EXCERPT

Bourn on the Fourth of July
by Marteeka Karland

Chapter 1

"LAURA!!" Stepping into his private office, Jake roared. It was a complete disaster. Absolutely nothing was on his desk but a blotter, the phone, and one pen. There wasn't even a scrap of paper on the floor, and all his files had disappeared. Not a speck of dust could be found anywhere. Even the windows were free of the grime that had built up in the ten years since he'd cleaned them last -- when he and his partner, Nicholas Cole, first opened his law office. "What the hell have you done?"

"Well." Laura tentatively stepped into Jake's private sanctuary. "I cleaned your office."

"Did I ask you to clean my office?" Of all the stupid things this woman had done in the five years she had been in his employment, this was the worst. He started fumbling through the now neatly organized filing cabinets.

Laura pushed her glasses higher on her nose with one finger and stated simply, "No, but it needed it. Badly."

Jake whirled around, advancing on her. "This is my office. I'll decide when or if it needs cleaning."

"Look." Laura hugged her legal pad to her chest and pushed her glasses up again. "You're the most brilliant lawyer I've ever worked for, but you're a complete slob. Do you have any idea how unprofessional it is when you have to look thirty minutes to find a client's file?"

"I knew exactly where everything was!" he bellowed. "How the hell am I supposed to find anything now?"

He knew she was right, knew he was being unreasonable, but damn it, he wanted her as angry as he was.

"You'll find them the same way every other attorney does. You'll look alphabetically by client's last name or you'll ask me to find it for you." Her composure remained stubbornly in place, though Jake noticed she'd raised her chin a notch.

"And just how the hell are you supposed to get your work done, when you're finding files I could have found myself if you'd just left my office alone?" He moved toward her another couple of steps, not quite invading her personal space, but towering over her smaller frame.

Her eyes flashing in anger, she snatched her glasses from her face. "And how would that be any different from the way it is now? I spend more time in your office than I do in my own. I cleaned your office so you could find your own files."

"I had everything right where I could find it. You only spend so much time in here because you want to." "I beg your pardon!" Outrage radiated from her in waves.

Jake crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. "I see how you look at me. I bet you're trying to find the right time to lock me in and have your wicked way with me."

It was all Jake could do not to burst out laughing as the bright red flush crept up her slender throat to her cute little pixy-like face. He couldn't help himself. The highlight of any day was getting Laura flustered.

Yeah, he was pissed she had rearranged his office, but it was worth it to see her blush. Anger or embarrassment, it didn't make a difference. He just loved pushing her buttons.

"You, Mr. Landon, are a filthy minded swine." Turning on her heel, Laura practically bolted from his presence. Only when she slammed the door behind her did he actually chuckle.

Quietly.