Page 62 of Daddy's Game

“Good morning, Grace.”

Nate gestured to the man with him.

“This is Jim Brown.”

The man smiled and offered his hand for a shake. I stood up and did so, to be polite.

“Jim’s a lawyer specializing in taking on big corporations.”

“I see. I’m glad to have you on board, Jim.”

“Likewise.”

It didn’t take but half of my second cup of coffee to learn two things. Number one, Jim’s law degree came from a country I couldn’t pick out on a map if my life depended on it.

Two, he had never actually won a case.

I listened for long enough to be polite, but Selma gave me an out by calling me.

“I’m sorry, I have to take this.”

I held up my hand to forestall more word salad spewing from Jim’s bearded mouth.

“Hello, Selma. Yes, I can talk. Oh no, this sounds like something I need to come back to the center for. No, it’s all right, don’t apologize for interrupting. I’m on my way.”

I put my phone down and smiled an apology at the two men.

“I’m sorry, guys. I have something important to take care of back at the center.”

Jim insisted on giving me his card. Actually he gave me a dozen copies of his card. I left them at a bus stop, which probably meant I was going to Hell.

When I returned to the center, Selma greeted me at the door.

“Uh, it wasn’t that serious. You didn’t have to rush back here from your meeting with the alderman.”

“Oh yes I did.”

Selma arched an eyebrow.

“Did he not come through with the lawyer?”

“Oh, he came through. I don’t think this particular lawyer is the right fit for us.”

Selma shrugged.

“What do you expect when you go for activist lawyers? They don’t charge fees for a reason; they suck.”

“Not all of them…but maybe this one did.”

Selma shook her head.

“You could just use some of the money left over from those big donations and hire a real, scary lawyer to represent you.”

“I’ve been thinking about that. The only thing is, I don’t know how to find a good, scary lawyer.”

“We both know someone who could help you with that…”

I sighed.

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