When I Saw You

by Laura Branchflower

  “They chose this law firm because they want you. You can’t skip out on lunch.”

  “I’m not done here. And I’m not going to abandon her.”

  “Then don’t,” Kevin said. “I’ll get one of the associates to talk to her.”

  “No. She’s upset. I’m not leaving her. Tony was in here all day with me yesterday preparing. He can handle this for two hours.”

  “This account could be the biggest thing you bring in all year. You couldn’t possibly want to jeopardize that for her.” His voice was low but intense.

  “She needs me right now. Tony can handle this.” Joseph continued to meet Kevin’s eyes.

  “Get your head out of your Goddamn pants for a minute,” Kevin snarled. “This account is way too valuable to mess with. You can’t do this.”

  “Watch me.” Joseph stepped back from the door and slammed it in Kevin’s face.

  Kevin stared at the closed door for several seconds. “Fuck!” He turned to Martha. “How long has this been going on?” He threw his thumb towards Joseph’s closed door.

  “I didn’t connect the name to the Zurtech case when she called, but I knew the name sounded familiar, so I looked back through his appointment books and then I remembered that he asked me to set up a meeting with the two plaintiffs from that case last December.”

  “What?” Kevin walked closer to her desk. “He met with Lia Merrick about the Zurtech case?”

  “I don’t know. It’s all a vague memory now. But I specifically remember setting up the appointments, and that’s the last I ever heard of it. As far as I know, he hasn’t met with them since.” She threw her hands up in the air. “They may have called. I’ve been searching my brain, but I really don’t recall. I’m sorry.”

  “Well?” Lia asked when Joseph removed his glasses and looked up from the document. “Is it bad?”

  “No.”

  She sunk back into the couch, relief surging through her. “So what happens now?”

  “The two of you will go before a judge and argue the case.” He stood and crossed to his desk, pushing the intercom on the phone. “Martha, are you out there?”

  “Yes.”

  “Would you see if you can get John Bianchi on the line for me?” Moments later, he was rejoining Lia, running his arm along the couch behind her. “John Bianchi is a good friend of mine and the best family-law attorney in the city. He’ll take good care of you.”

  “But I want you.” Lia could feel her anxiety returning. “I want you to be my lawyer.”

  He took her hand. “I’m a trial attorney. I don’t handle divorce and child custody. John is the best. He’ll do a much better job than I ever could.”

  “But I trust you.” Her eyes pleaded with him to understand. “I don’t want to go through this with someone else.”

  “I’ll be there every step of the way. I won’t leave you. I just want to make sure you win. And believe me, Lia. John always wins.”

  “Mr. Craig?” Martha’s voice came over the intercom. “Mr. Bianchi is on line one.”

  Joseph looked up from his computer when there was a knock on his office door hours later. “Come in.”

  “We need to talk.” Kevin, followed by Tony, entered his office.

  “If this is about earlier today, I don’t want to talk about it. We got the case, so obviously there was no harm done.”

  “How do you know Lia Merrick?”

  “How do I know Lia Merrick?” Joseph’s eyes met Kevin’s. “I met her when she was here for the Zurtech case.”

  “I don’t see how. Wasn’t that the same day you and Tony were at that conference in Philadelphia?”

  “Well, I met her.” Joseph’s gaze moved to Tony. “What is this?”

  “We’re just trying to figure out what’s going on. Martha said you told her to call them in to meet with you.”

  “Martha said, huh?” He gnawed on his lower lip. “Why were you discussing me with my secretary?”

  “It was Kevin, actually.”

  “Why don’t you just answer the question, Joseph?” Kevin asked.

  “Because it’s none of your business.” He leaned back in his chair. “And I take offense to the fact that you’re checking up on me behind my back.”

  “We wouldn’t have to if you didn’t do things behind our backs. Why did you meet with them on a weekend when you knew no one would be in the office?”

  Joseph stared back at him, no expression on his face. “I was curious about them, so I called them in to tell them we weren’t taking their case.”

  “Just so you could see them?” Kevin asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

  “Yeah, just so I could see them. Is there anything else?”

  “Joseph, come on.” Tony leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. “You have to admit your behavior was a bit out of character today.”

  “I don’t have to admit anything. I had a friend who needed me, and it obviously had no effect on the outcome of today’s meeting.”

  “But it could have,” Kevin pointed out, “and you put the needs of your girlfriend before the needs of this firm.”

  “Fuck you, Kevin. I skipped out on lunch—big deal.” He narrowed his eyes. “Why are you making such a huge deal about this? We got the case.”

  “That’s not the point! First you meet with these women on your own, without telling anyone,” he began, grabbing one of his fingers, “and then you walk out of a meeting when you’re in the middle of a presentation,” he finished, grasping a second finger. “That’s not how you act in a partnership.”

  “You know, Kevin,” Joseph began, leaning forward in his chair and placing his hands flat on his desk, “maybe if you spent more time cultivating clients of your own and less time worrying about me, you could bring in seventy-five percent of the money I do for this firm.”

  “Fuck you!”

  Joseph’s gaze swung to Tony. “Get him the fuck out of here. I have work to do.” He turned back to his computer and began pressing keys.

  Thirty minutes later, there was a knock on Tony’s office door. “Come in.”

  The door opened and Martha, her face red and lips turned down, walked into the office. “I was just fired. Mr. Craig just fired me.”

  “What?” Tony came to his feet.

  She swallowed before continuing. “He didn’t like that I discussed his meeting schedule with Mr. Stuart.”

  “I’ll talk to him.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “He told me as of today, I’m no longer needed. He said he didn’t trust me anymore and that he couldn’t have a secretary he couldn’t trust. I’d forgotten, but when he told me to make those appointments with the Zurtech plaintiffs, he’d specifically told me not to mention them to anyone.” Her hands were clasped tightly before her as she twisted them together. “He was very angry.”

  “You haven’t lost your job, Martha.” Tony slipped his arm around her and rubbed her back. “You’re a valued secretary at this firm and I, for one, do not want to lose you.”

  “I’ve been with this firm since the beginning, and I don’t fancy looking for another job.”

  “Well, you don’t have to. We’ll find another position for you.”

  “I can’t believe he would do this to me,” Lia said later that evening. She’d carried a sleeping Taylor, who seemed to be a degree better, to her bedroom and was now seated across the table from her mother in her small kitchen, pushing a piece of chicken around on her plate. “I mean, why couldn’t he have called? He was planning this for who knows how long, and he never said a word.”

  She’d been obsessing over it all day, unable to understand how a man who at one time claimed to love her more than anything else in the world could, in the matter of two years, leave her for another woman, marry that other woman and now try to take her little girl. It was inconceivable to her, and she couldn’t seem to keep herself from trying to understand.

  “I don’t think he’s doing it to you, Lia,” Elaine said. “
He isn’t giving any thought to you or your feelings.”

  “I know, and that’s what I can’t understand. I can’t eat.” She pushed her plate to the center of the table. “I don’t know why I even tried.”

  “Lia, eat. You’re too skinny.” Elaine frowned. “You shouldn’t let him upset you so much.”

  “Mother, please! How can I not be upset when he’s trying to take Taylor away?” She dropped her face into her hands. “I can’t believe this is happening. What is he thinking? He’s known me since I was nineteen years old. How can he do this?”

  “How can he do this? This is the same man who cheated on you with another woman for six months and then left you for that woman. He isn’t someone with a high moral character, and this is more evidence to that fact.”

  “But I don’t understand why he didn’t discuss it with me.”

  “You have to stop expecting him to act like someone who has respect for you. I doubt he respects anyone. He’s selfish and self-centered, and what he did today is consistent with those qualities, not the qualities you seem to want to give him.”

  13

  Joseph rounded the corner leading to his office at 5:15 the following evening and looked around, confusion etched on his features. “Has Lia Merrick arrived?” He approached the temp sitting behind Martha’s old desk.

  “No.” A woman of about thirty-five with stylishly short brown hair and large brown eyes looked up at him. “Her mother called about an hour ago and said she couldn’t make it.”

  “Did she say why?”

  She dropped her eyes to a sheet of paper on the desk. “She said to tell you Taylor is sick and that they were taking her to Fairfax Hospital.”

  Lia turned from the window in the small waiting room on the fourth floor of Fairfax Hospital at the same moment Ned and a very pregnant Candice came through the door.

  “What’s going on?” Ned’s eyes found Lia.

  “Probably her appendix,” Elaine answered when, after several seconds of silence, it became obvious Lia wasn’t going to. “The school nurse called Lia at two and said Taylor was having stomach cramping and had a low-grade fever, so she picked her up and took her to the doctor.”

  Taylor had appeared fine in the morning, so Lia mistakenly thought whatever was bothering her the day before had left her system.

  “So they’re operating on her?” Ned asked as he lowered himself onto a chair beside Candice.

  “Yes.” Elaine answered.

  Lia turned back to the window, not wanting anyone to see the tears in her eyes. This was hard enough without having to deal with Ned too. She knew her mother had called him. She didn’t have a choice, considering he was scheduled to pick Taylor up at her house at 6:00 p.m. And she’d expected him to show up, but she never considered the possibility he’d bring Candice.

  Elaine touched Lia’s arm. “Do you want a cup of coffee or something?”

  “No, thank you.” She covered her mother’s hand with her own. She didn’t want to be alone with Ned and Candice. She’d made the mistake of glancing back at them a moment earlier to find them huddled together, with Candice’s head resting on his shoulder. She felt sick to her stomach. “What’s taking so long?” Her eyes drifted to the doorway just in time to see someone who looked very similar to Joseph walk by. A second later, he was back and her throat constricted when she realized it was him. He’d come.

  Dressed in a black suit with a smoky-blue shirt and dark gray tie, Joseph looked like he’d stepped out of an advertisement in GQ magazine, and as his six-foot-four frame entered the waiting area, the room instantly felt smaller. Not sparing a glance at Ned or Candice, who were openly watching him, he crossed the room to Lia and her mother, lightly embracing Elaine and kissing her cheek before turning to Lia.

  “Joseph,” Lia whispered.

  “Are you okay?”

  She nodded and wanted to tell him she was fine, but she couldn’t because suddenly she was crying, and the buildup from the last two days found a release in the arms of this incredible man who seemed to be her appointed guardian angel on Earth.

  “I’m sorry,” she said when she finally pulled back and looked up at him. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

  “Don’t apologize to me.” He gently wiped the tears from beneath her eyes with his handkerchief. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner.”

  “I’m just happy you’re here.” She gripped his hand.

  He brought her hand to his mouth, kissing the inside of her wrist as his eyes met hers. “Me too.”

  “Hello?” A young woman dressed in surgical scrubs walked through the door and glanced around. “Ms. Merrick?”

  “That’s me.” Lia rushed forward. “I’m Taylor’s mom.”

  “I’m Katie Menser, a medical student. Taylor’s going to be fine. Her appendix ruptured, but everything was caught in time. Dr. Lombardi is washing up, and then she’ll be out to talk to you.”

  “Where’s Taylor?”

  “She’s still in recovery. A nurse will let you know as soon as she’s assigned a room.”

  “Thank you.” Lia reached out and gripped the woman’s hand. “Thank you so much.”

  “You’re welcome.” She smiled. “The doctor will be right in.”

  As the woman left the room, Lia turned to Elaine. “Thank God,” she said as she hugged her mother. “Thank God.”

  After a moment her eyes sought out Joseph, who was still standing beside the window, his hands pushed deeply into his pockets as he watched her. She crossed the room and moved into his arms, dropping her face into his neck as he wrapped his arms around her, his hand moving up and down her back. “It’s okay.” His mouth was at her ear. “Everything’s okay.”

  “Joseph?” A female voice had him lifting his head.

  “Hannah?” He smiled in recognition. “You operated on Taylor?”

  Lia turned in Joseph’s arms as the surgeon approached.

  “Yes.” Dr. Hannah Lombardi crossed the room to where Lia and Joseph were standing. She gave him a quick hug and kissed his cheek. “You’re not the father, are you?”

  “No.” Ned and Joseph answered in unison.

  “I’m the father,” Ned said. He crossed to where they stood.

  “I’m a friend.” Joseph slipped his arm around Lia as his eyes moved to Ned.

  “Sorry.” Hannah shrugged. She addressed Lia. “She’s going to be fine. Her appendix was in the process of rupturing, so we removed it just in time.”

  As she went on to describe the operation in more detail, Joseph’s eyes moved from Ned Merrick to Candice, who remained sitting.

  “So how have you been, Counselor?” Hannah asked Joseph when she was done answering Lia and Ned’s questions. “I haven’t seen you in forever.”

  “Too long.” He turned to Lia. “Hannah used to date Tony, but it turned out she was too smart for him.” He winked at Hannah.

  “Something like that.” Hannah smiled. “How is he?”

  “As arrogant as ever.” Joseph left his arm around Lia as he chatted with Hannah about mutual acquaintances, the completion of her residency and the law firm. He managed to pull Lia into the conversation, and at least fifteen minutes passed before a nurse came in to give them the room number where Taylor would be taken after recovery.

  Lia felt better than she had in two days as she walked towards Taylor’s assigned room with Joseph and her mother. Suddenly, Ned and Candice were the outsiders. They had arrived at the hospital knowing Lia was alone and not giving one thought to how she would feel. And then, in a matter of moments, Joseph had shown up and Ned not only learned she wasn’t alone, but was dating one of the most successful attorneys in the area.

  As they entered Taylor’s assigned hospital room, there was a moment of awkward silence as they encountered Ned and Candice. Ned came to his feet, and Lia knew she had to acknowledge him.

  “Joseph, this is Taylor’s father, Ned.”

  Ned crossed to Joseph, holding out his hand. “This is a bit of a surprise.
I had no idea you knew Lia. Taylor mentions a Joseph, but I certainly didn’t connect it with you.”

  Joseph returned the handshake. “Merrick.” He met his eyes.

  “And this is my wife, Candice.” He turned as Candice approached.

  “Hi.” She held out her hand. “Actually, we’ve met. We were on opposing sides during a libel suit last year.”

  “Hello.” Joseph returned her handshake and then was turning back to Lia, clearly dismissing the two. “How about a cup of coffee?” His eyes moved from Lia to Elaine.

  “Okay.” Lia nodded.

  Joseph turned to Candice and Ned, who were still standing awkwardly beside him. “May I get either of you something?”

  “A cup of ice water,” Candice said.

  “Nothing for me, thanks,” Ned said.

  “I’ll be right back.” Joseph kissed Lia lightly on the lips before leaving the room.

  Ned turned to Lia as soon as Joseph was out of earshot. “How did you meet him?”

  “How could that possibly be any of your business?”

  Ned shrugged. “I’m curious.”

  “I bet.” She glanced from him to Candice. “Maybe he’s my lawyer. I need one, you know.”

  “He doesn’t practice family law.”

  “Oh, that’s right. He isn’t my lawyer. But one of his friends is.” When Ned didn’t say anything, she continued. “Have you heard of John Bianchi?” There was no mistaking the flash of surprise in his eyes.

  Ned was surprised again when Joseph returned to the room twenty minutes later, carrying a big brown teddy bear and Get Well Soon balloons. A newly awakened Taylor, who’d been wheeled into the room fifteen minutes earlier, lit up at the sight of him and his gifts. “Joseph!”

  “Hi, beautiful. How are you feeling?” He leaned down to kiss her cheeks, and she surprised everyone, including Lia, by wrapping her little arms around his neck.

  “I’m in a hospital!”

  “I know. You’re a brave girl.” He held up the bear. “You’re not too big for teddy bears, are you?”