“Thanks.” I wasn’t going to drink myself into a stupor but I appreciated the offer.
Breakfast doesn’t appeal, and when I check the time it’s only seven-thirty. I laze around in bed for a while, reading my romance and drinking coffee to distract myself. Then as mid-morning approaches, with nowhere to go and nothing to do, I pull my laptop out and open my emails.
I don’t have many, but the top one came in only half an hour ago. I click on it, excited to see that it’s from Heather, Mercer & Lowry, the law firm that I’d worked with in my corporate job.
A quick skim shows they want to offer me a new gig, investigating a senior executive accused of harassment. I’m not sure how they even found me, but I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Two phone calls and an hour later, Callahan Risk & Investigations is back in the game, even at the discount rate of three hundred dollars an hour. A fraction of what HM&L would’ve paid for my services before I went it alone. But the best news is they’ve come to me on word-of-mouth recommendation, my reputation finally paying off.
When I pull it up, my business bank account shows a balance of a little over seventeen thousand dollars, none of which is mine. Alex gave me twentygrand as seed money, of which I’ve spent three despite what I’ve earned. Licensing and legal, insurance, marketing, subscriptions to investigative databases—those came out of my own savings. Which are now gone.
I grimace at the numbers, knowing I’ll have to pay him back, which means I’m really three thousand in debt. And no legal firm pays quickly. I have a couple of other jobs in flight, seven hundred dollars in my personal account, but unless I use Alex’s credit card—sonot happening—I’ll be leaning on Carol’s generosity for a while longer.
The car’s in the building’s underground garage, taking up the spot Carol doesn’t use. I’d sell it if I could—I don’t really need it—but though it’s my car, it’s in Alex’s name.
I send the retainer agreement before they can change their minds.
The file comes through within the hour, and once I see how long it is, I immediately know I’ll need more coffee.
I’m grateful for so many reasons, but mostly because losing myself in these documents is exactly the distraction I need.
It’s not even six when Carol comes in. I’m still reading through the file, having had several calls with the lawyers at HM&L, but I close my laptop when I hearher.
“You’re back early!” Words I’ve never uttered before.
She’s hugging two bulging brown paper bags, damp enough to threaten splitting, her work bag dangling precariously from the fingertips of one hand. I leap up to help.
“Damn cold out there,” she pants, short of breath. “I bought groceries.”
“You didn’t need to do that. I could’ve got them.” Except, obviously, I hadn’t. The cost of feeding both of us hits harder when I know exactly how little is in my bank account.
Together, we wrestle the bags onto the kitchen counter.
“You could’ve, but you’re still wearing cute penguin pajama bottoms.” She eyes my more professional blouse-and-makeup top-half, and smirks. “Teams calls?”
“New case.”
“HM&L?”
I cock my head. “How could you possibly know that?”
“Oh, uh…” She looks sheepish. “They came knocking last week, but Franklin wasn’t prepared to give them a discount. I… saw an opportunity to help them and you both.”
So that’s where the recommendation came from. Not my own reputation after all. It takes the shine off, more than a little, but I manage a smile. “Thank you, that’s really thoughtful.”
“It’s nothing. I’m full of admiration for you going it alone, and I’ll pass you everything I can.”
“You don’t need to do that,” I begin lamely, but she cuts me off with a dismissive wave.
“Don’t be silly. If we’re no-bidding anyway, what’s the harm?”
“True,” I agree, not putting up much of a fight. A few more clients like HM&L and I won’t notice it when Alex wants his money back. But I’m still weeks away from being able to afford my own place. I bite at my lip. “Um… we never talked about how long I was staying.”
She regards me frankly. “Can you cook?”
“…Yes?”
“Clean?”
