Think Twice

Hans lifted an index finger, silencing him. “How unconventional, Be

“You can buy a restraining order from any of us, but they’re expensive. Generally, a law firm has to drop everything, conduct discovery, and draft papers on the double. Yours would require two lawyers, full-time, for the next three weeks, through the preliminary hearing. It all adds up. The other firms were talking seventy-five to eighty grand for next month, correct?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll do it free. Free,” Alice repeated, when she saw Hans’s eyes widen.

“Why would you do that? What’s the deal?”

“If you’re satisfied with the job we do, then you let us represent you for the next year, on all litigation matters. If you don’t like our work, you walk away.”

“That’s quite a risk.”

“No, it isn’t. We’re the best lawyers in town.” Alice looked over at an astonished Mary. “Right, partner?”

“Right!”

“So what do you say, Hans?” Alice felt a little charge. She wouldn’t be around to pay this debt anyway, and an admiring smile was spreading across the CEO’s face.

“I didn’t expect this, I must say.” Hans stroked his mustache. “You think long-term. You have confidence in your team. I heard you were unorthodox.”

“You heard right. Do we have a deal?” Alice extended her hand, and Hans shook it.

“Done,” he answered, nodding.

“Wonderful.” Alice gestured to Mary. “I should have mentioned that Mary here has just become my new partner, and she’d be more than happy to field any technical questions you may have.”

Mary looked surprised but recovered with a game smile. “I sure would, gentlemen. Any questions?”

After the meeting, Alice led them out to reception, said good-bye to Hans and the others, and had Mary pack them into the elevator while she went back to her office. She saw that Grady wasn’t in his, so maybe he’d gone to the bathroom, which gave her an opening. She hustled into Be

“Marla, it’s Be

“Yes, it’s all sent, as were the sca

“Excellent.”

“By the way, Alice called me earlier but I refused to discuss anything with her, as per our agreement.”

Damn! “Why didn’t you call and tell me?”

“I did. I spoke with Marshall, but she said you were in a meeting.”

“Oh, sorry.” Alice thought a minute. So Be

“Be

“Thanks.” Alice logged on to her email, skimming the boldfaced names until she found one from USABank. “I see, okay. Thanks. Gotta go.”

Chapter Seventy-three

Mary entered the coffee room, where Grady and Judy were standing in front of the Bu

“How’d Rexco go?” she asked. “Apart from the food, which rocks.”

“Amazing. We got ‘em.”

“How?” Judy asked, and Grady leaned against the granite counter with a Styrofoam cup of coffee while Mary told them the story. By the time she was finished, Grady looked charmed, but Judy’s smile flattened.

Mary felt tense all over again. “I think doing it free was a great idea, don’t you, Grady?”

“Brilliant.” He gri

“Sure is.” Mary felt like he was a kindred spirit. “She’s not afraid to take a risk, either. The client loved her, you could tell.”

“I’m sure.” Grady smiled, sipping coffee. “Do I have to give him a beatdown?”

“No.” Mary laughed, if only to cover Judy’s silence, which Grady didn’t seem to notice.

“I’m glad we got some good news, after that debacle with Alice. Marshall said the clients have been calling all afternoon. Reporters, too.”

“Any word on if the cops got Alice yet?”

“None.”

“Too bad,” Mary said, and Judy seemed to come to life, looking over at Grady.

“Was Be

Grady blinked. “Sure she was. Couldn’t you tell?”

“Not really, but I don’t know her as well as you do.”

“She seemed upset to me.”

“She didn’t to me, and she didn’t seem that upset over Bear, either. Was she?” Judy kept her tone light, but Mary knew she was pumping him.

Grady shook it off. “She’s not the type to bleed all over, or in front of you guys. At home, she was a basket case. She cried her eyes out.”

Mary glanced over at Judy, not bothering to hide her triumph. “Be

Judy didn’t appear to be listening, wiping her sticky fingers on a napkin. “Grady, let me ask you a hypothetical. Is it possible that the woman who made a scene on the sidewalk really was Be

“Pardon?”

Mary felt stricken. “Grady, she’s just kidding.”

“No, I’m not,” Judy shot back, and both women flanked Grady, catching him in the crossfire. “Think about it, Grady. What if we’ve mixed them up? Fiorella thought we had.”

“Fiorella?” Grady set down his cup. “That crazy lady? What does she have to do with anything?”

Judy waved him off. “Forget Fiorella, she’s not the point. What if that woman out there really was Be

Grady looked from Judy to Mary and back again, astonished. “Are you serious?”

“Yes,” Judy answered.

“No,” Mary answered, at the same time.

“That’s impossible.” Grady looked nonplussed, his forehead creased, and his eyes were vaguely pained behind his glasses. “Of course it’s Be

“How do you know?”

“I know my own girlfriend.”

“Would you?” Judy lifted an eyebrow under her maraschino bangs. “You haven’t seen her in a while. Does she seem different to you, in any way?”

“Judy!” Mary said. “You’re being so inappropriate.”

Judy touched Grady’s arm. “Prove me wrong. Give her a test. Think of something that only you and Be

“You mean this, don’t you?” Grady released his arm, obviously uncomfortable. “That’s a very strange notion you have there. Is your hair dye sinking into your brain?”

Mary felt as if she didn’t even know Judy anymore. “He’s right, stop it.”

Judy’s head snapped around. “Mary, did you just tell me to ‘stop it’? I thought we were friends.”

“We are.”

“Then why are you ordering me around?”

“You’re being disloyal and unkind, and I want you to cut it out.”

“What if I don’t?” Judy’s blue eyes hardened like ice. “What are you going to do about it? Are you going to fire me?”

“Of course not.”

Grady interjected, “Ladies, stop. Please, don’t fight-”

Ignoring him, Judy asked, “How about telling Be

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t?” Judy frowned, raising her voice. “If you’re my friend, you wouldn’t tell. But now that you’re a partner, maybe you would. Choose, Mare. Who are you? Friend or partner?”

“I don’t have to choose.”