Page 52 of Master Debater

Oh. That hadn’t been a knock on my door. The raised fist had been pounding on Nate’s door, something I probably would’ve realized if my ears weren’t so perked and hard-up for signs of life from the guy who was never freaking home anymore.

The man with salt-and-pepper hair turned, and my stomach hit the cement step beneath my feet. One of Nate’s uncles—or not-uncles. Former uncles?

Whatever. Point was, Nate wouldn’t be happy about the visitor who was gaping at me as hard as I was gaping at him.

“It’s you.” He snapped his fingers, and a stray thought about how the guy had a certain James Bond vibe flickered through my mind, momentarily distracting me from beating a hasty retreat. “Wendy, wasn’t it?”

“Willa.”

“Ah. I was close.” No, he wasn’t. “Let me guess. That’s short for Wilhelmina, which must mean you’re from the south.”

“Nope and nope.”

His smile was equal parts amusement and chagrin. I crossed my arms, not appreciating him treating me like I was some rebellious child who didn’t have a damn good reason to dislike him. A marginally hypocritical thought, given that when I’d visited his office a week and a half ago, I’d suggested Nate might want to hear out his father’s former partners, but still. I’d obviously underestimated the smugness, and since I cared about Nate, Rylee, and Angela, naturally my protective side surged forward.

“I’m Gil, in case you forgot too.” A lightbulb flickered on above his head as he noticed where I stood. “You live in his building. Before you started dating, or after?”

Despite it being far from a bombshell, I hesitated to give him any information, no matter how big or small.

“Either way, it must be convenient. I know how busy he gets.”

A sharp pang ricocheted through me, that dreaded convenient word leaving behind cuts on every surface it touched. Busy wasn’t much better. “What do you want?”

“I was looking for my nephew. Since he refuses to listen to anything Bobby or I have to say, I was hoping actions might break through to him. We’re offering a truce, along with our firm’s services, free of charge. The Doxon case is huge, and we’d be happy to combine forces, same way we used to back in the day. When it comes to gathering info and digging up facts and figures, no one’s better than Nate. But Bobby and I have a lot more experience with these types of lawsuits, as well as what figures to ask for when it comes to settling out of court. It’s an artform, and we’ve done that song and dance many a time.”

“I have full confidence that Nate can handle this lawsuit himself.” A selfish thought flickered, about how assistance from a big firm would mean my boyfriend could spend more time with me, but I only allowed it to buzz for a few seconds before snuffing it out.

“That may be. But we have the resources that’ll allow him to handle it, as well as get a full eight hours of sleep a night. I’m guessing he hasn’t been home much, and that he’s running himself ragged.”

I crossed my arms tighter. “I will neither confirm nor deny.”

Gil chuckled, and while the amusement in his growing smile softened it, it was definitely at my expense. “That’s a yes, or you would’ve denied.” He tapped the side of his nose. “You forget that I read people for a living.”

Damn it. I should tell him he’d have to take it up with Nate, and then turn around, head inside my place, and lock the door behind me. That’s what I should do.

So why did my feet remain planted in place? It was as though they’d been nailed there by some sadist intent on forcing me to watch the one thing I wanted the very most dangle within my reach before cruelly snatching it away.

“We have two assistants, a court runner, a handful of paralegals, and a law clerk—that’s the beauty of a larger firm. Nate’s only got one paralegal and an assistant that still needs more training.”

I couldn’t help Nate with his caseload, but Gil and Bobby and the firm Nate should belong to in the first place could. I just highly doubted Nate’s pride would allow him to accept the offer. “If you wanted Nate to have access to those resources like you claim, then you shouldn’t have shoved him out in the first place. That’s on you.”

There. I batted the tempting jewel he’d lobbed at me right back, after only a moment of admiring the shiny.

Gil ran his hand along his jaw and spreading smile as he studied me. “I like you, Willa. You’re much smarter than the others. Probably why you’ve lasted.”

The others? Why I’ve lasted? Nope, not going there.

“You’re also the only person I can imagine getting through to my stubborn nephew, so I’m going to level with you.” He took a step in my direction, his entire demeanor changing. If the sorrow drenching his features was an act, he should head to Hollywood, stat. “I’m guessing there are things you’d do differently in your life if you could do it over again.”

My head bobbed before I could remind it we weren’t giving away secrets, Nate’s or our own.

“Yeah, me too. But none of us can change the past. We learn from it, we ask forgiveness for our mistakes, and we try our hardest to make it right when we screw up. Bobby and I listened to our financial advisor and shrugged off what we did to Nate and his family with the phrase most guys like us use to justify our actions at one time or another. ‘It’s just business.’

“We both agreed that Nate needed to do some more growing and practice law for a couple of years before he became a partner.” Gil lifted a finger, and I stepped back, only to feel rather sheepish when he merely pointed it in the air to emphasize his point. “Something I stand by, for the record. Now he’s stood on his own two feet for three years, and he’s been challenged in ways he never otherwise would’ve…”

“Sounds a lot like more justification to me,” I said, unable to help myself.

Gil held up his hands in supplication, his guffaw more at his expense this time, if I were reading him right. “Fair enough, fair enough. Bad lawyer habit.”

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