My phone buzzed and my heart leapt. Was it Aiden? “Hello?”
“Hi Anna, it’s Saber. Boy, do I have some news for you. There was an award for putting Rich Pucci away. Congrats.”
Chapter 38
After a weekend of being babied by my entire family, I was grateful that Monday morning came finally. I dressed down in white capri’s and a frilly blouse to deliver the papers regarding Pucci’s death and subsequent dismissal of the case against him. While I hadn’t lost my first trial, having my client kidnap me before being shot to death by my boyfriend probably didn’t belong in the win column.
If Aiden was my boyfriend. It wasn’t like he’d called during the weekend.
I drove down Main Street and parked in front of the three-story building where Cousin Wanda had her office.
Clark was waiting on the sidewalk for me. “Why are we meeting here?”
“I’ll show you.” I walked inside the cool interior and up the old fashioned stairs to the third floor. Then I moved down the hallway to the second door on the right, reached in my purse for the keys, and pushed it open.
“What have you done?” Clark followed me inside the dusty space and instantly sneezed.
I looked around, seeing the dust mites sparkle like diamonds from the sunlight streaming between the blinds. “It’s our new office. The Bunne & Albertini Law Firm.” I twirled around. “This is obviously the reception area.” Dusty boxes littered the filthy floor, and the wallpaper peeled in several sections. I moved to the doorway beyond the reception area. “Come on. There are supposed to be two offices.”
Clark sneezed again and then followed me. “This is crazy.”
We came to one office that had a nice view of the street outside with a tree by the window to the left. To the right was an empty conference room with wide double doors. Beyond that were a kitchenette and bathroom. The final office was past that on the left, and it too had wide windows that looked out onto Main Street with mature trees. “The other office,” I breathed.
Clark looked around. “Okay. It’s pretty nice. How much does it cost?”
“That’s the beauty,” I said, giving him the good news. “The ATF called, and we actually got a reward for helping to take down Pucci. Well, I earned a reward, but since I got you fired, I figured we did. It’s ten thousand dollars, and that’s enough to get us started. My uncle owns this building and won’t charge us rent for three months because this is vacant. We have to do this, Clark. What do you say?”
He looked tempted. Dust settled on his still bald head, and he wiped it off. “I’m thinking.”
That was good. I tended to jump right in, and he was more cautious. We’d make a great team. My phone buzzed and I read the screen. “This is about our first client.” I set the phone to my ear. “This is Anna Albertini.”
“Hi. It’s Alice at the prosecuting attorney’s office. You called?”
“Yes.” I kept my tone professional. “I’d like to talk to you about a plea for Oliver Duck on the trespass case. He was just a kid goofing off, Alice. Would you give him a break?”
She sighed. “Kids like that should be taught a lesson. So, here’s the plea. A thousand dollars and six months in prison.”
I blinked. “Are you kidding me?”
“Nope. Take it or leave it,” she said. “I won the trial against Pucci. Are you sure you want to try again?”
Oh, she hadn’t won. Irritation clawed up my still aching neck. “Definitely. I’ll talk to my client, but I’m going to advise him to reject your offer.” I clicked off. “What a jerk.”
Clark put his hands in his pockets. “All right. I’m in.”
I leaped for him in a hug, and then we both sneezed. “All right. I’m off to earn our first penny.” It probably wasn’t a good idea to tell Clark that I meant that literally. But I couldn’t keep the finances from him since we were about to be partners. “Also, our first client is working off his fee, so he can help us clean up this place. And I thought we’d hire my cousin Pauley to answer the phones and conduct some research. He’s brilliant. Literally.”
Clark looked a little befuddled.
I tossed him his set of keys. “We’re having a party for Uncle Sean’s birthday Tuesday night at mom and dad’s over in the valley. You’re his favorite golfing partner and now his tenant, so you should come.”
Clark made a gurgling sound.
I kept talking like I hadn’t noticed. “We should get letterhead and business cards. And hats. We definitely need hats with a cool BA logo on them.” Before Clark could back out, I hustled to the door and all but ran down the hallway and out of the building. This was going to work out. I just knew it. Now, if I could get my personal life on track, life would be good.
Exiting the building, I almost ran into Tessa. “Hey. What are you doing here?” I caught her by the arms.
Her eyes burned, and her cheeks were a bright crimson. “I called Cousin Wanda for a session. You wouldn’t believe what a complete ass Nick Basanelli is.”
