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The question appeared to catch Lanie off guard. “Yeah, I promised Michael I’d help him with some filing. Why?”
“Could you ask Michael to visit?” Steven asked. He might have lost Rose, but he still had hope of saving his practice.
His sister’s eyebrows shot up. “Uh-oh. Is he in trouble?”
He rolled his eyes. “Of course not. He’s been there over a month now, and I want to check in with him.”
“And try to determine whether he plans to accept the offer from the DC law firm?” Lanie teased.
Am I that transparent? “That may be part of it.”
“For what it’s worth, he seems happy to me. They may have offered him more money and a career track, but if you consider bringing him on as, like, a junior partner, he might stick around.”
Steven gave a noncommittal nod. Ever since his conversation with Michael, he’d been reconsidering his stance on expanding his business to include a partner. Michael had not only far surpassed his expectations, he’d also shown Steven that he didn’t have to do everything alone. While he still had misgivings about sharing his business, if he had to bring on a partner, Michael would be an ideal candidate once he passed the bar.
A knock at the door caused them to start. His physical therapist leaned against the frame and offered a tight smile to Lanie.
“Sorry to interrupt, but it’s time for you to head to the gym.”
“Ah, my daily torture appointment,” Steven quipped. “Lanie, this is Ursula, my least favorite member of my rehab team.”
“I guess that’s my cue,” Lanie said as she stood. Leaning over, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gave him an awkward squeeze. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
When she was gone, the therapist stepped over to his bed. “Want to walk or ride to the gym?”
Steven peered out the door. “Is there anyone else here to see me?”
After glancing up and down the hallway, Ursula shook her head. “Your secret is safe.”
“Good.” Steven grinned and swung his legs over the bed. With Ursula’s assistance, he stood and grabbed his cane.
The next day, Steven was pleased when Michael entered his room, a stack of folders in his arms. He set the folders on the bed and pulled up a chair.
“I brought everything I’ve been working on for the past week,” Michael said as he shuffled the folders into some semblance of order.
Steven waved a hand. “I actually didn’t invite you here to go over your workload.”
“Oh, sorry. I just assumed…”
“It’s no bother. And we should discuss it at some point, but I wanted to finish our last conversation.”
Michael shifted uncomfortably. “We can wait until you’re out of rehab. Even if I accept the offer, I plan to give a good deal of notice.”
“I appreciate that, but it’s best if we discuss it now.” Steven cleared his throat. The conversation was harder on him than he’d expected it to be. Swallowing his pride and going back to inpatient rehab was one thing, but handing over a substantial share of his business was another thing entirely. “I’ve given a lot of thought to what you said, and I’d like to discuss what you imagine a track to partnership would look like.”
“Well, it would be much different than the typical track at an established firm. But…” Michael scratched his head.
“Yes?” Steven prompted.
“I’d like to be an equal partner, and with that in mind, I’d like to buy into the business.”
Of all the things Steven had expected him to say, that was not one of them. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that in addition to sharing the workload, I’d like to invest in the firm.” At Steven’s frown, Michael hurried on. “My grandparents created a trust fund for me when I was a baby. I planned to use it to open my own firm one day, but this seems like a better opportunity. There’s clearly a need in town, and you’re a known entity to the people here. So I wouldn’t be starting from scratch.”
A plethora of emotions shot through Steven. While he’d once feared an established attorney would want to buy his firm or merge it with their own, he’d never considered that someone might own the business equally with him. And why would I? Most law school graduates were drowning in student debt. They couldn’t afford to invest in an established firm. After all, he’d barely managed to scrounge together the funds to open his own firm.
