I closed the door, then buried myself under the covers when my cell rang from an unknown number. Figuring whoever was calling would leave a message if it was important, I placed the cell phone on my nightstand and was preparing myself to go back to sleeping off my headache when the doorbell rang.
Please, no.
Was there no hope for peace in my own home?
Heaving an exasperated sigh, I sat up when chatter carried over and Jude called my name. With a groan, I pulled the covers over my head, ignoring her. Seconds later, the door was thrown open.
“Laurie,” Jude said. “You need to get up. Someone wants to talk to you.” Her voice carried a hint of worry.
“Who is it?” I asked from under the covers. “If it’s Clint, tell him I have no time for him and his Barbie.”
“It’s not him. It’s Clint’s attorney.”
“What?” I asked, surprised, and pushed the sheets back. “What does he want?” For the life of me, I couldn’t fathom why someone like him would want to meet with someone like me.
She shrugged, signaling that she had no idea. “You should talk with him, though. He said it’s urgent and that he can’t discuss any details with me because it’s confidential.”
“Awesome. Just what I needed.” I exhaled slowly when another pang of pain shot through my head. “Tell him I’ll be ready in a minute.”
“Sure.”
The door closed. Groaning, I sank under the covers. Of all the times in my life, why the heck would Clint’s oldest friend and attorney choose today to pay me an unsolicited visit?
I counted to ten, then changed quickly into clean clothes and pulled my hair into a ponytail.
There was no point in applying makeup, and certainly no need to get rid of the scowl on my face. I had never made a secret of not liking him. Guys like him were sharks, and in particular those who worked for Clint. I decided I’d listen to whatever he had to say, then get him the hell out of our apartment so I could return to my bed to sleep off the pounding in my head.
Chapter 12
Aldwin was a little stumpy guy with a bald head and a sharp chin that was emphasized by a thin goatee. He looked harmless enough, but he had the keenest eyes I had ever seen in a person. To say I had never trusted the guy was an understatement. Maybe my utter dislike of him could be attributed to the fact that he seemed to hang out with Clint on a frequent basis, always openly boasting about his victories—both in relation to young women and to various trials he always seemed to win. Aldwin was—simply put—an unpleasant man.
Like a salesman eager to flog off any product for the highest price possible, he was out to win with no regard for who ended up hurt or broke along the way. He had no sense of justice, which was ironic, considering he was supposed to be a man of the law. Helping others search for fairness wasn’t his thing. I knew him as someone whose craving for money and building connections had always exceeded his moral understanding or ethnic views.
So, not surprisingly, I left the sanctuary of my bedroom and met with Jude in the hall with a fake smile plastered across my lips and pretty low expectations.
“Aldwin,” I greeted him.
“Miss Hanson, thanks for seeing me,” he said in his irritatingly high voice, which always made me cringe. He was standing near the door, his hand clutching at a briefcase, his eyes fixed on Jude hungrily. “May I invite you to walk with me to discuss a rather trivial matter?”
Trivial?
Then why the heck wouldn’t he just call, like normal people? But in Aldwin’s terms, “trivial” meant a lot of things.
“Okay.” I inclined my head. “But please keep it short. I’m not in the mood for discussing any sort of matter. I have important business to tend to.”
Which was a lie, but he didn’t need to know that. My lie was supposed to ensure he kept the meeting as short as possible because, God knew, Aldwin could talk for hours. Upon grabbing my jacket from the rack, I caught Jude’s “you’ve got to tell me everything” glance. And then she closed the door behind us, and I was left alone with the shark.
“It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?” Aldwin began. “Times like this remind me how lucky we really are to be able to experience sunshine every day.”
A beautiful day? Was he joking?
The sky was clouded, the sun hidden behind thick clouds. From the look of it, it would start to rain any time soon. I was ready to bet my nonexistent wages that it was his standard introduction speech to melt the ice before he started to discuss “trivial” matters.
“What do you want from me?” I asked and stopped, barely able to hide my irritation and distaste for the man.