Luke laughed. “After all the info you’ve come up with, you have earned every single penny you’re going to charge me. But can you give me the family discount?”
They both laughed, and Luke felt lucky to have some great people in his life. His biological family might be gone, but his longtime friends, the Jenkins family, and most importantly Christina, were all the family he needed.
*
John Legend’s song, “All of Me,” pumped through the conference room speakers where Christina was painting. The gentle melody washed over her like a lover’s caress. The lyrics described what she was feeling these days perfectly. As a matter of fact, her life was perfect. The family finally knew about Sasha Knight, which was a weight off of her shoulders, giving her peace she hadn’t felt in a long time. Her life with Luke was better than she could have ever imagined. In three weeks, they would be heading to St. Lucia for a much needed two-week vacation, and she could hardly wait.
Happiness whirled inside of her. Oh yeah, life couldn’t get any better.
A smile crept across her lips. She couldn’t go a few minutes without thinking about Luke and their last few months together. Phenomenal would be the best word to describe their relationship.
“You’re starting to freak me out with that stupid grin on your face,” her cousin Ben Jr. a.k.a. BJ said from the top of the six-foot ladder next to her. “So I take it things are good.”
Christina stuck her paint roller in the pan on the floor and lapped up the taupe color paint. “Better than good. All is well in my world. What about you? How’s that cutie-pie son of yours?” She used long strokes to spread the paint evenly over the walls, careful not to miss a spot.
“He is the coolest kid.” Pride radiated from Ben and Christina could have sworn his chest stuck out more. “Fourteen months old and he’s the smartest baby you’ll ever meet. Every day it seems he does something that makes me wonder if he’s a genius.”
Christina laughed. “I heard you were like that when you were little too.”
“Yeah, he’s a chip off the old block.”
“What about his mother?”
“What about her?”
“When are you going to marry her? You guys have been dating almost three years now.”
Until recently, after Toni and Jada married, Christina hadn’t thought much about getting married. But seeing how happy they were with their mates, she wanted to know what that felt like. One day.
“I’m not sure she’s the one,” BJ said, interrupting Christina’s thoughts.
Christina halted the roller and lowered her pole to stare at her cousin. “Three years together and you two have a baby. How can you say she’s not the right one? Why are you with her if she’s not the one?”
“I thought she was the one, but now I’m not so sure. She’s trying too hard to become a part of the Jenkins clan that it makes me wonder whether … Never mind about me. What about you? What’s up with old boy, the thug lawyer?”
“Don’t call him that!” She tried hiding her smile and started back painting. Some of her family, especially her male cousins thought Luke was too cool to be a lawyer.
“Speaking of lawyers. I’m surprised you weren’t at the family meeting Thursday night. My dad announced that Leroy Jones is going through with the lawsuit against Jenkins & Sons.”
“What?” I thought he didn’t have a case.” Christina had spent so much time with Luke, she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed regarding the family. Her uncle Ben, BJ’s father, was a lawyer and represented Jenkins & Sons.
“All right you guys, a little more work and a little less talk,” Peyton said when she walked into the room with her clipboard.
“You’re a regular slave driver, PJ. I’m tired of using my Saturdays for manual labor.” BJ climbed down the ladder. He poured more paint into a smaller can before moving the ladder down the wall.
“Too bad. I’m going to need both of you for at least two more Saturdays. If you don’t want the overtime, then I can see about giving you one of the weekdays off.”
“PJ, why didn’t you tell me about the lawsuit and that there was a family meeting this past Thursday?”
“First of all, you’ve been out of town or just missing in action. Secondly, I figured your boyfriend would tell you since Leroy is using his law firm.”
Unease swept through Christina. So that’s why he was at Atwater, Rouse & Stevenson talking to Gary. Luke had said nothing about his firm representing Leroy. As a matter of fact, Luke acted as if he had never heard of Leroy.
“By your silence I assume he didn’t mention it.”
“Maybe he doesn’t know,” BJ interjected. “There’s probably a ton of lawyers at that firm with clients that Luke doesn’t know.”
Peyton’s mouth tightened. She shot BJ a look that clearly said, “Butt out.”
“Okay, you know what? I think this is a good time for me to take my fifteen minute break.” BJ climbed back down the ladder and made a hasty retreat.
“He’s right. Luke probably doesn’t know otherwise I’m sure he would have mentioned something to me.” Christina set her paint roller down, careful not to let the handle hit the wet wall. She poured more paint into her pan. “I can’t believe we’re being sued.”
“Believe it. Leroy has some bogus claim that Jenkins & Sons has undercut his company five times in the past year, outbidding him. Supposedly, we have caused his business financial hardship, and he’s claiming a whole lot of other crap.”
“So what happens next?” Christina dunked her roller into the paint and went back to work.
Some of the crews had been remodeling Jenkins & Sons main office building, and repainting a few of the shops. She and Ben Jr. needed to finish the conference room before the day was over in order to start on the carpenter’s shop Monday morning.
“I just heard from Uncle Ben and he said that Leroy’s lawyer contacted him minutes ago. They want to meet Monday. Uncle Ben thinks they’re going to try to settle out of court.”
“Is that good?”
“I’m not sure. Grampa wants to be done with Leroy once, and for all. He said there’s nothing to settle. So, we’ll see what happens Monday.”
“What time? I want to be there.” She also planned to have a talk with Luke. Hopefully, he wasn’t holding out on her. Unease settled in her gut like a paperweight. Despite what she had said to her sister, Christina wasn’t a hundred percent sure Luke would have told her if he knew his office was representing Leroy.
“You can’t attend the meeting. I’m not approving any more time off for you, especially since you’ll be on vacation for a couple of weeks. More importantly, I need you here.” She scanned the room. “We’re already behind on the renovations thanks to all of your days off. Me, Grampa, and Uncle Ben will be the only ones there representing the company.”
“I’m going Peyton.”
“No, you’re not.” Peyton tucked her clipboard under her arm and pulled out her ChapStick, swiping it across her lips. “You need to quit being difficult. While you’re trying so hard to get to this meeting, you need to be trying to figure out if your boyfriend has anything to do with this lawsuit. I’m sure your reason for wanting to be at that meeting has nothing to do with the lawsuit, but everything to do with seeing your boy-toy.”
Ignoring the last part of Peyton’s comment, Christina put more paint on her roller. She trusted Luke, but there was that little niggling of doubt brewing in the back of her mind. He didn’t tell her everything, like when he failed to mention early in their relationship that he had a brother who had been killed.
She shook the doubt off. He would tell her if he knew anything. And so what if she did have other reasons for wanting to be at the meeting, like catching a glimpse of Luke. He’d been in New York for the last few days and wasn’t expected back until Monday morning. Despite talking with him every day, she missed him like crazy. Sure she wanted to see him, but more importantly, she wanted to be there to represent the family.
&nbs
p; “PJ, I’m not trying to be difficult. If anything, you’re the one tripping. I don’t need you to approve any time off since I can use my lunch break for the meeting. I’m a part of this family. I have a right to be there if I want to be. I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal about this.”
“I could say the same thing about you. You have been unavailable for practically everything these last few months while you’re pursuing your dreams and doing God knows what else. Were you thinking about the family then? Were you thinking about what all it takes to run this business? Have you stepped in to attend any other meetings where we’ve had to represent the family and the business?”
Christina lowered her roller, tightly gripping the handle. She had no idea their conversation would take such a turn, a turn in the wrong direction.
“Another thing. You’re so interested in helping the family, have you even taken the time to ask me if there is anything you can do to help out around here, to take some pressure off of me? No, you haven’t. Your life is all about CJ. Now all of a sudden you want to be there for the family. Don’t bother, Christina. We got this!” She turned and headed for the door.
“Now you just wait one minute!” Christina’s voice wavered, anger punctuating each word. “First of all, I don’t know what you’re trying to imply by saying that I’m doing God knows what and I don’t care. But how dare you suggest that I don’t do anything or don’t go the extra mile around here because I’m too busy pursuing my dreams. Have you forgotten that I was the first one to step in and help when you took over for Grampa?”
“No, I haven’t forgotten, but that was—”
“I’m the one who was here day and night helping you make sense of that office and Grampa’s crazy filing system. I’m the one who lent you a shoulder to cry on after those first few frustrating months when you were trying to get a handle on running the business. And I’m the one who filled in for you those weeks after your divorce. So forgive me if I’ve been taking some time for me lately. Taking some time to nurture my dreams.” Irritation lodged in her throat, and she batted her eyes several times to keep tears from falling. The fact that her sister was teary eyed too wasn’t helping.
They stood silent, both breathing hard with pent up emotion, the smooth melodies of Sam Smith now playing softly in the background. They had their share of disagreements, but none like this one.
Christina didn’t know what to say. Disappointment and frustration lay restless in her body. An electrician by trade, Peyton practically ran the business single handedly. No, Christina couldn’t imagine the type of pressure her sister faced on a day-to-day basis. Nevertheless, she wasn’t about to let Peyton or anyone else make her feel guilty about how she chose to spend her time or live her life.
“Hopefully you guys can finish this room today,” Peyton said breaking the silence, her voice low and controlled. “Be sure to clean up before you leave.” And with that, she walked away.
Christina’s gaze followed her to the door. She might have been angry with Peyton, but it was clearer than ever that something was going on with her sister, and Christina had every intention of finding out what. She hated seeing her so unhappy, even if Peyton did get on her last nerve.
Chapter Fifteen
Luke nodded a greeting to a few familiar faces when he stepped into the mostly glass building that housed the law offices of Atwater, Rouse & Stevenson. It had been a helluva morning. The day was proving that the best-laid plans could change in a second. A thunderstorm on the east coast had delayed his flight to Cincinnati by three hours and then a flat tire on the way to the office didn’t help. The only bright spot, he had plans of seeing Christina after work.
Luke stepped into the semi-crowded glass elevator. Glancing around a woman wearing too much perfume, he checked to make sure the button for the twelfth floor had been pushed. He moved to the rear of the car, and his mind immediately took him back to the conversation he’d had with Christina the day before. To say she was upset to learn that his firm was representing Leroy Jones would be an understatement. Unfortunately, he couldn’t give her much comfort since he didn’t know anything about the case.
When the elevator reached his floor, Luke maneuvered around three people in order to exit. “Excuse me,” he said to a woman with an oversized bag that blocked his exit. He made a left, and when he reached their office suite, he took a deep breath before going in, mentally preparing himself for the day ahead.
“Welcome back, Luke,” Robin greeted when he stepped up to her desk to retrieve his messages. Their working relationship had improved considerably after their conversation months ago.
“Thanks, Robin.”
“I’m glad you’re here. Anthony was just looking for you, not even five minutes ago.” She handed Luke his messages. “I told him you should be here shortly and he said for you to come by his office before you get settled.”
“Did he say what he wanted?” Luke flicked through the messages before stuffing all of them into the side pocket of his briefcase.
“Only that he needed you to take care of an issue for him.”
Out of the senior partners, Luke liked Anthony Rouse, Gary’s father, the least. He didn’t trust the guy. And after meeting with Michael, Luke liked Gary and his father even less.
Luke and Robin discussed his afternoon appointments. Relieved to hear that two had cancelled, he headed down the hall thinking about what he would do with his two free hours.
Luke tapped on the open door of Attorney Rouse. “You wanted to see me, Anthony?”
“Oh Luke, come in. I’m glad you’re here,” he said in a rush, stuffing files into his briefcase. “Sorry to bombard you right when you walk in, but we’re operating on a skeleton crew this afternoon. Come on, walk with me.” He grabbed his suit jacket and shrugged into it before they left his office.
Luke stood back when the senior Rouse gave some parting instructions to his assistant, informing her that he wouldn’t be available for the next three hours. A sudden bout of anxiousness swirled around in Luke’s chest. He didn’t know what this “issue” was that Rouse wanted him to take care of, but Luke knew he wasn’t going to like whatever it was.
“Sorry about that, Luke. We have a client in Gary’s office who needs our assistance. My son had a personal emergency and needed to leave.” Anthony handed Luke a file. “Since he didn’t want to cancel a meeting that’s scheduled for eleven o’clock, which is in,” he glanced at his watch, “fifteen minutes, he said you would be able to fill in for him.”
A cold dread crept up Luke’s spine and seeped into his bones. He had a feeling this meeting was the same meeting Christina had mentioned the night before. The meeting with Jenkins & Sons and Leroy Jones.
Luke and Rouse stepped out of the walkway and allowed one of the assistants to pass. Luke quickly skimmed through the documents. His bad morning just got worse. He closed the file and tried handing it back. Attorney Rouse stared at him, his brows slanted into a frown.
“I’m sorry, Anthony, but you’re going to have to get someone else to handle this.”
“Why? Gary said you wouldn’t have a problem overseeing the meeting.”
Heat rose to the back of Luke’s neck as he barely controlled the scathing comment hanging on the end of his tongue. Stay professional. Luke’s grip tightened on the manila folder.
“I’m not sure why Gary told you I’d be willing to fill in for him, but he was mistaken. I can’t provide this client with diligent representation.”
“And why is that?”
“Conflict of interest. I’m dating a member of the Jenkins family.”
Anthony nodded. He still didn’t take the file, and Luke was tempted to toss it into the nearest trash can. Normally if a lawyer expressed a conflict of interest, the ethical ramifications were taken seriously. Apparently not at Atwater, Rouse & Stevenson. Luke could think of other instances during his tenure where the firm hadn’t always handled situations in the most principled way.
Rouse steppe
d forward, invading Luke’s personal space. “Attorney Hayden, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how important our clients are to us. They pay us to provide them with legal representation, which is what you’re going to do, even if it’s just for today. You do whatever necessary to make our client feel that we’re working on his behalf,” he said in a low, controlled tone.
Luke’s blood pressure rose steadily. It was at that moment he knew that would be his last day at Atwater, Rouse & Stevenson. There was no way in hell he would tolerate anyone treating him like some lackey, especially when he knew he didn’t need the job or the money.
Maintaining eye contact with the older man, Luke thought of so many things he could say to him, like kiss my ass, or get your ignorant son to do his job. But Luke wouldn’t stoop to that level. Instead, he would do what Rouse asked of him, but in the end, Gary and his father would regret the day they put him in this position.
Rouse took a step back and adjusted his suit jacket. “Since I have to be in court, I’ll need you to follow through on this meeting with the client and the Jenkins family. At this point, I don’t want Mr. Jones to have wasted a trip for something we couldn’t control.”
In other words, Rouse needed this meeting to happen so that the firm could still bill the client.
A short while later, Luke pulled out a copy of the Complaint that Gary had filed with the court on Leroy Jones’ behalf. All he could do was shake his head as he skimmed the document and quickly went through the rest of the file astonished Gary thought they had a case.
“Attorney Hayden?”
Luke glanced up. His assistant stood in the doorway with a stout man he assumed was Leroy Jones. He had given her instructions to bring Leroy to his office right away.
Luke returned the documents to the file and stood. He stepped around his desk. “Mr. Jones.” He shook the older man’s hand. “I’m Luke Hayden.”
“Nice to meet you,” Leroy said enthusiastically.
“Thanks, Robin. That’ll be all.” Luke closed the door behind her and directed Leroy to one of the upholstered chairs in front of his desk. “All right, let’s get started. We have a good five minutes before we have to meet with the Jenkins’ lawyer.”
Tempting the Artist Page 16
