Page 46 of Just Trouble

“They’re probably those who don’t know me very well.”

He turns to face me then, his gaze sharp. “Why did you include the Foreman house in your list?”

Interesting question, and unexpected.

I hide my reaction. “To give Patrick something to eliminate, of course.”

Mr. Bradshaw shakes his head slowly, his gaze fixed upon me, and waits.

Daph comes honestly by her intellect, it seems.

I lean forward, bracing my elbows on my knees. “There are people who are very principled.”

“There are.”

“And those people, sometimes, are underwhelmed by mere money, even if it’s fair compensation offered for a task they will do well.” He lifts a brow and I nod. “If you have wealth, they may think that you throw money around, that cash isn’t important to you. If they’re principled or idealistic, or if you ask them for something that takes a little more, they might appreciate some other form of compensation.” I pause for a beat. “Something they think costs you more than just cash. Something…more interesting.”

He’s watching me and listening.

“And in my experience, what makes such people particularly happy is the chance to have whatever it is that they really want. Even better, they love if you figure it out without them telling you, and you offer their heart’s desire.”

“Instead of just cash.”

“It might cost less than their usual fee, or it might cost more, but the fact that you thought of it gains their support. It makes the exchange more than a contract or an agreement.”

“It creates a bond of understanding,” he says and I nod.

“Exactly. I didn’t expect Daph to be impressed if I paid her fee, whatever it is. I knew for her to really think well of whatever we achieved, she’d want more than a timely payment in full.”

“And what exactly is my daughter’s dream that you intend to facilitate?”

“Her own practice, here in Empire.” He’s not surprised by the suggestion, but I think he’s surprised that I named it. “I was going to give her the title to that building as her compensation, to do with it whatever she wished. I thought she might set up shop on the main floor and rent out the apartment.”

“She has no reason to set up her own practice…”

“So, I’ve heard. She explained it all to me the first day I arrived, how it made sense to be your junior lawyer and waitto inherit the business, but you know, it sounded like she was repeating someone else’s argument instead of making her own.”

He straightens just a little and stares down the road again.

“I was surprised to find her here,” I admit. “Abbie was always telling me that Daph was top of the class all through high school. She said she graduatedsumma cum laudefrom U of T.”

“Top percentile on the bar exam,” he adds with a touch of pride.

“Articling and then working at one of the big firms in the city.” Again, I watch him nod. “On the fast track to a successful future, until some loser broke her heart and she came home to heal.”

Now he looks at me, surprised that I know this.

“But why would she stay here?” I ask when his gaze meets mine.

“She came home…”

“Yes, she came home to heal, and not to see the jerk again, and that’s fair. But after she finds her footing again, what’s going to make her stay?”

He frowns.

“What’s here for Daph? What’s going to challenge her and interest her? She’s not the kind of person who will be happy filling in paperwork forever.”

“She has friends here. She has a house.”

---