Page 34 of See You Again
She had just opened her mouth to apologize when he chuckled. “Don’t look so worried. I had a window in my schedule and a craving for a smoothie from our favorite shop. I thought I’d bring you one.”
Cami’s brow wrinkled. Justin’s practice wasn’t far, but he rarely stopped by unless they had plans. Particularly in the middle of a workday.
“That was thoughtful.”
“How did it go?” Madison asked, coming out of her office. Her eyes cut to Justin, and Cami knew Madison was referring to more than just the lunch with Detective Barlow. But Cami wasn’t about to talk about James in front of Justin.
They had all been friends at the University of Georgia, but once James disappeared from her life, she and Justin had become much closer.
“Detective Barlow gave me a run-down of the case. He was nice, but he’s still waiting on our paperwork. Unfortunately, they don’t have a lot. I asked him again about the DNA.”
Madison made a face.
“I sent that paperwork forever ago,” Gerry said from behind his raised reception desk. “Why are you dirty?”
Cami glanced down at the streaks on her sweater. “Tripped,” she muttered.
“You’ve already eaten? I’d hoped we could talk. I saw the headlines…” He trailed off, his gaze sliding to Madison, whose smile tightened.
Cami wished her two friends got along better. There was never any open hostility, but both made it obvious they didn’t like the other.
“Do you mean about Cam and the hottie lawyer?” Madison asked with a saccharine sweet smile.
Cami groaned silently. Justin must have seen the stories, and of course, he would have questions. He’d had a front-row seat to her and James’s relationship all those years ago. It was understandable he was curious, but since Cami hadn’t decided how to handle it, she didn’t want to talk about it yet.
“I’d love to talk…” She crinkled her nose. “But we have to prep. We’re recording this afternoon.”
Justin’s lips lifted, but the smile didn’t reach all the way to his eyes. He held his hands up in surrender. “I get it. The wheels of justice roll on.”
Madison made a sound in her throat at the corny joke.
“Let’s get together soon though,” Cami said to appease him. “I was so busy talking I didn’t actually eat my salad. Thanks for the smoothie, too.”
“Of course.” He hesitated, and for a moment, Cami was worried he was going to press the James issue. With a beleaguered sigh, he gave them a little wave and left.
“Does he think he’s being subtle?” Madison glared at Justin’s retreating back through the glass.
“Don’t start. Come on, we need to talk.”
Cami sank into a chair at their round conference table and took a sip of the strawberry smoothie. It was thoughtful of Justin to bring her favorite, but she wasn’t looking forward to the third degree he was guaranteed to give her.
“So, what did he say?”
“I’ll play the recording.”
Madison waved her hands in the air. “I meant James Bloom. Is he going to go along with it?”
Cami made a noncommittal noise. “Nothing to worry about.” She ignored Madison’s dubious look. “Seriously. Let’s listen to the interview. There are some pieces I think we should use today.”
Madison sighed, but let it go. For the next hour, they went over the interview, making notes about what they needed to cover next, and marking the times in the recording that they wanted to extract for the next episode.
“If Kip hurries up and signs that contract, we could help the family order new tests,” Madison said, spinning her pencil between her fingers. “When are Kevin and Kip planning on coming in?”
Little curls of anxiety inched up Cami’s throat. “Kevin is out of town until next week. He suggested Monday, two weeks from today.”
Madison frowned. “After the opening? Can’t we email him the contract, and he can scan it back to us?”
“Kip claims he’s too busy with the opening to think about anything else.” A pit formed in Cami’s stomach. The opening James refused to go to with her. Kip wouldn’t refuse to invest because her boyfriend didn’t show up, right?