Page 10 of Cause of Action

“I hate to interrupt your dinner, but could you take a picture of us?” I handed my phone to Roman.

His eyes narrowed at me momentarily as he took my phone from my hand and snapped a picture of the three of us.

“Thanks.”

After signing the check, I went to the bar, ordered another drink, and took it to the firepit, which glowed amid the night sky. As I sat there, taking in the beauty of the night, Roman walked over with a drink in his hand.

“May I?” He pointed to the space on the couch next to me.

“I did ask you to meet me, didn’t I?” My brow arched. “We need to talk.”

“I agree.” He smiled.

“You’re interfering with my work, and I don’t like it.”

“How am I interfering with your work?” He tipped the glass to his lips.

“By threatening to tell Rick about me.”

“Who’s Rick?”

“The man I’m spying on.” I cocked my head.

“Oh, him. I have to say. Having me take a picture of the three of you was smart. Is he from New York also?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Then I don’t have to worry about him hiring my firm when his wife serves him with divorce papers, especially with the evidence you’ll provide her attorney.”

“You’re a lawyer?” I narrowed my eyes.

“I am, and so are my brothers. We run our own law firm in Los Angeles.”

“Interesting.” I took a sip of my drink. “What do you practice?”

“We’re defense attorneys.”

“So you defend criminals?”

“Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Tell me about you, Morgan.”

“You already know about me. I’m from New York and a private investigator.”

“How did you get into that line of work?” he asked.

“I just did.” I finished my drink, staring at him.

“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Julian walked over. “We have a problem, Roman.”

“What problem?” he asked.

“Olivia’s been trying to call you, but it goes straight to voicemail, so she called me. The judge moved the court date for the Turner case to two weeks.”

“Two weeks? What the fuck? We aren’t ready yet. We had another two months to prepare.”

“I know. Apparently, he’s going on vacation and wants his docket cleared.”

“Fuck. Give me your phone.” He held out his hand. “Olivia, it’s Roman. I need you to get access to Turner’s bank records. What do you mean you can’t? Keep trying.” He ended the call and handed the phone back to his brother. “She said they’ve tried everything. Without those records, we don’t stand a chance of winning this case.”

---