Page 47 of Lost Room Lawyer
“Whatever! If you’re having fun together, that’s good,” Juri said casually.
“I’m married, have two kids, and have been living a double life for years,” I reminded him. “Next Wednesday, we’re going out to dinner with four of us. Viktoria, Leo—my mentor—and Nico and me.”
“That sounds like a recipe for your facade falling apart,” Luca observed dryly.
Juri stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and rejoined us at the table. “Somehow, I’m missing the sympathy here.”
“Thanks. My house of cards is slowly collapsing, and the only two people who could support me don’t care.”
“Your house of cards will stay stable as long as you don’t make a mistake,” Juri said. “The question is more about how long you want to keep hiding in it.”
Juri was clearly too mature for his age. “We’re forgetting why we’re here,” I said, nodding toward the papers.
“You’re deflecting,” Luca remarked in a sing-song voice with a wide grin on his face.
“Because there’s nothing more to say about it.”
“Let me know when your house of cards falls,” Juri said, taking the pen and finally signing.
“And how’s your internship going?” I asked as I slid the papers back into my briefcase.
“Good,” he answered, examining my expensive pen more closely. “Tomorrow, we’re traveling through Europe with Nightrain for ten days, capturing a bit of life on tour.”
Surprised, I raised my eyebrows and turned to Luca. “You too?”
He waved his hand dismissively. “I’m only joining for Easter. I have work and need to prepare a few things for the diploma exhibition. By the way …” Luca rummaged in his jacket pocket and pulled out a flyer, its edges slightly worn. “This might interest you.”
I grabbed the flyer, expecting an invitation to the diploma film night, but it was for an exhibition at a gallery nearby. The bold text read: HIDINGS – Photography, Painting, and Light by Alex Winter, Lucien Gilliéron, and Kilian da Silva.
“What is that?” I asked with interest.
“There are all these bizarre paintings hanging around,” Luca said, pointing to the empty room where Juri had been staying for a while. “I thought you might be interested. Plus, Juri’s interning for Alex, the photographer.”
“Ah,” I said, placing the flyer on the table. “Coincidentally, the painting at the back is by Lucien Gilliéron.”
Luca raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“Sounds exciting,” I said. “Can I keep the flyer?”
“Of course! I brought it for you.”
“I brought it for you, Luca,” Juri corrected him lovingly.
“Yeah, yeah,” Luca said mischievously. “I can totally remember those kinds of appointments. Hector’s older and super busy, so he could really use the flyer more than I do.”
We laughed, and I knew Luca was just joking, but I couldn’t help wondering if Nico minded that I was sixteen years older than him.
My gaze shifted to Juri, who was smiling affectionately at Luca. For years, Juri had only been with older men as a callboy. As far as I knew, I was still one of the younger clients he had.
I would have liked to talk to Juri in more detail, but that wasn’t possible with Luca around. Juri probably wouldn’t have minded, but I would. Just seeing the two of them together made me want to visit Nico; even though it had only been two hours since we were together in the office.
It had been like this for two weeks now. Gerry had been in Vevey almost the entire time working on the Canonica case. Two weeks during which Nico and I could hardly keep our hands off each other. Not a day had passed without us falling into each other’s arms.
I felt dizzy at the thought of Linda returning on Monday. As I reached for my glass, I noticed it was empty. I stood up and grabbed a ginger shot from the fridge. As I downed it in one swiftgulp, I leaned against the kitchen counter and tried to focus on something—anything but Nico.
“Are you okay?” Luca asked with concern.
“Yes,” I answered. “Just been working a bit too much lately.” Which wasn’t even a lie.
