“I’m glad. I hope you’ll invite me to some of your basketball games.”
“If I get on the team.”
“Positive thinking, kid. You’ll make it.”
The server returns with their drinks, pouring the wine before telling them what the specials are.
“I think I’ve eaten everything on the menu at one time or another. You can’t go wrong.”
“I’ll get the fettuccini Alfredo with chicken, and a small Caesar salad.” Chrissy closes her menu and hands it over to the server.
“I’ll have the chicken parmesan, and a small Caesar salad,” Ben says.
“I’ll have the chicken Marsala, and a garden salad with the house dressing.”
Soon after their server leaves, another server arrives with several appetizers. “With the owner’s compliments.”
Chrissy’s mouth waters. Before them are dishes filled with shrimp cocktail, fried calamari, and bruschetta.
“Dig in.” Reggie takes a piece of bruschetta. She moans while biting it, and Chrissy shivers at how erotic she sounds.
By the time their dishes are cleared, Chrissy’s stuffed. As Reggie promised, the food was delicious.
“I hope you have enough room for dessert.”
“I don’t know.” Chrissy pats her stomach. “As it is, I’m bringing home half my meal.”
“Mom, you’ve said it yourself. We have two stomachs. One’s for food, and the other’s for dessert.”
Chrissy’s face flushes. “I’m guessing that means you want dessert.”
“Ah, come on. We can share a dessert.” Reggie pats Chrissy’s arm. “Do you like tiramisu?”
“Love it.” Chrissy knows a losing battle when she sees it. She promises herself to run an extra mile the next morning. And to drag her traitorous boy with her.
“What about you, Ben?”
“I think I’ll get the chocolate-dipped cannoli.”
“That’s one of my favorites. You’ll love it.”
When their desserts arrive, Reggie scoops up a large bite of the tiramisu and holds it close to Chrissy’s mouth. “You get to have the first bite.”
Chrissy reaches out and wraps her fingers around Reggie’s hand to steady the fork before leaning in. She shoots a look at Ben, nearly choking at the shit-eating grin he has. Reggie looks at her with a slight smile. Here I am romanticizing this as if Reggie’s hand-feeding me chocolates in bed. Leave it to me to make this awkward. The dessert melts in her mouth, and the explosion of flavors causes her to close her eyes and moan. When she opens them, she sees Reggie’s lips part and cheeks flush. Chrissy thinks she’s never looked more enticing.
“You weren’t kidding,” Chrissy says in a soft voice. “It tastes like heaven.”
Reggie clears her throat before breaking their gaze and taking the other fork to scoop up a bite for herself. Ben’s excited chatter about how tasty the cannoli is lightens the moment, and Chrissy picks up the discarded fork to snag another piece.
“We’ll have to come here again, Mom. The food’s awesome.”
Chrissy has to agree, although she knows it’s more than the food that’s made the night special. “Definitely.”
“I’m glad you came with us, Reggie. Maybe next time we can bring you to one of our favorite places.”
Chrissy jumps on the opportunity to spend more time with her outside of the office. “Right. We know the best place for most types of food. Chinese, Mexican, Italian, although this restaurant is serious competition for the one we usually frequent, Greek, Polish.”
“Wow. You must eat out often.”
Ducking her head, Chrissy mutters, “I’m not much of a cook.”
“Nah, Mom. You’re great, but we’re both busy. During the week, it’s hard to find time to cook. I get it. Plus, you cook on the weekends.”
Chrissy loves how Ben tries to reassure her. She doesn’t point out how weekend meals are simple. “I don’t know how I got so lucky with you.”
“I understand. I tend to cook on the weekends, too. I freeze some of it for weeknight meals.” Reggie waves at the server, who hurries over. “I think we’re all set.”
Realizing their night is coming to a close, a weight settles on Chrissy’s chest. Bruno hurries over, a large smile on his face. “How was your dinner?”
“Great,” Chrissy says. “I love the fettuccini sauce. And the tiramisu is the best I’ve ever tasted.” She glances at Reggie and bites her lower lip when she sees the smirk on her face.
“Good. Good. You’ll come back, no? Any friend of Reggie’s is a friend of ours. Ask for me.”
“Thank you. We will.”
“Hopefully with Reggie,” Ben adds, and when Chrissy shoots him a warning look, he smiles.
To her surprise, Reggie agrees. “We’ll come back soon. Thank you, Bruno.”
Reggie insists on driving them home. “That’s us.” Chrissy points toward their apartment. She turns toward Reggie once she parks the car. This is not a date. “I’m glad you came with us.”
The soft look in her eyes captures Chrissy’s attention. “I’m glad you invited me.”
Ben opens his door. “Goodnight, Reggie. Thanks for the gift.” He pats the pendant.
Reggie nods. “You’re welcome. Enjoy your last few days of the summer. Once school settles down, I hope you’ll start coming by the firm again. You’re always welcome.”
“I will.” Ben clambers out of the car, waving after he closes the door.
“Have a nice weekend. I’ll see you on Monday.” Chrissy smiles and opens her door.
“You, too.”
It’s the hardest thing in the world to get out of the car. Before she closes the door, Chrissy looks in one more time. “Sweet dreams, Reggie.” Chrissy knows who will be in her dreams that night. And she can’t wait.
Chapter Five
“Hi, Reggie,” Ben says, slinging his backpack from his shoulder onto the floor. His smile is bright and easy. Chrissy looks up from the file she’s reviewing and as Reggie leans her hip on the desk, inches from her hand, Chrissy bites back a gasp. Reggie’s backside is on full display, thanks to the perfect cut of her slacks. Tearing her eyes away from the alluring sight, Chrissy is embarrassed to see Ben’s knowing look.
“Good afternoon, Ben. How’s school?”
“Not bad. My Spanish class is going to a matinee showing of Don Quixote tomorrow.”
“Ah, yes. Tilting at windmills. Like what I’m doing for this case.” Reggie gestures toward the file splayed across Chrissy’s desk.
“What do you mean?”
“I offered to defend someone, and I’m realizing how futile my efforts are.”
“Did the person do something wrong?”
Reggie shrugs. “The plaintiffs believe he did. Your mom’s been helping me with the case. Enough of that, though. Tell me more about school.”
Ben bends over to rummage through his backpack. “We have to pick a place to work for our shadow program. It runs from the first week in October to the week before Thanksgiving. We get out of school at noon once a week and go to the place we’re shadowing.” He pulls out a piece a paper before straightening his lanky frame.
Chrissy shakes her head. He’s at least two inches taller than a month ago.
“That sounds fun. Do you get to choose the place from a list the school gives you?” Reggie asks.
“They do give us a list,” Ben says, sitting down, “but we’re not limited by it. We can go wherever we choose as long as someone signs off to be a mentor and fills out an evaluation at the end.” Ben wants to shadow Reggie, Chrissy knows, and she told him he’d have to ask.
“What are the mentor’s responsibilities?” Reggie leans forward, focused entirely on Ben.
“Well, nothing more than allowing the student to tag along each week and explain things. At the end of the program, students turn in a report on what they learned. There’s a matrix on what to cover.” He shrugs. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’d like to have you as my mentor, if it�
�s not too much trouble.”
Reggie raises her eyebrows. “Don’t feel you have to say yes,” Chrissy rushes to say.
“No, no. I don’t feel pressured. I’m surprised. I didn’t realize you’re interested in the law.”
“I’ve watched Mom while she learned about it, and while being here this summer, I saw how some of this works. I’d like to watch you in court and get more information on the process. I mean, Mom talks about what happens here in general terms, but I’d like to see examples.”
“What day each week would it be?”
“Wednesday.” Chrissy can hear the barely-contained excitement in Ben’s voice. He can tell Reggie is about to say yes, not that it should come as a surprise. He’s wrapped Reggie around his little finger.
A hand on her shoulder redirects her attention to Reggie. “Are you okay with it?”
“Yes. We’ve talked about it. I can’t think of anyone better to mentor him.” Chrissy grins.
Reggie squeezes her shoulder. “Looks like I’ll be your mentor then.”
“Great. I have the form right here.” Ben passes the paper to her.
Reggie’s eyes flitter over the form, and she grabs a pen from Chrissy’s desk to sign it with a flourish before handing it back.
“Thanks, Reggie.”
“Sure. I think I even have a pre-trial hearing coming up on this case. That will be an interesting one for you to see.”
“I can’t wait. Oh, I wanted to tell you I have basketball tryouts next week.”
“Let me know what happens. I’m rooting for you,” Reggie says.
“I will.”
***
Three weeks later, Reggie and Ben enter the office, and Chrissy asks, “How’d it go?” Reggie’s sigh says it all. “That good, huh?” Reggie runs a hand through her glossy chestnut hair, mussing it in a way that makes Chrissy’s hands twitch.
“We’re not going to win, and Frank refuses to settle. He made a costly mistake, deciding to repair the furnace himself. His insurance won’t cover his tenant’s losses, and it turns out they’re fighting him on even covering the cost of repairs. On top of that, the mortgage company is foreclosing on the property and suing him for the difference between the amount they’ll receive for selling it and the amount he’ll still owe for the loan. He’d taken out an equity line a few years ago to replace the roof and pay off some credit cards.”
“I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?” Chrissy follows them into Reggie’s office. Ben takes a seat in front of the desk while Reggie hangs her coat in the small closet to the right of the office door.
“Not unless you can convince him to settle.”
“I would if I could,” Chrissy says, frowning. She hates when Reggie’s upset.
“The best I can hope for is to mitigate his liability as much as possible. He’s lucky the DA isn’t pressing charges against him for criminal negligence.” Reggie slumps into her chair, a pensive look on her face.
Helplessness gnaws at Chrissy. She sits in the other visitor chair. “How much are we talking about?”
“If he doesn’t settle, he may be responsible for up to three hundred thousand. And if he settles, he’s still looking at about fifty-six thousand.”
Shit! He’s screwed either way. “That’s tough. He must be pretty upset.”
“He yelled at the insurance lawyer. Reggie had to calm him down,” Ben says while loosening his school tie. “So, what happens next with the case?” He takes out his notebook and jots down some words.
“Trial. It’s set for the second week in December. I’ll have to prep him for questioning.” Reggie grimaces. “He isn’t the most sympathetic person. I’m afraid his testimony will hurt him.”
“Does he have to testify?” Ben asks, pen poised over the notebook page.
“It’s a bad idea for him not to. Christina, you’ll need to contact him to schedule a meeting for next week, say Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon. I want to go over discovery with him.”
“Sure.” Chrissy had organized the file with the discovery documents last week. It was the first time she created requests for interrogatories and production of documents all by herself, and she’s proud of herself. She also subpoenaed the police report, insurance claims, and fire report. The last step is scheduling depositions of their client and his tenants. The documents they have paint a clear picture of their client’s negligence. On top of that, Hogan is always abrupt when they speak on the phone. Chrissy hasn’t met him, but she knows this guy is bad news. Even though she dreads talking to him, she will to help Reggie.
“I thought I saw you with Reggie,” David says, walking into the office. He claps Ben on the shoulder. “Visiting your mom?”
“I’m shadowing Reggie once a week for school credit.”
“I bet you’re learning a lot,” David says. “Todd’s coming to visit this weekend since he has Monday off. I thought you might like to come over. You, too, Chrissy. We were thinking you could come over tomorrow afternoon and stay for dinner. What do you think?”
Glancing at Ben, amusement ripples through Chrissy as he nods his head several times, a beseeching look in his eyes. “I think that will be fun. Can I bring anything?”
“Just yourself. Reggie, how about you? We’d love for you to join us.”
Chrissy watches Reggie cross her arms. “Yeah, Reggie. It will be fun.”
Reggie stares at her for a minute, eyes jumping back and forth. Whatever she sees must be enough. “Sure. I haven’t been to your home in too long.”
“That’s our fault. We’ll make sure to have your favorite wine on hand,” David says with a charming smile.
“Well, that seals the deal.”
“Wonderful. Let me write down our address for you, Chrissy.” David grabs a piece of paper and a pen.
“I can give you both a ride.”
Chrissy looks over at Reggie. “Are you sure?” She frowns when Reggie avoids her gaze.
“I’ll be out doing errands, anyway.” Reggie studies her nails before looking at David. “And I know where you live.”
There’s a slight edge to Reggie’s voice, and Chrissy’s mouth twitches. A quick look at David reveals an amused grin on his face. Although she has a great poker face, it’s obvious Reggie’s not being entirely truthful about her plans. Chrissy melts a little, knowing Reggie’s going out of her way for them. “Oh, well, in that case, thank you.”
David turns around, obstructing Chrissy’s view of Reggie, and waggles his eyebrows. “Here you go. See you then.”
Rolling her eyes, Chrissy takes the paper with his address and phone number and pockets it. “Thanks.”
David looks over her head. “A man is outside. Do you have an appointment?”
Ben turns around to get a look. “That’s your client from today. He looks upset.”
“Christina, please send him in. Ben, it’s probably best if you go with your mom while I talk to him.”
“And that’s my cue.” David walks out of the office, and Chrissy hears him tell the client they’ll be right with him.
Chrissy and Ben move to the receptionist area, and Chrissy greets the man. “Hello, I’m Attorney Esposito’s paralegal. Please have a seat, and she’ll be right with you, Mr. Hogan. Would you like some coffee?”
“Yeah. Cream and two sugars.” He shifts from foot to foot. “I know I don’t have an appointment, but I need to talk to her.” His focus moves to Ben. “Weren’t you at court today?”
“Yes. I’m doing a school project where I shadow Attorney Esposito.”
“I’ll be right back.” Chrissy walks down the hall and turns into the break room. She’s relieved to see a new pot of coffee, and she pours a cup for Mr. Hogan and for Reggie, adding cream and sugar to both. When she gets back to the office, Mr. Hogan is already seated in Reggie’s office.
“Here you go, Mr. Hogan,” Chrissy says, breezing in to place his cup on a coaster near the edge of the desk. She places the second cup on another coaster, close to Reggie. “Is ther
e anything else you need?”
“No, thank you, Christina.”
With a nod, Chrissy returns to her desk, keeping Reggie’s door open. Ben sits in one of the visitor chairs, concentrating on his homework. It’s nearly five o’clock, but Chrissy feels uncomfortable leaving Reggie alone with her client. Something about the guy makes her nervous. He looks like the typical working-class guy. He is about 5’8” with dark hair and hazel eyes. Not particularly muscular, but not overweight either. It’s the way he carries himself. He’s like a pressure-cooker, and Chrissy’s afraid he will blame the results of his case on Reggie.
Logging on to the server, Chrissy pulls up a file and starts crafting a motion. She listens to the murmurs drifting out from Reggie’s office while she works, leg bouncing. She keeps making typing mistakes, and she hits the delete button enough times and with enough force that Ben looks up at her, his eyebrows raised. She shrugs. Calm down, Kramer. She can handle him. Reggie’s doing most of the talking, her voice soothing Chrissy’s nerves. Reggie sounds caring and calm, as she explains the results of today’s court appearance and the next steps for the case.
“What am I supposed to do?” Mr. Hogan’s voice rises. “I made a mistake. People make mistakes all the time. And now you’re telling me the insurance won’t cover repairs?”
His shout has Chrissy standing up and moving toward the doorway. Her eyes connect with Reggie, who shakes her head. Although uneasy, Chrissy sits back down. Reggie’s speaking again, her voice too soft for Chrissy to understand the words.
“Mom,” Ben whispers. “Is she all right?”
Chrissy nods but replies in a quiet voice. “I think he’s upset with how the hearing went. Reggie’s good at calming people down. And we can stick around until he leaves.”
“Okay.” Ben goes back to his homework, and twenty minutes pass in relative quiet. Many have left early to start their long weekend. A raised voice breaks the silence again.
“I don’t want to settle! How am I supposed to pay that amount of money?”
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