So Much Trouble When She Walked In (7 page)

He
was just leaning forward, making to get up, when she appeared at the door,
smiling.

 “Ah,
Mr. Davidoff, you’re all done.  I peeped in earlier but I could see you were
busy so I didn’t bother to disturb you.”  Then her face took on a regretful
look.  “I’m so sorry but I called Mr. Dundix to tell him you were here but he
said it would take a little while longer before he gets here.  Are you sure you
don’t want to meet with Ms. Crawford in the meanwhile?”

Max
stood up and shoved his phone into his pocket.  He gave a grunt.  “I guess I’ll
have to.  But give me a second, will you?  I have to make one more call.”

The
woman nodded and turned to go.

“Thank
you, Mrs. Stockett.”

The
secretary glanced back at him, a quick look of surprise flashing across her
face.  Then she gave him a tiny smile and went on her way.

Max
sighed.  He hadn’t planned to spend his afternoon sitting in the visitors'
lounge of a law firm but he had no-one to blame but himself.  He didn’t have an
appointment, after all.  Despite that, he’d been pissed when he’d been told the
man he was waiting for was still not in, a whole hour after he’d arrived.  He’d
taken out his annoyance on Mrs. Stockett - it wasn’t what he’d said but how
he’d said it - and from the tightening of the secretary’s lips and the coolness
that fell over her face, he could see that he’d offended her.

And,
as far as he was concerned, there was no excuse for rudeness.

And
that was why he’d made sure to thank her for giving him the message.  As old as
he was, a whole third of a century, he could never forget the lessons his
mother had taught him at her knee.  And being courteous at all times was one of
them.

He
dug the phone out of his pocket and dialed Silken’s number.  “I’m sorry,” he
said when she picked up the phone, “but I’m at my attorney’s and I may not make
it back to my office by three-thirty."

"Where's
your lawyer's office?"

"De
Anza Boulevard."

"That's
on the way here.  I can meet you there and then we can find a restaurant
nearby.  This is actually good.  It's like halfway between my place and
yours."

"I
may be a little while."

"No
problem.  I'll wait.  What's the name of your lawyer?  Is there a sign outside?"

"It's
Dundix and Crawford.  You'll see the sign out front."

"Dundix
and...are you talking about Carl Dundix?"

"The
same.  You know him?"

There
was a hiss in the phone, an angry sound, and then Silken spoke again. 
"That snake?  You're dealing with him?  That scrawny little man, I could
ring his neck."

Her
vehemence took Max by surprise.  He’d been told this law firm was the best in
the Cupertino area but based on Silken’s reaction it seemed Dundix and Crawford
were not quite as wonderful as he’d been led to believe.  “What’s your beef
with him?”

“If
it were up to him, Suave and me, we’d have lost our business to a greedy shark
who wanted that whole block for a strip mall.  His client.”  The last two words
came out in a snarl that dripped with disgust.

“That’s
business,” Max countered.  “He was hired to do a job and I guess he was doing
it.”

“Yeah,
by employing underhanded tactics.  He came over and tried to bully us to
leave.  The slime."

That
didn’t sound too good.  Max placed a high value on integrity and if Silken
wasn’t exaggerating then it seemed there was not much of that to be had here.

“You
be careful, Max,” Silken said, her voice tight.  “Don’t let him screw you
around.”  Then she gave a quick snort.  “He’s taken your money and not
delivered, hasn’t he?  I bet he took the job halfway and you’ve been waiting
months for him to wrap up your business.”

Max
grunted.  “Not quite months but getting there.”

“I
knew it,” Silken said, her voice both triumphant and angry.  “He’s no good for
you.  Take your business and run.”

Max
heard her but he didn’t want to make any hasty decisions.  He needed to dig
further, figure out what she really knew about this man, but he’d let it rest
for now and question her when he saw her at lunch.

“We’ll
talk later, all right?” he said, not wanting to prolong that discussion, at
least not over the phone while he was standing right there in Dundix’s office. 
“See you around three-thirty, then?”

“I’ll
be there.”  And before he could repeat his admonition to be careful on the road,
she was gone.

In
the end it was a good thing that Mrs. Stockett had encouraged Max to go ahead
and meet with Ms. Crawford.  After forty minutes in her office Dundix still had
not shown up.  Surprisingly, the absence of the senior partner seemed to have
been a blessing.  Without the shadow of the charismatic lead attorney hanging
over her Ms. Crawford proved to be a knowledgeable and highly competent
resource, particularly where licensing laws were concerned.  It made Max
wonder, was she the brain behind this operation?  Was Dundix nothing more than
a loud-talking showman?

They
covered good ground in the time he spent with the lady lawyer and Max ended up
not missing Dundix at all.  At the end of the meeting he stood up and when he
shook hands in farewell he was smiling.  “You’ve clarified a lot, Ms.
Crawford.  Thank you.”

As
he left the office and strode back to the lobby he felt like a burden had been
lifted off his shoulders.  Even though his problems hadn’t been solved, at
least now he had a sense of direction.  And now he could put his problems
behind him for the moment and go out and enjoy his meal.

A
tiny smile crept across his lips.  Silken would be here by now, probably in the
visitors' lounge waiting for him.  It had been weeks since he’d last seen her
and he was looking forward to spending the rest of the afternoon feasting his
eyes on her fresh-faced beauty.

He
was almost at the lobby now, just getting ready to turn the corner when he
heard her.

“Don’t
you dare think you can screw him around like you’ve done to so many others. 
He’s no fool so don’t even try it.”

What
the hell?  Max’s brows fell and he turned the corner just in time to see Carl
Dundix walking toward him, his face grim.  And hot on his heels, like a feisty
puppy making sure her voice was heard, was Silken.

When
Dundix saw Max he came to an abrupt halt, his face reddening, and Silken almost
ran into his back.

“What’s
going on here?”  Max looked from one face, red with what must be embarrassment
to the other, flushed with obvious anger.

Dundix
said nothing but Silken stepped around him and planted herself right in front
of Max.  “I know this man and what he’s capable of,” she huffed, her eyes
flashing with fire, “and I warned him not to try it with you.”  She turned to
glare at the small-bodied man who’d now gone from flushed to pale, still saying
nothing in his own defense.  “He knows he can bully the little guys like me and
Suave but with you, he’d better watch out.  You can crush him like a bug-”

At
that point Max reached out and grasped her upper arm and steered her toward the
door.  “Excuse us,” was all he said to the man still standing stock-still in
the lobby.  Then he marched his bristling captive out the door.

When
they got outside he did not release her but kept walking, ignoring her
struggles, until they were at the far end of the parking lot, partially hidden
by his car.  Once they were protected by this relative seclusion he let her go.

Now
Silken turned her glare on him.  “What did you do that for?  Dundix deserved
everything I said to him and more.”

Max
took a step toward her, stopping mere inches from where she stood, her chest still
heaving with rage.  His brows fell and he fixed a dark scowl on her.  “Don’t
you ever do that again,” he said through clenched teeth, fighting to maintain a
hold on his anger.

She
scowled back.  “Do what?  I was only defending-”

“I
don’t need you fighting my battles for me,” he said, cutting her off.  “I’m a
grown man, Silken.  I can speak for myself.”

“But-”

“No
‘buts’.  Whatever your beef with Dundix, what you did inside there was uncalled
for and it was rude.”  He slapped his forehead with his palm.  “God, where do
you get off thinking you can do things like that?”

“I’m…sorry,”
she said, looking half shocked, half confused at his reprimand.  “It’s just
that I know that man and he’s nothing but a low-down snake.”

“Yes,
you’ve said that before,” he said, shaking his head.  Then he gave her a heavy
sigh.  “I appreciate the warning but let me handle my own business, okay?  All
you succeeded in doing just now was embarrass yourself and Dundix and me. 
Happy?”

“I…I
didn’t think…” Her eyes grew wide as she stared up at him and her brows lifted
in a look of concern and regret.

“You’re
damn right, you didn’t,” he said, his voice full of reproach.  “If you had, I
wouldn’t be in this predicament now.  I practically had to throw myself out of
their office.”  Then he snorted.  “And worst of all, it was goddamn humiliating
having a woman come in to defend me.  Where do you come off doing shit like
that?”

Silken
looked mortified, her eyes big as saucers as he spat the words out.  “I’m
sorry,” she said finally, her voice a pained whisper.  “I didn’t mean to
embarrass you.  I just got carried away…”

She
dropped her gaze and ducked her head like she was trying to hide her emotions. 
But too late.  He’d seen the stricken look in her eyes, the shame in her face,
and the remorse.  And he’d seen the way her bottom lip – so soft and full and
tempting – trembled in her contrition.

Feeling
like he needed to comfort her, wanting so badly to soothe her, he reached out
to stroke her lip with his thumb.

That
seemed to have the desired effect because she grew still and lifted her eyes to
his, and in them he could see the conflict – the uncertainty and the desire.

Max
knew he was taking advantage of her moment of vulnerability but he had to taste
those lips again.  His hand slid down to cup her chin and he lowered his face
to hers then he was pulling her close, so close that they were only a breath
apart.  Then he touched his lips to hers, gently at first, giving her time to
relax and give in to his demand.  As he felt her acquiescence his kiss became
more insistent and he pressed her softness against him, molding her body into
his.

God,
she felt good…and tasted even better. Sliding his fingers into her hair he
tilted her head so that he had full control and soon she was gasping in his
arms.    

She
clung to him and when he lifted his head – eventually – she moaned, eyes closed
tight, lips soft and slightly swollen from his kiss.

“Silken,”
he whispered.

She
blinked then, slowly, her deep brown eyes focused on his.  “Yes?” she said
softly.

“I
think we’d better get out of this parking lot,” he said with a chuckle, “before
they tell us to go get a room.”  He lifted his eyes and threw a glance toward
the side entrance where two people, probably staff members, had paused to stare
at them still locked in each other’s arms.

To
Max’s surprise Silken did not pull away.  She’d seen the spectators but instead
of breaking his hold, she lifted her face and gave him a peck on the cheek.

Confused,
Max gave her a smiling frown.  “What was that for?”

“Thank
you,” she said, her dark eyes glinting with renewed impishness.

“For
the kiss?” He lifted an eyebrow.  He couldn’t remember ever being thanked for a
kiss, at least not in words.

She
shook her head.  “For reining me in.  Sometimes I can be such a hothead.  I
needed that.”

If
her kiss had bewildered him then her admission surprised him even more.  It
took a special woman to admit…so willingly…that she’d been wrong – and he
admired her for that.

He
bent his head to give her a quick kiss on the forehead.  “Come on,” he said
with a smile that told her all was well.  “Let’s go have some lunch."

CHAPTER
SEVEN

“Get
your little butt in there.”  Silken gave her sister a shove toward her bedroom
closet.  “Pick out a nice little outfit and let’s get going.”

“I
told you, I’m not going.”  Suave planted her feet firmly on the carpeted floor
and folded her arms.  “This is your date, not mine.”

Silken
let out her breath in an exasperated sigh.  “For the eleventeenth time I told
you, it’s not a date.  Max is having his brothers over for dinner and he said
it would be great if I could come and you, too.”

“Right.”
Suave’s tone dripped with sarcasm.  “He invited you and then you went and
tacked me onto your invitation, didn’t you?”

Silken
looked away then walked over to the closet and began rifling through Suave’s
clothes.

“Didn’t
you?”

God,
why couldn’t Suave just let it go
?  “Well…not exactly.”  Silken’s voice
grew muffled when she stuck her head farther into the closet, hoping that Suave
would just let it drop.  But she knew Suave, and that wasn’t going to happen.

“So
what
exactly
did you say?”  There was that bulldog tone again.  Once
Suave had chomped down, she was going to thrash and wrestle until Silken gave
in from sheer exhaustion.

Realizing
she might as well come clean and save herself the inevitable fight, Silken
withdrew from the closet and went over to the bed where she plopped down.  “I
said,” she bobbed her legs up and down, not looking at Suave, “I’ll come meet
your brothers if my little sis can come, too.”

Suave
gave her a look of horror.  “You did not say that.”  At Silken’s nod she began
to sputter.  “That sounds so…juvenile.  What are we, in kindergarten?” She
clenched and unclenched her fists then swung her arms, looking for all the
world like she didn’t know what to do with herself.  Then she shook her head
and heaved the mightiest of sighs, like she’d finally realized the futility of
trying to reform her sister.