Mary Baxter - Without You

“Poppycock,” he muttered. “Honored, yes. Humbled, no.”

Hallie gave him a glittering smile that deepened her dimple, then sobered. “I’ve hoped for those words for a long time, even though thirty-eight is young to make partner.”

“That’s true. But if we didn’t think you had potential, the position wouldn’t be in the offing.”

“I know, and again I’m honored. But I have devoted my life to the practice of law and to this firm.” She didn’t add that she’d sacrificed a home and family for the firm, in order to reach this stage in her career.

The phone on Winston’s desk rang. When he reached for it, Hallie rose and signaled that she would see him later. He nodded.

Hallie headed straight for the ladies’ room, an added spring in her step. She was ecstatic and wanted to tell everyone about the sudden turn of events and her good fortune, but under the circumstances, that wouldn’t be wise. Anyway, she didn’t have a close friend and confidant in the firm. Since she was the only female in a good old boy’s network, she had to tread lightly.

Besides, she hadn’t gotten the partnership yet. She’d best remember that. After it became a reality, that was the time to celebrate.

On her climb up the partnership ladder, she had garnered more than her share of enemies—especially Nick Skinner. He seemed to want everything she wanted, whether he’d earned it or not. Nick would be a constant thorn in her side, if she allowed it. Unless they were forced to work together on a case, she ignored him, which unfortunately seemed to make matters worse.

Hallie could imagine his reaction when he heard the news. Some of her giddiness waned. Maybe he was also being considered as a shareholder. If so, that would make things more difficult for her. She fought constantly to prove that she was as good as any male attorney on staff. To her way of thinking, she’d met that goal. But again, that wasn’t her call.

Once in the ladies’ room, Hallie glanced in the mirror. She didn’t look any different, except that her translucent skin appeared more flushed than usual. And there was a gleam in her chocolate-colored eyes that heretofore hadn’t been there.

Indeed, things were looking up, and she couldn’t be more pleased.

That thought was very much on her mind as she walked into her scenic office.

“Hello, Hallie.”

She pulled up short and felt her stomach drop to her toes. “How did you get in here?” Hallie knew that was a foolish question and didn’t deserve an answer. Her secretary, Pearl, wouldn’t have any qualms about letting this particular man in.

“How are you?” His beautiful lips moved, but she barely realized he’d answered her with a question.

Since her throat was too tight to speak, she simply stared at her former fiancé. Jackson Cole was standing in front of the huge window that dominated her office. Every nerve in Hallie’s body kicked into overdrive.

His black hair was now flecked with gray, and his vivid blue eyes were deeper in color and more compelling than ever. To label him tall, dark and handsome sounded trite, but it fit. Add the word charming, and he was instantly upgraded into the unforgettable category.

She wanted to turn and bolt, but of course she didn’t. She dug her heels into the floor and her nails into the palms of her hands. Even the sensation of pain failed to draw her attention.

It hit Hallie like a blow that he still had the ability to push her sexual buttons like no other man. Another blow followed that one—Jackson Cole was the only man she had ever loved.

How could she ever have let him go?

Fearing she had already let him see how his unexpected presence had affected her, Hallie walked forward and smiled, but didn’t dare extend her hand. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so abrupt.” She ignored the fact that her voice had a slight huskiness. She hoped he would, too.

He nodded, then said in his deep, smooth voice, “Apology accepted.”

For a split second, silence fell between them. As their eyes met and held, the electricity bouncing between them made more noise than any conversation could have.

“I’m assuming you have a reason for being here,” she said, having regained most of her composure. At least that huskiness was gone.

“As good as it gets.”

Now that she was past the initial shock of seeing him, she noticed that he appeared a bit subdued, that his usual charm wasn’t in evidence. And his voice had a rough, almost sarcastic edge to it, not at all in character for him. Or it hadn’t been, she corrected mentally. People could do a lot of changing in two years.

“What’s wrong, Jackson?” she asked, fighting the desire to sink into the nearest chair. But as long as he stood, she would, too. She couldn’t allow him to get the upper hand in any way.

“I’m in trouble, Hallie—” He paused, his lips thinning.

Her gaze lingered on them for a moment before she forced her eyes back to his.

“Or at least, I think I am,” he added.

“Trouble, as in needing an attorney?”

“That’s why I’m here.”

Trying to pretend he was just another client off the street, and not someone with whom she’d been uninhibitedly intimate, was one of the hardest feats she’d ever had to pull off. “Suppose you sit down and tell me what’s going on.”

When they were both seated, he blurted out, “Roberta’s dead.”

Later, Hallie would realize he hadn’t even bothered to give Roberta’s last name, because he’d known it wasn’t necessary. “When did she die? How?” Shock forced her to clear her voice.

“She was found this morning in her hotel room. She was strangled. And I seem to be the prime suspect.” When she didn’t speak, he went on, “Don’t look at me like that, Hallie. Surely you know I had nothing to do with it. But that’s not what the police think. They’ve asked me to come in for questioning.”

Questions that she had no right to ask circled her brain like vultures over a dead animal’s carcass. When had Roberta Klein come back into his life? But she refrained from voicing that personal thought, aghast that Roberta was dead and that Jackson was considered involved.

“You came to the right place,” she said, clearing her throat again. “Nathan James is the best criminal defense attorney in Memphis, maybe in the entire South.”

Jackson rose abruptly to his feet and stared down at her from his six-feet-plus height. “I don’t want Nathan James or whatever the hell his name is.”

Hallie’s eyes widened as she peered up at him.

“I want you to represent me.”

This time Hallie rose, shaking her head. “I can’t.”

“Why?”

“You know why.”

“No, I don’t. You’ve done plenty of criminal work, and as I remember, you were damn good at it.”

“You’re missing the point. The past two years, I’ve focused on divorce law. That’s become my expertise.”

“Please, Hallie.”

Those softly spoken words, backed by emotion, tore at her. Still, she held on to her resolve. “Jackson, you don’t know what you’re asking. If you’re in the kind of trouble you think you are, I’m not the attorney you need.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Okay, let me put it this way. Regardless of whether I’m qualified or not, I wouldn’t feel comfortable representing you. I don’t know how to make it any plainer.”

His mouth worked and he stared deeply into her eyes. “Please,” he said again. “I trust you, and you have to help me.”

Hallie opened her mouth, but the words froze in her throat.

But I don’t trust you.

Though Hallie wanted to utter those words, she couldn’t; they dried up in her throat. Still, she was angry that Jackson had so brazenly appeared in her office, opening old wounds with both his unsettling presence and his raw demand.