Page 17 of Somebody to Save
He was in town from Chicago, where he was opening another Crawford Law office. We met up every once in a while to discuss the business, progress, and any improvements we needed to make. From St. Louis to Chicago, it wasn’t a long plane ride, anyway.
Andrew was thirty-five, almost five years younger than me, and was excited to strike out on his own. And I wasn’t surprisedby his success. If anyone could make it happen, it was him. But I was still his big brother—and technically his boss—so I had a responsibility to look out for him and provide guidance, if necessary.
“You okay?” Natalie asked as she opened her laptop. She looked at me over the screen with a curious lift of her dark brows.
I was about to apologize and get the meeting started when Andrew chuckled. “Nope, he’s not. He’s apparently fucking smitten with someone.”
“What—” I stuttered out. “What are you talking about?”
His shit-eating grin grated my nerves. I hadn’t said anything, so I wasn’t sure how he would have known?—
“Aunt Michelle,” we both said at the same time, and I sighed as he laughed.
“Yes, you aren’t the only one that talks to her regularly. I called to find out how the move went, and she told meallabout the woman who works at her new place and how she thinks it’s the same woman you met at the club opening.”
Natalie whipped her head in my direction and gaped. “You mean at Abditory?”
Oh my god, I was going to kill him. And then stop telling my aunt any details of my personal life.
“We’re supposed to be having a business meeting. Mypersonalbusiness was not on the agenda.”
“Now, it is,” Andrew quipped. “Aunt M said the woman is like half your age, too.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Natalie’s jaw drop as I dropped my head back and groaned at the ceiling.
“Come on, Beckett. You’ve gotta give me something. Is she really that young?”
I looked back down and found Andrew leaned back in his seat, mischievous grin still in place as he swiveled back and forth. Unfortunately, I knew how this went—I would have to give up some information if Iwanted to move on.
“She’s not half my age; she’s twenty-three. And yes, we met at Abditory. Turns out she’s also the event coordinator at Lake Hills, where Aunt M is now living. She helped us move in.”
“What a small world,” Natalie murmured.
“So, you slept together, right?”
“Andrew,” I chastised. “Seriously?”
“What? It was the opening of a sex club. It’s a valid question.”
Natalie caught me looking over at her, but she shook her head. “If you’re worried about me, don’t,” Natalie clarified, busy typing on her computer with her head down. “I’ve heard much worse in this office, trust me.”
Even with her approval, I stayed silent, staring at my brother in challenge. Across the table, he held my stare for a moment before he nodded, and we moved on.
“I need to hire at least two more labor and employment attorneys,” he said, and I gritted my teeth, knowing the numbers would be tight. “Don’t make that face, Beckett. We have more work coming in than we can manage, and I have a few clients on the horizon that are ready to retain us. It’s an investment we should make. It’ll pay off.”
“We can swing one associate, find someone pretty green, and someone more senior. We’re not looking for any new partners right now.”
Andrew nodded and jotted down a few notes. “There’s Mr. Fix-it.”
I rolled my eyes at the nickname. I liked finding solutions. Sue me.
“I’ll get with HR to post two new job listings,” Natalie added. “Just send me any specific qualifications you want, Andrew. Or other requirements.” The rest of the meeting went smoothly. Business was booming, our offices ever-expanding, and although we knew it wouldn’t be anytime soon, I think Andrew and I were hungry enough to open a third office.
We liked helping smaller companies and individuals with alltheir business and immigration needs. Law was big business, but we managed to keep our prices fair while not sacrificing expertise or the service provided.
Almost an hour later, we were wrapping up when I could tell Andrew had something else to say but was struggling to do so. It wasn’t often he grappled for what to say, so I was instantly on alert.
“What?” I prompted bluntly, and his eyes shot to mine.
