrilling to the sound of their own voices. At least that was how they were portrayed on TV, which was the closest she’d come to seeing a lawyer before this.

      But this was about her father, and whatever affected Richard Roman affected them all. They were a family that didn’t keep secrets from one another. That wasn’t what they were all about.

      Obviously this man didn’t understand that simple concept.

      She tried to approach the problem from a basic, practical perspective, hoping that would finally sink in. “Well, I can’t just leave you alone in my father’s office.”

      Logan nodded and for one brief, shining moment, Andy thought she was finally going to get rid of the man. But then he said, “You could stay with me, make sure I didn’t make off with anything.”

      “What I’m worried about,” she replied, doing her best to inject an eerie stillness in her voice that she hoped he recognized as the calm that came just before a huge storm, “is that you’re going to say something to upset my father. My father has enough to deal with these days.”

      “Oh? Like what?” Logan asked, a bit too innocently in her opinion.

      She gave him an answer steeped in practicality and logic. Something she felt would appeal to the man. “This is one of our busiest times of the year and my father prides himself on always making sure everyone who stays here has an exceptionally good time. That’s not nearly as easy as it sounds.”

      “I’m sure it’s not.” He was nothing if not sympathetic sounding.

      Andy saw his attitude as something else. “Do you get bonuses for patronizing people? Or is that just an extra you throw in?” she wanted to know.

      The woman was clearly imagining things, but he wasn’t going to call her out on it. He had an endless supply of patience and he dug deep into it right now.

      “I wasn’t aware I was being patronizing.”

      “Well, now you know,” Andy informed him with finality.

      “I do apologize,” Logan told her, trying to suppress his amusement. He couldn’t help himself. With her tough attitude, this very young woman should be working in the military. Or teaching self-defense somewhere, anyway.

      As hard as he tried to choke back a smile, she must’ve sensed something in his expression. He watched her bristle. Uh-oh.

      Andy found his smile unsettling, which in itself annoyed her to no end. Given half a chance, she would have liked to wipe it off the man’s chiseled face.

      “If you’re really serious about apologizing,” she said, “just leave.”

      From the way he crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, she could tell that was not about to happen. “I’m afraid I can’t,” he responded. “Not without first seeing your father.”

      This was getting her nowhere. They were going around in circles and he looked as if he was enjoying the process.

      “I could have our head of security make you go,” she threatened him.

      It was an empty threat because there was no head of security, although in a pinch, she felt she could turn to Silvio. Their longtime gardener was well versed in things that a gardener had no business knowing. But then, Silvio hadn’t always been a gardener. The life he’d led before being forced to flee his native country was very different from his life here at the inn.

      “He could try,” Logan told her in a mild voice. The expression on his handsome face told her that a mere head of security—even if one existed—couldn’t remove him from the premises.

      Maybe it was because she felt so edgy, or maybe it was because she was struggling with those momentary twinges of envy, feeling the odd woman out. She really didn’t know. But whatever was behind her reaction to this man and his mysterious need to communicate only with her father, Andy felt her normally large supply of patience swiftly evaporating.

      “Why won’t you tell us what business you have with my father?” she demanded.

      “Because the business is with your father,” he underscored firmly without so much as raising his voice. “After I’ve discussed it with him, if your father chooses to include you in the matter, that’s his call to make and his business. My orders are to speak directly—and only—to him.”

      “My father doesn’t keep secrets from his family,” she informed him.

      “You’re very fortunate. Not all families are like that,” he added with what Andy felt was a momentary break in the cool, calm facade she’d been dealing with. “However, it doesn’t change a thing.”

      Andy stood there for a long moment, struggling hard to keep her temper in check as well as banking down the torrent of words that felt as if they were rushing to her tongue.

      Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to study the man before her.

      Just what was it that made him tick? What was his story? she couldn’t help wondering.

      There was no hard-and-fast reason for her to suspect that he would upset her father. She knew she was being overprotective because she worried about him. But, be that as it may, she still couldn’t shake the gut feeling that the man she was dealing with represented trouble with a capital T.

      Get a grip.

      The sooner this was over, the better for everybody, she decided. Opening the door to the office, she gestured inside, surprising Logan if his expression was any indication.

      As he crossed the threshold, Andy took her cell phone out of her back pocket and tapped out her father’s number on the keypad. It was by far the fastest way she knew to locate her father and get him to come to his office.

      This time, however, it proved an unproductive way to locate him. The moment she heard the call go through and the sound of ringing begin on her end, she also heard the corresponding sound of a ringing phone—and it was coming from the top drawer of her father’s desk.

      Logan looked from the desk to her, raising a quizzical eyebrow. “I take it your father’s not hiding under the desk for some reason.”

      Andy sighed, frustrated. She ended the call and slipped her phone back into her pocket. “No, he’s not under the desk. He has a tendency to forget to take his cell phone with him.”

      “Like I said,” Logan told her, starting to make his way over to the padded chair in the corner of the office, “I don’t mind waiting.”

      “Waiting for what, young man?”

      Andy and the man she’s been verbally sparring with turned in unison to see Richard Roman standing in the hallway, less than half a foot shy of the office threshold.

       CHAPTER FIVE

      “WAITING FOR YOU, SIR,” Logan replied to the older man’s question. “I don’t mind waiting for you,”

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