Page 16 of Boss of Attraction
“Meh. You’re only my boss at the office.”
8
Sean
It wasa typical Monday morning at Ashford, Nolan & Torrance. It wasn’t even nine yet, but the office was bustling with activity. Colleagues exchanged pleasantries with me as I left the break room with a cup of coffee in hand and headed to my office.
“Good morning, Sean,” Camille greeted me when I reached her desk. “Did you have a good weekend?”
“Good morning,” I returned. “I did. It’s amazing what a couple of days on the Cape can do for a guy.”
She smiled. “Well, hopefully, you got some rest because your calendar is full this week.”
“Noted.” I took a sip of the coffee. “I’ll meet you and Declan in the conference room shortly.”
“Sounds good.” She smiled and got back to work while I entered my corner office.
Once I settled into my chair, I opened my laptop and went straight for my inbox. A ton of emails had accumulated over the weekend, and I searched for the ones I needed to reply to immediately. After I responded to the most urgent ones, I gathered my files and headed toward one of our large conference rooms.
Declan and Camille were already inside, going over documents from the Whitman case.
Declan’s head popped up when I stepped through the doorway, and he grinned. “Hey, Bossman. How’s it going?”
“Morning, Declan. Just another manic Monday.” I chuckled, thinking of the song he likely was too young to know. “What have you and Camille been up to?”
Camille glanced up from her notes and flashed a smile. “We were just reviewing the witness statements. Two of them have conflicting stories, so we need to see what’s going on there.”
I nodded and took a seat across from Declan. “Okay, add that to the list. For now, I want us to finish with the bank records.”
As the morning progressed, we probably downed a gallon of coffee as we discussed the best way to present our defense of Christopher Whitman. Declan’s passion for this career path was evident when he offered ideas for me to consider. It made me think of the conversation we had shared Saturday night while we sat around the fire at the Donnelleys’ house.
I would never have guessed he’d faced so much hardship growing up. I had felt a sort of connection with him when he’d mentioned his father had died of cancer when he was a young child. I knew how hard Melinda’s death had been on our children, and they had been adults at the time; I could only imagine how scary and traumatizing it was for a six-year-old who likely didn’t understand what was happening.
A couple of hours later, the conference room phone rang, and I answered it. “Hey, Lauren. What’s up?”
“District Attorney Zimmer is on the line for you. Would you like me to transfer the call to the conference room or your office,” she replied.
“I’ll take it in my office. Just give me a moment before sending him through.”
“Of course.”
I hung up and stood. “Why don’t you two take your lunch while I deal with the DA’s office.”
Camille pushed her chair back. “After all that caffeine, I need water more than food.”
“Do either of you want me to grab you a sandwich from the deli across the street?” Declan asked.
“That’d be great. I’ll take a pastrami and Swiss on rye with Russian dressing.” I pulled a couple of twenties from my wallet and handed them to him. “It’s on me since you’re picking it up.”
Declan pocketed the money and said, “Thanks. I’ll head over now.”
We all left the conference room and turned in different directions. Walking into my office, I closed the door and answered the call when Lauren transferred it to me.
“Zimmer, it’s good to hear from you. What kind of deal do you have for my client?”
He gave me the offer and we talked it over. After we hung up, I called my client and went over the specifics of what had been proposed. We had already discussed the likely scenarios and his best options, so the call didn’t take long.
Declan was alone when I returned to the conference room, eating his sandwich while flipping through a file.
