“I’m not following,” Sadie said.
“You have no one to answer your phone. I am available. I have no fear of vhat happens after death.”
Yes, yes, Sadie did need help. The kind that came from calling an agency or placing an employment ad, accepting resumes, and then conducting interviews.
The phone rang. Sadie moved to grab it, but Babushka reached it first.
“Hello,” Babushka said into the receiver.
No, no, that wasn’t right at all.
Sadie hurried to the other side of the desk to grab the phone from the woman. Babushka wasn’t letting it go—her grip on the receiver was impressive.
A long pause went by as Babushka scowled.
“You have to tell them they’ve reached Sadie Howard’s law office,” Sadie whispered.
Babushka nodded. “Good idea,” she said straight into the receiver. “This is Sadie’s office.”
Gah. No. Not like that.
“Give me the phone,” Sadie demanded, holding out her hand.
Babushka pinched her lips into the equivalent of an eighty-year-old duck face and gave a quick shake of her head.
“Yes, she does divorce. Are you single?” Babushka clicked the ballpoint pen and licked the tip. “I see. Yes. Married, but not for long. Ve call that soon-to-be single in the business.”
No, that’s not what it was called. Not at all.
Sadie couldn’t move. This was a disaster, but without tackling the old woman to the ground, she was pretty sure there was no way she’d be getting that phone back.
“She’s single, too.” Babushka gave Sadie a thumbs-up. “Very pretty. Very nice brown hair. She has good hips. Good teeth. Vill make good babies.”
Sadie froze. “Ohmy God.”
“I think my grandson has crush on her,” Babushka continued. “But you never know how love vorks. Tell me about your vife.”
Sadie waited in stunned silence as Babushka listened to whatever was being said on the other end of the line.
The door opened and Tonya stepped inside. “Sadie?”
In that moment, Sadie realized that what this day was seriously lacking was a dose of fish drama.
“Tonya, hi. Take a seat. Can you hang on one moment?” Sadie asked, making a swirl motion with her outstretched palm over the desk Babushka had commandeered. “I need to handle this.”
“I should ask, is your vife dead?” Babushka abruptly asked into the phone. “Sadie is okay attorney if she is alive. Not so much if she is dead.”
Oh shit.
“Give me the phone,” Sadie demanded.
Tonya’s eyes had gotten huge. “A moment is fine. I’ll just…you know.” She sat down and lifted one of theDenver’s Bestmagazines that had been lying on the side table.
“Are you sure you cannot make things better in the love?” Babushka asked and then continued to listen intently. “No, I agree. That is not nice. I can see vhy you vould not vish to vork out. Do you have children?”
“Stop talking.” Sadie lunged for the phone.
Babushka was quicker than Sadie had imagined. She dodged the lunge without skipping a beat. “You needgoodattorney. Let me ask Sadie who she recommends.”
