Lord knows how Laurie put up with him for almost a year. “I didn’t let it slip through the cracks, Parker. I’ve been in contact with the other side. These things take time.”
I snorted, my brows rising as I stared him down. “Really? You’re trying that line on me?”
“It’s the truth.” He shrugged. “It’s not my fault if they haven’t really wanted to come to the party.”
“When does the person being sued ever want to come to the party?” I suppressed a roll of my eyes, sliding my hand out of my pocket to motion to him. “If you would just hand over the files, I’ll be happy to take this client off your hands.”
“I’m not handing them over.” He thrust his chin out. “Laurie still owes me money.”
“If you’d provide me with a detailed invoice reflecting what work you’ve done and the amount you’ve received from her, as well as how much is still outstanding, I’ll arrange for the necessary payment to be made.”
“I think I’ll just hang on to those files until the payment has been made.” He held my gaze. “It’s not personal. I’ve just done a lot of work on this and I’m not releasing it until I’ve been compensated.”
“The thing is, Eric, I don’t think you have done a lot of work on it. I’m not convinced you’ve done any work on it, and I know she paid you already. Your mandate has been terminated, so it’s too late for you to do anything else on the case now to justify the fees you’ve charged her so far.”
“Why don’t you back off and let me handle it?” He tipped his head, but I saw the dark defeat creeping into his eyes. If I stood my ground on this, I had him, and he knew it. “I’ll give Laurie a call and smooth things over.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Not just because I wanted this case but also because the client was Laurie.
There was a strange protectiveness unfurling in my chest while I spoke to Eric. This guy had been stringing her along for months. He clearly had no pride in his work or empathy for others.
She’d had such a rough couple of years and the last thing she needed was for anyone to make things even more complicated for her. I wouldn’t back down just so he could try his luck.
“You’re a fool for not pursuing this, and your time to realize it has run out,” I said. “It’s an easy win. Laurie has this case in the bag and she’s going to get a payout from it. You should’ve been on this like white on rice from the very beginning.”
His eyes narrowed so much they became slits. “What’s it going to take to get you to leave it alone?”
“That’s not happening. You can hand over the files and I’ll take it from here while forgetting you ever worked on it, or you can keep them and I’ll follow the official channels to get them.”
A silent minute passed before he said anything. He scratched behind his ear, his eyes never leaving mine until he stood up and walked to a filing cabinet in the corner. “I don’t want any blowback from this.”
“The client didn’t want to wait a year for anything to be done on her case.”
I wasn’t making him any promises. If Laurie wanted to take steps against him, that was her business. It wasn’t my place to assure him that she wouldn’t, and frankly, if she chose that route, I would help her. She deserved nothing less after how lax he had been.
Eric’s shoulders came up when he turned with a thin file in hand. Before he held it out to me, he let out a long, loud exhale.
“I’ve made contact with them twice,” he said. “I tried to arrange a meeting, but it never went ahead. It’s been a busy year and I didn’t have time to chase them down. Good luck with that client. She’s very high maintenance.”
“Only if you’re elusive and evasive.” I took the file from him with a snap of my wrist. “We’ll be in touch if we need anything.”
On my walk back to my office, I opened the file to have a quick first look at what he’d done. I was ready to go on this. Enough time had been wasted, and I really wanted Laurie to be able to put it behind her.
Frustration tied my stomach in knots when I realized just how literally he’d meant it when he said he’d made contact with them twice. That was it. The sum total of what he’d done in a year.
He’d written one letter requesting a meeting and had record of one telephone call that he’d placed right at the beginning. The other documents in the file were a sheet with Laurie’s information and the paperwork she’d compiled for him.
A very big part of me wanted to turn around, go back to his office, and put my fist through his fucking face. It made it worse knowing that he’d tried to get even more money from her and even tried the same bullshit with me.
It was no wonder he’d given up the file so much more readily than I’d expected him to. He didn’t have a leg to stand on to keep it, and while he was lazy, he wasn’t stupid.
I walked back into the office. Dannie’s smile slipped when she saw the thundercloud that had grown above my head when I saw how little he had done.
“I take it your meeting didn’t go well?” she asked.
“It went fine. I got the file. Just remind me that Eric Starkey is on my shit list.” I dropped the papers containing Laurie’s information and the contact details of the production company. “Load those into our system, would you? It’s a new client. I’m also going to need you to find out everything you can about that movie.”
She frowned when she glanced down. “I read these books and I’ve been looking forward to seeing the movie. Why are we suing them for it?”
I gave her a quick breakdown of the circumstances before taking the rest of the contents of the file with me into my office. Dannie came in a while later with a stack of research she’d done. Her jaw was set in grim determination when she sat down opposite my desk.
“Let’s get these thieves,” she said, folding her notebook open to a new page. “What do you need from me?”
I massaged my temples while working through my thoughts. “It’s been a while since we’ve done intellectual property. Why don’t you start by looking up recent precedent? Let’s see what’s been going on in that field.”
“You got it.” She scribbled something on her paper, then smoothed out her skirt after standing up. “Anything else?”
We went over a few more points before Dannie went back to her work and I got stuck into mine. It was well into the afternoon by the time I shut off my computer and I had to go collect Allie. I felt good about what I’d achieved on Laurie’s case today, though. She was going to be happy to hear what I had to say when I gave her my feedback.
We ended up pulling into the school line-up at almost the same time, smiling at each other and waving as we parked. Katie and Allie walked out together, heads bent as they discussed something that looked far too serious to be talked about by seven-year-olds.
Allie ran up to my car while Katie ran up to Laurie’s. Her eyes were round and hopeful when she opened the front door and peeked inside.
“Can Katie and I have another play date?” she asked. “Please? We don’t have a lot of homework left.”
“It’s Monday,” I reminded her. “There’s still a lot of week to get through before we can relax. Maybe we should try arranging something for the weekend if they’re available.”
My gaze drifted from Allie to Laurie’s car, where I saw her shoulders move on a sigh before she looked at me. Even across the distance, I could see the reluctance on her face while Katie talked.
Allie kept talking too, pleading with me to let them play for just a little while longer. “Please, Daddy? I’ll still be in bed on time, and I’ll do my homework before I go to sleep. The weekend is so far away.”
All it took for her to get me to cave was a fifteen-second-long puppy-dog look. She really did have it down to an art form. “Let’s go find out if Laurie’s up for it. If she says yes, I don’t really see a reason why you can’t as long as you promise your homework will be done and you won’t fight me at bedtime.”
“I promise,” she said sweetly, grinning
while she waited for me to get out of the car. “I love you, Daddy. You’re the best.”
“Just remember that when you turn sixteen.” I chuckled and pulled her to my side to find out about her day while we walked to Laurie’s car.
When she saw us coming, she climbed out too and smiled when we were close enough. “Hey, you two. I believe I’ll be crowned as the best aunt who has ever lived if I agree to this play date.”
Her eyes were so green today that looking at her felt like a fresh beautiful spring morning. It took me a beat to stop staring and find my tongue. “I’ve been promised that homework will be done by bedtime and that there will be no arguments when the time comes to go to sleep.”
“Is that so?” She turned to face Katie, who nodded her agreement enthusiastically while clutching Allie’s hand. Bringing her gaze back to mine, she shrugged one shoulder. “You’re okay with this?”
“Sure. Why not? Apparently, they don’t have a lot of homework, and as long as that gets done, what’s the harm?”
She held my eyes for a moment, seemingly uncertain before she eventually nodded. “I guess you’re right. Our place or yours? I promise if they go to yours, I’ll pick Katie up on time.”
I grinned. “I think it’s safe to say we’ve moved past that. I have a better idea anyway. Why don’t all four of us go to the rollerblading rink in the city? We haven’t gone for ages.”
Laurie’s eyes widened, but the girls jumped in before she could say anything. “Yes! Rollerblading will be so much fun.”
Her eyes tracked to Katie’s again, and even though it looked like she was agreeing begrudgingly, she smiled and inclined her head. “Rollerblading, it is. I just hope I can even still stay upright on a pair of skates. I haven’t been in forever, and I wasn’t the best to start with.”
Chapter 21
Laurie
The last time I went skating, I couldn’t have been much older than the girls were now. Walking into the rink again after all that time was an experience, but not a completely pleasant one.
Katherine had always been by my side when I walked into any rink, and doing it now without her just felt wrong. The oddly comforting smell of old leather, polish, musty feet, and pizza slices greeted us, which only intensified the feeling of missing my sister.
She’d have been in line to buy a slice already, so that’s where I headed first. We needed to have lunch anyway, and Jacob said he’d get the skates while I got us some food.
Armed with boxes of pizza, I went to find us a place to sit. Since it was a Monday afternoon, the rink was quiet enough that we had our choice of table. I found one near a window, spreading out the food and waiting for the others to join me.
Lunch flew by in a blur of the girls’ excited voices and them practically inhaling their food before they were strapping on their skates. Jacob held a white pair out to me and already had his own on.
“You ready for this?” he asked after the girls took off and he watched me clumsily trying to stand up on the wheels.
I shook my head. “When I said I’ve never been the best at this, I wasn’t joking. You’re not allowed to laugh at me.”
He held his hand over his heart, a grin spreading on his lips. He still managed to sound sincere, though. “You have my word.”
“You’re also not allowed to make any comparisons to a baby horse trying to walk over a frozen lake.” I smiled fondly when I remembered how Kat used to tease me about it.
Jacob looked like he wanted to ask but thankfully chose not to. “No baby horse comparisons. I understand.”
“Well, then. Let’s go do it.” I tried to take a step forward but wobbled and had to catch myself on the table.
My companion, however, moved as gracefully and easily as if he was wearing his favorite pair of sneakers. As soon as he stepped onto the rink, I realized he was a natural. He executed an easy turn before skating backward toward the girls while I inched my way closer from the table.
Allie seemed as comfortable on her skates as her father, and she was showing Katie the ropes. Jacob reached them and said a few words to his daughter, who nodded and took Katie’s arm. He watched them carefully for a minute until he was satisfied they were okay before racing around the rink with a huge, carefree grin on his face.
By the time he had completed his lap, I was just getting onto the rink. He came to a swift, perfect stop just a few feet away. “Are you okay? I’d be happy to help if you need me to.”
“I’m fine,” I said, shifting my weight on my feet to try maintaining my balance once I let go of the railing. “I just need to find my center and then it’ll all come back to me.”
He didn’t come any closer, but his mere presence was enough to distract me. He still had that grin on his face and it made his eyes sparkle under the lights. A flop of his hair had fallen across his forehead while he’d taken a lap, and combined with the grin and the shining eyes, it made him look adorable and boyish.
Which I definitely won’t tell him. Sexy, manly lawyers with fancy cars and expensive houses would never take kindly to being called adorable or boyish.
The thought made a smile grow on my face, but it also stole what little concentration I’d been keeping on my balance. My feet started drifting apart, and I threw out my arms while trying to pull my feet back together again.
Unfortunately, when it didn’t work, I started waving them like freaking windmills while Jacob watched me with quiet amusement.
“Are you sure you don’t want any help?” He appeared at my side, a stable hand reaching out to grab hold of my own.
I scrambled to make my stupid feet move the way I wanted them to and somehow ended up pressed against his solid chest. His arms looped around me, holding me up while also managing not to lose his own balance.
“Whoa,” I breathed, though I didn’t know if it was because of the way he felt against me or because I was suddenly feeling dizzy.
This close to him, I smelled an elegant, masculine scent of woodsy cedar and pine, and I couldn’t help myself when I took a deeper whiff. Jacob’s chest rumbled with laughter, but he was keeping his promise by not laughing out loud.
“Are you okay? If I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought you just sniffed me.” His voice was strained with the effort of trying to hold in the laughter when I wobbled again and nearly fell out of his arms.
How is that even possible?
“Luckily, you do know better,” I said once my feet started behaving and it didn’t feel like I was about to have an intimate encounter with the floor. “Thanks for helping me. How are you so good at this if you said you haven’t been here for ages either?”
“I grew up playing hockey,” he said.
I groaned internally. Of course, he used to play hockey.
“Next time they want to have a play date, we’re going horseback riding or crocheting,” I said. “That’s what I grew up doing.” Reading and writing too, but I doubted they’d want to spend a play date together reading and I still wasn’t getting any writing done.
Jacob dipped his head and smirked. “I grew up riding horses too. It’s a date.”
“It’s not a date,” I mumbled.
He laughed. “Fine. A play date, but whatever.” He held his hand out toward me. “Want to hold onto me for your first time around and see how it goes?”
I very nearly snorted. Just looking at him had made me lose my questionable balance the first time. Somehow, I didn’t think touching him would end well for me.
“You can go ahead,” I said. “I’m just going to keep it slow, and I doubt that will be much fun for you.”
“Slow is fine,” he replied, skating ahead of me backward again so he could keep his eyes on mine.
Show off.
He kept me company while I wobbled my way across the rink until we eventually caught up with the girls. Allie was no longer holding on to Katie, who definitely seemed to have gotten the hang of it.
“Kids are as elastic as rubber bands,” I muttered. “Their
noses can be to the floor and they’ll somehow still manage to bounce back.”
Jacob chuckled as he watched them. “You can say that again. I remember looking at people in their early twenties and wondering why such oldies would even come to the rink if they sucked so badly.”
“Oh, ha,” I said dryly. “At least I’m pretty sure you’re older than I am. I’ll accept that I suck if you can accept that you’re the oldie.”
He laughed again. “No deal.”
A sudden giggle ahead made me look up. Katie was halfway to the floor, but Allie caught her before she took a fall.
Seeing them in that position triggered a memory that I hadn’t thought of in years. It was one of Katherine. She’d caught me in almost exactly the same way.
It was obvious that Allie and Katie were becoming true friends, more and more, and I was reminded of how my sister and I used to be. It made me remember what it had felt like to have that person by your side. The one you could trust to never let you fall or who would at least try to catch you when you did.
A pang of sadness hit me straight in the heart. I missed my sister dearly in moments like these, and it killed me to know I would never have that feeling back. I was unbelievably grateful that Katie had found someone like Allie to share it with, but all that did was remind me of yet another thing Katherine would never get to see Katie experience.
And that was all it took.
A single look at the simple gesture of friendship, and the dam inside me threatened to break. All the emotions I fought every day to clamp down on in front of Katie and the rest of the world swelled up, and I knew I had to get out of there.
Fast.
Just for a minute.
Luckily, there was another exit just a few feet away from where I was. I gave Katie a tight smile, motioning toward the bathrooms. “I’ll be right back.”
She nodded, already skating away while Allie was just ahead of her and showing her how to do turns. Escaping the rink was easier than it might’ve been on a busier day. I slipped my skates off as soon as I could, stashed them at our table, and fled outside with only socks on my feet.
Desperate For You Page 13