“I’ve made contact with them twice,” he said. “I tried to arrange a meeting, but it never went ahead. It’s been a busy year and I didn’t have time to chase them down. Good luck with that client. She’s very high maintenance.”
“Only if you’re elusive and evasive.” I took the file from him with a snap of my wrist. “We’ll be in touch if we need anything.”
On my walk back to my office, I opened the file to have a quick first look at what he’d done. I was ready to go on this. Enough time had been wasted, and I really wanted Laurie to be able to put it behind her.
Frustration tied my stomach in knots when I realized just how literally he’d meant it when he said he’d made contact with them twice. That was it. The sum total of what he’d done in a year.
He’d written one letter requesting a meeting and had record of one telephone call that he’d placed right at the beginning. The other documents in the file were a sheet with Laurie’s information and the paperwork she’d compiled for him.
A very big part of me wanted to turn around, go back to his office, and put my fist through his fucking face. It made it worse knowing that he’d tried to get even more money from her and even tried the same bullshit with me.
It was no wonder he’d given up the file so much more readily than I’d expected him to. He didn’t have a leg to stand on to keep it, and while he was lazy, he wasn’t stupid.
I walked back into the office. Dannie’s smile slipped when she saw the thundercloud that had grown above my head when I saw how little he had done.
“I take it your meeting didn’t go well?” she asked.
“It went fine. I got the file. Just remind me that Eric Starkey is on my shit list.” I dropped the papers containing Laurie’s information and the contact details of the production company. “Load those into our system, would you? It’s a new client. I’m also going to need you to find out everything you can about that movie.”
She frowned when she glanced down. “I read these books and I’ve been looking forward to seeing the movie. Why are we suing them for it?”
I gave her a quick breakdown of the circumstances before taking the rest of the contents of the file with me into my office. Dannie came in a while later with a stack of research she’d done. Her jaw was set in grim determination when she sat down opposite my desk.
“Let’s get these thieves,” she said, folding her notebook open to a new page. “What do you need from me?”
I massaged my temples while working through my thoughts. “It’s been a while since we’ve done intellectual property. Why don’t you start by looking up recent precedent? Let’s see what’s been going on in that field.”
“You got it.” She scribbled something on her paper, then smoothed out her skirt after standing up. “Anything else?”
We went over a few more points before Dannie went back to her work and I got stuck into mine. It was well into the afternoon by the time I shut off my computer and I had to go collect Allie. I felt good about what I’d achieved on Laurie’s case today, though. She was going to be happy to hear what I had to say when I gave her my feedback.
We ended up pulling into the school line-up at almost the same time, smiling at each other and waving as we parked. Katie and Allie walked out together, heads bent as they discussed something that looked far too serious to be talked about by seven-year-olds.
Allie ran up to my car while Katie ran up to Laurie’s. Her eyes were round and hopeful when she opened the front door and peeked inside.
“Can Katie and I have another play date?” she asked. “Please? We don’t have a lot of homework left.”
“It’s Monday,” I reminded her. “There’s still a lot of week to get through before we can relax. Maybe we should try arranging something for the weekend if they’re available.”
My gaze drifted from Allie to Laurie’s car, where I saw her shoulders move on a sigh before she looked at me. Even across the distance, I could see the reluctance on her face while Katie talked.
Allie kept talking too, pleading with me to let them play for just a little while longer. “Please, Daddy? I’ll still be in bed on time, and I’ll do my homework before I go to sleep. The weekend is so far away.”
All it took for her to get me to cave was a fifteen-second-long puppy-dog look. She really did have it down to an art form. “Let’s go find out if Laurie’s up for it. If she says yes, I don’t really see a reason why you can’t as long as you promise your homework will be done and you won’t fight me at bedtime.”
“I promise,” she said sweetly, grinning while she waited for me to get out of the car. “I love you, Daddy. You’re the best.”
“Just remember that when you turn sixteen.” I chuckled and pulled her to my side to find out about her day while we walked to Laurie’s car.
When she saw us coming, she climbed out too and smiled when we were close enough. “Hey, you two. I believe I’ll be crowned as the best aunt who has ever lived if I agree to this play date.”
Her eyes were so green today that looking at her felt like a fresh beautiful spring morning. It took me a beat to stop staring and find my tongue. “I’ve been promised that homework will be done by bedtime and that there will be no arguments when the time comes to go to sleep.”
“Is that so?” She turned to face Katie, who nodded her agreement enthusiastically while clutching Allie’s hand. Bringing her gaze back to mine, she shrugged one shoulder. “You’re okay with this?”
“Sure. Why not? Apparently, they don’t have a lot of homework, and as long as that gets done, what’s the harm?”
She held my eyes for a moment, seemingly uncertain before she eventually nodded. “I guess you’re right. Our place or yours? I promise if they go to yours, I’ll pick Katie up on time.”
I grinned. “I think it’s safe to say we’ve moved past that. I have a better idea anyway. Why don’t all four of us go to the rollerblading rink in the city? We haven’t gone for ages.”
Laurie’s eyes widened, but the girls jumped in before she could say anything. “Yes! Rollerblading will be so much fun.”
Her eyes tracked to Katie’s again, and even though it looked like she was agreeing begrudgingly, she smiled and inclined her head. “Rollerblading, it is. I just hope I can even still stay upright on a pair of skates. I haven’t been in forever, and I wasn’t the best to start with.”
Chapter 21
Laurie
The last time I went skating, I couldn’t have been much older than the girls were now. Walking into the rink again after all that time was an experience, but not a completely pleasant one.
Katherine had always been by my side when I walked into any rink, and doing it now without her just felt wrong. The oddly comforting smell of old leather, polish, musty feet, and pizza slices greeted us, which only intensified the feeling of missing my sister.
She’d have been in line to buy a slice already, so that’s where I headed first. We needed to have lunch anyway, and Jacob said he’d get the skates while I got us some food.