Page 12 of Mutual Obsessions

“I was going to take them myself, Mr. Danvert.” Hell, I wasn’t trusting them to anyone else. If they didn’t get there, it would be because I got run over on the way.

My boss grinned. “I admire that dedication. Take Mr. Tremblay to lunch and then deliver the documents and take the rest of the day off. You worked all weekend, and you did a good job, DeWitt. I saw the summaries in my assistant’s inbox. Thank you.”

I stood. “Sure, Mr. Danvert. I’ll see you tomorrow. If you need me, I’m available on my cell phone.” The man didn’t look back as he closed the door behind him.

I turned to Stephen Tremblay. “What are you doing? Why are you here?” My tone was angry, but there was a lot of shit that didn’t add up in my head.

“Ryker, please take a deep breath. There’s an explanation to all this madness, but I wanted to get the ball rolling, and after Rory did what he did, I wasn’t sure if you’d come to the restaurant.” Okay, what the fuck?

“Where’s Cubby?”

The man took off his glasses, and his eyes were milky white. It made no sense.

“Are those contacts?”

I wasn’t falling for the crazy bullshit Etienne was pulling. I wanted fucking answers about what the hell was going on!

He chuckled. “Unfortunately, no. We need to go somewhere we can speak in private, Ryker. What’s this task with the exhibits? You need to deliver something somewhere?”

I gathered all my patience. “I need to deliver exhibits for the trial I mentioned on Friday night. Today is the deadline for the discovery exchange. I need to deliver the documents to the court clerk and opposing counsel before five o’clock. I can’t screw up this job because I wasn’t at the top of my graduating class. If nothing else, I’ll need a positive referral from the firm later.”

“Can you deliver them earlier?” Etienne asked.

I sighed. “Not really. It’s a legal strategy the lead partners use. We deliver legal documents and exhibits at the end of the day so opposing counsel can’t file motions with the court until the morning of the next business day. It gives the attorneys time to review the discovery produced by opposing counsel and strategize before court opens in the morning. The attorneys will be here all night reviewing the documents we receive. I should probably be here, too.”

Stephen’s white eyes turned toward the sound of my voice as he unfolded the white walking stick used by sight-impaired people. I was offended on their behalf for him using it as a charade.

“You don’t need that shit, Etienne. Pop those out, and let’s get out of here. I can meet you at the restaurant after I deliver the documents because I want an explanation. I also want to see Cubby. I don’t like what happened with your nephew, Rory.”

He reached for the white stick and unfolded it, sliding the dark glasses over his eyes. “You don’t understand it now, but you will. I’m not Etienne. I’m Stephen.” His voice was commanding, and my heart kicked up at the sound. I wanted to know what the fuck he was up to.

Sure. You’re not turned on at all. The rod in my pants called me a liar.

I returned to the firm after dropping off our discovery documents at the court and to opposing counsel, stepping out of the cab in front of our building. I paid the driver and collected my receipt, hurrying inside. In the reception area at the top of the stairs was a courier with at least thirty boxes trying to open the glass door.

“I’ve got it.” I hurried forward and grabbed the handle for the guy.

He pushed the hand truck inside and stopped at reception. “I have a delivery for Giles Danvert.”

Lachelle, the receptionist, picked up the phone to make the call because the courier needed a signature.

I waved her off. “Who’s it from?”

The young guy glanced at the clipboard. “Perry Sloane Associates.”

I considered not signing, but I knew that would cause a problem. “I’ll sign.” I took the pen and scrawled my name over the page.

I led the guy to a conference room down the hall from Danvert’s office and helped him unload the first set of boxes. “I’ll be back. I have twenty more.”

I nodded and went next door to Mr. Danvert’s open office, knocking on the door frame as he was reading something on his computer. “DeWitt. What’s up? How did you leave things with Mr. Tremblay? He has an extensive portfolio that would be a great asset to the firm.”

We hadn’t even broached the subject of the work Etienne wanted my firm to do. “Uh, I told him you and I would be in touch regarding next steps. He agreed, so how should we proceed?”

I stepped closer to the desk and rested my shaking hands on the guest chair. My anger grew as I thought about Etienne trying to fool me into believing he had a twin. It was ridiculous.

“Good, good. Okay, what are you doing right now? Did you take Tremblay to lunch?” DeWitt stood from his chair and walked around the desk to lean against it, crossing his ankles.

“He, uh, he had another appointment, so I came back here to offer my help to inventory the discovery submission we received from opposing counsel. I’m meeting him for a drink later. What would you like me to do?” I sincerely hoped he assigned someone else.

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