by HK Carlton
He chuckled. She still didn’t get how into her he was. “Try to keep me away,” he said before he took her lips.
He remained at the door until she drove down the street before he went back to the phone.
“Hey, Ma, sorry, I’m back now.”
“Who is Lainey, son?”
“Oh, Ma, who is Lainey? Now that’s a question and a half.”
“Oh?” She sounded too interested.
“Ma, you’re not going to believe this but I think she’s the one.” There. He’d said it. Not only out loud but to another person—his mom no less. It was real and it was out there. “Mom? Mom? You still there?”
“I’m still here, Jase, I just can’t believe what I just heard. You think she’s the one? Why is it this is the first that we’ve heard about her? Have you been keeping her a secret?”
“No. It’s a really new thing. I just met her last week—”
“Last week! You met her last week and you’re telling me she’s the one. You mean she’s the one this week. Let’s get it straight, Jason. Another one will catch your interest and you’ll be off chasing the next one. How could you do that to me? Get my hopes up for nothing.”
“It’s not like that. I’ve never felt like this before. I don’t even wanna look at other women right now. She’s all I can think about. I can’t even teach for fuck’s sake—”
“Jason!”
“Sorry, Mom. I can’t teach. I wanna be with her all the time.”
“Hmmm. That does sound different. For you, at least. So tell me about her. Her name is Lainey and what else?”
“She’s gorgeous. She owns a boutique downtown. She’s beautiful. She’s a mom—”
“She has a child? Oh, Jason, she’s a gold digger—”
“Don’t ever say that again!” he yelled, thinking of the headlines that he’d seen on the Internet. He tried to soften it with, “She doesn’t even know who I am. So you can get that out of your head right now. Her daughter is a student of mine. That’s how we met. Last week during parent-teacher interviews.”
“Oh, she’s not even a little child. I was thinking a toddler. Huh. That’s different.”
“Yeah. I told you this was.”
“So, how is it she doesn’t know who you are? I thought that you had that speech with your students on your first day?”
“I did, but her daughter didn’t tell her about it. Apparently she wasn’t impressed in the least.”
“You are getting older, son. You can’t keep the teeny boppers on the hook forever.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“No problem. Who can keep you more humble than your mother? Now, I still don’t understand how she’s never heard of you or seen you—you were all over the tabloids and the news, especially when they were hounding you about quitting the music biz.”
“That’s a long story.”
“I have time.”
“Yeah, well I don’t. We’ll get into that another time. Now I need a favor…”
Chapter Twelve
Lainey sat behind the counter, watching traffic go by outside the shop. She’d already decided to start packing up the surplus in the back. It was paid for. If she could sell it off, maybe she could pay somebody. Or maybe she could send it back. She wouldn’t get full cost refunded if she returned it but at least it would be less she owed.
It had been a crappy morning. Her lawyer’s secretary had called first thing and informed her that Reg had taken a leave of absence suddenly and would have to put off all of his cases until he got back. He’d be placing Lainey’s caseload with a colleague. Lainey asked the assistant when she could expect to hear from Reg’s associate and that didn’t sound promising either. Now there was no way that she could fight Thad without Reg’s help, especially with the next deadline being next Friday.
A large streaming shadow crossed the window out front. Lainey sat up straight as the bell on the door chimed and a group of women trailed into the shop. They weren’t her usual clientele.
“Good morning,” Lainey greeted, standing. All five ladies turned and looked at her, giving her the once-over.
“Oh, lovely,” said one.
“Yes, indeed,” agreed another in a whisper.
“I told you,” one sniffed.
“Can I help you?” Lainey asked, a little confused by the comments.
“You have a lovely little place here. We were driving by and just had to stop.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Lainey beamed. “Come in. Have a look around. If you need any help just let me know.” Lainey didn’t like to hover over the customers.
“And your name is, Miss?” One severe-looking woman rapped out like a drill sergeant.
“I’m Lainey.”
“Right. Lainey, girls. Lainey.”
“Is that short for something? Say Elaine or Elena?”
“No, just Lainey.”
There was another round of whispered commentary.
They were a whirlwind. Picking things up, asking questions, placing things on the counter. One lady went as far as to take a picture of a dress with her cellphone and send it to her granddaughter to see if she would like it. When the answer was yes, she placed it on the counter as well.
It was almost noon by the time Lainey had them all cashed out, packed up and bagged.
“Well, this was wonderful, Lainey. I am going to recommend you to everyone I know between here and Jacksonville.”
“I’ve already tweeted about it,” the same woman who’d bought the dress for her granddaughter said.
“Why, thank you, that’s very nice of you. But I’m not sure how long I’ll be open.”
“What!” came joint outrage.
“I’m having a bit of legal trouble and, well, I won’t get into details but it’s not looking good.”
“My son’s a lawyer, sweetie.” The severe-looking woman handed Lainey a card.
Lainey took it politely and looked down at it, stunned.
“You give him a call. He’ll take care of you.”
“And he’s single,” another chimed, but received an elbow for it from one of the other ladies, who watched Lainey carefully.
Lainey smiled at her.
“Are you married?” the lady who had given the elbow asked.
“No. Divorced. Well, almost.”
“Do you have kids?”
“Yes, a teenage daughter.”
“Are you seeing anyone?” another asked.
“Yes,” Lainey smiled and bit her lip. It was the first time she’d been asked that question since Jason had come into her life and it felt good to say that she was with someone. “I’m seeing someone.”
“Someone special then?” They must have picked up on her feelings.
“Yes, someone very special.” Lainey almost felt teary. Getting a lump in her throat. He’d become so important to her so quickly. She liked Jason so much. However she wasn’t ready to define what she was feeling. But whatever it was, it felt wonderful. She made eye contact with the elbow lady again and she nodded as if she approved. Lainey thought that was strange.
“Well, we need to get going. We’re meeting my son for lunch.” Again it was the elbow lady that spoke. There was something very familiar about her.
In a line, they trooped out of the door. “Thank you for stopping in,” Lainey called.
“I’m sure we’ll be seeing you again, dear.”
Lainey watched them get into two separate cars and they waved to her as they pulled away.
It had gone from such a shitty day to a good day. They’d lifted her spirits and put some much needed cash into the register.
And if Jason could meet her for lunch, the day would be awesome. Lainey shot Jason a text and while she waited for a reply, she read the card that the nice lady had left for her. ‘Cam Bowman, Attorney to the Starz’. She’d never be able to afford someone like that.
She set it down to answer her ringing cell. “Hello?”
“Hey, baby, sorry, I’m tied up for lunch today. Can I meet
you after work?”
“Oh.” She was disappointed. She wanted to see him. “Sure. I wasn’t certain what your schedule was like. I’ll see you later then.”
“Lainey?”
“Yeah?”
“You okay?”
“Yeah, it’s been an up and down morning. I’ll tell you all about it later. Have a good afternoon.”
“You too, Lainey love.”
She stared at the phone as she set it back down on the counter. It wasn’t the first time he’d called her that. But usually it was during an intimate moment. Did he realize he was saying it? Did he even mean it or was it just a pet thing, like when he called her beautiful or baby?
Lainey spent the rest of the afternoon floating around in a fog of new feelings. Even though she might lose the shop she didn’t let it get to her. Doing some research she got on the net and looked up ‘Cam Bowman, Attorney to the Starz’. So when the phone rang and the man on the other end introduced himself as Cam Bowman, Lainey was taken off guard. When he asked for her by name she panicked and told him that Lainey wasn’t in. He left a number where he could be reached and gave specific instructions that he needed to hear back from her by the end of the business day.
After making herself a steaming hot cup of tea, she gathered her courage and made the call.
Cam Bowman was brisk and straightforward—a take the bull by the horns kind of guy.
As soon as he came on the line, he took charge.
“Mrs Markham, I’m glad you called. I’ve been looking over the records to your shop, gone through the court proceedings thus far, in accordance to your pending divorce and had a good laugh at your husband’s attempt to screw you—excuse my language—out of your business, your home and custody of one minor child, uhh, Jillian, I see here.“
“And how is it that you have access to that information, Mr Bowman? Neither Thad or I are a client of yours.” Lainey trod lightly.
“It’s all public knowledge, Mrs Markham.”
“I go by Clarkson now.”
“Yes, I believe I read that also. Forgive the oversight. Now, I am going to fax some documents over that will need your signature. Just a quick formality showing that I have taken you on as a client. I will also have some other forms for you to sign. I’ll have those couriered.”
“Other forms?”
“Yes, I have some backers. Clients with cash willing to pour lots and lots of capital into your store. You can pay your creditors…”
“Wait. Hold on a minute. This is all going too fast. I haven’t even agreed to your representation, Mr Bowman.”
“Agreed? What is there to think about? Ms Clarkson, I can have your husband on his knees by this time tomorrow. Just give me the go-ahead and it’s all but done.”
“Although that sounds very tempting, Mr Bowman, I’m not sure that I want to sink down to his level. And about these backers? Who are they and what do they want from me? What’s in it for them? The shop isn’t even turning a profit. Why on earth would anyone want to buy into this mess?”
“I know this must seem a little overwhelming for you. But this is all on the up and up. I am an extremely capable attorney, Ms Clarkson, and I would never steer a client into a shady deal. Once you’ve read over the proposal, I’m certain you’ll have no misgivings. Their offer is more than generous and they’ve agreed to be silent partners, in addition to providing the funds necessary to pay off your creditors as well as pump some much needed cash into your shop. But I’ll need to deal with Mr Markham first. What do you say, Ms Clarkson, Lainey, will you accept me as your representation?”
“I cannot afford to pay you, Mr Bowman.”
“Can you afford a dollar?”
“Well, yes, of course, but…”
“Then we have a deal, Lainey. I am now your lawyer.”
“But why? I don’t understand.”
“I will take a percentage of whatever settlement we reach with Mr Markham. This is kind of a high profile case. I’m actually surprised that someone hasn’t snatched you up already.”
“Oh. You want the press, is that it, Mr Bowman? Well, you can forget it. The press hates me and the sentiment is mutual. I will not sell my morals to you so that you can make more of a name for yourself. By what I read, you don’t need a small time case like mine anyway. That would just be a step down for you.”
“We’ll play this however you like, Lainey. I am at your disposal. I work for you. You call the shots. I will just lend you my expertise and advice. We can go after your husband aggressively or we can just deal with him quietly. Whatever you wish.”
Lainey bit her lip. This sounded too good to be true.
“Shall I send the paperwork over?”
She took a deep breath. “Yes, please do.” She hoped she wasn’t making yet another bumbling mistake. The bottom line was she needed help when it came to Thad and the shop and Mr Bowman sounded like the man who could end this—and quickly.
“You won’t regret this, Lainey. We’ll talk soon.”
* * * *
As promised, by the time Jason entered the shop at quarter to five, Lainey was up to her eyeballs in legalese.
“What’s all this?”
Lainey looked up at him. “Um, I think I have a new lawyer?”
“You think you do?”
“Yes, it all happened so fast, I’m a little overwhelmed.”
“You took my advice then?”
“Well, not exactly. I didn’t actively go shopping for an attorney. He kind of fell into my lap, with some help from a group of lovely ladies that stopped in today. They bought a bunch of merchandise and then, before they left, one of them gave me her son’s card and then he called me.”
“Well, that’s different,” he said slowly.
“I know what you’re thinking. That this is stupid on my part. That I shouldn’t have agreed to anything. I don’t know anything about this man. I’m seriously getting a headache.” She rubbed her temples.
Jason picked up the business card that lay on the counter. “Cam Bowman. I’ve actually heard of him. He’s good. He has exclusive clientele. I’m impressed.”
Lainey blinked, feeling immeasurably better. “That’s not all. Look at this. He found me some silent partners that want to buy into the shop.” Lainey turned the document that she’d been reading his way so that he could look it over. “Can you believe that?”
“Partners? If that’s all you needed, I could have helped out.”
“I wouldn’t have let you do that. But thank you for being so sweet.”
“So, who are these backers?”
“I don’t know. They are only identified in the documents as Divas, V—a division of the West Group. Ever heard of either of them?”
“I’ve heard of the West Group before. They dabble in all kinds of investments and some real estate, I think.”
“So, this is a reputable deal then? I was thinking it sounded too good to be true? Do you think I should go for it? Mr Bowman believes he can have Thad signing off on the house and the shop by the end of next week.”
“You don’t sound like you’re convinced.”
“Well, I’m not. It can’t possibly be this cut and dry. There has to be a catch somewhere. I just haven’t found it yet.”
Jason came around the counter and took her in his arms. “And maybe things are just going to go your way for once.”
Lainey inhaled his familiar scent. “Twice.”
“Twice?”
“I think things turned my way when I walked into your classroom.”
“Nope, that’s when things started going mine.” He smiled sending another round of butterflies through Lainey’s stomach.
The bell sounded on the door. “Can you two, seriously, get a room,” Henry said, walking into the shop with Jill.
Lainey gave Jason an extra squeeze before she moved from his arms.
“What’s all this?” Jill asked of the forms all over the counter.
“Just some legal stuff I was going over,�
�� Lainey answered, gathering it up into a pile.
“Something going on?” Jill asked, watching her mother closely.
“Just the same stuff. Nothing to worry about. Did you hear from your dad yet?”
“No. I think I’ll call him tonight. I don’t even know if he still expects me for the weekend.” Jill turned to Henry and by the look she gave him it seemed to Lainey that maybe her daughter didn’t want to go visit her dad but stay with her boyfriend instead.
“I’m sure he does. Goodness knows he’d make a federal case out of it if you didn’t.” Besides, Lainey and Jason had plans to spend the weekend together and she for one was looking forward to spending the nights curled up with him. “What are you two up to?”
“Well,” Henry began, “the football team got roped into helping out with the annual school talent show, since Mrs Leadbetter, who was in charge of it, inadvertently fell over one of the football sleds that someone forgot to put away. Broke her freakin’ ankle. So Coach Anderson is making us help out and I recruited Jill, since frankly I don’t want to do it and it wasn’t my fault.”
“And I suggested you, Mr Westlake.”
“No. I don’t think so.” Jason declined.
“Why not? This is the first talent show since you became a teacher here. A teacher at our school, with actual talent.”
“Yeah, where’s your school spirit, Dub?”
“Come on, Jason, for the kids.” Lainey grinned encouragingly.
“You’re supposed to be on my side.”
“I am. I want to hear you sing some more.”
“I don’t sing in public anymore. I quit, remember?”
“But what better cause to come out of retirement for than your adoring students.”
“Okay, I’ll do it if you will.”
“Me?” Lainey squeaked.
“Yeah, we sounded awesome together in the park. Sign me up. I’ll do a duet, Jill, with your mother.”
“No, no way. I can’t sing in front of a crowd.”
“For the kids, Lainey,” Jason cajoled.
“Forget it. Forget I said anything.”
“Come on, Mom. It’d be awesome.” Jill turned excitedly toward her mother.
“This is insane.”
“You’ll do it?” Jill practically jumped up and down.