Chapter 2 #3
Jeannie is at my desk, holding a stack of files. “Hey, you’re back. David asked me to leave these for you.” She sets them on the corner of my desk. “How was your meeting?” Her gaze immediately snags on my jacket. “What happened to your suit?”
“I got shit on.” I remove the jacket and attempt to hang it on the hook on the back of the door, but Jeannie swipes it from me.
“I’ll take care of it.”
“You don’t have to do that. I’ll drop it at the cleaners after work.”
“Not with your hours, you won’t. No dry cleaner is open twenty-four hours, Charlie.
” She levels me with a flat, unimpressed stare.
While Joel and the other partners laud me for my commitment to the firm, Jeannie thinks I’m wasting my prime on a partner that can’t love me back, or something along those lines.
“Thanks. Tell them not to touch it. It’s from a sugar glider. I have no idea if those things carry any diseases.”
She scrunches her nose as she examines the stain. “I’ll be sure to mention it. Can I get you anything to eat?”
“No, thanks. I’ll eat after the meeting.”
“Door open or closed?”
“Closed, please.”
She smiles. “Meeting starts in three minutes.”
“I know.”
She closes the door, taking the besmirched jacket with her. My phone lights up with a call from LandStar. Shit.
I inhale sharply and pick up the phone. “Hello, Mr. Riggieri.”
“Charles. I hope you have good news for me.”
“She hasn’t agreed to the sale yet, sir, but she will.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“Because this deal is my assignment, and I haven’t once failed to get the job done.”
There’s a pause and then, “That’s what Joel said, which is why I expected better news.”
I want to remind him that I’m a lawyer, not a magician, but I know the joke won’t go over well. Instead I say, “Remind me, Mr. Riggieri. How many times have you made an offer on the property so far?”
His harrumph could give Scrooge a run for his coveted money. “How should I know? Every time I think about what a gold mine that moron is sitting on, it sticks in my craw.”
The blatant disrespect aside, Courtney Abernathy seemed like the opposite of a moron. “Well, the property has been in her family for generations. It holds sentimental value.”
“Like I said—the girl’s an idiot, which she’s proven about five times over by now.”
Five times sounds like harassment to me, but I bite my tongue. I’m already on thin ice with this client and the firm has made it very clear how important LandStar’s business is to them. Riggieri has threatened to walk if we can’t land this deal for him. We lose LandStar and I lose the partnership.
No pressure.
“I expect another update by Friday,” he continues, “and it better involve good news. Monitor everybody. Snap a photo of some kid rinsing off paintbrushes in the camp creek so we can finagle a CERCLA lien against the property. Whatever it takes.”
“On it, sir. We’ll speak again soon.” I hang up before he can blather on. I wish Riggieri were a rare breed, but sadly, he’s interchangeable with many of the firm’s clients who seem to think the world should bow at their feet. Money brings out the worst in certain kinds of people.
I arrive at the meeting with thirty seconds to spare.
As much as I try to focus on the agenda, my mind keeps returning to the Poconos.
Specifically, to the unexpected powerhouse named Courtney Abernathy.
The camp wasn’t at all what I expected. She wasn’t at all what I expected.
It isn’t every day I try to negotiate with someone in short-shorts and a Nerdy By Nature T-shirt.
The image of her long, toned legs flashes in my mind.
There was absolutely nothing nerdy about those.
It takes me another five minutes to immerse myself in the discussion.
The fact that it involves a private equity fund doesn’t help.
The most entertaining aspect involves watching lawyers climb over each other to appear smarter and more important than they actually are.
The only requirement from me was to show up, which I did.
Another whoosh in the basket. Take that, Matt.
When I return to my office, Joel is seated in my chair with his legs propped up on my desk. He hasn’t bothered to move any of the paperwork out from underneath his dirty albeit expensive shoes.
“Hey, Joel.”
He smiles but doesn’t move. “I spoke to Riggieri. He’s foaming at the mouth about this camp. Says if we can’t convince her to sign a contract, then he wants us to find another way.”
I don’t follow. “Another way?”
“Leverage, Thorpe. He wants us to find leverage. Anything we can use to force her hand or take the land outright.”
“I ran a title search and checked with?—”
Joel holds up a hand. “All the official methods have been exhausted. It’s up to you to think outside the box. You can do that, can’t you?”
“Of course,” I say without hesitation.
“You know Lyman also has his eye on the partnership seat.”
“I’m well aware.”
“Between you and me, I’d prefer to have you seated next to me at the table. My wife likes your company. Says you’re polite and not a raging narcissist.”
“That’s ... nice to hear.” Joel’s wife also likes to mention swinging in my presence, but I decide to keep that nugget to myself. I wouldn’t get involved with a married woman, and I certainly wouldn’t get involved with one who bears an uncanny resemblance to my great-aunt Kathleen.
Joel slots his hands together and slides them behind his head. “Talk to me, Thorpe. How can we toss this trophy at Riggieri’s feet?” His gaze had a predatory sheen to it, like a lion dreaming of what he might do to a gazelle.
“Find leverage, like you said.”
“What are you thinking? A private investigator?”
My mouth decides to run faster than my brain. “Better than a P.I. Me.”
He swings his legs off the desk and straightens. “What do you mean?”
“The next two weeks of camp are for adults. I register as an attendee. Sneak around the campground. Find a smoking gun and shoot.”
His smile broadens. “I like the way you think, Thorpe. Dig up some dirt. Maybe a couple skeletons.”
“It’s a two-week program. That gives me plenty of time to find what we need.”
His excitement fades. “She’s already met you though. Think she’ll let you register?”
“I’ll do what I do best.” I flash a smile.
The one that gets me a table at a fully booked restaurant or a date with a beautiful woman who refuses to give my friends the time of day.
“Persuade her.” There’s no way I can register online.
The second Courtney sees my name on the registration form, she’ll no doubt reject it.
My chances are much better if I’m already standing in front of her with a packed bag.
Joel slaps his hands on the desk and stands. “I’ll divide up your current caseload so this can be your sole focus. You’ve got two weeks. Make this happen and the partnership is yours. I don’t care what Lyman brings to the table. LandStar is our top priority.”
“I won’t let you down.”
The moment he leaves, I start to hyperventilate. I pull the knot from my tie and unbutton my collar to get some relief.
What was I thinking? I won’t last two weeks in a place like that. I’ll simply have to find what I need as quickly as possible and jet. No time for s’mores, or whatever they do when they’re trying to recapture the glory of their misspent youth.
Jeannie bolts into my office and shuts the door behind her. “Did I hear you volunteer to attend summer camp for the next two weeks?”
“You heard correctly, which means you were eavesdropping right outside the door.”
She doesn’t look the least bit apologetic. “Are you sure you can do this?”
I chuckle. “I’m pretty sure I can handle canoeing on a lake, Jeannie.”
“I’m not talking about the activities. I’m talking about slithering around the camp like a traitorous snake.”
“LandStar is one of our most important clients.”
“Yes, yes, and if you get them what they want, you get to be partner. I heard Joel.” She rolls her eyes. “It’s impossible not to hear him. He has the confident voice of a mediocre white man.”
“A promotion is good, Jeannie. It’s what we want.”
“As much as I appreciate that you said ‘we,’ you know perfectly well they won’t promote me with you. You’ll share Cindy with Joel, and I’ll get some green-eared junior associate who doesn’t know how to wipe his nose without being handed a tissue.”
She’s right, at least about not promoting Jeannie with me. “You know I’ll go to bat for you.”
She offers an indulgent smile that would seem condescending on anyone else. “You’re a good guy, Charlie. Better than this firm deserves. I wish you could see that.”
“This is Melvin, O’Reilly, and Gaines. There’s no better firm in the city.” I nod at the files on my desk. “Can you please make sure these files get to where they need to go? Joel said he’ll divvy up the work while I’m gone, but you know how easily distracted he gets.”
“I’ll take care of it, Charlie. You don’t need to worry about a thing while you’re gone.” Is it my imagination or does she sound almost sad about it?
“Thanks, Jeannie. You’re the best.”
“That’s why they pay me an insufficient amount to compensate me for the amount of bullshit I put up with.” She starts to sort through the files. “Keep me updated. I want to hear all the camp gossip. Doesn’t matter that they’re strangers. I’m invested.”
“I’ll do what I can to keep you entertained.” I wait until she leaves to let the reality of my situation sink in. A single thought plays on a loop in my head—what have I gotten myself into?