“We can fight my side,” I said breathlessly.
Charlie nodded. “I’d like to go over the new agreement with you before I send it.”
I nodded, stunned. I couldn’t believe what was happening. Charlie handed over a paper and I read through it. Vince leaned in close beside me, and I turned the paper slightly toward him so he could read it alongside me. He prodded my shoulder, and we exchanged a glance.
“It’s perfect,” I said.
Charlie grinned wider. “Good. Now, all you have to do is sign, and I will have it sent off first thing in the morning.” He pointed out where to sign the paper, and I did. With that done, the lawyer handed each of us a cup of coffee like we were having a celebration. He took a sip, then leaned forward toward me with a conspiratorial wink. “Someone at that law office is getting fired. It was such a rookie mistake, and you, my dear, will benefit from it.”15VinceWhile Charlie and Lindsey chatted for a few minutes, I stepped outside to answer a couple of emails about the upcoming race exhibition. It was hard to concentrate on getting ready for the trip while also wanting to put all my attention into her. But I knew I needed to keep focusing on my job. If nothing else, so I didn’t feel like I deserved a giant “I told you so” from every member of my family working on the complex.
I got on them so much for not putting enough concentration and thought into their work lately. Then I turned around and was on the brink of doing the same thing. I was fully committed to be there for Lindsey and doing anything she needed me to do. But I also had to live up to what I promised to Quentin and ensure the company kept going the way it should as well.
My last email was just disappearing off to its destination when Lindsey came out of the office. Her shoulders not drawn up close to the sides of her face and her jaw not clenched were a welcome sight. Even better was the sparkling smile on her face. I leaned back against my truck, my ankles crossed in front of me, and smiled at her as she approached.
“So, that’s good news,” I said, reaching out to hug her.
She let out a gust of air that sounded something like a short laugh and nodded. “Yeah, I’m pretty much in shock. Part of me still thinks I’m dreaming.”
She took a step back from me, and I saw the expression of awe on her face. I nodded. I could understand why she was feeling that way. At least, I had my suspicions. In a lot of ways, Lindsey was still sort of a mystery to me. Even though I had technically known her for a lot of years, she seemed like a completely different person than the Lindsey I remembered from when we were younger.
Not because she had undergone some huge personality change or anything. More just because she was a more vibrant, prominent aspect of my life. Looking back on those years when she and Nick were just starting to be friends, I knew it was her. I could even remember some moments when she had the same bright smile and laughed in the same way. But now that she was an adult, it was different.
The fact that I didn’t know much about her only added to it. I knew almost nothing about her family or anything she might have gone through when she was younger. The things I knew about her now were from our conversations during my visits to the bar. Those weren’t exactly the deepest and most exploratory of conversations. We talked mostly about the town and swapped stories.
Most of what I knew about her and the struggles she went through came from Nick. But just from that I could tell she probably hadn’t gotten many good breaks in life. Not that her entire existence had been hard and she was always clawing for survival or anything. More like life had a way of batting her around a bit, and when it did, she rarely came out on top.
This time, the universe smiled on her. At just the right time, probably the time in her life when she needed it more than ever, she had finally gotten a break. I was glad I got to be around to witness this one.
“When Charlie had called me and asked me to come in, he didn’t tell me what was going on at first,” I said. “He just made it clear I needed to come into the office to talk about your situation. He was very cryptic about it.”
“Did he tell you about it when you got here?” she asked.
I nodded. “He did. I asked him to keep me updated on what was going on and what he was doing with everything.” Something flickered across Lindsey’s face, and I suddenly realized how intrusive that sounded. “I hope that’s okay with you. I don’t mean to pry or be in your business or anything.”