“Hi, Tate, I’m so glad you could come.” He shook my hand, holding it a little too long.
“Hi. It’s good to see you again.”
“Come on back.”
I followed him through the locked door and found the rest of the office deserted. My blood suddenly ran cold. “Uh... where is everyone?”
“We work half days on Mondays.”
“Oh. I can come back,” I offered.
“No, it’s fine. You’re only in the office on Mondays, right?”
I swallowed. I was starting to side with Flash. This might not have been a good idea after all.
“Ah...”
“Sorry, Erin gave me your schedule,” he said.
“I really don’t know that I should be here alone with you, Lionel.”
“Look, I promise I won’t keep you but it’s the only time I’m in town long enough to meet with you.” We walked down to his office where he waved to a chair at a round table across from his desk.
“Don’t you have a team of lawyers?” I asked, taking a seat. “Why do you need another one?”
“I don’t have anyone local,” he said. “I need someone who understands Portland and its idiosyncrasies. You know, things like the fact that it’s technically still illegal here to walk down the street with your shoes untied.”
“Well, I can’t imagine you’d need an attorney to defend you for walking down the street with your shoes untied, Lionel,” I pointed out.
“Can I get you a cup of tea?” he asked, stepping to a drink cart with a pot already sitting on it.
“Sure, tea would be great,” I said. “Thanks.”
He chuckled, pouring me cup, and setting it in front of me. “I would like to have a team on hand for anything that might come up in Oregon,” he said. “I have my global team, and Idaho, of course, but I really need more focus here, as I intend to open offices closer to home as we expand.”
“So, how do you think we can help you?” I asked, taking a sip of the tea.
“Well...”
Before he could utter another word, the room started to melt in front of me.
* * *
Flash
Iwalked into the clubhouseand headed to my dad’s office. I was halfway there when I saw Mack walking toward me. “Hey, brother. What are you doin’ here?”
“Droppin’ off paperwork for your pops to look over. Tate with you?”
“What? No. You have her meetin’ with a new client,” I said. “Did you forget?”
“I sure as fuck did not,” he growled. “Tate doesn’t meet with new clients. That’s not her job.”
“Goddamn it!” I bellowed, just as my phone buzzed, and the panic siren screamed through the building.
Dad stormed out of his office, Devon behind him. “Who?”
I glanced at my screen, my blood running cold. “Tate,” I said, at the same time Booker bolted out of his office.
