Logan's Redemption (2 page)

Resolve stiffened her spine. She would protect her secret and her son until she discovered why Logan was here. “Is this some sort of joke?” she asked, returning her attention to Logan. “What are you doing here?”

“Working for you, last I heard.”  

He strode slowly across the carpeted room with the predatory grace of a mountain lion. A hunter with a lithe, muscular body and sun streaks gilding his light brown hair. Had he come to snare her with past memories that were better left dead, to destroy her orderly life? To make her son, and her, dream of things that could never be?  

“Not glad to see me, Dorie?”

Heat spread from her neck to her face.
Dorie
. Logan’s pet name for her when they made

love. “Don’t call me that.”  

He stood in front of her desk and stared at her with hooded eyes. “All our memories aren’t bad, are they, Dorie?” 

His low, seductive voice burned her with enough electricity to power a high rise. She stared at his full lips. Her own lips tingled as she remembered the feel of his mouth on hers, remembered his wildness and her own answering needs.

Standing on legs that had the consistency of wet cement, she curled her hands into fists. She wouldn’t let the past hurt her again. Nothing mattered now except protecting Josh. And protecting her heart. “I don’t know how you talked my father into this, Logan, but it won’t work.”

He pressed his palms on her desk and leaned toward her. She held her ground, inhaling his scent of citrus and outdoors. Faint lines bracketed his mouth and eyes. A smattering of gray wove through his hair. His eyes held a steely glint that warned of dangers she knew too well. The guarded look on his face and the rigid set of his jaw hinted at emotions kept in tight rein. Had he finally learned to harness the recklessness that had driven her to him, that had made her betray her parents’ trust?            

“I’m working for you,” he said. “I’m here to stay.”

Like you stayed the last time
? Fear and apprehension squeezed her heart. Did Logan know her secret? Josh had accepted that his father left before he was born. Lately he’d begun asking questions. She promised to tell him about his father when he turned eighteen. What would her troubled son do if he knew his father was in town?

She wouldn’t concern herself with unnecessary fears. In six months, Lisa would be back and Logan would be gone.

“Sit down. We’ll talk.” She sank slowly into her chair and picked up a sheaf of papers, studying them, buying time. She lifted her gaze to find Logan staring at her. Seated in the chair nearest her desk, he stretched his long legs in front of him. The coolness in his eyes slowly gave way to an awareness that made heat coil in her stomach despite her anxiety.

The wild boy she’d known had matured into a confident man whose chiseled features were roughened by the power and air of mystery that clung to him. Clad in black pants that hugged his muscular legs, black leather jacket and deep brown sweater, he looked like a man who’d seen too much of the dark side of life. And was comfortable with it. Excitement quivered along her skin.

He broke the connection and glanced away. She suspected he harbored his own secrets. She followed his gaze to the window. And the pictures. She didn’t want him asking questions about Josh. Not now. The guilt she’d carried all these years pricked her, and she shifted uncomfortably. “Logan, why are you really here?”

He folded his arms across his chest and met her gaze, a challenge in his eyes and the arrogant set of his body. “To work for you.” He scanned the room. “You’ve done well for yourself.” His lips tilted in a mocking smile. “But then your dad owns the company.”

She bristled. “I’ve had to prove myself time and again. I’ve worked harder than you can imagine. But I don’t owe you any explanations.”

“You don’t.” He straightened and his harsh features relaxed. “We’ve got to work together. Let’s make the best of it.”

She breathed deeply in an all-out effort to relax. She’d endured a lot in the years since she’d last seen Logan. Surely she could handle working with him and seeing him every day.  

“How did my dad come to hire you?” she asked.

He settled into his chair and shrugged. “I was between jobs and your dad owed a mutual acquaintance a favor. So here I am.”

“You’re between jobs? What do you do for a living?”

He stiffened slightly. “I do this and that, whatever pleases me. I don’t like to stay in one place for long.”

“You don’t have a permanent home?”  He would leave again. She couldn’t tell him about Josh. Her son needed a real father, not a temporary one.

Logan leaned closer. “You never expected me to amount to much, did you, Doriana?”  

Hurt chased across his eyes, spiking her curiosity, and making her wonder if he was as hard as he seemed. But he’d come back now. Maybe he knew about Josh. Or maybe he was  toying with her.

The intercom buzzed and she started. “Excuse me.” Glad of the interruption, she pressed the talk button. “Yes, Lisa?”

“I’m sorry to bother you,” Lisa’s stressed voice said. “Jenson keeps calling and you have that meeting. Also the fax machine is acting up again.”

“Hang in there, Lisa. I’ll call Jenson right away and then see about that damn fax machine. I told Purchasing weeks ago that we needed a new one.” Doriana replaced the phone and turned to Logan. “I run a busy office and I need someone who can keep up with the pace. Your lifestyle isn’t my concern. Do you have the job skills I need? Did my father even check that out?”

Logan’s full lips quirked in a grin. “Your father is head of a multinational company. Do you doubt he has the expertise to hire your assistant?”

Her face heated. “I have faith in my father’s expertise, but not yours.”   

Their gazes caught. Something burned in the depths of Logan’s eyes that made Doriana’s heart teeter against her chest like loose scaffolding bumping a building.

“I have all the skills you need,” he said. “I can handle anything you throw at me.”

How about a fifteen-year-old with attitude
? “We’ll see about that,” she said, angling her chin. She had to end this discussion now, with her professionalism intact. “Are you prepared to commit for six months? That’s how long my assistant will be on leave.” Folding her arms across her chest, she waited for his negative response. Of course he wouldn’t agree to stick around that long. Commitment was never Logan’s style.

“I’ll be here as long as you need me,” he said in a tight voice.         

Willing to concede defeat for now, she stood and leveled her gaze at Logan. She’d talk to her dad about hiring someone else.                    

Logan rose slowly, towering over her by at least a foot. His gaze trailed her face, stopping at her mouth. He didn’t try to hide the desire in his eyes. Her knees jelled. Disturbed by her attraction to him, she dug her nails into her palms. This could not be happening. This would not happen.

“Doriana?”  His voice caressed.

She shivered, unable to look away from the seduction of his gold-flecked eyes. His knowing smile made her stiffen. He was well aware of his effect on her. The thought cooled her like a powerful fan on a steamy day.

“When do you want me to start?” he asked.

“Tomorrow morning. Eight o’clock.” Thank God she sounded normal again. “Lisa will go over her projects and duties then.”

“Tomorrow then.” He turned and strode from the room, moving with a self-assured sensuality that made her pulse trip.

A trickle of foreboding caused a chill deep in her soul. How would it feel to see Logan every day, a constant reminder of what they’d once shared...of the youthful dreams that had died the day he walked out of her life? To look into his eyes and see Josh, and feel the guilt? Maybe she should have tried to find Logan all these years. Didn’t he have a right to know about his son?

Folding her arms, she crossed the room to stare out the window. The smog had lifted and she could see the skyline clearly now. “Oh, Billy,” she said to the famous statue. “What am I to do?”

As if the statue answered, she glanced down at the table and picked up one of Josh’s pictures. She couldn’t risk her son becoming attached to a father who would walk away again.

Gathering up the photos, she left only one, of Josh as a toddler. If Logan saw the picture he’d assume she was the mother of a small child. Thank God Josh had inherited her black hair.

She would have to keep up the pretense for only a short while. She’d convince her dad that Logan had to go. Guilt reared up but she brushed it aside.    

* * * *

Logan retrieved the briefcase he’d left with Doriana’s assistant and walked out to the hall. The elevator came quickly and he stepped in. His mind barely registered the other riders crowding in with him. What was he thinking, coming on to Doriana like that? He had a job to do. He knew better than to risk an important assignment like this.    

His gut tightened. Doriana was more beautiful and exotic than he remembered. The severe cut of her business suit couldn’t hide her lush body and her smoldering sensuality...a sensuality he’d awakened long ago. He gripped his briefcase, fighting his body’s response to her. But he couldn’t stop the memories flooding him. The feel of her thick black hair brushing his bare chest as they made love. Her laugh and the way she made him feel important. And then the awful night that tore him away and ended his dreams.  

He needed air and space. The other occupants pushed against him. He should have taken the stairs. The elevator came to a final stop and Logan stepped out, moving swiftly to the revolving doors of the Callahan Building and out to the sidewalk. He lifted the collar of his jacket against the November chill as pedestrians jostled by him.

He’d be glad to get back to the sunshine and tranquility of Arizona. With luck he’d get this assignment over quickly and be home for Christmas. Home. His stomach twisted. A sparsely furnished house without even a goldfish for company. Maybe he’d go away for the holidays. Someplace noisy where he wouldn’t have to think. Where he could forget.

He hailed a cab to take him to his hotel. He settled into the seat, anxious to escape to the quiet of his room. Hopefully the luggage he’d shipped earlier had arrived. Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes. But he couldn’t escape Doriana or his memories. Her scent of roses followed him. She’d always worn rose cologne. That was one thing about her that hadn’t changed.

Her eyes were the same...large and golden brown, melted chocolate laced with warm caramel. At seventeen they had flashed with happiness and a sense of adventure.

The loneliness and vulnerability that shadowed her incredible eyes now had gotten to him in ways he didn’t like and couldn’t afford. What had happened to her in the years since he’d last seen her?  

That wasn’t his problem. Doriana was hands off. They were from different worlds. He’d learned that lesson a long time ago. And he was damaged goods. Another lesson he’d been reminded of time and again. The familiar hurt wrenched him.

The cab jerked to a stop in front of a luxury hotel. The uniformed doorman rushed to open the taxi door.

Callahan had spared no expense on his hired gun, Logan thought as he entered the plush lobby. The smell of old money mingled with the perfume of the fresh flower arrangements scattered around the cavernous room.

He walked quickly to the bank of elevators. He needed solitude. He had to study the dossiers Callahan had given him, had to immerse himself in his work. This job would be rougher than he thought. He hadn’t figured on seeing Doriana every day. He’d been fooling himself all these years.

He still wanted her.

~~~~

CHAPTER TWO

“Where’s Franco?”

“We haven’t seen him, Dan.”

Dan Callahan rubbed his hand over his face. Frustration and worry deepened the lines around his mouth.

Doriana wanted to comfort her father and assure him all would be okay. But he didn’t need her assurances. He needed her brother to show up on time for the weekly staff meeting.

The conference room door flew open and Franco, heir apparent, breezed in. His thick, curly brown hair, so like their father’s, was slightly mussed, as if he just came from a tryst with his latest blonde.

Which he probably had, Doriana thought. She loved her brother, but he refused to take anything, or anyone, seriously. And the company would some day belong to him. Her loving but sexist father believed that only a male was capable of running the company he founded. Bitterness vined in her stomach, forming a tight knot.

“Sorry I’m late, Dad.” Franco smiled with the easy charm that made everyone forgive his many transgressions.

Dan returned Franco’s smile. “Try to be on time in the future.”

Doriana resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Since the day Franco was born, when she was four, her parents indulged and spoiled him. Her son worshipped his Uncle Franco and emulated him. The familiar ache stabbed her. She wouldn’t allow Josh to grow into Franco, a self-absorbed womanizer always looking for the next party. But Josh seemed headed that way. She controlled every aspect of her life, but she couldn’t control her son.