The first thing Claire had done when she'd gone into Jack's office was make it clear that she'd heard about his affairs with previous assistants and she didn't intend to follow in their footsteps.

He'd been very receptive and good-natured about all of it. He'd simply told her she'd made her point and then gotten down to business. "Can we get to work?" he'd said and all she'd been able to do was smile for a few moments. She was pleasantly surprised by Jack. He wasn't overly slick or charming, just friendly and a bit flirty. He'd said he understood that she wasn't going to sleep with him and then he'd flashed her a very cute, somewhat goofy smile. A smile she'd found to be both amusing and endearing.

Then, of course, he'd told her he was sure that they wouldn't be having any problems. She wasn't quite sure what to think of that. It was quite a suggestive thing to say and she hadn't been quite sure how to take it then either. Maybe she was making too much of it. For all she knew, it could have been a number of years since he'd slept with an assistant. She decided to check on it when she found the time.

As for the statement itself, it was his timing that made the difference. The fact that he'd said it right then made it that much more suggestive. It made it sound as though he didn't anticipate a problem in that area. Did that mean he wasn't going to try anything, or he was just sure she would give in? She had no idea. She just hoped it meant the first rather than the latter. It would make both of their lives far easier.

She couldn't be sure though. He'd . . . Well, they'd been flirting all day. Of course it could mean nothing. How many times had she flirted with someone just for the hell of it?

But what about his reputation though? That really made for a shadow of doubt, didn't it? She'd known his reputation could make for a problem. She'd just never figured it would make for a problem quite like this. She'd figured he'd be a bit more . . . seductive, not just flirt with her. She'd figured he'd try something more around Joel's tactics. She'd figured he'd be less of a tease. She'd caught him giving her some pretty intense looks at times but otherwise tease was exactly right.

And as far as the looks went she couldn't be sure their intensity meant anything at all. He was a very intense person and the fact that he didn't look away or try to cover up the looks was a bit confusing. It made what was going on behind those dark eyes hard to figure out.

That was only the beginning of her romantic problems with Jack though. Looks and confusing signals were just the tip of the iceberg. Her other problem was even more . . . problematic. She couldn't think of a better word for it.

She'd realized just how bad it really was earlier today when they'd had oral arguments on a motion. Jack had argued their case eloquently and brilliantly and as she was watching him she realized that over the course of the week she'd been working with him she'd managed to develop a nice little crush on him. Oh, it wasn't a revolution by any means, not when she thought of the times she'd ended up watching him just because she liked the way he looked and moved, but it was a bit more of an issue than she'd hoped.

For a second time, she'd been stupid. She'd allowed herself to get to know Jack and that was the sounding of her death knell. Intelligence, craftiness, the ability to guide and nurture . . . Those were some of the things she was attracted to and she'd allowed herself to get close enough to him to see all those things . She should have realized the problems this could cause. She should have at least thought of that before she'd said she'd like to work with him.

Well, this wasn't a total bust--just a setback. She was a grown woman and perfectly capable of controlling herself. She'd had worse crushes and she was already learning things about the law from Jack.

She'd get around this. It could prove to be very challenging but she would.

"She says that they won't have any trouble getting an indictment and to arrest the guy. Then this prick McCoy says he'd have an easier time getting an indictment on a ham sandwich and that we've got a half-made case! He blames us, not her."

"Well, what can you do, Mike?" said Lennie. "He thinks we screwed up, so what? We talk to the cab driver and let her worry about the kid."

"Doesn't that bother you, Lennie? He just blamed us!"

"Let it go."

"You wanna just sit around while he plays footsy with her and blames us for this stuff?"

"I'm just gonna do my job and not worry about it. Why don't you try it?"

"It's sick Lennie," said Mike as he shoved his hands distemperedly into his pockets. "He's what, twenty years older than her? That's like you looking at Julia."

"Ah, but I'm not looking at my daughter and neither is he. It happens a lot. Wait until you're fifty."

Mike rolled his eyes. "So he's your hero then?"

"Hey, I admire any guy who can get a girl like that to look at them period, and I've seen her look more than once," said Lennie matter-of-factly.

"When I'm fifty you can go ahead and kill me."

"Don't be so jealous, Mikey."

"I'm not jealous of McCoy."

"Yeah, whatever," said Lennie, as he stepped onto the sidewalk outside the building.

Mike just shut-up. Let Lennie admire the guy all he wanted. He maintained his opinion on the subject--and his feeling about how McCoy had blamed him for something that wasn't his fault.

He didn't like McCoy. He liked Kincaid just fine but if there wasn't enough for an indictment then it was her job to tell them. That's why she was there in the first place. Just because McCoy decided that he liked making eyes at her they were getting the rap for all this.

He was a cop. He was used to being treated like shit. That didn't mean he had to like it though. That didn't mean he should just take it either. Lennie might and that was great for him but he knew what was going on and he was at least going to say something. Not to McCoy--he'd had his ass chewed enough today--but spouting off a bit to Lennie had helped a bit.

Oh, well. He'd do his job and interview the damn cabbie. Let them worry about the rest of the damn case if they knew so damn much.

Jack had started working on Claire right away. He'd started out with a little flirting, just testing the water. She'd flirted right back. That smile she'd had on when he'd asked if they could start working had lingered pleasantly in his head for hours.

Not more than a couple weeks later, they'd graduated from banter and sly remarks to lingering touches. He knew she had reservations about any sort of involvement with him, after all she'd said as much when they first met, but he could see the wall she'd put up beginning to crumble. He could feel it when she let a hand rest on his arm longer than it should or when she stood a bit closer than was professionally appropriate.

He planned to ask her out for a drink tonight. She'd go. It was perfectly appropriate, coworkers often grabbed a drink together. He'd waited long enough to ask as to not seem too forward or eager. She was charmed by him anyway. He knew that. She'd probably have been more than happy to go even if he had asked earlier. It was better to not take risks though. Lost ground was hard to recover.

He glanced out a window toward Claire. She was working peacefully at her desk and he guessed she was probably planning on working late as usual. Well, he could wait on her. Courtesies like that always seemed to go a long way with women.

He finished putting a few files in his bag and left his office, turning off the light as he went. He walked over to Claire's desk and sat down in a chair nearby. She looked up, having heard him walk over.

She pushed some hair away from her face and questioned him with her eyes but stayed silent, waiting for him to speak.

"Would you like to grab a drink with me before you head home?" he asked.

Her eyes lit up and she smiled. "Yeah. I just need to finish up a couple of things. Can you wait?"

"Not a problem."

"Good. I'll probably only be about five or ten minutes."

"Take as much time as you need, Claire. I'm not in a rush. I've got all night."

There it was again. Those suggestive comments. At times it seemed to Claire that everything they said to one another had some sort of double meaning to it.

"Good," she said, flirting back just as she always did. Always. She always flirted with him. She couldn't help but do it.

He smiled. He'd won again.

Claire couldn't take her eyes off Jack. He was always good in his closings but this was amazing. She had no idea what had gotten into him but whatever it was she really liked it. It was very sexy.

He had a real edge today. He was so sure and righteous that it was almost impossible not to believe everything he was saying. There was so much passion and power in his words. She knew that there was not a person in the room that wasn't absolutely captivated by him.

Right now, at this very moment, she had so much respect for him. He seemed to be everything that she wanted to be, everything she believed in. She admired that. She had to admire that.

Admiration, respect and pure, unadultered, passion. That was what she felt right now. She wanted him so badly right now. She couldn't remember ever having thoughts like this about him before. She'd always been able to stop herself but somehow Jack had opened the flood gates and now the water was pouring forth.

Jack could see her looking at him through the corner of his eye. He could feel the hidden passion that filled her gaze burning through him like a wildfire. It was exciting, tintalating, and it was making his closing even better than before. The more passion in her eyes, the more excited he became taking his performance up another notch and turning her on ever more. It was a continuing cycle and he knew that were they not standing in a court room in front of all these people they would be all over each other rather than doing their best to be professional and restrained.

He flicked his eyes toward where she was sitting. She was still wearing that same expression. She was covering it as best she could and with everyone else in the room captivated by his words there was no fear of her getting caught like this. The look was there though. He could feel it, and use it to peer into her soul. Peer to the place where she wanted him. A place she was desperately trying to keep hidden from sight.

He turned away from the jury, a motion used for emphasis but it had another point to it as well. He caught Claire's gaze in his own and made damn sure she knew that he felt the same way she did. He wanted her to feel the heat just the way he was.

After a moment of surprise, Claire turned a brilliant shade of red and looked quickly down. She fervently hoped that no one had noticed that.

She couldn't believe he'd done that. She couldn't believe she'd done that. She couldn't believe she was letting her emotions run away with her. Again.

She glanced around quickly to see if anyone had seen them. First she looked toward the jury, who seemed oblivious to anything or anyone but Jack. It seemed they had not noticed anything at all. She checked the audience as well. They were in the same state as the jury.

She peered up at the judge for a moment and it became quite evident to her that someone had indeed noticed. The old woman was giving her a very disapproving stare. She obvious thought there was more there. In a way she was right, of course. He was more than a boss to her. There were feelings there but no more. The judge, though, seemed to think it didn't stop there.

Perfect, thought Claire sarcastically.

Jack finished and sat down. He felt confident about their verdict. He knew that it was never a sure thing with juries, it never would be, but after a performance like that he couldn't see it going another way.

He resisted the urge to flash Claire a smile. He knew doing that could hurt them in the eyes of the jury. She looked like she was a bit occupied with her own thoughts anyway.

When they left the courtroom that day he could tell things between them had changed. So could she. Before they'd been coworkers. Friendly and flirty ones but coworkers none the less. Now there was more. The dam that Claire had built to keep him out was swiftly crumbling before both of their eyes.

It was only a matter of time now.