Her name rang out through the hallway, but Lindsey didn’t turn; she already knew it was Greg. She tried to ignore him, but he was persistent, simply increasing his volume. Just before she hit the elevator button, she exchanged a glance with Mark. His expression held both irritation and a demand: Shut the man up.
She turned, teeth clenched, as she willed herself to stay cool. “Lindsey?” Greg said, a bit out of breath as he stopped beside her. As if he had been half-running. “I thought we were going to talk after court?”
The elevator door opened. “When did we say that?”
He ignored her question. “Are you here to stay?”
“No,” she stated, her tone flat.
“How long?” he asked.
The elevator doors closed. “Too long.”
He stared at her. “Lindsey, please ease up.”
He glanced at Mark as if he was trying to decide what he should say in front of him. Then he took a step closer and leaned his head closer to Lindsey. “Have dinner with me.”
Even in a low tone, Greg came off demanding. Lindsey bit back her words, wanting to tell him what he could do with his dinner. “Not going to happen,” she said, stepping backwards so close to Mark she was almost touching him.
His eyes flashed with irritation. Maybe even a hint of anger. “I’ll call you,” he stated.
“I would rather you not.” Lindsey glanced up at Mark and then back to Greg. “We’re in a rush.” She punched the elevator button a little too hard, as if it would open the doors faster. Luck was on her side because it worked. The doors opened. “Goodbye, Greg,” she said, and gave him her back as she stepped into her escape car.
As she turned to face forward, Mark by her side, Greg’s eyes locked with hers. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
And then the doors slid shut.
Mark stared straight ahead. “This is going well.”
Lindsey shot him a glowering look. She was up to her chin with men for the day. Silence filled the elevator except for the ding at the floors, then, “I can’t see you with him.”
She laughed. Bitter. “That makes two of us.”
He didn’t ask anything more and she didn’t offer. By the time they were in the back of a cab, Lindsey was about to scream for the strain of their silence. She turned to him. “Yell at me or something. This tension is driving me nuts.”
Mark was leaning against the seat, his body relaxed. “It’s done.” As if that was it.
“Okay,” she said, turning away from him. “If that’s how you want it, so be it.”
She felt his eyes shift to her, but she didn’t look at him. “I don’t like these little games you’re playing.”
Her head turned. “Games?” she demanded. “What games?”
“That stunt this morning.”
“You can’t just demand to go with me, and expect me to do your bidding.”
“When it comes to Paxton or this case, I damn sure can.” His lips thinned, eyes narrowing. “Tell me I’m wrong, Lindsey.” A dare laced his words.
She turned away, staring out the window, fighting the roll of anger burning inside. Oh, how she wanted to tell him to go to hell. “You are so like them.”
“Like who?”
Damn. Had she said that out loud? Her arms crossed in front of her body. “No one.” She refused to look at him.
His hand went to her arm. “Who?”
“My father,” she said, her temper getting the best of her. “Greg.” There, it was said. Her voice was lower now, but no less intense, her eyes hard as they met his. “Men who have to be all and control all.”
Surprised registered in his face. “What does Greg have to do with this?”
“He and my father had it all planned out.” Her voice held bitterness. “Greg was just the kind of man my father wanted attached to me and Paxton.”
“But you didn’t see it that way?” he asked, speculation in his tone.
She felt the regret of her past mistakes. “I got smart. When Greg proposed, I declined.”
He raised a brow in question. “Just like that?”
“You make it sound simple. It wasn’t. It took a dead girl for me to see the light. Until then, I would have done anything to please my father.”
“Including marrying Greg?”
She looked away, unable to face the truth, let alone admit it out loud. “I didn’t. That’s what counts.”
He was silent for so long it was hard not to turn and look at him. Finally, he said, “I’m not like them.”
She wanted to believe that, but today he had tried to keep her under thumb. She didn’t respond. What good would it do?
Mark didn’t accept her silence. “Can you say something, Lindsey?”
She turned to him. “What am I supposed to say?”
His eyes flared. “Why is it wrong for me to worry about you when some crazy person has been killing women who look just like you?” His face hardened. “Does that make me controlling? Does that make me a jerk? If it does, I’ll live with it rather than see something happen to you.”
Lindsey swallowed, almost choking on her own guilt. “Mark.” He didn’t look at her. She didn’t know what to say. Turning to the window, she tried to make sense of the roar of confusing messages running through her head.
She didn’t know what to do about Mark. Maybe he was just worried about her. But, then, maybe his concerned words were simply a manipulation tactic.
* * * * *
The minute they stepped into the lobby of the Paxton Group, Judy greeted them with messages in hand. “The phone is ringing off the hook,” she said, her voice frazzled as she stuck a pencil behind her ear. “Everyone has heard the two of you are back.” Her attention went to Lindsey. “Your father called, sounding rather grumpy.”
Lindsey made a face. “So, he sounded normal.”
She laughed. “A little more on edge than usual,” she said, and thumbed through several messages, and a memory flashed in her face. “Oh, yeah, some guy called several times. Said his name was Todd but wouldn’t give me a last name or leave a message.”
Mark and Lindsey looked at one another. “The boyfriend?” Lindsey frowned.
“Maybe,” Mark said. “We did leave him several messages.”
“Yeah, but why not leave his last name and a number? It’s strange.” She shrugged. “I’ll just try and call him again.”
He nodded. “I’m going to have Maggie order some food. Want something?”
“Yeah, sure. She’ll know what to get,” Lindsey said, her thoughts still lingering on the oddness of Todd’s call.
* * * * *
Entering her father’s office, Lindsey let her body hit the chair with a loud thud, wishing it was her office, her space. Somehow it seemed as if that would be accepting a future at Paxton. Still, sitting in her father’s office was like being suffocated by his wishes.
The ones that included running her life.
But what was really upsetting her was fighting with Mark. Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip. Her night with him had been amazing. For the first time in a long time—no, maybe ever—a man had made her feel feminine and special, but also, she grasped for the word . . . equal. Yes. She had felt as if what they had shared was just that. Shared. Give and take.
So what happened in the light of a new day?
Being honest with herself wasn’t always an easy task. No one wanted to face hard truths about their own choices and decisions. Or their fears. And Mark scared the hell out of her. He made her feel things she didn’t want to feel. Things she didn’t want to put names to. Fighting with him messed with her head far more than it should. Deep down, she knew, way too fast, she was developing feelings for Mark.
As if that wasn’t complicated enough, stepping back into the courtroom had been like a rush of memories. She’d expected as much. The big surprise was that they weren’t all bad. In fact, they were—for the most part—good. For the first time in years, she was questioning what she thought she knew. Being in the courtroom again had felt invigorating. A part of her had felt more alive than it had in years. And she had just been sitting behind a table: watching Mark, imagining her own performance.