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“You know I’m going to tell him you’re watching him, right?”
“Maybe you will. Maybe you won’t. How else am I supposed to figure out how to make amends with him? You won’t let me in the office. He won’t talk to me unless he’s picking me up from jail, and then it’s all one long lecture. It’s all ‘you can’t do that, Paul’ and ‘why don’t you get a real job, Paul?’ He does not understand my artistic nature,” Paul complained.
“Your brother is very artistic. He’s creative and smart, but he understands that he has work to do as well. He has a whole town depending on him, and he isn’t going to let them down.” She’d been thinking about how much weight had been placed on Quaid’s shoulders at a young age. His father should have been around for years to take on part of that weight, but he’d died far too soon, and Quaid had been left to handle everything. From what Sienna had told her, Paul had moved to California years before and Quaid had been left to take care of his mother and keep the law firm going.
“He used to be. You know when we were kids, he would tell the best stories. Sometimes when it stormed, I would sneak into his room because I was scared and Quaid would tell me stories about how the storm was nothing more than the clouds playing games up in the sky.” For the first time, Paul seemed serious. “He was my hero when we were kids.”
“What happened?” She knew she shouldn’t ask since Quaid didn’t seem to want to talk about his brother, but she couldn’t help herself. “You’re obviously not close now.”
“Time happened. Distance. Life. Me screwing up about a thousand times and making his life harder than it had tobe,” he admitted. “He was only a couple of years older than me, but he was always more mature. A therapist will likely tell you that it has something to do with the way our parents treated us. Quaid was the responsible one and I was the charmer who entertained everyone. Quaid had his path set, and I rode the wave in his wake. Quaid belonged to our father, and our mother became my champion. It split our family in a way I don’t think they intended.”
“That’s a very astute observation.”
He grinned, lighting up the whole café. “I played a therapist in an off-off-Broadway show. I say off-off because it was actually in Anaheim. I studied and everything.”
She wasn’t buying his charm, but she did understand his appeal. He was a pleasant companion. If she wasn’t sure it would irritate Quaid, she would be enjoying herself. “That soup isn’t going to take long.”
He waved off that worry. “I ordered the quiche because they ran out earlier and that sucker just went in the oven. I made sure the waitress knew we wanted to eat together so she’ll have the kitchen hold your order until mine’s ready. We’ve got plenty of time. Wow, that is a very intimidating look. Do you use that in court? I need to remember it in case I play a lawyer. My dad smiled a lot.”
His eyes narrowed, jaw going straight. He looked slightly constipated. She did not look like that.
He was so annoying. “What do you want, Paul?”
His expression went smooth and pleasant again. “I want to have a nice conversation with a woman who is obviously important to my brother.”
She stared at him.
Paul sighed. “Fine, I need a lawyer.”
Oh, that was an easy answer. “No.”
“You haven’t heard why I want to hire you,” Paul replied, a pout coming over his face. He was very emotive.
“I don’t need to.” It was likely nothing more than a way to screw with Quaid, and she wasn’t going to be a part of that.
“I can pay you,” Paul said quickly, as though he was afraid he was about to lose her.
It was a good call because she was weighing her need to eat against her need to get away. Money might be the one thing that could get her to stay. Still, she had to think about Quaid. “Your brother wouldn’t be happy with me taking you on as a client. You need to talk to him.”
“He won’t take a meeting with me. He literally sent you out in your jimmy jams to make sure he didn’t have to talk to me,” Paul pointed out. “There isn’t anyone else I can trust with this. I need a lawyer.”
“There are one point three million lawyers in the US. We are legion. Go find one.” She reached for her purse. She would take her lunch to go and eat at her desk. Hopefully Quaid and his mom had closed the door to his office so she could sneak in unnoticed. If this was all some kind of setup, she wasn’t going to fall for it.
“Jayna, please.”
He’d lost all the affectation, and his expression seemed open and raw.
She let go of her bag. “What do you need a lawyer for?”
“I need you to review a couple of contracts for me,” Paul explained. “The first one is a simple real estate contract. I’m selling some property I own in LA. I’ve never worked with this real estate agent before. He’s a guy who was recommended to me, and I’m not sure I trust him.”
“Then get another agent.”
“Not really an option.”
Something about his tone was setting off alarm bells. She’d been a lawyer long enough to know when a client wasabout to tell her something she didn’t want to hear. “What’s going on, Paul?”
“I might owe some money to a guy.”
