by Eve Langlais
“Alan, this is Mr. Wynn, my boss,” she said once they reached the table they’d been sitting at.
Alan stood up and smiled as he offered his hand. “Wynn? Like the hotel?”
Hunter chuckled. “Ah, Vegas. Love that town. Yes, it’s spelled the same but there’s no relation, unfortunately. Although if you happen to know the owners and they’re in need of a lawyer… ”
Alan chuckled at Hunter’s smooth talk. “Mercedes always speaks highly of you. Well, almost always.”
“Oh?” Hunter asked. “I expect she’d be burning an effigy of me some nights and making the paint peel from the walls with the names she’s called me.”
“Mr. Wynn!” Mercedes gasped.
Hunter laughed. “We work hard, Mercedes as much as any. I don’t know what I’d do without her. She deserves the best. I hope you can give that to her.”
Alan’s smile faltered but he picked it back up immediately. “As do I. She’s definitely something special.”
Hunter nodded and decided from the embarrassment Mercedes was under he’d better move on. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to mingle. It was a pleasure meeting you, Alan. Any time you need a tip on how to handle Mercedes during one of her moods, you let me know.”
“Mr.–”
Hunter leaned in and brushed his lips against her cheek in a polite social kiss. She fell silent and shivered. Hunter gave Alan another nod and walked away.
He moved through the crowd smiling, nodding, and shaking hands. His job was to make sure his employees felt appreciated. Some, like Jackie the paralegal in her low–cut blouse and matching short skirt, were easier to appreciate than others.
Hunter was nearing the end of his rounds when a new scent caught his nose. He turned, his stomach tightening as he placed the scent without a thought. The Chanel perfume mixed with the natural scent of Tiffany, the firm’s office manager and receptionist. She was beautiful as always, her hair done up in some sort of bun that made it seem to float off her head. It was women like Tiffany who turned men like him into the stereotypical lecherous boss type.
Hunter turned and walked towards Tiffany and her date even before they’d handed their jackets to the hotel staff hired to help out. He smiled as he walked up to her. Her dress was long but elegant. Worth more than her salary merited, but Hunter didn’t mind. She looked amazing in it.
“Tiffany!” he said without feigning his happiness to see her. “Glad you could make it.”
“Mr. Wynn, thank you! I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she said as she turned to face him. She returned his smile and looked as genuine as she sounded, but he could smell her hesitation. She expected trouble. If not from him, then from one of the other partners. He, Jerry, and Stephen had all spoken about her guarded nature.
“Mr. Wynn, this is my plus one tonight, Emily,” Tiffany said as she turned to look at the person standing beside her.
Hunter turned, blinking and taking in the new woman. He smiled and offered his hand out of reflex but inside his mind was struggling with the concept. Was Tiffany a lesbian? Was that why she was always so professional and withdrawn, even in private meetings? Could the firm have a lesbian at the front desk?
“Emily, please, call me Hunter,” he said as he took her hand and raised it to his lips.
Emily jerked as though she’d been poked in the back. She smiled and blushed before reaching out for him and saying, “Hello, I’m–oh, um, sorry, she already said that. So, Hunter? That’s, um, that’s a neat name.”
He smiled and then remembered Emily was Tiffany’s date. He reined in his enthusiasm before saying, “It’s served me well so far,” he said. “Please, ladies, enjoy the party.”
Hunter turned and looked around the room until he caught Tyler’s eyes. He nodded to him and then gestured towards the bar. Tyler returned his nod and met him there after finishing up his conversation with two lawyers.
“Find someone already?” Tyler asked in a hushed voice while they waited for their drinks to be refreshed.
Hunter smirked. “Hardly. Any chance you missed something on your background checks of our people?”
“There’s always a chance. I’m good, but I didn’t invent the wheel.”
Hunter chuckled. “Like we need wheels.”
“Why, what’s the matter?”
“I need you to check into someone for me. Someone public facing. Specifically their sexual orientation.”
Tyler raised his eyebrows and turned to glance around. No one was nearby save the bartender and, after she dropped off his drink, she turned to leave them alone. “Who?”
“Tiffany Ackers, our receptionist. She’s here with a woman. Said she was her plus one.”
Tyler turned and surveyed the room before turning back to look at Hunter. “She’s cute. Kind of a wallflower, but cute in her own way.”
“I didn’t notice,” Hunter admitted.
Tyler watched him for a moment before he chuckled and took a drink. “Wow, you really are a dick.”
Hunter frowned. “Why’s that?”
“Equal rights and all that is all the rage. You know the law–you know what happens with discrimination.”
Hunter sighed. “I don’t give a damn who she’s fucking. In fact, I’d probably pay my salary for a month just to watch the two of them go at it.”
“Classy,” Tyler noted.
Hunter sighed. “That’s guy talk and you know it. The point is I have a business image to look out for. It sucks, but I have high–profile clients who might be bothered if this were to become public knowledge.”
“Not interested in championing LGBT rights in Detroit?”
“Really?” Hunter asked before he took a drink. “You know damn well what kind of people we deal with. They didn’t get where they are for being understanding or tolerant. Do the check and let me know.”
“I still think you’re being a dick.”
“That’s fine. I’ve been called worse,” Hunter said.
Tyler shrugged. “By me.”
Hunter smirked. “What are friends for?”
Chapter Two
“Merry Christmas, Mrs. Smith–your husband’s dead but the good news is my client’s not responsible!” Hunter mumbled to himself.
He took a drink from the watered–down Scotch and fought the urge to sneeze. It was a waste of time and effort; he couldn’t get the stink out of his nose. Cigarettes had been banned in public places for a few years in Detroit but the stench was set in the walls, ceiling, and floor. He fought to keep his nose from wrinkling and focused on the girl spinning on the pole on the stage.
Hunter sighed and looked at his drink. This was supposed to be a celebration: he’d just won a case between his client and a parts supplier over the responsibility of a faulty braking module. The lawsuits coming in were now shifting to the supplier; even if his client had to issue a recall on the parts, at least they weren’t being blamed for killing people anymore.
He pushed his drink away. He needed to go. The dancers weren’t people tonight, just meat with too much perfume and makeup. This wasn’t what he needed. In fact, he was only there because he hadn’t made any progress on finding a woman to bring to their special annual getaway. He’d hoped to keep his luck rolling after the judge ruled in his client’s favor.
A waitress in a uniform designed to make a Hooter’s girl look like she was on her way to church stopped next to his table. “You don’t look happy. Need another drink, or don’t you like redheads?”
Hunter looked up at her, smiling out of instinct. Something in her face shifted. Her eyes, he decided. Yes, the wrinkles at the corner deepened. He tried to take in her scent but all the cheap perfumes and colognes in the allegedly high–end gentleman’s club were messing his senses. “I like redheads just fine,” he said. “In fact, I could gobble them up.”
She laughed. “I bet you could. Need another drink?”
“I’m afraid your bartender will run out of ice,” he said. “What’s your name?”
She raised an eyebrow and glanced down at her shirt. “Ah yes, reading. I take it for granted since I learned at such a young age.”
Hunter’s smile hardened on his face. “You’re feisty. I like that. Now why don’t you tell me your name?”
“You really can’t read it?”
“I can, but I want to hear you say it. It tells me what you think of yourself.”
The waitress stared at him for a long moment. “Penny,” she admitted. “My name is Penny. Now, do you want a drink or not?”
“What happened to the customer is always right?”
Penny sighed. “Look buddy, you look like you got your shit together. Very nice suit, perfect hair, great smile, and probably some imported sports car in the parking lot. I bet your biggest problem is keeping girls from creaming all over your Italian leather seats.”
Hunter’s eyes widened at her outburst. “Whoa,” he said.”And for the record, my sports car is American–my clients would not be happy if I bought foreign.”
She ignored him and kept going. “Stop wasting your time on me, okay? I’ve got issues and my issues have issues, so just tell me if you want a drink or not?”
“I was curious and polite before. Now that I know you don’t care about being polite, I’m just curious. Tell me, Penny, what issues do you have?” Hunter insisted.
Penny sighed. “Fine. My girlfriend just left me because I keep having flashbacks to the time my dad and his buddies got drunk and gangbanged me. So now I’ve got no help watching my son and he’s home alone since his dad, my brother, is in prison.”
Hunter blinked a few times and then chuckled. “That’s a laundry list. Any of it true?”
“Does it matter to a guy like you?” she snapped. “I’ve got work to do and you’re not buying. And whatever you’re selling, I’m not interested in.”
Hunter opened his mouth but Penny turned and walked away and went straight to the bar. He saw the bartender look up at him and then back to the waitress. Hunter sighed. So much for Penny. He sipped his Scotch–flavored water and grimaced. He’d had enough. There were other cases he should be studying up on. Or maybe he should look over the progress some of the other lawyers were making with theirs. Anything was better than being shot down by a waitress in a strip club.
Hunter rose from the table and tossed a twenty on the table. He paused and stared at it, and then smirked and retrieved the bill. He replaced it with a fifty, suspecting it would piss the waitress off. He made his way towards the exit but had to slow when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.
He dug through his pocket just as a large man with body odor strong enough to fight through the overwhelming scents in the club stepped in front of him. “Is there a problem?” the bouncer asked.
Hunter held up his phone. “I’ve got a call I need to take. Excuse me.”
“We heard Penny gave you a hard time, wanted to make sure she didn’t run you off,” the bouncer said, ignoring Hunter’s needs.
The lawyer nodded. “Got it. Thanks.”
“So did she?”
Hunter sighed and watched Tyler’s call go to his voicemail. He focused on the bouncer. “No, she didn’t. I thought she was refreshing. It was nice not having someone kiss my ass for once. In fact, I think she’d probably make a good lawyer.”
The bouncer’s eyes widened. “A lawyer?” He chuckled. “I’ll let her know.”
“You do that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to return this call.”
“What? Oh, sorry about that. Come back anytime.”
“Of course,” Hunter said and moved past the retreating bouncer. He made it out of the club before calling Tyler back. The investigator answered on the third ring.
“What’s going on?” Hunter asked.
“I did some digging on your receptionist,” Tyler said. “I’ve got bad news for you.”
Hunter swore under his breath. “She’s gay?”
Tyler chuckled. “No, she’s not.”
Hunter frowned and walked down the street towards the parking garage where his car was parked. “Then what’s the problem?”
“This means there’s only one possibility left: she doesn’t like you.”
Hunter looked at his phone and scowled. “Ha–ha,” he said into it. “I’m running into a lot of that lately, it seems.”
“You must have forgotten, you’re a lawyer. Nobody likes you.”
Hunter sighed. “How could I forget? With friends like you, I mean.”
He heard Tyler laugh but a flash of green in a crowd of people caught his eye. He stared across the street at a woman moving in a late night crowd wearing a green dress. It complimented her figure nicely. Almost too nicely, depending on what the occasion for wearing it was. There was something about her that seemed familiar to him.
“Thanks for checking her out,” Hunter said. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“What’s the rush?”
“Something just came up,” Hunter said.
“Okay, you’ll get my bill,” Tyler said. “Although jobs like her are the reason I got into this line of work.”
Hunter chuckled and ended the call. He kept his eye on the woman as she got farther away. He turned and started walking in the same direction as her. Police were directing traffic and trying to keep people from getting run over, always a good thing except for the one time when he needed to jaywalk.
He kept walking and waiting. He learned at an early age to take his name seriously. He was a hunter. He could be patient if he had to be.
Chapter Three
Hunter followed the girl until the crowds began to break up. People were turning off to find their cars or to head into restaurants and bars after the Detroit Redwings game ended. The woman marched on, pulling her jacket tighter and accelerating enough that her heels began to clack against the pavement.
Hunter closed the distance between them. Following her much longer would be suspicious with everyone else going their own way. He was close enough to pick up her scent and flashed back to the many aromas at his company’s holiday party. His lip curled up in a self–patronizing smile as he realized he was wasting his time.
He jerked his head up to meet the woman–Emily–turn her head to meet his gaze. Her eyes narrowed and then widened as her lips parted. He saw puffs of air burst out of her nose and mouth. “Mr. Wynn!”
Hunter smiled and nodded. “Emily! I thought I recognized you. How are you?”
“Um, fine,” she stammered and then looked around. “What–um, this is kind of weird.”
He chuckled and stopped a few steps away from her. “You mean the part where I look like I’m stalking you late at night downtown?”
She laughed a little and nodded. “Um, yeah. I guess that is kind of silly. I’m sure you have better things to do than that.”
Hunter smiled and shrugged. He turned enough to look around the area and frowned. “It is late, cold, and you’re getting away from the safer parts.”
“So are you,” she pointed out.
“I saw you and wanted to check on you,” Hunter said. He chuckled. “That sounds creepy, doesn’t it? It’s not–oh wait, if I were being creepy that’s exactly what I’d say.”
“Mr. Wynn?” she asked, stopping him before he said anything else. “Um, you’re not one of those rich guys who has everything so they have to break the law to find excitement, are you?”
“I’m a lawyer, my dear. I know what happens to people who break the law.”
“Good point. Um, well, my car’s just up here, so I should be okay. Thank you for checking on me.”
Hunter looked past her while he considered what she said. He could smell her anxiety warring with her interest. “Emily, please, there’s no parking lots or ramps up this way that I know of. I’m guessing it’s a bus stop or a friend’s house you’re headed to?”
She gasped. “How did you–yes, a bus stop.”
“That’s nonsense,” he told her. “Come with me. I’ll give you a ride home.”
“Oh
no! I couldn’t! I mean, I’ll be okay, I just–”
“Stop. You’re dressed to kill–you’d be eaten alive on a metro bus,” Hunter said. “My car, on the other hand, would complement your dress quite nicely.”
“Um, I–I shouldn’t. Besides, what would Tiffany say if you dropped me off at her apartment?”
Hunter’s eyes narrowed. “Tiffany?”
“Oh my God! I totally sound like a lesbian! I’m not! We’re roommates and friends, that’s all. But if I show up with her boss, she’ll never let me live it down.”
“There’s really no excuse you can come up with that will sound convincing,” he pressured her. “I tell you what, though–if you let me take you, I’ll drop you off so she won’t see me, and I’ll even give Tiffany a raise.”
“You’ll what?” she blurted. She stared at his grin until she shook her head and laughed. “Fine, but it better be a good one!”
He laughed and stepped aside so he could gesture with his hand for her to walk back the other way. Her cheeks were red with more than the cold as she took him up on his offer and stepped up beside him. She stopped and looked at him. “I don’t know where we’re going?”
“Good point. Right this way then, my dear. I’m in a private lot,” he said.
“Of course you are.”
“Of course I am,” he agreed and walked side by side with her down the street. He kept his pace slow enough she could keep up without trouble but fast enough to force her to focus on staying with him.
“What are you doing down here?” she asked after they’d walked half a block.
“Seeing some clients after we finished winning a case today,” he said. “Frustrating, but that’s the reason I’m not a civil or criminal lawyer.”
“Why is it frustrating?”She bit on the bait he offered.
Hunter hid his smile. “Some defects in vehicles are causing people to get hurt. My clients had to fight off the sue–happy lawyers trying to urge people to cash in on this misfortune.”