AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She smiled prettily, gave a cute little finger wave and walked off, her hips swaying. He swallowed. He shut the door and leaned against it, holding the cookies. He was such an awkward fool. She was flirting…maybe? She was, wasn’t she? Should he have said something? Invited her in to have one of her own cookies? Hell, he didn’t know. He didn’t have a clue about women or what their motivations were. Maybe she was just nice. He plucked a cookie from the plate and took a bite. Chocolate chip, his favorite.
He set the plate down on the counter and poured himself a cup of milk. Cookies were a good breakfast. Especially since he was just going to shower the sweat and stress off and go to bed for a few hours. He ate half of the cookies. Rill was on his perch gazing out the window. He stroked the bird, who beeped in pleasure, and he went to the bathroom to get ready for bed.
Chapter Seven
Four hours of sleep was all he got. He didn’t dare sleep longer, he was worried, and Rill was standing on his face.
“Ach,” he said as tail feathers brushed his nose, and he went to brush whatever off his face before he realized what was going on. He sat up slowly, so Rill could flutter safely off his face, and blinked blearily at the bird.
Then he heard it. The knocking at the door. He was beginning to despise that sound. Before all of his troubles started, the only time he had a knock was a resident dropping off the rent, reporting an issue, or an occasional delivery. That was all. Now he didn’t have a clue what disaster lurked on the other side.
He hurriedly scrubbed his hands through his hair, trying to move the thick floppy stuff into something that didn’t look like bedhead, and hurriedly grabbed a pair of jeans from the floor. He shoved them on and stumbled to the door.
He glanced at the microwave clock as he passed by, it was barely afternoon. So, it could be a resident or, he grimaced with distaste, the Guild.
He opened the door carefully keeping his foot positioned to stop it from opening fully. It was a strange older man. He was wearing a suit, clean shaven, his hair in an expensive cut. He was holding a cardboard container with two coffee cups, and in his other hand a briefcase. He stared at the briefcase then back at the man. “Uncle Geoffrey?” he asked, befuddled.
The man smiled, and said, “Of course, were you expecting someone else?”
Oliver still looked confused.
“Are you going to invite me in?”
“Yes, of course.” Oliver stood back, opening the door wide and allowed his uncle to enter.
“What’s with the huge change?” Oliver waved a hand indicating Geoffrey’s attire as Geoffrey set the coffees down on the kitchen table. He noticed that Geoffrey had found one of Julia’s cookies. “And the suit?”
He chuckled. “These are good cookies.” He held up a half-eaten cookie. Chocolate chip. My favorite.”
“And the suit?” Oliver repeated.
“Well, I figured it was time to look like a lawyer.”
Oliver froze. “Aren’t you a lawyer?”
“I am, of course.” He looked away. Maybe looking for another cookie. There were only a couple left on the plate.
Oliver felt a sinking feeling in his gut. “When was the last time you defended someone in court?”
“Let me think.” He tapped his finger against his chin, and his eyes shifted to the left. “Nineteen ninety-seven, I think.” He picked up one of the coffee cups and started to sip it. “Still hot.”
Oliver sank into his kitchen chair. “I’m screwed.” Rill whistled his agreement from his perch.
“I didn’t stop practicing; I just haven’t needed to go to court that often. Trust me, my boy, you’ll be fine.”
Well, he seemed sure of himself. That gave Oliver a bit of a boost. He brushed his hand through his hair which was sticking up everywhere. He grabbed his cup of coffee and sipped it. It was hot, and he burned his tongue. He swore and set it back down and popped off the lid so it would cool faster.
“What’s the plan?” he asked.
“Well, I’ve set my team on verifying Rill’s story, once we have the proof, we’ll get everything dropped. Today, we go in and plead. You will plead not guilty.”
“OK, just for kicks, what happens if we go to court and lose?”
“We won’t.”
“Please, Geoffrey, what will happen?”
He sipped his coffee, and stretched out his legs, looking down at his toes. “Well, my boy, it won’t be good. The Guild will take Rill, and his fate will be in their hands. More than likely, they’ll have him destroyed, or continue whatever they were doing with him before. You will end up in Guild prison.”
