“That must have been so incredibly fucking hard,” I whispered when she was done. Somehow, it felt like it would be a disruption or disrespectful to speak at my normal volume. “Hell, not even past tense. It still has to be so fucking hard.”
She shrugged. Maybe I didn’t know her very well, but even I could see the shrug was a big fat lie. I didn’t call her on it, though. I was too busy trying to sort through my own rampant thoughts and emotions.
There was no way I could even begin to know or understand what she’d been through. Not only with her sister’s sudden passing or having to step into her shoes as a mother, but by having her life so suddenly and completely overturned. And then having it happen again just a year later when she found out about the movie.
The injustice of it all, of everything she’d been through and how completely shitty she’d been treated by her previous lawyer, churned in my stomach. I couldn’t bring her sister back either, but I was more determined than ever that I would win this case for her.
She might still hate my guts, but the least I could do was to make sure that the jerks who stole her story paid her what it was worth and gave her the credit for it.
“We’re going to get you what you deserve, and then you’re going to get your career back,” I promised. “You could explode after a big-budget film like this.”
“Do you really think so?” she asked, seemingly relieved that I’d changed the topic back to business.
“I’m positive.” John would kill me if he heard me talking this way, but it was a risk I was willing to take. “When I was researching your work last night, I saw firsthand that you’re extremely talented. I read some of the blogs too. Those novels were a really good influence on young readers. I want to play a part in making sure you continue to share your stories with the world.”
“You talk a big game, Mr. Parker,” she said after a long pause, her green eyes curious and intent on mine. “Are you as confident as you seem that you can make all this happen?”
Chapter 19
Laurie
What am I doing? I screamed at myself even while I calmly looked into Jacob’s eyes, waiting for his answer. Why am I getting so vulnerable in front of him? He’s my lawyer, not my friend.
This was a business relationship. The last thing I wanted or needed was to start feeling chummy with him. He was a pompous jerk who cut people off and didn’t even consider those around him—except for single moms—even at an elementary school play.
Sure, he said he wanted to help me, and he seemed genuine about it, but it had to be the big payout at the end of the day he was after. Right?
Potentially, this could be a really big lawsuit if he was to be believed. He’d even called it a dream case. It had to be about that.
So why wouldn’t the nagging voice in my head quit?
He’d asked about Katie, he listened when I talked about Katherine, and he didn’t offer any platitudes. He didn’t even look at me with any pity in his eyes.
There was some amusement there now, but mostly, all I still saw was resolute determination. “I can walk the walk just as well, if not better, than I talk the talk. Trust me. I won’t let you down.”
“Okay,” I said, but I was still trying hard not to let those threads of hope become too bright or rooted too deeply. The last few months had made me into a skeptic, especially when it came to lawyers. “I’ll forward you that email I sent to Eric with my notes. What else will you need from me?”
He groaned, lowering his head into his upturned palm. “Eric? Do you mean Eric Starkey?”
“Yes. Why?” My heart sank. He’s going to pull out.
“Nothing major.” He scrunched up his nose in a way that I really didn’t expect from him, given how cocky he usually was. “I’ve just had dealings with him before, and I need to be transparent with you. Getting your files from him so I can get familiar with your case won’t be as easy as knocking on his door and asking for them. He’s stubborn that way.”
“Tell me about it.” I felt a knot forming in the pit of my stomach. “How much can he still hurt us or hold us back?”
Jacob’s perfect bow of an upper lip twitched. I’d have bet anything that he wanted to smirk before he remembered he had a new client with him. “It might take me a couple of days longer to get the files, but I’ll get them. Eric likes to make a lot of noise, but he doesn’t actually do much. If I threaten to go to court to get the files, he’ll dump them on my doorstep the next day.”
I had to admit I was impressed by this new lawyer of mine so far. As a person, he hadn’t really made the best first impression, but as a lawyer? I was pretty sure my lawsuit was falling in love with him.
That makes no sense. I shoved the thought back, trying not to look as swoony as I felt. “I appreciate that you’re communicating so clearly with me. Eric never did. He just left me hanging and assumed I knew what he was doing, which I didn’t.”
“Neither did he.” Jacob winked, seemingly before he could stop himself. Then he cleared his throat and finished the rest of his coffee in one long gulp. “Right, well, we’ve taken up enough of your time for a Saturday. We’d better be on our way.”
“Are you sure? You’re welcome to stay for more coffee. The girls are still playing and they’ll be disappointed if we tell them it’s time for you to leave.”
“I wish we could stay.” He flashed me a smile as he pushed to his feet. “I have a new case I need to get stuck into, remember? I wouldn’t want you to think I’m slacking. Allie has a date with her grandmother. They’re going to some ice-skating show. My own mother has threatened my masculinity if her granddaughter is late.”
I winced before I burst out laughing. “Sounds serious. I guess we’d better let you go. Good luck with this new case of yours.”
“I don’t need luck. I just need patience to deal with Eric fucking Starkey, and then I’ll be golden.” He smirked, and that cocky attitude I knew so well wrapped around him like an aura now that the serious part was over.
Still, it made me smile to hear someone refer to Eric out loud in the same way I referred to him in my head. “In that case, I wish you all the patience you need. Let me grab the girls after I hide this present.”
Both of them pouted when I went outside to tell them Allie needed to go. They accepted it without too much argument, though.
Jacob reminded Allie she was going out with her grandmother, and my mother called to speak to Katie at almost exactly the same time. It was uncanny.
I walked the Parkers out while Katie took the call, and Jacob got Allie buckled into the back. After he closed the door, he paused to take my hand.
His skin was warmer than I thought it would be. If I’d let myself think about it at all. Which I hadn’t. Not once. Not even late at night when I was alone.
It was also softer but with calluses I couldn’t imagine how he might’ve gotten. My breath hitched at the feeling of having his hand in mine. More specifically, over how well our hands fit together.
“You don’t have to worry anymore,” he said, the cocky smirk gone again. In its place, there was comfort, warmth, and the kind of earnest sincerity I wouldn’t have thought him capable of.