Boy, did we.
As predicted, Bryant’s dad nearly blew a gasket. I thought his grandfather was going to burst something, he was so tickled. But it was an ironclad document. I knew it. We’d haggled over it—the old guy had slipped some less than fantastic terms into it. I kind of thought he was testing us.
We both studied our asses off, and passed the bar on the first try. Once we did, Mr. Higgs kept his word and sent clients to us. We did well with them. It seemed as though overnight we had a healthy number of them. Bryant handled the details. He could recall the minutest of facts accurately. I was the better negotiator, and together we did well by our clients.
So much so that less than three years in, I was able to buy a sailboat. I still stayed at the townhouse, but I spent as much time on my boat as I did there. Bryant and I needed space. I still had my Thing. He teased me unmercifully about it, but I wouldn’t get rid of it.
And for three years, I hadn’t dated anyone. I’d gone on dates, and as I’d promised Bryant, I let him vet them. He disliked all of them. So I didn’t let it go any further, even though the lack of emotional and physical intimacy sucked.
Sounds crazy, I know. But I’d promised, and since I was still in this life and had determined to make the most of it for me, I wasn’t letting my penchant for bad boys and assholes ruin it.
I’d called out to Dhameer occasionally, but he never responded. I guess I hadn’t hit a crossroads yet. It made me wonder again what he considered a crossroads. I felt like I ran into them several times over the past three years, but apparently not by his standards. I also took the step of making some kind of peace with my parents. What I found was that while they would probably never completely apologize for all the shit we put up with from them, they were trying in the only way they knew. It wasn’t always pretty, and sometimes it totally sucked. But at last, I’d found some peace with them. No longer did I feel hostage to their choices, their baggage. I had a choice as to whether or not I carried it, and I chose to put it behind me. It was a freeing feeling. If I ever hit a crossroads and ended up where I was three years ago, I’d make the effort. I promised myself that.
I had, in this timeline of events, lost touch with Danni. Because in this, I broke up with Tim after discovering his cheating months after I met Seth. I went down a path Danni didn’t like—and we’d drifted apart. Last time I’d spoken with her, in my senior year in college, she’d still been with Will. Neither of them ever mentioned Seth to me. I didn’t ask. I had Xavier still. Like before, once I passed the bar, he called me and hired me on the spot. Now, in addition to double checking his books and his finances, I handled his legal affairs. Gone right out and taken an entertainment law class, just for him. I was thrilled. I asked Dhameer to ensure that he was in my life, no matter where I was, and here he was.
One thing I hadn’t done was to look up Rick or Seth. I couldn’t. Sometimes I thought about it. Put their names in the search bar and almost hit Enter. But I couldn’t. I didn’t want to see their happy lives, their wives and kids. I just didn’t. I know it was stupid, but I couldn’t. Better to wonder and have a teeny bit of hope, than know and have none.
Bryant came into my office, cutting short my musings. “I just got a call from Granddad.”
By now, I called the old guy Granddad too. He treated me like one of his grandkids. Even Bryant’s dad was coming around.
“What’s up?”
“He has a case he needs help with. An old friend having a dispute with Barrington Shipping.”
“Have we worked with them or against them before?” The name rang a bell, but only a faint one.
“Nope. They’re up in Massachusetts, old company. It’s an old guy who runs it. I heard he’s got one of the kids or grandkids coming in to help him, but that’s all I know. For now.”
“Okay. Let’s find out all we can about them. What’s the beef?”
“Freight charges, disagreement over contract language.”
“He wants us to take on that? Seems a little like overkill.” I was puzzled. This wasn’t really anything that a good contract attorney couldn’t sort out. We were specialized, which meant more money. Why would he do that to a friend?
“Yeah, but his friend is pissed Granddad isn’t handling it. Granddad chickened out and lobbed it to us.”
“Does he know our rates?”
“He pays Granddad’s,” Bryant said.
Oh, well. Then we were a bargain. “Okay. Let’s get to it.”
We set up a meeting for the next week. Granddad’s friend was fuming mad, and not willing to wait. I sighed. Granddad had no friends that were normal, sane, or calm.
Present day
Which brings us to right now. When I walked into the room, and introduced myself to Clifford Barrington, and twin voices exclaimed, “Tibby?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
I felt faint, and like I couldn’t catch my breath. Were Rick and Seth really standing there, looking at me? They both were slightly open-mouthed. I knew I probably looked the same. I pulled my professionalism around me like a cloak.
“Gentlemen. I am called Tibby, although in less formal surroundings.”
That seemed to snap both of them out of it. Rick recovered first. He held out a hand to Bryant.
“Rick Montevaldo, attorney of record for Mr. Barrington.”
Bryant shook his hand and glanced at me. “My pleasure, Mr. Montevaldo. I take it you know Ms. Holloway?”
I stepped into the breach here. Grasped Rick’s hand. “Indeed we do. He was good friends with my neighbors growing up.” I squeezed his hand warmly. I felt Bryant’s brow raise inquiringly behind me. I didn’t even need to see it. He knew my parents, knew how I grew up.
Mr. Barrington drew Seth forward. “This is my grandson, Seth McKay. He’s agreed to come on board with me, finally.”
“Mr. McKay,” Bryant was saving my life here. They shook hands and then Seth turned to me.
“Tib—Ms. Holloway, it’s good to see you again.”
Seeing him now, right in front of me, next to Rick brought back all the loss from my first two wishes. Why in the hell wasn’t Dhameer whisking me away? How did this not count as a crossroads? My god. They both looked fantastic, good enough to eat. I had to stop the direction of my thoughts. They were not businesslike at all.
I shook his hand, covering it with my other hand. “Mr. McKay. It’s a pleasure to see you again. We met back when we were both in college,” I said for the benefit of everyone else there. And to cover the avalanche of feelings that were at play within. Holy hell. Rick and Seth. They knew one another. We were all in the same room.
This must be what it felt like to implode. I plastered a grin on my face. I’d get through this if it killed me.
Barrington was obviously a bit perplexed by all this. “Well? Very nice to know you all know one another. Makes things easier. Should we get to it? This really shouldn’t be a difficult matter to fix.”
“Of course not,” I switched my attention to him. We’d banned our client from attending with us, given his temper.
“Your client isn’t with you?” Rick asked, almost as though he was reading my mind.
“We are fully authorized to represent his needs and wishes,” Bryant said smoothly. I had to smile. He was good at the socially awkward times we occasionally found ourselves in at work.
“Damn good thing, too” said Barrington. “Likely to burst a blood vessel just trying to get past hello,” he finished in an audible mutter.
I had to stifle my laugh. It was an accurate representation of Barney Templeton.
“Be that as it may, we do need to sort this out before anything can move forward,” said Bryant. “What, exactly, do you dispute regarding Mr. Templeton’s claims?”
And with that, we were off into business. Occasionally, I could feel the weight of Rick, Seth, or both of them glancing at me, as well as questioning looks from Bryant. Oh, the after work discussion was going to be just fabulous. It made me want to sigh alread
y.
“Well, I think that we’ll be able to bring this to our client and have an answer for you by week’s end, gentlemen,” I said, gathering the papers up and putting them in my case. “We thank you for meeting with us. You’ll hear from us soon.” All I wanted was to get out of there. I wasn’t ready for talking to either one of them. I’d bet my cell had messages on it by end of day, though.
I was out the door after a brief round of handshakes. Bryant had to hurry to catch up with me.
“Tib! C’mon! What the hell?” He touched my arm as he came abreast of me.
I stopped. “You really want to know? It’s a long damn story.”
“I really do.”
Just then, my phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number. “Hello?”
“It’s Seth. I want to see you, Tibby.” His tone suggested he wouldn’t take no. I felt a trill of…fear? Excitement? I wasn’t sure what. Nor why. I hadn’t done anything wrong. But—
“How did you come by this number?” I asked, stalling.
“My company has your contact info. I finally looked at it. The minute you left the office.”
He didn’t want to fool around with the social niceties. I could feel it. Okay, I can agree to that. When and where?” I didn’t say his name. I didn’t want more questions from Bryant than I could handle.
“Tonight. Near your office. I’ve cancelled the rest of my afternoon. As soon as I drop off my grandfather I’m heading towards your office.”
It sounded like a promise. My face warmed at the thought. At that moment, I missed him terribly—all that I’d shared with him, all that I wanted to share.
“I’ll get in touch when we get back to the office,” I managed.
“Don’t stand me up, Tibby.”
“I won’t. Thanks for calling.” I hung up before he could get another word in.
“Who was that?”
“No one I want to talk about right now.” I avoided Bryant’s gaze.
“Which one of them was it?”
Now I did look at him. I noticed that we’d made it back to his car. He opened the door, and we got in. “What are you talking about?” I asked as I buckled my seatbelt. Thank god Bryant was the one driving today. I wasn’t aware of much beyond a foot past my nose.
“Don’t try and run your game on me, Ms. Holloway. Which one of those guys just called you?”
Before I could answer, the phone rang again.
Christ. “Hello?” I didn’t recognize the number, but I would bet—
“Tibby, this is Rick. I couldn’t believe I walked in there and saw you. I’d love to see you. Soon. When can we get together?”
He must have gotten my number from the files, too. Didn’t they look at shit before meeting with the other side? I shook my head. I knew they didn’t. We didn’t. We didn’t care who repped the other side. We couldn’t be the only firm that took such an approach.
“Um. I don’t have my calendar, but maybe tomorrow, after work?”
“Fine. I’ll come downtown and meet you.”
“Will you send me an email to remind me? We can work out the details.” I was sure my email address was listed in the work file, too. Along with my cell number.
“I will. I can’t wait to catch up with you.” His voice was warm. Remembering all the times I’d heard that tone, my face warmed as well. Damn it. I knew Bryant was watching all this.
“I feel the same,” I said. I couldn’t stay all business. Not with the memories just his voice could evoke.
He hung up without a good-bye. He’d always been like that. I hit End and turned to face Bryant.
“That was the other one, wasn’t it?” His tone was mildly accusing mixed with humor.
“You’re laughing at me?”
“Tib, watching those two pant over you was the funniest thing I’ve seen in ages. Well, almost the funniest thing. The funniest thing was watching you try to ignore them. You could have cut the tension with a knife in there. Barrington was grinning behind his hand the whole time.”
“Holy hell. That’s just fantastic.” If this made the rounds—
“How do you know them?”
“Um…” I tried to focus. My heart was racing still, just from touching their hands. Hearing their voices after all these years. I thought I’d managed well over the past three years, but that simple touch from both of these men told me that perhaps I was wrong. Now that I didn’t have to be on point in a meeting, my head was doing cartwheels at the thought that all three of my wishes had collided. That I’d had no glitter shower to drag me away and leave me frustrated and crumpled with the weight of my feelings. “I really did kind of grow up with Rick. We flirted like crazy, but…” my voice trailed off. Visions of the year I spent with him flashed in front of me. I couldn’t tell Bryant that, though. “Nothing ever happened,” I finished in a small voice.
“And McKay?”
“I met him one night out with my friends. He laid this kiss on me, and then gave me his number. Because I was dating this total loser, and I was stupid and blind, I didn’t take him up on it, didn’t call him.” I could see Seth, standing naked in front of me, looking at me with his feelings in his eyes just like it was yesterday and my entire body temperature felt like it rose a full degree. I knew my face was as red as a beet.
“Well it’s obvious none of you have forgotten each other. How do you think they know one another?”
“I don’t know,” I said impatiently. “Probably from some ‘Karma for Tibby’ set up.”
Bryant laughed so hard he almost had to pull over. He’d calm down, and then be off again, laughing until tears rolled down his face. We made it back to the office alive, where he opened the car door and just leaned out of it, laughing.
“This is not fucking funny, Bry! What the hell am I going to do?” I could hear panic in my tone, and that stopped me. No one but me knew that I’d had two wishes where I got to know both these guys up close and personal. No one. As far as Rick knew, he hadn’t seen me in ten plus years, and I’d been the dewy little seventeen year old neighbor of his best friend. Seth? I was a girl he’d met one night seven years ago. I wasn’t anything more than a blip on their radar, a pleasant memory of the past. I could meet both Rick and Seth, answer the what the hell questions about the past, and manage, one way or another.
I’d decide after I met with them. There was nothing to panic over, nothing to be upset over. Only I held all the info, only I knew the score. I laughed to myself at my bravado. Easier said than done.
“Why don’t you come in when you’ve pulled yourself together?” I said frostily to Bryant. I stalked into the office. Some best friend. I needed support right now, not his hysterical laughter. This would also give me time to call Seth.
Once I’d safely hidden myself in my office with the door closed I flipped through the numbers on my phone, and called him back.
“Tibby?”
“We just got back. How familiar are you with the area?”
“Enough. Where do you want to meet?”
“Let’s meet at O’Hare’s.” That was close but far enough away that I wasn’t guaranteed to run into anyone I knew.
“I’m heading there now. Don’t take your time. I want to see you.”
“Okay.”
He hung up. When had he started doing that, ending the call without saying good-bye? Just like Rick. How much time had he and Rick spent together? I flinched at the thought of what they might have talked about. Then I stopped myself. This was a runaway train. I had to get off it, right now. This wasn’t something you were likely to share with others. I hadn’t even told Bryant or X, and they were my besties. An attorney and client weren’t going to be sharing this sort of thing—a fleeting memory from the past. To them, I was no big deal. Or at least, I shouldn’t be. So why, then, had both called me immediately? Wanting to get together. I shook my head.. Pull it together, Holloway.
I forced myself into the restroom so I could tidy up. I always kept a change of clothes and full ma
ke up at the office. You never knew when you’d need to do repair, or how much. Now the goal was to get out before Bryant cornered me. I made it back to my office and was locking up when—
Too late. He poked his head in my door. “Spill, sister. Which one are you going to meet just as soon as you can give me an excuse?”
I hung my head. “Seth.”
He laughed, and I threw a pen at him. “It’s not funny!”
“Oh, yes it is! It’s hilarious. For the record, I think they’re both decent, so you’re allowed to go out with either one. Or both. You have my permission.” He gave me a regal wave and walked out. Almost immediately, he popped back in. “You can leave now. No lame-assed excuse needed.”
He ducked as another pen went flying.
***
I was muttering to myself as I searched for parking around O’Hare’s. I could feel the sweat beading all over me. All I needed was for Seth to see me soaked with nervous sweat. Yay. That would so fantastic, huh?
It had been years since I’d seen him as someone I was dating, and he was still in my mind’s eye, clear as could be, beautiful and perfect and totally into me. I hadn’t really dated anyone since which, if I thought about the way I used to be, was some kind of miracle. I found that I loved my life, even without a significant other. I missed the closeness, and visions of Seth nearly sent me over the edge, but I had my two good friends and a good life. Did I want to let Seth into that? I had a pretty good thing going.
I hated that I didn’t have an answer to that question. I loved my life. I thought, when I left him, I could love Seth. Wait. I had to remind myself, he doesn’t know anything. Or remember anything. So it’s a fresh slate, in spite of all this ‘meet me immediately’ stuff.
As I walked into the bar, I resisted the urge to wipe my palms on my skirt. I hadn’t been this nervous since my first trial in front of a judge. I spotted Seth in a booth at the back, and I walked quickly to him, then stopped. He looked up at me. I stood there, frozen. We looked at one another without speaking. If we kept this up, it was going to get awkward.
Three Wishes: Time Traveler Romance (Heart Of The Djinn Book 1) Page 16