A/N: This chapter picks up where Ch 28 left off.

Chapter 29 – Jealous- Part 1

"Well look at you; you're still alive," Johanna said as she entered Jim's apartment after work that day. "I guess you didn't need that ambulance either. You even made it to the couch. I'm so proud."

"Aren't you perky," he replied sarcastically. Her lunch date with Antonio must've agreed with her. The thought sent a surge of irrational anger through his veins.

"Is it a crime to have a good day at work?" she asked as she sat down her purse and briefcase and shrugged out of her coat; carrying it to the closet to hang it up.

"I shaved," Jim remarked, remaining in his spot on the sofa, where he had been waiting on her for the last hour.

"I see that; very nice."

"I thought you'd be here a half hour ago."

"I had a last minute issue to take care of at the office," Johanna answered as she crossed the room and sat down in the chair.

"I thought maybe you and Antonio hit it off so well that you decided to have dinner with him too."

She rolled her eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. I'm going to work tomorrow."

"Oh really? You were on your death bed this morning and now you're ready to go back to work. That must've been a miraculous recovery."

He nodded. "It was. Thank God I have a hidden well of strength to tap into to pull me through…since I was left to my own devices."

"I think maybe you should take another day or two and make sure you're up to it, Jim. You don't look like you're better."

"You mean opposed to your lunch date?"

Her brow furrowed in puzzlement. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I guess everyone looks bad after you spent some time with Mr. South America."

"Honey, are you still stewing over that?"

"I'm not stewing over anything."

"There's no reason for you to be acting the way you are. It was business; business that I'm going to share with you. It was nothing more. There were no motel visits like you feared; my virtue didn't suffer from your lack of protection today."

His frown deepened. "What are you saying? I hover around you too much? I get in your way?"

"No!" Johanna exclaimed. "God, you're in a mood today. If I had a problem with anything you do, I would've told you long ago. I was just teasing you, trying to get you to see how silly you're being about this lunch appointment; and notice that I said appointment, not date."

"Same thing."

"It is not. I've had lunch with Jeff before without you or Maggie being present; you didn't seem to have a problem with that."

"Jeff loves you as a sister; he won't try anything with you."

She sighed and shook her head; there was no getting through to him when he was like this. "Did you take your medicine?"

"Yes; unlike some people, I don't have to be coerced when it comes to swallowing a pill."

"Okay, I get it, you're not happy with me today because you sat here all day and thought up some stupid ridiculous fantasy about Antonio Caruthers taking me to lunch. Will you feel better if I tell you that I paid for my own food?"

"Didn't he offer to pay for it?"

"Yes, but I didn't let him."

"So he was trying to make it a date then by offering to pay."

She eyed him. "You pay for my lunch all the time, are those dates?"

"I'm not who we're talking about."

"Well maybe we should talk about it. When we go to lunch together and you pay, what is it?"

"Well it sure as hell isn't an appointment," Jim retorted.

"So then it's a date."

"You know what it is; you don't need me to explain it to you."

"You're like a brick wall today, Jim; nothing's getting through. Did you eat yet?"

"No; I was waiting to see if you were coming back…"

"I told you I'd be here after work."

"Saying it and doing it are two different things, you know; like when you said you'd call and then you didn't."

"Now that's a damn lie," Johanna remarked. "I called at 10:30 this morning and you didn't answer so I figured that you were asleep. I called twice after lunch and the line was busy. I couldn't call after that because my afternoon was packed."

"My mother called," he stated in reference to the line being busy. "Word got around that I was sick. She was concerned."

"Are you implying that I haven't been concerned?"

"You don't seem to be today. What if the line was busy because I was calling the ambulance?"

She gave a short laugh. "You were in no danger of needing an ambulance, Jim."

"You don't know that."

"I'm pretty sure I do; and I know that I've been concerned about you. If I wasn't, I wouldn't have drove you to the doctor, I wouldn't be here every day cooking your meals, giving you your medicine, cleaning up your apartment, bringing you your stuff from work, delegating tasks to Sally in your absence, calling and checking on you every chance I get. What more do I have to do to prove that I was concerned?"

He shrugged. "Well when I didn't answer the phone this morning, you could've sent someone over to make sure I was still breathing."

"Oh for God's sake," she muttered as she got up from the chair. "I'm going to make dinner; and let's not forget that I'm able to do that because I went out the other night and bought you some groceries since you don't like to shop too often."

"So how was lunch?" he asked as he followed her to the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"It was all business and we'll discuss it after we eat. Antonio sent you some notes he made about the case."

Jim smirked. "Isn't that nice of him."

"Jim, don't be a jackass…it's not attractive."

"You keep mentioning that I'm not attractive today."

"I didn't say that at all," she retorted as she slammed the skillet down on the stove. "Now stop this or you are going to need an ambulance because I'm going to hit you with the damn skillet."

"I never threatened to hit you while you were recovering."

"I could tell you were thinking about it a few times though, and don't bother to deny it."

"I would've never done it though…you on the other hand…well, you've got a bad temper."

"Only when provoked and you seem to be doing a good job at that today and all because of who I ate lunch with. I could maybe see you behaving this way if I had lunch with Charles Patterson since you hate his guts but I don't get the big deal with Antonio. What did he ever do to you?"

"Does he have to have done something to make me dislike him?" he asked. "You dislike Melanie and I've never really seen where she's done anything to you other than a few catty remarks."

At the mention of her nemesis, Johanna slammed the door of the fridge with a little more force than necessary. "Don't get me started on that bitch. Her comments and snotty looks are plenty of reason for me to dislike her. If you think she's so much and likeable, let her come over here and make dinner for you."

"She probably doesn't know how to cook."

"I'm sure she'd be willing to make it up in other ways; after all, you are at the top of her list of potential victims. I guess that little sample you gave her last year must've made a big impression; she wants to come back for more."

"It's not what you think."

"Mhmm," she said as she took a knife from the drawer to peel potatoes. "I just bet it isn't what I think."

"You think I slept with her?"

"I know you slept with her," she said sharply.

"You don't know anything about it."

"I know what I heard."

"And you'd believe that over me?"

"When it comes to Melanie? Oh yeah, I'll believe it over you. You're not going to admit it; you know I wouldn't be able to resist commenting on it since I hate her and think that you could do better."

"You're free to believe what you want; and I'd tell you about it if I wanted to. It isn't like it would've mattered much to you; you were with that pretty boy ad-man Brad then…you don't see me asking if you slept with him."

Johanna spun around to face him. "Number one, I didn't ask you if you slept with Melanie; you're the one who brought that up. Number two, no, I didn't sleep with Brad; that's one of the reasons he dumped me, I kept putting him off. Happy now?"

He did feel a little better but he couldn't admit that. He'd have to keep that glee private. "What's for dinner?"

"Whatever the hell I put down in front of you."

"Sounds good."

"You better fall in line," she said as she returned to her tasks. "And you never did answer my question; did Antonio do something to you?"

Besides making her blush, giggle and taking her to lunch…no, not really, Jim thought to himself; but he hated to see all of the women fawning over Antonio; looking like a bunch of silly school girls and in his opinion, the guy was arrogant about his effect on them. He couldn't help it that he wanted Johanna to be immune to Don Juan's charm. She was his girl…he'd take her to lunch and make her smile, blush and giggle. He wished that they didn't have to work this case with Antonio…or that he and Antonio didn't have to work it with Johanna. He wanted her far away from the man. Better yet, he wanted the man deported and that would take care of everything.

"I just don't like him."

She nodded. "Okay…but he seems very nice."

"If you like foreigners."

"Since when do you have a problem with foreigners?"

"It's not all foreigners…just certain ones."

She eyed him. "You're dangerously close to sounding like my father."

Jim shrugged. "I'm not bothered by that at the moment. Do you want to get me a beer?"

"No; you shouldn't drink when you're on medication. I'll get you some juice."

"I don't want juice. I'm sick of juice."

She jerked the door of the fridge open and grabbed a can of soda and sat it down on the table in front of him. "Here, your majesty; does that suit you?"

"That's fine," he replied.

"You know, technically my grandmother is a foreigner so you might want to watch your step about immigrants."

"Women foreigners are fine, especially if they're grandmothers."

"You just don't like the male ones?"

He shook his head. "We have plenty of men in this country, we don't need anymore…especially the ones of Antonio's ilk."

"I'm not even going to touch that one," she replied.

"You didn't even check me for fever when you came in," he commented.

"God give me strength," Johanna muttered as she placed the sliced potatoes in the skillet and turned on the burner before moving to his side. She laid her hand against his forehead and then his cheek. "You feel cool, there's no fever. Feel better now?"

"I don't know…are you staying after dinner?"

"Of course I am," she answered, cupping his face as she pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I'm going to wash the dishes, tell you everything about my day, watch TV with you and tuck you in and tell you a bedtime story, okay?"

He grinned. "What about a kiss goodnight?"

"I always kiss you goodnight, don't I?"

"Not always."

"More often than not; but I promise to kiss you tonight if it'll ease your mind."

"I might be feeling a little better about it now."

"I certainly hope so. I don't want your relapse on my conscience."

He smiled but there was a sour feeling in his stomach; he didn't want Antonio on her mind either…he didn't relish competition for what he considered his.


"Are you sure you haven't rushed yourself in coming back to work?" Johanna asked the next morning as Jim joined her and Antonio in the conference room.

"I'm fine," he remarked. "Is there some reason you don't want me here?"

"Of course not!" she exclaimed. "But I don't want you killing over on me either. What would that say about my nursing skills?"

"I guess it would say that you didn't have any."

"Hey," she retorted; "That's not very nice."

"I meant it as people would think that if something happened to me."

She eyed him with an arched brow. "Then why did it sound like you were saying that I had no skill?"

"Because you sometimes hear things that aren't there."

"I'm not the only one," she said pointedly.

"I didn't say that you lack skills…unless it's in the department of being a patient. You're horrible at that."

"Like you're much better," she retorted.

Antonio decided that it was time to speak up. "Jim, if you're still not feeling well, Johanna and I can handle things for you for a few more days."

Jim's jaw tightened, he was sure Antonio would like him to be out of the way so that he could 'handle' things…including Johanna; because he had a feeling this man was good at missing hints about who had a claim on her. At least a claim in a round about way…but still a claim none the less and he wasn't going to let this happen.

"I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I wasn't here but I like to handle my own business."

Antonio's gaze darted to Johanna, silently asking if he had done something wrong. "Over look him," Johanna said. "He's cranky when he's sick."

"I'm not sick anymore."

"Fine," she said; "Over look him, his crankiness hasn't gotten the memo that he isn't sick anymore."

Antonio gave a quiet laugh. "You have a quick wit, Senorita; I find that refreshing."

"Thank you," she murmured, a light blush coloring her cheeks at the compliment.

The moment put a knot in Jim's stomach. If he was going to have to watch Antonio flirt with her all day, he'd really be sick. "Where are we on this case?" he asked as he sat down.

"We aren't much of anywhere yet," Johanna answered. "I told you what Antonio and I discussed about splitting up tasks."

Truth be told, he hadn't really listened to it all that clearly. He'd been too busy thinking about her having lunch with another man. "Well let's go over it again now that we're all in the same room."

Johanna blew out a breath; why did she have a feeling that this case was going to be a special brand of hell?


That first day of group work had been like the first shots of a war, Johanna thought to herself a week later. Jim's dislike of their colleague came through loud and clear. Antonio, in response to that, seemed to be embarking on some sort of work related competition with Jim to secure the best piece of evidence for the case. They squabbled like little boys fighting over marbles on the playground and she often found herself playing referee. Sometimes she could find a neutral point and solve the problem without taking sides. Other times she wasn't as lucky. If she sided with Antonio's ideas or comments, she was then subjected to Jim's glares, barbed comments, cool demeanor and more often than not, she had to find her own way home from work…which she didn't really mind after spending any amount of time with both of them.

Antonio was more accepting when she sided against him. He seemed to value her opinion and input. Overall she thought he was a very nice man. He was very friendly with a good sense of humor and he always offered a compliment with a warm smile. He always greeted his female colleagues with a soft kiss brushed against their hand and while she'd willingly admit that he was indeed a handsome man, and that the gesture did bring a blush to her cheeks, she had no romantic interest in him. She didn't feel as though he had any such designs on her either but Antonio's kindness toward her only served to increase Jim's ire. He seemed to grow angrier every day, watching them as they worked, convincing himself of something that wasn't there. If she laughed at something Antonio said, his jaw would tighten and his eyes would shoot daggers at her. If she worked on a task with him, Jim would basically ignore her the rest of the day. If she shared lunch with the man while out interviewing witnesses, he grew livid.

Johanna sighed; even the weekend hadn't cooled his temper or prevailed upon him to think with an ounce of logical sense. Even his usual Sunday phone call was full of barbed comments and terse statements. She tried to be patient with him, tried to assure him that nothing was going on…which technically she didn't have to do since he had made no commitment to her. But no matter what she said or did, Jim wouldn't listen to reason. She was still shaking her head over the fact that Maggie had caught him watching the door of the stairwell to see how long it took her and Antonio to appear after he had spotted them taking the stairs. According to Maggie, taking the stairs had taken longer than it should have in Jim's opinion.

He was, without a doubt, being a bear. He was cold and surly, and he often gathered up his papers and left the conference room for one excuse or another. It didn't escape her notice that this usually happened when Antonio had her engaged in conversation.

Johanna reluctantly pushed herself out of her chair and gathered up her files. She dreaded another afternoon with them…it almost certainly guaranteed a headache. She took her time, hoping that if she arrived to the room late that they would've already killed each other and she could go home early. She moved slowly, pausing in front of Sharon's desk and lowering her head in defeat.

"Back to the war zone, huh?" her friend said in sympathy.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I have to go babysit the children and try to make them play nice."

Sharon's brown eyes danced in amusement. "Jim's so afraid that Antonio is stealing you away."

She shook her head. "What am I going to do with him?"

"I keep telling you what to do with him; you just haven't done it yet."

Johanna gave her a look. "I meant something that wouldn't mess up my hair and require a shower afterwards."

Sharon laughed. "Well then I guess you could do what you've been doing up until this point, or…"

"Or what?"

"Or you could tell him that you lo…"

"Shhh!" Johanna said, waving a hand at the woman. "Don't say that here."

The secretary burst into laughter. "What, it's a secret?"

"Yes."

"No it isn't," Sharon replied; "Everyone knows it and sees it."

"Apparently not everyone," she said; "Or I wouldn't have these problems."

"Spell it out and tell him; your headache will go away."

"No; and you know why."

"Jo…"

"Sharon," she mimicked.

Her friend smirked at her. "Save the smart ass for the bozos down the hallway."

Johanna laughed and then turned serious. "I guess I have to go down there…"

"I guess you do."

She sighed. "Have the Advil bottle open when I get back."

Sharon smiled. "Don't I always?


Unfortunately for Johanna, Frick and Frack hadn't killed each other before her arrival. They were, however, already engaged in battle about the visitation and interviewing to be conducted at the second company involved in their case. Johanna felt an ache beginning in her head as she moved into the room and put her files on the table.

"What's the problem now?" she asked; raising her voice so that she could be heard.

Jim and Antonio both began talking at once to her and she held up a hand to silence them. "Why don't we just split up the list and then we can each take our individual list and go when it's convenient for each person to see this place and to talk to people," she suggested.

Jim shook his head. "No; I think you and I should go do it together. It's the smaller of the two companies so I don't see why we need to split up. Besides, it can be beneficial to have two people listening. You've often said that yourself."

"That's true," she replied, but before she could continue on, Antonio spoke up.

"Why can't Johanna and I go do it?" he asked. "You already looked over the other place and made a list of people to talk to further. We could handle this one. There are plenty of interviews to do, not only at the companies themselves but also at their various business holdings."

Jim smirked at him. "I'm well aware of the fact that we have a lot of people to talk to. Now I'm going out to the smaller company today and Johanna is going with me."

"I don't think that's fair. I got left out on the visit to the other company when you first went there."

"You were in court," Jim retorted. "I had time to go so I went."

"Well I have time now so I say I should go with Johanna to this company."

He frowned, he hated the way Johanna's name sounded in the man's thickly accented voice. He also hated how the man seemed to be laying claim to her not to mention the hundred other little things he did that annoyed him. "She goes with me," he said firmly. Couldn't this idiot take a hint?

"I've got an idea," Johanna said; "How about the two of you go and I'll stay here with my bottle of Advil and comb through these files some more. Problem solved."

"No!" they both protested.

She sighed and hung her head as Jim spoke again. "You're going with me."

"I'm going too," Antonio remarked firmly, his tone daring Jim to challenge him.

"Fine, we'll all go," he sneered.

"Oh God," Johanna muttered.

"Is there a problem?" Antonio asked.

"No, I was just seeing the need for a stiff drink in my future."

"I'll buy you one later," Jim hurried to say before Antonio could take it into his head to offer.

"Is there going to be a debate about whose car we're going in?" she asked.

"I'm going in my car," Jim stated; "And you're going with me…like you always do."

"That's fine with me," she replied; pretending not to notice the blatant implication that Antonio wasn't invited to ride with them. "I have to get my purse and I'll be ready to go."

"I'll meet you at your office," Jim said as he walked her to the door, turning his back on their colleague.

She sighed internally; she sensed a testosterone fueled battle of wills on their little field trip. Why couldn't this have been someone else's case?


It was the end of the work day when they arrived back at the law firm, the ache in Johanna's head having expanded during the course of their outing. Now she was sandwiched between the two men as they headed for the steps, listening to them argue over some small point that she felt had no significant bearing on the case. But of course they had been subtly bickering the whole time. She didn't know why she had to go along; three was far too many and she had been regulated to the sidelines for the most part as the men tried to one up each other when it came to investigating and speaking to some of the people in question. She would've rather stayed at the office.

Glancing to the top of the steps, she saw Sharon standing there with Phil, watching her with a little smile on her face as she wiggled her fingers at her in a wave. She smiled at her friend, the sight of her much welcomed and she returned her wave. Johanna hadn't been paying attention to her feet as she met Sharon's gaze and she stepped oddly, causing her foot to slide off the step and sending her forward in a fall. Jim and Antonio both reached for her at the same time, Antonio beating Jim by a mere millisecond, pulling Johanna closer to him as he helped her regain her footing as he spoke in Spanish to her.

Johanna gave him a small laugh as her cheeks colored with embarrassment at her clumsiness. "I'm afraid you took the advanced course in Spanish…and my two years from high school is a bit rusty."

"Forgive me," Antonio smiled. "I was asking if you were alright?"

"I'm fine; I just miss-stepped," she assured. "I'm not usually so clumsy."

Tightness marred Jim's features as he watched the scene; of course Antonio had to be the rescuer. As he saw the man gently wrap a hand around Johanna's arm to guide her up the rest of the steps, he reached out and grabbed her hand, not about to be out done.

"Maybe it's your shoes," Jim remarked tensely, tugging at her hand to pull her closer to him and somewhat away from Antonio. "Maybe if you didn't wear such high heels, you wouldn't be taking the chance of breaking your neck."

Johanna smiled at him, her fingers entwining with his but he barely noticed. "That's a real good imitation of my father that you just did."

He scoffed. "The man can't be wrong all the time."

"I don't know about that."

"Are you sure you didn't hurt yourself, senorita?" Antonio asked. "You didn't twist your ankle or anything did you?"

"No, I'm fine."

"She's not limping," Jim stated. "She's fine."

Johanna glanced up at Sharon and Phil, mouthing the words, 'Help me' but her friends merely laughed and she sent them both a glare.

A voice called out Antonio's name and he glanced up at the landing as well and waved at a man who was equally as handsome as he was. "That's my brother, Carlos," he explained. "Will you excuse me?"

"Of course," Johanna smiled. "See you tomorrow."

Jim offered nothing, merely pulled Johanna closer now that her arm was free from Antonio's helpful grasp.

"Well," Sharon said as they reached the landing; "Looks like you had two people wanting to be your hero today."

"I suppose so," Johanna answered; cutting her gaze to Jim. "You can catch me next time," she told him.

"I would've caught you this time."

"I know you would have," she assured, giving his hand a squeeze since he hadn't removed it from her grasp.

Sharon's eyes danced in amusement as she glanced over at Antonio and his brother. "Who is that other man?"

"He said it's his brother Carlos," she replied.

"Hmm," her secretary said. "There's certainly something good in the gene pool."

"Or there's something in the water in Argentina," Johanna said in a hushed laugh.

"Amen," the other woman replied as Jim dropped Johanna's hand. "We should go there next summer."

"Excuse me?" Phil said.

Sharon smiled at her boyfriend. "Just to look around…I wouldn't touch anything…unless absolutely necessary," she said with a conspirator grin at Johanna who laughed in response.

The men glared at them. "You two make me sick," Jim remarked; "Fawning all over him just because of a stupid accent and a face you can see on ten different movie stars."

"There's a difference," Sharon remarked. "We have to pay to look at movie stars; he's free to look at."

"Besides, it doesn't mean anything," Johanna said in hopes of assuring him. "I'm sure the two of you ogle any number of women on a daily basis."

"That's not true," Phil said; "And even if we did, we'd do it discreetly."

"Uh huh," Sharon said with a roll of her eyes. "Hey, Jo; do you think if I tripped down a stair or two, one of them would come rushing to rescue me?"

"Do you want me to push you so you can find out?" Phil asked somewhat tartly.

"No thanks, you might send me down more steps than I want."

"I think I've heard enough of this," Jim said, walking away to enter the building.

Johanna sighed as she watched him go. "He's a very jealous man," her friend remarked. "You should've seen the look on his face when Antonio caught you before he could."

"The jealousy was sweet at first," she admitted; "But now it's getting a little much."

"So what are you going to do about it?"

Johanna pondered that for a moment. "I guess I'm going to go beg for a ride home and then ask him to stay for dinner."

"Good luck," Sharon told her before Phil led her away.

After she gathered up what she needed from her office and relocked the door, Johanna made the trek down the hallway to Jim's office and knocked on the open door.

"What?"

"Can I catch a ride home with you?"

He was quiet for a moment which made her slightly uncomfortable. "Yeah, I'll take you home."

"You don't have to if you don't want to…if you have plans or something."

Jim shook his head. "No, it's fine. I'll take you, let's go."


When they reached Johanna's door, she unlocked it and pushed it open and then looked at him in puzzlement when he made no move to follow her. If he didn't plan on coming in, why did he walk her to the door? "Aren't you coming in?" she asked.

"No, not this time," Jim answered.

"Why not? I was going to make dinner...I thought you could stay and eat with me."

Jim shook his head. "No thanks."

She frowned and sat her purse and briefcase inside and stepped back into the hallway to be closer to him. "You're turning down a free meal?" she asked in disbelief.

"I'm not hungry."

She laid her soft hand against his forehead and he breathed deeply, inhaling her scent. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm checking you for fever," she replied. "Turning down a free meal and not being hungry could be the sign of a relapse."

He was momentarily tempted to fake one just to have her fuss over him for the night but he decided against it. "I'm fine, Jo."

She caressed his face and locked her gaze upon his. "What's going on with you, Jim?" she asked softly. "Besides your obvious dislike of Antonio."

"Nothing..."

"Come on, talk to me."

"It's nothing, Jo...at least nothing that I haven't already told you."

She gave him a soft smile. "I told you nothing is going on."

"Yeah, I know what you told me."

"So believe me."

He shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets, sensing that she wasn't through with him. "Is there anything else...maybe something that's bugging you and maybe making you see other things for something they aren't?"

"No."

"Are you sure? I know you have that big case in court right now...it's a difficult case; I know how hard you've worked on it."

"It should be over tomorrow," Jim told her.

Johanna smiled. "I'm sure you'll win."

"I hope so."

"I know you will," she affirmed. "Tanner doesn't stand a chance against you."

He smiled then and she thought maybe she was getting somewhere. "I hope the jury thinks as highly of my abilities as you do."

"If they're smart they do."

She had been so supportive of him for the case he had in court, listening to him every time he had a rant or needed a sounding board.

"You sure you don't want to come in and stay for dinner?" she asked, her hand brushing against his chest. "I'll make whatever you want; with the exception of fried chicken...I don't have any chicken thawed out. After dinner we could watch TV together and take a break from work."

It sounded very tempting...he'd love to spend an evening with her, and a part of him would like to spend the entire night with her...showing her that she didn't need any other man flitting around her, making her forget that any other man even existed. But there was a stubborn part of him that refused to give in, clinging to his irritation about her behavior with Antonio, despite the soft feel of her lips brushing against his cheek. "No, I better go."

Disappointment flashed across her features. "Are you sure?" she asked, her tone begging him to reconsider.

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I better head home. I have some things to take care of."

Johanna stepped back from him, admitting defeat. "Okay,"murmured. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'll pick you up for work," Jim said as he pressed a quick kiss against her cheek in silent apology.

"Alright, I'll see you then."

He said goodbye and walked away and Johanna stepped back inside her apartment and closed the door, blowing out a breath as she did so. Jim had missed a chance, she thought to herself as she turned on the lights. On the drive over, she had made up her mind that she'd take Sharon's advice. If Jim had stayed and made a move, she was set to see it through...or at least she had told herself that. It seemed to be the only way she could come up with to truly convince him that he was the one she wanted. They could've gone through with it...and maybe it would've changed the status of their relationship...and then she could've told him that she loved him...and maybe if she was lucky, he'd say it to her. Johanna padded into the kitchen, shaking her head as she went. There was no point in dwelling on lost opportunities...but she had to admit that there was a part of her that was disappointed that she didn't get to put that plan in motion.


The next day after his court appearance, Jim was in better spirits. He had come away with a victory for his case and as he walked down the hallway of the law firm, he couldn't wait to see Johanna to tell her all about it. He still felt somewhat bad about declining her dinner invitation the night before but he'd make it up to her today. He'd take her to lunch...somewhere nice; a diner wouldn't do for a celebration. Hell, he'd take her to dinner too; somewhere fancy that she could get dressed up for and he'd spoil her with a bottle of champagne. It would be the perfect end to the day...and if he was lucky, he'd get to steal plenty of kisses from her too. It was a good plan he decided as he marched into Johanna's office.

"Is she in?" he asked as he came to a stop in front of Sharon's desk.

She looked up at him with a raised brow. "Well don't you look a little happier today," the secretary stated.

"I'm always happy when I win," he remarked. "Where's Jo? I want to tell her."

Sharon glanced away for a moment, putting him slightly on edge. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No...but when she got back from court this morning, Antonio came by and asked her to go with him to interview a few people for the case you're all working on. She said she'd go but that she had to be back before one because her afternoon is pretty tightly packed. He said he'd bring her back right after lunch and then continue on his own until he meets up with both of you late in the day."

"I see," he said gruffly; his happiness dissipating at the thought of her sharing yet another lunch with Don Juan.

"Jim," Sharon said gently. "Jo doesn't want him and if you think she does, you're crazy."

"It doesn't seem like she does much to keep distance between them."

"Don't be silly; she has to work with him the same as you do."

"You don't see me eating with him."

She sighed. "Jim; Jo goes on these things with Antonio so you don't have to."

"Right."

"Don't go getting bent out of shape. She doesn't want him...and she only finds jealousy cute and sweet for so long and then it starts to piss her off so you better start cooling your heels."

"Maybe she ought to cool hers," he retorted; "Or whatever it is he inspires in her."

"Jim!"

"Bye, Sharon," he said as he turned on his heel and left the office. His happiness was gone now, his victory somewhat hallow now that he couldn't share it with Johanna. Jeff was coming down the hallway and saw the scowl on his face and turned to fall into step with him.

"What's eating you...or do I need to bother asking?"

"You probably know," Jim said sharply, but his best friend followed him anyway. It was good to know that someone was loyal. Antonio was just determined to move in on Johanna. What was he going to do? How was he going to compete with him?

"Do you want to go to lunch and tell me about the latest development?" Jeff asked.

"I'm not hungry."

His friend shrugged. "So? You can still sit at a table with me and talk about what's on your mind."

"Fine," he said as he dropped his briefcase on the desk. "I may as well since I can't go with anyone else."

Jeff laughed. "Jim, I'm touched to be second best in your life...it just goes to prove how much you really do love Sassy."

"Shut up," he said bitterly.

"Look at that, no denial."

"Do you want me to eat with you or not?" Jim asked tersely.

"Of course, I don't want to miss the newest segment of the continuing saga that is Sassy McKenzie and Jim Beckett." Jim glared at him but Jeff only smiled. "Don't worry; she's your girl...everyone knows it."

"Not everyone," he muttered as they approached the elevator.


Jim was standing in the break room with Jeff awhile later, a cup of coffee in hand as he stared off into space with a scowl still etched upon his face.

"What's wrong with him?" Phil asked, nodding at Jim moments after he joined them.

"He's got woman trouble," Jeff remarked.

"That's always a bitch; what kind of woman trouble?"

Jeff grinned. "Well you see, Phil; we have here a prime example of a man who hasn't properly filed a claim on his woman. Now our resident Latin lover has treaded into his territory."

"That's not good," Phil replied. "But if the proper claim hasn't been filed…then it's hard to do anything about trespassers."

"Very true," Jeff agreed. "When there isn't a public claim on what you consider your property, squatters can move right in on it and they then have rights to what you thought was yours. It just goes to show that it's best to do things properly."

"You're right," the other man agreed. "Squatters have rights and there isn't much you can legally do about them when you haven't taken precautions."

"Which brings us to the scowl on Jimmy boy's face," Jeff remarked. "Don Juan whisked Sassy away to a business lunch while he was stuck in court. Now he's debating which method would be best for orchestrating the man's demise. Judging from the tight set of the jaw and the slight red color of the skin hinting at extreme anger, I'm guessing that he not only wants something painful for the enemy, but something messy as well."

Phil nodded. "I'd say that's a safe bet, but you know, he doesn't really have any right to go to war with Don Juan when he never made it clear that Jo was his. I mean he's made no commitment, no public announcement, nothing."

"I know…but you see, Jim suffers from head in ass syndrome. He thinks he can resist the strings attached relationship and yet have all of the benefits of one. Now, I'm not blaming him completely; Sassy's at fault too…if she'd quit giving him free samples, he might pull his head out of his ass faster."

"Maybe she thinks that's the only way she can get him."

"Then I'm going to have to have a talk with her…I'll have to wait until Jim isn't feeling a murderous rage though. I don't want him to get the wrong idea and kill me by mistake. He'd feel guilty about that and I'd haunt him for the rest of his life…not to mention that it would probably blow any chance he had with Sassy."

"You know I can hear you, right?" Jim asked as he glanced at his best friend.

"Of course, why do you think we're talking about you?"

"Shut up."

"Truth hurts, doesn't it?" Jeff asked.

"I'm not in mood for your jokes," Jim remarked.

"Who was joking?"

"Why don't you just ask Johanna out in an official way?" Phil asked. "You'd save yourself a lot of aggravation and it's not like she's going to say no…unless it's too late and Antonio has her under his spell for a few weeks."

"Johanna and I have an understanding," Jim replied.

"What understanding?" Jeff inquired.

"That's between us and it's no one's business."

"Is it really an understanding with Johanna?" Phil questioned; "Or is it an understanding that you have with yourself in regard to her? Does she know about it at all?"

"Of course she knows about it!"

"Maybe she'd like to renegotiate her terms," Jeff replied; "You know, aim for a better more exclusive deal."

"Just stay out of it," he huffed. "I have enough problems without you adding to them."

"Come on, Jim," his best friend said; "You know Sassy's crazy about you. She's not interested in Mr. South America. Give her a little more credit."

"I would if she wasn't so friendly with him."

"Jo's a friendly person," Phil commented; "You can't hold that against her. She didn't even look all that thrilled to leave with him today…you know he doesn't take the elevator, he always takes the stairs and I think she feels like she'll be rude if she doesn't follow along but you can tell she's not thrilled with that."

"Then she shouldn't do it," he retorted. "She ought to just keep herself in the damn office."

"She has to work the case," Jeff stated. "When I saw her when they were leaving she mentioned something about interviewing witnesses so I'm sure the lunch was all business."

"She can work the case with me."

"She can work it with whoever she wants," Phil said; "And until you make things official, she can do what she wants privately too."

"I thought you said you didn't think anything was going on."

"I don't…but she'd be within her rights if she wanted to start something. It's not like you're making any offers."

Jim pushed away from the counter. "I've had enough of this for one day."

"Don't go yell at Sally again," Jeff called after him. "One of these days she's going to throw a stapler at your head…she told me so."

"I assure you that Sally's sensitive ears are safe."

"Don't yell at Jo either."

Jim turned back to face them. "Fine, I'll just go call my friend who knows someone in Immigration."

Jeff smiled. "Now that's an idea. I'm proud to call you my friend."

"If you're a true friend, you'll pray the call pays off and he's on a plane, boat or raft by the end of the week."

"Consider it done," Jeff said, raising his hands and interlacing his fingers in a sign of prayer.

"I'll pray too," Phil said. "I don't like the way all of these women act around that idiot. You go get him deported, Jim. It's a community service."

"I'll do my best," he promised.

When he was gone, Jeff looked at Phil. "A community service?"

The other man nodded. "We're a part of the community…and we want service. We also don't want to have to represent him at his insanity hearing…or murder trial."

"You have a point," Jeff admitted. "It is a community service."


At the end of the day, Johanna waited patiently for Antonio to leave the conference room so that she could talk to Jim alone. When she had gotten back to her office earlier that afternoon, Sharon had told her about Jim's visit and how unhappy he was to hear that she was with Antonio again. She hadn't been able to go to him, her afternoon had been packed and when it came time to meet up with him and Antonio, she hadn't wanted to say anything while the other man was in the room. It didn't escape her notice that Jim had chastened the man for setting off on more interviews without discussing it with him…and there had been a sharp comment at her as well but she allowed it to pass without responding. She didn't know how long she'd be able to keep that up…she wasn't a woman who could hold back her temper for long and if Jim kept pushing it, Antonio might not be the only person in the room that he didn't like. Finally their colleague took his leave and she was free to approach Jim as he stacked his papers.

"Hey," she said with a soft smile as she moved to stand next to him. "I heard you won today."

Jim nodded. "Yeah, I did."

"I told you so," she replied, her tone slightly teasing as her arms slipped around him in an embrace that he didn't return as quickly as he usually would have.

"I wanted to tell you myself but you weren't here."

"I know; I'm sorry. I wish I had been. I thought you'd be happier though about pulling this one off."

He had been happy, he thought to himself; until he had learned that she was once again out with Antonio. He shrugged. "I guess you get used to it after awhile and it no longer impresses you."

"I don't believe that for a moment," she replied as she pulled back enough to look up at him; "And just so you know, I'm very impressed."

He gave a short laugh. "Sure you are."

"I am," she said, tugging at the lapels of his suit jacket. "I'm also very proud of you."

Those words probably shouldn't have felt as good as they did but he didn't allow that to stop him from holding her a little closer as a small smile tugged at his lips. "Then I guess it's impressive after all."

"Of course it is; and now you have that worry off of your shoulders. Maybe you'll feel a little better now."

He wouldn't feel better until this case was over and Antonio was sniffing around someone else but he refrained from saying so, not wanting to hear her say again that it wasn't like that…she might not think it was, but he knew it was. But he had her to himself right now and he figured he best not squander an opportunity. "I'll drive you home if you want," he offered.

Johanna smiled up at him before pressing a kiss against his cheek. "I always like for you to take me home."

He returned her smile. "Then let's get out of here before they find more work for us to do."

"You don't have to ask me twice," she replied as she slipped away and gathered up her belongings.

If she only knew, Jim thought to himself. He had been all set to ask her to lunch and then to dinner…but that plan got shot to hell.


As they walked to her door, Johanna allowed her hand to slip into Jim's, hoping it would subtly prove something to him. His fingers wrapped around hers but he couldn't help thinking that she might be trying a little too hard to prove that nothing was going on with Antonio. He tried to shake the thought away; Johanna had always been affectionate with him once they had crossed that first line and kissed…but he wasn't exactly known for being rational these days…and it was all her fault.

"How was your date?" he asked; hoping to keep his tone neutral but failing as a touch of bitterness seeped into it.

Johanna looked at him with puzzlement furrowing her brow. "What date?"

"Your lunch with Don Juan?"

"I wish you'd quit calling him that; he doesn't call you names."

"Of course not; that would mar his stature as Mr. Perfection."

"Jim," she sighed; "It wasn't a date. We went to do those interviews and stopped to eat on the way back. It was no big deal. I paid for my own food…I never let him pay for anything for me."

"And that makes it less a date?"

"Yes," she said firmly; "And you know it. There was nothing date like about it. We talked about work and that's it. I wish you'd quit making a big deal out of it. I don't know why you insist on seeing something that isn't there."

"Maybe because you keep going," he retorted.

Johanna unlocked her door but leaned against it to face him instead of opening it. "I go because it's my job to work this case, just like it's your job…although you don't seem too cooperative at times. Like the other day when you got up and left…and that wasn't the first time."

"I had other things to do."

"Mhmm," she said, disbelief present in her eyes. "You need to calm down and just loosen up a little about this, okay? I know you don't like him but you're stuck with him for a few weeks."

"Maybe if he'd stop trying to take control of everything I would be fine."

"He's not trying to take control of everything."

"Yes he is," he exclaimed. "Don't play dumb."

"I'm not," she retorted. "I know he wants to take on a lot of the work but I don't think it's because he's trying to take over the case. I think it's because he's trying to impress you and earn your respect."

Jim scoffed. "Of course you're going to defend him."

She eyed him. "I spend a bit of time defending you as well, so drop the attitude."

He felt chastened and shifted on his feet. "I wanted to take you to lunch today," Jim mumbled.

Her hand fell against his face in a caress. "I would've liked that…I would've much rather have been with you."

He thought about his plan to take her to dinner but it was too late; he had wanted to take her somewhere nice and he hadn't made any reservations since they hadn't gotten to discuss it over lunch. He supposed he could still take her somewhere less classy…but it didn't feel right and so he left the plan abandoned.

"Maybe we could have lunch tomorrow?" Johanna suggested. "Just you and me…somewhere away from the office?"

There was a nice café a few blocks away from the office that he could take her to, he thought to himself, the idea settling nicely. "That would be nice, sweetheart."

"Good; I'm looking forward to it."

"Me too."

"Do you want to come in for awhile?" Johanna asked; giving a nod at her door.

Jim shook his head. "No…not today."

She sighed as she eyed him. "You know, you could try the patience of a saint lately."

He smiled. "Do you want me to apologize?"

"No; I want you to stop doing it and be yourself again…I miss that guy."

"You don't like this one?"

"It's not a matter of disliking him…it's the matter of it seeming like he dislikes me. Not to mention his habit of being snarky and mean spirited."

"I'll try to control him."

"You do that. Are you sure you don't want to come in?"

"I'm sure."

"Eventually I'm going to start getting offended."

"We don't want that," Jim replied. "I'll come in the next time."

"You promise?"

Jim nodded. "I promise."

"And if you break that promise, I have the right to slap you?"

His lips curved into a smile. "If I break that promise you have the right to punish me in any manner you see fit."

"Good; I'll see you tomorrow."

Without much though, he stepped closer and pulled her against him, claiming her lips in a searing kiss. "Are you really sure you don't want to come in and stay awhile?" she whispered when it was over.

"No…but I'm going to go anyway."

Johanna pushed him away and muttered something about stubborn men that made him laugh. "You're one to talk about stubbornness."

"I think you have me beat lately," she replied; "And don't think I'm going to forget about lunch tomorrow because I'm not."

"I don't want you to forget," he answered. "I'll see you tomorrow."


Jim's level of irritation was had been steadily spiking all the next morning as he sat with his two colleagues. Johanna was supposed to have been in court, but she had appeared an hour after he had met up with Antonio, telling them that her case had been postponed due to a family emergency in the opposing attorney's family. It wasn't that he minded seeing her, he didn't. It wasn't that he didn't want to work with her, he did…but he just couldn't stand how easily she and Antonio got along and when the man had rose from his seat to greet her, including his customary kiss to her hand, he had instantly been in a bad mood.

He'd spent the last two hours listening to Antonio regale her with tales of Buenos Aires and his frown deepened as she seemed enthralled with them. He had interrupted once, remarking that they were supposed to be working, not having a travel and culture lecture. Johanna had given him an odd look and held up her notepad which was covered in notes and questions that pertained to the case. He couldn't accuse her of not working…he should've known that she was a multi-tasker; after all, he'd see her do more than one thing at a time before. What had chaffed him the most was when Antonio had followed her lead and held up his own notes and then launched into a discussion about certain people on the witness list that he didn't feel were beneficial.

Jim had carefully composed the list himself and if someone hadn't been beneficial, he wouldn't have put them on the list. He had argued the point and finally Johanna had been forced to intervene. She agreed with him…to an extent. A flicker of anger flared in his veins as he recalled that she sided with Antonio in the case of one witness who she had already talked to and felt that the woman offered nothing new or important to their case. He retorted that he believed she knew more than she let on but Johanna had shook her head and said that she hadn't seen any indication of deception or that she was hiding something. He was simply reading more into her statement than there was. She seemed to be accusing him of that a lot lately. He had prevailed though, keeping his witness on the list by saying that he'd be the one to talk to her and render a final judgment. Antonio had muttered something under his breath that he couldn't discern and Johanna had merely regarded him with a cool assessing gaze as if she was trying to figure out if he was trying to spite her. Jim wasn't sure what the verdict was on that one.

He did know for a fact that he was sick of listening to her laugh at the Latin Lothario's stupid jokes and stories. He was also tired of seeing the look of fascination on her face, and to make matters worse, it appeared that Don Juan was now helping her brush up on her high school Spanish by reminding her of basic words and phrases. He just couldn't stand it anymore.

"Do you really need to learn another language, Jo?" he asked. "You already know English and Italian."

She turned her head to look at him. "It doesn't hurt to know as many languages as possible; especially in this city where there's so many cultures. I'm sure it could come in handy for work too."

"But isn't that what we pay translators for when we have someone who speaks a different language?"

Antonio spoke up before she could comment. "You speak Italian?" he asked Johanna.

"Yes to an extent," she answered. "My mother is better at it than I am but I know enough to get by and I can read it pretty well but that's probably because I can take my time with a text. Spanish is similar to Italian isn't it?"

"In some small ways," he replied. "But in others they're very different, but I find that once you master a second language that learning a third is easier."

Jim stifled a groan; was he implying that he had more in repertoire than Spanish and English? Was there no end to the talents of magical Antonio Caruthers?

"How many languages do you speak?" Johanna asked him and Jim had to force himself not to slam his fist against the table.

"I speak Spanish, English, French and a little bit of Portuguese but I wouldn't claim to be fluent in that one."

"Oh why not?" Jim said with a hint of sarcasm. "Don't be so modest."

Johanna shot him a look and then glanced back to Antonio. "French is such a romantic sounding language," she commented.

He grinned at her, his dark eyes sparkling. "Ah yes, the French fancy themselves as romantics, but they are not nearly as romantic as the people of Argentina."

She laughed lightly and Jim grinded his teeth. "Maybe I'll go there one day."

"You should senorita, it's a beautiful country; you would enjoy Buenos Aires."

"How did you come to learn French?"

"My father, who is a diplomat, his travels took us all over the world but we spent a great deal of time in France during the winters of my country, which of course is your summertime."

"That's fascinating."

"Let's break for lunch," Jim stated. He couldn't take another minute of this. He had to get away. He gathered up his belongings and started for the door but Johanna called out to him.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"I just told you we were stopping for a break."

"I know, but we had plans. Aren't we still on for lunch?" she asked.

He paused in the doorway and looked at her. "No, I don't think so."

Johanna looked like she had been slapped. "Why not?"

"I have something to do?"

"What?"

"Work."

"But Jim…we just made the plans yesterday, you knew your schedule then so I don't understand."

"There was something I forgot," Jim said coolly. "Go with Sharon."

"Sharon's meeting Phil."

"Go with Maggie."

"She's with Jeff."

"Then go by yourself," he replied. "You're a big girl, you can have lunch by yourself."

Her gaze darted away and he saw her blink back the sting of tears, making him regret that he was bailing on her but it seemed too late to change his mind now…and besides, he didn't really want to change his mind.

"Beautiful women should never eat lunch alone," Antonio remarked gently. "I would be happy to have lunch with you, Johanna."

Her gaze darted quickly to Jim. "You don't have to do that, Antonio; I'll be fine."

"It's not a hardship," the man assured. "I enjoy your company and I can tell you more about Buenos Aires. Please, let me join you."

Jim didn't seem to be budging on his stance to back out of their plans and it hurt. Slowly she nodded. "That would be nice, Antonio; thank you."

Jim said nothing, feeling like he had just taken a sharp jab to his gut. His refusal to go to lunch with her had just sent her in the direction he wanted to keep her from. He had just handed Antonio another opportunity to woo her. Frustration and anger at himself warred within him. Why did everything have to go wrong?

Johanna strode back to her office to collect her purse with wounded feelings, not even realizing that Antonio was essentially trailing behind her instead of keeping up with the pace she had set. Sharon was just getting ready to leave with Phil when she entered the office and it only took one glance for her best friend to know that something wasn't right.

"What's wrong?" Sharon asked; seeing Antonio hovering at the doorway instead of Jim.

"Nothing," Johanna replied as she continued into the inner office.

Sharon glanced at Phil and he gave her a nod, telling her he could wait a few minutes so that she could follow her. She hurried into the office and shut the door behind her. "What's going on and don't tell me nothing."

Johanna hurriedly explained the situation that had just occurred as she yanked her purse out of the bottom drawer of her desk. Sharon's mouth fell open in surprise. "The little weasel!" she exclaimed.

"I was thinking of stronger words," Johanna admitted.

"Bastard," Sharon corrected.

"That's the one."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," she said softly. "I guess I'll think about it at lunch."

Sharon gave her a quick hug. "Don't worry, if we have to, we'll just beat the hell out of him."

"Don't tempt me," she smiled.


As a quiet moment during her lunch with Phil presented itself, Sharon pondered her best friend's situation and tried to think up a way to help her. Her gaze darted to the window and the sight of a couple across the street at an outdoor café caught her eye. Her eyes widened when she realized that the man was Jim…and the woman was Melanie Thompson.

"You really are a bastard," she muttered; anger of Johanna's behalf filling her.

"What?" Phil asked, wondering what he had done in a ten second time frame to earn that statement.

"Not you; him," she said with a nod out the window. "Jim's over there and look who he's with."

Phil glanced in the direction she motioned in and shook his head. "What the hell is he thinking? Taking Melanie to lunch isn't going to help matters at all! It's only going to make things worse."

"I ought to go over there and kick his ass," Sharon remarked. "God knows he needs it."

"But Jo might want that job herself."

"That's true."

"But on the other hand…does she really need to know about this? I mean maybe you shouldn't tell her."

Sharon eyed him as if he was crazy. "I have to tell her!"

"It'll hurt her."

"I know and I don't enjoy that…but friends tell each other these things even if it hurts. It's better for her to hear it from me than from Melanie or one of her cronies…because Melanie will make sure she knows. It's best that I prepare her."

"I guess you have a point," Phil conceded.

"Of course I do. I just wish Jim would stop being so damn ridiculous lately. Can't you and Jeff do something? Can't you beat some reason into him or something?"

"We tried getting through his thick skull, it didn't do any good."

She sighed; Jim and Johanna were going to drive her insane if they didn't get it together soon.


After lunch when they were both back at the office, Sharon gently broke the news to Johanna behind closed doors. She watched hurt flash in her friend's green eyes and it made her own heart hurt in response. "I'm sorry, Jo. I didn't want you to hear it from someone else."

"No, I'm glad you told me," Johanna replied. "I guess he wanted to spite me."

The secretary nodded. "It looks that way. What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to stick to the plan I made at lunch."

"Which is?"

"At the end of the day, I'll go and ask him to have dinner with me…nothing fancy, maybe go out for a pizza and then I'll throw in a movie too. I was thinking that maybe if I could just get him to myself for longer than a few minutes here and there that I could smooth things over and convince him that I have no interest in Antonio. I'll just pretend like I don't know about him having lunch with Melanie."

"Are you sure that's what you want to do?"

Johanna nodded. "Yes; it's better that way. He might be hoping to get caught because he knows it'll make me mad. So it's better to let him think I don't know…then he can feel guilty."

Sharon smiled. "That does have a certain logic."

"Let's just hope it works."


Johanna knocked on Jim's office door at the end of the day and peered in at him.

"What?" he asked, his gaze only darting toward her for a moment before returning to his papers.

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah; what do you need?"

It was on the tip of her tongue to say that she needed him to be himself instead of some cold stranger but she swallowed the remark. "I thought maybe you'd want to go out with me for a pizza…maybe even see a movie afterwards."

"I don't know; I was planning on working late."

"My treat," she said with a soft smile in hopes of enticing him.

"Wouldn't you rather take your new friend?" he asked somewhat snidely.

The remark wiped the smile off of her face but he didn't feel any satisfaction for it. "No, I want to go with you," she answered. "Just like I wanted to go to lunch with you but you threw me over."

"I didn't throw you over."

"Okay then you dumped me or whatever you want to call it."

"You weren't lonely for long," Jim said tartly. "Antonio swooped in to take you."

"Yeah, because he felt sorry for me," Johanna remarked. "You ditched me right in front of him…he knew how that made me feel."

"You could've told him no."

"Why? So I could go bring something back to my office and eat alone while I spent the whole time wondering what I've done to you? It wasn't like I was good company for him…apparently I think just as much even with company."

"I'm sure he forgave you, after all he's such an understanding man."

"Why did you ditch me today, Jim?"

"I told you; I had something to do."

"Like what? I know it wasn't with a client…I called Sally and asked."

"What gave you the right to do that?"

She arched a brow at him. "What gives you the right to do the things you do?"

"Meaning what?"

"Like when you ask people how I got to work because you didn't drive me, when you stand around watching doors to see how long it takes me to come out. How about when you seem to think you get to pick and choose who I associate with?"

"Fine, I didn't have anything work related to do."

"Then why, Jim? Don't you think I at least deserve to know why?"

He threw down his pen. "I didn't realize that I owed you explanations for what I do."

"This time you do."

"I changed my mind about lunch."

"Why?" she asked sternly.

Jim eyed her. "Maybe I needed some time away from you."

The comment stung just as his rejection had. "I see."

"I can only take so much of the show you put on for Antonio."

"I don't put on any show," Johanna retorted angrily. "I don't act any differently with him than I do with anyone else. I don't know what your problem is but you need to get over it and stop behaving like an ass and more like the man I know you are. And since you need time away from me, I apologize for bothering you."

He sighed deeply; he knew his attitude was less than stellar and yet he couldn't seem to control himself. "Jo," he called out after her as she moved back to the door.

She turned to face him and there was a flicker of fire in her eyes as he disregarded the idea of keeping her secret. "Just so you know; I know you had lunch with Melanie. If you wanted to share your lunch break with trash, you could've just said so."

"It's not what you think. I didn't plan to have lunch with her. I ran into her at the diner."

"How convenient," Johanna remarked. "What was it that you said to me? I could've said no? How about you, Jim? Could you say no?"

Probably not, he thought to himself, knowing that he had allowed Melanie to join him out of spite. "You're the one with a problem with her, not me."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. Have lunch with her every day if you want; hell, why don't you just go home with her too while you're at it?"

"Maybe I will," he retorted.

"Good; I'm sure you'll be very happy with her," she replied, turning on her heel and storming from the office.

Jim slammed his hands down on his desk in frustration; he'd just made it worse. "Johanna," he called after her as he shoved away from his desk and moved through the outer office in hopes of catching her. She was already gone and as he went to the door and looked up the hallway, he could see her striding purposefully to her office without even a backward glance.

He raked a hand through his hair as he stood in the doorway. Why had he broken their lunch date? It had only driven her to the company of the man he wanted to keep her from. Why the hell had he made things worse by having lunch with Melanie…knowing full well that word would get back to Johanna before the close of business hours. Why hadn't he just accepted her offer of dinner and a movie? Why was he such an idiot?

After waiting a few moments for her to get settled, Jim headed down the hallway to her office. "Jo," he said quietly as he stepped inside her doorway.

"Get out," she answered as she shoved files into her briefcase.

"Jo, please."

"Say what you came to say and then go."

He moved to the side of her desk so he could be near her as he spoke. "I'm sorry."

"No, you're not."

"I am," Jim said as he reached out and brushed his hand along her arm. "I shouldn't have broke our lunch date…it was stupid."

"Everything about how you're acting lately is stupid," she retorted.

He took the comment in stride; she'd earned the right. "I am sorry, Jo."

She scoffed but he detected a trace of emotion in her voice as she kept her face turned away from him. "You really hurt my feelings this time, Jim."

"I know…I didn't mean to."

"How did you think it was going to make me feel?"

"I don't know," Jim sighed. "I didn't even know I was breaking our plans until I did it."

"And then you went with Melanie…"

"I didn't enjoy it, Jo. I spent the whole time wishing it was you," he answered quietly; and it was the truth, he had wished the entire time that he had kept his plans with Johanna.

She finally turned to face him and he saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes that she was holding back. "Out of all the people in this city you could go out with after ditching me, you had to pick her…"

"She doesn't mean anything to me, Johanna."

"Why should I believe that? You don't believe me."

A flicked of irritation spread through his veins. "I'd believe you more if you'd stop being so flirty with him."

"I'm not!" she yelled.

"Seems like it to me."

Johanna rubbed a hand across her forehead. "Let's just stop because we aren't getting anywhere with this. When you're through being an ass, give me a call and maybe we can talk this out."

"Johanna, please…"

"Please what?" she yelled. "What do you want from me, Jim?"

A lot of things, he thought to himself as he lowered his head in a brief moment of defeat. He just wanted her to be his…like he thought she was. He just wanted her to act indifferent to Antonio. He just wanted it to be the two of them like it always was and now it felt like someone was between them.

"I just want us to be the way we always are," he murmured, his hand finding hers.

"I was offering that to you earlier…despite the fact that you hurt me, but you just threw it in my face."

"Can we start over?" he asked, hanging on to her hand even though she was trying to pull it away from him.

"Why?"

"Because I want to have dinner with you…my treat. We can go see that movie too."

"I don't know, Jim," she murmured.

"Please, sweetheart?"

It was against her better judgment but Johanna was desperate to calm the waters between them. She had every right to say no; he didn't really deserve her company after the way he had acted…but as her heart reminded her, she loved him anyway.

"Alright," she whispered.

"Thank you," he said as he squeezed her hand.

"Don't make me regret it."

"I'll do my best not to."


Dinner had been an awkward affair, and the movie didn't seem to be going much better, Johanna thought to herself as she shifted in her seat. At least at the movie they had reason not to talk. The small talk they had made over their pizza had felt odd and uncomfortable. She hated this and she didn't understand why he was so set on the belief that something was going on between her and Antonio. Better yet, if he was so concerned about her seeing other men, then why didn't he do something about it in an official sense? Why didn't he say he wanted to go to the next level? She supposed she could ask him…but that felt like a dangerous question to launch. The boat was being rocked enough…she shouldn't add more waves.

She wondered if he sensed what she was thinking as his hand gently wrapped around hers. She turned her head to look at him and he gave her a small smile that she returned before turning her attention back to the movie. A moment later, she felt his fingertips brush against her chin, gently turning her face back to him. There was puzzlement in Johanna's eyes until he leaned closer and captured her lips in a soft kiss.

This was better, she thought to herself as she allowed her fingers to fall against his jaw. But then a thought came to mind and she broke their kiss. "Tell me your mouth didn't touch Melanie Thompson earlier and then you just kissed me with it," she whispered.

Jim shook his head. "No; I didn't do that."

"You swear?"

"I swear," he promised…a part of him tempted to ask if she had kissed Antonio.

"I know you're thinking it," Johanna murmured.

"Thinking what?"

"You're wondering if I've kissed him."

He was quiet for a moment. "I wasn't going to ask."

"I haven't," she said firmly.

Not yet, he couldn't help but think. "I'm not going to kiss him," she said as if she was reading his thoughts. He wondered how she did that.

"You like him though," Jim murmured.

"As a friend, nothing more…and I swear to God if you say it doesn't seem that way to you, I'll punch you right here and now."

He didn't say it…but he thought it. "Don't think it either," Johanna whispered sternly.

"How do you that?" he asked quietly.

"Magic," she replied; a teasing smile tugging at her lips. His lips curved upwards against his will and before he knew it he was wrapping an arm around her and reclaiming her lips in soft tender kisses.


Things seemed more settled between them after the movie; Jim was acting more like himself when they got back to her apartment and Johanna was relieved. Maybe he was finally getting over this nonsense. She was hopeful at least, as he had settled down on the sofa with her to watch TV and chat awhile longer.

It grew cozy as an hour faded into two, his arm around her as she snuggled against his side. Their conversation was lighthearted, the tension easing from his jaw line. His lips brushed against her hair, his hand caressing her side. "Do you want to go with me tomorrow to talk to Della Kirkpatrick?" he asked, referring to one of their witnesses.

"I'll go with you, but…"

"But what?"

"We already talked to her," she answered.

"What do you mean? We haven't talked to her."

"When I went with Antonio yesterday to interview Michael Starr…he said while we were already in the building we may as well go ahead and talk to her."

Jim stiffened and she knew she had made a mistake. "I wanted to talk to Della," he said tartly.

"I know; that's why I told Della that we might have to talk to her again. I'll go with you."

"Why didn't you tell him no, Johanna?"

"I did tell him that we shouldn't talk to her; that you wanted to do it but he was persistent."

"And you just had to follow along, didn't you?" he said, pulling his arm away from her.

"I thought it would be best for me to go so I'd know exactly what was said and done. I felt like I'd be wrong to walk away…that you'd want me to stay."

Jim scoffed. "And why didn't you tell me about this?"

"I tried but this morning you only wanted to hear about Michael Starr. Every time I tried to bring up something else you shut me down."

"You should've made me listen!"

"How can I do that when you're barely speaking to me because you have your mind twisted into nonsense?"

"It's not nonsense! He's trying to take over everything that's mine."

"He is not! He was just trying to do his job."

"So he can have all the credit," Jim spat; "And let's not forget you following after him like a little puppy every time asks you to tag along."

"He asks me because he doesn't want to go with you!"

"Well I guess not!" Jim yelled. "What man in his right mind isn't going to pick you? And if that's not enough, he doesn't want to go with me because he knows he doesn't impress me. He seems to impress you though; I mean you even giggle for him."

Johanna rolled her eyes. "Would you get over that? I giggled once."

His brow rose and she rolled her eyes again. "Okay, maybe three times but no more than that. His accent makes things sound more charming; sue me…and every other woman alive for thinking it's cute."

"You just go ahead and defend Don Juan," he said as he surged to his feet. "You go along with everything else he says."

"That's a lie! I've defended you just as much during this case when the two of you are squabbling like little boys!"

"Really?" he scoffed. "Seems to me like you're always siding with him; running off with him, talking to him, standing with him. Why don't you just get a room with him and get it over with?"

"That's enough!" Johanna yelled. "I don't have any romantic interest in him and I'm getting tired of telling you so. You used to believe me when I said things and I don't understand why that's changed."

"Don't you listen? How am I supposed to trust you when you're going around behind my back, doing things you know I don't want done!"

"How am I supposed to control him, Jim? He was set on talking to Della. I tried to talk him out of it but he wouldn't budge. I don't know why he wouldn't listen, I figure he thinks he's in some kind of competition with you about working this case…and I blame that on you with the way you've acted since day one!"

"Of course you blame me! God forbid if you blame him!"

"I blame him for engaging in it!" she yelled; "But what am I supposed to do? I'm caught in the middle with no way out. Now if you want to know what was said with Della, I'll get my notes and we can discuss it and then tomorrow we'll go talk to her."

Jim shook his head. "I don't want your damn notes; I'll go talk to her by myself."

"Jim," she sighed. "Can we please just stop this? You're so determined to be angry with me and I haven't given you reason for it."

"I think I have plenty of reasons," he said as he stormed to the door and jerked it open, letting it swing shut behind him with a slam.

Johanna didn't want to leave things like they were, it was only going to make it worse at work and so she ran after him, her bare feet hurrying down the hallway in effort to catch up with him before he got on the elevator.

"Jim, please," she called after him as he hit the elevator button. "Come back and talk to me; let's settle this, okay? I don't like when we're like this."

"Neither do I."

"Then come on," she pleaded, rubbing her hand against his arm. "Let's go back inside and talk. Honey, I swear things aren't the way you keep convincing yourself they are…why won't you listen to me?"

"Because I'm not blind," he stated, shaking off her hand and stepping into the elevator as the doors opened.

"I think maybe you are," she said tartly as she held his gaze. "Either that or you really have lost your damn mind."

"Goodnight," he said coolly as he jabbed the button.

"You're being a jackass!" she called out as the doors slid shut.

The comment was met with silence as she expected and she smacked her hand against the elevator door before turning and marching back up the hallway. "Johanna," a voice called out from across the hallway as she reached her door.

She turned and pasted a small smile on her face as her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Blackston, peeked out at her, her pet cat, Fluffy, cradled in one arm. "Do you need something?" Johanna asked, moving across the hall towards the woman's door. Sometimes she asked her to pick up things for her at the store or to drop something in the mail for her. She was a kind old woman…with a tendency to be nosy but Johanna didn't mind too much. She knew the woman was lonely; she was widowed and her children didn't visit as often as she liked which was she had talked the landlord into allowing Mrs. Blackston to keep her cat when her daughter brought it to her as a Christmas gift the year before. The landlord hadn't wanted to allow it but she reminded him that he allowed the veteran who lived upstairs to keep the dog that he had brought home with him from the service. He relented but mentioned that he had charged a fifty dollar deposit for any pet damage. She had pulled out her checkbook and paid, asking him not to mention it to Mrs. Blackston.

"Are you alright, dear?" Mrs. Blackston asked.

"I'm fine," she assured.

"Your young man seemed to be in a snit."

She nodded. "Yeah…his jackass gene has slipped into the bloodstream and it's making him a bit unruly."

Mrs. Blackston smiled. "I hate when that happens."

"Me too," she replied, reaching out and petting the cat. "I'm sorry if we disturbed you, I know your shows are on."

"Oh that's alright," the old woman said. "It's nice to have a little excitement once in awhile; although I hope the two of you will work things out. You make such a nice couple."

"I'm sure we will," Johanna said with a smile; she had long since given up trying to convince Mrs. Blackston that she and Jim weren't a couple.

"If you have time Saturday morning, you come over and we'll have some tea and cookies and have a chat," her neighbor offered, as she did every few weekends.

"I'll do that," she promised. "Same time as usual?"

"That will be fine; goodnight, dear."

"Goodnight, Mrs. Blackston; goodnight Fluffy," she said giving the cat one last pat before retreating back to her open door.

Johanna closed her door softly once she was back in her apartment and she sighed. Her eyes landed on the phone and she moved toward it, picking it up and dialing Sharon's number. When her friend answered, she wasted no time with a greeting. "Are we really sure he's worth this aggravation?" Johanna asked.

Sharon laughed; she didn't have to ask who she was referring to. "Yes, I think so. I mean you are in love with him after all."

"Are we really sure about that?"

"Yeah, I'd say so. You admitted it without me inflicting bodily harm on you so I'm thinking you have it pretty bad for him."

"That's what I was afraid of."

"I take it your dinner and movie invitation didn't go well?"

Johanna blew out a breath. "You don't know the half of it."

"Well I've got time," her friend said; "And I've got popcorn so settle in and tell me all of it."


When Jim entered the conference room the next afternoon, he found that Johanna and Antonio were already there; the files and papers spread across the table. There was a glimmer in Johanna's eyes as she looked up at him, some sort of excitement gleaming in them and for whatever reason; the thought set him on edge…especially since he was still stewing over the night before and had expected her to be feeling the same way. He didn't want to know what had excited her; most likely Antonio had not only offered to buy her another meal but maybe he also offered to whisk her away to some exotic locale.

"What's going on?" he asked. "I see you've started without me."

"I've figured out the best way to present this case when we take it court," Johanna announced, a bright smile crossing her lips and he had to force himself not to sneer as Antonio smiled while watching her. "Is that right?" he questioned; forcing his tone to remain neutral.

She nodded and launched into her explanation of what evidence to use and where, the order they should call the witnesses and how she'd like to take over the questioning of a few of them so that the opposing attorney couldn't spend too much time getting into one person's head and figuring out their game plan. She remarked upon new things she had discovered; named one witness as their ace card and all the while, Antonio was adding comments, agreeing with everything she said and implying that he should agree as well. Jim tried to keep his mind focused, tried to keep thinking professionally and yet somewhere inside he knew that a part of him was functioning on a personal level as he took this plan as an indication that Johanna and Antonio had indeed been working together and without him more than he thought; that they were taking over his case and relegating him to the sidelines as a spectator to their glory…or whatever else they had going on. He was still bothered by what he had learned from Johanna the night before about the interview they had done without him of Della Kirkpatrick and her enthusiasm today only chafed the rawness he felt.

Anger filled him…and the logical side of his brain knew it was irrational and maybe even stupid to some extent but the feeling remained and he was unable to control the words that spilled from his mouth. "I don't think you have the experience to make those kinds of decisions," Jim stated; his tone cold as he held her gaze.

Antonio's eyes widened in disbelief and he leaned back in his chair as Johanna's mouth fell open in surprise. "Excuse me?" she asked sharply, rising from the table once she found her voice.

"You heard me," he replied. "You don't have the experience to be making decisions for this case."

"How dare you!" she exclaimed angrily, her temper finally snapping.

"It's the truth, Johanna. I have more experience than you."

"Two whole years," she retorted. "Wow; shall I bow in the presence of your greatness?"

"It's nothing personal, just a fact."

"Oh I think it is personal and it's only a fact in the terms of years. I'm not some wet behind the ears law student, Jim. I know what the hell I'm doing; my case load is just as full as yours and don't stand there and act like the subjects of my cases pale in comparison to yours because they don't! I bring back just as many wins as you do so I don't give a damn about your experience; it in no way discounts mine! I'm just as good at my job as you are at yours…maybe that's the problem; maybe you're afraid I'm better."

"Don't be ridiculous," he scoffed.

"You know, Jim; I never thought you were a conceited jackass until today."

"At least I know my place," he retorted. "I want to know who the hell said you two got to make the decisions anyway. This is my case; I'm first chair; not you or him. You two are just the back up, making sure all of our i's are dotted and the t's are crossed."

"I think I resent that," Antonio stated.

"I know I resent it," Johanna said hotly, her eyes blazing with fire. "Who the hell do you think you are, Jim?"

"I think I'm the one in charge of this case," he remarked; "And I'll make the decisions about how it progresses, not you and your friend there."

"Jim, what is this about?" Antonio asked. "She hasn't done anything wrong, neither have I. This case belongs to all of us."

"I'm in charge," he stated again. "It will be done my way. I don't care how either one of you run your individual cases, you don't run mine."

"It's not yours," Johanna said tartly. "It's mine too."

"If it was yours, it would've been put on your desk before mine."

"If it isn't mine, then why have I done most of the work while you're off having your temper tantrums!"

"Just what do you mean by that?" he demanded to know.

She glared at him as she moved closer to him. "I think you know. You go stalking off all the time; you always claim you have something else to do and really you're just sitting down there in your office stewing because you can't have everything your way."

"You're one to talk," he retorted. "You've never been able to hold your temper. I made one comment to you and look at how you're acting. You just flew off the handle…all over a true remark."

"You and your true remarks can kiss my inexperienced…"

"Stop!" Antonio interrupted before she could finish the statement. "I believe that this may be my fault. I encouraged her to speak her mind about how the case was presented. I never meant for it to seem like it was being hijacked from you, Jim. I'm sure if I hadn't encouraged her that she would've left it up to you."

"What the hell does that mean?" Johanna demanded to know.

Antonio gave an apologetic shrug. "I believe that you would be submissive to Jim's will if I hadn't agreed with your ideas."

"That's a damn lie!" she yelled. "I don't need anyone to encourage me to speak my mind; if I have something to say I say it. And the day will never come when I'm submissive to a man's will or his overly exaggerated ego…and that goes for both of you!"

"Perhaps I was mistaken," Antonio said as he shrank back under her gaze.

"You're damn right you are."

Jim's eyes darted to Antonio. "Maybe if you weren't so worried about lunch dates you wouldn't be mistaken about so much."

The other man gave a short laugh out of surprise. "What dates? What are you talking about?"

"Don't act stupid! You and her," he said jerking a thumb at Johanna. "Every time I turn around you're whisking her off for lunch. If you two want to have an affair, have it on your own time, not mine. I've just about had it watching the two of you."

"You've lost your mind!" Johanna exclaimed. "I'm not having an affair with anyone, least of all him!"

"Would it be that bad?" Antonio asked; taking offense at the remark.

Jim jumped on his statement. "So you admit that you're out to get more than a joint deposition with her, right?"

"No!" the other man yelled. "It was all business, all the time. I just didn't like the insinuation that I wasn't good enough for her."

"Well you're not," Jim retorted sharply. "But if she's foolish enough to go along with it, that's her problem but I'm not going to sit here and watch it."

"And I suppose you're the better man for her," Antonio said, a knowing look beginning to enter his eyes.

"She could do worse!"

"At the moment, I wouldn't take either one of you on a silver platter," Johanna yelled. "You're both making me sick!"

"It doesn't seem that way when you're sitting in here giggling and blushing," Jim replied.

"Would you get over that," she responded. "This jealousy isn't attractive at all."

"I'm not jealous!"

"Yes you are; all you've done every time we all work together is make your snide remarks and behave like an ass and I've had it. Every time one of you makes a remark, I end up having to referee it because the two of you are like two boys in the locker room trying to prove who has more where it counts in their small little minds."

"Now that's a little much," Antonio stated.

"Is it?" she scoffed.

"I think we're getting off track," Antonio said as he tried to reign the conversation back in. "This was supposed to be about the case and it's turning personal; I don't think we want to do that."

"Maybe some people have trouble distinguishing between personal and professional," she said tartly as she eyed Jim.

"Yeah, you'd be one of them, sweetheart," he retorted. "You're a little over friendly at times, you know that? Why don't you keep your mind on the job instead of worrying about who you're looking at across the lunch table?"

He had twisted his usual endearment into a barb and it stung, as did the accusation. "Well what else do I have to do since this is your case and I'm just here to make sure you get all of your glory by crossing your t's and dotting your i's?"

"Don't be a smart ass."

"I'm going to be more than a smart ass," Johanna said, her tone even and furious. "You can take your precious case and shove it because I'm done. I'm not working on it anymore. The two of you can have it all to yourselves and fight to the death over it!"

"You can't quit," Jim exclaimed. "You were assigned to this case."

"Oh I assure you that I quit."

"You're not getting out of this case."

"Watch me," Johanna seethed; "And you can stay the hell away from me too. I don't even want to look at you right now. I can't believe you…I thought we were friends. I thought you respected me and treated me as an equal but you're just like all of the rest of them…both of you are and I wouldn't work with either one of you if you begged me to!"

Suddenly, Jim knew that he had gone too far, that he had crossed a line he had no business crossing. "I'm not like them," he said softening his tone as he reached out and grabbed her arm as she turned to storm away.

"Take your hands off of me!"

"Johanna…"

"No! Let go of me or I swear to God, I'll punch you."

He released her and she marched toward the door, anger steeling her spine. "Johanna, don't do this," Jim called after her. "Sit down and we'll figure out something that suits all of us."

She turned to face him; her eyes still snapping with fury. "The only thing that suits me is getting away from you. I will not work on this case for another damn minute and I don't care if they fire me for it."

"Johanna, please," Antonio implored; earning himself a sharp look from Jim. "I hate to see you and Jim lose your friendship like this. Take some time to calm down…don't be a hysterical woman."

"Are you stupid?" Jim asked as Johanna stared at the other man incredulously. "Do you really think that was the thing to say?"

"Who are you to judge?" he asked. "You don't say anything right either. You're the one who made her angry in the first place. You're a very controlling man, Jim and I hope I never have to work with you again."

"That makes two of us," Jim said snidely.

"Make it three," Johanna said as she jerked the door open, letting it slam into the wall as she stormed out of it.

There were people in the hallway, gapping as she stormed away; apparently their argument had risen to levels they hadn't been aware of and they had provided entertainment for the office. Jeff shot her a questioning glance that she ignored as she continued on her trek.

"Hey, Johanna; if you're in need of a new lunch date tomorrow, I'll take you," Charles Patterson said with a leer.

"Go to hell," she told him as she kept walking.

He whistled as she walked away. "You're a little too cold where it counts but it sure is a privilege to watch you walk away."

"You'll get the privilege of my fist if you keep it up," she called back.

Sharon fell into step with her, practically jogging to keep up. "What's going on?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"I'm quitting the case. I've had it with those two."

"Where are you going? Are we leaving?"

"No," Johanna said as she punched the button for the elevator. "I'm going upstairs and tell Roche that I'm off the case and that if he wants to fire me, he's more than welcome to do so."

Sharon's eyes grew wide as her friend stepped on the elevator. "Jo, don't you think maybe you should cool off first?"

"I'm tired of cooling off! I'm mad as hell and I don't care who knows it. I can find another job if I have to."

"Good luck," Sharon called out as the doors began to slide shut after Johanna had jammed the number for the top floor. As the elevator rose, she curled her hands at her sides, her temper far from abating. She was probably taking a huge chance with her career but she was too angry to care. Jim had struck a hurtful blow and it spurned her on as the doors opened and she stepped onto the floor of the senior partners.

"What are you doing up here?" Stanley Carmichael asked as he stepped in front of her, forcing her to stop in her tracks as she headed to Roche's door.

"None of your damn business; now move."

"And if I don't?" he sneered, stepping into her personal space.

Her eyes narrowed. "Look, you ape faced pansy, it won't take much for me to grab a hold of you by your neck and punch you in the face so you better get out of my way."

"Don't you threaten me!" he bellowed. "Roche is just inside that door. I'll have your job."

"I'll have you lying on the ground, walking on your face before you can even turn in the direction of the door," she retorted as she shoved him away from her. "Now get lost."

Stanley glared at her. "Your mouth is going to cost you one day, McKenzie; and I can't wait to see it."

She whirled away from him, resuming her trek, bypassing the secretary as she headed for Roche's office. "You can't go in there; he asked not to be disturbed."

"Too bad," she announced as she jerked the door open. "What I have to say can't wait."

William Roche had been leaning back in his chair taking a nap when Johanna bounded into his office. "Miss McKenzie," he sputtered. "What's the meaning of this commotion?"

"Wake up and I'll tell you all about it."

He straightened up his chair, folding his hands as they rested against a legal pad on his desk. "I'm listening."

"You assigned me to work on the Crossweller case with Jim Beckett and Antonio Caruthers."

He nodded. "I'm aware of that."

"Well be aware of this; I quit. I am not working on that case any longer."

He eyed her sharply. "And what reason do you have for dropping the case?"

"Number one, there isn't enough work for three people; they can handle it on their own. Number two, you hired me to be an attorney, not a babysitter and that's what I feel like when I'm sitting in the same room with the two of them; trying to break up their petty disagreements and putting up with their egos and insecurities. Today I had my experience and professionalism attacked and that's the last straw. I've had it! I am not working that case! If you want to fire me for it, you just go ahead and do it now. Go ahead! Because I'm fed up with this whole damn place."

Roche took off his glasses and rubbed his fingers across the bridge of his nose. If there was one thing he hated it was a riled up woman who couldn't control herself. "Miss McKenzie; what exactly is the problem?"

"I just told you!" she yelled. "I'm not babysitting two little boys who seem to be in competition with each other!"

"That's the way of men; we compete. It's a natural instinct."

Johanna rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, boys will be boys and they have to be overlooked, right?"

"Well," he said with a shrug; "I hired you because I thought you were tough enough to deal with your male colleagues...perhaps I was mistaken."

Her hands pressed against the dark wood of his desk as she looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "That's what it always comes down to isn't it? It's always my fault or my problem because I'm a woman, right? The men in this building can do whatever they please, and believe me, they do, and that's fine because they're the men and that's what they do. I bet if one of them came to you with a concern or an issue or a demand to be taken off a case, you'd bend over backwards to accommodate them but let a woman walk in here and she's just supposed to suck it up and take it to prove she isn't a fragile little daffodil. Well I've been taking a lot of things and I'm fed up. I'm not working that damn case; they can handle it on their own. If you think it needs three people, then you take my place...that is if it won't interfere with your nap!"

"Miss McKenzie; calm yourself," he bellowed. "I will speak to the men that you're working with and advise them to behave more professionally."

She scoffed. "And what about the others?"

"What others?"

"How about the ones that can't keep their hands to themselves and think it's okay to pinch and grab whatever they want when a woman is walking down the hallway or in the break room. What about the ones that want to dismiss some of us because of our gender? What about the harassment that goes on?"

He sighed. "What do you want me to do, bring every man in here like this is the principal's office and reprimand them for behaving like every other man in the world?"

"Is that your excuse for everything?" she asked.

"What is it that you want?"

"I want respect. Is that so hard to understand?"

He waved a hand at a chair. "Sit down; you're leaving handprints on my desk."

Johanna smirked at him as she pulled her sleeve down over hand and made a show of wiping off her handprints. She then crossed her arms and remained standing. "Miss McKenzie; I have a feeling that you bring some of your problems on yourself. You're easily riled, that's for certain, which only makes certain people want to egg you on."

She said nothing, just held his stare, her features hard.

"And another thing, of course the men are going to be attracted to you; you have a pretty face...and look at the way you dress," he said waving a hand at her fitted black skirt and her thin white sweater that did little to hide her figure despite it's modest appearance and neckline. "How can they not be tempted?"

She sunk her teeth into her lip to keep from screaming and she curled her hands to keep from reaching across the desk and slapping him.

"This may be a big building, but people talk and word does get around about things, Miss McKenzie; and some of those things are about you and Jim Beckett."

"What of it?" Johanna asked sharply.

"We don't have rules here stating that coworkers can't date; that's a difficult rule to enforce and I'd never try to; but if you and Jim are having a lovers quarrel, you're to keep it outside of this office instead of letting it interfere with your work."

"We're not dating," she said firmly.

Roche waved a hand. "Well then whatever you call it; you keep your private affairs outside of the office and do your work."

"I do my work," she retorted. "I do it to the best of my ability and if I feel like there's a reason that I can no longer continue working on a certain case, then that reason shouldn't be ignored. I tried to solve the problem myself but it didn't do any good. The only choice I had left was to remove myself from this case...and I will not go back to it."

"I'll speak with the men involved," he stated once more as he picked up his pen; "And if you want to give me names, I'll speak to a few others as well."

She studied him for a brief moment. "What, you're patronizing me now?"

He smiled but she could tell the gesture was false. "Of course not; if you think the women of this building are being unduly harassed, then I'll do everything in my power to make sure those responsible are reprimanded."

She shook her head, feeling stung. "You're no better than the rest of them."

"And what have I done to you, Miss McKenzie?"

"You've dismissed me," Johanna replied. "You don't care what goes on here as long as it stays out of your office. You don't care about any concerns or complaints. You don't even take one moment to think that a person might have a legitimate reason for bringing an issue to you. You didn't hire me because you thought I was tough enough, you hired me for the same reason you hire every other woman in this building; so you'll look like an equal opportunity employer. We do our jobs but we don't get the same amount of respect or consideration. We're just supposed to stand around and look pretty and keep our mouths shut while the boys club does what they want. I am tough enough, Mr. Roche; I'm tougher than you can ever imagine but I'll be damned if I just sit back and let people walk on me and treat me as something less than I am. I do my job and I do it well...and if I say I'm not working on something then I'm not working on it. Like I said, go ahead and fire me if you want."

He leaned back in his chair, assessing her as she turned to leave. "McKenzie," he called out, making her pause in her tracks.

"What?"

"You're a good attorney; you bring in your share of wins and your clients seem pleased with you. I've never had any complaints about you or against you. If you say the Crossweller case only requires two people, then I trust your judgment and you're free to cease work on it and go back to concentrating on the rest of your case load."

Johanna gave a short nod. "Thank you."

"If you'd like to sit down, you can give me that list of names."

"What for?" she asked; "So you can have a laugh at my expense?"

"No, of course not."

"I doubt you had a sudden change of heart about how women are treated here."

"I have a wife and three daughters," he remarked; "And if they came to me feeling the way that you do about how they and other women were being treated, I'd want someone to take care of the problem. We pride ourselves on ethics here, not to mention that we handle a lot of discrimination cases; it wouldn't be right for it to be running rampant in our building. I can't promise that speaking to the men in question will be a solution...but I can at least try while I make it known that I don't condone such behavior. Now who would you like to start with?"

She moved back to the chair, sensing that he was taking her more seriously now. "You can start with the head goon."

"And who is the goon?"

"Stanley Carmichael," she answered.

"Stanley!"

"Yes."

Roche nodded as her jaw tightened. "Tell me what Stanley has done."

She told him all about Stanley's harassment, not only of her but others as well. She then moved on to Charles Patterson, telling about how he couldn't keep his hands to himself. She added Steve Lancaster after that and then included a few others who had harassed either her or other women in the building. By the time she finished, Roche had eight names on his list and he lifted his head to look at her.

"Shall I add Jim and Antonio to the list?"

"Aside from working on this case, I have no prior issue with either of them," Johanna replied.

"Do you believe that you can resolve your issues with them now that I've given you leave to drop the case from your schedule?"

She pondered it for a moment. "I believe I can settle it on my own once a few days have passed."

He nodded. "Very good, I was hoping you'd say that. Do you feel better now?"

"Not entirely."

"Perhaps you should take the rest of the day off to...shall we say, collect yourself?"

"I already planned on it."

"I see," he said, leaning back. "Miss McKenzie...I do suggest that you toughen up a bit more and not let your temper get out of hand so easily. I'm not always an understanding man...and neither are my partners. We don't like female hysterics."

"And I don't like male chauvinism, so I guess we're even."

He smiled. "See, I knew you were brassy enough...you just need some fine tuning."

"I guess that means I'm not fired."

"Not today...next time could go differently."

"Fair enough," she remarked as she rose from her chair.

As Johanna left Roche's office, Stanley gave her a sneer which she returned with one of her own just as Roche poked his head out the door and called the goon into his office. She didn't feel completely better but it did feel like she had gotten a small weight off of her shoulders as she rode the elevator back down to her floor. Her heart was still stinging over Jim's behavior and she wanted to get out of the building before she had a breakdown over it.

Sharon was waiting for her when she stepped into the office, her expression anxious. "Turn on the answering machine and pack up," Johanna said; "We're taking the rest of the day off."

"You didn't get fired did you?"

"He said I wasn't…but we'll wait and see for sure."

"Well either way, at least we don't have to finish out today."

"Amen to that," she called out as she grabbed her purse from her office. "I'm leaving my briefcase here too. I'm not doing anymore work today, I've had it."

"I'd say you've earned a break," Sharon agreed.

"I've earned more than a break," she said as they hurried out of the office, locking the door behind them. "I've earned a drink; let's get a cab, first rounds on me."

"Sounds good," her friend replied. "We haven't drank this early in the day in a long time."

"Special occasion," Johanna quipped. "It's the day hell broke loose."

to be continued...