Two days later, Tish still didn’t know what to do.
She simply couldn’t dismiss the fact that Spence’s partner would be going up against her, representing a client that the entire city of New York seemed to hate with a passion. And that he might possibly be helping her with the case. Which, if she lost, would really hurt both her client and her financially. She’d even stopped going to Benny’s cart in the morning, not wanting to run into Spence.
Because she didn’t know what she would say if she did. Every time she tried to get mad the image of him playing with Socks put her anger on the back burner.
One thing she did know.
She missed him terribly. Which made no sense since they’d only been out a few times and she’d never gotten attached this quickly. And there was another question.
Did he miss her?
He hadn’t called, emailed, texted or dropped by her office. Was he giving up or giving her space?
He had to be giving up. Men didn’t know about the space thing. And even if they did they wouldn’t do it.
Her friends assured her it would all work out. But she’d heard that before and it hadn’t.
Dating another lawyer was truly filled with land mines she hadn’t anticipated.
She headed across the hotel lobby when a clerk at the front desk called her. “Ms. McKenna?”
She stopped and turned to him. “Yes?”
“I have a delivery for you.”
She headed to the desk, half expecting some legal documents. Instead the young clerk handed her a bottle of orange juice with a yellow sticky note attached. He laughed. “We do have room service here, you know.”
She read the note and couldn’t help but smile.
Breakfast without Tish from the hotel is like a day without sunshine.
“It’s from a friend who is reminding me of something.”
“Ah. Well, you have a nice day.”
“You too.” She headed out the door and across the street to Benny’s cart.
He looked up and smiled as he spotted her. “Well, look who finally showed up. She never calls, she never writes.”
“I got your message.” She held up the bottle of OJ. “So stop with the guilt. I wasn’t avoiding you, Benny.”
“Good, ‘cause I woulda been deeply hurt. Anyway, I know the whole story, kiddo. You and I need to talk.”
“Uh-oh. This sounds like a lecture from Dad coming my way.”
“I’ve had a lot of practice with my own daughters. By the way, what is Tish short for?”
“Patricia.”
“And your middle name is?”
“Megan. Why?”
“Patricia Megan McKenna, you are going to listen to some advice, young lady.”
“Ah, the full name thing, I know it well. Go ahead, Dad. Hit me.”
“Spence really was coming to tell you about his partner on Monday morning. I know that because he was here asking me for advice about what to do. He’d only found out you were on the case the night before when he got back from Vegas because his partner never told him. He went to his office before he came to see you because he forgot his cell phone.”
She studied his face. “He tell you to say that?”
“You’re a lawyer, you know when someone’s lying. Do I have that look?”
Tish locked eyes with him. “No, of course not. But I know you have an ulterior motive to get us back together.”
“Because I’m an excellent judge of character and I think you guys belong together.”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“Well since you’re off to such a good start you owe it to yourself to find out. And I am batting a thousand when it comes to fix-ups.”
“I dunno, Benny, I can’t get past the fact that he already helped with the Peter Brent case against my client. She really got screwed.”
“Yeah, I’ve been reading about that. What a cheap bastard. He’d better not show up at my cart. He’ll get a soda shaken, not stirred. So, no chance of settling, huh?”
“Apparently not. And a million bucks would be pocket change to that guy.”
“Hell, you should be able to win if public opinion is any indicator. Everybody hates Brent. A lot of people are boycotting his products.”
“Yeah, but you know what they say about juries, Benny.”
“What?”
“They’re made up of people too stupid to get out of jury duty.”
He laughed a bit. “Yeah, guess so. Anyway, how long you gonna give Spence the silent treatment?”
“Uh, it’s a two-way street. He hasn’t called me either.”
“He’s not going to because you’re the one who is mad and therefore the ball is in your court. And I told him that when a woman is angry, you give her space.”
“It figures you would know that. I’m impressed. I had not run into a man with that sort of knowledge before.”
“Basic life skill. Most men learn the hard way, so I try to save the younger guys the trouble. This is why we invented man caves. When the woman in your life needs to be left alone, you don’t badger her, you go shoot pool or watch football. Or, ya know, play with the woman’s cat.”
“Just what I need, more guilt.”
“Not many guys would do that. But you’re a smart woman, you probably know that already.”
She sipped her juice. “You’re a very wise man, you know that, Benny?”
“Then perhaps you should accept my wisdom and go talk to him. And even though you’re mad at him, he’s not mad at you. Not even close. I’m not sure the man is capable of being angry.”
“Yeah, he seems really very calm about everything. The most easy-going man I’ve ever met. He’s a good balance for me. In case you hadn’t noticed, I have a tendency to get a bit emotional.”
“And I shouldn’t say this, but he misses you like you wouldn’t believe.”
“I shouldn’t say this either, but I miss him a lot too.”
Benny put his palms up and shrugged. “So what’s your praab-lem?”
*
Tish had been on the fence about talking to Spence, but after her chat with Benny she was leaning over to his side. However, she still had no idea how to do it. She entered her office and found Shelley already sorting through the mail. Her assistant looked up and studied her face. “Ah, no morning scowl. Is the great wall of Tish breaking down?”
“Just had a long talk about the Spence situation with someone I trust.”
“What am I, chopped liver?”
“No, but you’re not an older married guy.”
“Nor do I aspire to be one. So what’s the advice you got?”
“That I should go talk to him.”
Shelley nodded. “Sounds like the old married guy has a good head on his shoulders. Oh, speaking of Spence, his partner sent over some stuff for the Brent case. It’s on your desk under the furry paperweight.”
“Did she come by personally?”
“Nope. Her intern delivered it.”
Tish nodded and headed into her office where she saw Socks curled up atop a stack of files. The cat spotted her, sat up and meowed.
And then she noticed the red, heart-shaped metal tag on the cat’s collar. “What the hell? Shelley, come in here a minute.”
Her assistant poked her head in the doorway. “What?”
She picked up Socks. “Did you put this on her collar?”
Shelley moved closer. “Nope. What is that?”
They took a close look at the embossed tag.
My name is Socks
If found, call Tish McKenna
212-555-0101
Shelley smiled as she read it. “Well, looks like someone put an ID tag on her. Good idea considering she likes to wander through air vents and could easily get lost.”
“And it wasn’t you?”
She rolled her eyes. “No, it was the cat fairy who shows up in the middle of the night. Of course it wasn’t me. Tish, if you use the process of elimination, you know damn well who put it on her.”
Tish sat down putting the cat in her lap. “Why would he do that?”
“Do I have to shoot you with the clue gun? It’s an olive branch.”
“You think?”
“Oh for God’s sake, Tish, enough! Get your ass down the hall and talk to the guy. I can’t take another day with you moping around here. You miss him so bad it shows. And I saw him in the elevator today. Poor guy looks like he’s in mourning.”
“What would I say?”
“Well, for an ice-breaker I’d start by thanking him for the tag he put on Socks. Then you might segue into an apology for not being understanding.”
“You think I was wrong, don’t you?”
“Yes. There’s no question.”
“So you don’t think I was understanding?”
“Asked and answered, counselor. And you’re in danger of being in contempt of your assistant.” She pointed to the door. “Down the hall. Now.”
She looked down at the cat. Socks offered a loud purr and a lick of her hand. “He is really sweet to my cat.”
“And he’s been really sweet to you. Of course, if you’re going to throw him away I might take a shot at him. He’s awfully cute. I’d do him in a New York minute.”
Tish whipped her head up at Shelley. “Excuse me?”
“Awww, is Tish jealous that some other woman might scoop up Spence? I have learned a few lawyer tricks from you.”
“That wasn’t fair.”
“Objection overruled. All’s fair in love, my dear boss. Now either walk down the hall or I’m going to crack open the wine right now, because I’m the one who’s gonna need it.”
*
Tish gently tapped on the door and entered Spence’s office. She saw Ariel and a young guy who looked to be an intern at the copy machine. Ariel turned around and was taken aback. “Oh, hello. I, uh, wasn’t expecting you. Is there a problem with the files I sent over?”
“Not here about the case. I…well…was wondering if I could talk to Spence.”
“He’s in court today. And I think it will be an all-day affair.”
Tish looked down at the floor. “Oh. Well—”
“He’s in that new judge’s courtroom. What’s her name? Rebecca Winston. And, you know, I’m pretty sure they will recess for lunch.”
Tish looked up and saw Ariel smiling at her. “Lunch.”
“Right. Y’know, that meal in the middle of the day? I would venture to guess you can catch him then.”
“Yeah, I guess I could.”
Ariel moved toward her. “Look, Tish, I’m really sorry to have put both of you in this situation. If I could have found a way out of this—”
She put up her hand. “You don’t owe me an apology. I’m the one who’s sorry about the way I acted. I’m usually very professional.”
“I probably would have reacted the same way. Don’t worry about it.”
“Thank you. You’re as understanding as Spence.”
“No one’s as understanding as Spence.” Ariel offered a warm smile. “And somehow when you really like someone, when true emotions are involved, being professional can go out the window, ya know?”
Tish laughed. “I didn’t. First time for me.”
“Welcome to the club. By the way, in regard to our case from hell, I tried to get my client to settle again yesterday.” She shook her head. “He won’t budge.”
“Thanks for trying.”
“I’ll keep at it. The negative publicity has got to be wearing on him.”
“We can only hope.”
“And it’s not doing our firm any good either. Trust me, Tish, I wanna make this go away as much as you do. Maybe more. By the way, did Spence ever tell you why we started this firm and took some of the clients we did?”
“No.”
“Have a seat. I have a story to tell you.”
*
Tish watched from the back row of the courtroom as Spence systematically destroyed the star witness for the opposing side. It was clear he was winning, as she noted the other attorney shake his head in disgust while Spence got the witness to paint himself into a corner.
Spence was good, really good.
And then she felt something she hadn’t expected.
Pride.
That’s my guy up there.
Wait, hold on. You threw him away, remember?
He’s not yours right now.
Shelley’s right. If I don’t do something, another woman is going steal a great guy.
She looked at the clock, noting it was close to noon. The judge would call for a recess shortly.
C’mon, judge, hurry up.
The second hand on the clock seemed to be moving in slow motion.
Spence wrapped up his questioning. “I have nothing further for this…witness.” The jury smiled as the judge looked at her watch.
“And with that,” she said, “I believe it’s a good place to break for lunch. Court is in recess till one-thirty.” She swung the gavel and left the bench.
Tish’s heartbeat kicked up a notch. She took a deep breath and headed toward the front of the room, weaving her way through the crowd going the other way. She noted Spence didn’t get up from his table, instead pulling out a pack of crackers from his briefcase. Another attorney came up to him and asked him to lunch. Spence shook his head, telling the guy he had work to do.
She stopped at the rail right behind him. “Surely that’s not all you’re gonna have for lunch?”
He turned around. “Tish. Uh, hi. What are you doing here?”
“I would have brought Socks to thank you for the ID tag, but I didn’t think the judge would approve of cats in the courtroom.”
He smiled a bit as he stood up. “My buddy is a veterinarian and he knocked that out for me. I was worried she might go through the vent and end up in the wrong office.”
“Not likely. I think Socks knows a good thing when she sees it.”
“So do I when it comes to women. Now, does that mean her owner knows a good thing when she sees it?”
“Most times she does. Occasionally she acts like a complete idiot. But luckily she has advisers who remind her of said idiocy. So I throw myself on the mercy of the court.” She pointed at the crackers. “That’s not a healthy meal for a growing boy.”
He shrugged. “I figured I’d get some work done.”
“Is it work that can wait?”
“Depends on the alternative.”
“Well, since I never did get the next one after our first lunch, I was thinking this might be a good way to even things up. I mean, if you’re willing to forgive me for—”
“No reason to forgive you for anything, Tish. I completely understand your point of view.”
“So…does that mean you want to have lunch with me?”
He laughed a bit. “You know, for a woman who is so off-the-charts brilliant, you continue to ask a lot of stupid questions. C’mon, I’m starving.”
*
Spencer handed the menu to the waiter and turned to Tish, who was wringing her hands. “For God’s sake, will you relax?”
She exhaled. “Sorry. I was wondering how you’d react to me just showing up.”
“We’re here, aren’t we?”
Finally, she smiled. “Yeah.”
“But I think we need to set some ground rules for the immediate future.”
Her face dropped. “Spence, if you want to see other people, I certainly understand—”
“Again with the stupid comment. Why the hell would I want to see other people when I just had this terrific woman ask me to lunch? Of course, your comment could imply that you want to see other people.”
Her eyes widened. “No! I didn’t mean—”
“Kidding!” He reached across the table, took her hands and locked eyes with her. “We’re okay, you and me. I have absolutely no desire to date anyone else. We. Are. Okay. Got it?”
“Yeah. Sorry. I was really nervous coming to see you.”
“When I said we need to set ground rules, I meant regarding the upcoming Brent trial. We don’t ever need to discuss it until it’s over. At all.”
“I’ll agree with you on that.”
“So here’s the deal. Ariel has hired outside help to do what I usually do. Hell, Brent can afford a team of lawyers, so he doesn’t care. I’m not going to have anything more to do with the case. I may sit in the courtroom from time to time to watch my two favorite women work, though.”
“Is this some version of a catfight that appeals to male lawyers?”
“Of course not. To be honest, I knew when I saw you in action I could learn from you. So I’ll be picking up a few tricks. I already got one the first time.”
“Really? What was that?”
“You turned to the jury, took off your glasses to supposedly clean them and gave the jurors a world class eye roll with your back to the judge.”
“Oh. That. Luckily I haven’t been caught yet. Thankfully there aren’t any mirrors in the back of the courtroom.”
“Anyway, I’d love to try that little maneuver. Can I see it again so I can get it right?”
She shrugged. “Sure. You take off your glasses as you turn.” She removed her glasses. “Then—”
“Whoa.”
“Excuse me?”
“I had missed those eyes. Forgive the lawyer’s trick.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Naughty boy. And it just hit me that you don’t wear glasses. I am totally clueless today.”
“Hey, I got you to laugh. Tish, please stop beating yourself up. This isn’t law school where you have to be perfect. Real life isn’t perfect and it’s not something in a book. You’re too hard on yourself. You don’t have to be the valedictorian of life. You get an A-plus with me, that’s all that matters.”
“Thank you. I’m simply wired to win at everything. Though I still feel like I deserve the blame for everything. Benny and my assistant both let me have it this morning.”
“Seriously?”
“Sometimes I need different points of view when I’m being an idiot. And Ariel told me the story about your dad and why you took on the clients you did. Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
Spence shrugged. “I guess I’m not too proud of some of my work. It was great that I could help my father but think I lost part of my soul along the way. You helped me find it again and reminded me who I really am.”
She bit her lower lip as she locked eyes with him. “I’m glad.”
He grabbed his glass of water and leaned back. “Tish, there’s one more thing we need to agree on.”
“What’s that?”
“The time machine rule.”
“Huh?”
“We pick up where we left off. This past week never happened. Okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
“Good. Now what are you doing Friday night?”