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“Your client disappeared for over six months. Just because she’s decided she wants to play mommy now, does not mean we’re going to just give in.”
“Look Anya, I’m sure if you ever become a mother, you’ll understand.” I grit my teeth, because of course that’s something that Lars would try to throw in my face. A woman should marry a good man, pop out babies, and stay home to raise them. Not only has that never been something on my radar, but it’s an image I threw out a long time ago when I found out I can’t have kids. It stung a bit at the moment, but I quickly accepted it and moved on.
“I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.”
“So, you’ll take the deal?” I bark out a laugh, because it really is time for him to retire.
“Nope. You can either come back with a valid offer or prepare for court. But keep in mind that my client has kept documentation of every single interaction since your client walked out on her family. Every missed visit and phone call, every single time she told my client she wasn’t interested in seeing her kids. Even the time she missed a birthday party to go to Hawaii with her boyfriend. We have receipts for all of it Lars.”
The silence on the other end tells me that I have him right where I want him. He knows damn well that if this goes to court, the chances of them winning are slim as hell. Noah is pretty much a dream client in this situation. He had a feeling that his wife would try to pull something like this at some point, so he kept documentation from the moment she left. His original hope was that he would be able to show her, and she’d just give up. He wasn’t counting on her hiring a fancy lawyer. That’s the only reason he came to me, because he knew he needed help to fight from a professional. When he passed everything over to me, I couldn’t hold back the giant grin I gave him. It was at that moment that I knew the case was in the bag.
“I’ll be in touch tomorrow.” He doesn’t give me a chance to reply before he hangs up and I can’t help but laugh. I love riling up people like Lars. I’m sure Noah’s wife hired Lars solely based on the firm he works for. Women like her value money above all else. So if it costs a lot, then it must be worth it. But I’ve done my research too, and I know that Lars was probably the dumbest choice she could have made for this case.
“Call go well?” Willow stands in the doorway of my office with a smirk on her face, and I give her a wide smile in return.
“I really hate that guy.” Her nose wrinkles, because even though Willow has only met Lars once when he came for a meeting a couple of weeks ago, he rubbed her the wrong way too.
“He’s a weasel.” She sits down in the seat across from me and it’s a reminder of how much I really do love working with my best friend.
“So how was it having Hunter at your place over the weekend?” I roll my eyes at the expecting tone in Willow’s voice. I love my best friend, but sometimes she really is so naive.
“Awkward.” Her lips fall into a pout and her eyes fill with concern.
“Awkward, how?”
I shrug my shoulder. “How else would you describe having a guy who can’t stand you sleep on your couch?”
She lets out an exasperated sigh. “I already told you, An. Hunter is so into you. He probably had a hard time keeping his hands off of you the whole time he was there.” I just shake my head, not really wanting to think about this again. The entire weekend was filled with us skirting around each other like uncomfortable roommates. We never spoke a single word about the first night, and when Tanner came over yesterday to talk to me more about it, Hunter left.
“It doesn’t matter, it’s over with now.”
“But they haven’t caught whoever left that note.”
I lean back in my seat and think about it for a moment. Tanner didn’t find any prints on the knife and since my building doesn’t have cameras, there’s really not much else they can do about it. They can only hope it happens again. That’s the word Tanner used,hope.
“Tanner put in a few small cameras yesterday, but honestly, it was probably just some stupid prank.” I gave that theory to Tanner, and though he didn’t completely shoot it down, he said that they would rather be safe than sorry. Which I can understand. So when he put a small camera at the top of the stairs and above my door, I didn’t say anything. I scoffed at the fact that he hid it in aWelcomesign, but I get why he didn’t want it to be out in the open.
“Yeah, maybe.” Willow doesn’t sound at all convinced, but she also likes to worry about me more than necessary. Especially since I was shot, it’s as if she hasn’t stopped worrying.
“Besides, Alec said Hunter had to leave for a few days, so-” I lift one shoulder and that statement seems to finally have Willow relenting.
“Yeah, Alec said he had stuff to take care of back home.” That information piques my interest, because I have no idea where Hunter is even from. I know nothing personal about him whatsoever, and as much as I know I shouldn’t be curious, I can’t help it. I want to know everything.
“I didn’t know why he was gone, but that makes sense.” I try to relay casual, but I’m pretty sure my voice comes out slightly higher than usual and there’s way too much curiosity in it to pretend like I don’t actually care.
“You know, An, you could always make the first move.” This time I really do laugh out loud at her.
“Willow, you don’t make the first move on someone that you know isn’t interested in you.” She lets out a huff and folds her arms, but she doesn’t argue with me.
“Besides,” I add, “he works for my brother, and something tells me that even if he was interested, he wouldn’t actually do anything about it.”
“Which is exactly why you should make the first move.” Willow gives me a haughty smile, as if she’s backed me into a corner.
“Tell you what,” I say, leaning forward against my desk. “If Hunter ever shows any sort of sign that he’s interested, then I’ll make a move.” Her eyes narrow, as if she’s assessing me so I just give her a small smirk. I’m not lying exactly, because if I thought for even a second that Hunter was interested, I’d at least make it clear to him that I am too. But I’m not stupid. If a man can’t handle even being in the same room as you, then he has no desire to be in bed with you either.
“Deal.”
CHAPTER SIX
