Page 10 of Lost Room Lawyer
I retreated to my office, holding the espresso in one hand and the croissant in the other, and sat down at my computer. Besides a few small cases, I had a major one that took up almost all of my capacity. One of my biggest clients had been accused of murder, which was completely absurd. But there was a body, evidence pointing to him, and he still didn’t have an alibi.
The odds weren’t too bad because it had turned out that my client suffered from hoarding disorder and had kept all kinds of receipts and documents over the years, scattered across his properties. A curse and a blessing at the same time, as it was now my task to get an overview. Meanwhile, Gerry was spending most of his time in Vevey, one of three properties where my client resided, sifting through the boxes of documents.
I heard voices in the hallway, and shortly after, Linda entered the room.
“He’s here,” she said, lingering for a moment in the doorway.
I knew why. The boy was twenty minutes early. “Then send the little genius in,” I said, smiling.
Linda nodded and disappeared again. “Go right in.”
I pushed my chair back to stand up and greet Leo’s son, but when I saw him, I stayed glued to my seat. My heart skipped a beat, my jaw dropped, and I felt momentarily breathless. For a few seconds, my mind went blank because none other than Rossi walked into my office.
“Holy…” was all I could manage.
It seemed he was just as stunned, as he froze, his mouth widening in shock, looking like he was about to turn right back around and leave.
“Shit,” he said, sounding much calmer than I felt.
I tried again, getting up from my chair. “What the…? What are you doing here?” A dumber question couldn’t have crossed my mind. It was him. He was my intern. He was Leo’s son. Nico Simeon. On closer inspection…
How did I not notice? The same nose! And damn it! He’s just as hot as he was last Friday.
He had already taken off his jacket and now stood before me in a striking black suit. Having skipped the tie, the bold patterns on his mahogany-red shirt complemented him perfectly. His shoulder-length hair was tied back, though a rebellious strand had escaped, falling into his face. He was too shocked to brush it aside.
“Why didn’t you say you were a lawyer?” he asked, his voice trembling. “Maybe luck would’ve been on our side, and we would’ve…”
I walked past him and shut the door. “And why didn’t you say you were starting an internship?” I shot back. “Maybe that would’ve changed something.”
Nico’s brows furrowed, and he looked at me in disbelief, searching for words, but I was just getting started. “Shit, man! I never would’ve considered that you were Leo’s son! As far as I know, your mother is Italian. But you… You look like a Northerner!”
“Like my father, the old Swede?” he asked, raising his brows accusingly.
I swallowed hard. Leo had already earned that nickname when he took me under his wing, and back then, he was even younger than I am now. Eventually, I found out that Leonard was only half Swedish, and his long-deceased father was originally Greek. Moreover, Leo had always seemed more like a Southerner to me. Knowing that Nico’s mother was Italian, I had expected a young Italian to walk through the door this morning.
“What does that matter?” Nico questioned when I didn’t respond. “Who cares what I look like?”
“It does matter!” I hissed. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have…”
“I tried to google you!” he snapped, frustrated. “But your damn website is down!”
For a moment, we were both at a loss. I held onto the doorframe—it gave me support. Nico stood in the middle of the room, tilting his head as he exhaled. Running a hand over the back of his neck, he scanned the floor for answers and grimaced.
What is he doing?
Is he digging his nails into his skin?
Stop that!
When he noticed the chair in front of my desk, he gestured to it. “Can I sit down? I… don’t feel good right now.”
That’s when I saw it too. He wasn’t as cool as he initially seemed. It was clearly hard for him to cope with the situationbecause he had no choice. After all, his father had arranged this internship for him. Even I wouldn’t dare back out and then have to explain to my mentor why things didn’t work out between Nico and me.
Fuck! The one time I get involved with someone I’m not paying, and I end up knee-deep in this shit!
“Okay, listen. How about this?” I walked around Nico and leaned against my desk. “We’re both grown men, and we can handle this. It was Rossi and Corvo who had sex last Friday. Not us. Simple as that.”
Nico massaged his forehead, probably thinking over my words, then suddenly paused. “How grown-up are you? I mean… If you’re the boss of this law firm… How old are you?”
