Page 36 of See You There

My team?The man stepped to the side, and Victor came into view, instantly scowling when he saw her standing there.

“You look like someone’s grandmother,” he groused. But Dahlia barely heard him. Because, towering over Victor’s head, Luke’s face came into view and her heart skipped a beat.

Luke didn’t comment on what she was wearing, but heat bloomed everywhere as his eyes slowly traveled over her body. The room was suddenly too small, and she was convinced the temperature had ratcheted up.

Victor looked between the two of them, his expression darkening. Dahlia brushed at her skirt.

“I like it.” Luke gave her a slow smile.

“They’re ready for you,” the man with the headset said, holding the device tight against his ear.

Luke followed him down the hallway, but Victor grabbed her elbow as Dahlia stepped through the door. “You were supposed to fire him.”

Victor didn’t bother to keep his voice down, and Luke paused his long strides to look back, eyes narrowing at the sight of Dahlia’s elbow in Victor’s grip. He turned back to fully face them, his jaw clenched. In an effort to avoid an incident that would end up on the gossip blogs, Dahlia whispered, “You’re making a scene.”

Victor blanched at the expression on Luke’s face and abruptly dropped her elbow, patting her arm to cover his aggression. Dahlia pasted on a smile and hurried down the hall past Luke.

Primarily, the interview focused on the film, for which Dahlia was grateful. The woman conducting the interview asked a few questions about the robbery and Chandler’s condition, but soon moved on. The only question that surprised Dahlia was when the host asked if it was true she was helping the police identify the shooter.

Her eyes shot to Luke. Lines had formed between his brows, but his hands stayed by his side. “I’ll help the police in any way I can. As will, I’m sure, everyone else who was there that night.”

The woman appeared to accept that answer and moved on to what was next for Dahlia’s career. Once she returned hermicrophone to the boom operator, she rejoined the men. Victor didn’t waste any time.

“I told you that would be a problem. How could you have been so stupid?” he snarled at her. At least this time he’d kept his voice low so no one other than Luke heard him. Luke took a step forward, effectively putting himself between Dahlia and Victor.

“What Ms. Everton has done is very intelligent. Not only is it going to help get a violent criminal off the street, but it went a long way in creating goodwill with the DA’s office.”

“Oh, I bet you think that.” Victor put his hands on his hips, his jaw jutted forward. “You probably love attaching your name to hers. Leaking it to the press. You have no idea what you’ve done! Crawford is furious.”

“First off, my firm didn’t leak anything. It had to have been from either the police or the DA’s office. Which isn’t a surprise, considering it’s a high-profile case. And as to whether or not Matt is upset…” Something in the way Luke said the man’s name made it sound like an insult. “That has nothing to do with how I represent my client.”

Realizing he couldn’t bully Luke, Victor turned his attention back to Dahlia. He angled his head to glance around Luke’s large body and jabbed a finger in Dahlia’s direction. “You need to fire him.”

“Victor. Let’s talk about this later.” Dahlia’s voice was unbothered, which only made the man’s face ruddier. “There are too many people with cameras here. I’m going to change and head to my next interview at the Botanical Gardens. I’ll call you when I’m done.”

Dahlia didn’t wait for either man’s response as she headed back to the tiny dressing room. She heard footsteps behind, and a prickle of awareness skittered along her nerves. Dahlia spun on her heel, forcing Luke to stop short.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m your lawyer.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Unless that was your way of firing me?”

Dahlia crossed her arms across her chest. Luke’s gaze dipped momentarily to her cleavage, and her pulse picked up its pace. This wasexactlywhy she didn’t want him around. It was a distraction she didn’t need!

“Where is James? He is supposed to be my lawyer. You said yesterday was only because he was sick. I spoke to him yesterday evening, and he sounded fine.”

Luke pressed a palm to his chest. “That hurts. You prefer James to me? Really?”

Dahlia bit her tongue to keep herself from returning his playful grin. “I like to know what to expect.”

“Fair enough. I’ll be accompanying you to your press events, but James is handling the interaction with APD and the DA. Two lawyers for the price of one.” His eyes rose to the ceiling, considering. “Though we look the same, so does that warrant a discount?”

Dahlia shook her head and turned her back to him so he wouldn’t see how hard it was for her to smother a laugh.

“Or… We could be totally deceiving you, and there’s only one of us. Maybe I justwantyou to think you’re getting a deal.”

Dahlia looked back, her hand on the doorknob. Luke was still standing farther down the hall with a mock serious expression.

“You aren’t that hard to tell apart. I could tell instantly you weren’t James yesterday.”