by E. M. Shea
Nick slowly broke into a smile. “That’s brilliant, counselor.”
Dani knew he was more or less teasing in uttering the title of “counselor”, but better than him saying it with a sneer, as would have normally been the case. “When is the hearing?” she asked.
“In two weeks. It’s on a Thursday afternoon. I know you probably can’t take time off from your regular job to be there, but maybe we can go over the strategy one more time a day or two before.”
Nick’s eyes almost appeared to plead with Dani as he made the suggestion. It only made her more determined than ever to help in the greatest capacity possible. “Don’t worry—I’ll be there.”
“Seriously?” Nick appeared genuinely surprised.
“Sure. We both know that courtroom tactics are not exactly your strong point, so I need to make sure Colin gets the best possible representation.”
Nick grinned. “I’m going to let that obvious insult slide since you’re more than making up for it right now.”
Dani smiled. “Fair enough. But I do want to see the police report and any other pertinent information ahead of time. That includes whatever previous arrest reports you can dig up on the mother.”
“Okay. I’m sure there’s no shortage of those to be found.”
“I’d like to meet with Colin ahead of time, too. Just to go over everything with him and to make sure he’s prepared for some of the questions that I expect he’ll be asked.”
Nick appeared to be taken aback, but in the best possible way. “Uh, yeah, of course. That’s a great idea.”
Dani pulled a small planner out of her handbag and flipped through some pages. “Wow. I kind of forgot how my firm has me working close to eighty hours a week.”
“If you can’t make the trial—”
“Oh, I’ll make it,” she interjected, looking back up at Nick and wondering if it was her imagination that his eyes shone with the sheer gratitude that she sometimes saw in clients as they clung to even the tiniest fibers of hope. “I may need to shift a few things around, but I’ll make the hearing. As for meeting Colin, is there any chance we could do it on the weekend? I have some time tomorrow afternoon, or it would have to be next weekend at the latest since the court date is the following week.”
“Let’s do it tomorrow, then,” Nick replied. “Maybe lunch? I can swing by and get you and then we can pick up Colin.”
Dani froze, her mouth partially open but no reply ready to roll off her tongue. She wasn’t sure how things had so quickly escalated to this … from I have nothing more to say to you, Ms. Defense Lawyer to Hey, let’s get lunch and I’ll swing by your place like ol’ times. Well, actually she did know. Clearly, Nick was seeing her—or at least her profession—in a different light now that he was on the receiving end of its benefits, but did that really change the gulf of incongruity between them? In a word, no. She would help Colin—and was glad to do so—which meant also helping Nick since he was heavily invested in Colin’s well-being. But were she to find herself facing him in court again—he as a cop, not as a teen mentor, and she as his adversary rather than his advocate—things would be right back where they were before. And as she stared at him now, so easy on the eyes … and on a whole lot of other body parts if memory served her well … it just made the most sense to keep a professional distance like she would with any client.
“Stop,” Dani blurted out loud to the inner voice that seemed determined to torment her.
Nick looked understandably perplexed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to … well, I’m not sure what I did but—”
“No, you’re fine.” Woo! She blew out a puff of air to cool her flushed cheeks. “I meant to say that I can meet the two of you tomorrow. Just say when and where.”
Nick’s smile, which had momentarily faded, was cautiously back. “Well, the weather’s been so nice that I was actually going to suggest we head to Juniper Lake Park. It’s about forty-five minutes from here. They have picnic tables and grills, and I try to get Colin out of the city and into some fresh air whenever I can.” He paused. “But we can just meet at a local restaurant instead.”
There was something about the sincerity not only in Nick’s words, but in the thought behind them, that instantly crushed Dani’s rock-solid resolve into dust. “You know what? The park lunch sounds like a good idea.”
Nick’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
Dani nodded, in part to confirm her earlier statement, but also to convince herself that she was doing the right thing. “Sure. We’re having a nice Indian summer right now,” she said, referring to the unseasonably warm September, “but this is New England, after all. Next week, we could have a blizzard. So might as well get in one last picnic while we can.”
Nick grinned. “That’s what I was thinking, too.” He hesitated before segueing into a question. “So … did you want to meet us there?”
Dani swung her foot nervously under the table, discreetly gripping her knee to make it stop. Ah, what the hell, she thought. If I’m going to throw caution to the wind, why not toss it into a tornado instead? “Let’s all drive there together. Better to share the scenery that way.”
“Perfect!” Nick exclaimed. “How about if I pick up Colin first, then head to your place at around eleven?”
“I’ll be there,” Dani said with a smile. It quickly faded as she glanced down at her watch. “Oh, crap.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I need to head to the office.”
“Seriously? On a Saturday afternoon?”
Dani signed, her eyes darting upwards in forced resignation. “Unfortunately, yes. Leland—he’s the head of the firm, so you could say he’s my boss—just got back from a week in Aspen, and he asked me to come in to go over some cases. Although ‘asked’ sounds like I have a choice, and I can’t say that I do.”
“Well, that sucks,” Nick said matter-of-factly.
“Tell me about it. What really gets me is that you’re expected to put in a gazillion hours when you’re working your way up in a law firm, but once you’ve paid your dues and make partner, things are supposed to ease up.” She rose from the chair, stretched out her arms, then added, “I’m still waiting.”
“Well, all the more reason you deserve a relaxing day at the lake tomorrow.”
Dani smiled. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
◆◆◆
Nick’s eyes followed Dani as she strode through the still-crowded eatery, then excited into the sunlit afternoon. With her form-fitting jeans—and the shapely form that they fitted—he couldn’t help but admire what he saw. But it was so much more than that. When he had asked for her help with Colin, she could have told him to take a hike—backwards and down a slope of ice. Or called him a hypocritical jerk. In fact, he wouldn’t have blamed her one bit had she done both. But instead, she went above and beyond, insisting that she would find the time despite trying to juggle an insane schedule at her firm and her pro bono work for the Women’s Center on top of that.
“Now that is an amazing woman,” Nick quietly murmured, taking a final sip of his now-warm coffee, but feeling a wave of heat pass through him all the same.
◆◆◆
Dani gingerly knocked on the open entranceway to Leland’s office, having even more reason than she did twenty minutes ago to wish she were anywhere else but here. On the drive over after her meeting with Nick, she had received a text message from Leland that she read once she had pulled into the office parking lot: Are you on your way? There’s an urgent matter we need to talk about.
Looking up from a stack of papers in front of him at his desk, Leland waved her in. “Have a seat,” he said, removing his reading glasses.
Dani complied, a strong suspicion as to the subject of the “urgent matter”.
“I just got off the phone a little while ago with Gunther Colby. He said he’s been trying to set up a meeting with you regarding his son Sean’s upcoming court date. I thought Margaret apprised you of the situation while I was away last w
eek.”
Dani swallowed hard on a lump of resentment. “She did.”
“And? I told her to have you meet with Gunther and Sean. Did she fail to mention that?”
“No, she did.”
“So why haven’t you returned Gunther’s calls? The court date is in two weeks. Not like I have to tell you how any of this works,” Leland said, although he was about to do exactly that. “But you’ll need to meet with Sean to devise a plan for his defense, and I don’t want this to be put off until last minute. Not only is Gunther a friend, but he’s sent a lot of business our way. We need to stay in his good graces if this pipeline—a very lucrative one, I might add—is to continue.”
Dani sighed inwardly, knowing that any outward sign of dissent would only further annoy Leland. It was within that same vein that she conjured up a slight yet still painful smile. “I’m sorry, Leland. I’ve actually been meaning to talk to you about this, but it seems like we keep missing each other with our schedules.”
“Well, we’re both here now.” He paused, not the slightest hint of a return smile on his end. “I’m listening.”
“I’d really prefer not to take this case, and I think Jeremy would be perfect for it. He’s been wanting to get some more court time in, and I’m happy to advise him if he has any questions while working on this.”
Leland slowly clasped his hands together and rested them on the desk, carefully studying Dani all the while. “I’m not sure I understand what the issue is. I asked you to take on this case because you successfully represented Sean before, so you’re already familiar with any details that would come to bear on the present case. And even more importantly, Gunther specifically requested you. So what’s the problem? If it’s that your workload is too heavy, then we’ll hand off one of your cases to someone else.”
“It’s not that,” Dani replied, though she couldn’t deny that she had been running herself ragged trying to keep up with the cases that were continually heaped upon her.
“Then what is it?”
“Sean is a spoiled brat.” There. I said it. “I told him at the last hearing that if he didn’t learn from his mistake and was caught texting while driving again, I would not be coming to the rescue this time.”
“You said what?”
Dani recoiled back in her chair as Leland spit out a response, his face now a deep shade of crimson.
“Leland, he’s going to get someone killed. And I don’t want to be the one to get him off the hook yet again so he can get back on the road and do exactly that.”
Leland stood up from his chair and came around to the front of the desk, pacing back and forth with his chin resting on a fisted hand. When he finally stopped and turned back to Dani, his voice was firm yet relatively calm, his face now downgraded to a rather pretty shade of pink. “I feel like we’ve had this conversation before, but apparently it needs to be said again. Schulman, Heinz and Associates is not a charity. We don’t pick and choose cases based on our personal moral compass. We choose them based on whether we think we can win, and how much the defendant is willing and able to pay. And from the large corporations we represent, to the well-pocketed individuals, it turns out they’ve been more than happy to pay a shitload of money to have cream-of-the-crop attorneys like yourself save their ass. And given that you’re now a partner, you know this as well as anyone.” He paused as though giving his words a chance to sink in before adding, “You’re on track to make a high six figures this year, are you not?”
Dani allowed a slight nod but said nothing. After all, what could she say? Leland was right. About everything. Which explained why she had the sick feeling in her stomach that always kicked in when she felt conflicted on a deeper level. Yes, she was making a ton of money. Living her dream—or what she had thought was her dream—of excelling as a topnotch lawyer in a sought-after firm. Enjoying the perks—and significant profit-sharing—as a partner. And yet … somehow … feeling increasingly miserable with the choices she had made.
“I think the best thing for you to do right now is to go back to your office and give Gunther a call,” Leland said, a forced, friendly casualness in his voice that made Dani shudder inside. “Just explain that you were caught up in a case that dragged on longer than expected, but you’re ready to give your all to helping Sean.”
Dani stood up. “Actually, Leland, I’m not feeling well. I think I need to take the rest of the day off.”
Leland’s eyes bulged. “Did you just say you’re not feeling well?”
Dani stood her ground, despite the wobbliness in her knees. “I believe that’s what I just said. Yes.”
“So you were fine when you walked in here, but now I’m supposed to believe you’re suddenly sick?”
It took everything Dani had not to roll her eyes and utter: Do you really need to speak to me as though you’re grilling me in the courtroom? Instead, she said, “It came on all of a sudden.”
“Is this your not so discreet way of telling me you’re refusing to take Sean’s case?”
Dani thought for a second, wanting to be truthful, but genuinely not sure what that would entail. “I need time to think about things.”
“What’s there to think about? I believe I made it pretty clear what’s at stake. And I’m not just talking about Sean’s driving record in this instance.”
“I know that,” Dani replied, fully aware that Leland was referencing her future at the firm. “And I’m sorry, but I need to leave. I mean … it is Saturday.”
Leland was clearly unmoved. “Point being?”
“I will think about what you said,” she said quietly, unable to promise more. With no further comment from Leland—other than his unfaltering stare, which spoke volumes—Dani turned on her heels and headed out of his office.
Forty minutes later, she was seated on her favorite bench in Birch Park, watching all the winged and bushy-tailed critters gathering up acorns and hickory nuts in preparation for winter. As was common for New England at this time of the year, the temperature had been dipping back and forth between the high 40s and low 70s, with the last few days feeling almost spring-like. Yet somehow, they knew it was time to work on their cold-weather stash of goodies, and she admired their resolve. It was something she felt she had very little of lately, and perhaps it was time to change that. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she ran through a number of pros and cons in her mind, then nodded to herself and smiled. Pulling her cellphone from the back pocket of her jeans, she scrolled through her contact list, then pressed the “send” button as she sat back, feeling more determined than ever as she waited for her intended recipient to answer.
“Hello?”
“Hi Kristen, it’s Dani. Look, I’ve been doing some thinking. Actually, make that a lot of thinking. Do you have some time this coming week to meet about that legal counsel position at the center?”
Chapter Eighteen
Nick’s jeep pulled up in Dani’s driveway at 11 a.m. sharp the next morning. As he stepped out of the vehicle to greet Dani and open the passenger door, she dipped her head back for a hearty laugh. “Look at us,” she said as kicked up one leg and tugged on her light windbreaker. “We’re totally matching.”
Nick glanced down at his own clothing—blue jeans, hiking shoes, white long-sleeved tee-shirt under a navy North Face windbreaker—then back up at Dani’s identical outfit. “I’ll be damned,” he said with a chuckle. “So what do you think it means?”
“That you have a great fashion sense if you’re dressing like me.” Dani smirked as she started to climb into the jeep, but was blocked as Nick thrust his arm out in front of her. She turned, his eyes boring into her own.
“You sure it’s not more than that?”
Oh, how she was tempted to dig further into that question. Except some of the potential answers that came to mind were unsettling. Was the universe trying to tell them something? She drew in a breath and opted to play it safe. “Unless you’re wearing a pink thong, then we’re not actually identically dr
essed. So I would have to say no.”
She winked as she slid into the passenger seat, Nick’s slightly agape mouth finally merging into a smile. He closed the door behind her, then situated himself in the driver’s seat several moments later.
“Dani, this is Colin. Colin, meet Dani,” he said as she turned to see the teenager scrunched into the back seat. Dani extended her hand, making note of Colin’s gangly yet tall frame, his head nearly touching the jeep ceiling. His hair was cropped close to the head—much like Nick’s—and his large eyes appeared both kind and cautious. A contradiction, yet understandable knowing what Nick had shared with her about his background.
The forty-five-minute drive to Juniper Lake Park was filled with easy banter between the three of them, with the conversation ranging from all the Boston sports teams—not a topic that Dani was up to date on, but one she did her best to endure as a bona fide New Englander—to an upcoming Boys Club winter skiing trip and the latest Marvel Avengers movie, which was as familiar to Dani as the Boston Celtics’ most recent lineup. Still, she was game for any talk that temporarily sidestepped a more serious legal conversation, wanting to first build a rapport and a sense of trust between herself and Colin. And though she hadn’t mentioned this ahead of time to Nick, she was relieved to find that he, too, kept the conversation rolling along on a lighter level.
It wasn’t until they were sitting at a picnic table by the lake, digging into macaroni salad, crisp vegetable chips and freshly grilled burgers, that Nick jumpstarted the exchange about Colin’s upcoming court appearance.