“I called in that favor from Jay and he set it up. I said no phones, cameras, or recording equipment. The A-listers always have that rule, and since I’m going to be A-list one day, I try to live my life like an A-lister would.”
“That makes sense.”
Bob’s puffy jacket rustled as he sat back in his chair, one skinny ankle crossed over his knee. “He wouldn’t have let a camera slip through if I was A-list. His reputation would be ruined just like mine has been ruined.” He slammed his fist on the arm of his chair. “Well, fuck him. And fuck his company. And fuck whoever took those pictures. I’m going to sue them all and you’re going to help me because you’re fierce like a tiger.” He roared so loudly Zara jumped in her chair.
Moments later Janice flung the door open. “What the hell?”
“Everything is fine.” Zara took a breath to calm her racing pulse. “Mr. Smith is just enthusiastic about our firm mascot.”
“Whew.” She gave a sarcastic smirk and wiped a hand over her brow. “I thought there was an animal in here.”
“I’m a method actor,” Bob said, puffing out his chest. “It’s understandable how you got confused. I spent a few hours this morning watching tiger shows and practicing the roar before I came here so I could understand your firm better.”
“That’s true dedication to the craft.” Janice’s voice dripped sarcasm, and Zara could sense more coming.
“We’re all good here,” she said firmly. “You can go.”
“Does he do lions? Can he pounce?”
“Thank you, Janice. Close the door, please, on your way out.”
“So how do we start?” Bob asked. “Do you want me to sign things? Do you need a retainer or something like that? I’m gonna make sure it hits the press the minute we file. If I’m going down, I’m taking J-Tech with me. This is going to be a big case for you. Huge. You’re lucky I saw you at the City Club the other day, or another lawyer would have gotten the case.”
Something niggled at the back of her mind. “I might have a conflict of interest,” she said, thinking quickly. Maybe she wouldn’t have to make the decision. Maybe it had already been made for her thanks to the Rules of Professional Conduct. “I can’t represent you if there’s any appearance of impropriety, and Jay and I—”
“Are you guys together?”
“Well . . . no.” Because he’d told her he loved her and she’d run out the door. Because she’d realized she loved him and had no idea what to do with that. Or how to fix what she’d broken.
“So, what’s the problem?”
Zara shifted in her seat. “We were . . . sort of . . . involved. For a short time. It wasn’t serious . . .”
At least not to me.
“Ah. Bad breakup. I get it.” Bob grinned. “So this is perfect. It’s the ultimate revenge. He introduced you to me and now you’re going to sue his ass.”
She gave him a tight smile. Regardless of how badly she wanted this case, she didn’t think she could betray Jay by taking Bob on as a client and turning around and suing his ass.
“I definitely came to the right place.” Bob rubbed his hands together. “The tiger says it all. Fierce. Predatory. Powerful. Prince of the jungle. The other firms I visited were boring. All dark suits and solemn faces. None of them would dress up for a zombie party. They don’t understand the industry like you do. They don’t understand this.” He pointed to a framed picture of a tiger on the wall. “The killer instinct.”
The other firms. He’d interviewed other lawyers before he had come here. If she turned him down, he’d just find someone else to take the case. And what if Jay’s team hadn’t been negligent? Would another firm conduct a thorough investigation or would they just start the lawsuit and leave it up to J-Tech to prove it wasn’t their fault and in the process lose their key investor?
“I’ll need to run this past one of the partners,” she said. “I’ll be back in a minute. I’ll send Janice in with some coffee.”
“Does she have any raw meat?” he called out. “I’m still in character.”
She found Tony in his office and explained the situation.
“If you’re not together then there are no professional-conduct issues,” he said. “But you can’t talk to Jay about the case or the client until the matter is resolved, and a relationship is out of the question. In fact, it would be best if you blocked his calls and messages until this is sorted. If you’re wrong and J-Tech was negligent, that could mean years, or it would mean dropping the case and dealing with the financial repercussions.”
“I was there,” she said. “They were very thorough. They had all sorts of metal-detecting gadgets and four guards at the door checking bags. And something doesn’t feel right about the pictures. How could Bob not see someone standing in the restroom with a camera? It wasn’t very big.”
“That’s a lot of faith you’re putting in your gut.” Tony pulled out his lightsaber and gave it a swing. “If you clear J-Tech, and you don’t find the person who took the pictures, you’ll have put a lot of time into a case that goes nowhere. It would be better for your billables to sue J-Tech and make them prove they weren’t liable. Given our financial situation and your tenuous position in the firm, do you really want to take the risk?”
“Yes.” She didn’t even need to think about it. There was no way she was going years keeping Jay at arm’s length. She loved him, trusted him, had faith in him. And she needed him to know it.
She just hoped he didn’t find out that she was planning to sue his ass to save him.
• 27 •
Jay studied the e-mail from Chris Moskovitz’s assistant with disbelief. Contract canceled. Because of a lawsuit against his company? He’d been staring at his screen for the last fifteen minutes but so far, the words hadn’t changed.
“I got here as fast as I could.” Elias burst into his office. “Jessica and I went for a lunchtime run in the park. She beat me again, but I’m doing sprints in the mornings so . . .” He trailed off. “What’s wrong? What’s the big emergency?”
“Were we served with notice of any legal proceedings?”
“Not that I know of.”
“I called Lucia because she’s our solicitor of record and she didn’t receive anything, either. She’s going to look into it and call me back.”
Elias threw himself into the chair across from Jay’s desk. His hair was still wet from his shower, his shirt clinging to his damp shoulders. “So, who’s suing us?”