Chapter 206

Ella

After my hike and the introspective conversation with Ema, I found myself back at Logan’s mansion, standing in front of his office door with my heart pounding in my chest.

I had come here with a purpose, a resolve to apologize for my earlier behavior and finally confess my feelings for him. It was time to be honest, to let him know how much he meant to me.

Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door and heard his deep voice calling for me to come in. My heart raced, and for a moment, I felt a rush of excitement and anticipation. This was it; I was going to tell him.

As I entered his office, Logan looked up from his desk, his piercing gaze fixing on me. “Ella,” he said in that low, gravelly voice of his, “did you need something?”

The words I had rehearsed in my mind were on the tip of my tongue, ready to spill out. But as I stood there, awkwardness creeping in, I faltered at the last moment. Suddenly, my confidence seemed to evaporate, leaving me feeling vulnerable and exposed.

Logan arched an eyebrow, his intense gaze never leaving me. “Is there something on your mind?” he asked, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

I opened my mouth, ready to say what I had come here to say, but the words stuck in my throat. I couldn’t bring myself to admit my feelings, even though I had been so confident before.

Logan’s expression remained impassive as he watched me, waiting for an explanation. The silence between us stretched on, and I cursed myself inwardly for my hesitation.

Finally, he broke the silence, his voice tinged with impatience. “I’ve got work to do, Ella. If you just came here to stand there, I hope you don’t mind if I get back to it.”

My heart sank at his words, and I felt a pang of disappointment in myself. I had come here with a purpose, and now it seemed I had wasted the opportunity.

Summoning what little courage I had left, I managed to stammer out, “I... I just wanted to say thanks, Logan. Thanks for training with me earlier. It meant a lot to me.”

Logan’s gaze softened, and for a brief moment, I saw a flicker of something in his eyes—was it understanding, or was I just imagining it? “No problem,” he replied, his voice less stern now. “I’m always here to help with your training. Just let me know when you want to do it again.”

Relief washed over me at his words, but it was tainted with a sense of missed opportunity. I had come so close to confessing my feelings, only to falter at the last moment.

“Yeah, I will,” I said, my voice trembling slightly. “Thanks again, Logan.”

With that, I turned and hurried out of his office, feeling a mix of emotions swirling inside of me. I couldn’t help but berate myself for being so self-conscious and unsure of my own feelings.

I had made this decision to finally speak openly with him, and yet, at the last moment, I had fallen silent.

As I walked away and slipped back into my room to bury my head in the sand, the thoughts of the day kept whirling around in my mind. It had been a crazy day with a lot of ups and downs, and losing my confidence so blatantly in front of Logan had just been the cherry on top.

Was I really so lovestruck that I couldn’t even confess my feelings to this Alpha mobster once and for all?

…

It was finally Monday morning, and I was back at work after a whirlwind of a weekend. But I was determined to get back to work, to keep my head down and focus harder than I had in a long time.

After all, that was what I did best. And besides, I had realized that I wasn’t even sure if confessing to Logan so soon was the best idea; although, my wolf kept scolding me, calling me a coward and rebuking me for my childish behavior.

And yet, as I walked into my office, I couldn’t help but notice the towering stack of requests that had accumulated in my mailbox. It was a surprising sight, and it made me furrow my brow as I picked up the top one.

“Huh,” I muttered. I hadn’t expected to have so many cases waiting for me. Surely this was a mistake. I decided to grab the stack of papers and visit the secretary for an explanation.

Heading to the secretary’s desk, I said, “Hey, are you sure these are all for me? I’ve never seen so many requests in my mailbox.”

The secretary, a young woman with a friendly smile and a penchant for gossip, looked up from her computer screen. “Yep, those are all yours,” she said. “We’ve been getting lots of requests for you. It seems your recent successes are finally garnering the attention you deserve.”

I couldn’t help but blush at the unexpected praise. It was flattering to know that my reputation as a lawyer had grown, but it also meant I had a mountain of work to tackle.

“Wow, that’s... unexpected,” I said, still trying to process the situation. “I guess I’ll have to dive right in, then.”

I retreated to my office, closing the door behind me as I settled at my desk. It was a weighty responsibility to add on top of everything else, but it wasn’t entirely unwelcome. Right now, it was a pleasant distraction from the whirlwind of thoughts in my mind about everything else.

But as I scanned the details of the first case, I realized that there was just no way I was going to handle this overwhelming workload on my own, not with everything else on my plate—especially the complicated situation with Logan.

As I sat there, however, Sarah’s previous propositions wandered back into my mind. She had mentioned working as partners on more than one occasion, and it had been tempting. Now, I had an even better reason. So, with a smile on my face, I stuck my head out of my office and spotted Sarah from across the room.

“Sarah, can you come in here for a moment?” I asked, gesturing for her to follow.

She obliged without a second thought, and walked into my office. I motioned for her to sit at the chair across from my desk, and she did, her eyes scanning over the pile of new paperwork that was sitting there.

“What’s up?” she asked. “I overheard you’ve got a bunch of new cases.”

I nodded. “Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Do you still want to be partners?”

Sarah’s eyes widened in surprise. “Are you serious?” she asked. “You really wanna do it?”

“Yeah,” I said with a grin. “You’re my friend, Sarah. And I could really use some help with all of these new cases. What better way than to split the work 50/50?”

Her face lit up with excitement. “That would be… awesome,” she said. “I’d love to work together. Like I’ve said before, I think we’d make a great team.”

I couldn’t help but smile, letting out a soft sigh of relief. “Thank you so much,” I breathed. “I really could use your help.”

“Well then,” Sarah said, pushing her sleeves up, “why don’t we get started now?”