Chapter 9
NINE
WORTH THE WAIT
Beckett
Sitting in the conference room, I tapped the tabletop with my pen and stared out the floor-to- ceiling windows to my right.
Right next to our building, where we occupied the seventeenth floor, was the oldest church in the city, and from our conference room window, you could see the top of the steeple.
So lost in thought, I didn’t hear the door open or Natalie and my brother walk in. It wasn’t until they sat down across from me and Andrew cleared his throat loudly. I startled, and my pen dropped to the table.
“Hey, bro,” he said with a smile, and I rolled my eyes. Andrew was my little brother and my best friend, but he also annoyed the crap out of me. What else were little brothers for?
He was in town from Chicago, where he was opening another Crawford Law office. We met up every once in a while to discuss the business, progress, and any improvements we needed to make. From St. Louis to Chicago, it wasn’t a long plane ride, anyway.
Andrew was thirty-five, almost five years younger than me, and was excited to strike out on his own.
And I wasn’t surprised by his success. If anyone could make it happen, it was him.
But I was still his big brother—and technically his boss—so I had a responsibility to look out for him and provide guidance, if necessary.
“You okay?” Natalie asked as she opened her laptop. She looked at me over the screen with a curious lift of her dark brows.
I was about to apologize and get the meeting started when Andrew chuckled. “Nope, he’s not. He’s apparently fucking smitten with someone.”
“What—” I stuttered out. “What are you talking about?”
His shit-eating grin grated my nerves. I hadn’t said anything, so I wasn’t sure how he would have known—
“Aunt Michelle,” we both said at the same time, and I sighed as he laughed.
“Yes, you aren’t the only one that talks to her regularly. I called to find out how the move went, and she told me all about the woman who works at her new place and how she thinks it’s the same woman you met at the club opening.”
Natalie whipped her head in my direction and gaped. “You mean at Abditory?”
Oh my god, I was going to kill him. And then stop telling my aunt any details of my personal life.
“We’re supposed to be having a business meeting. My personal business was not on the agenda.”
“Now, it is,” Andrew quipped. “Aunt M said the woman is like half your age, too.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Natalie’s jaw drop as I dropped my head back and groaned at the ceiling.
“Come on, Beckett. You’ve gotta give me something. Is she really that young?”
I looked back down and found Andrew leaned back in his seat, mischievous grin still in place as he swiveled back and forth. Unfortunately, I knew how this went—I would have to give up some information if I wanted to move on.
“She’s not half my age; she’s twenty-three. And yes, we met at Abditory. Turns out she’s also the event coordinator at Lake Hills, where Aunt M is now living. She helped us move in.”
“What a small world,” Natalie murmured.
“So, you slept together, right?”
“Andrew,” I chastised. “Seriously?”
“What? It was the opening of a sex club. It’s a valid question.”
Natalie caught me looking over at her, but she shook her head. “If you’re worried about me, don’t,” Natalie clarified, busy typing on her computer with her head down. “I’ve heard much worse in this office, trust me.”
Even with her approval, I stayed silent, staring at my brother in challenge. Across the table, he held my stare for a moment before he nodded, and we moved on.
“I need to hire at least two more labor and employment attorneys,” he said, and I gritted my teeth, knowing the numbers would be tight.
“Don’t make that face, Beckett. We have more work coming in than we can manage, and I have a few clients on the horizon that are ready to retain us.
It’s an investment we should make. It’ll pay off. ”
“We can swing one associate, find someone pretty green, and someone more senior. We’re not looking for any new partners right now.”
Andrew nodded and jotted down a few notes. “There’s Mr. Fix-it.”
I rolled my eyes at the nickname. I liked finding solutions. Sue me.
“I’ll get with HR to post two new job listings,” Natalie added.
“Just send me any specific qualifications you want, Andrew. Or other requirements.” The rest of the meeting went smoothly.
Business was booming, our offices ever-expanding, and although we knew it wouldn’t be anytime soon, I think Andrew and I were hungry enough to open a third office.
We liked helping smaller companies and individuals with all their business and immigration needs. Law was big business, but we managed to keep our prices fair while not sacrificing expertise or the service provided.
Almost an hour later, we were wrapping up when I could tell Andrew had something else to say but was struggling to do so. It wasn’t often he grappled for what to say, so I was instantly on alert.
“What?” I prompted bluntly, and his eyes shot to mine.
He sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I didn’t want to tell you until I had more concrete information, but a new member of our accounting team came to me earlier in the week. She’s under the impression that there may be missing money.”
My hands dropped loudly onto the keyboard of my laptop, and panic ripped through me.
“What do you mean?” Natalie asked for the both of us.
Andrew cleared his throat and pressed his elbows onto the table in front of him.
“Like I said, I don’t have all the info yet, but she said she believes someone’s taking money from our client trust account.
I’m supposed to meet with her Monday to go over what she’s found.
From there, we’ll probably need to hire a forensic accountant or something. ”
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” I muttered, dropping my head into my hands. As much as I wanted to spiral and let the anger take hold, this was my business now. Everyone reported to me and depended on me for their livelihood. I couldn’t freak out. “Do we know about how much?”
I looked up to watch Andrew shake his head. “Not yet.”
“Okay, okay,” I said quietly, hoping to buy myself a few seconds to wrap my head around this. “Keep me in the loop on what she’s found. But this information, even a whiff of the possibility that there might be something missing, doesn’t leave this room otherwise.”
“You don’t want to loop in the rest of the accounting department? Rachel or Bill?”
Our Chief Financial Officer and Controller were the heads of that department, and unfortunately, both likely suspects.
“The smaller the circle, the better.”
Andrew nodded in understanding, and there wasn’t much else to say. It was a horrible way to end a rather fruitful meeting, but we started packing up.
I closed my laptop and waved to Natalie, who headed back to her office.
“I have to meet a client for lunch, but I’ll be back later. Want to grab dinner this evening? Maybe invite Aunt Michelle?” Andrew asked.
Fuck, my mind was a mess and probably would be until we figured out what the hell was going on. But that didn’t mean that life stopped moving. “Yeah, let’s do that. I’m sure she’d love to see you.”
“And you can see if your chick is working,” he said with a wink.
Rolling my eyes, I glanced down at my phone, shoving everything else aside, and contemplated my next move. I had her number, which I’d found easily enough now that I knew her name, but I didn’t know how to move forward.
“I know I’m giving you shit,” Andrew continued, stepping back into the room and closing the door behind him. “But I’m happy you found someone. I know you haven’t had the best luck recently.”
Recently, as in the past decade. I’d dated some, but I’d also been engaged once, in my late twenties.
Georgia was a beautiful, smart, driven attorney with lofty goals and a kind heart.
But she’d called off the engagement and taken a job overseas.
She’d told me one morning that she just couldn’t fathom a life with me—it wasn’t how she imagined her future, and she was leaving.
I think she was still working in London, but I’d stopped keeping up with her.
I knew she was married and had two kids. The little I did see on social media made it seem like she was happy, and I hoped that was true. But since then, I hadn’t gotten close to another engagement. I’d had long-term girlfriends, but nothing that lasted too long.
So recently wasn’t all that recent.
“I appreciate that,” I said with a sigh. “Just not sure…never mind.”
“Oh, no. Not never mind.” Andrew sounded excited as he eagerly took the seat next to me. “I’d love to give you some advice, big bro. Let me help.”
Andrew was reasonable and level-headed, so his advice was often helpful. But he was also a ladies’ man. He flirted and fucked and loved every moment of it. Settling down wasn’t on his mind like it was on mine. I’d retired from that part of life he was still whole-heartedly enjoying.
“I’m too old for this shit,” I muttered, and he slapped me on the shoulder.
“I’ve heard your forties are your prime, so you have an entire decade to experience something even better. So, seriously, lay it on me.”
I might live to regret it, but I told him. From beginning to end, leaving out a few key details I wanted to keep just between Addison and me, I gave him the rundown of the past few weeks.
Eyes wide, he leaned back in his chair and scrubbed a hand over his mouth. “Well, fuck. That’s a lot. So, now what? Have you reached out again?”
“Not yet. I just got her number, and I’m trying to decide how to contact her.”
With raised brows, he shook his head. I dropped my head into my hands and braced my elbows on the table in front of me.
“You are way overcomplicating this. All you have to do is text her and say ‘hi.’ Leave it at that and see where it goes. You must really like this chick, man. My usually confident older brother is wavering. I’ve never seen you overthink something like this before. Not since Georgia…well, left.”
I groaned and finally spoke the thoughts I’d been too nervous to even think. “She’s seventeen years younger than me. That age difference…it’s not nothing. Maybe that’s too much for her.”
“I don’t think so,” he said, so confident that it was like he’d confirmed it with Addison herself. “She knew how old you were at Abditory, or at least thereabouts. And if she didn’t completely brush you off in her office, I don’t think that’s going to be the issue for her.”
“So, I should text her?”
Andrew chuckled and stood, slapping a hand on my shoulder and motioning to my phone lying in front of me. “Yeah, you should. Let me know how it goes later.”
He closed the door behind him, and I was left alone at the twenty-person table. A wall of windows in front of me looking out to our lobby, I grabbed my phone and leaned back in my seat.
Me: Hi, Bubbles
Before I could second-guess my message, I sent it and stared at the screen until I saw she’d read it. Then I watched as the text bubble popped up and disappeared several times.
Bubbles: I should be more surprised you found my number.
Me: I spent weeks trying to find you. Thankfully, finding your number wasn’t as difficult.
Bubbles: I applaud your dedication.
I felt like a fucking idiot smiling at my phone screen, but I couldn’t help it.
It was the middle of the day, so I imagined her sitting at her desk, wearing another pink dress and her matching hair curled perfectly as she texted me back.
She was probably chewing on her lower lip and fighting with herself on whether she wanted to respond.
Me: I’m very dedicated. Which means I’m not giving up on that date.
Bubbles: You might be waiting a while.
Me: No problem. You’re worth the wait, baby girl.