Her Favourite Holiday Gift. Lynda Sandoval

Delaney curveball, you have my sympathy. All I can say is, everything happens for a reason.”

      Right. Eric wasn’t so sure about that. There was no reason beyond karmic cruelty why fate would throw the two of them together again. “Enough of your philosophical rhetoric. I’ll handle Delaney. You wanted to run something by me?”

      “Yeah. I need your opinion.” Jack rubbed the side of his hand against his jawline. “We’re bringing Robby Axelrod back from Tokyo to head up the latest hotel project here in Chicago. Any thoughts on how that decision might impact the case?”

      Eric sat back, tapping his Mont Blanc pen on the stack of paper in front of him as he methodically puzzled through the myriad of possible ramifications. Ned Jones had filed a wrongful termination suit after having been fired from Taka-Hanson. He’d been about to blow the whistle on Axelrod’s—and by extension, Taka-Hanson’s—alleged shady construction practices. He claimed they cut corners to save money, skimped on safety, among a litany of other complaints, all at the direction of Robby Axelrod on behalf of the company.

      Frankly, Eric thought Jones was full of it. Gut feeling. The guy reeked of disgruntled employee sniffing for a payout. Taka-Hanson needed to present a united front and hide nothing. Hence, bringing Axelrod back served their purpose. “It’s a good idea,” he said, finally. “Show the world Taka-Hanson backs Axelrod one hundred percent.”

      Jack’s alert posture softened. “I hoped you’d say that. I feel the same way, but you’re the boss on this one.”

      “Giving the man the reins on a massive new hotel project is a genius strategy, actually. Wish I’d thought of it.” Colleen Delaney wouldn’t agree with the decision, but he didn’t much care. “It reinforces our position that Ned Jones has a self-serving, ulterior motive unrelated to the company’s business practices.”

      “Excellent.” Jack stood. “I’ll let you get back to it then. I know you’ve got other cases besides ours.” He headed for the door but turned back, one hand on the brushed-metal handle. “Not that you asked for my advice, but as far as this thing with Colleen Delaney? Deal with it just like you did in law school, pal.”

      Eric snorted. “What—argue with her incessantly, then drink beer with my friends and complain?”

      Jack grinned. “That’s one option. Before that route, though, try killing her with calmness. So to speak. No actual killing, of course.”

      Eric cocked his head in question.

      “Don’t you remember how that used to go down?”

      “Guess I’ve blocked it out.” He’d blocked a lot about Colleen out because thinking of it, of her, of what could’ve been hurt too much.

      “Delaney’s fueled by a fight,” Jack said. “Your Zen attitude? That’s her kryptonite. She never knew what to pull out of her arsenal when you went the chill route.”

      Eric hadn’t held on to those particular memories, but come to think of it, true enough. Calmness had always doused the fire of Colleen’s argumentative nature. It was as if she didn’t know how to handle someone who wouldn’t rise to her bait, which worked out great for him. He had no desire for the constant clashing. Lucky for him, he’d had years of practicing law his way—balanced, level, calm. Years of being away from the woman who got under his skin, in more ways than one, and challenged that. Years to forget.

      “I suppose it’s worth a try.”

      “Definitely. In fact, go all out and blindside her.”

      “Meaning?”

      “Rekindle the old friendship.”

      Danger zone. He’d handle her with calmness this time, just as Jack suggested, though he wasn’t so sure about befriending her. The rest, though, it could work.

      Hopefully.

      If not, he’d do his best to ignore her, suffer through the case, then move on with his life once he’d cleared Axelrod and Taka-Hanson, which he had no doubt he could. He hiked his chin toward Jack. “Thanks. Good stuff. I’ll take it under advisement.”

      Jack smiled, smacking his palm on the door a couple times. “If it doesn’t work, you know I’m always available for that beer.”

       Chapter Two

      Eric cut a quick path out of the courthouse building. The hearing had gone well enough, which was to say, he hadn’t had to speak directly to Colleen. At this point, that constituted a victory.

      The moment he’d seen her, his resolve collapsed, telling him without a doubt that he wasn’t over her. She’d matured from a hot law student into a fiercely sexy woman. And, despite what she might think, her conservative, man-tailored blue suit and precisioncut, swingy black hair couldn’t quite hide her assets.

      The broken-glass personality, though? Still as sharp.

      When she’d made a motion to bar Robby Axelrod from working on the Taka Hotel project, Eric felt the fury radiate from her like snapped electrical wires. When the judge had denied her request, those wires sparked and exploded in his direction. No chance of putting the calm, friendly approach into play today. Clearly she needed time to cool off. Delaney the Debate Diva was not at all happy about that first loss, the first of many in this case if Eric’s research panned out. He had no desire to face her wrath today.

      He’d almost made a safe escape when he heard:

      “Nelson! Hang on. I need to talk to you.”

      The click-clack of her determined, angry footsteps approaching brought him to a reluctant stop. He swore under his breath, then remembered Jack’s words of wisdom and turned to face her. Calm, cool, confident. Cordial. At least on the outside. He wished Jack had given her the same advice.

      She stormed up, chin raised for a fight.

      “Colleen,” he said in a mild tone, trying not to notice her smooth, touchable skin. Trying desperately not to inhale her signature powdery scent. “Good to see you after all these years. How have you been?”

      “Are you out of your mind?” she asked, her blue eyes molten.

      Deep breath in, slow release. Apparently being susceptible to nostalgia wasn’t one of her faults. “Nice greeting.”

      She flicked away his attempts at semipolite conversation as if his words were a mosquito swarm. So much for Jack’s plan. “Make your clients take Axelrod off the new hotel project until this case is settled. I mean it.”

      Oh, she meant it. Good to know. “I’m not talking to you about this here, Colleen. Not when you’re tossing off demands without so much as a hello.”

      He turned and casually walked away.

      After a stunned moment, she followed.

      “How can you defend those corporate monsters, Eric? That’s not your style.”

      “You know nothing about my style. We haven’t spoken in almost a decade.”

      “Do you have any idea how many lives are potentially at stake thanks to their shoddy construction?”

      “Yep.” A beat passed. “Exactly…none.”

      “None?”

      Her hand closed around his forearm, a tiny viselike grip of self-righteousness. Resisting the urge to yank away, ignoring the tingles a simple touch sent through his body, he stilled. Stared down at her hand on his arm in relaxed silence until she got the hint and pulled back.

      As he looked into her zealous, heart-shaped face, a pang of compassion struck him for how clueless she seemed to be. She had a pit-bull grip on a fight she would lose, and she didn’t seem to have a clue about her client or the big picture. Hard to believe she’d let her lack of research into the case show through her porcupine quills of ire, but as far as he knew, she’d only recently been assigned to