My heart was pounding by the time she was done, and my vision swam as blood hammered in my eardrums. This kind of thing was exactly why I’d started practicing law and why I would never stop.
Fingers curling into fists on the cool metal of her doorframe, I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I’d gotten a lot better at it over the years, but maintaining cool professionalism in the face of my inept colleagues who didn’t give a fuck—and a system that often seemed hellbent on perpetuating injustice even though it was called the justice system—wasn’t always easy.
“Is it safe to assume that you’re crying because something happened with your lawyer in between when I saw you at the mall and now?”
Sticking to the facts, finding out what happened, and taking it from there was a tried and tested method of mine. It didn’t matter how rattled I got. If the lawyer was as worked up as the client, we couldn’t be of any use to anyone.
I ignored the bitterness pushing up inside over the thought that one of my colleagues, in my town, would take advantage of someone like Laurie, and instead, I focused on waiting for her reply.
It didn’t come immediately, and when it did, it was almost like she had to push the words out. “I went to see him this morning, but as always, he didn’t have time for me. When he finally saw me waiting, he told me I was a burden on him and none of his clients have ever needed as much from him as I do.”
My teeth ground together. “He said that?”
“Yep.” She hung her head. “Then he insisted that I leave his office.”
Pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes, she let out a long exhale. When she spoke again, her voice was so quiet that I hardly heard her. “I’m so ashamed and so confused. I just didn’t think it would be this way, you know?”
“Yeah,” I said just as quietly. “I do know.” I cleared my throat, and my voice came out stronger. “I don’t like the sound of any of this. Why don’t you come for coffee with me, and you can tell me about your case?”
“I can’t throw any more good money after bad.” She sighed. “I’m sorry for unloading on you like that, but I just can’t afford another lawyer right now. As it is, mine is asking for more money and I’m not sure I’m going to give it to him.”
My blood boiled over the fact that she’d been asked for more money while also having been told she was a burden.
Who is this asshole?
Before I could consider reporting the latest smear on my profession to the state bar, however, I needed to get through to Laurie. Not to pump her for information on this prick but to see if I could help her.
And then maybe pump her for the information. I’ll think about it once I know more.
I took a step away from her vehicle to show her my hands. “I don’t work like that for cases like this. Let me buy you a coffee. You won’t even have to pay for that, and you can tell me about it. If you decide to let me represent you instead of whoever you’ve got now, I won’t ask you for a cent until after I’ve won.”
“What happens then?” she asked. “You take everything you win?”
I chuckled darkly, the sound coming out wrong and twisted. “No. You’ll sign an agreement with the firm if you decide to become a client. It outlines, among other things, the fees we will take in the end. There’s nothing hidden. It’s all on there and explained properly in plain language. I can also walk you through it myself.”
“You’d do that for me?” She frowned. “Why?”
“Because I might be an asshole, but I’m not an unethical one.” I lifted my arm and glanced at my watch, realizing that the drinks I ordered for the office would be out and cold by now. “What do you say? Can I buy you a coffee? It’s completely obligation free. You don’t even have to sign up with me after. You could just talk to me as a not-friend.”
She chewed on her lip for a full minute while staring into my eyes before she eventually nodded. “Yeah. Okay. Coffee with a not-friend. I can do that.”
Chapter 17
Laurie
Jacob led me to a deli nearby with his hand planted firmly on my lower back. He slid his free hand into the pocket of his slacks and gave me another surprisingly gentle smile.
“Sorry about the walk. That bistro back there is going to be packed within the next few minutes, and I figured you’d want to talk somewhere a little more private.”
“Thank you.” My voice was smaller than I wanted it to be, but it didn’t humiliate me like I’d thought it would.
Who cared about my vocal chords not wanting to work properly when he’d just caught me in the middle of a complete meltdown?
Also, who’d have thought he would be the one to make me feel better?
I certainly wouldn’t have. Yet here we are.
On any other day, I might’ve wondered again if I’d misjudged him. I probably also wouldn’t have accepted his invitation for a coffee and a talk. But today, I was just too exhausted, too emotionally drained, and too defeated to argue much.
While I’d been sitting in my car, I’d pretty much kissed goodbye my chances of success at even instituting a lawsuit. And with it, I’d waved a mental farewell to my career. It was a definite low point for me, and that was when he’d knocked on my window.
How’s that for karma?
We walked in comfortable silence to the diner, and Jacob ordered us coffees before leading me to a table near the back corner. The light filtering in through the windows didn’t reach us there, and the ancient, stained-glass chandelier hanging overhead cast a dull orange glow over us.
Why is it always easier to talk when it’s not so bright?
Already, I felt my muscles relaxing and my breathing becoming a bit easier. “Do you bring all your potential new clients to dark and dingy holes in the wall?”
He shrugged but a ghost of a smile touched his lips. “Don’t you think it’s always easier to talk in the dark?”
I blinked at how close he came to repeating the exact thought I’d had. “Yeah, it is. You could just flip off the lights in your conference room, though. It might end up being cheaper in the long run than bringing us all here.”
“I don’t bring everyone here, Laurie,” he said, and it looked like he really meant it. His eyes burned into mine from across the table, and his hand twitched like he’d wanted to reach for mine before he remembered he shouldn’t. “Also, some people might object if I flipped off the lights in the conference room anyway. It wouldn’t do much to put them at ease if their lawyer suddenly cast them into darkness. Either way, this is my friends and family spot. So spill, not-friend. Tell me about it.”
It wasn’t easy to maintain eye contact. What he was asking me to talk about were things that lived in the deepest, most shadowy parts of my being. They were the cause of my greatest pain, the sources of my greatest insecurities, and he wanted me to just cut myself open and bleed those things all over the table.
Thank God we’re not under fluorescent lighting at the moment. I didn’t think I’d have been able to do it if I felt like I had a spotlight on me.
It was difficult enough to find the courage even with Jacob’s solid, calm presence opposite me. He waited patiently for me to start, and when I did, it was that very same presence that kept making it easier and easier to continue.
“A few years ago, I wrote a series that became more successful than I ever thought it would. It was no Harry Potter, but it did well, and it still has a decent fandom following it. Aside from the original novels, I’ve published novellas and extra scenes in my newsletters. I’ve done some bonus chapters for fans on their birthdays and I’ve done some blog interviews.”
I dragged in a shuddering breath, wiping my palms on my jeans and pressing them against my thighs in an attempt to keep myself from falling apart. “It’s safe to say that there’s a lot of information out there about the world I built, my characters and their backstories, and also what I thought they would get up to in the future. There’s more than enough to produce a major motion picture without any creative
input from me. Several movies actually.”
Jacob’s gaze was steady. Although he didn’t say anything, the cool, calm confidence he projected that usually annoyed me so much encouraged me to continue now.
“In the early days, I submitted my manuscript over and over again. When it kept getting rejected, I decided to just publish it myself. It gained traction, and well, here we are. There’s been so much going on in my life the last couple of years that I haven’t been as diligent about things as I used to be. About a year ago, I accidentally came across the first teaser trailer for a new movie that had been released at a convention over that weekend.”
“It was your story,” he said, quickly deducing the truth. “You didn’t know about the movie at all?”
I shook my head. “I’ve checked every mailbox I have, every social media notification I might have missed, and even called the post office to ask about any letters I might not have collected. There’s nothing.”
“I believe you.”
I didn’t know how much I needed to hear those words until he said them. No one had ever said them to me before. Certainly not Eric fucking Starkey.
Another sob rose, but I caught it before it broke out of my throat. If he believed me, maybe he would understand the rest of it too. Since he was a father himself, maybe he would even get why I needed to get it over with so urgently.
“Since the first time I saw that trailer, it feels like my life has been catapulted into a washing machine. I’m in complete upheaval, and it feels like the lawsuit is stopping me from giving anything else my full attention. My work is suffering for it, and I’m constantly so on edge and emotional that I haven’t even been able to finish unpacking.”
After finally telling him all that, holding nothing back and talking about how it was affecting every other aspect of my life, I felt like I could breathe again. Especially when I noticed the way he was looking at me.
There was no judgment in his eyes. No judgment, no mockery, and not even a hint of the asshole-ish smirk he loved wearing so much.
“You have nothing to be embarrassed about, Laurie. Lawsuits work their way into the very fabric of your life, and the stress they can generate festers there. I’ve heard of people having strokes and heart attacks while they’re involved in big cases. Others lose everything simply because the suit itself sucks them so dry that they can’t concentrate on anything else. They become so wrapped up in it that they throw everything they have after it without focusing at all on replenishing what goes into it.”
“I think I’m standing on that precipice,” I admitted.
Jacob didn’t even flinch. I might’ve been surprised by my admission but he clearly wasn’t. “I know. The only difference is that you know it too and you’ve stopped yourself from taking the leap.”
“Only because of Katie. If I didn’t have her to take care of, I think I might have been well on my way to the bank by now.”
His jaw ticked, and he straightened his spine when he shifted forward on his chair. “Your lawyer asked you for more money, but what has he done for you?”
“Nothing,” I said simply. “He just keeps telling me he needs more time. It’s been months, and I have no idea what’s going on.”
“That’s unacceptable,” he said firmly. “I’d really like to help you if you’ll let me.”
I sat back, excitement clashing with uncertainty in my heart. “Are you trying to get another date or something?”
He snorted and shook his head. “I know you don’t trust my offer, but I don’t operate that way. I swear it. I can give you hundreds of client references if you want them, and I can have my senior partner sit in on all our consultations.”
“Why would you do this then?” I studied him carefully, but he gave no external clues about what was going on in his head. “What’s in it for you?”
“I don’t like seeing people not getting a fair shake, and I think this lawyer is taking advantage of you. Your case sounds like the type many lawyers only ever dream about getting, and he doesn’t deserve you as a client.”
“According to him, no one deserves me as a client,” I muttered.
He rolled his eyes, shook his head, and didn’t dignify Eric’s accusation with a response. “You and I can keep things strictly professional. I won’t even mention a date. Let’s wrap this thing up so you can move on.”
No words had ever sounded so sweet to me. I kept searching his expression while he spoke, and there was no indication at all that he wasn’t being totally sincere.
If he could ignore whatever moments we’d had in the past, then so could I. He was offering me a gift, and I wasn’t about to throw it back in his face just because we’d gotten off to a rough start and had almost kissed once.
“Do you really think you’ll be able to wrap it up?” I asked, hating the tendrils of hope that were taking root in every nook and cranny of my chest as much as I loved feeling them there again. God, my emotions are so confused right now.
Jacob nodded and there wasn’t a shred of doubt to be found anywhere on his features or in his posture. “This is what I do. At the risk of sounding like the complete prick you already think I am, I’m very good at what I do. Some even say I’m the best.”
Those tendrils of hope became shiny, lit-up threads winding their way between all the cracks that had appeared in my chest over the last year. “Let’s say I’d like to take you up on your offer. Where would we even start?”
He didn’t hesitate. “You have to fire your lawyer.”
I stood up, finished the last dregs of my coffee, and squared my shoulders. “I’ll go do it right now.”
He grinned. “I thought you might. Good luck. We’ll talk more when it’s done.”
A renewed sense of determination rolled through me while all the light from all that hope warmed my heart. Obviously, I knew Jacob couldn’t fix this overnight, but I also remembered all those things my dad had said about him.
He might not be able to fix it overnight, but he could fix it. At least a little. Even if he just looked over all the documents and told me I didn’t have a case after all, I’d finally get some closure on this whole thing.
Writing was funny that way. Sometimes, the words poured out at a mile a minute, and other times, they wouldn’t come at all. Without closure at the very least, I was afraid I would be staring at a blank page on my screen for the rest of my life. The mere thought of never being able to write again was enough to pulverize my very being.
I couldn’t live without writing, and I’d almost given it up because I had to be practical. But maybe, just maybe, Jacob could help me get my words back.
The urge to launch myself into his arms and kiss the hell out of him was strong, but we’d just agreed on keeping things strictly professional. It took a lot of effort to wave instead of kissing him like he was every good sign I’d been praying for—which he very well might be—but I managed it eventually.
Even so, I felt his eyes on my back when I marched out of the restaurant. There was a new spring in my step, and I wasn’t even deterred when Eric’s receptionist tried to stop me from barging into his office.
He rolled his eyes at me when I burst in. “Didn’t I just tell you I needed some space? I’ll call you when I need to talk, not the other way around.”
Standing as tall as I could, I grabbed the remote for the TV from his desk and switched the device against his wall off before crossing my arms. I’d paid him enough that he could give me his fucking attention for the five seconds this would take.
“I don’t think so, Eric,” I said, proud of myself for how sure and composed I sounded. “You’re fired.”
His eyebrows jumped and he sat up, finally giving me the attention I’d been paying him for all this year. “What?”
“You heard me. I’m tired of being made to feel like you’re doing me some kind of favor. You’ve gotten paid a lot of money for the lack of services you’ve rendered. I’m no longer sitting back, being made to feel like an errant child whi
le funding your golf habit.”
He started to interrupt me, but I cut him off. He’d been talking for months while not saying much at all. It was my turn.
“You’re not entitled to me as a client, Eric. You’re not entitled to any work at all actually. You should feel honored whenever someone walks in here and trusts you with a case that means so much to them, not sit here lording it over us because you somehow think you’re better and smarter.”
I put my hands on my hips, and for the first time after all these months, it was me looking down at him. “You’re not better, and you’re not smarter. You simply chose a different career path, and you know what? Maybe you should’ve chosen differently because you’re really not very good at this. Goodbye, Eric. Good luck with your future endeavors because if this is how you treat all your clients, don’t expect to have many more in the future.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have been so outrightly bitchy about it, but after the way he’d treated me, I didn’t think there was any reason to soften the blow. I’d said exactly what I felt, and I wasn’t about to go apologizing for it.
After that epic scene, I walked out of his office with my head held high and feeling lighter than I had all year. In fact, I felt like a badass who might finally have found the stones to really take control of my life again.
Chapter 18
Jacob
Early on Saturday morning, Allie and I knocked at Laurie’s door. I had let her know we would be swinging by today, but I hadn’t given her a time.
When she opened for us, all my promises about keeping things strictly professional flew momentarily out the window. She was dressed in cotton shorts, a pale pink sweater, and her hair was in a messy bun held together by a pencil.
She looked fucking breathtaking.
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