Page 48 of Safe With Me

“Yeah.”

“I’ll tell him you’re here when I go out back.”

“I’m his lawyer.”

“Ah.”

SoonPaxstepped out from the offices. The guy looked spent. He needed sleep. Lines of worry etched out around his eyes and forehead. “Hi, Nick.”

“Are you all right?”

“No. Someone got hurt at the clinic today.”

Boy, trouble followed this guy. “Anything I should know about?”

“She’s an employee. She’s okay, but she’s home for a while. Let’s sit.”

They took chairs near the desk. “I came to tell you the judge wouldn’t dismiss the lawsuit.” He held up his tablet. “He said he’d rather see the discovery and depositions first.”

Paxnodded.

“I have a handle on this. I’ve asked for the files from theDA. I should get them this week. But I wanted you to know we’re following up.”

“Okay. What’s next?”

“Sit tight. I’m hoping we don’t have a pretrial after that.”

Paxnodded.

“Sorry to lay this on you now. I’ll let you go.”

They stood, just as Noreen came out of the back. “I’m leaving,Pax. Mr. Redmond.”

“It’s Nick.”

“Noreen. Goodbye.”

When the door closed,Paxsensed something. “Interested?”

“I could be. She’s gorgeous.”

“She’s the one I told you about. The head cardiac surgeon atUpstateMedical University.”

“That’s where I heard her name.”

“She’s wasn’t a witness to anything, though.”

“No. But like I said, she could be a character witness.”

“Maybe.”

He held up the tablet. “I’m going to get right on this,Pax.”

“I trust you.”

“You’ll hear from me soon.”

* * *

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