The Last Invitation (20)
“The wife’s name is Ellie.”
He threw the document on her desk. “Are you listening to me?”
“Of course.” Jessa searched for the right words, any words, to convince him. Like it or not, he was the boss, and she couldn’t yell at him unless she wanted to be unemployed and flailing without a safety net. “You know Faith. You’ve used her as an expert witness in more than one case, despite all the old rumors. And, for the record, those rumors were started by Mr. Young back then to hide the fact he’d killed his family. He muddied the waters enough to get away with it.”
“What did or did not happen in an unrelated case is not the issue today.”
She didn’t bother to point out that he was the one relating the cases, not her. “Darren Bartholomew is angry because he can’t control me or charm me, or whatever he’s trying to do.”
“You’ve been talking with the wife’s attorney and to Dr. Downing, the child psychologist assigned to do the custody evaluation.”
“That’s my job,” she pointed out.
His exasperated exhale filled the room. “I know this is a bullshit claim against you, Jessa.”
“That’s good to hear.” At least they agreed on something.
“But we can’t ignore the allegations that you’re pushing an agenda here.” He held up his hand when she started to respond. “No one in the firm is saying it, but it’s being said. We still believe in you, but Stan, Darren’s attorney, is following the orders of his client and making this situation very difficult.”
“This is asinine.” Jessa tried to lower her coffee mug without slamming it down. When she heard the crack, she knew she’d been unsuccessful.
“If you withdraw, Darren and his attorney will stand down. They will work with his wife’s counsel to pick a new GAL.”
“You mean someone with the Darren seal of approval.” Energy pinged through Jessa. It was all she could do to stay in her chair. To pretend to be calm while tiny explosions destroyed her from the inside.
“The firm has decided these court appointments take up too much billable time. We will no longer be accepting them,” he said.
“That’s fine for next time, but not this case.” She could hear her voice getting tighter and louder, matching his. After a few deep breaths, she tried again. “We need to send a message to people like the Bartholomews that we do not fold. Then, in the future, when their friends want tough and determined lawyers, they’ll come to us.”
He grabbed the draft motion and crumpled it in his fist. “That is wildly na?ve.”
But she sensed she’d gotten through, if only a little. “I’ve been called worse.”
“You better have a very clean house. Like it or not, this custody case may turn on your believability.”
“I shouldn’t be in the spotlight. This is about Curtis’s best interests.”
He shoved the wadded-up paper in his pocket. “Talk like that makes me doubt your ability to make it in this profession.”
Chapter Twenty
Gabby
Gabby sat at Liam’s dining room table and looked through financial documents. These belonged to Fielding Enterprises, the family business. She pretended to be interested, but the work wasn’t exactly sexy. Lucrative, yes, and that’s what Baines had focused on. Building an empire. Guaranteeing financial security for the family for generations to come. He used to talk about those dreams, but none of them hinted at stealing money.
“Here.” Liam set down a fresh pot of coffee on the table between them.
“This will be my fourth cup.”
He winked. “My third pot, so I have you beat.”
This wasn’t how she intended to spend her Saturday, but when she came over to ask Liam a few questions about the bombshell he’d dropped, she found him plowing through paperwork. Boxes and boxes of it.
He said he’d grabbed copies of everything he gave to the auditors and brought it all home for a personal look. She dove in with him. Between them they had a law degree and a business degree and years of street savvy. Hers had dulled with age, but she hoped it still lingered somewhere in the background.
She looked at the list of vendors and saw debits to the accounts. Some of the checks didn’t line up with Fielding Enterprises’ actual bills. The deducted money went somewhere, and she feared the answer was into Baines’s pocket.
Tension swirled around the quiet room. Liam’s shoulders stiffened as he traced payments. Today, he stayed casual, jeans and a T-shirt. Every now and then he would wince or swear under his breath.
She tried to lighten the weight pressing down on the room. “Some of these are the documents Baines insisted didn’t exist during the divorce.”
Liam glanced up. It took another few seconds for his eyes to clear and for him to focus on her. “I compiled everything when the business got the subpoena. I wasn’t going to hold anything back, no matter how much Baines begged.”
Now she’d made him defensive. The exact opposite of what she wanted. But . . . “Did he?”
“Of course.” Liam poured another cup of coffee for both of them as some of the tension drained from him. “He had this very elaborate, very convoluted argument about how financially screwing you would ultimately help Kennedy.”