“Fuck, Laurie.” He gathered me up in his arms and rolled so he was on his back and I was draped half over him to keep from falling off the couch. Our limbs were tangled, and the way he held me was too familiar.
I didn’t move away just yet, deciding to give my heart the chance to slow down again before extricating myself from him. Jacob breathed out heavily, a lazy smile spreading across his face in the aftermath. It was a smile that I wanted to see time and again, forever. The thought scared me, but I didn’t freak out again.
Whatever was between us, I already knew it wouldn’t be fleeting. It wasn’t a one and done, and while it was completely unexpected, I couldn’t say I didn’t want it.
Chapter 28
Jacob
In one week’s time, I’d progressed Laurie’s case further than Eric had in a year. I still saw red whenever I thought about all the time he’d wasted.
Even if I hadn’t liked her as much more than a client, I’d have been pissed off about it. It frustrated me endlessly when people didn’t do the jobs they were being paid for, and he definitely hadn’t done his job.
After having spent the whole day going through the files the movie company had sent over, I was more convinced than ever that they didn’t have a case. In the end, I hadn’t even needed to get someone to help me sort through it all because most of it was total bullshit.
They’d included reams and reams of paper that were totally irrelevant, and nothing they had sent over affected the strength of Laurie’s case in the slightest. Since I now knew where we stood, had done my research, and had seen what they would likely be relying on once the time came to go through the formal processes of discovery, I was ready to set up a meeting.
It took a few tries throughout the afternoon, but eventually just before I had to leave to get ready for our date, I got through to their lead counsel. I didn’t know the guy, but he wasn’t local, so it wasn’t a surprise.
Drumming my fingers on my desk while he barked, huffed, and puffed into the phone about how “this author has no idea what she’s talking about,” I looked out over the square outside and waited for him to finish his rant.
When he was finally done, I checked the time on my computer when I spun my chair around again. “You’re entitled to your opinion, Max. I know you’ve corresponded with Eric Starkey in the past, but I’ve taken over from him and I can assure you I’m not afraid to take the steps that need to be taken.”
“Are you threatening me?” he shouted into the receiver, and I could practically feel his blood pressure rising.
“I’m not threatening you. I’m simply telling you that my predecessor might have dragged his feet on this, but I won’t be doing the same thing. We can get together, sit around a table, and talk this out, or we can go to court and hash it out there. The choice is yours.”
“We’re too close to the premiere date to get involved in a bullshit legal spat right now,” he said. “I’ll have a field day with your client in court proving her maliciousness and bad faith in having waited until the release day is so close. Suing us now will cause maximum damage even if we know she doesn’t have a case. She’s going to end up owing us millions.”
“You and I disagree on that point. It’s your prerogative to take that route, but I can assure you that the client is not at fault for the delay. We’re well within the statute of limitations on this. What else have you got? Hit me, but just make it quick. I’ve got somewhere to be.”
He muttered under his breath for a moment before speaking up again. “What do you want?”
“A meeting would be a nice start, but I understand you’ve been resisting any attempt at getting in the same room as my client. We don’t want the film being caught up in a controversial battle either. The sooner we can get this done, the better for everyone involved.”
There was a brief pause. “We can meet on Monday, December first at three. Take it or leave it.”
“That’s not usually how this works, but I’m comfortable enough in my masculinity not to have to turn this into anything other than what it needs to be. We’ll take it. I’ll send you my address and a meeting invitation shortly.”
The man mumbled some more before we said our goodbyes and hung up. Immediately after the phone call, I gathered up my stuff and got ready to head home.
“I finally got them to agree to a meeting,” I said to Dannie on my way out. “Will you set it up for me? I wrote down all the details in the file on my desk.”
She nodded, smiling brightly as I passed her. “I’ll do it right away. Where are you taking off to so early?”
“I have to get home,” I said. “See you tomorrow.”
Jamie, the babysitter, had picked Allie up from school, and both girls were playing in Allie’s room when I got home. They waved at me when I popped my head in to say hi before I went to grab a shower.
“Did you have something in mind for supper for them?” Jamie asked. “I found a killer recipe the other day that I think Allie will love if you’re open to suggestions.”
“You know the extent of my culinary abilities. Do your thing. I trust your judgment.”
She laughed. “Will do, boss.”
The doorbell rang seconds after I was dressed. Laurie and Katie were right on time. Katie giggled when Allie opened the front door.
“Good night, Laurie,” she managed between fits as she hugged her aunt goodbye and Allie dragged her up to play in her room.
Once the girls were gone, I got my first proper look at my date and very nearly decided not to go out to dinner after all. My bedroom was right upstairs and we could always do takeout.
Laurie’s hair was down, hanging in shiny golden waves that tumbled past her shoulders. She wore a long-sleeved indigo dress with a plunging neckline and a hem that hit just below mid-thigh. It was sexy without being too revealing, but I knew what was hiding underneath it, and there was no stopping the images flooding my brain of stripping it off her.
High-heeled leather ankle boots adorned her feet, and there were colorful patterns on her sleeves. I’d never seen her wearing much makeup, and she looked just as gorgeous without it, but the light smoky eyes she’d done tonight and the red lipstick definitely did things to me.
“Wow,” I breathed when I finally managed to yank my eyes back up to hers. I had to clear my throat to get my voice to work properly. “I mean, hi. Would you like to come in?”
She laughed softly as she nodded. “I liked your first reaction more, but yes, I would like to. Just to meet the babysitter, right?”
“Right.” I cleared my throat again and took a step back. As she walked past me, her hand brushed against mine, drawing my gaze down to hers.
“For the record,” she said, still smiling, “you look great too. You might’ve said ‘wow’ but I was thinking it.”
“Good to know.” I turned my hand to press our palms together for just a second before closing the door. “Let’s go introduce you to Jamie so we can get going.”
“Has she been working for you for a long time?” she asked, her breath hitching when I pressed my hand to the small of her back, even though she already knew where the kitchen was.
I just wanted to touch her, even if it could only be this one small point of contact. For now.
“I’ve known her for four years. Ever since Shannon left actually. She used to live in the building next door. Some days, I think Allie loves her more than she loves me.”
“You’re lucky to have found someone so close by. I’ve only just realized I should start looking around for a babysitter, but I don’t even know where to start.”
I chuckled. “Jamie posted flyers on our building noticeboard about a week after Shannon left. As it happened, I desperately needed help that night and thought I’d give her a try. My mother popped in for the first hour to keep an eye on things just in case, but they also had a function she had to get to.”
“You got your mother to babysit your babysitter?” She smiled up at me, shaking her head just as we rea
ched the kitchen.
Jamie had obviously heard us, but it was nothing she hadn’t heard before. She laughed when she turned to greet us, dusting her hands off on the apron she had tied around her neck.
“He did get a babysitter to babysit me. Luckily, I passed the test.” She held out her hand. “I’m Jamie. It’s nice to meet you. You’re welcome to contact me anytime to find out how your little girl is doing. I’ll send you pictures throughout the night and let you know once they’ve eaten and gone to bed.”
“I think I’m in love with you,” Laurie said, giving Jamie’s hand a quick shake before dropping hers back to her side. “I haven’t left Katie with anyone except my parents and this guy right here, so I might drive you nuts with all my messages.”
Jamie’s smile widened. “You won’t. I totally understand. Go on. Enjoy your evening. We’ll be having tons of fun here.”
Laurie took a breath, nodded, and fell in step beside me after we said goodbye. When I unlocked the Corvette once we got to the garage, she chuckled.
“Are you showing off, Mr. Parker? This is a damn fancy car.”
I shrugged, winking at her over the door after opening it for her. “Sometimes, a flashy car is necessary to impress a pretty girl.”
She tried to hide her blush by ducking into the car, but I saw it, and I fucking loved it. Laurie’s reactions were just so real. She was one of the few genuine people I’d met in the last few years. She didn’t pretend to be someone she wasn’t and she didn’t hide from her emotions.
She just was who she was, and I really liked that about her. Her authenticity was unique. A sad but very true state of affairs these days.
“I made reservations at an Italian restaurant on the water downtown,” I said once we got on the road. “We get to choose whether we want one big meal or a selection of appetizers and smaller portions throughout the evening.”
“I love the idea of eating as the night goes on,” she said without any hesitation. “Especially if it’s on the water. Those views are beautiful.”
“That, they are.” Especially if I got to spend the evening looking at her, but I didn’t feel the need to say it out loud. Way too cliched.
The restaurant wasn’t far away from my place, and we were seated on an outdoor patio in no time. I ordered our drinks and appetizers once we were seated, remembering to tell the waitress about the choice we’d made concerning our meals.
She smiled and nodded, leaving us alone when she went to collect our order. Turning all my attention on Laurie, I couldn’t help the grin that spread on my face when I noticed the look of wonder on hers as she took in the view.
“Why have I been looking for inspiration to write from exotic places online when I have this in my own backyard?” she asked. “Maybe I should bring my laptop here next week. Words have got to come to me in a setting like this.”
“I think it’s human nature to ignore the places closest to us in favor of foreign beauty,” I said. “I always used to dream of traveling abroad. Then I realized I hadn’t even seen most of the states around us.”
“Same.” She shook her head. “It was only once Katie came to live with me that I started looking at local vacations. We haven’t had time to take any yet, and I didn’t want her to be away from my parents for too long, but it’s definitely something I want to get around to doing.”
“You used to want to travel?” I asked.
She nodded. “It’s another one of the things I thought I wouldn’t be able to do any longer. I’m realizing now it was silly. Funny how once the blinders start falling off, it’s suddenly so much easier to see everything from a different perspective.”
“I know what you mean,” I said. “I went through a similar period after Shannon left. People think it’s easy to move on from life-altering events. They expect it to happen within a month or two when the truth is that it often takes years.”
“I’m ashamed to say I used to be one of those people,” she admitted. “I really didn’t understand grief, or shock for that matter, or the way it’s all so entwined and the effect that can have on the way you think.”
“Everyone is one of those people until it happens to them.” I shrugged. “I just don’t think you can really get it until you’ve gone through it yourself.”
“True. Unfortunate but true. The whole ‘you live, you learn’ saying makes a lot more sense now than it used to. I thought of it as learning how to drive or finding parking spots on a busy day before.”
“I can’t even remember how I used to think about it. I’m pretty sure it was also learning how to do stuff, not learning how to live with stuff.”
Our appetizers came and the waitress filled our glasses with water and wine. We tasted some of the cheeses and cold meats while we continued talking.
“I guess I just never thought it would happen to me,” I said. “People always say that, but it’s because it’s true. I sure as hell never expected Shannon to leave us without a word, out of the blue, while we had a toddler to take care of. I couldn’t even braid hair when she left, and of course, that was all Allie wanted. Braided freaking hair.”
“I wish I’d have known you then. I might seem pretty out of my depth at the moment, but back then, I kind of had things under control. I also happen to be masterful at braiding. I used to have to do it for myself and for Katherine before we went to sleep every night.”
“Firstly, you will gain control again. At least, as much of it as any of us have. It’s already happening. Secondly, so do I. It would’ve been very useful to have had someone to call who could teach me how to do it. I had to look it up online and those videos are not as simple as they’re advertised to be.”
“I once tried to learn how to snowboard online.” She laughed, covering her face with her hands at the memory. “Some friends decided we should take a ski trip. It was a lot of fun, but it ended as more of a ‘reading in front of the fire’ trip for me. I am not a natural athlete.”
“Reading in front of the fire doesn’t seem like a bad use of your time,” I said. “Is that why you wanted to become a writer? Because you love reading?”
“It was definitely a big part of it, but it was more than that. Before everything happened, I used to just always have so many ideas for stories floating around in my head. The only way I could get the characters and the worlds to leave me alone was by getting them out.”
“I’m assuming no characters or worlds are bothering you at the moment?” I asked.
“Recently, I’ve had some knocking at the outer recesses of my brain. They just don’t seem to want to leave those dark corners just yet. It’s like they’re there, but they’re hanging on inside with all their might.”
“You said it has to do with the lawsuit?” I remembered her talking about it before.
She nodded. “I can’t quite seem to get into that creative headspace the way I used to. Every time it starts happening, my anxiety over what will happen once my work gets out into the world creeps up on me.”
“Hopefully, once we get the case over and done with, that will change again,” I said. “They’re not going to get away with it.”
“Even if they don’t, I don’t know if I’ll ever get over the anxiety. It’s paralyzing. I feel so stuck, but at the same time, I know I have to write something new because my royalties from the older books are drying up.”
“Which causes more anxiety,” I concluded, reaching across the table to squeeze her hand. “I’ve been stuck like that before. Maybe not in exactly the same way, but a catch-22 is a catch-22 and a rut is a rut. Something will give eventually.”
“Something has to.” She turned her hand over to take mine, her thumb moving up and down on the inside of my palm. “How did you get out of your rut?”
“I took a case I shouldn’t have. It was a field I’d never worked in before, and it was basically unwinnable, but I also couldn’t lose it. There was too much at stake.”
“What did you do?” she asked, leaning forward with her eyes wide o
n mine.
“I won.” I gave her the same smirk I knew she used to hate so much, but this time, it made her laugh. “Sometimes, the only thing we need is just that one win.”
And hopefully, we would get hers on Monday.
Chapter 29
Laurie
Jacob’s plan didn’t actually sound half bad, but it was the way he said it that made me laugh. I wouldn’t have pegged him as someone who would be able to make me laugh about something that felt like such a big mountain I still had to overcome, but it was just yet another thing I was wrong about with him.
He told me more about his case while we kept eating. I was in stitches at some points of his story, trying to imagine the Jacob I knew in the situations he’d ended up in.
“I know you said you got into law to help people,” I said once he’d finished, “but why law? There are plenty of other professions that help people.”
“Most do in one way or another,” he said. “For me, it was because of my grandmother. My grandfather died when my dad and his siblings were all still in diapers. His death was an accident, and she should have been compensated, but she wasn’t. No one would help her because she couldn’t afford to pay.”
“That’s terrible.” I thought back to Thanksgiving when I’d met his dad. “I can’t even imagine what that must be like. If I think of how powerless I feel now, I just don’t know how she did it. Especially with young children to raise.”
“That’s exactly it.” He rubbed the back of his neck before a smile spread on his handsome face. “I couldn’t imagine it either, so I decided to do something about it. I might not have been able to help her, but I can help others like her.”
“It’s great that your boss lets you do it. I can’t see a firm like Eric’s taking on cases like that.”
“If I had tried to work for someone like Eric, I’d be in jail for doing something shocking to him by now. Like vandalizing his car or letting homeless people make themselves comfortable in his home. At least that way, he’d be useful to society.”
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