"What kind of deal?" Charlotte pulled back a little. Because of where Logan sat, he towered over her, and this positioning was never good for negotiating. She had learned a lot from body language throughout the years, and it was never good to make deals when one of the negotiators was sitting in a position that implied power.
"Come with me to Savannah." Logan leaned back against the desk. "This trip I'm taking is not business-related. I'm going to go visit family and attend a high school friend's wedding. Let's pretend that nothing has happened between us yet. We're just good friends attending a wedding. If, after this trip, you want to keep working for me, I will back off and do whatever you want to make you feel comfortable. I will strictly be your boss. If you want to keep doing... this, whatever this is, I will open up an independent law firm that you will own and manage and you can have nothing to do with me. I think it's time you stopped working for other people w
Charlotte sipped on the cool, fruity drink. It was a soothing balm against the humid, night air. Logan’s penthouse had balconies all around it, giving whoever sat outside a view of not only the sunrise over the ocean, but the sunset towards the sprawling city of Miami to the west. “Do you have everything you need?” he asked her, squinting as the last rays of sunlight peered over the horizon, hitting his face and bathing it in a golden light. How had she never noticed how handsome he was? Well, she had, but she had ignored it. For so many reasons… “I have way more than I need,” she replied, setting the drink down and smiling at him. When Logan made her promise that he could buy her anything he wanted, she didn’t imagine just how much he felt enough was. They had spent a better part of the afternoon all over downtown, going from store to store. A valet followed them, burdened by the sheer amount of shopping bags filled with clothes, shoes, accessories, and jewelry. What was
A few hours later, Charlotte couldn’t feel her feet. The upstairs area was apparently reserved only for a few people, so she danced with Logan as if it was only the two of them there. At some point, she sat down and gulped some water, resting her head on the lush velvet couch. The next thing she felt was someone softly lifting her up while the music pounded into her ears.“What?” she said groggily.“You fell asleep.” It was Logan carrying her. His deep voice sobered her instantly. “I can walk!” she quickly said, squirming to set her legs down. But his arms were stronger, and he held on to her. “Your shoe is broken,” Logan said, looking straight ahead. Thankfully, this seemed to be pretty normal around here. No one even glanced in their direction as he headed down a hallway that ended with an emergency exit. Charlotte lifted her leg and realized that it was true; one of the heels on her stilettos was snapped in half. She focused on his face. He didn’t seem angry or annoyed, just
Charlotte headed into the kitchen after splashing cold water on her face, looking for Logan. She didn't know how to explain it, but she felt an inexplicable... emptiness after waking up and not finding him there.Flashes of their encounter last night flooded her mind. She knew she was being ridiculous. What had happened between them -again- was just pure, undeniable sexual attraction. Adding to how much the two had drunk, what happened was just inevitable. That was all it was. It was all slightly blurry, but it still made her blush. Logan was sitting on the wide balcony, enjoying a buffet-style breakfast displayed on the table. It was a lavish feast, and Charlotte's stomach growled in response to the sight. She knew she should take a shower or at least change before letting Logan see her in the state she was in, but her empty stomach was stronger. "Good morning," Charlotte groaned as she slid the glass door open. "Good morning." Logan briefly smiled at her. "We're leaving for Sav
Today was the start of the promising future Charlotte had worked so hard to attain. It was way too early to be in the office, but she had gotten up at 6 am and hadn’t been able to go back to sleep. Now she stood by the glass window on the 33rd floor of her office building and looked down at the parking lot with a warm cup of tea in her hand. Coffee wasn’t her thing. Her car was far out towards the street, but after today, she’d be able to park right next to the door with all the other partners at the law firm, under the shade of the sycamore trees. Her promotion was to be announced. Too many good things were happening at once. About a month ago, Edward had called to tell her he was applying for a job at the firm. The dormant love she had always felt for her childhood friend lit back up like a wildfire. He could have worked at any of the best law firms in South Carolina, but he had decided to join her in Atlanta. That was the only logical explanation as to why he was coming back
“I’m sorry, guys! I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Mary said, giving Edward a kiss on the cheek. "But this man forgot his lunch!" "My bride to be, ladies and gentlemen," Edward said to the cheer of the conference room. Mary looked at Charlotte and mouthed an “Oh my god” at her as if she herself was just hearing the news for the first time. “Oh darling, how I’ve missed you!” she then said, giving Charlotte a hug as Floyd said the meeting was over and the men exited the conference room. Charlotte stood there with her arms to her sides, transfixed on the wall behind Mary. “I… When did you arrive?” There were far too many questions fighting to burst through Charlotte’s mouth, and the one that came out was the most innocuous of them. How had this happened? No one had told her anything about Mary and Edward. When had they even started seeing each other? How the hell did the love of her life end up with someone else? “We flew in together,
She went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face, taking care not to ruin her makeup. Pulling herself together, she headed out, thinking of what to do next. There was no way she was going to give up on Edward so easily. Despite everything she had said to him, she knew they were meant to be together. The problem was figuring out how she was going to convince him to realize it. And the partnership, well, that would just have to wait. Just as she got back to her office, the phone rang. She wanted to ignore it, but it could be something important, so she reluctantly picked it up. “Charlotte, could you please come to my office?” Floyd said. Charlotte’s hands shook as she put the phone down. It wasn’t even ten in the morning, and not only had she apparently lost the love of her life and a promotion, but she was also probably getting fired. And she needed the job. Desperately. When her father died ten years ago, he left behind more debts than assets, especially with the girls’
Charlotte picked up the card from the floor and tossed it into the trash can before exiting Floyd's office. Who the hell did that man think he was? Well, he was the owner of this building and impossibly rich, but that gave him no right to think he could treat people like that. She wanted to go after him and tell him off, but she knew she couldn't do that. First, she'd have to find a way to get out of the agreement Floyd got her into through other means.She went to her office and finally retrieved the faxed documents from the Sterling case, but she didn't know what to do with them now that she was officially off the case. Well, if her new "boss" told her she had the day off, so be it. She picked up her things and left.Janet eyed her suspiciously as she approached the lobby."Taking the day off?" she said from
After lunch, Charlotte left the country club in a daze. What had she just done? It went against her principles to get ahead using her looks, and although this wasn't technically the same thing, it felt just as wrong. And she wasn't taking into account Floyd's feelings, but she was certain his interest in her had nothing to with matters of the heart. She drove home to her apartment, and as she was unlocking the door, she heard the phone ringing. She rushed inside and picked it up. "Finally!" Janet said from the other side. "We... have a situation here at the office. You need to come over." "It's four-thirty... by the time I get there, it'll be past five," Charlotte said. "What is going on?" "There's a wo
Charlotte headed into the kitchen after splashing cold water on her face, looking for Logan. She didn't know how to explain it, but she felt an inexplicable... emptiness after waking up and not finding him there.Flashes of their encounter last night flooded her mind. She knew she was being ridiculous. What had happened between them -again- was just pure, undeniable sexual attraction. Adding to how much the two had drunk, what happened was just inevitable. That was all it was. It was all slightly blurry, but it still made her blush. Logan was sitting on the wide balcony, enjoying a buffet-style breakfast displayed on the table. It was a lavish feast, and Charlotte's stomach growled in response to the sight. She knew she should take a shower or at least change before letting Logan see her in the state she was in, but her empty stomach was stronger. "Good morning," Charlotte groaned as she slid the glass door open. "Good morning." Logan briefly smiled at her. "We're leaving for Sav
A few hours later, Charlotte couldn’t feel her feet. The upstairs area was apparently reserved only for a few people, so she danced with Logan as if it was only the two of them there. At some point, she sat down and gulped some water, resting her head on the lush velvet couch. The next thing she felt was someone softly lifting her up while the music pounded into her ears.“What?” she said groggily.“You fell asleep.” It was Logan carrying her. His deep voice sobered her instantly. “I can walk!” she quickly said, squirming to set her legs down. But his arms were stronger, and he held on to her. “Your shoe is broken,” Logan said, looking straight ahead. Thankfully, this seemed to be pretty normal around here. No one even glanced in their direction as he headed down a hallway that ended with an emergency exit. Charlotte lifted her leg and realized that it was true; one of the heels on her stilettos was snapped in half. She focused on his face. He didn’t seem angry or annoyed, just
Charlotte sipped on the cool, fruity drink. It was a soothing balm against the humid, night air. Logan’s penthouse had balconies all around it, giving whoever sat outside a view of not only the sunrise over the ocean, but the sunset towards the sprawling city of Miami to the west. “Do you have everything you need?” he asked her, squinting as the last rays of sunlight peered over the horizon, hitting his face and bathing it in a golden light. How had she never noticed how handsome he was? Well, she had, but she had ignored it. For so many reasons… “I have way more than I need,” she replied, setting the drink down and smiling at him. When Logan made her promise that he could buy her anything he wanted, she didn’t imagine just how much he felt enough was. They had spent a better part of the afternoon all over downtown, going from store to store. A valet followed them, burdened by the sheer amount of shopping bags filled with clothes, shoes, accessories, and jewelry. What was
"What kind of deal?" Charlotte pulled back a little. Because of where Logan sat, he towered over her, and this positioning was never good for negotiating. She had learned a lot from body language throughout the years, and it was never good to make deals when one of the negotiators was sitting in a position that implied power."Come with me to Savannah." Logan leaned back against the desk. "This trip I'm taking is not business-related. I'm going to go visit family and attend a high school friend's wedding. Let's pretend that nothing has happened between us yet. We're just good friends attending a wedding. If, after this trip, you want to keep working for me, I will back off and do whatever you want to make you feel comfortable. I will strictly be your boss. If you want to keep doing... this, whatever this is, I will open up an independent law firm that you will own and manage and you can have nothing to do with me. I think it's time you stopped working for other people w
Once the elevator doors opened on Logan's floor, Charlotte let out a long sigh. Things had happened so fast, and she had just realized what she had done. On the one hand, she couldn't be anything but grateful to Janet for telling her the truth about Floyd, and she was only sad she hadn't known this sooner. But because of the actions she took once she learned the truth, not only was Janet out of a job but technically, so was she. Logan had hired her via the company, and even if she was sure he would be happy to hire her personally, it felt a little demeaning for her. Janet was another story. She was her responsibility now. "Is this Logan Hamilton's office?" Janet said, poking her head out of the elevator and looking around as if she had walked into a cave and not an office floor. "Go, go!" Charlotte nudged Janet to step out and then gestured for her to follow. Stuart greeted her at the front desk, and this time, she saw
Floyd walked inside his office and slowly sat behind the desk, interlacing cupping his together, placing them on the desk.Outside, Lisa stood in awe of the scene before her. "Do you-"Charlotte slammed the door in Lisa's face. She'd apologize to her later."I'm not even going to ask what you were doing rummaging through my private files," Floyd said, staring Charlotte down. "I assume you read what's in there?""I did..." Charlotte said, slowly sitting down on the seat in front of Floyd's desk."Charlotte, that was a misunderstanding. A confabulation that my sister made up. She's always envied me, and this was her way of getting back at me for-""I don't care," Charlotte interrupted him. "I couldn't care less what you say happened, Floyd."Then she began to laugh wholeheartedly, out of anger and relief, but mostly relief, because she had been right about Floyd all along, albeit unknowingly. He had been sitting in tha
"I think it's better you read it," Janet said. "I have to go back to the front desk." With that, Janet stood and handed the scribbled paper to Charlotte, and wordlessly left her office.Charlotte quickly picked up after Janet had stopped.Mr. Hamilton: Oh, about Miss Astor. I would like to move her office to mine if that is alright. Now that the divorce is finalized, there are other things I would like her to handle.Floyd: I don't think she'll be working that much in the near future. (He chuckled here.)Mr. Hamilton: Why is that? She seems to be a workaholic.Floyd: Can you keep a secret?Mr. Hamilton: Yes... (He was looking very confused.)Floyd: Janet, you forgot the sugar.I left but stayed outside by the door.Floyd: You can't trust women to keep secrets, can you? (He laughed.) Well, I'm going to ask Charlotte to marry me.
Today was Charlotte’s last day of supposed convalescence, and for the first time in a long time, she didn’t get out of bed the second she opened her eyes. She had nowhere to be until Monday, and the week’s activities seemed to have taken a toll on her; her body was crying for more rest. So, she went back to sleep and woke up to a ringing phone almost at noon. This time she hurriedly stepped out of the bed, almost tripping on her shoes, and made it just in time to pick up. “Hello?” she said. Whoever had called had hung up at the same time. Feeling a little disoriented from waking up so late, she showered and began to prepare breakfast, pouring herself a cup of yogurt and adding an assortment of fruits to it. Then she spent several minutes trying to reach the towing company so it could finally pick up her car and take it to the shop to be fixed. She had put it off
This time, Charlotte didn't hold back. She bit down on his lower lip as their tongues caressed each other's as if the two were finally sating the hunger they felt for each other. Logan pulled her closer, almost sitting on Floyd's desk, and Charlotte clung to his strong shoulders, her hips pressing against him. For the first time in a long time, her mind was blank: the only thing in the world was the man that held her. He grabbed her legs and pulled her on him, making her skirt lift almost to her stomach. "Logan..." Charlotte pulled away a bit. "The door is open." "I don't care," he said, setting her back down on the floor and removing his suit. He then continued to kiss her, his hands navigating her figure, starting with her hips and landing on her back. He then began to kiss her neck, nibbling on it softly as his lips slowly edged closer to her heaving chest. "Do you remember what I told you yesterday?" he said, unbuttoning Charlo