Page 13 of Fire Dragon Lover

Logan rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I took Gretchen home last night."

Hailey let out a huff of air. "Please tell me you mean you drove her home."

"My home. We had sex."

"What the hell are you doing," Hailey snapped. "Do you understand how much you are putting her in danger right now? It's hard. It sucks."

Sloan smirked.

"Don't even start," she said to him. "I'm tired." Turning back to Logan, she continued. "You have to understand that being around her puts a target on her back. You have to keep her away. You'd have to be blind not to see the way she looks at you."

"I know. I knew it was a bad decision when I was making it, but I couldn't stop it."

"Stop thinking with your dick." Hailey wasn't yelling, but she was on her way there.

"It's not just that. It's difficult to not be with her. Everything feels like it's pulling me in that direction."

"It doesn't matter. If you care for her, you have to do this to keep her safe, but you've given her hope now. She might think there's still a chance. You've got to push her away."

Logan looked up at Sloan.

"Don't expect me to rescue you. I agree."

Logan relented. "You're right. I've fucked this up big time. I'm going to have to find a way to fix this. I can't be there to protect her all the time." He rubbed his temples. "Oh, shit. I've got an idea, and I hate myself for it already."

Logan got up and said, "Thanks for the coffee and verbal ass-kicking."

"Any time," Hailey replied.

"I'll show myself out."

Closing the door behind him, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts. He jabbed his thumb at the screen. Bringing it to his ear, he said, "Charlaine, what are you doing later today?"

Twenty

Gretchen

Gretchen strode into the office after lunch and booted up her computer, determined to get some work done to make up for spending the day before at the spa. It would also serve to keep the memories of last night at bay, and even more importantly, the horrible memories of this morning. That was unbelievable. The night before had been so beautiful, and this morning it was like Logan was a different person altogether, so cold and callous. She didn’t even know what to do now. Should she resign? Could she bear to resign and never see Logan again? On the other hand, could she bear to see him every day and feel the embarrassment and hurt of this morning?

The sound of voices coming from Logan’s office intruded upon her introspection. She looked up and realized she’d been sitting there spaced out in front of her computer for fifteen minutes without realizing it. She shook her head as if it would shake loose the thoughts she couldn’t seem to dislodge otherwise and wondered who was in there with him, she knew he had no appointments scheduled for today.

Logan chose that moment to call her into his office. She steeled herself, determined not to let him see the pain she was feeling, she pushed open the partially closed door and stopped short, new daggers plunged into her heart. A beautiful woman stood close beside Logan in front of the large office window. She knew this woman, she was a well-known socialite, Charlaine St. Claire. Gretchen stood in the doorway, frozen. They looked awfully cozy standing there together.

“There you are,” Logan said, “we need some coffee. Go and bring us some.”

“Of course,” she replied woodenly.

Charlaine looked at her like she was a bug. “Not just any coffee, I don’t drink just any coffee. I want a mocha latte from Etienne’s.”

Gretchen’s eyes shifted to Logan.

“You heard her, Etienne's is just around the corner anyway,” he said dismissively and turned his attention back to Charlaine.

As she turned to go, she saw Charlaine reach up and caress his shoulder as his arm slipped around her waist. She felt completely gutted. Not only had he been cold to her this morning, but he was already moving on to his next conquest. Did she really mean so little to him? She guessed she just didn’t fit into his world. Last night’s event must have proven it to him, so he’d had his fun with her and moved on to someone more appropriate. That was it, she was definitely resigning tomorrow. Probably. She groaned to herself. She was pathetic. He was clearly done with her, why couldn’t she just let this go? Why did she have to still be so in love with him!It just doesn’t make sense,she told herself as she entered the coffee shop and ordered their coffee.Okay, this is it. I'm definitely done mooning over him. Enough is enough,she told herself firmly and headed back to the office, determined to move on by herself.

Twenty-One

Logan

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