Page 5 of The Gift of the Maltipoo
“Part of that meeting is to figure out what resources Jacobs wants us to put on the case, so for now, this meeting will be the three of us. From there, we’ll bring in others as needed and authorized.” He sighed. “Now I just have to deal with the office Christmas party.”
Jasper glanced at the door. “Richard has been a real jackass to a couple of the new associates about dates and family and shit. They may be inexperienced, but it is not going to look good if they quit and charge the firm with harassment. Especially since he’s doing it to multiple people. I know he likes this to be a couples type of thing, but he’s skirting close to the line.”
Anthony was well aware. “Tell them to ignore it and to come and have a good time. I have come alone for the last three years. It’s just Richard’s way of playing matchmaker.” He smiled. “Andapparently we’re supporting a dog rescue this year.” He couldn’t help snickering. “I wonder what Richard would say if one of us actually brought a dog to the party?” Instantly his mind went to Tyler and Daisy. Damn, he was willing to bet Tyler looked danged good in a tux. And just like that, an event he’d been dreading became something he was looking forward to.
“Are you seeing someone?” Jasper said with a wicked grin. Sometimes he was too observant for his own good.
“Why ask that?”
“Because you went all gooey-eyed. The last time you did that was last year when you were seeing that painter guy. Every time someone mentioned anything to do with art, you got all gooey, and then you stopped when he turned out to be a shit. Is he your date this year?”
“I’m coming with a friend. He’s my neighbor, and I do not get gooey-eyed, so let’s not mention that again.”
Jasper gaped at him. “So you’re bringing your neighbor to the party. Is it a date? Because if it is, you do not want your work party to be a first date. That is way too tacky for words. You need to ask him out properly and take him to dinner or something. I mean, what sort of nice evening out is a dinner of rubber chicken, cheap alcohol, and small talk with your boss? Then follow it all up with the damned Chicken Dance, because you know he’s going to play that song.” Jasper cringed. “And he makes everyone get out on the floor.”
“Good God,” Anthony groaned.
“Yeah. So ask your neighbor out, and I’ll make a reservation at a nice place. At least you’ll find out if you’ll get along or if the work party will be even more tedious and tension-filled than normal.” He smiled, and Anthony knew he was right. In most parts of his life, he was confident and self-assured. In the courtroom, he knew his opponents’ next moves long before they did. He was steps ahead of everyone, including the judge. But hispersonal life was a disaster. Hell, he spent the previous summer and fall watching his neighbor and wondering about him, but he never did a damned thing. Granted, his dating life was a real mess. He seemed to attract losers and cheaters. And it seemed like he was destined to spend another holiday season alone.
“Okay. I will. He agreed to come with me to the party yesterday, so I can ask him to dinner to thank him in advance.”
Jasper rolled his eyes. “Jesus, just tell the guy that you like him and ask him to dinner. You don’t need to beat around the bush like you’re fourteen years old. The worst he can say is that he wants to be friends, and that isn’t so bad.” He got up from his seat. “And with that bit of relationship advice, I’m going to get a start on the things you need, and you can get yourself back to work. We want to be as prepared as we possibly can before this meeting.” He left the office, and Anthony checked on the status of each of his cases before digging into as much information as he could get on Hansen Jacobs.
FORTUNATELY ITwasn’t snowing and the sidewalks in the subdivision were clear, the sun having done its work. Anthony got out of his BMW and was heading inside when Tyler came down the walk with Daisy on a leash. They walked slowly, and she limped slightly as they moved.
“How was work?” Tyler asked as they approached. Daisy hurried over to Anthony, and he gave her pets.
“You’re a sweet girl,” he said to her. “Work was fine. I landed what could be an important client today. The case is reasonably high-profile.”
“What sort of law do you practice?” Tyler asked.
“Mostly I’m a defense lawyer. In a lot of my cases, I either try to instill reasonable doubt in the jury or, on rare occasions, I’m trying to prove innocence. That doesn’t happen very often, but I have had cases where I was able to fully prove that myclient couldn’t have done it. But I’ve never had a Perry Mason moment where the real guilty party confesses on the stand.” He grinned. “I also do appeals. I’m very successful with the ones I take on. What sort of work do you do?”
“I’m a games designer. I’m currently working onZombie Apocalypse 3. The first two have done really well, so I decided to try to come up with an interesting concept for the third one.”
“No way,” Anthony said. “I played the first one when I was in law school. I must have killed thousands of zombies. It was the one thing that I could do to relax. There’s so much pressure, and I got little downtime, but when I did, I played with friends for a few hours every Sunday afternoon. We were all in the pressure cooker. You created that game?”
Tyler grinned. “Yeah. That was my first really big hit. I’d come up with a few concepts before that, but they never got picked up. Up until that point, I worked on other people’s games. But that one was all mine, and it paid for my house. The second one is almost as popular, and once I finish this one, we’re going to bring out updated versions of the first two.” He was really excited, and Daisy sort of danced around his legs. Tyler picked her up, and she curled up against him.
“I think she’s getting cold.”
“Yeah, she probably is.” Tyler unzipped his coat and placed her nearer to his warmth.
“I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me Friday night? We could go to Café Belgie or something.” God, why was he so nervous?
“You mean like a date?” Tyler bit his lower lip, and Anthony realized he was just as nervous.
“Yes. Like a date. I can pick you up at seven and we can go to dinner.” He tried to sound confident.
“Okay. That would be nice.” Daisy licked Tyler’s chin as though she approved of the plan. “I’ll see you Friday at seven.”He smiled and then turned and headed back home. Anthony walked slowly and didn’t go inside until Tyler was out of sight.
Chapter 3
“YOU’RE LOOKINGbetter,” Tyler said when he found his mom sitting in her living room, a mug of tea in front of her along with the remains of her lunch. He closed the door and let Daisy explore the room.
“I’m hungry, which is a good sign.” She leaned forward. “And who is this sweet girl?”
“Daisy,” Tyler said. “I got her at the dog rescue on my way home after our last visit. Your request got me thinking, so I stopped in for the heck of it.” He smiled as Daisy came over to him and looked up with those big eyes. He lifted her onto the sofa next to Mom, and Daisy accepted pets from her like the little princess she was.
