Veer (Clayton Falls) (8 page)

Tom laughed. “Girls talk.”

I couldn’t help feel
ing
some satisfaction
at
knowing she’d talk
ed
to her friends about me. I wasn’t going to admit it
, though
. “If she has eyes for anyone
,
it’s
Jake
. O
r hell
,
she’s going out with Ronny this week.”

“Kelly says she’s not into either of them.”

“Did you two just sit around discussing Becca?”

“No. Mostly we tried to figure out why you were all weird.”

I just shrugged. “I admit she’s hot.”

“Finally, a normal thought.”

“Don’t let Kelly hear you.”

“She doesn’t care. She has nothing to worry about, and she knows it.”

“Yeah, I guess Kelly isn’t exactly the insecure kind.”

He chuckled. “
Uh
, not exactly. But
you
do
know that just because
Becca’s
from the same place
,
it
doesn’t mean she’s like Dawn.
”

I was wondering when he’d connect the dots. I’d met
Tom at the Academy right after Dawn
left me. As if getting a career ending injury wasn’t enough, my girlfriend dump
ed
me because of it.

“It’s not just that.”

“Then what is it?”

“Just drop it.”

I couldn’t spend too much time going down memory lane. It had been three years since my pro baseball career evaporated thanks to a torn rotator cuff. I’d just signed a
new
contract
to play in the
major
s
,
and bam, it was all gone. Dawn said she wanted to be with someone who was going places. That wasn’t the worst part
,
though.
Nor was the fact that she got together with one of my
team
m
ates
.
No, the worst part was that I begged her not to leave me. I was pathetic. I swore I’d never do it again.

Maybe t
hat
was
my real issue with Becca. I wanted her but knew any interest she had in me would be a passing fling. I wasn’t sure that would be enough. She seemed like the kind of girl where one taste
couldn’t possibly be enough
.

“Let’s get out of here.” Without waiting for Tom
,
I walked out to the car.

Chapter Eight

Becca

I wasn’t sure what to wear to work my first day. I was pretty sure a suit would be overkill, but I wanted to look professional, especially after meeting one of the partners at the beach
while wearing
only a bikini
. Partners—I needed to stop thinking of things
in
Boston
terms
.

After settling
on a tailored skirt and
a
light purple
top
, I drove Molly’s car over to the town square. The law offices of
Morgan
&
Morgan
were located right between the
plant
nursery and a bookstore. The local coffee shop
beckoned from
across the street. That would be convenient for lunch breaks.

Finding a parking space was ridiculously easy.
I smoothed out my skirt, checked to make sure my hair was pulled
neatly
back
,
and got out of the car. I walked into the office with my head held high, willing myself to forget about the embarrassing meeting the day before.

“Hi
,
Becca
. I
t’s good to see you again.” Matt walked out of his office.

“Hi
.
I’m excite
d to be here.
”

“It’s kind of cramped, but I’ve set you up in the extra office back here.” I followed him back to a windowless room. “Sorry, I know it’s kind of depressing.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“All right.” He smiled at
me, looking me over
in a way that made me a little bit uncomfortable. “Here are all your passwords and everything. Why don’t you
get yourself settled
,
and then come meet me in my office
,
so I can go over some stuff and give you your first assignment
.
”

“Sounds great.”

He started to walk out.

“Wait. Uh, is your father—I mean the other Mr.
Morgan
—
expected in today?”

“No. I guess I forgot to mention it. He’s actually on a cruise with my mother for the next
few
weeks
. That’s what made it so convenient that you were able to work.”

“Oh.” He definitely hadn’t mentioned that. No one had. “All right. I guess I’ll just get settled.”

I loaded the computer, not sure what getting settled really entailed. That was one of those things bosses said that made
no
sense. I made sure I could access the databases I’d need for res
earch, and double checked that W
ord functioned before pulling out a legal pad and pen from the top draw of the desk. I walked down the hall to Matt’s office.

I knocked. He looked up, smiled
,
and waved me in. “Take a seat.”

I sat down in one of the large leather chairs across from his desk. It was strange to see someone his age in such a big office. I was used to firms where it took years to make junior partner, let alone to essentially be running the place. Matt couldn’t have been more than
four or five years older than me
.
Although he looked tired, his face still had a really boyish quality. He wore a dress shirt and slacks, but
he
didn’t seem comfortable
in
them.

I noticed a photograph on his desk of a pretty woman with two young children. “You have a beautiful family.”

He picked up the frame. “Yeah, they’re great.”

I smiled, not sure what else to say.

“
I was already a dad when I was your age.”

Okay, could he make this anymore awkward
?
“That’s cool.”

He laughed. “Sorry, that came out weird. I just mean, you are in such a different place than I was at your age.”

I decided to help him out. “Yeah, I bet law school was challenging with a baby at home.”

“Definitely.
I never got to party during those years. I bet you have it really different. I bet you’re a wild one.
”

“Umm, not exactly.” A wild one? Yeah
,
if studying and taking care of my mom
were
considered wild.

“Come on, you can be honest.”

I didn’t like the way he
stared. It
really
bothered
me, and I needed to get the conversation back on my job. “So anyway,
when I spoke with your father
,
he made it sound like I was mostly going to be doing research and possibly helping on some depositions?”

“Yeah. I mean, I think you should sit in on some client meetings, and if
you want,
you can definitely come to court with me. You worked in a DA’s office last summer, right?”

“
Yes
.”

“So you know how courts work, but things run a little differently
in a small town than they do in
the
city
.”

“I bet, but I’m sure I’ll catch on.”

“I’m sure you will.
You look like
a fast learner.”

“Yeah
,
” I said quickly
.
I was ready to get out of his office. “Do you have anything in particular
you need
me to work on this morning?”

He went over to a filing c
abinet and pulled out a
Redweld
folder. “Why don’t you start by familiarizing yourself with this case
?”

“Okay, no problem.” I reached for the folder, but he didn’t immediately let go.

“If you have any questions
,
just let me know. Don’t
worry about
bothering me. I want this to be a good learning experience for you.”
He reached out with his other hand
as if
he was going to touch my shoulder, but then he stopped himself.

“Great, thanks a lot.” I pulled at the folder again, and this time he let go.

“I think this
is really going to work out,” h
e called as I walked out the door.

I took a deep breath once I was settled behind my desk. I tried to brush off our conversation, but
it definitely
left me uncomfortable
. I wondered if it was all part of the small town friendliness thing.

I opened the file and pulled out the documents. It
appeared to be
a fairly straight forward
slip and fall case
. We
were representing the defendant.

I spent some time reading through the materials, there were some massive deposition transcripts that took a while to get through, and then
I
went to see Matt.

I knocked
,
and once again he waved me in. “Done already?”

“Yes. Is there anything in particular you want me to do for this case?”

“There has to be something more about assumption of risk that works for us. Do some research on that, okay?”

“Sure.” I nodded and walked out.

I was still buried in case law when I felt two hands on my shoulders. I jumped, surprised by the contact.

“Sorry to surprise you, but I’m going to get some lunch
. W
ant to join me?”
Matt
didn’t
re
move his hands.

I turned, thankfully forcing his hands away. “Oh, thanks for offering, but I think I’m going to go check on my car.” I was grateful I had an excuse. I needed to talk to Molly about whether things were always so touchy feely in her town. The thought of spending lunch trying to make conversation with my
new
boss unnerved me.

“You can do that later. Come on, I insist.”

Great. I couldn’t say no again
. T
hat would just make things
worse
. I was probably just blowing
it
out of proportion. “Okay.”

“Good girl, let’s go.”

Good girl? Did he really just say that? It took me a moment to process. It would have been one thing to hear that from a boss who was of a certain age, but
coming from
someone practically my age, so not cool.

I followed him out and waited as he locked up the office.

“Going to lunch?” Ronny rounded the corner.

Matt looked up at him. “Yeah, about to.”

“Great, we can all go together.” Ronny winked at me.

I could have kissed him.

“Sure, why not
?
”
Matt
sounded
unenthusiastic.

We walked down the block and stopped at a diner.

“Has he been working you to the bone?” Ronny held open the door.

“Nope. It’s been pretty
reasonable
so far.”

“Good.” Ronny smiled as he slid into a booth next to me. Matt sat down across from us.

“Do you know what you want to order?” A young waitress
set three waters down on the table
.

I quickly ordered a chef salad
,
and
both
guys ordered double cheeseburgers with fries.

“So what brought you down here this summer?” Matt asked.

“A job
.”
I
smile
d
.

“I’m sure someone with your qualifications could have had a job in Boston.”

“I was thrown when I wasn’t asked back to the DA’s office
,
and I had other things going on that prevented me from finding a job
.” I really hoped he’d drop it.