Page 24 of Dial L for Lawyer
"He doesn't seem afraid of much."
"Oh, he's frightened of plenty. He just hides it well." She lifts her glass. "To professional liars and the women who drink with them."
We talk for another hour—April masterfully extracting information while making it feel like girl talk. When the wind picks up, a staffer appears with cashmere wraps. The fabric is so soft I spend five minutes just touching it, trying not to look like I've never owned anything this expensive.
When the sun drops low, painting everything gold and orange, I hear Leonard's voice carrying across the deck. Caleb emerges from below, having clearly just negotiated something worth more than I'll make in a lifetime. He climbs the stairs with that unconscious confidence, his jacket refusing to wrinkle even in the wind.
He sits beside me—closer than necessary—and the heat from his body makes my skin prickle with awareness.
"Serena was just telling me," April says, sliding into her husband's lap with a plop, “that she’s never been on anything bigger than a paddleboat. Did you know you’re her first mega-yacht, Caleb?"
"I do now," Caleb says, shooting me a look that’s half-mocking, half…something else. He has a beer in his hand and he lets it dangle. “But it’s not my yacht, so I’m not sure it counts.”
"You're only as good as your client roster," Leonard proclaims, raising his glass toward Caleb with a flourish. "And this one's got the rarest blend of brains, balls, and absolute disregard for the rules. You should hear what he did to the Connelly case. Single-handedly took down every partner in the city who thought they had an edge."
"I'm sure it was all aboveboard," I say, earning a snort from April.
"Never confuse aboveboard with effective," Leonard advises. "Right, Counsel?"
"Absolutely," Caleb agrees, but he's not looking at me. Hasn't looked directly at me for the last half hour. I wonder if it's new strategy or old habit—ignore the problem until it goes away, or until it's desperately craving your attention.
I study him, this man who is at once the most intimidating and the most transparent person in the room. He's brilliant at making men like Leonard feel seen without ever once letting them behind the glass of his own inner life. I know because it's why I couldn't stop thinking about him, and also why I ran.
When April slips inside to ‘regroup before dessert’ and Leonard disappears to bellow at the captain about something, I find myself alone with Caleb on the upper deck. The water has turned black, the wind electric with possibility.
"If you want to interrogate me, now's your chance," he says.
"I'm allowed to ask questions?"
"Ask me anything, Morgan." There's tension behind the words—invitation and warning mixed.
I lean over the rail, weighing my appetite for trouble. Maybe it's the wine, maybe it's the way he's standing just close enough that I can smell his heat, but I want to needle him. Want to see what's under the armor.
"What's it like," I say, "for you? Winning all the time."
He moves closer, hands in his pockets. "Exhausting," he admits.
"Bullshit."
He smiles, conceding, and braces his arms beside mine against the rail. "Sometimes I think it's all that matters, and sometimes I wish I was a dentist in Glenview."
"Dentists save lives too," I say. "In a boring, root-canal way."
For a moment, all I want is to keep prodding, but then I remember tomorrow, remember everything I'm about to lose, and the banter dies in my throat.
"What was the contract about? Earlier, you looked like you were negotiating global peace."
He glances at me, surprised. "McKelvin's got a new subsidiary for gene therapy. Wanted me to torpedo a distribution agreement." He shrugs, but it's tight. "Mostly, I'm here to tell him how to get away with it."
"And that required a yacht?"
His smile is almost sheepish. "Rich people like their toys. They pay extra for convenience."
"You get paid to drink champagne on boats?"
"Among other things." He stretches his arm along the rail, not quite touching but close enough that I feel the heat. "Last month I flew to Aspen at 4 AM because a client's son got arrested."
"Poor baby. Private jets must be such hardship."
