Page 19 of Hustle

“It’s going to take some time,” she warns, sounding less than happy. I slip her a copy of the request forms, already filled out in triplicate, and she motions to the waiting area before adding, “I’m not sure all the files for this address have been digitized, Seamus. But let me see what I can do.”

Pulling out a chair for Evi, I adjust my tie and look at my watch again. 11:25. There’s no chance of me making my 12:00 p.m., so I pull out my phone to text my assistant and ask her to change it to a dinner meeting. Next to me, Evi shifts in her seat restlessly.

“So is this lady in Stacy’s pocket or what?”

My eyes go wide, my nostrils flare. She’s not speaking loud enough for Peggy to hear, but still, it’s not a savvy move to be talking so openly in city hall.

Dropping my voice as low as possible, I answer. “Look, I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think so. Pretty reliable sources say she’s clean. But this isn’t the time or place for this. Let’s talk later.” Or as clean as you can be in a political role in this city.

Evi is shaking her foot, and I’m unable to take my eyes away. She’s got great legs, but I absolutely hate fidgeting. It’s leaving me almost unable to focus on anything else.

No one that can so completely command my attention, distract me at a twitch of an ankle, should be part of my everyday life. It’s a recipe for disaster.

Evi stretches, looks at her nails, and then pulls lip gloss out of her bag and swipes on a fresh layer. She notices me watching her but doesn’t react.

“What else can we do?”

I flash back to her words on the Carneys. Just because I don’t come in swinging my fists doesn’t mean that I’m not a man of action. It rankles me more than I care to admit that this is how she views the world.

How she views me.

It’s always struck me that Evi is the kind of woman who can appreciate a nuanced kind of power. Raising my chin, I meet her eyes and am ready to snap back but she’s scanning her phone.

“Where do they keep the non-digital records? Basement?”

I shake my head. “No such luck. Secondary storage. If it’s not there, we’ll have to put in a request. I’ll pay the rush fee, but it will likely take a couple of days.”

“Fuck.” Indeed. Wasting time that we don’t really have.

Wanting to make the situation better, I add, “There’s a good chance the files are here. With everything going on around our neighborhood, it’s a possible that there are copies in the mayor’s office and the planning office at least.”

Evi bristles. “When I met with the mayor, his creep of a son was there and hit on me. That was about as far as I got.”

Fury slams through me, and an urge to hurt Brooks Stacy – who used to date my brother’s girlfriend, Ava, and was a real shitbag – overcomes me. I’m beginning to regret not letting Connor toss him in the harbor like so much tea.

Before I can respond, some emotion sweeps over Evi’s face.

I can’t tell if she’s going to do something rash, or if her body is just so alive with energy she just can’t sit still any more. A short walk, a trip to the bathroom, or to grab a bottle of water from the vending machine.

She’s a fidgeter. I get it. I’ve just trained myself to never fidget; it gives too much away to the opposing counsel.

“Bathrooms?” she asks, but her wide gray eyes are holding mine steadily. She presses her legs together and it takes everything in me to keep my composure.

Am I just overthinking this?

Sometimes things really are straightforward, I guess. Maybe I should stop second-guessing everything she says.

I look at her for a long minute, and then give her directions. Watching her retreating form, I feel something like regret. It’s not just that I want to make this right for Evi and know that it’s going to be hard, maybe even impossible, to do. I miss the easy camaraderie we used to have.

Even though it’s been almost fifteen years since I would have called her my best friend, I’ve never found that with anyone else, except my brothers – sometimes.

Ten minutes later, Peggy comes back and says she’ll need to file a request. But she promises she’ll call my office as soon as she can get a copy of the files.

Standing, I look around. Still no Evi. Pulling out my phone, I see a missed text flash, and then notice a security guard moving quickly up the stairs just beyond the glass doors.

“Seamus, meet me outside. I’ll be over by Sam’s Café.” Sam’s Café is a good five blocks away. My stomach drops.

Shit, Evi, what did you do?

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