Page 17 of It's Always Been You
She narrows her eyes at me. “Hang on. What tech company bought it?”
“Montgomery Tech.”
She looks up, as if trying to conjure a memory, then just stares at me.
“Rory Industries.”
Hearing that name from her mouth is an unexpected shock. That’s the registered name of my company, but the publicly facing name is something else.
“Yeah, how do you know?”
“The CEO of Montgomery Tech got in touch with me not that long ago. They want me to do some business succession planning for them in connection with the acquisition. They gave me the name.”
I let out a low whistle. “What are the chances?”
Molly gives me a sly smile. “Pretty good considering I’m the smartest and best high net worth estate and tax planning attorney in the city.”
My chest expands with pride for her. I don’t know yet how she ended up here, but she’s obviously happy and successful, and that makes me unreasonably happy.
“Okay well, since you’re the best high net worth estate and tax planning attorney in the city, can I interest you in another client?”
“What client?”
“Me.”
She shakes her head, the look on her face almost…amused maybe?
“I should have known,” she mutters. She glances down at her watch. “Shit. I have to go. I have a meeting. My car should be here any…”
She glances at the street just as a rideshare pulls up at the curb.
“When did you order that car?”
“On my way here. I usually sit with my coffee and read a book for a few minutes before I go to work. You coopted my moments of Zen.”
“Why aren’t you driving?”
She shrugs. “My car is in the shop. I forgot to change the oil for, like, four years. My engine crapped out and also some other things, and I’m sure none of them are good, but I stopped listening because the mechanic asked me if I would prefer him to speak to my husband or boyfriend, and I was too busy trying to think of all the different ways I could kill him in his own garage and get away with it.”
I snort out a laugh because I think, in all the deep-down ways, Molly hasn’t changed at all, and there is an overwhelming sort of comfort to that.
“I can drive you.”
Molly motions to the driver to give her a minute. Then she takes a deep breath and turns to me.
“Listen, Gabe. This has all been very nice and nostalgic, standing here bantering like it hasn’t been ten years since the last time we saw each other. But I have a client waiting for me, and I’m sure you have some very important king of the tech world stuff to do. My car is already here, so I’m just going to get into it now.”
My day today consists of unpacking a million boxes in my new house and probably fielding nosy phone calls from my sisters, but she doesn’t need to know about that.
“You never answered me. Can I hire you? For legal stuff, I swear.”
Sort of for legal stuff.
Maybe.
Molly turns and starts walking to the car, calling over her shoulder, “Make an appointment.”
I follow her, holding the door open and she slides in and then handing her the two bags of hers I was carrying. I close the car door and bend down so I can see her through the open window.
