Love Proof (Laws of Attraction) - By Elizabeth Ruston Page 0,94

at politics—it’s taken forever for the women to catch up. And it’s not because they’re not capable—obviously they are.”

Saying what people want to hear? Sarah thought. Check. Clearly the guy was skilled at reading his audience and feeding it all the right lines. He was no amateur at manipulation.

Which made Sarah wonder what was behind this lunch in the first place.

“So,” she said, “is this just a friendly get-to-know-you, or is there something else I should know?”

“Sarah,” Ryan answered, clicking his tongue. “So suspicious. What if I’m just the new kid in school, trying to make friends on the playground?”

“We may both be on the defense side,” Sarah said, “but we’re opponents. I’m afraid friendship won’t take you very far.”

“Really? Too bad.” He smiled in an easy, casual way, and there was nothing about it that should have made her uncomfortable, but it did. She felt the same way she thought Joe might: wary.

When the bill came, Ryan snatched it up before Sarah could lay a fingerprint on it. “I offered,” Ryan reminded her. “You can get the next one.”

“I think it’s best if we all pay for our own,” she said. “Keeps things cleaner.”

“Just this once, then,” he said. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell.”

They walked back the few blocks to the hotel. The day was cloudy and cold. Sarah was grateful she’d dressed warmly.

“Which flight are you on tonight?” Ryan asked as he held the lobby door open for her.

“The five-forty.”

“Too bad,” he said. “I’m on the six-fifteen. Oh, well, we all end up in the same place. Maybe I can buy you dinner.”

“I don’t think so,” she answered.

“Let me know if you change your mind.”

Sarah stopped walking and faced him. “Look, Ryan,” she said, keeping her voice low. “I don’t want to make any assumptions here, but just in case you thought there might be any kind of . . . personal interaction between us . . . ”

“I’d never think that,” Ryan answered. “I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to—” He laughed. “Sarah, I meant what I said: I think you’re a beautiful woman. There’s nothing wrong with being friendly. But I’d never pursue you while this case is going on—we both know that’s wrong. And I assume you wouldn’t try anything with me. But we also both know that these cases don’t last forever. There’s always an afterward.”

Sarah patted his chest. “Thanks, Sollers, but I’m afraid the answer’s always going to be no.”

Ryan shrugged good-naturedly. “Like I said, just being friendly. See you in there, Sarah.”

“Right.” She made a detour toward the bathroom before heading for the conference room again. She needed a few minutes alone.

The guy unnerved her—she couldn’t exactly say why. She’d been hit on plenty of times, but there was something about how he did it, the things he said.

Sollers seemed smart. She doubted he said or did anything without thinking it through first.

So what was his game?

Thirty-six

The afternoon deposition followed the same basic course of the morning’s, with Sollers gently charming and then leading Joe’s client through the elements of the defense he obviously felt he could build: these plaintiffs were at fault. They created their own fire hazards by not handling the iron properly. Atheena had done everything it should by printing out warnings in an instruction manual that came with every product. It wasn’t Atheena’s fault if the customer chose not to read it.

It was only around three o’clock when Sarah finished her questions. Ryan thanked Joe’s client again for coming in.

“I hope that wasn’t too bad, Mrs. McKinley.”

“No,” she said, smiling in a motherly way, “it wasn’t too bad.”

“You have a good evening now,” Ryan said.

“You, too,” she answered. Then she let Joe lead her out.

Sarah turned to Ryan and shook her head. “Wow. You could charm the pearls right off that lady.”

“Like I said,” Ryan answered. “Nothing wrong with being friendly.”

When Joe returned, Ryan once again asked the court reporter to leave. “We have some scheduling matters to go over, Wendy. I hope you understand.”

“Of course,” she said, smiling at him this time. “I’ll see all of you tomorrow. I might try to catch an earlier flight now and actually see some of Seattle.”

“Sounds good,” Ryan said. “Maybe we’ll get out of here soon, too. See you tomorrow, Wendy.”

The court reporter waved to him and carried her equipment case from the room.

Looking at the woman’s face, the way she smiled at Ryan and shyly dipped her head down, Sarah had no doubt Ryan could charm more than the