Free Chance by Christina Palmer

lazy to get up and take her in. However, he insisted on always
picking her up in his newly acquired car, when she was done for the day.
    Adding to the mystery, when
Logan came to pick her up from work, he was nearly always dressed casually in
jeans and shirt or sweater; the same clothes he wore around the house. This
gave her no further indication as to what he did all day while she was at work.
Of course, he remained just as evasive as ever, getting annoyed or angry if she
'went on about it,' as he put it.
    That morning was no
different from other days, except she was acutely aware of his critical eye
roving over her choice of clothes. Thankfully, she had a good idea of the type of
thing he'd likely deem 'appropriate.' She opted for a pair of nice pants and a
shirt, buttoned right up to her neck. She had no cleavage showing at all—no
part of her body was revealed that might tempt any bad men , or whoever he
thought was going to lead her astray.
    As far as she was
concerned, he was being completely ridiculous and unnecessarily paranoid, but
it was easier just to go along with his wishes than to argue with him. She
hated arguing at the best of times and particularly hated arguing with Logan. He
nearly always overreacted, so she thought it was best to leave it alone
completely.
    In her opinion, that was
better than making the atmosphere tense and unpleasant between them. It didn't
do her any harm to wear the clothes he'd prefer her to wear. That was her way
of thinking about the situation.
    She checked her
appearance in the mirror, then turned around to face him to get his opinion of
her outfit.
    “How do I look?” she asked,
giving him a catwalk style swirl.
    “Perfect,” he smiled,
opening up his arms. “Come here and give me a kiss.”
    She grinned and clambered
onto the bed with him. They kissed tenderly for a moment.
    “I love you,” she
whispered.
    “I love you, too. Have a
good day at work. Don’t forget to text me.”
    “Okay,” she agreed…again.
    She got up, grabbed her
bag and headed out. The taxi, which had been called ten minutes ago, was already
waiting for her outside.
    ***
    The day at work passed quickly.
She spoke to Logan a couple of times during her breaks and managed to fit in a
few calls and emails about the evening out with her friends, between doing
actual work. She wanted to satisfy her boss so he knew she wasn’t slacking or falling
behind again. She still felt bad about that day when she'd let him down with an
important deadline.
    Remembering Logan’s words
about his mistrust of others, she managed to persuade the girls to meet in a
small, modest corner bar near where she worked. It was within walking distance,
which was another stipulation of Logan’s. He didn’t want her to have to walk
too far. He'd also asked that she didn’t get a taxi unless it was from the
“trusted” company he called every morning to take her to work. Apparently, it
was run by a business acquaintance of his.
    Charlotte passed the Blue
Moon Bar every workday. It was always quiet but seemed welcoming. Its clientele
were mainly professionals from the office buildings around the area. Therefore,
it wasn’t usually rowdy. It was the best of both worlds, close to work and
quiet, so she felt certain it would meet with Logan's standards.
    She was pretty confident
she could pass a few hours socializing with her friends at the Blue Moon without
being bothered or hit on up by the hordes of men who Logan seemed to think would
want her body. The thought of that, although it seemed silly and paranoid, was
also sweet, in her eyes. He really did care about her. The fact that he'd had
two wives who'd both cheated on him, had to have affected his confidence in his
relationships. How could it not?  
    Indeed, when she arrived at
the bar just after five thirty, the place was completely empty save for the bartender
who was polishing up some glasses. She seemed pleased to see Charlotte as she
walked in, stopping what she was