Page 21 of Her Exception

They ended up crashing in separate guest rooms and Symphony expressed her gratitude for me letting her stay throughout the week. School was important to her, and I wanted to honor that. She reminded me of myself—a curious child with big dreams who simply wanted to experience life and love and have fun. I was going to be there for her as much as she would allow.

Hell, there were pictures of me feeding her as a baby up until us at her latest birthday party in our family photo album. Whether I clung to her because she was my favorite uncle’s child or she reminded me of mine, we had a bond that urged me to be there for her the way I wish my parents were there for me. The way Grandma Rose was. I wouldn’t condone the young pregnancy, but I for damn sure wouldn’t make her feel bad about it. Her mother and life would do that enough.

Mecca was right. As he informed me about the case and showed me everything he had so far, I wanted to help in any way I could. The first thing I planned to do was find out everything I could about the landlord, his company, and his employees. Mecca’s biggest concern was the defense turning this into a character case to prove the tenants were responsible for their own issues. That meant I would have to find out all there was to know about the lead plaintiff and everyone else involved in the suit to ensure Mecca would be prepared with a rebuttal or reason behind anything they might find.

Violet made her way inside, and when she noticed Mecca and I hadn’t ripped each other’s heads off, she smiled. She sat across from me at the long, rectangular table next to Mecca and slid the offer in my direction. I looked it over, still in disbelief at how much money she was offering me. It was simple in its layout, and I didn’t feel like I needed an attorney to look over it. Still, I wanted someone to do so just to be safe. After expressing that, Mecca called in a cocoa-colored, bright-eyed woman with a beautiful smile.

“Do you have a dollar?” she asked me, sitting next to me.

“Hmm… I think so.” I went into my purse and fished around for my wallet, then pulled a dollar out and gave it to her.

“Amelia Phoenix, at your service.” We shook hands before she looked the contract over. I expected her to immediately agree to the terms, but she surprised me when she said, “This is a really great deal, but based on the number of plaintiffs in the case, I think you should ask for two hundred thousand more. That would be half a million total, which is the bare minimum of what some of the tenants will receive when we win. Some will be awarded three. Mecca himself will be making quite a bit more for his counsel. I don’t think Violet is intentionally trying to cheat you, but I also don’t think she understands how rigorous and demanding the task they want to hire you for will be.”

She was right about that. It would take hours of research daily for God only knew how long for me to find all the information I needed. Then I would have to go through it all to find what was important. Finally, I’d have to compile it into easily accessible files for Mecca and whoever was working with him. On top of that, he wanted me to sit in with him on meetings too. Even with that being said, half a million dollars was a lot. I guess, to them, that was nothing. They probably made that amount of money in their sleep. My eyes shifted to Mecca, who gave me a comfortable smile and bobbed his head in agreement.

Nibbling my cheek, I nodded. “Okay, I trust you.”

Amelia gave me a smile before looking at Violet. “Do I need to repeat all that?”

Violet chuckled as her head shook. “Not at all. I can do five.”

“For the same length of time, three months. If this goes to trial or she works longer, the same increase will be expected.”

Violet inhaled a slow, deep breath. “Agreed.” They shook hands before Violet and I did the same. She stood and let me know she would be updating the offer based on the new terms. I thanked Amelia, and he did too, making her blush as he called her his favorite negotiator, before she left Mecca and I alone.

“Congratulations,” he said. “And thank you for agreeing to work with us. With me.”

“Thank you. This is a really great cause. I’m honored to help.”

We remained silent until Violet returned. When she did, I signed the offer and thanked her again when she gave me a copy. As I prepared to leave Mecca said, “Would you… like to grab lunch or something?”

Yes.

Hellyes.

“No.” My head shook quickly when I realized how hard the word had come out. Softening my voice I added, “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Mec.”

“Yeah, no, you’re probably right.”

We stared at each other for a few seconds more before I turned to leave. Working with Mecca was one thing, but I didn’t feel comfortable being around him on a personal level. Even if we put the past behind us, the fact remained—he used me for my virginity and left me when I needed him most. Mecca was the reason I vowed to never be with a man who hurt me or lied to me even once. He was the reason my boundaries were as strong as they were. Though I appreciated the lesson, I still hated that he was the teacher. I would never allow a man who claimed to love me make me feel that way again.

I couldn’t allow him to be an exception to that rule.

This was bullshit. Shalom and I had a bond deeper than anything else I’d experienced, yet as we sat across from each other, it was awkward and silent. We weren’t talking about anything but the damn case, and even that was a little weird.

Shalom wanted to meet with all the plaintiffs, and though she insisted on doing it alone, I did it with her. I was glad I did because it ended up taking about twelve hours. After the last client left, I had takeout delivered from a soul food restaurant a couple of blocks up. She swore she wasn’t hungry, but her grumbling stomach said otherwise.

Now, we were sitting at this long-ass conference table, feeling like we were a million miles away. I wanted to say it was good that we weren’t at each other’s necks, but I wanted more than that.

I left to go to the bathroom when we were done, and when I came back, I saw Olivia drop a stack of papers outside of the conference room. Before I could make it down to help her, Shalom was coming out.

“Thank you,” Olivia mumbled, frantically picking up the pieces of paper.

“Are you… okay?” Shalom asked a visibly shaken Olivia.

“No. My life is over.” Wiping my fingers down the corners of my mouth, I tried to keep myself from chuckling. Olivia was a first-year associate who was easily rattled. She ended up working under Jeremy and no first-year associate deserved that fate. The good thing about that was, if she could handle him, she could handleanything. “Jeremy asked me to find the smoking gun before his case starts in the morning and I’m coming up short. If I don’t find what will convince the jury that his client is innocent, I’ll never advance. He’ll probably fire me.”

“Why is he putting the weight of this on you if it’s his client?”

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