Love Me Always

by Peyton Banks

  2

  “Good morning, Law,” Dorothy, his receptionist, stood at attention when he walked in the door.

  He sighed. “You don’t have to do that.”

  She winked at him. “Oh, but I do. One day, you’ll be my boss and I want to make sure I’m on your nice list.” She chuckled, then pulled a desk drawer open and pointed. “You forgot something last night.” She pointed to the bottle of wine.

  “Good save. Thanks.” He grabbed the bottle and tucked it under his suit jacket. “If anyone needs me, I’ll be in my office.”

  She nodded. “You got it, kid.”

  He hurried past the secretaries and paralegals and went into his office and locked the door. “Get your head right, Law. Today is a big day.” He put the wine away, cleaned his desk, and tried to mentally prepare for the city council meeting.

  “Law,” his father called from the other side of the door. “Are you here?”

  “Yes, Dad.” He jumped to his feet and rushed to the door. “I’m right here.” He opened it.

  Lawrence Sr. was a tall man with a commanding presence like a drill sergeant. People listened to him. It didn’t matter what he said, his deep voice always captured people’s attention.

  “When did you get here?” Lawrence asked as his gaze darted around the room as if he was searching for something. “I told you, in this business, you can’t waste time with sleep and hanging out with the boys. Work, son, work.”

  “I wasn’t hanging out with the boys. I don’t even have any boys,” Law said as he watched his father inspect the room.

  “Didn’t the cleaning people come last night?” Lawrence. “Why didn’t they clean in here? What are we paying them for?” He walked around the desk, studying it. “Do you smell alcohol?” He didn’t wait for a response.

  Law gulped. This wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have before he met with his client today. Every conversation with his father left him with a headache as big as the Grand Canyon.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Law said, hoping he could avoid the entire conversation. Ever since Josie stormed in the door the night before, he hadn’t stopped thinking about her. She was feisty and beautiful. That was a deadly combination.

  “Forget it. We have more important problems to tackle,” his father said. “Grab a pen. You’ll need to take notes.”

  Law’s ears perked up. Whatever it was, it sounded interesting. He wondered if it was another case. Something juicy, he hoped. “What’s up? Is it about a client?”

  Lawrence Sr. sat on the edge of the desk and clasped his hands together in front of him. “It’s about your client.”

  “Which one?” He glanced at case files on his desk. “What’d they do?”

  “It’s not about what they did. It’s about what we don’t want them to do,” Lawrence said as he stood and smoothed his hands over his face. “That real estate deal you’re handling…”

  “What about it?”

  Lawrence Sr. sighed a heavy sigh and shook his head. “People in the neighborhood aren’t keen on the idea. They’re starting to make some noise about the whole thing. They want the project moved to the other side of town. The point is, they can’t win.”

  “Why not?” I hadn’t heard from or about any opponents. He realized what he’d said. Of course, the opponents couldn’t win. He couldn’t afford to lose this client. “We won’t let her win.”

  Lawrence arched a brow. “Her?”

  It was a mistake to say. Law didn’t want to reveal that he’d met a protestor.

  A knock on the office door interrupted their discussion.

  “Come in,” Law and Lawrence said at the same time.

  Dorothy had a Cheshire grin on her face like she knew something they didn’t. “You have a visitor.” She glanced over her shoulder. “It’s a woman.”

  A lump formed in Law’s throat. He didn’t have to guess who it was.

  “Is that him?” Josie peeked over Dorothy’s shoulder, her gazed fixed on Lawrence. “You’re the man in charge?”

  Lawrence furrowed his brows.

  “I’m sorry, do you have an appointment?” Dorothy asked.

  Josie bit her lip.

  “I’ll take that as a no,” Dorothy said as she tried to escort her out the door, but Josie wasn’t interested.

  “I haven’t told them why I’m here,” Josie said, her eyes pleading. “This is important. Lives are at stake.”

  Lawrence and Law exchanged glances.

  “What do you mean? Whose lives?” Law asked.

  Josie’s shoulders slumped as she sighed. “Your client can’t tear neighborhoods apart. People live there. Kids play there. I work there.”

  “Who is she referring to?” Lawrence asked his son. “Do you know this woman?”

  Law gulped. He didn’t know how to respond. As he thought about it, Josie pushed her way into the office.

  “Hear me out,” she said as she pulled her phone out of her back pocket. “Look at what your client is doing.” She queued up a video on her cellphone.

  Law and his father stood in silence as the video played out.

  “You have nothing to say? You don’t see how wrong this is? I thought the deal wasn’t closed yet. We still have time. Isn’t the hearing this morning? How could he give that pathetic speech before he had a deal?” Josie’s questions were valid, but Law couldn’t turn on his client.

  Dorothy stood in the doorway, frowning. She was the office’s living Litmus test. Her face gave away every emotion. If she didn’t agree with something, chances were, she was right.

  “Do you plan to do anything about this?” Josie’s voice grew shrill.

  Lawrence signaled for Dorothy to move out of the doorway. “Miss, you should leave.”

  Josie looked at Law. “Is he serious?”

  He nodded.

  She stood with her mouth open, shocked.

  Law couldn’t take it. Call it curiosity or a death wish. He had to find out why his client staged a press conference hours before they were to meet with the city council.

  “What are you doing?” Lawrence asked as Law rushed out of the office, pulling Josie behind him.

  “You will talk to him?” Josie hadn’t expected this outcome.

  “I didn’t say that,” he warned. “I want to talk to my client and see where his head is. That’s all.” He kept walking, knowing his father wouldn’t be too far behind them.

  As expected, Lawrence Sr. called after him. “What do you think you’re doing? You have meetings and a hearing today.”

  “I know. This will only take a few minutes.” He didn’t know how long it would take. He wasn’t even sure what it was he’d planned to do. All he knew was he had to get Josie out of there before his father had her removed by building security.

  They walked until they ran into a large crowd gathered in front of the corner bodega.

  “See. I told you,” Josie said. “He’s holding a press conference.”

  Law’s client, Jay Cruse, noticed him and pointed it out to the crowd. “There’s the man of the hour.” He waved him over. “Come here, Law. I want to introduce you to these fine folks.”

  “Well, what are you going to do? Side with the people or the money hungry billionaire?” Josie asked.

  Law shook his head. “Give me a minute. Let me talk to my client.”

  Josie narrowed her eyes at him. “You want to be that guy? That’s who you are?”

  He glanced over his shoulder at her. He didn’t know what she meant. He didn’t think he was anyone other than a man trying to make a living and do the right thing.

  “Law!” Jay reached into the crowd and nudged some of the bystanders aside to let Law through. “Sorry about the commotion. I didn’t know this would happen.” He smiled for a camera. “I stopped by to grab a bite to eat before our big meeting and…” He paused again, marveling at the size of the crowd.

  “This is a terrible idea. If the city council gets word of this, they’ll skewer you and kill
the deal before it hits the table,” Law said.

  Voices raised behind him. Law turned to see what had stirred the crowd up.

  About six feet from where he stood, Josie stood on a pile of crates, addressing the crowd.

  “This fight isn’t over. They won’t tear our neighborhood apart,” she shouted.

  Jay whispered, “I don’t know who that is, but she’s done nothing but give me headaches.”

  Law couldn’t explain it, but he felt compelled to protect her again. “Come on. Let’s not make this about her. She cares about this neighborhood.”

  Jay lifted a brow and smirked. “You know her?”

  “Does it matter? If it hadn’t been for her, I wouldn’t have known about any of this. Why are you holding a press conference… without your attorney present? Are you trying to sabotage your case?” Law asked as he watched Josie interact with three children who’d surrounded her. He signaled for Jay to stay there while he went to her aid.

  She stopped him before he could get close. “Oh, you’re back now? Let me guess. Your client wants to make a deal? Or better yet, feed us more empty promises?” She paused long enough to kiss the younger child’s forehead and pat the older two on their backs.

  Law waited while she said goodbye to the kids.

  “What?” Josie asked.

  “You’re popular with the kids,” he said.

  She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, a lot of good that does.” She brushed past him and made a beeline for Jay.

  “Wait. What are you doing?” Law rushed to catch up with her.

  “I’ll kill him,” she shouted over her shoulder.

  “No, no, no. You don’t want to do that.” He didn’t know if she meant that. “Think about the kids. They look up to you.”

  She stopped short, turned on her heels, and enunciated her words, “Those kids are my siblings, so yeah, they should look up to me.” She sighed. “I meant kill him with kindness.”

  He gulped.

  “Yeah, you think I kill people who don’t do what I want them to do?” she said.

  The local news crews caught wind of their exchange and pointed their cameras to them.

  “Did you threaten to kill Jay Cruse?” a reporter asked.

  Josie swallowed back her first biting comment and took a deep breath, focusing on Law’s eyes. “No, I said I wanted to kill him with kindness.” She tossed stray curls out of her face. “Now, if you have more questions, speak to my attorney.” She winked at Law then walked away without looking back.

  3

  “What did you do? Do you understand how damaging this could be to our reputation?” Lawrence Sr. cared about three things in life: his law practice, the law firm’s reputation, and his wife. Everything else, including his children, came last.

  Law stared at his feet as he walked past him. “I’ll handle it.”

  “You’ll handle it?” Lawrence Sr. yelled as Law closed his office door, locked it, and slumped to the ground with his head in his hands. “I don’t know how, but I’ll figure it out.” He banged the back of his head against the door. “Why did she do this to me?”

  Lawrence Sr. pounded on the door. “Fix this. Fix it now. I don’t care what you have to do. Untangle yourself from this mess.” He called for Dorothy. “Find out that woman’s name. I want to know who she is, where she lives, where she works, what she eats for dinner. She won’t ruin the firm’s reputation. She won’t make fools out of us.”

  Law pushed himself to his feet and opened the door. “She did nothing to us. I did.” He hung his head as the weight of what he was about to do took hold. For the third time today, he would stand up for Josie—a woman he didn’t know. He steeled himself, prepared for a tongue lashing as he walked out the door.

  Camera crews and eager reporters met him when he stepped outside of the building.

  “How can you represent two parties on opposite sides of a property fight?” one asked.

  “Sir, how do you plan to take on Jay Cruse and Associates?” another asked.

  He shook his head. “I don’t. Jay Cruse is my client.”

  “Not anymore,” a voice he recognized said.

  He searched the small crowd for her face.

  “Over here.” She waved from the back of the group. “Do you have a minute?”

  He smiled. “I’ll give you two.” He walked through the crowd.

  She grabbed his arm. “Follow me.”

  “What about them?” he asked as he watched the reporters gather their gear to follow them. “Do you always keep a camera crew around or is that something special for me?”

  She laughed. “We’ll duck into the restaurant. The owner won’t let them come in. He likes me.”

  “I can’t imagine why,” Law joked. “It’s not like you’re difficult or anything.”

  She stopped, her lips curled up in a snarl, then laughed it off. “I’m glad you have a sense of humor.” She led him to a booth in the back of the restaurant. “I hate to break the news to you, but your client fired you. On camera. In front of everyone.”

  “What?” Law reached in his jacket for his phone. “That’s impossible. He can’t do that. I didn’t do…” He had seven missed messages and three Google alerts. “This is a nightmare.”

  Josie reached across the table and placed her hand on his. “I didn’t know this would happen. I’m sorry.”

  He wanted to be mad at her. He wanted to tell her she’d ruined everything, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t look at her pretty face and say anything that would hurt her.

  She pulled her hand away when he didn’t respond.

  He shook his head and placed a hand on the table. “Give me your hand.”

  She took a deep breath.

  “It’s the least you could do, don’t you think?” He was kidding. “For real. Trust me.”

  He wasn’t sure, but he thought she looked nervous.

  She placed her hands on the table, palms up.

  He grabbed hers. “This isn’t your fault. Not all of it.” He snickered, then sighed. “So, what do I do now?”

  Josie’s eyes lit up.

  “Don’t look so excited. Show a little sympathy for the guy who got fired by a billionaire.”

  She laughed.

  He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Everything about her made his heart race. Her laugh, her smile, her passion, her feistiness. All did something to him. He couldn’t explain it. He wasn’t sure he needed an explanation.

  “Do you want me to talk to your dad for you?” she asked.

  He didn’t have time to respond because his phone rang. It was a call from his father.

  “Do you want me to answer it? I can explain what happened,” she offered, but he shook his head and turned his phone off.

  “No, I’ll talk to hm,” he said. “But not now.”

  A waitress walked over with two cups of coffee on a tray. “You two look like you need coffee.”

  Law never wanted a cup of coffee more. “Yes, and keep them coming, please. We have a lot of details to hash out.”

  The waitress’s eyes lit up. “To save the park?”

  He and Josie exchanged glances.

  “Yes,” they said at the same time.

  She laughed a nervous laugh. “Right?”

  He nodded.

  “But how?” she asked.

  He sighed and realized he still had her hands in his. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to… I…” He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t have an excuse.

  She had a sly grin on her face.

  “I suppose you already have a plan,” he said.

  She nodded. “I do.”

  He took a sip of his coffee. “What is it?”

  “Tell me how you feel about the beach.”

  The question surprised him. “I think nothing about it. What does that have to do with your plan?”

  She drank her cup of coffee in one big gulp, then slid out of the booth. “Do you have a car?”

  He nodded. “Yes, why?”

  “
Is it parked close by?”

  He shrugged. “At the office.”

  “Let’s go for a ride.”

  She thanked the waitress and paid for the coffees.

  “You don’t have to do that.” Law pulled money out of his pocket. “Where are you going?”

  “We are going to the beach. Now. Hurry before I change my mind.”

  For the life of him, he couldn’t understand what possessed him to go along with it. They walked to his office, walked through the parking garage in silence, then got in his car and headed for the beach. She gave him directions as if he’d never been there.

  “I know how to get to the beach. You don’t have to tell me which way to go,” he said.

  When they got there, she said, “Pull in this lot and drive up the service road.”

  He slammed on the brakes. “Why? That’s private property.”

  She arched a brow. “Are you scared?”

  The truth was, he was. She had led him to property his father had acquired a year ago. He’d planned to build a second office location there.

  “How much is this property worth?” Josie asked.

  He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Millions?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “How many millions?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. Why?”

  “Would your father sell the property?”

  His mouth fell open.

  “I’m serious. He bought this property months ago and has done nothing with it. His law office is in our neighborhood. People from our community were his first clients. They helped him build the firm into what it is today. Now, he owns prime real estate here. If he loves our community, the community that built him, he can help us by selling this property to that billionaire.”

  Law didn’t know how to respond.

  “Talk to him. Maybe if I talked to him, I could make him understand why the park and the businesses on 3rd are so important to us,” she said.

  Law knew what his father would say. He knew how much he’d hate the idea. But despite what he knew, he dialed his father’s cellphone, anyway.

  “Son?” Lawrence answered. “Where are you?”