Page 51 of Lies and Lullabies
The big man looked up at me over the rims of his reading glasses. He had itineraries spread out in front of him on the built-in table. “Yeah?”
“What did Peters do?”
Ethan removed his glasses with a frown. “I have no idea. But from the look on your face, I’m guessing it wasn’t good.”
I slid the door to the lounge shut. After sitting down across from Ethan, I repeated what Adam had said, word for word. “If Peters went in with guns blazing, then we need to hire somebody else to handle this.”
Ethan pushed his itineraries out of the way and took out his phone. “Let’s take a deep breath first. You don’t haul off and fire the firm that’s negotiating your next contract with the record label.”
“Fuck the contract. This is more important. Times a hundred.”
The bald man looked up from his phone and smiled at me. “Okay, Jojo. I’m with you. Let’s divvy this up. You call Peters and try to figure out how big an asshole he’s been. I’ll work on scoping out a new lawyer.”
“How are you going to do that?” I asked, scrolling for Peters’s number.
Ethan didn’t answer, because he’d already placed a call. “Hi Adam, this is Ethan, do you remember me? I sure remember you.” A private smile crept across his face. “Aw, I like your grumpy lawyer voice. It’s hot. But this is a business call, after all. It seems we might need a new lawyer. Preferably in Massachusetts. And preferably one who listens when we talk. I was hoping you could save us some time and recommend someone.” He grinned to himself again. “Sure, I’ll hold.”
“You’reflirtingwith Kira’s pissed-off brother?” I hissed. “How is that a good idea?”
“It’s afineidea,” Ethan said, picking up a pen. A moment later he jotted a name and a number onto the corner of one of his file folders. “And this is a good guy? You trust him? Okay. Awesome. We’ll be in touch, once we figure out what the fuck is going on. Thank you.” Ethan hung up.
I reached across the table for Ethan’s glass of ice water and drained it. “God, how did we end up here?”
“Oh, honey. Did they not teach sex ed at your school?”
I gave him an irritated groan and put my forehead down on the table. I’d been so angry at Kira for not telling me about Vivi. And now that I was getting used to the idea of having a daughter, my lawyer was fucking everything up.
I’d been an idiot to walk away from Kira. And I hoped I’d get the chance to say so.
Twelve
Kira
I was cleaning up from lunch on Monday when I got a text from Adam.New paperwork from Jonas’s new lawyer. Reasonable visitation! *fist bump*
I dialed Adam immediately. “This is good, right?”
“Hey!” he said, sounding happy. “I’m just running into a meeting. But yeah, this version ismuchbetter. You can relax. But now I have to go. I’m trying to cram as many billable hours into this week as I can. I have a client dinner tonight, too.”
“I know. Sorry.” Instead of trying to relax and think positive thoughts, poor Adam was working overtime to prepare for his medical leave. “You can show me the papers tonight. I’ll wait up.”
“Tell you what. I’ll messenger them over. You’ll feel better if you read it yourself. Gotta hop.”
I let him go. Since Vivi was singing her way through nap time instead of sleeping, I went into her room and sat on the bed. “I don’t have to work today. So we can go to the park later.”
Vivi sat up so fast that her curls bounced against her face. “How ’bout now?”
I should have seen that coming. Adam sometimes referred to her as the Little Negotiator. He’d suggested that we should be setting aside money for Vivi’s inevitable law school tuition. “Not yet, sweetie. I’m waiting for a package.”
Her eyes got wide. “For my birthday?”
“Not this time,” I said quickly. “It’s just some boring papers. But after it comes, we’ll go out to the swings.”
“Can I push my doll stroller?”
“Sure.”
“Can we get ice cream?”
