Chapter 43
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Dylan
Seeing a familiar face is always a welcome sight.
I walk to the counter at Palla on Fifth and slap Kurt Sufford on the shoulder from behind.
“What the hell?” He turns to face me, his hand centered on his chest. “You scared me. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
I’d laugh under different circumstances, but I know he’s been through a lot the last few weeks.
“It’s good to see you, Kurt.”
He edges his chin up. “Great to see you, Dylan. How’s business?”
“Unhappiness never goes out of style.” I point at the large herbal tea on the counter in front of him. “I see you’re making some changes.”
“This is the least of it.” He runs a hand over his forehead. “Thelma has me up and out of bed at six every morning. First it’s a walk in the park, oatmeal and fruit for breakfast once we’re home.”
“It’s paying off.” I cross my arms over my chest. “You’re looking great.”
He is. There’s more color in his cheeks. His shoulders aren’t tensed back. I’ve never seen him dressed in anything other than a tight three-piece suit. Today, he’s wearing a pair of light brown dress pants and a white polo.
“I’m taking it day-by-day.” He chuckles. “Change isn’t easy. Backing off at work has been the hardest. So far I’m doing a lousy job. I’m keeping up with every case in both offices. Not an easy task when your wife wants you to do crossword puzzles and meditate.”
I laugh. “You’ve got some good people running the ship while you rest up.”
He takes a sip of the herbal tea. “You’re talking about Eden. She’s doing a great job here in Manhattan.”
“And back in Buffalo,” I point out. “I have to hand it to her. Two courtrooms in two different cities in two days. I don’t know a lot of lawyers who could handle that and the flight in between.”
His gaze narrows. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Eden’s in court in Buffalo today. We’re facing off tomorrow in the Alcester case in front of Judge Mycella.”
I doubt I’m giving away a secret. It has to be an oversight on his part. He’s got over a hundred employees spread over two offices. Keeping track of all of them isn’t an easy task.
He edges a finger over the bridge of his nose. “Eden’s not in court today. She booked the day off.”
That makes zero sense. She left my place last night in route to Noelle’s so she could rest up before her early morning flight.
“You’re sure?”
“One hundred percent sure.” He taps his forehead. “Eden called me a couple of days ago to check-in. She mentioned needing a personal day today. I gave her my blessing because sometimes you need to rest before you face the lion.”
I take it that I’m the lion in that analogy.
If she’s not in court in Buffalo, where the hell is she?
He glances over my shoulder. “It’s been good seeing you, Dylan. I need to run. I’m meeting with my partners. Retirement is on the horizon. I need to start thinking about who will fill my shoes.”
Eden is the logical choice, so I point that out. “Eden must be at the top of the short list.”
His mouth curves into a smile. “I agree, but she doesn’t.”
I query him with a raise of both brows.
He shrugs. “Off the record, I already offered her the job. She turned me down. No explanation. Nothing. Just ‘thanks, but no thanks.’”
Something inside of me splinters. Maybe it’s hope. I’ve rarely experienced it in my life, so I’m not an expert on what it feels to have your dreams torn in two.
She’d rather go back to Buffalo than stay in New York.
Just as Kurt’s about to walk away, I stop him with another question. Curiosity fuels it because maybe he asked her before that first night at the club. Maybe he needs to pose the question to her again because circumstances have changed. Everything has changed in the past few weeks.
“When did you offer her the job?”
“During that call two days ago.” He chuckles. “She said she’d think about it so I gave it one last valiant attempt last night in an email, but she replied before dawn today to let me off easy. It looks like Buffalo is where she wants to be.”
“She’s not here, Mr. Colt,” Betsy Burton looks up at me. “She has the day off.”
“It’s my understanding that she’s in Buffalo.” I shoot her a dimpled smile. “Can you check to see if her court session is done for the day?”
“I have Ms. Conrad’s Buffalo schedule right here.” She taps a fingernail on her laptop screen. “There’s nothing booked for her.”
I’m not surprised. Kurt may be recovering from major heart surgery, but he’s got a finger on the pulse of his employees.
He knows what they’re up to.
I could wait for Eden to meet me for a drink tonight or I can push Betsy to get to the bottom of it.
I choose the latter because I’ve tried calling Eden and it went straight to voicemail. The two text messages I sent her asking about how her day is going have gone unanswered.
“Can I get the number of her assistant in Buffalo?” I lean on the reception desk with both forearms. “I need to get in touch with Eden regarding our court date tomorrow.”
Her eyes widen. “Oh, that’s right. The Alcesters go to court tomorrow.”
I’m playing a hand I didn’t intend, but I’ll see it through to the end since Betsy is finally responding.
“Let me call her assistant myself.” She points at the phone on her desk. “I’ll explain the situation. She’ll understand the urgency. The Alcester case is a priority, after all. Excuse me for a minute, will you?”
I step back to give her the privacy she needs to make the call.
It’s not far enough that I can’t hear her side of the conversation.
She greets someone on the other end of the call. That’s followed by a conversation about the weather in New York City. It’s hot as hell here, and apparently that fascinates Betsy because she drags the discussion past the three-minute mark.
She finally gets down to the reason for her call.
I take a half-step closer so I don’t miss a word.
“I see,” she says. “Of course, Ms. Conrad needed to be there.”
That’s followed by a series of ‘uh-huh’s and ‘oh, yeses’.
Frustration draws me even closer. Betsy doesn’t notice me inching up on her because she’s circling a pen on a piece of paper.
“I won’t mention that to him,” she half-whispers. “I won’t say a thing about Eden’s husband to Mr. Colt.”