Page 11 of Knocked Up by Mr. Grump Lawyer

Mr. Emery shook hands with me. “You two already know each other, I presume.”

We nodded.

“How well do you know each other?” he inquired as we sat opposite and across the boss’ desk.

Kayla glanced at me. I met her gaze and immediately sensed we were thinking about the previous night's incident.Holding each other. Almost kissing.

“Not very well,” she told him.

“Well, I think that’s about to change,” Mr. Emery said. “You see, I have a crucial case on my hands…”

I felt my heart hammering quicker than normal. He just said I would be working on a case with Kayla.

Kayla looked nervous, but she didn’t glance at me.

Mr. Emery went on. “I’m sure you’ve already heard of the latest viral news in Hollywood!”

“You mean about that employee from Fantasy Flicks who has been running a scam business and using their name?” I asked, remembering that piece of news I recently read.

“I’ve heard about that,” Kayla added. “He’s been holding auditions for actors, hiring production staff and makeup artists and… I think… also stuntmen. But it’s all just a con. My best friend almost got tricked too!”

Mr. Emery turned toward her. “Good, good. You both are familiar with it. And it’s good that you have a personal connection who can maybe help with your research along the way.”

“Is Fantasy Flicks suing this guy?” I said, leaning forward with great interest. It was definitely going to be a sensitive case because the two parties both have high-profile backgrounds. The media’s bound to go into a frenzy.

Mr. Emery nodded. “The owner of Fantasy Flicks is a good friend of mine — Mr. Jonathan Miller. He used to be a famous actor. I’m sure you know him…”

Kayla and I nodded.

“I’ll arrange a meeting for you both,” he told us. “You two have great dynamics and will make a good team.”

Is he out of his mind?

Kayla was also staring at him in disbelief. But then, I saw that look of determination in her eyes. She knew this would be a breakthrough case that would do wonders for her career.

“It will be challenging despite the evidence,” Mr. Emery explained. “Don Belmont comes from a wealthy family, so they’re doing all they can to cover this up and get him out of trouble. So it will be our job to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”

I nodded. “Sounds great.”

“Great,” Mr. Emery said, shaking my hand. Then he turned to Kayla. “Are you in, Atty. Brown?”

She gave him a confident smile. “Of course.”

That night, I deliberately waited for Kayla. I kept checking on her to see if she was getting ready to leave already. Everyone else had gone home before us.

What the hell did I want to accomplish by staying behind? Did I secretly want a repeat of the power outage?

“We’re going to be partners,” I told myself. “It would do us good to get to know each other better.”

Saying it out loud didn’t even convince me. I wasn’t honest with myself.

I saw her turn off her computer and stretch her arms. She got up, seized her bag, and rushed out of the office. I followed her casually so that we’d end up going down together.

“Can’t believe we’re handling the Fantasy Flicks case,” I said casually, trying to strike up a conversation.

Instead of responding, she gave me a surprised look. “You’re still here? And you’re just heading home at the same time that I am?” she asked suspiciously.

I laughed. “Don’t worry. I didn’t do that on purpose.”I was lying, of course.

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