Page 5 of This Moment

“Ladies…gentlemen… We’ve convinced our clients not to settle.”

“What?”

A chorus of voices asked, mine included.

My father stood, smiled, and said, “We’ll see you in court.”

He turned on his heels and left the room. When all eyes in the room turned and looked at me, I was at a loss for words. For the first time in my life, I was stunned into silence. And for the second time that day, I was given another reason to change my career.

Betty, my assistant, stood when she saw me charging down the hall toward my office. “Mr. Carter.”

“Not now, Betty.”

She hurried around her desk and followed me into my office. I came to a stop when I saw Jim leaning against my desk.

“Jim, what are you doing here?”

Betty nearly ran into my back. She gasped and said, “I wanted to let you know Mr. Larson was waiting for you in your office.”

Turning to look at her, I forced myself to smile. “Thank you, Betty. Will you please get my sister on the phone?”

“Yes, of course.”

When she left the office and I heard the door shut, I focused on Jim. “You knew what they were going to do, didn’t you?”

He sighed. “I had a feeling it was coming. When your father found out you were settling with Parker, he nearly blew a fuse. I thought if I could talk to you before the meeting, you would be prepared.”

“Well, I wasn’t prepared, and the meeting was at nine this morning.”

He nodded. “I thought it was at two this afternoon.”

I set my briefcase down on the desk and looked at him. “Why in the world would you think it was at two?”

“Because that was what your father said in my meeting with him yesterday evening.”

“He lied.”

Jim let out a snort oflaughter. “No kidding, he lied. Now what?”

I sat in my chair and slowly shook my head. “I don’t know.”

Looking confused, Jim asked, “What do you mean you don’t know?”

I turned and looked out my window to see the small bit of Central Park. “Did I ever tell you when I was in high school I wanted to write crime novels?”

“Um, no, I can’t say you did.”

I smiled as I looked at Jim. We had met in law school, and he was hired here at the firm based on my referral. He billed almost as much as I did, and my mother and father adored him for that simple fact.

“The only reason I became a lawyer is because I knew it would make my parents happy.”

“That’s not new news.”

I laughed. “No, I guess it isn’t. My dream was to become a writer, though.”

Jim adjusted himself in his seat. “Is there a point to all of this?”

My phone buzzed, and I hit it. “Did you get her?”

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