“Okay.”
Five minutes later Jo looked at her notepad and thought she had all the important terms down. She got Tai’s address and phone number and put them on the agreement. They both signed and Jo told him she would bring a copy of it at tomorrow’s arraignment if his brother came in to drop off the money. She took down his brother’s number and left the jail feeling fantastic and a tinge dirty at the same time.
Sitting in her car, she looked at her watch. Probably not enough time to get the discovery on the Tai Nguyen file. She’d been through hundreds of arraignments. She wouldn’t need to do anything but show up and plead not guilty tomorrow afternoon.
Jo called Tai’s brother from her cell phone. No answer. She left a message. Two minutes later, while driving in the direction of her office and her parents’ house, her phone rang. It was Tai’s brother. Jo explained that after she received a five thousand dollar fee, she would officially be Tai’s lawyer and would call Omar. Upon hearing that things with Omar might be straightened out, Tai’s brother agreed to gather the money and meet at her office right away.
Parked at the little strip mall where her office was located, Jo smiled at her good fortunes. In her first day she gathered two new clients, found out her donut store had great coffee, and her strip mall housed her wireless carrier. She went in the store to get a second phone and add a second line to her plan with text and voice only.
As Jo was unlocking the door to her office, she felt a presence behind her. She saw a reflection in the glass door and spotted a man several inches shorter than her with a brown grocery bag coming her way. Jo turned and noted the bag was from Trader Joe’s, a bit strange because there was none near her office. “Mr. Nguyen?”
“Yes. Hi. I am Tu. Tai’s brother.”
Jo held the door for him. “Welcome.” She walked in, gesturing to Tu to have a seat across from her chair.
Tu placed the big brown grocery bag on her desk. “Five thousand.”
Jo looked confused. “Yes. The fee to represent your brother is five thousand.”
“It all there,” Tu said and pointed towards the bag.
“Oh. I’m sorry, I was expecting a check or money order,” Jo said as her cheeks flushed a slight pink. She was embarrassed that she never really considered a client paying her that much in cash. “Umm. I just met with your brother so don’t have an invoice that I can mark paid and I don’t have any blank receipts. I’ll just write on a piece of paper, sign and date that I received five thousand dollars, okay?”
“Don’t worry. We trust you. You call Omar now?”
“Sure. Do you know his phone number?”
Tu leaned over to allow him to reach into his front pocket. He pulled out a crumpled receipt with a phone number written on the back and put it on Jo’s desk.
Jo looked at the paper blankly. Was she supposed to count the money in the bag? Was she supposed to call Omar? Given how anxious Tai and Tu seemed, Jo reached forward to pick up the paper. She looked up at Tu and said, “Do you know Omar’s last name?”
Jo watched Tu’s face register an ‘oh shit’ look.
“That his last name. His first name Marcos.”
Jo understood the look on Tu’s face. He worried that she had no idea what she was doing and his little brother’s life was in her hands.
“Thanks. As I said, I just met your brother today and am new to the situation, but I have lots of experience. Five years doing defense, then five as a prosecutor, and now I’m back doing defense again. Your brother is in good hands.”
Tu stared blankly.
Jo picked up the handset on her office phone and dialed the number. Four rings and voice mail. “Mr. Omar, my name is Joanna Channing and I am the attorney for Tai Nguyen. Please call me back at your earliest convenience.” Jo concluded by giving Marcos Omar her personal cell phone number. It was the only number she had memorized and she was too embarrassed to look up her office or new cell phone number in front of Tu.
“Well, Tu, I’ll see your brother again tomorrow and will call Marcos Omar again tomorrow if I don’t hear back from him before noon.”
“Okay. You take care of my little brother?”
“I will do my best to get him out of jail and out of trouble.”
“Okay.” Tu stood up. “Thank you.”
Jo stood up. She was about to reach out her hand to offer it to Tu when she noticed his back was turned and he was heading for the door. She walked around the desk, followed him to the door, said goodbye and made sure it closed when he left. She locked the door then looked through the glass door to scan the parking lot.
Eight quick strides to her desk and Jo had both her hands inside the Trader Joe’s bag. She pulled out a stack of unbound cash. She fished around the bag and pulled out two more twenties. After glancing around the office again, she started counting them out. She stacked up two hundred fifty twenties. Five thousand dollars.
Her mind jumped from thinking of how to keep track of it for tax purposes and feeling ashamed for thinking she might not bother to deposit or report it. She was startled by her cell phone ringing. Her caller ID displayed a somewhat familiar number.
She sat down in one of the two guest chairs and answered. “Law office.”
“Can I speak to Joanna Channing?”
“This is. With whom am I speaking?”
“Omar. I’m returning your call. You wanted to talk about Tai Nguyen? I’m ready to listen.”
“Mr. Omar, thank you for returning my call. I have just been retained by Mr. Nguyen and am trying to get all the facts together on the case. I understand that you are also trying to get some information.” Jo stood up and walked around her desk so she could get her notepad and the receipt with the number.
Marcos Omar remained silent on the line.
Jo continued. “I understand you may wish to investigate someone who did something totally unrelated to my client. My client found a phone number that might help your investigation. Before I give it to you, I want to understand if there are any misunderstandings between you and my client that we can clear up.”
“I understand. He understands. You understand. You want to tell me something or not?”
Jo read off the phone number then continued, “Mr. Omar, I want to make sure—” Jo heard silence on the other end of the phone. “Mr. Omar? Hello?”
Marcos Omar had hung up on her. Jo pulled the cell phone from her ear and looked at it. A mini wave of panic swept over her as she realized her bag full of cash was paid to make sure a scary criminal didn’t hurt her client. Now this scary criminal had her cell phone number.
Jo opened her desk drawer searching for rubber bands. Her eyes came across binder clips and for some strange reason her panic subsided slightly as she clipped the cash, rolled it up in the Trader Joe’s bag and shoved it in her purse. “Lives up to its name,” Jo remarked about her big black purse being called a carryall. She dug back in and pulled out her new cell phone and frowned at the time. Jo wanted the second line to keep her personal cell separate from a work cell. Switching her phone numbers meant she was going to be late for dinner. Of course perfect little Jami and her perfect fiancé would be there for family dinner right on time. But an unwelcome call from Mr. Omar or the like on her personal phone was more important than upsetting Mom.
Chapter 4
Jo shuffled around the store observing customers and looking at phones. She anxiously glanced at her watch—she was definitely going to be late for dinner.
An employee approached her. “How can I help you today?”
Jo pointed to an elderly woman hunched over the large display of cell phones. “As much as I’m in a hurry, I believe she was next.”
The employee thanked her for her candor and promised to be with her as soon as he could. Jo dug into her purse for a mint. Her eyes opened wide and a smile spread across her face when she looked at the paper bag full of money. Jo could drop that wad of cash on the dinner table tonight and get her watch back from Jami.
Re
ality set in. Jo would have to answer questions about where the money came from. And she had to set some aside to pay taxes. And she had to pay off debt. Jo shook her head and watched the employee work with the old lady. Blah blah blah. Hurry up!
Jo glanced around the store and spotted a man looking at her. On another day Jo might have been embarrassed, but not after everything that had happened on the first day of her new practice. Plus the guy had a warm and inviting smile. Reflexively, Jo smiled back.
The man’s voice boomed across the store. “Weren’t you just in here?”
Jo nodded and walked closer. “Yes, but I need help switching my phones and their lines now. Do you work here?”
“No. Just working on a contract update for my team.”
Jo looked him up and down. He was very fit, he could have been a baseball player or maybe one of those skinnier football players. Was he too old to be a player? He had short black hair, no gray. Jo guessed late thirties. “What team?”
“I run a team of software engineers. We add our own encryption to our devices and every time we do a big update I have to make sure it’s compatible. That’s why I’ve been here so long. Why did you leave and come back?”
“I just got a new work line and want to switch it with my personal line.” She smiled at him again, realizing he was flirting with her. “Were you watching me?”
“Maybe a little.” He shrugged. “I was wondering what Kate Middleton was doing here. Took me a while to realize you weren’t her.”
She smiled and extended her hand. “Joanna. My friends call me Jo.”
He took her hand and shook it. “Pleasure, Joanna. My name is Zee.”
Jo crinkled her nose slightly. “Your name is Zee? Like the letter?”
Dzuy nodded. “It’s spelled D-z-u-y, but pronounced Z, just like the letter.”
Jo gave a crooked frown and pulled her head back. “Hey, Dzuy. Why did you call me Joanna? I told you my friends call me Jo.”
A playful grin crossed Dzuy’s face. “Well, Joanna, seeing as how we just met, I was kind of hoping there was a chance I wouldn’t be relegated to the friend zone. At least not right off the bat.”
Dzuy’s salesman approached from the back and overheard the comment. He looked at Dzuy and said, “Forgot something,” as he turned and went right back where he came from.
Jo understood she was at a store next to her office, not a night club, but she had time to kill and flirting with a hot guy wasn’t so bad. “Well, yes, I am single, Mr. Dzuy. But my life is kind of a mess right now. If you want me to over share at our local cell phone store, watch out. I’m that kind of woman.”
“You’re right. We should over share at dinner tonight. And just so you know, I’m totally fine with starting off in the friend zone.”
“Ms. Channing,” a different salesman called out.
Jo turned toward the salesman and waved her hand. “That’s me.” She looked back at Dzuy. “Gotta go. It was nice talking with you.”
“I’ll be here a little longer. If you get hungry, I’d love to take you to dinner.”
Jo smiled and walked past him to her sales guy. She explained that she wanted to switch numbers. He told her all she had to do was switch the sim cards to change numbers, but if she wanted to change which number had data and which didn’t, he would have to update the plan.
Fifteen minutes later, Jo’s phones and plans were switched and up and running. A text message came into her old phone on her new line. Her mother asked how much later she was going to be. Another text from her sister asked where she was. Jo was filled with instant dread of arriving late.
Instead of heading straight for the exit, Jo stopped a few feet away from Dzuy. “Seems like you’re not ready for dinner. Sorry, we can’t go. Anyway, it was nice meeting you.”
Dzuy stood up and waved goodbye to his sales guy. “Actually, I’ve been done for almost ten minutes now. Where do you wanna eat?”
Jo chuckled. “You called my bluff. I’d like to do dinner with you, but I’m in for the treatment for being late for a family dinner.”
“If you want me to come take the blame for you being late, I’m game.” Dzuy offered.
Jo leaned her head slightly, pondering his offer. “Are you serious? One thing they taught us in law school is don’t make offers unless you’re willing to have them accepted.”
“You’re a lawyer? Offer rescinded. Rescinded.”
Jo felt relaxed and charged by the back and forth with Dzuy. “I’ll counter. Come to dinner as my friend and take all the heat off me, and if it goes well, I’ll buy you lunch someday.”
“Deal, Jo,” he said as he opened the door for her.
She playfully tapped his shoulder as she walked out the door first. “Calling me Jo, like we’re friends now? I’m throwing you to the wolves. I guess one wolf, but still… Fangs.”
After she gave Dzuy her phone number and address she took a moment to just sit in her car and wonder what the hell she was doing inviting a stranger to dinner.
New beginnings, Jo thought, then sent a text message to her mom from her old phone with the new number. [Sorry for running late. I’m bringing a friend.]
During the drive home, Jo’s phone buzzed. She read the text message from her mom asking who was texting her. “It’s me, Mom!” Jo exclaimed at her phone. At a stoplight she replied in a text, [Your first born.]
Jo turned the ringer off her phone and tossed it into her purse. Three minutes later she parked in her parents’ driveway while Dzuy spent a minute finding a spot on the street. She walked to his car. “You know, I’m sorry you came all the way out here. This was a bad idea. I actually would like to see you again, but I brought you here because I didn’t want to talk about work with my family. That’s not fair to you.”
“Phew.” Dzuy turned back towards his car.
Jo fell silent.
Dzuy turned around and jogged back. “Just messing with you. No pressure. No worries. We’re just friends, right, Jo?”
She exhaled. “You pull stunts like that and I’m not so sure.” She shook her head and smiled at him.
“I figure this night can go one of three ways.” Dzuy reached out and took her hands. Jo let him. “One, it’s horribly awkward and we both get a good story to tell. Two, it’s an interesting night and we spark a friendship. Three, it’s our amazing first date story that we tell our grandkids about someday.”
Jo wanted him to lean in and kiss her right now. She looked into his eyes and wished he could be the one. Even if it was to keep Mom off her back for a while. When that thought crept back into her mind, she let go of his hands. “Thank you. We better go in and try to avoid the first option.”
“Don’t worry. Parents love me,” Dzuy said with a smile as he followed her to the door.
“Good luck with my mom.” Jo checked the door and found it unlocked. She entered and took off her shoes. Suddenly Dzuy was six inches taller than her. Dzuy took off his shoes and put them next to hers in the dark entryway.
“Something smells good,” Dzuy said to Jo in a voice loud enough to carry through several rooms.
Jo shook her head at Dzuy and whispered, “Suck-up.” She flicked a light switch and a row of canned lights illuminated the hallway. To the left was a formal living area with a mid-sized piano. To the right a staircase that ran parallel to the hallway.
Jo and Dzuy heard a chair pull against the travertine floor from down the hall. “Are you ready? You can still run?” Jo whispered up to Dzuy’s ear.
“Lead the way,” Dzuy said calmly, with confidence.
Halfway down the hall, a young woman popped into their path. “Hey, sis!” the shorter, blonder, younger, version of Jo exclaimed.
“Jami. This is Dzuy,” Jo said flatly. Operation ‘deflect conversation from work’ started flawlessly. She turned to Dzuy. “This is my sister, Jami.” Then it hit Jo harder than she thought it would. This was the first guy she had brought home to meet her family in years. By trying to hide one can of worms she mi
ght have opened up a bigger one.
“Hi, Jami,” Dzuy said and reached out his hand.
Jami shook it. “We’re all in there.” She turned and led them into the dining room.
Three faces looked intently at Dzuy. A balding man wearing a blue button-down shirt smiled at him and started to stand up.
“Please, don’t get up,” Dzuy said to the group. Dzuy walked to the man and offered his hand.
The man pushed on the arms of the dinner chair and stood up. He was quite tall, lanky, with a small belly. “Charles Channing. My friends call me Chip.”
Dzuy shook his hand. “A pleasure to meet you, sir. Dzuy Gong.”
Seated next to Chip was Jo’s mother. She made no indication she was going to stand to greet her new guest. Dzuy reached out his hand to her. “Mrs. Channing.” She shook his hand in silence.
Dzuy reached his hand out to the third person at the table and said, “Hi.”
The man wore a grey button-down shirt. He shook Dzuy’s hand. “Hi, Dzuy. I’m Anthony Dangistino.”
“Dr. Anthony Dangistino,” Mom added with some pride. She pointed for Jo and Dzuy to sit at the two open seats with full plates set in front of them. Jo sat next to her mom. Seating Dzuy there would be a bit too much. Dzuy took the only remaining seat, opposite the head of the table.
Dzuy looked intently at his plate, inhaled deeply through his nose, smiled and looked at Mrs. Channing. “This looks and smells amazing. What a beautiful meal and beautiful home.”
“Thank you.” She looked at Jo. “If I knew how late you were going to be, it would have been warmer.”
“Sorry, Mom,” Jo said a bit more like a chastised teenager than she would have liked.
“It’s no problem for me,” Mom said as she touched her chest. “It’s Dad, Anthony, and Jami. You know that when we do a family dinner, they have to adjust their schedules to make sure they leave work on time.”
“Yes, Mom,” Jo said in the same tone. “Sorry, Jami, Tony, and Dad.”
“No worries,” Anthony said as he stabbed a fork into a small roasted potato.
Blanket Immunity Page 3