Page 123 of Dial L for Lawyer
I'm on the edge of some kind of breakdown—giddy, weightless, terrifying. I don't want to go home or make decisions. I want to disappear with him. I want to order too many pancakes and eat them with my fingers. I want to hide in his bed forever.
His town car appears. The driver starts to get out but Caleb waves him off, opening my door himself.
"Where to, Mr. Kingsley?" the driver asks once we're settled.
"Murphy's Diner on Lake," Caleb says. "The one with the terrible coffee and excellent pancakes."
"Sir?"
"You heard me."
The driver's confused but pulls into traffic without comment.
Murphy's Diner looks like it hasn't been updated since 1987. Cracked vinyl booths, checkered floors that have seen better decades, and the smell of bacon grease and broken dreams. Perfect.
Our waitress, Dolores, has opinions about everything.
"Irish coffee?" she asks, eyeing my suit. "Rough morning?"
"You have no idea," I tell her.
"Make it two," Caleb adds. "And your biggest stack of pancakes."
"To share?"
"God no," I say. "Two stacks. Extra syrup. Bacon on the side."
Dolores grins. "I like her," she tells Caleb before wandering off.
We sit in comfortable silence until the Irish coffees arrive. The whiskey burn perfect against sweet cream. Something inside me finally unclenches.
"Talk to me," Caleb says quietly, his foot finding mine under the table.
"I don't know where to start."
"Anywhere."
I rub my thumb against the side of my mug. "It was just so strange. Seeing her like that. Maya. I walked in there wanting to bury her. But when I looked at her, it was like she was a kid caught stealing, not someone who destroyed my life."
"She made her choices."
"I know. But I trained her. Saw her potential..." I trail off. "I need to understand why. Really why. Not lawyer spin. Thetruth." Because if I don’t, she’ll keep living rent-free in my head. Every rumor, every whisper, every doubt I ever had about myself will still have her fingerprints on it.
"You want to talk to her."
"Is that stupid?"
"No." He takes my hand across the sticky table. "It's human."
"Her lawyer won't?—"
"I can arrange it," Caleb says simply.
"How?"
"I know people. If you want to see Maya, I'll make it happen."
"You'd do that?"
