Dark and Deadly 00 - Secrets Exposed Read Free

competitive. He won fair and square, no foul play.
    Mark’s lips turned up with a confident smile. “I like to win, if that is what you mean. I have little tolerance for obstacles.”
    “And my father was an obstacle,” she stated in a toneless voice. Even as she said the words, they didn’t make sense. What obstacle would her father offer that would bother Mark? Her father could be impossible at times, not listening to new thoughts and methods. Mark could have easily gotten tired of walking around his idiosyncrasies.
    Lindsey crossed her long legs and watched as Mark’s eyes shifted and followed the path from her hem to her shoes, and then back up again. She should have been insulted . . . instead, she found herself warm with awareness. She swallowed. It had been forever since she had wanted a man. Why, now, was she responding to Mark?
    “Look, Lindsey.” His voice was different now. She could tell he had decided to explain. “His priorities became skewed. At first I thought he was just distracted and would get back on track, but that wasn’t the case. Your father lost his business sense. I take my work very seriously. There are things I can deal with and things that I won’t tolerate. There are distractions, and there are obstacles. Distractions can offer a needed break, while obstacles impede progress.” He paused, looking a bit torn about his next words, before adding, “Your father became an obstacle.”
    She could understand his point, but it didn’t change her position. “He’s no longer capable of being an obstacle.”
    Mark shook his head. “He’s still an obstacle I can’t overcome, and you know it. He would cause me unwanted grief I’m simply not willing to take. Good thing you’re an attorney, Lindsey. He always wanted you to follow in his footsteps and take over for him. Now you can.”
    “I’m not an attorney any longer,” she stated firmly.
    “I know you’re still licensed to practice law.”
    She frowned, wondering how he knew that. “Only for convenience,” she clarified.
    “Are you afraid you’ve lost your touch?” The words were spoken softly, and were packed with far too much truth.
    Lindsey felt the heat of her emotions like a pinch, sharp and quick. She ignored his question. “I don’t want the firm. Don’t you understand that?”
    He gave her a level stare. “Seems you have no options.”
    Lindsey breathed in and out deeply. “Mr. Reeves . . .” she started to say, but he interrupted her.
    “Mark,” he corrected.
    Her teeth ground together. “Mark, I want you to take over the firm.”
    He stared at her a long, tense moment, his expression indiscernible. Lindsey wished she could read him. It was damn irritating the way he managed to hide his thoughts, and lord knew she was trying. No wonder he did so well in the courtroom.
    He shook his head. “That simply isn’t an option.”
    Lindsey didn’t try to hide her irritation. “Why?”
    He didn’t miss a beat, answering immediately. “I don’t need a reason. Let’s just say Edward and I disagree on a great many things.”
    She tried to keep the urgency from her voice. “Such as?”
    Mark raised his glass and finished off the contents, setting the glass down on the table. “Clients, staff, you name it. We simply don’t agree on anything.”
    She stiffened, feeling desperation, and hating it “What if I told you he’s given me full control of the firm, and I’m willing to hand it to you?” Lindsey searched his face for a reaction, but he wasn’t allowing her to get even an inkling of what lurked beneath his surface.
    His reply was short, giving her no hint of what he was thinking. “Why?”
    “I don’t want it,” she insisted. “I have a job I love in another city.”
    His eyes probed, and silence lingered so long it made her uncomfortable. Then, “Still messed up over the Hudson case, aren’t you, Lindsey?” His voice held no taunt, no accusation, just fact.
    Just hearing the name Hudson made her