He narrowed his eyes and gave Mallory a look that promised retribution. She averted her gaze.
“Nantucket’s a beautiful location, or so I hear.” She sat up straighter in her seat, in what would have been her professional attorney mode—were it not for her strategically placed foot.
“It’s perfect,” Lederman agreed.
“Speaking of perfect, I checked out the gym here. That’s quite a setup you’ve got going.” With Mallory having the upper hand, or in this case, the upper foot, on the family jewels, Jack decided not to mention Eva at the moment.
The older man nodded. “People who come here are looking to get away from stress. What with cell phones and laptop computers, most bring stress with them. The least a resort can provide is a full-service gym and a doctor on call.”
Mallory fiddled with the spoon beside her empty plate before meeting their client’s gaze. “Speaking of doctors, how have you been feeling, Mr. Lederman?”
The older man sucked in his stomach at the obviously unexpected question. “Never better, why do you ask?” His tone grew wary yet defensive at the same time.
Tread lightly, Jack thought. But he surprised himself by not jumping in to smooth things over between Mallory and their client—a sure sign he trusted her. Trusted Mallory or trusted her abilities? Jack would be a fool not to recognize the distinction, even if he couldn’t accurately answer the question.
As quickly as she’d positioned herself, she eased her foot down and leaned forward in her seat. But Jack was quick enough to clamp his legs together and grab her by the ankle, leaving her at his mercy as she attempted to formulate a response.
In a move that surprised him, she took off her glasses, and propping her chin on her hand, she concentrated solely on Paul. “Please don’t think I’m prying, but one of your employees mentioned you’d had a short stay in the hospital last year.”
Surfer boy, Jack thought. He’d never gotten an answer about what she’d discovered the other night. How could he when he’d been too busy discovering her?
“Gossiping among the staff?” Lederman’s expression grew thunderous.
She shook her head quickly back and forth. “Actually, no. It was raving by the staff. I’d mentioned how wonderful I thought the gym was—especially the doctor on call—you see my father had a mild heart attack recently…”
She trembled as she spoke and without thought, Jack clamped his legs tighter around her foot in the only display of comfort and support he could offer under the circumstances. It wasn’t enough and for the first time, he wished he was free to express his feelings. And he realized he had some serious thinking to do when it came to Mallory Sinclair, colleague, and Mallory Sinclair, woman.
Her surprised gaze darted to his and in the blue depths he caught a glimmer of appreciation and a hint of calming. He took heart in knowing he’d been able to soothe her somehow.
Then she settled her gaze on Lederman who had begun patting her hand, and she went on. “So I thought your hotel would be a perfect getaway for my parents. They adore their time alone, but my mother would feel so much better knowing they could go on vacation where he could exercise under a doctor’s supervision and she wouldn’t have to watch over him.”
Lederman visibly relaxed, the strain around his mouth easing as Mallory’s story worked on him, no doubt as it was meant to.
Because Jack was already privy to h
er strained and unhappy relationship with her parents, he was not only sympathetic as Lederman was, but he needed to know more. Like how the heart attack—which he had no doubt was real—had affected Mallory’s feelings toward her already distant parent. If that was the reason she was afraid to chart her own destiny instead of the one she thought would finally please her father and make him proud.
There was definitely more to this story than she’d revealed to Paul Lederman. More even than she’d revealed to Jack so far.
She smiled at Paul, batting those eyelashes behind the thick glasses she’d repositioned on her nose. “So you see, your employee was explaining how you upgraded the gym last year after your own trauma. And I have to say I’m impressed you were savvy enough to turn what had to be a traumatic experience into something so incredible.”
Lederman, Jack had learned, was a sucker for compliments from younger women, and Mallory had obviously discovered the same thing. She was a pro at her job and played Lederman much the same way. Yet Jack sensed her sincerity, and it was the sincerity that calmed Lederman.
The older man beamed. “Young lady, you give your parents my name and I’ll see to it they have a first-class stay here.”
“Well thank you, Mr. Lederman.”
He shook his head. “Paul.”
“Thank you, Paul, but I wasn’t fishing for anything from you. Honestly, I was impressed with the facility and also concerned about your health.”
The older man turned to Jack. “You’ve got a special lady working for you.”
“I’ll be sure to pass your compliments along,” Jack said for Mallory’s sake, knowing how important client impressions were in her bid for partner. “And remember, Paul, you’d be fortunate to have her on your side.”
Mallory filled with warmth at Jack’s easily spoken words. Though a part of her recognized his statement as a ploy to reinforce Waldorf, Haynes as Lederman’s attorneys of choice, Jack’s penetrating gaze held a wealth of meaning for her alone.
“I’m feeling much better, thank you,” Lederman went on. “The gym’s a part of my renewed health plan, and knowing I’ll be free soon is another.”