from Ashton. And to put to
rest, if she could, the question both she and Logan had over who took the
photograph of Melody with Logan.
As
she pulled the manila envelope from the file, she realized Victoria was still
standing in her office.
“Anything
else?” Melody resisted the urge to tap her fingers on her desk. She still had
the hunch that Victoria was somehow connected with Ryan, but she had yet to put
her finger on the specifics or find a way to prove it. All she knew was that
she didn’t trust Victoria. It bothered Melody that she felt this way, without
any proof, and that it made her short-tempered with the woman. But right now,
Victoria wasn’t…couldn’t be…a priority.
“No…well,
I was just wondering. Mr. MacKenzie…is he seeing anyone?”
Melody
looked at the woman, her brow furrowing in disbelief. What the hell is she
after now?
“Not
that I’m aware of. It’s not relevant to the case and, frankly, none of my…or
your…business.” She pulled the photos out of the envelope, tapping the edges on
her desk.
“Oh,
I know. But, he’s just so…sexy. And nice. Not that I’m looking at him just as a
good looking guy, like a sex god or anything. He just seems like such a
sweetheart.”
“I’m
sure he is.” Melody cleared her throat. “Victoria, working here, you’re going
to come in contact with a great many celebrities. It would pay for you to learn
to distance yourself, to remain professional.”
“Yes…it’s
just…I think about what it would be like, meeting someone famous, like him, and
having them fall in love with me. Didn’t you ever fantasize about that?”
“Absolutely
not. Victoria, really. This is not the way to conduct yourself here at the
office. If you want to have fantasies about clients, please do not bring that
into my office. Now, I have work to do. I’ll bring you the complaint after I’ve
read through it. You can close the door on your way out.”
Victoria
turned and left, the door closing softly behind her. Melody sat in amazement,
and horror. If Victoria were fishing for information about her and Logan for
Ryan, she certainly wasn’t even trying to be subtle. Melody made a mental note
to talk to Joe Hunter in the morning, to ask about having a memo put in
Victoria’s file. As distasteful as it was to Melody to think about firing
someone, in this case, Victoria was practically giving her reasons to let her
go.
Melody
shrugged, turning back to the photos. I’ll deal with her tomorrow.
She
laid the photos out on her desk. There were ten in all, counting the one with
her and Logan. All of them were in black and white, all showed Logan with a
woman. A beautiful woman…every time.
The
prickle of jealousy running along her spine bothered her. Logan had told her
he’d been with other women, mostly to ease the loneliness of being on the road.
He’d been open and honest about all of it. And Melody knew that rock stars were
magnets for groupies and hangers-on.
The
women in the photos included actresses, several were models, and one was a
television reality show star. All were in the public eye, all of them linked
with to other famous men through a series of relationships. Except me .
She
opened her notebook, scribbling on the blank page. Then she looked at the
location of each photo. Some were of Logan and the woman leaving a building, as
if the photographer was waiting outside. In some, Logan or the woman was
looking at the camera.
But
in three, the photographs showed Logan and the woman inside. One of them was of
Logan with a model, Irina someone. Melody recognized her from a perfume ad.
They were eating dinner, the shot clearing taken from outside the restaurant.
There were other diners in the foreground, blurry and indistinct. She thought
it might have been taken with a telephoto lens.
In
the photo of her and Logan, the shot was clear, but appeared to be taken at
very close range. There were no other people in the photo, just her and