A/N: Here is the first chapter of the sequel to 'Her Temptation' some of you have been waiting for. I really hope you'll like my new OC just as much as you liked Elle. In my head Lynn is played by Bellamy Young, as you can see on the cover image.

I owe a HUGE thank you to shelovesshoes, who's been helping me with the story from the beginning. This fic wouldn't exist without you. 3

Please let me know what you think, you know I treasure each and every review.

I don't own The Good Wife, the characters I borrowed from the show, or the title.

Chapter One

Her red nails are nervously tapping on the notepad in front of her, not caring who else is able to see it. She also keeps checking her Cartier watch, as unobtrusively as she can, hoping that would bring this presentation to an end sooner, but it somehow isn't working. She looks around the room, trying to divert her thoughts of her problem, because there is nothing she can do about it while she is in there listening to her fellow aldermen of the City Council holding a speech on diversity hiring.

The room is full of business women and Lynn knows most of them by name, since they meet regularly. Many of those women are eager to be friends with her, since her intention to run for mayor on the next elections has been leaked through certain channels. And that is exactly why her problem needs an immediate intervention, before her well thought out plan gets buried under the trash.

Her gaze suddenly stops on a certain blonde woman she already noticed a few other times. She has a name in Chicago, but that is not the reason why Lynn has shown interest in her on the first place. It has more to do with the way she looks, her always perfectly styled hair and make-up, her elegant dresses or skirts that usually end well over her knees showing off her long neat legs. Also the way she smiles and laughs has caught her attention, but she hasn't taken these thoughts any further.

She can never know with women in a certain status, it's hard to tell which team they are playing for. Lynn herself is a good example after all, she's been able to hide her interest in women from the public eye despite her political career. And ironically even the problem she has to deal with now is from a completely different nature. It's much harder to fight lies than the actual truth, when a simple acknowledgement is not even an option.

What she needs now is a crisis manager and maybe a lawyer and suddenly the certain woman she's still looking at provides both answers in one. She's heard that Eli Gold joined Stern, Lockhart Gardner not long ago, so the solution is actually easier than she thought. All she needs to do is walk up to the woman, she's been admiring from afar for long, who happens to be the only female name partner at the said firm and ask for her help.

That might sound easy, but it's the complete opposite. Simply because talking to a woman she has a crush on without showing that she does is a challenge on its own, not to mention asking for help in such a delicate matter isn't something she does willingly either. But part of her is glad she finally has a good enough 'excuse' to introduce herself to the woman and hopefully get to know her better, which would definitely be an upside of this situation.

She knows she has no time to waste, she has to act quickly, so the moment the crowd, including the blonde start clapping, Lynn folds the notepad she hasn't even used, ready to catch Diane Lockhart before she leaves. Only when the woman stands up does she have a chance to properly observe her maroon, belted dress, with V-neck and long sleeves that fits her silhouette perfectly and she looks her up and down before she steps next to the blonde lawyer.

"Excuse me, Miss Lockhart."

"Miss Cooper," she greets her with a smile.

Although they were never introduced Lynn isn't surprised Diane knows who she is and seems to welcome her approach. And seeing that smile from close is even more enthralling, even if it's just common courtesy.

"Lynn," she extends her hand and offers the first name basis. She's the younger one from the two of them, but her status allows her to do so and she takes this opportunity happily.

"Diane," she replies and shakes her offered hand firmly.

"May I talk to you for a few minutes privately?" Lynn bites her lower lip to mask her insecurity, which doesn't suit her image and she can only hope the other woman doesn't notice anything.

"Now?" Diane asks and checks the time on her gold Vintage watch.

Lynn is aware that Diane's just as busy as her, but she hopes her position is reason enough for her not to say no to such a suggestion.

"Yes, it won't take long, I promise," she supports her words with a smile that might help convince Diane.

"All right," she agrees and looks around, "Where should we go?"

"I think there are private rooms down the hall, I'm sure we'll find an empty one."

They're walking towards the exit side by side while Lynn tries to decide how to approach the subject once they are alone. When they enter the room and close the door behind them Diane turns to her.

"I'm listening."

Lynn shows her appreciation with a smile that fades away quickly due to her inner battle over deciding what to share and what to hold back. She's aware the woman might look at her differently the minute she hears the whole story, not that it has anything to do with the truth. Diane's opinion matters to her even if they've only known each other for five minutes, but she also knows whatever she might believe from what Lynn tells her it won't really factor in her decision to take her case.

"I'm going to need the services of your firm very soon. It's partly about crisis management, I heard Eli Gold has joined you recently."

"Yes," Diane nods and politely waits for her to finish what she has to say.

"I'm considering hiring him as my campaign manager, if he accepts, but first there is a more pressing matter that needs to be taken care of," she doesn't want to reveal too many details too quickly, but she's sure from the way she's talking about it Diane can guess the nature of the problem.

"How pressing?"

"An article will be out this Saturday. I'm thinking of taking legal actions right away if it really appears, but maybe something can be done to stop it in the first place."

"How damaging is that article?" Diane asks the question Lynn has been trying to avoid answering to, but now she has to come up with a version of the truth without putting herself into a bad light in front of the woman and the words don't come easily.

"It falsely accuses me of an inappropriate relationship and that's not how I wanted to kick off my mayoral campaign," she adds to try and shift the focus from the first part of the sentence and help convince Diane to say yes.

"I understand that and I'm sure Eli will be more than willing to help."

"I'd prefer if a lawyer handled it from the start, you to be precise."

She needs Eli's help too, but Diane has to take the lead on this case from the beginning, because she has already gained her trust with the way she's acted towards her and with each passing minute she feels more and more comfortable in her presence.

"If that is what you want, I'm ready to help with whatever you need. I have a court date in a half an hour, but we can meet afterwards in my office. How about 2 o'clock?"

"That works for me."

"Do you want me to talk to Eli in advance or ask him to join the meeting?"

"I'd like to talk to him myself," she appreciates that Diane already wants to take control and it feels good to share the burden with someone who's judgment she's able to trust, but she also needs her seat at the steering wheel.

"Of course, but in case you need anything else," Diane opens her elegant beige leather handbag and pulls out a small piece of paper and a pen, "Here is my card, I'm adding my private number."

While Diane writes on the card, Lynn takes out her business card and also adds her private number on it. She couldn't be happier with the way Diane's dealing with her and she changes cards with her with a content smile.

"Thank you, I really appreciate this."

"I have to go now, but I'll see you soon," Diane says with a half smile, holding Lynn's card between her fingers.

"I'll be there at 2," Lynn nods and watches as the woman walks out the door.

For a moment her eyes stay glued to the open door then they fall on the card in her hand. It was almost too easy to get Diane Lockhart's private number, but she treasures it nevertheless. She pulls out her cell phone and saves the number under the name and stares at it for a few seconds before she puts it away. She finds herself looking forward to see Diane's name flashing on her screen for the first time.

But for that to happen she actually needs to go into details about that article first. She couldn't tell what Diane's exact reaction was to the phrase 'inappropriate relationship', because she didn't give her time to show any. And maybe it looked like Diane is on her side, but she'll probably judge her no matter what she reveals from her feelings.

It bothers Lynn because she really wishes she could maintain the good first impression she seems to have had on Diane. Because apart from wanting her as her lawyer, she still very much entertains the idea of wanting her in a completely different way. And the biggest problem is that she still doesn't know if the other woman would be up for that.