Chapter 10: There's A Woman I Can Respect

"What are you still doing here?" Charlotte said, surprised at finding him sitting there. 

Logan stood and straightened out his suit.

"You will need a ride to your event, Miss Astor. Won't you? I also had someone bring over drinks. Since you weren't specific about the ones you needed, I asked them to bring one I particularly like." 

He gestured towards the lobby's door, where there were boxes of French champagne that Charlotte knew cost at least a thousand dollars per bottle. They were stacked into a pile by the wall. This was too much. She'd never be able to afford that and pay all the debts and bills she had. 

"You really don't know how to step down, don't you?" Charlotte said. "I don't want you to drive me, or get things for me." 

"See! That was what I was waiting for. Are you scared to speak your mind around me because I'm technically your boss?" he said, stepping closer to Charlotte.

"What in heavens do you mean? Of course I can't say everything I think to your face."

"I thought you had more gumption," Logan said, sounding disappointed.

"Why are you still here?" Charlotte said again. "You aren't being honest, either. Is this like a little experiment for you or something?"

"I am learning about you, Miss Astor. And I've been waiting all afternoon for you to tell me to f*ck off or tell me I'm making you uncomfortable, or something. Pardon the language. But you've been overly polite and hypocritical, just like everyone else in this city."

"Fine. You want what's on my mind? I feel like you're making fun of me, and I don't enjoy being made fun of. All these tests and whatever it is you do around me are stupid. You're just as hypocritical as you're accusing me of being. What do you really want, Mr. Logan Hamilton? I'm just your lawyer. You don't need to know me better for me to do my job."

It felt good to let it all out. If he was going to fire her, so be it. 

"YES!" he cried out. "That's what I wanted to hear. Thank you, for finally being honest."

Charlotte paused, completely bewildered by his reaction. She wasn't used to... whatever this interaction was.

"It's your turn," Charlotte said then, not knowing what else to say. 

Logan paused and observed her like he was really looking at her for the first time.

"When I unwillingly witnessed your scene with Edward at the office, I thought to myself, 'there's a woman I can respect.' Even if you were declaring your love for a man who's not worthy to be a carpet under the soles of your shoes, I thought I finally found someone like me. Someone who doesn't mince words and who says what they think to people's faces, instead of acting like a phony socialite. Then you spent an entire afternoon tolerating me without expressing how frustrated you must have probably felt. There were glimpses, here and there, of the Charlotte I saw back there, but then you automatically reverted to Miss Astor, the polite Atlantian socialite."

"That is not fair. You are my boss. I can't tell you  to your face that I think you're conceited, full of yourself, and very indecent at times without risking my job." 

"There it is," he said with a look of satisfaction on his face. "I will never fire someone for being honest. I find that honesty is the quality most people lack and the one they should most strive to practice at all times."

"You can afford to do that. Not everyone gets the luxury of saying what they want all the time." Charlotte began to shake with anger. "There's nothing in this world you can't have, no one you have to please. Not everyone has that freedom." 

What wouldn't she give to be able to always speak her mind freely? 

"Everyone can have that freedom if they really wanted to," he said. "But you made a fair point. So I apologize. It is true. I haven't been entirely honest with you, either. And there is one thing I can't have..."

"What? And what can you possibly say that you haven't already said?" 

"That I want you to be with you, Miss Astor. I couldn't stop thinking about you from the moment I saw you." 

Charlotte was at a loss for words. Sure, he had flirted and taunted her a little in the two days they had spent some time together, but nothing in the way he behaved towards her had hinted that he was smitten by her. 

"Make what you will of those words," he said. "I know you're hell-bent on finding a way to stop that stupid guy from marrying whoever it is he's engaged to. But I just wanted you to know that."

"Don't call him that," Charlotte said. "And while I'm flattered by your words, nothing will ever happen with us other than a professional relationship."

"Hmm," he said, giving her a sly smile. "I don't think it flatters you. You're probably used to men falling head over heels over you. I do think it feeds your vanity, though, which I don't think is a bad thing, as a matter of fact." 

"I mean it! I wouldn't be caught dead dating the likes of you!" 

With that, he started laughing wholeheartedly as if Charlotte hadn't just said something vile about him.

"Very well, Miss Astor. Now, aren't you going to be late for your event?"

"I will take a cab."

"There is the mask again. Do you really prefer to take a cab or do you just want to be rid of me?" he said, gesturing towards the door. "It also looks like it's going to rain..."

She would get there much faster in Logan's car. The only thing she dreaded was being seen arriving at her childhood home in such a flashy car, which everyone would probably recognize. 

"If you promise not to speak a word while you take me there, I'll accept your ride."

Logan did a sign as if he was zipping up his mouth and headed towards the door, holding it open for Charlotte.

"And you will drop me off a block away. I don't want people seeing me arrive in that monster of a car you have."

That also made him laugh, but he said nothing. He held the door open and picked up one of the boxes, taking it to the trunk of his car. He made two more trips, but the boxes barely fit, so he placed a few in the back seat. 

With that, Charlotte got into the car and waited for him to be done with the boxes.

It did feel good to be able to say everything she thought. And while she still disliked him, at least now, she thought it would be more tolerable to work with him. 

Logan began to gesture with his hands once he was in the driver's seat. 

"What?" Charlotte asked, not understanding what he meant. 

He pointed towards his lips.

"Oh," Charlotte said, once she realized he was taking his promise to heart and literally not speaking a word. "The place is on Broken Sound Boulevard." 

They drove the rest of the way in silence. Once they pulled in towards the entrance to the neighborhood, it began to pour.