Logan (A Cocky Cage Fighter Novel) Read online

  “After the school told us she flunked out this last semester, she needs to be here, getting a job and paying me back for all that money I wasted!” Walter says as he turns red in the face. Is he actually more worried about the money he lost on tuition than his daughter’s safety?

  “Right,” I agree, just because I want her back in the city too. Even if I can’t see her, I would feel better knowing she’s close in case she needs me…

  “As soon as she comes home, I’m putting her to work,” he explains.

  “That’s a good idea.”

  “I agree,” Walter says. “And what I need from you is an accounting of everything I owe you for the trip to Cancun. I want to make sure Brayden earns every penny to pay you back if you don’t mind waiting for the reimbursement?”

  Fuck. He wants Brayden to pay me for going down to Cancun, getting her out of jail and then fucking her. I can’t take any money for that!

  “Oh, no. That’s not necessary,” I tell him. “We’re good. No one owes me anything.”

  “No, we’re not good. You had to take time off to travel and spend days arguing with those idiots at the jail. Not to mention how much you paid for the flight and the hotel.”

  “It’s fine, really, sir. Don’t even worry about any of that.”

  “How will my daughter learn any lessons about taking responsibility if I don’t make her pay for her fuck-ups?” he asks. “As soon as she gets back, she’ll be working for the firm. Marcus said he could use another assistant. He has two other ones to keep their eyes on Brayden…”

  “Wait. Brayden’s coming to work here?” I ask, hope blossoming in my chest at the thought of seeing her again. Not just again but possibly every day in the office.

  “Who else would hire her if I didn’t?” Mr. Chambers asks me. “She doesn’t have any experience or education other than a few credits she did pass at NYU.”

  “Right. Of course,” I agree with a nod.

  Suddenly, I have an idea that I know is stupid but decide to go with it all the same because I’m desperate to see her. “You know,” I start. “I still don’t have an assistant yet. I’ve been planning to do interviews; but with the trip to Cancun and all, I got behind…” So, I stretch the truth a little. As part of my hire, my contract provided for a secretary, but I haven’t needed one so far since I’m only doing research for the other attorneys in the firm and Page is the only person who calls me.

  “Oh,” Mr. Chambers says as he tilts his head in consideration. “Well then, by all means, you’re welcome to take Brayden. Marcus was just being nice when he offered to look after her. Are you sure you can handle her? I mean, you have met her. She’ll probably be completely worthless as an employee unless you hover over her constantly.”

  I grit my teeth together before I say something here that will get me fired. How can he think so little of such a wonderful woman? I don’t get it.

  “I’m sure she’ll do fine,” I grit out. “Mostly I need someone to answer the phone and get me coffee. Easy stuff.”

  “Then by all means. I’ll let her know to report to you as soon as she’s back in town. She can pay off her debt to you first, and then she can start on mine for all of her wasted tuition.”

  “Great. I look forward to having the help,” I tell Mr. Chambers as I stand up and reach across his desk to shake his hand and leave.

  The truth is I would call him an asshole if I weren’t about to burst with happiness.

  I can’t wait to see Brayden again and find out why she started giving me the cold shoulder as soon as we got to the airport in Cancun. Did she not want to keep seeing me, or was she just worried about me getting in trouble with her father if he found out?

  If it was the latter, then we can work around Walter Chambers. Maybe I should have come out and told her that at the airport, that even if her dad found out about us, it would be worth it. I could always find another job.

  Having Brayden as my assistant will be the perfect cover for me and her to continue to be together if I can convince her that her father being my boss is not a big deal. My office is at the end of the hallway, with the storage room across from me, so there's little to no foot traffic. I’ll lock the door, and whatever happens between us will stay a secret since I’ll have a good reason for being shut up inside with her all day.

  The problem is I may never get any real work done again. Not that I’ve been very productive since I got back from Mexico anyway. I lost all motivation after spending almost a week with Brayden. Maybe she’ll help me find it again.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Brayden

  “How dare you leave the state in my car without asking me!” my father yells at me when he storms into my bedroom Sunday night after I return from Raleigh.

  “Sorry,” I tell him sincerely. “I thought you could use some time to cool down after I dropped the flunking bomb on you.”

  “I’ll cool down just as soon as you start taking responsibility for your actions!”

  “Okay, I will,” I assure him. “You want me to get a job, right? I’ll start looking today.”

  “No need to look. I want you to work at the firm.”

  He has to be joking. I can’t possibly work in that building each and every day. It’ll be torture. Knowing how close I am to Logan will be hell on my restraint. It’ll be too much temptation for me to endure.

  “Please, Daddy,” I beg my father. “Let me work somewhere else. Anywhere else!”

  “You are going to work for me. That way I can make sure you show up and do what you’re supposed to!”

  “I’m not a child. I don’t need babysitting.”

  “If you don’t want me to treat you like a child, then stop acting like one,” he mutters. “You’re twenty-three. It’s time to get your shit in order. By the time I was twenty-three, I already had two years of law school under my belt.”

  “I’m glad you knew what you wanted to do for the rest of your life, but I don’t,” I reply. It’s hard to even force myself to go through the motions of classes when, in reality, I don’t have any choice in my future. Someone else has a hold of it in his tight fist and refuses to give me any slack. If I had known that my stupid decisions as a teenager would cause me so much grief for the rest of my life, then I would have made better choices. But I didn’t, so now I’m stuck being controlled by him.

  My father has no idea what it’s like for me to spend every day underneath someone else’s thumb. He thinks I’m irrational and make childish decisions, but really I’ve just been trying to survive without the control I can never take back.

  “You need to figure out your path now, Brayden. Stop wasting time and do something worthwhile!” my father tells me.

  “How long do I have to work for you?” I ask with a sigh since he’s not going to be happy with any other decision I make. And I do owe my parents for putting up with me wasting their money on tuition for years for a great education and no degree to show for it. Do I still blame my father for not paying attention to me and the mess I was getting myself into during high school? A little. But it wasn’t my dad’s fault or my mother’s. I kept secrets from them, and I have to take responsibility for that.

  “A year,” he says, and it’s like a gut punch to my stomach.

  Oh, wow.

  “If you show me that you’re putting in the effort and doing a good job, then maybe six months.”

  “Okay,” I agree. I’ll be the best damn assistant in the firm if it means half a year off of my sentence. And half a year less of seeing Logan without being able to talk to him or touch him.

  “You start tomorrow,” my father says before he stomps out of my bedroom.

  …

  “You look nice,” my father tells me when I walk into the kitchen bright and early Monday morning in my white pants suit. I want to fix some coffee to get good and awake before I have to head into his office for my first day. Working at a desk isn’t so bad. It beats flipping burgers since that’s about all I’m qualified for wit
h my half a degree.

  “Thanks,” I tell him since I know he’s trying to make an effort to be nice. Grabbing a mug from the cabinet, I pick up the coffee pot and start pouring.

  “I hope I don’t have to tell you that I expect you to be on your best behavior.”

  Rolling my eyes that he can see from the kitchen table, I say, “I’ll try to be a good little girl, Dad.”

  “It’s my firm, so you’re representing me too. I don’t want you to make our family look bad in front of a new associate.”

  Thinking about his response, I bring my mug up to my lips and blow across the steaming top before taking a sip. “So, if I’m not working for you, who will I be working for then?” I ask.

  “Oh, I thought I told you last night,” he replies. “You’ll be Logan Davenport’s assistant.”

  Oh, my god.

  Good thing I didn’t have any coffee in my mouth at the moment I heard his name or I would’ve spewed it across the room.

  “Logan? Really?” I ask, setting my mug down before my shaking hands spill it.

  “Well, Marcus wanted to take you on as one of his assistants, but Logan hasn’t hired anyone to help him yet, so I figured he would be a better fit.”

  “God, yes,” I agree when faced with the choice of spending lots of time with Logan or my dad’s oldest partner. “Logan is great,” I say to cover for my relief. “I mean, he seems nice and easy to get along with.” And easy to get under or on top of...

  Jeez. If I thought being in the same villa as him was going to be hard, being Logan’s assistant for eight hours a day in close quarters is going to be horrible. Trying to resist touching him, kissing him, doing other things with him will be so hard, and yet I’ll have to because I can’t be selfish and put him in danger.

  “Promise me that you’ll do your best, Brayden. No more drama,” my dad says.

  “No drama,” I agree, hoping I can avoid any at all costs.

  “Good, because this is your last chance,” my father warns. “If you mess this up, I’m cutting you off and kicking you out.”

  Wow. I didn’t see that coming, but I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve caused my parents a lot of stress, and I’m a grown woman. It’s time for me to start acting like it.

  “I won’t let you down,” I say. “In fact, I’m gonna head on in,” I tell him as I rinse out my mug in the sink. “Want to have lunch together today?”

  “Nah, I have an appointment out of the office, and I may not be back until later in the afternoon,” he replies.

  His rejection is nothing new. Growing up, my father always put his career first. Just like Logan.

  “Okay, well, maybe I’ll see you around the building,” I tell him. “Bye, Daddy.”

  “Remember your promise,” he calls out as I grab my purse at the door and head out to my car.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Brayden

  Inside the Anderson and Chambers tower, I have to ask the receptionist at the front desk for Logan’s floor and office number since I have no clue where he works. On the way up in the elevator, I begin to wonder if he knows that I’m going to start working for him today. Did my dad tell him?

  Even though it’s twenty minutes before the firm officially opens, Logan is sitting behind the desk in his office, door wide open, with his head bowed over a book. He looks so cute, like a sexy brainiac.

  “Hey,” I say, causing his eyes to lift.

  As soon as he sees me, a warm, welcoming smile spreads across his face. One that tells me that this is going to be so much harder than I thought and that he definitely wasn’t surprised to see me here this morning.

  “Hey,” he finally replies. Pushing back his leather rolling chair, he walks around his desk and comes around to stand in front of me. “You look great. Have a good trip down to the Carolinas?”

  “Yeah, it was fun catching up with Sadie,” I tell him, assuming that my dad told him where I was.

  “No surprise arrests?” he jokes.

  “Not a single one,” I answer.

  “Good.”

  “Yeah,” I agree. Unable to keep looking him in the eye when I have all the memories from Mexico too fresh on my mind, I glance around his office. “So, you need an assistant?”

  “Not really,” he replies.

  “Then why…”

  “Because I missed you, and I want to see you every day,” he says, sucking all the breath from my lungs.

  “Logan,” I start. “You know we can’t.” Even if I feel the same way as he does, it’s impossible.

  When he goes over and quietly shuts the door, sealing us alone inside the small space, I know I’m in trouble.

  “No one will know what we’re doing in here,” Logan says, sounding hopeful as he comes up behind me and slides his hands down my waist and around to my stomach to pull me back against the front of his body.

  “This is a really bad idea,” I tell him while my head tilts to the side, offering it to his lips. That’s all it took — one touch from him and all thoughts of doing the right thing go out the window like we’re right back in the villa on the beach.

  “I think it’s the best idea I’ve had in a long time,” he says as his lips on my neck make my knees go weak. But if the rumor gets out about us, it’ll be Logan’s knees that go out when he takes a baseball bat to them. Or worse.

  Stepping away from his grasp, I turn around and face Logan while shaking my head until I can figure out what to say to make him put distance between us from now on. It has to be good, to make sure I don’t fall even harder for him, and then only have things end badly.

  “I can’t be with you, Logan, because…”

  “Because why?” he asks with his hands braced on his hips in annoyance when I pause.

  “Because I’m with…him again,” I say, thinking off the top of my head.

  Logan’s blue eyes narrow before he erupts. “No, Brayden! You can’t be fucking serious! Not after all you said about how you wanted to end things and that it’s not healthy, that it’s a bad relationship!”

  Good thing not many other employees are in the office yet, because the whole floor could probably hear Logan’s outburst. Maybe even the floor above us too.

  “But you and I…we were good together, Brayden. So good, right? And you know that I would never hurt you.”

  Oh god, why does Logan have to be so damn sweet?

  I need to try to be more convincing if this is going to work, or soon he’ll have me in his arms and I won’t be able to resist.

  “You and I were good,” I agree, because I can’t deny him that. “It’s just, he and I have a long history. He’s been acting better too and promises he’s changed,” I lie, using all the shit he’s said to me before.

  The truth is that I thankfully haven’t talked to or seen him since I got back from Cancun. I’ve stayed on the move with the sudden trip to North Carolina.

  “That’s complete bullshit, and you know it!” Logan argues. “He hasn’t changed and never will.”

  “I’m sorry Logan. I loved being with you those few days in Mexico, but it was just a fling,” I explain before putting the final nail in the coffin to end this. “I-I love him, and I can’t imagine myself with anyone else.”

  I only feel a little bad about crushing Logan with those words when his face falls, because they’re mostly true. At one point, I was young and naïve enough to think I was in love with the man who controlled me. Maybe I was too. And whether I like it or not, I may be able to avoid him for a few days, but I know that he’s not going to give up that easily. He’ll show up, again and again, to make sure I’m not with anyone else, even if I refuse to be with him. That’s the sick carousel ride I’m stuck on for the rest of my life.

  “You’re lying,” Logan declares, seeing right through me and my words. “You’re scared of him, and that’s why you’re saying this shit. Are you…are you just trying to protect me?”

  “What? Of course not,” I scoff. God, why does he have to be so intuitive?
>
  “Don’t worry about me for a second. I can take care of myself. And I can help you get away from him for good, Brayden. Just give me a chance. Even if you…even if you don’t want to be with me, let me at least help you with this.”

  “I’m fine,” I tell Logan and then fake a smile even though tears are welling up in my eyes. “Really. I was probably just being a little overdramatic in Cancun when I told you about him…”

  “You told me he had a hand in putting you in a shitty jail cell for three days without food!” he yells.

  “I did say that, and in a way that was true,” I explain. “But it wasn’t entirely his fault.”

  “What does that mean?” Logan asks.

  Swallowing around the lump in my throat, I ask, “Do you really want to know the details?”

  “Yes!” he exclaims.

  “Fine,” I say with a sigh. “He came down to Cancun when he found out I was there, and we went out one night. The cops caught us…fucking, in public, in an alley. He paid them off with the cash he had, but apparently, it was only enough to keep him out of jail, but not me.”

  “Jesus,” Logan mutters as his face pinches. “Still, if that’s true, then why would he leave you there?”

  “I dunno,” I answer with a shrug. “Maybe because I yelled at him when they were taking me away and told him I hated him and that I didn't want him in my life…”

  “That’s not a good enough reason.”

  “No, it’s not a great reason, but only he knows why he did it,” I say, barely catching myself before I admit I haven’t talked to him since. “Anyway, we’ve moved past all that, so I hope you can try to understand and not make this job difficult for me because of our past.”

  “Our past,” Logan scoffs. “You say it like we just hung out and went to dinner a few times when I had my mouth on every inch of your skin…”

  “Logan,” I say, holding up a palm to stop him as my stomach clenches in need at just the mention of what we did together. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Could you please not bring any of that up ever again and keep this strictly professional between us?”