Page 6 of Harman

“I know that you can’t lie to me, but I find that hard to digest. Right now, anyway.” He told her that was understandable. “All right. Is there anything else that I have to know right now? I’m all of a sudden exhausted, and my head hurts a little. I’m sure that you have something to do with that, but I’m exhausted from thinking about things, too. I’ll sleep, and you watch over me.”

“It would be my pleasure.” As she snuggled down into the covers, she realized that she wasn’t going to sleep alone. Her body and mind had gotten used to, even after one night, having his big, warm body around her, and she needed it again. She only had to open the covers up, and he laid down with her.

She had expected a nasty or even a funny remark, but he only got into the bed with her. As she wrapped herself around him, she laid her head on his chest. As she listened to his heart beating, just a soft thud in his chest, she closed her eyes. Katie was asleep in minutes.

Waking up with the sun shining through her window, she was disappointed to find that she was alone in the big bed. Sitting up, she was thrilled to find a note from Harman on the landline phone that was next to her. Opening it to read it, she couldn’t believe his handwriting. It was elegant and beautiful. Reading the note, she had to work hard at not sobbing.

“I’ve been called away for a couple of days. This is a government job, so I will have to wait until I return before I can share it with you. Sometimes, they’ll call me in for stupid things, but this one is going to take me a few days. Call Edwin or any one of my other brothers to take you to my house when released. Next time, I’ll take you with me.” Then he signed it with ‘love, H.’

Not at all sure what to do, she was both happy and a little stressed when Storm showed up—popped in, she called it—to answer any of her questions. As they sat there, Storm talked to her about some of the things she was able to figure out. Katie found that she liked the other woman and was glad for her help.

“Also, your boss, Jimmy Barnhart, was in jail, but he’s out now. Not that you have to worry about him. No one can enter the houses with ill will in their hearts. Meaning the need to harm you. But that’s all there is about him. He’ll either keep pushing until he ends up dead or not. I could care less.” Katie said that she felt the same way about him. “Also, I have it on good authority that he’d been given four weeks’ notice to get the office straightened out, or he’s going to be fired. That’s from his own father. I don’t think they like each other.”

“They don’t. There was a falling out about four years ago. Jimmy caused a big ruckus at the offices by sexually harassing the male employees. I could care less as it meant that he was leaving me alone, but he suddenly became interested in me when I started winning cases. His father and I are on good terms. Maybe I should give him a call and tell him what’s going on.” Storm handed her the cell phone that suddenly appeared. “That’s something else I’m going to have to get used to, isn’t it?”

“I would say that is a good thing, don’t you? However, after a couple of days, you more than likely won’t notice it. You’ll just take it in stride, and that’ll be fine, too.” They both laughed. “Call Jimmy Barnhart, senior, and tell him what had happened. Including how you were here for the funeral of your aunt and your grandmother became ill. Tell him too that you’re in the hospital for what he did to you. I know that he’s the one that did it. His thinking was if you were dead, his dad could no longer be upset that he can’t seem to get you to come back to work for him. That’s the most idiocy thing I’ve ever heard of, but criminals are pretty stupid.”

“That I can agree with you on. I had a lot of stupid criminals when I was working.” She asked her what she did. “I was an attorney for Barnhart and Barnhart. I did my internship there and stayed after I passed my boards. It was a nice family-owned practice, and I liked the people that, well most of the people that I worked with. Jimmy was the worst, but he didn’t come into the office all that often, so it was easy to avoid him. Besides, I think he is gay, and that is something that his father knew about before Jimmy had.”

“Figures. I’ve heard of that happening a great deal with older men who come out. Good for him, I guess, but sexual harassment is sexual harassment no matter what way you swing.”

When he called the personal number of Jimmy’s senior cell phone, she was glad when he told her that he had heard that she’d been hurt. He told her that he wanted to visit with her as soon as possible. He was going to be at her room in the hospital first thing in the morning. She couldn’t wait. It was high time that someone took Jimmy to task.

Chapter 3

Jimmy was tired of the cell he was in. They wouldn’t allow him to have any music or the snacks that he had all over his apartment when he was home. He had made sure that when he hired his cook, she knew to keep the snack food around where he could get to it at any time. After three tries, him knocking her around after each failure, she finally got it right.

He wasn’t sure, however, but he thought that she was putting holes in the bags he was getting. Some of the things, like the white cheddar popcorn that he would munch on, would be stale. He’d not confronted her about that just yet, but he was going to do so as soon as he got home. Being in jail and without his cell phone made it very difficult for him to keep up with his daily life. He was going to talk to someone about having cell phones and chargers in the cells for entertainment. They didn’t have to be completely savage about keeping people behind bars.

“You have a visitor. Would you like to talk to them back here or in one of the observation tanks?” He asked the cop who it was. “I don’t ask for identification when someone comes in and wants to see you. I just ask if you want to see them or not.”

“Then how am I supposed to know if I want to see them or not if I don’t know who it is?” The man simply opened the door for him. “What happens if it’s someone that I decide that I don’t want to see? What happens then?”

“Do you want to see them or not? I don’t have time to go around wiping your ass every time something happens. Yes or no?” He didn’t understand that logic either but decided it would be nice to look at another four walls rather than the ones he’d been looking at for two days. “Good for you. It’s your father.”

Christ, Jimmy would have talked to anyone but him. However, he was nearly to the closed door that separated him from freedom, and he really did want to be out of the cell. Usually, he was forever on the move. Making plans and closing deals. Sitting with his father meant that he was going to be lectured again, and he didn’t want to have his good mood burst because of something that his dad was for sure going to say to him.

As soon as he was seated, they actually put his cuffs through the large ring on the table. It was something that he’d been thinking about having as well. Put it on his desk so that when the underlings came into his office, they’d have to sit there until he released them. He also thought that it would make an awesome sexual toy too. Just thinking about it had him hard as stone.

“Well, you’ve screwed the pooch, haven’t you, Jimmy? You couldn’t just let her have the time off that she needed when she needed it, and now we’re losing the best-damned attorney that I’ve ever met. Including myself.” He asked about him. “You and I both know the only way that you were able to pass your boards is because you paid someone to take the test for you. If they ever find out—perhaps I’ll tell them after this, but when they find out, I’m going to have a good time telling you that I told you so. Why did you fire Katie Donahue?”

“You know as well as I do why I terminated her. She missed a month of work.” His dad asked him if that was all. “No. But if I tell you, you’re not going to be any happier with me. I don’t like her for one thing. She’s forever correcting me on things. Did you know that the state of Texas has a law about homosexuals?”

“Everyone of the states as far as I can remember, has laws. Whether or not they follow them is up to the abuser. What sort of law are you talking about?” He told him. “I wasn’t aware that you were planning on getting married to someone. When did this happen?”

“I’m not getting married to anyone. I like my freedom too much. No, what I was saying is that I could if I wanted to. Did they have those same laws when you were growing up?” He told him he wasn’t gay, so he didn’t realize that there were laws that he’d have to look into before marriage. “But you could now if you wished. That’s what I’m talking about with her. She’s forever saying shit like that and backing it up even with the law books that she’d read it in. Isn’t that the most annoying thing ever?”

“Why would you think that’s annoying, son? She’s a good attorney. The best. And I’m proud of her for knowing laws like that one. I’m sure she knows plenty more, too, if asked. You fired her because she’s smarter than you? Hell, Jimmy, the cleaning crew, more than likely knows more than you do about the law. Why would you…you know what? I don’t care. I’m sure that in your emptily packed head from lack of law information could fill all the books in the world.” He didn’t understand that, so he didn’t comment. It was just like his father to talk over his head when he was with him. “Did you know that she’s going to work for the Griffin family? I’m sure you remember who they are. We just talked about them a couple of months ago.”

“Remind me.” After rolling his eyes, his dad told him what they’d been talking about. “So she’s jumped ship with us to go and work for them? Is it because of the money? I could try to get her back by offering her more than they are. Will that make you happy? I realize that when you’re happy, I can be happy. It’s our yin and yak sort of part we play in each other’s lives.”

“No. And it’s yin and yang, not yak. What would make me happy is if you were to get your head out of your ass and think about the lack of impact you’re making on the lives of those people that are working for you. Or I should say were working for you.” He asked his dad what he meant by that. “I’m too old to go back to work as an attorney because you’ve made a mess of things. It hurts me that after I close up, there will be no more Barnhart and Barnhart Attorney at Law. I have a meeting tomorrow with not only Katie but also the head of the Griffin family. I’m going to sell them not just my firm name but let any of the others there go to them if they wish. I’m sick of picking up the pieces weekly when you’re being paid to work. Then, in a couple of months, after they’re well established—not that I see it taking that long for them to be working at having their own clientele, they’ll drop my name, and I’ll be finished with it all. Thank the good lord for that too. At least my family’s legacy will be attached to a good name rather than the one that it currently has that you did to us.”

“How much are they going to pay me? As much as they are Katie, I’m thinking. I’m a Barnhart and am immensely more important to the firm than she is.” He told him that he wasn’t a part of the deal. “Why not? What the hell am I supposed to do without you paying me weekly? I do have monetary needs, Father. Or do you want me to move back home with you and Mom and…You know, that has merit. I think living at home would be the best thing for me. Then, when you both are dead, I can just slip into the role of reigning king and have it all.”

“Reigning king? Christ, Jimmy, you’re barely a blip on my radar of you taking over my home and money. Your mother and I have plans with our savings, and believe it or not, you are not included.” He told his dad that he was simply being too mean to him. “Good. Also, I’ve decided that you no longer need some of the perks you had as the person running the law firm. The car, credit cards, expense account as well as your suits aren’t going to be something that you can rely on any longer. You’ll no longer be able to charge large lavish meals to the company. I have a list of things that I’m to take care of before you’re released from here.” As his dad dug things out of his pocket, Jimmy kept thinking that this was an April Fools joke. Although it was neither the first of the month, it wasn’t even April. But that had to be it. “Here it is. I’m to change the locks on the homes that we own. Make sure to run an ad in the newspaper saying that I’m no longer going to be responsible for your debt. She told me that I should send out a letter too just to make sure that everyone is aware of that.”

“Who told you to do this?” He snatched the long list out of his dad’s hand and looked it over. When his dad took it back from him, Jimmy was shocked. “That is Katie’s handwriting. Why are you getting a list from her on how to treat me? I won’t tolerate you allowing her to have you treat me this way.”

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