Page 46 of Partners In Evil
My brothers are right. It’s not my strong suit. But that’s okay. I’ve done lots of things that aren’t my strong suit. I’ve been running a law firm for the past few years, and I’ve recently been trying to make a relationship with a girl who’s good at everything I’m not.
I pick up the phone and slowly, reluctantly, dial a number in. A few moments later, a woman’s voice answers on the other end.
“Hello. Gale Merritt. How can I help you?”
“Hi, this is Finn Blackwell,” I answer, doing my best to sound as patient and professional as I can. “I saw that you recently decided to sever your connection with our legal agency. I wondered if I could ask if there was anything we did that was unsatisfactory, and if there's anything we could do that might lead you to reconsider.”
She sounds awkward. “Oh, it’s nothing personal. I heard some rumors through the grapevine that you were mishandling client money. I wouldn’t have thought anything of it, but I heard a few other people were leaving your agency, and that made me think there must be something there. No offense or anything.”
I want to tell her about Raven and her plan, but that’s the kind of thing that will only convince Merritt I’m being more dishonest. It’s like Damien says. No shortcuts. Just the obvious, hard answer.
“That makes a lot of sense. Even if they’re just rumors, you’re right to take that kind of thing seriously. Is there any chance that it would help you reconsider if we were to show you an accounting of precisely how we use your money for your defense, and how our rates compare to other legal firms in the same area?”
“You could do that? A full accounting?”
“If you’d be interested in it,” I say. What I’ve just proposed is a nightmare, of course. It’ll mean tracking down a bunch of documents and resumes, and then finding some way to make all of it look pretty. And that’s not counting the research involved in comparing ourselves to other firms. I’m stressed out just thinking about it, and that’s just for one client.
“Well, you have been pretty good to me in the past… Could you have it by Tuesday, next week?”
“Of course!” I smile, inwardly mourning for all the fun times I won’t get to have this week. “Thank you so much for giving us another chance!”
“I’ll talk to you then,” she says, and hangs up.
I hang the phone up, and think through the clients who have recently left us. Which other ones do I know who aren’t too close to Raven and know us well enough to give us a second chance?
* * *
Over the nextweek or so, I’m working hard, harder than I ever remember working. But at the same time, it’s paying off. On Tuesday, my presentation to Gale goes perfectly. She says she’s satisfied that we’re keeping track of our funds and even apologizes for listening to rumors. I draft a document outlining a defense that manages to get back another of our guys who was going with a lawyer who hadn’t thought the case through half as well as me.
Raven’s still spreading rumors, and all the clients that are tight with her family are still avoiding us. But even so, things are slowly starting to turn around. I’m also making sure to keep up with our present clients and do as good a job for them as we can. One of our wins manages to get some good press even among all of Raven’s slander. By day ten, we’ve started to get calls back from some of the people who stopped talking to us.
Of course, all this work means that I haven’t had time to hang out with Emma. I’ve done my best to keep up with her though. Instead of going on dates, I’ve been getting her little gifts, one each day. Silly things, just to make sure she knows I still care about her. Like one day, I got her actual dates, the fruit. Just a pun. Another day, I got her a bouquet of lilies. Which apparently she’s allergic to, but hopefully, it’s the thought that counts.
And I think the thought, at least, has been going okay. Both of my brothers seem pretty happy with me for once. Which feels nice. It feels nice to be talking with them about business and actually have things to say to them. It feels like growing up.
As for Emma? Well, she might still be unhappy with me. Like I say, we haven’t really gotten the chance to talk things out. But sometimes I see her looking at me, and she doesn’t seem like she’s mad. Finally, I decide there’s only one way to find out.
I walk over to her desk. Things are calming down just a little. They are, at least, getting stable. It’s gonna be a while before there’s a better time to do this. “I was wondering if we could maybe go out to dinner together,” I spit out, nervously and a little too fast.
She looks up from the file she’s browsing. “What kind of dinner did you have in mind?” she asks.
“Maybe Italian,” I answer. “Or mediterranean?”
“That wasn’t exactly what I meant.”
“Oh, right. You meant… Well, you know, the two of us do need to work together professionally. Especially if we’re going to beat Raven.”
“Of course,” she agrees. “But that still doesn’t tell me what kind of dinner you’re talking about.”
“Just friends,” I say, and note a flicker of what looks like disappointment on her face. “Well, complicated friends. Basically, there’s been a lot of stuff going on lately. And I think maybe it might be worth it to clear the air between us a little bit. Figure out where we are with each other.”
She smiles. “That sounds like a good time. I assume you know the perfect restaurant for it?”
“Well, of course I do,” I answer, smiling back. “I wouldn’t be Finn Blackwell if I didn’t.”
“Alright, then,” she says. “I’ll meet you outside, as soon as work is done.”
I go back to my office with a light, happy feeling in my chest. Maybe all of this might work out after all.