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thoughts from her mind in favor of a more appropriate topic. “I checked on Carlos. He was sleeping.”
    â€œOr pretending to sleep so he can ignore you.” Jordon looked from her to the watery backyard.
    Maggie watched him watch the water. Maybe he seemed softer because his eyes weren’t challenging her or burning black as coal from this perspective.
    She stepped toward the table. “As a mental health professional I’m obligated to intervene when a client is a risk to self or others.”
    Jordon’s nose twitched but otherwise he remained the picture of calm. “Carlos is not at risk, unless you consider obsessively watching HGTV and reruns of
American Idol
harmful to one’s health.”
    â€œHe jumped into a lake fully clothed, and he stayed underwater long enough for me to worry. Now, in the end he climbed the ladder on his own, so there’s ambiguity there, but there’s also enough desperation in the act to make me take notice. He needs constant supervision until we know for sure.”
    â€œYou can take one of the guest rooms. I’ll have my secretary cancel your hotel reservation.”
    The words wrapped like a noose around her neck and blocked the air to her lungs.
    â€œWhat?” Jordon badgered. “I hardly think that’s asking too much. Besides, you’ll be compensated.”
    No amount of money in the world could calm her nerves over staying under the same roof as a client. “Can’t his family stay with him?”
    The smooth skin around Jordon’s wide mouth wrinkled. “He refuses to see them. I offered to fly him home or fly them here. His post-season performance was atrocious, and he’s embarrassed. Baseball’s a big deal where he’s from.”
    â€œI’m not so sure this is about baseball. What about financial or personal problems?”
    â€œIf Carlos’s money was a mess, I’d know. Financial management is serious business to my firm.”
    â€œWhat about personal life?”
    â€œNo idea. He doesn’t talk to me about his private life — never has. The more I push, the more he clams up.”
    Maggie smiled. She couldn’t help the expression. People amazed her. They missed the “big picture” all the time. “Carlos is intimidated by you.”
    Jordon slid his hands over his stomach to cup his elbows and set his square chin in defiance. “That’s ridiculous.”
    â€œNews flash, Mr. Kemmons; you’re scary. Your body language reveals arrogance and unyielding thought. Physically, you’re an imposing man. You rarely smile. You rarely laugh. And you seem to judge people based on outdated, egotistical assumptions. It makes sense a troubled young man would display silence in the face of your pushing.”
    â€œIs that so?” He snapped forward, and the chair slapped against his back as his elbows shook the table.
    Surprisingly, Maggie didn’t flinch. She was too busy studying him, noticing how his chin-to-hand posture mimicked hers and his eye contact intensified. “Yes. It is. Take your sudden movement, for instance. You were testing me — subconsciously maybe, but definitely testing me — to see how much power you held over my reaction. You like power, and I bet this demeanor helps you close deals, but it wreaks havoc on your personal life. Let me ask you this, did it bother you that I didn’t give you any power — that I didn’t flinch?”
    His eyes darkened.
    She sat back against the cushioned chair, crossing one leg over the other and balancing her elbows on the armrests with her hands folded in front of her. “Another example would be your outdated and egotistical notion of me.”
    â€œYou?” Jordon sat back and assumed Maggie’s relaxed posture, legs crossed and hands folded.
    â€œMe. Because I’m not like the people in your world, you think I’m … flaky.” She raised a finger when