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Jenkins threw his head back and roared with laughter. “Well now, you see there? I can see plain and clear that you are exactly what I’m looking for.”
Crossing my arms over my chest I glared at the lawyer. “And that would be?”
“Someone I can groom to take my place. I can’t leave the MC in the hands of just anyone when I retire, young lady. And I see in you a fiery spirit that this club will need when I’m gone. They can get into some trouble from time to time and I need someone that isn’t afraid to wade the waters to get them out of it—or afraid to piss them off when they need to listen up. Those bikers don’t listen to just anyone.” He pulled something from his suit jacket pocket and set it on the desk. “If you are interested, I’d like to discuss my proposition.”
“I don’t understand,” I told him honestly. What was this old man doing here? Offering me a job?
“Well, if you are willing to sign a contract with me, agreeing to take over after you’ve graduated—and I’m confident that you can take over for me in a dependable fashion—I’d like to give you a job. It would only be as a kind of intern, but I would of course pay you.” He pulled another paper from his pocket, this one looking more like a legal document. “And as a bonus I would also like to offer you a full scholarship. It will cover all living expenses, books, and classes. But it carries with it the stipulation that you must come work for me once you graduate.”
To say my jaw dropped would be an understatement. What the ever-loving hell was going on here? Things like this just didn’t happen, at least not to me. Sure, I had good grades and all that, but for this man to just walk in and start offering me a solution to all my problems…
“Hawk.”
Of course. Hawk Fudging Hannigan. It made perfect sense now. I was so going to kill him when I got home that night.
Jenkins’s eyes widened a little. “What?”
“Hawk,” I snapped and got to my feet. “You said you’re the MC’s lawyer, which means that you basically work for Hawk Hannigan. Right?”
The old lawyer shrugged. “Yes, I guess that is true.”
Agitated, I began to pace. “And he came to you telling you that I needed money for school and that he wanted you to take care of it.” No wonder he hadn’t put up such a fuss when I’d left the house that morning. He’d known that his guy Jenkins was coming to see me and make all my problems go away.
That damn, interfering man.
Jenkins grinned. “No, actually I haven’t seen or spoken to Hawk in several weeks. I assure you, my dear, this has nothing to do with Mr. Hannigan and everything to do with me wanting a dependable replacement. You’re young and haven’t even gone through your first year of law school. I can work better with that, mold you to how I want my replacement to think and act.” He leaned forward. “I can teach you things about law that no professor will ever dare attempt to try and teach you.”
I relaxed a little and dropped back down into my chair. “So Hawk has nothing to do with this offer?”
He hadn’t gone behind my back and tried to fix everything that I wanted to fix myself?
Jenkins shook his gray head. “No, Gracie.”
I bit my lip, starting to actually think about his offer. When I’d decided to go to law school it hadn’t been because my father and his father and his father’s father had all been lawyers and it was expected of me. They were all corporate sharks and I didn’t want that for myself. I would lose my soul in that kind of work. But after seeing what my mother went through I’d promised myself that I would spend my life helping others just like her.
What Jenkins was offering seemed to be more for the MC’s benefit and honestly I didn’t have a problem with that. I cared about a number of the MC’s members, loved them like they were my own family. But what about my plans? Would I be able to help the battered women that really needed good legal aid?
“Will I only be representing the MC? Or can I do what I’ve been planning to do all along?” I asked, needing to make sure before I agreed to anything.
Jenkins frowned. “And what is that, my dear?” When I explained to him what I envisioned for myself, his eyes widened and after a moment his lips lifted in a genuine smile for the first time. “I think we can work something out with that, Gracie. The MC doesn’t take up all my time, although at times it might feel like it. You will definitely be able to take on some pro bono work like that any time.”
I rubbed my hands over my forehead. This was all a bit much all at once. I couldn’t think straight, and I didn’t want to jump in headfirst without thinking the whole thing through first.
As if he realized I was struggling to make a decision, Jenkins stood and offered me his hand before handing over the legal document in his hands. “Take a few days, dear. Read this over and if you want we can make some adjustments to the agreement. But I can only give you until the end of the week before I have to start looking elsewhere.”
Once he was gone I just sat there, my head hurting for an entirely different reason than the concussion I’d had the week before. My heart was pounding and I felt like I was going to be sick. As I read through the terms of the agreement over and over again, I realized that if I took this offer I wouldn’t have to worry about anything. School would be paid for, and with the amount listed from Jenkins’ ‘internship’ I wouldn’t have to work at the garage or Aggie’s to make ends meet.
I would be a total idiot not to take this offer, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that it was real.
The door to the office opened and Bash walked in. Wiping grease from his hands he dropped down into the chair that Jenkins had sat in earlier. “You look like you’re thinking pretty hard over there.”
I tossed the agreement at him and he caught it easily. “Tell me you had nothing to do with this,” I pleaded, still not convinced that it was genuine.
Bash glanced over the page then shrugged his massive shoulders. “Yeah, actually I had a little something to do with it.”
“What?” I didn’t mean to scream but my voice wasn’t really cooperating with my brain at the moment. “I knew it. Fudge.” I raked my fingers through my hair and glared up at the ceiling. Definitely too good to be true. Damn it.
Bash shook his dark head. “No, it wasn’t like that. Jenkins came to me and asked me about his replacement. He has to have the club’s backing for whoever takes his place. He mentioned you and I told him it wasn’t going to be a problem if you took over. That’s all.” He placed the agreement back on the desk, his ice-blue eyes amused as he watched me. “So please, little Gracie. Don’t go planning my death.”
