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“Maybe we can find someplace better to live now.”
I nod even though my heart isn’t in it because really, there aren’t too many better places that we’d be able to afford. At least she owns the trailer outright, so there is that small blessing. Sure, it needs some exterior work, but before my dad got hurt, he had completely renovated the interior. So even if we can’t do what she’s hoping, maybe I can find a handyman to come out and put a nice sun porch on the back, and build a carport or something so I won’t get soaked every time it rains.
Opening the door, I hear the subtle chime and look to my right where the receptionist is sitting. Great. Estella Graves is sitting there, a smirk on her face. She was the bane of mine and Mags’ existence in high school, and it appears that she is relishing some kind of secret or something.
“You’re here to see Mr. Knox?” she asks as we make our way to her desk.
“Yes, Estella,” Mom replies, completely oblivious to the way Estella sneers at us.
“He’ll be with you shortly.”
We sit down and I idly flip through some celebrity magazine as we wait, wondering how long this is going to take and whether or not we can risk treating ourselves to a nice lunch before I have to get ready and go into work.
“Mrs. Smith?” a male voice calls out.
I look up and see… is that Jared? Holy hell, he has definitely filled out from the gawky teenager I remember. We both stand and head in his direction, and I work hard to keep a pleasant, ambivalent look on my face.
“Cassidy? Is that you?” he asks as we near his side.
“Hello, Jared, good to see you again,” I say. Well, maybe not good. I tend to lump all the Knox siblings into the same group as their asshole older brother, Cade, but maybe that isn’t fair. Especially given how divine he smells. In fact, he had done what he could to make my high school years tolerable after Cade left, even going so far as to take me to prom our senior year. Of all the Knox boys, I felt closest to Jared, who is a year older than me and a year younger than Cade. When Cade had gotten married, it was Jared who told me then held me while I cried.
Jared
Holy fucking hell! I knew she had moved back to town when her dad got sick, but I hadn’t seen her at all. Sure, she works at the local grocery store, but it seems whenever I’m in there, she's either off or on break, and I hadn’t caught a glimpse of the woman I had crushed on hard years ago. Time has made her more beautiful, and I have to take a deep breath and remind myself that she likely hates all of us.
Thanks to Cade. Of course, my piece of shit brother is good at ruining things for others, he’s done it all my life if I’m being totally honest with myself.
“You look beautiful, Cassidy,” I murmur as she passes me. I see her eyes glance at me before a blush lightly colors her cheeks.
“Thank you. You’re all grown up now, huh?” she asks. Yeah, in more ways than one if the tightening in my slacks is any indicator. Fuck, I’ve never had a woman affect me like her before.
“Yeah, that happens, y’know,” I reply, chuckling a bit as I usher the two women into my office.
Hopefully, I can talk her into meeting me for coffee or something because I sure as hell want to see if what I felt all those years ago can grow into something else. She had always been kind to me when we were teenagers, even when my jackass of a brother was being, well, a jackass, and I have fond memories of taking her to the prom, as well as all the crazy movies we would go see. In fact, I think I spent as much time with her as my brother did when we were younger. She was a good friend back in the day; here’s hoping I can rekindle that into something more.
Once they’re both sitting in the chairs in front of my desk, I open up the file in front of me. Mr. Smith was in an industrial accident that ultimately caused his death, and it took several years to get what I felt the appropriate settlement would be from the company. Worker’s Compensation covered their part, but he got injured and subsequently died due to the direct negligence of the company itself, so I went after them for all I could get. I knew they had struggled when he got hurt, and talked my dad into taking the minimum possible amount for our fee, wanting them to get the bulk of the money. It wasn’t like I needed the money. We were pretty much the only game around and our reputation as a firm that would fight hard for their client meant we had plenty of billable hours elsewhere.
“Ladies, I hate that it took so long, but I feel we got the best possible settlement we could, all things considered,” I state. “While it will never replace Mr. Wayne, the company has offered six million dollars.”
I hear Mrs. Smith gasp and see Cassidy’s face pale, before she asks, “How much will that be after attorney’s fees?”
Looking at her, I reply, “Cassidy, we’re taking a flat amount only. If I could have talked Dad into it completely, we wouldn’t have taken anything at all...your dad was an important part of this community.” I quickly do the math in my head, realize we’ve done about five hundred hours of work, multiply that by my hourly rate, then cut it in half. “We’re taking seven thousand for our fee.”
“That… that’s not enough, Jared,” she states. “I know y’all worked a lot on this case and there’s no way that’s enough.”
“It’s enough, Cassidy.” I keep my voice firm. I won’t back down no matter how hard she presses.
“Are you sure? I don’t feel right… it seems like we’re taking advantage or something.”
“I’m positive. Now, Mrs. Smith, let’s go over the release form, okay? I’ve read through it but want to explain anything you don’t understand once you’ve gone over it.”
* * *
It takes some time to explain the release and what it means, but eventually, we have all the release forms filled out, and I hand Mrs. Smith the certified check, minus our fees.
“Ladies, I won’t say this was a pleasure, because I know that this money in no way brings Mr. Wayne back to you, but I’m glad we were able to help you get some remuneration for his loss.”
“Jared, thank you for everything you’ve done to help Mom,” Cassidy replies. “Now, if you don’t need me for anything else, I need to get home so I can get ready for work.”
