Spark: Book 1 (The Heat Series) Read online

  “Alexander, so nice to see you again.”

  “You can call me Xander; everyone does.” She felt stupid when he corrected her.

  “Oh, uh, okay.”

  “Take a seat. I see you did some research work on the McDaniels case last week?”

  She watched as he paged through the file folder. She noticed he had beautiful hands, and she found herself comparing his to Liam’s. She also studied Xander’s features as he bent down looking at the file. He was as close to what you would call beautiful. He had changed since she last saw him. His features had matured. His thick light brown hair had blonde highlights and from where she was sitting she could see that he had long, lush blonde eyelashes. She hadn’t remembered noticing them when the met before. He paused from the file to look up at her and she saw that he had hazel eyes. She felt uncomfortable being seated before someone who was so attractive as it was intimidating.

  “I need you to draft a few court documents for this case. I have outlined what I need.” He handed her a piece of yellow legal paper with the notes. Their hands touched as she reached out to take the piece of paper and she felt a small jolt. Suddenly she felt a flush come over her.

  “Is that all?” She asked wanting to escape this good-looking man as soon as possible.

  “Yes, that and I would like to take you to lunch this afternoon so that we can get acquainted. I like to familiarize myself with my colleagues.” Ava couldn’t sit here with him for five minutes without getting flustered. If she were going to have lunch with him, she would probably pass out.

  Xander’s phone started to ring. “Excuse me, Let me answer this.” Ava rose and picked up the file from his desk just as he was answering his phone.

  “Hey babe, how are you? No, I’m just settling in here.” Ava heard him say as she closed his door.

  Xander got off the phone with his girlfriend, Abby and knew he had a problem. It was the legal assistant that had been assigned to him. The Wilder family had known the Keene family for many years. His father, Peter, had attended law school with Jason and his twin brother, Daniel Keene. When Jason had moved to Georgia with his wife Elizabeth, he had kept in touch with Peter. Later, Xander’s father had partnered up with Daniel Keene and Brian Ashburn to start the law firm. The Wilders rarely visited the Keenes in Georgia even though Xander had attended school at Cameron University in Atlanta.

  During the times they did visit, Xander had better things to do than hang out with his parents. After he had graduated from Cameron, he had attended Duke University School of Law. His father had attended Columbia and expected Xander to do the same; however, he had wanted to make his own path in law. After graduation, he had chosen the public defender’s office over working at a private firm. Two years toiling in that office and he was bled dry emotionally. He felt sorry for the people who weren’t financially able to provide their own attorney. However, some of them were their own worst enemy, and he often defended some people more than once for different crimes they committed.

  He had had enough; the job was draining. He decided that if he wanted to live a more stable financial life, it was time to join his father. He would be paid well and could do pro bono work on the side when time allowed. He was happy for the chance to show his father he was more than capable of handling a large caseload in a big firm, actually one of the largest firms in Manhattan. Their offices took up three full floors, and they specialized in several different areas of law.

  When he joined, Peter had told Xander he would be assigned a legal assistant, and he was thrilled. In the Public Defender’s office, you handled your own work. There weren’t enough funds to be able to hire legal assistants. He had often worked late into the evening because he wanted to provide the best legal aid he could. But when Ava Keene walked into his door, he knew he had a major problem.

  He met Ava several years ago at a barbecue at Daniel Keene’s house. Even though she had barely looked at him, he was intrigued by her. She was not his type, not at all. She was four years younger, practically a baby compared to him. Nevertheless, he found himself glancing over to find her among the crowd more than once. So when he heard she was assigned to him, he expected to see an overweight, bespectacled young woman come through his door. Not this creature exuding sexuality whether she knew it or not.

  Ava was beautiful, sexy, intelligent and mature. She had changed so much in the almost five years since he had seen her. She was still shy but gone was the excess weight, braces, and glasses. He was instantly smitten with her, but he needed to keep it professional. She was, after all, his subordinate and she might take his forwardness as a sexual advance. So he told her that he wanted to take her out to lunch. He had said that he normally took the people he was working without to lunch, but that was a lie. He never did that. He just wanted to talk to her, to get to know her likes and dislikes.

  Though he was attached at the moment, his relationship was in a precarious situation. The miles between himself and Abby, his current girlfriend of two years had taken a toll on their relationship. She recently admitted to him that she had kissed someone else. She said she was drunk, but Xander knew better. Abby was very needy and without him around, she would seek out someone else’s affections to fill the void. They had tried to keep on a regular schedule of visiting each other, but lately, Abby had excuse after excuse. He had a feeling that she had done more than kissing. Xander was not the kind of guy to quickly abandon a problem in his relationship. He would try to do his best to keep Ava at arm’s length until he could figure out what was going on with Abby. Then again, maybe Ava didn’t want him. If she knew his secret, she would never want him. She might be devastated to learn what he had done.

  As Ava walked back to her desk, she felt a bit of disappointment that Xander had a girlfriend or wife, whatever she was. She walked down the hall feeling a bit giddy. When she arrived at her desk, Samantha popped up and scared her. Ava clutched her chest.

  “So, you get to work for the Prom King?”

  “Huh?” Ava looked at Sam puzzled

  “That is what all the girls are calling him. He is dreamy.”

  “Calling who?” Ava inquired.

  “Alexander Wilder!”

  “Alright, I am done with this conversation. I have work to do.” Ava started working on Xander’s requests and Sam sat down in her cubicle. Time had passed so quickly that before she knew it, Xander was standing at her desk. He tapped her on the shoulder.

  “Time for lunch. Where would you like to go? I know a great Italian place not far from here, Vincente Trattoria.” Ava nodded at the recognition of the name.

  “I know the Executive Chef, Paulo. He is wonderful.”

  “Okay then, let’s go there.” He placed his hand on her back and guided her to the elevators. The car was full so they waited for the next one. Ava nervously looked down at her shoes. When the second elevator arrived, Xander held the door and gestured for her to go in first. They were the only ones in the car. Xander was paging through his phone as the car swiftly made its way down to the main floor. As the doors opened, he again held the door for her. They made their way out into the bright sunshine. It was a warm day, but Xander hailed a cab anyway. The restaurant was several blocks away, and they made small talk during the ride. Ava could feel her hands sweating, and she spent most of the ride with her head down.

  “Ava, you are as quiet as I remember.”

  He remembers me?

  “I…I’m, well I’m just shy. I’m sorry.” She stammered.

  “I prefer my associates to look at me when I am talking to them.” It was his way of making a joke, but she missed it.

  “I’m sorry, I’m just a bit nervous.” She chewed on the inside of her cheek. Thankfully, the cab arrived at the restaurant. There was a line, but Xander was ushered straight to a table. They were a beautiful couple and several of the patrons, both men and women, took notice of their arrival. When they were seated, Ava asked Xander how they were seated so quickly. She knew that Vincente Trattoria didn’t take
reservations.

  “I know the Maitre’d. I got him out of a legal jam a couple of years ago.” A tall, dark-haired man with a thick Italian accent introduced himself as Vittorio while handing them menus.

  “Hello?”

  Ava snapped out of her daydream. She raised her head to look at Xander. “I thought I had lost you for a minute.” Xander stared into her green eyes.

  “No, I was just thinking about something.” Ava reached for a roll and gingerly pulled a small piece off of it. Xander watched her with fascination. Her soft southern accent was a major turn on for him. He wanted to get her to say more so he could hear it.

  “You have changed since I last saw you.”

  “I lost some weight and got my braces off.” Ava picked at her nails.

  “I didn’t mean that; I meant that you have matured. How old were you when I last saw you?”

  “Eighteen.”

  “I thought you were pretty then, but now you are beautiful.”

  Ava’s face reddened, and she thought, Look who’s talking? You matured a lot too, and you aren’t just handsome, you are gorgeous.

  Ava mumbled, “Thank you,” and hid her face in her menu.

  Xander took it as a cue that he had embarrassed her, and he quietly looked at his menu. Idiot, why would you say that to her? You embarrassed her, and it was inappropriate to say that.

  Vittorio came to their table and took their order. Ava ordered the Piccata di Vitello al Prezzemolo. The same dish Paulo made for her when she went to dinner with Liam.

  “You have good taste; the Piccata is wonderful here.”

  “Paulo, the chef, has made it for me before.”

  “You come here often?”

  “No, Paulo cooked for me at his apartment.” Xander looked at her with a raised eyebrow

  “Are you dating Paulo?”

  “Oh, no, he knows my boyfriend, Liam.” It felt strange for Ava to say the word boyfriend for she hadn’t had one before.

  “So, you are dating someone?” This was a wrinkle that Xander had not expected though why wouldn’t he expect it. She was beautiful, and he was sure she had her share of dates.

  “Well, yes.”

  “You don’t sound so sure.”

  “We have only been together for a couple of weeks, so I guess he would be called my boyfriend.” Xander let out a hearty laugh and bit into one of the crusty rolls. He got crumbs on his dark pinstriped suit and she instinctively reached out to brush them away.

  “Thank you. I normally am not so messy in the presence of a woman.”

  Ava blushed and apologized.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be so forward. I just thought such a beautiful suit should remain pristine.”

  “Don’t be embarrassed; I appreciate it.”

  Ava put her head down and rung her hands together in her lap. She welcomed the call that came in on Xander’s cell.

  “Excuse me; I need to take this.” She watched him make his way out to the lobby of the restaurant. She was feeling some anxiety about being with him. She felt a tap on her shoulder, and she turned.

  “Ava, my dear, what are you doing here?” It was Paulo, dressed in his chef whites.

  “I’m having lunch with my new boss.

  “Oh, if I knew you were here I would make you something special.”

  “I ordered the Piccata di Vitello al Prezzemolo. It was so delicious when you made it for Liam and me.”

  Xander came back, and Ava introduced the two men. She could see Paulo sizing Xander up.

  “I go back to the kitchen now; I have much to do.” He placed a kiss on Ava’s cheek and made his way back to the kitchen.

  “Nice guy,” Xander said. Vittorio arrived soon after that with their meals. He placed each dish in front of them.

  When he left, Xander continued his examination.

  “What do you do for fun?”

  “Nothing. I like to read and workout.”

  “It seems that I am asking all the questions. Is there anything you want to know about me?”

  Ava had a lot she wanted to ask him, but some were personal, and she didn’t want to seem like she was prying into his life. She went with something easy.

  “What do you do for fun?”

  “I like to work out, go for a run through the city, ride my bike, go hiking. I like most outdoor things. On Saturdays, I belong to a group that plays soccer in the park. Maybe you can come by one day and join us.”

  “Oh, I don’t play soccer, at least not for a long time.”

  “That’s okay; it’s just a casual game. We have both men and women on the team.”

  Vittorio came back to remove their plates and Ava asked if he could pack up her leftovers.

  “Would you folks like some dessert?” Xander looked at his watch.

  “We need to get back to the office, but if you want to get something to go, that is okay.”

  “No, I couldn’t eat another bite.” Vittorio handed her the take-home box and Xander handed him his credit card.

  “Thank you for lunch and well, dinner, too,” Ava lifted the box off the table.

  He smiled, “My pleasure.” Vittorio came back with his card, and he rose from his chair. Ava followed suit and they made their way through the thinning lunch crowd to the street. It had warmed even more since they went to the restaurant for lunch, but Xander hailed a cab. They didn’t say much for the cab ride back. Xander went through his emails on the ride. When the cab arrived at their building, he paid, and they both exited the car.

  He once again put his hand on her back to guide her into the building. They kept silent as they rode the elevator. Ava spent it looking at her shoes until the doors opened on their floor. Xander gestured for her to get out and he followed. He didn’t touch her, just said his goodbye and headed the opposite way to his office. Until now, she hadn’t checked the time, but it was nearing 2:30 and she had a lot to do before she left for the day. She didn’t realize that they had spent nearly two hours eating lunch, and she had learned so little about him. She felt silly being embarrassed to ask him questions.

  She spent the rest of the afternoon with her head buried in legal briefs. She wanted to impress Xander. She worked later than usual and hoped that she hadn’t missed her chance to see Liam. She checked her phone and saw that she hadn’t missed any calls or texts from him. She quickly gathered her things and locked up her files in her desk. When she got to the subway, the platform was packed. She knew she was going to be standing for the ride to her stop. Her apartment was a short walk from the subway, so she didn’t mind standing. Unfortunately, she got stuck next to someone who didn’t realize that deodorant was something that you should use especially when in close quarters. She spent the ride with her head buried in the collar of her jacket.

  She was thankful when her stop came. She hurried to her building, giving a quick wave to Gage at the front desk. She wanted to do a few things before Liam stopped by her apartment. Her phone chirped when she was opening her door and once again she dropped her keys.

  Hi babe, I won’t be able to come over tonight. I am stuck at a dinner meeting and probably won’t be leaving until after ten.

  Ava was upset that she wouldn’t be seeing him. She took her time answering him back.

  I’ll miss you.

  Liam didn’t answer back, and she figured he only had had a few minutes to text her in the first place. She spent the rest of the night reading with Riley snuggled up on her lap. She forgot to eat again and went to bed only having had lunch. She went to bed early.

  Chapter 4

  She awoke at 5:24 AM with Riley once again kneading her and purring. He was hungry, and this seemed like this was going to be a theme.

  After she had fed him, she remembered that her last meal was yesterday at lunch. She was feeling hungry and made some oatmeal and plopped down on the couch to read her mail. She had some bills to take care of, and she wanted to review her portfolio statement. She should have done this last night, but she was too ti
red.

  Ava checked it and saw that her investments had gained again since the last quarter. Few people knew that Ava did not need to work. When her mother had passed away, she had received a trust fund as had her brother and sister. Her mother was from a wealthy family and had inherited most of her father’s assets upon his passing. He had made his money in blue chip stocks as well as commodities and had done well leaving a portfolio worth millions when he died. She had little use for the money since her husband, Ava’s father, was an extremely successful attorney, so it sat earning interest and dividends.

  Before her mother died, the money was put into trusts for the three children, with access permitted. Each child was given the money from their trust when they turned twenty-three except for Ava, who would have full control of her funds when she turned twenty-five. She had no idea why her mother had made her trust terms different than her siblings, but it was fine with her. Her father was her trustee, and he was allowed to give her funds based on need. When she had wanted to purchase the apartment where she now resided, she had discussed it with her aunt and uncle with whom she had lived with for several months after arriving in New York. They helped convince her father it was a good investment, and he gave her the money to purchase it six months before her twentieth birthday. It turned out to be a great investment since the property had appreciated thirty percent since she purchased it.

  Ava put aside her mail and went to the kitchen to wash her bowl. Riley was happily cleaning himself on her bed as she got dressed. Her mind kept wandering to Xander. She didn’t want to think about him, but she couldn’t help it. He was just so handsome. She felt very nervous around him. She also felt guilty. Liam was her boyfriend now, and she needed to be true to him even if they hadn’t spent a lot of time together. Ava put on her coat and made her way downstairs. She wasn’t paying attention when she arrived in the lobby and almost tripped over her neighbor’s poodle, Chauncey.