Chapter Seventeen
“I’ve got the Peterson motion ready to go,” Michael said as he entered Steven’s office without knocking.
Ignoring his first instinct to chastise the newest employee, Steven gestured for him to take a seat. At that moment, the important thing wasn’t manners, it was meeting deadlines.
Sure enough, the document was sitting in Steven’s email. He clicked to download it and started skimming through. The arguments were sound, and the case law Michael had found seemed appropriate. Steven frowned. Michael’s citations could use some work, but that was something Sandra, their resident Blue Book expert, could handle.
“How’s the Harris pleading coming?” he asked.
Michael sighed. “Not great. I’m having a hard time coming up with relevant case law. I’ve found some persuasive cases in other jurisdictions but nothing that sets precedent here.”
Steven looked up from his computer. “Have you asked Sandra for help?”
“I have, and she’s not had much luck either.”
“Hmm.” Steven rubbed his chin. “What do the persuasive cases say?”
After fumbling through the stack of papers he held, Michael set a pile on Steven’s desk. “That the hospital’s medical negligence doesn’t preclude the state’s liability since Mrs. Harris fell in their building.”
“And there’s no Maryland case law backing that up?”
“I mean, there are other slip-and-fall cases, but the facts are distinguishable from our case. For instance, in one case Sandra found, the victim of the slip-and-fall had worn inappropriate footwear, and the court found them comparatively negligent. In another, the company admitted they had just mopped the floor but argued they had put up appropriate signage that the victim ignored.”
“That’s frustrating.” Steven ran a hand through his hair. They were running out of time to file the pleading, but he held out hope of finding some obscure case that aligned closely enough to theirs to bolster their argument. “Keep looking. And double-check the cases you’ve found. Maybe there’s something in there that can help us persuade the jury.”
“No problem, boss.” Michael stood and left the room.
Once he was alone, Steven put his head in his hands. Going up against a government agency was starting to feel like a fool’s errand, but he wanted to get justice for his client. Mrs. Harris was a sweet, grandmotherly type who had tripped on a rug at a state building and fallen down a flight of stairs. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the hospital had somehow missed a fracture on her left shoulder, which had caused her pain for days. His firm had sued the hospital as well on her behalf, but since the initial incident had occurred at the state building, he’d had no choice but to go after them too.
Just thinking over the situation caused his heart to beat erratically. Taking a few slow, deep breaths helped, but if Rose walked in at that moment, she would likely murder him on the spot. With good reason. He knew he needed to take it easy, but a lot was weighing on him. Once the Harris pleading and the Peterson motion were filed, he promised himself, he would take an afternoon off to rest.
Steven turned back to the will he’d been working on. Sometimes being a small-town attorney wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. It required a lot more work than he’d realized. He would get familiar with one set of statutes and regulations, find case law to back up his arguments, then pivot to learn something completely new for a different client.
But he wouldn’t trade it for the world because the end reward was worth the sacrifice. Once he’d built his practice, he and Rose would be set for a comfortable life. She might even be able to quit nursing if she wanted, though he would leave that choice to her. Either way, she and their future children would be well cared for.
“Knock, knock,” Lanie said from his door. The scent of fast food wafted into his office. “I come bearing sustenance.”
“You didn’t have to do that.” He moved some of the folders from his desk to make space. “I planned to order in.”
“In a way, you did.” Her hazel eyes danced with amusement. “And don’t worry, my delivery fee is reasonable.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Why do I have a feeling you’re about to ask me for a favor?”
“Because you know me so well.” She smiled. “But first, you need to fuel up if you have any hope of making headway on that document you’re writing.”
The delicious scent of fries grew as he removed the food from the bag. But Lanie took the burger and fries from him, replacing them with a much less appetizing salad. She handed him a small soda before slipping into the chair opposite him.
He took a sip and grimaced. “Diet? Really?”
“You can’t expect me to spoil your well-regimented diet all the time.” Her lips pushed out in an unconvincing pout. “Rose would have my head.”
As much as he hated to admit it, she had a point. If he was honest, he would rather eat rabbit food than try to figure out how to reduce his stress level at work. Still, he hated diet soda and much preferred water or lemonade.
“You need the caffeine,” Lanie said, reading his mind. “I can’t justify a coffee this late in the afternoon, but a soda is doable.”
“Are you sticking around?”
She nodded. “I figured you could use some help with the research.”
The tomato he’d taken a bite of turned to ash in his mouth. “I’m not sure you’ll have more luck than Sandra or Michael. They’ve hit a dead end.”
“Ah, ye of little faith.”
He eyed her over his food. “What do you have in mind?”
Instead of responding, she gave him a mysterious smile as she popped a fry into her mouth. He hoped whatever she had up her sleeve would help him, though he doubted it would be enough.
After they finished their meal, Lanie gathered the wrappers and empty containers and tossed them into the bin. Since she didn’t have an office, she set up her computer on the other side of Steven’s desk. He considered telling her to go to the conference room but found her presence oddly comforting. It meant a lot that she was willing to devote her summer vacation to helping him.
“So, what’s the favor?” he asked, figuring he’d better get that conversation over with or he would never be able to concentrate.
At first, she didn’t respond, and he wondered whether she’d heard him. He was about to ask her again when she looked up from her computer.
“Nate and I are starting to work with vendors, and some of them have sent contracts. Between Mom’s estate and helping here, I’ve taken a crash course in learning the law, but I’m still not quite up to speed on the legal lingo.” She took a deep breath. “So I was hoping you’d take a look.”
“Of course I’ll review your contracts.” He gestured to her computer. “You’ve been a huge help the last few weeks. It is, quite literally, the least I can do.”
“Thanks,” she said, visibly relaxing.
He cocked his head. “Why would you think I wouldn’t do it?”
“It’s not that I think you wouldn’t. It’s more I was afraid you couldn’t.” She waved a hand around his office. “With everything going on, I didn’t want to add to your stress load.”
He scoffed. “Of all the things that I’m juggling, contract review is probably the easiest to accomplish.” Leaning back in his chair, he smirked. “Though it’s probably the most boring aspect of law.”
“Hopefully they won’t put you to sleep.” She started typing again on her computer. “I can bring the contracts over this evening, if that’s okay.”
“Sure, whenever you’re ready. It shouldn’t take me long to look over everything and share any concerns, but in my experience, wedding vendors have rather generic contracts just to cover their butts.”
“That’s good.”
“So…” he began. “Does that mean you’ve picked a date?”
“We have.” She kept her eyes on the screen, as if she thought that by not looking at him, he would drop the subject. Surely she knew him better than that.
“And?”
She sighed. “We’re planning for November fourth.”
He nodded then froze. “Wait…” It was like someone had kicked him in the stomach. “You’re getting married on Mom’s birthday?”
Her teeth worried her lower lip as she gave a stiff nod. “We want to get married in the fall, when there are still leaves on the trees. But October was too soon, and—”
“That’s insane,” he said, heat rising in his chest. Raking his fingers through his hair, he moved from behind his desk. “And you didn’t think to discuss this with me before you made a decision?”
Her eyes widened. “I thought it might be nice to have another reason to celebrate that day.”
For a moment, they stared at each other. He opened and closed his mouth as a million thoughts raced through his mind. Last year, he’d visited their mother’s grave alone to mark the day. Lanie was in Seattle, finishing school, and Dad had refused to join him. Rose had come to see him after her shift. She’d asked him to wait for her before visiting the cemetery, but part of him had preferred to visit his mother alone.
It had been one of the hardest days since he’d lost her. As they approached July, another hard day was arriving soon—the first anniversary of her death. Lanie’s timing in telling him the date she’d chosen couldn’t have been worse.
“Find another day,” he spat out through clenched teeth.
Her mouth fell open. “What?”
“Choose any day, any other day but that one.” He pushed his chair around his desk and glared at her. “I will literally help you find a venue and vendors who can accommodate an October date, if you’re insistent on having it fall themed, but choose a different day.”
She stared at him. “Why are you being like this?”
He wheeled his chair back and forth, refusing to meet her eyes. “Do you have any idea what the last year was like for me? You were on the other side of the country, barely answering my calls, and Dad was too afraid of his own grief to even share the burden with me. The only one who was here for me that day was Rose, and she had to work for most of it.”
“But don’t you see?” She closed her laptop and stood. “This year will be different. And instead of being sad, we can celebrate, together.”
“No.” His tone was harsh, but he no longer cared.
Her eyes filled with tears, and before he could say anything, she grabbed her things and rushed from the room. The anger that had welled up in him dissipated.
“Wait, Lanie. You don’t have to—”
But she didn’t stop or turn to hear what he had to say. Instead, she ran through the lobby and out the front door, leaving Leslie staring after her.
A lump formed in his throat. He wanted to go after her, but he would never catch her in his chair. Besides, what would he say? He might have been harsh, but he believed she needed to hear it.
How could she think I’d be okay with the idea of making our mother’s birthday into anything else? Doesn’t she understand that there are two days that will always be dark for me, for both of us?
The one saving grace was that even November was probably too soon to plan a wedding. Maybe he could convince her to wait until next autumn. Their mother’s birthday wouldn’t fall on a weekend, and he could live with his sister getting married a day or two before it so long as the day itself remained sacred.
It took effort, but Steven pushed the scene with Lanie from his mind. He finished filling in the template for the will he was working on, adding the various items the client wished to bequeath. Mr. Rochester had quite the estate, and Steven couldn’t help wondering why his client had left it all to chance for so long. The man had to be pushing eighty, and most of Steven’s estate clients began the planning in their forties.
Perhaps Mr. Rochester thought he would be the exception to other humans and could beat death. Maybe he saw himself as some Dorian Gray character. Though if that’s the case, what caused him to finally take care of it now? Steven didn’t know, but he was glad for the business.
He saved his changes and closed the file. Mr. Rochester wasn’t expecting an updated version for a few days, and Steven liked to let the draft marinate before he went in to edit and finalize it. But it probably wouldn’t take many more iterations. During their meetings, Mr. Rochester had been very specific about what he wanted. His questionnaire response was the only one Steven had had to alter because it went over the maximum character count.
With a sigh, Steven stretched before making his way to Michael’s office. That neither Michael nor Sandra had interrupted him that afternoon had caught him off guard. When he entered the lobby, he heard whispers coming from Sandra’s room.
“Is everything all right in here?” he asked, not bothering to knock.
Sandra and Michael exchanged glances, and Steven crossed his arms. His gaze vacillated between the two.
“Lanie had a breakthrough in the research,” Michael said.
Sandra shot Steven a look. Clearly, she was aware of his fight with his sister. He would deal with that later.
“That’s good news,” Steven replied, waiting for them to elaborate. “Isn’t it?”
“It is.” Michael turned the screen of Sandra’s computer and pointed. “I mean, it’s an old case, but we couldn’t find anything that supersedes it.”
Steven nodded. “More recent is always preferable, but I’ll take what I can get. What are the facts?”
Michael summarized the case, and Steven smiled at how closely it resembled the Harris case. The incident at the center of the lawsuit had occurred at a government building. A coffee had spilled at a stand near a staircase. While the spill had been mopped up, the janitor failed to put up a sign. The victim had slipped on the wet spot and tumbled down the stairs.
“I had actually seen this case myself,” Michael admitted. “But since the victim was an employee and not a member of the public, I thought it was distinguishable. However, the attorneys representing the plaintiff took multiple approaches to ensure victory. They went after workman’s comp but also pointed out the danger to the public, including the testimony of a witness.”
“What did the witness say that was so interesting?” Steven asked.
Sandra’s eyes lit up. “It’s not what they said but what happened to them.”
He frowned, squinting at the screen. “I’m not sure I understand.”
Sandra scrolled down and pointed. “The witness was almost a victim too. They slipped on the same area but managed to avoid a similar fate by grabbing onto the handrail before they tumbled.”
“And the witness wasn’t an employee,” Michael added.
“Interesting.” Steven studied the screen. “Send this to me. I’d like to take a closer look, but in the meantime, feel free to start plugging in the relevant facts to your pleading.”
“Sure thing, boss.” Michael gathered his papers and headed to his office, though he stopped at the door. “I’ll get the pleading to you ASAP as well.”
“Sounds good, thanks.”
Once they were alone, Sandra leaned back in her chair with a frown. “I heard your argument with Lanie.”
He bristled. “I don’t want to discuss it.”
“So you don’t want me to tell you I agree with you?”
That caught his attention, and he raised his eyebrows. “You do?”
She sighed. “Your sister means well, but she’s not thinking this through. It’s like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. She’s trying to change the entire meaning of the day, but it’s not going to cover the significance to all of you, herself included.”
“Should I try to talk her out of it?”
She snorted. “Not if you’re going to scream at her, no. But maybe allow someone with a softer hand, someone who has reached Lanie before when no one else could.”
Steven scrunched up his face. “You mean Nate?”
Sandra stared at the ceiling in the way she always did when he was being especially obtuse. “I’m referring to Rose.”
Right. “I’ll talk to her, but she’s got a lot on her mind right now.”
“With the wedding?”
“And the fundraiser.”
Sandra’s eyebrows shot up. “A fundraiser? For what?”
Steven ran a hand through his hair and dropped his gaze. “Um, me? Well, and the wedding. I was supposed to help Rose pay off the final balances to our vendors, but after all the work I missed while I was in the hospital, my finances are dismal at best.”
Sandra stood and crossed the room before laying a hand on his arm. “You should have told me. I’d do anything to help the two of you.”
“I know,” he mumbled, shifting away. “But it’s embarrassing.”
Her head tilted. “Because of the money?”
“I should be able to support us on my own, but failing that, I should at the very least be able to pay for a wedding.”
“Hey.” Sandra squatted so they were at eye level. “You’ve been through a lot. And I can only imagine how the medical bills are piling up. It’s okay to ask for help.” She smiled. “I planned to pay for my own wedding, but we ended up accepting some assistance from my family. They thought it was the least they could do since both my parents died.”
Steven gave a weak smile. “Thanks, Sandra. That means a lot.”
“So, this fundraiser…” She raised an eyebrow. “When is it?”
He shrugged. “July twenty-second. Lanie and Trudy are planning it. Er… Lanie was. I’m not sure if she’ll do it now.”
“She’ll do it. And I’ll help her.”
“You don’t have to—”
Sandra held up a hand. “I want to.” Leaning against the wall, she peered out the door toward his office. “Did you finish the will?”
He nodded. “I want to go through it again before I send this version to Mr. Rochester, but I’ve included his latest additions.”
“That man has more money than God.”
Steven laughed. “Or at least, more money than he knows what to do with.”
Her eyes took on a mischievous gleam. “Make sure you send him the latest version before the fundraiser.”
His eyebrows pulled together. “Why?”
“Because he’ll probably be a lot more eager to donate if you’ve finished the job he hired you to do.”