AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He scratches his head and then levels me with a mostly serious gaze. “My dad’s friend runs this investment firm, and, well….” He leaves the sentence unfinished, looking sheepish, and I understand why.
We’d had a pact to be nothing like our fathers, and here he is, working at a firm his father set up for him.
“I’m happy for you.”
Alistair shifts uncomfortably in his seat.
“You’re all grown up,” I tease to break the tension.
“He threatened to cut me off if I didn’t at least try.”
“I guess I’ll have to find someone else to be a degenerate with.”
“You wouldn't dare,” he sounds wounded.
“Of course not. I’m not that kind of asshole.”
“Speaking of assholes,” Alistair says with a sober look, “how did it go with Rausch?”
“Same old, same old. What are you going to do with your life? Giving me shit about not taking the Bar, blah, blah.”
“Remind me again why you didn't take the Bar?” he asks.
I roll my eyes and lean back in my seat. I could have taken the Bar right out of law school. There was a job waiting for me at a local firm but… “The thought of trading in my freedom for a suit and jacket wasn’t appealing,” I admit out loud to Alistair. “No offense,” I say pointing to his loosened tie.
“None taken,” he says, tipping one of the shots back. “It’s not so bad.” He leans forward against the table. “Did you know there’s sick days and vacation days?” He raises a teasing eyebrow.
“You’ve only been there one day,” I point out.
“And I made a very good first impression.”
I chuckle. “I have no doubt.”
The bar starts to fill up as people clock out of work, and college students because of the proximity to Georgetown University. A group of friends take the table nearby, singing a fraternity drinking chant, and I turn to Alistair.
“Did we look as ridiculous as them?” I ask, tilting my head towards the group again, and thinking about how simple things were for me back then.
“Worse,” Alistair teases.
“Did you get any information out of him about your grandfather?”
I lay the manilla envelope onto the table with an ominous thud.
“I take it you haven’t read it?” The strings are still looped tightly.
“I read it. Most of it I already knew, but there was a police report for a Gregory Allen Walker from Lynchburg, Virginia, arrested on charges of arson.”
Alistair gives me a concerned look.
“If Rausch thinks this is sufficient,” I flip the corner of the envelope in frustration, and leave the sentence hanging, “he’s fucking with me.”
I don’t mention the envelope with Evangeline’s name on it, because I haven’t looked at that yet. There can’t be anything in there that I don’t already know. I’d already had her checked out before I had the marriage contract drawn up. I was desperate, but I wasn’t an idiot. No known arrests, no rehabs, nothing criminal. A simple credit check revealed some student loans that had been paid off, nothing of interest. Whatever Rausch put in that envelope, I either already know, or I don’t want to know.
“Maybe he’s just giving enough information so you can draw your own conclusions,” Alistair shrugs.
That’s probably the only smart thing Alistair has said tonight, because on the police report is an address. Granted, the police report is from over thirty years ago.
“Punching Senator Langley saved the evening from becoming boring,” he chuckles, changing the subject. “So I guess forking over a hefty donation wasn’t for nothing,” he shrugs.
