Charlotte spent the day going over Logan's files and assembled a team of interns to help her sort them out. The papers were all copies that someone had haphazardly tossed into their boxes, and she pitied the poor assistant who had to have done the work.
There were mentions of other foreign bank accounts, but those wouldn't go into the divorce agreement, so she filed those separately. It had been a while since she worked on a divorce case, and normally, she'd try to go for a swift and amicable agreement between the two parts. But it made her angry to think that Logan's wife had so much in her favor, and she had tossed it all overboard for someone who wasn't probably half the man Logan was.
It surprised her that she had thought of Logan in a positive light because she didn't really like him. He was conceited, too full of himself, and a scoundrel at heart.
Edward walked past her office after lunch and waved at her. She gave him a halfhearted wave in return and pretended to be submerged in the papers she was going over. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the disappointed look on his face before he went on his way.
What she really wanted to do was to go with him to the aquarium or for a ride in the countryside. She missed him terribly, and there was nothing she could do about it now. If she went to him, he'd think she was alright with his wedding. Outwardly, of course, she'd show the world that she was very excited for him and Mary. But Edward knew the truth, and she wasn't about to give up on him yet. She'd get the chance to let him think he lost her. But not yet.
When the workday was finally over, she headed down to the parking lot to go to the beauty salon. If she had to attend the engagement party, at least she would do so in style. She got into her car only to realize something was very wrong with it. No matter how many times she turned on the key, the engine seemed to be choking and refused to start.
"I can't believe this," she said to herself in frustration. Her appointment was at 5:30, and Linda, the hairdresser, was very strict about punctuality.
Charlotte stepped out of the car and thought about popping the hood, although she knew it'd be futile. She knew nothing about cars. Just as she stood there thinking about going into reception and asking to use the phone to call a cab, the purr of an engine she recognized filled the air.
"Is everything all right, Miss Astor?" Logan Hamilton said from inside his black Lamborghini.
"Yes, thank you," she said, giving him a tense and curt smile.
"I could hear your car dying from almost a mile away," he said. "The battery is probably dead. I can check it if you want."
Charlotte rolled her eyes at him.
"Thank you for the evaluation. I'm going to take a cab," she said, intending to get away as soon as she could. "I have to be somewhere in twenty minutes."
"Well, it's a fine day as any to help a damsel in distress. Get in," he ordered her.
"No, thank you," she said as she started walking towards the lobby.
Logan turned the car around and began to follow her.
"Charlie just took a break and probably won't be back in, let's say, fifteen minutes? So you'll be late by the time he gets back to let you use the phone," Logan said from inside his car.
"Thank you, again, Mr. Hamilton, for your unsolicited advice. I will help myself if you don't mind."
"Okay," he said, and he sped away towards the parking lot exit.
Maybe she was too harsh with him, Charlotte thought. But he was also taking their supposed working relationship a little too loosely. It was enough that he always seemed to be making fun of her or running into her during unfortunate situations.
When she got back to the building, she saw that Logan was right. She tried using the phone on her own, but she didn't know the extension to connect it for an outside call. Sighing with frustration, she went back outside only to find Logan's car right in front of the lobby.
He was clearly waiting for her, but he didn't lower the windows or acknowledge her in any way, and she couldn't see inside the car. She had ten minutes to get to the salon now, but her pride prevented her from tapping on Logan's car. She stood there, pretending to be waiting for a cab.
After a while, Logan finally lowered the car window.
"Miss Astor, you're going to be late," he said, smirking at her.
Charlotte scowled at him and got into the car.
"I really didn't need you to give me a ride," she said.
"Where to?" Logan said, ignoring what Charlotte had just said.
"Linda's Beauty Salon. It's on-"
"I know where it is," Logan said, accelerating as if someone was chasing them.
It took Charlotte a few seconds to adjust to how fast he went, especially when he swerved to pass other cars.
"Why do you drive so fast?!" she called out once the stoplight turned green and the car went from being still to moving at 60 mph.
"It pleases me," he said.
"Do you do everything that pleases you no matter how dangerous it is?"
"I try to." Logan smiled at her briefly and kept his eyes on the road.
They were at Linda's salon in exactly eight minutes. There was a free spot close by, and Logan parked the car there.
He got out and opened the door for Charlotte.
"Thank you," she said. "I'll let you know if there's anything I need from you for the case."
"You're very welcome, Miss Astor," he said.
Charlotte turned to head into the salon, expecting Logan to go back to his car. Instead, he followed her.
"Excuse me, what are you doing?" she said, once it was clear he intended to go into the salon with her.
"I thought I'd get a haircut since I'm already here."
"You need an appointment."
"Ha," was all he said as he opened the door and stepped inside.
The salon wasn't full, but the few hairdressers and clients that were going about their business all turned to stare at Logan.
Linda, who was in the midst of combing someone's hair, was the only one who paid him no mind.
Charlotte stepped inside too.
"Linda..."
"Charlotte," Linda said, glancing at her. "You're right on time."
Logan went up to the reception and spoke with the woman there. She looked just as flabbergasted as everyone.
"Is that Logan Hamilton?" whispered a teenager to another. The two were getting their nails done. Once the other confirmed that it was, in fact, Logan Hamilton, they turned to look at Charlotte up and down.
She really didn't want anyone to think she had something with him on a personal level.
Linda gave her client some final touches while Charlotte waited to see what Logan did, and then she gestured for Charlotte to take a seat on one of the empty chairs. The receptionist guided Logan upstairs, and he winked at Charlotte as he climbed the steps. She felt mortified when she realized that all the eyes in the room were now fixed on her instead of him.
"So, new beau?" Linda said as she combed through Charlotte's hair.
"NO!" Charlotte replied, a little too loud. She wanted to make sure everyone there heard it, though. "My law firm works with him. My car broke down, and he gave me a ride."
"Hmm," Linda said, though she didn't seem to really be listening.
Linda styled Charlotte's hair into beautiful loose curls while Logan was still upstairs getting a haircut. Every once in a while, she could hear the hairdresser's laugh pour down from the upper floor. She didn't understand why Logan had stayed for a haircut; it didn't seem like he needed one, and he surely had an army of hairdressers and stylists at his disposal. She couldn't shake off the feeling that he was still mocking her. Like he was having fun spending the day like a normal person. Or a poor person, if you compared him to Charlotte. "You look beautiful as usual," Linda said, holding up a hand mirror so Charlotte could see the back of her head. "Thank you," Charlotte said and hurried to the front desk to pay. She wanted to scurry out before Logan came down. But there was another woman talking to
"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."
Logan finally slowed down when it was clear he couldn’t drive too fast through a neighborhood with so many bumps and little or no visibility because of the rain. While Charlotte was glad about it, she was also hoping the rain would stop in the next five minutes. How on earth was she going to carry those boxes of champagne to the house in this rain? She really didn’t want Logan to have to park in the driveway. The living room had enormous windows with views of the driveway and the front lawn. Everyone would see her arrive in this flashy car, and while she didn’t really mind what the guests would say, her mom would be a problem. Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t realize that Logan had almost stopped. He kept gesturing with his hands as if asking permission to speak. “You can talk,” Charlotte said loudly,
It was hard for Charlotte to take her eyes away from Edward as he walked around mingling with guests with Mary at his arm. But she didn't want to look desperate trying to catch Floyd's attention, so she didn't go directly towards him, and instead sat in the dining room close to the food, where most of the guests came through from time to time. Her high school classmates greeted her politely yet with a distance that Charlotte knew was because of their very thinly veiled dislike for her. The only reason they were even there was because they also happened to be friends with Edward. Everyone knew everyone in the small, elite, old money Atlantian society. Still, Charlotte was never alone. Some of Edward's pals from high school and a group of people she hardly talked to at the office were all gathered close to her, laughing at her jokes. A lot of them asked about Mary, and Charlotte was happy to talk about her; tonight she had to look like she was the happiest
"Logan, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Floyd stepped out from the crowd and grabbed Logan, ushering him far from Adam. Some guys from the office held Adam up as he started to regain consciousness. Charlotte stared at Logan wide-eyed and didn't know what to do. Of all the outcomes this evening could have had, this one was so far off her expectations that it seemed like the universe was playing a bad joke on her. Everyone would wonder who Logan Hamilton came with and they'd be talking about her for all the wrong reasons. If anything, all she had wanted was to sow doubt into Edward's mind about her relationship with Floyd. Now she'd be the talk of the town, along with Logan. Adam's wellbeing wasn't even on her mind. He was a rude, condescending guy who always made inappropriate comments to the women at the office. In her mind, there was a growing suspicion that something along those lines had happened with Natalya. What surprised her the most had
Charlotte saw Mary and quickly pulled back from Edward. He stiffened, breaking the spell, even if he hadn't seen Mary yet. "Mary, Edward came to find me," Charlotte said. Edward turned and put his arm around Charlotte's shoulders in a brotherlike protective manner. "I thought she'd need some cheering up. Logan Hamilton was the one stirring up some trouble back here," he said. "They're working together." "Oh, darling," Mary said, pushing away the hanging sheets to get to where Charlotte and Edward stood. "Don't worry about that man. The party was lovely, and I can't thank you and your mom enough. I'm so happy to be here surrounded by the closest people in my life, that short of a fire or a disaster of calamitous proportions, nothing could spoil my happiness." Charlotte smiled at her, not knowing what to say. Had she walked in two seconds later, she would have probably seen Edward and her kissing. The way he had touched her cheek...
Floyd had always been kind of a mystery to Charlotte, one that she had never cared to decipher until now. His family came from a long line of bankers and lawyers who got established in Atlanta in the early 1900s. Their mothers had gone to school together and were the same age, though she had had Charlotte well into her thirties, while Floyd's mother had gotten pregnant right after she got married when she was only 21. Floyd had always been much older than her; when Charlotte was a kid he was already almost a teenager, and even though their families were really close, they hadn't spent much time together because of their age difference. From afar, though, she saw him as an awkward guy who was always trying too hard. He rarely had girlfriends and was a bit of a nerd in school, and like Charlotte's mother, his mother always seemed to be unhappy with him regardless of what he did. What she didn't understand about him was what he wanted
Edward soon joined the table where Charlotte sat, talking to a couple of interns who were very interested in a case she had handled a few months ago. Truth be told, that had been the case that had encouraged Charlotte to ask for a promotion just because the odds against her client had seemed insurmountable. Yet, due to Charlotte's intense cross-witness questioning, her client had walked free, and the person responsible ended up confessing."And that was it," she said as a final note. "Sometimes litigating in court depends entirely on how you drill a witness and how much you can get them to say, though you should never rely on that. Court is unpredictable.""Don't sell yourself down. You're great at getting people to talk," Edward said all of a sudden, surprising the guys around her. He hadn't been part of the conversation, yet it was clear he had been clinging to Charlotte's words."Thank you?" Charlotte replied shyly. She wasn't used to gettin