by Lea Coll
“That’s impressive. It says her father withdrew his backing.”
“That’s right.” Her words were stilted.
“Why?” I detected an undercurrent in her answer as if she didn’t want to offer more information. It’s seemed odd a father would do that unless he didn’t believe in the program.
Avery’s face was grim. “You really shouldn’t go into business with family.”
Or friends. “Is she in need of an investor?”
“We’re looking. The firm is helping, but we can’t fund her yet.” She licked her lips, her gaze on the newspaper clipping.
My gaze dropped to her lips before I forced myself to look away. It was a worthy cause, but I wasn’t prepared to partner with anyone, not even as a silent investor. “We should focus on why we’re here.”
“I’m sorry. Of course.” She shifted through the paperwork I’d brought. “I can administer the estate for you. The firm will receive a portion as a fee.”
“I know how it works.” I’d researched my options when Julian died, realizing I’d lose a portion of the funds, but at this point, it was worth the loss to take it off my plate.
“I’ll file a petition to administer the estate, value his assets. What did you want to do with his house?”
Despite the sinking feeling in my stomach, I said, “Eventually, I’d like to sell it, move to our own place.”
She looked up at me in surprise. “Are you sure Declan will be okay with selling?”
Her question felt personal, not like an attorney questioning a client. It didn’t feel like she was pressing, more like she cared, but I didn’t want to get too personal. “Like I said, eventually, we’ll be ready. We’re not there yet.”
Avery’s expression changed from concerned to professional. “Would you like me to handle changing the deed into your name?”
“Please handle whatever you think needs to be dealt with. I’d really appreciate it. I want to focus on Declan and his immediate needs.”
Something passed over her features, softening them. “That’s commendable.”
“He’s the one who’s vulnerable in this situation.” It felt weird to discuss something so personal outside of my family.
“Is he the only one?” Her voice lowered, her eyes traveled over my face.
I cleared my throat. I grieved my brother, but the guilt lingered from my part in his accident. I couldn’t let go of the idea that if I’d been there, none of this would be happening.
“Have you talked to anyone?” Her head tilted.
I leaned back to gain a little distance. Since Julian died only my parents expressed concern. Avery reminded me of what it was like to have a girlfriend, someone who was always there for me. “Who would I talk to?”
“A counselor. I know it’s not my place, but maybe it would help.” She smiled as if to lighten the intensity of the last few seconds.
“I’m fine. You’re handling the estate, I’m handling Declan.” I made my voice intentionally cool in a warning for her to back off.
She opened her mouth as if to respond but then closed it again, giving me a tight smile. “Have you made any decisions regarding guardianship?”
“I’m caring for him. We aren’t close to any other family members. Not close enough I’d feel comfortable with Declan living with them.” I hadn’t officially decided, but there didn’t seem to be a better option.
She straightened her spine. “That’s good. I called the life insurance company. They’re almost done with their investigation. There should be an answer one way or the other in the next couple of weeks.”
“Good. Regardless of the insurance company’s decision, I want to set up a trust for Declan so that he’s protected should anything happen to me.”
Her eyes flashed with respect. “I’m happy to help you with that.”
After we discussed an appropriate amount for the trust, parameters for the financial trustee, the appropriate time for Declan to have access to the full amount, she promised to contact me when the paperwork was completed.
She stood, pausing next to my chair. She placed a hand on my shoulder. “There’s no shame talking to someone—it doesn’t have to be a counselor. Maybe a friend or a parent.”
“Why do you care so much?”
“I grew up with parents who were focused on work. When my brother acted out, they sent him to military school.” She shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “They worked all the time, didn’t have the energy or the interest in taking us places, driving us to extracurriculars, it was all about them. I’m not saying you’re like that—”
“That must have been lonely.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. I couldn’t imagine growing up, afraid if I acted up, I’d be sent away.
She considered my words for a second, her hand still on my shoulder, warm and comforting. I wanted to close my eyes, reveling in her touch. Instead, I focused on her reaction.
Her smile was tight. “I was fine. I worked hard, went to law school, opened this firm.”
Surely she realized her parents weren’t exactly normal. “Are you sure about that?”
She removed her hand from my shoulder, shuttering her eyes, withdrawing physically and emotionally. I regretted saying anything. I didn’t want to create distance between us.
“They raised two successful adults. I’m an attorney and my brother, Mason, is a Navy pilot. They might not have been conventional, but we turned out okay.”
I should gather my things to leave but I wanted to know more. “Are you close to your brother?”
“We were eight years apart in age. I was young when he left for good.”
“You don’t keep in touch now?” I shifted to face her, wanting to see her expression, find proof she felt something about her family, her past.
Her nose wrinkled. “My parents keep me updated on what he’s doing. Like I said, we were never close.”
“That sucks.” I couldn’t imagine not being close with Julian. We were friends growing up because we were so close in age, but when Damon and Lorelai betrayed me, he was the only one I could trust.
“You were close with your brother.” Her voice was soft, her head tilted slightly, nothing but genuine curiosity filled her eyes.
“Yeah. We were only two years apart. I was older, so I was protective of him in high school.” I hesitated, watching her carefully, wondering if opening up to her would prompt her to do the same. “Kids picked on him.”
“He was bullied?” She stilled, waiting for my answer.
“Not after I stepped in. But by the time I graduated, he’d bulked up. He cared for himself.” I still worried about him because he was my younger brother.
She smiled, but it was brittle. “That’s good. Kids can be brutal.”
I wanted to ask, were they brutal to you, but I didn’t. We’d already shared too much personal information for an attorney-client relationship.
She opened the conference room door, effectively ending our meeting. “I’ll be in touch as soon as I hear from the insurance company.”
I sighed, reluctant to leave. I wanted to stay. I wanted to uncover her secrets in this room where we seemed to connect almost effortlessly. Instead, I followed her down the hall to the front of the office.
She stopped when she reached the front door, turning to face me. “Thank you so much for coming in this morning, Mr. Locke.”
“Oh, I think we’re past that formality, aren’t we? You can call me Griffin.”
“Sometimes I need to remind myself that we’re in a business relationship.” Her eyes were cool, but sparks simmered under the surface.
Was she attracted to me? I stepped closer, lowering my voice, hoping to elicit a reaction. “Why is that?”
She stood her ground, tilting her head slightly. “Are you still planning to kick us out at the end of our lease?”
Confused at the sudden turn in conversation, I stepped back. Why was she bringing this up now? “Honestly, I hadn’t thought about it.”
“My partners are concerned. They wanted me to discuss it with you before you hired me to handle your brother’s estate. It would be difficult to relocate when we’re just getting established.”
It was a reasonable point. “You’re right. We’d need to negotiate a new lease amount.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, cocking her head to the side. “Are you going to raise it so exorbitantly, we’ll have no choice but to move?”
It was clear I was an ass to her when we initially spoke. If I wanted her to view me as more than a business partner, I needed to fix this. “It’s in my best interest to have a paying tenant. I’m confident we can come to an acceptable amount for both of us.”
She lowered her arms to her side. “Thank you. Any meeting will involve all of my partners.”
“Of course. No proxies.” I smiled, so she’d know I was teasing.
Her lips tugged into a smile. “No proxies.”
“Shake on it?” I held my hand out to her.
“It’s nice doing business with you, Avery.” I held on to her hand longer than necessary, not wanting to break contact. Her soft warmth seeped through my skin.
“You too, Griffin.” A pink hue spread up her neck and cheeks. I let go of her hand, liking her reaction.
Chapter Five
Avery
Watching Griffin walk down the street, I knew I said too much.
I’d come so close to telling Griffin everything. A man who according to everything I’d read about him was cutthroat in his business. He might be softhearted when it came to his nephew but that didn’t mean he’d be the same with me. I needed to protect myself. I needed to remember that picture of him with his fiancée. He was rich and attractive. He dated women who looked the part on gossip sites. I wasn’t his type.
I knew how guys like that could be. I’d never be humiliated like that again. I was attracted to him, but that’s as far as it could go. He was our landlord. He could pull the proverbial rug out from under our firm anytime he wanted.
Dylan walked into the reception area. “How did the meeting go with Griffin?”
I smiled, hoping my turbulent thoughts weren’t written on my face. “It was fine. It’s a straight-forward estate. There’s not likely to be anyone contesting the will.”
“What about the boy’s mother?” Dylan followed me to the conference room.
I gathered Griffin’s paperwork, organizing it into his file. “She left when he was three months old. No one’s heard from her since.”
Dylan rested a shoulder against the doorjamb. “We should find her, see what she’s up to. If she finds out he has money, she might be an issue.”
I closed Griffin’s file folder, holding it to my chest. “Won’t it be expensive to track her down?”
“The mother could be a factor in the guardianship case. It might be worth checking it out. He certainly has the means to hire an investigator.”
Yet he lived in the same home as his brother, according to the inventory he provided, a modest colonial in a middle class neighborhood. Before his brother died, he lived in the apartment above the office. Griffin was a crossword puzzle I wanted to solve. I wanted to fill in all the blank spaces, reconcile his differences, then maybe I could put Griffin Locke in a box, one I’d never open.
“How are things with him otherwise?”
I rounded my desk, sitting. “Good. I apologized for calling him insufferable. He agreed to negotiate a new lease.” I added the last part to throw her off any line of questions into my attraction to Griffin.
Dylan raised a brow. “He’s willing to negotiate?”
“That’s what he said. We’d set up a time when all of us could be there, hash it out, and sign a renewal.”
“How’d you get him to agree to that?”
“I mentioned how we had this hanging over our heads, how it would be bad for business if we had to move when the firm was so new.”
“Good job. I’ll let Hadley know.” Dylan left my office.
I breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn’t asked any follow-up questions.
Hadley popped her head in a few minutes later. “Good job with the landlord. You say you’re not good with people, but you seem to be handling Griffin.”
I laughed. “I don’t know about that. He brings this side of me out that I didn’t know existed.”
“Oh yeah? What side is that?” Hadley crossed her arms over her chest.
Had I revealed too much? Will she realize that I’m attracted to him? “The one that pushes until she gets what she wants.”
“Good for you.” She moved to sit in a chair across from me. “I don’t think you’re a pushover.”
“Oh no. I’m not a pushover. I’m just not great with people. Not like Dylan.” I wasn’t sure how to explain my worries to her without telling her some of the truth. “I can handle clients. I know how to work for what I want, but you know, social situations, making friends… those are harder.”
Hadley’s eyes gentled. “You’re friends with Dylan and me, and Taylor, obviously.”
We met in our first year of law school when we were assigned to the same small group. We instantly clicked, forming a study group, and remained friends. I was grateful. I wasn’t sure we’d be friends otherwise. Sometimes, I worried we remained friends out of obligation. When we graduated, we went our separate ways for a few years until Dylan had the idea to open a firm together.
At first I resisted, because I didn’t have the capital to start something like that, but they said I could join with a lower share. We were partners on paper, but I didn’t feel equal. I smiled, masking the thoughts running through my head. If they knew the real me, the one who was ridiculed in school, they probably wouldn’t like me. Sometimes the negative voice in my head was hard to ignore.
“You’re right. We’re friends.”
Hadley studied my face as I held my breath, hoping she wouldn’t call me out. “I hope you know that we love you. I’m happy to be working with you.”
I’d only known Hadley for a few months. She was being sweet, but I felt guilty for making her feel like she had to reassure me. “I do. Of course I do. I don’t know what I’m rambling about. I had a tough time with some kids in school, but it was a long time ago.”
“What happened?”
My face heated. I never repeated what those kids said. It was too humiliating. I couldn’t figure out why they targeted me. I was quiet, kept to myself.
Each word stung me, made me feel less than. Back then, I had no friends. I couldn’t trust people not to turn on me.
I’d never let that fear go. If I lowered my mask for a second, it invited someone in, told them their opinion mattered, that they could hurt me. I straightened my shoulders. I was stronger for what I went through.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. I’m sorry you were treated badly.”
I waved her off. “Don’t feel sorry for me. It was nothing.”
“It’s clearly not nothing. I wish you felt more comfortable talking about it. Maybe I could help.”
She’d been nothing but kind to me even if I’d only known her for a few months.
Hadley sighed. “You know, when mean girls pick on you, it’s more about them than you.”
I laughed without humor, looking away as tears stung my eyes. “It was boys, but okay.”
“Boys bullied you?” Hadley’s eyes widened as she leaned in closer.
“It was both, but the boys were the worst.” My voice was quiet, my face hot. Could I trust Hadley with this?
“I know we haven’t been friends long, but I’d never betray you. First of all, we’re all adults and that middle school bullshit needs to stay back there. I’d never be catty, or drop you as a friend.”
I wanted to believe if I told someone the truth, they wouldn’t think less of me. “When I raised my hand to answer a question in class, the boys would bark at me like I was a dog.” I couldn’t look at her, my breath harsh to my ears.
&n
bsp; Hadley reached over, placing her hand on mine. “I’m so sorry. They were a bunch of assholes. You’re gorgeous and smart.”
“I failed the bar exam the first time.” I wanted her to know everything.
“That doesn’t mean anything. You’re an attorney, a managing partner of this firm. Those people can’t get to you anymore. Their opinion doesn’t mean anything but that they were jealous of you back then and they’d be jealous of you now.”
“You think so?” I was reluctant to believe her. I always thought there was something fundamentally wrong with me. That those kids could see something I couldn’t, an insecurity, a chink in my armor.
“Jealous assholes. They’re probably used car salesmen now.” Hadley’s voice was full of conviction.
I snorted.
“What? Are they?” Hadley asked.
I was slightly embarrassed that I’d searched online to find out what they were doing now. “One of the guys dropped out of college and is working as a car salesman.”
“See! I told you. They were jealous of the success they knew you’d have in life. Live your life how you want to. Who cares about those assholes.”
Telling her the truth drained me. I leaned back in my chair. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say asshole so many times in one conversation.”
“Yeah, well, it was deserved, don’t you think?” Hadley’s eyes were full of laughter, her cheeks pink.
“It was.” I’d made a true friend today. I’d been honest with her and she’d been nothing but supportive.
“No more of this nonsense. You have friends. You belong here. You’re successful. Nothing and no one can bring you down.”
“Thank you, Hadley. It’s not that I don’t know that, sometimes I just need a reminder.” Sharing with her felt good, the ever present knot of worry in my stomach unraveled a little.
“That’s what friends are for.” She gave me a pointed look before leaving my office.
I’d like to think mean people didn’t exist anymore. That there were trustworthy ones out there, but the fear of being rejected by yet another person was overwhelming. After opening up to Griffin, then Hadley, I was physically and mentally exhausted. It wasn’t even lunchtime yet.