Her thoughts kept returning to Will. But she redirected them, reminding herself that Whitney was there for him and she couldn't be drooling after a married man. She turned her thoughts to what a fun night she had. Paige was turning out to be a great friend, but that made her miss Danielle even more. The last time she'd seen her best friend was in a dark parking garage while they were fleeing the GTH offices. They had agreed to toss their cell phones and contact each other via web email, hopeful that the GTH private investigator couldn't find them.
Kenna walked up the hill to the bed and breakfast, trying to push both Will and New York from her mind. Instead she filled it with thoughts of how to design her new office and the best way to prepare for the bar exam. Kenna opened the door to her room and changed into her pajamas. She washed her face and brushed out her hair. Her eyes kept darting to the laptop sitting on top of the dresser. Finally giving in, Kenna grabbed it and sat in the middle of her bed. She signed onto her free email account and saw one message in the inbox. She clicked on the new message and brought it up. It was from Ron Fox, not Danielle. But then Kenna laughed, "Clever Danielle.” Ron Fox was this sweet old man who had been a client of Kenna's at GTH. He was a low-profile client, so the bigwigs wouldn't recognize the name. Kenna looked at the body of the letter and read,
Dear Ms. Mason,
I seem to be in need of your legal services again. I have recently retired and believe my company is trying to get me to come back. They appear to have put a tail on me and are trying to track me. I've moved to using only cash and tossed all electronics I previously had. But I can feel that they are getting close to trying to force me to come back to the company. So far, no direct contact has been made. There have been shadows outside my door and they've knocked at my new apartment door. I had to leave through the back once when they were persistent and I found a new place to sleep.
I'm hopeful you aren't having the same problems. Please let me know how you are and if you think you can help me.
Kenna processed the email. It appeared that Danielle was safe, for the moment. But they were closing in on her. She hit reply and started typing,
Dear Mr. Fox,
I'm always available to help such a loyal client. I am happy to report that I still have a good relationship with my firm. I would advise you to leave the area immediately. Maybe take a vacation to one of the places you always wished to travel to. I can wire funds or mail a cashier's check to assist you on your vacation if needed. Please let me know if you require anything further and know I'm always here to help.
Kenna took a breath and then logged off the internet. Neither message gave away a location, but she was sure that Danielle was still in the city and hoped she'd get out soon. GTH hired the best and they would track her down in the city sooner or later.
Kenna got up, put away her laptop, and turned off the lights. She pulled back the heavy comforter and climbed into the huge bed. Just an hour ago, she felt love and support. Now, she felt cold and alone. She closed her eyes and hoped sleep would come.
Chapter Seven
Kenna looked up from her desk and if she leaned far enough to the right she could see into the reception area. Danielle De Luca was sitting at the desk in front of the elevators answering the phone. Kenna's office was on the ninth floor of the huge office building. The seventh floor was the lobby and client conference rooms. Floor eight housed the associates. Floor nine hosted the junior partners and the attorney conference room. The tenth floor housed the senior partners. On the sixth floor, there was a kitchen and a private gym for the members of Greendale, Thacker and Hansley, GTH for short, to help keep them sane.
Kenna looked down at the signed settlement agreement in her hands and smiled. She had just settled a mediocre pharmaceutical neglect case for $5.5 million. It was a good day. Even the fact that GTH was hosting one of their "guys’ nights" didn't bother her. GTH hosted a poker night once a month with the equity senior partners who liked strippers, or as she was informed by Bob Greendale, the senior partner of GTH, she was being politically incorrect to refer to them as strippers. The “professional clothing removal experts” hosted these poker nights and entertained the private VIPs, including local and federal judges, as well as certain higher-ups in the city and state offices. Kenna never approved of these events and was pretty sure laws were being broken. They were undeniably in breach of ethical rules. But the senior partners made it clear. If she wanted to keep her job, then she had to keep her mouth shut. In order to do that, Kenna made sure to be out of the office well before their night started.