“I’m sorry, what?” Renee could barely get the words out without choking.
“Oh, I thought you knew. Graham served alcohol to a minor, let her leave the bar without a ride, and now she’s paralyzed. We discussed it last month.”
“No,” Renee said sharply. “You told us about the case, not who you were suing. How come Graham doesn’t know this?”
“We haven’t filed yet, but now that we know his brother is an alcoholic, it bolsters our case. Clearly, your friend has a penchant for serving alcohol when he shouldn’t.”
Renee couldn’t believe her ears. “You can’t use what you learned in our conference room against my client.”
Donna’s laughter stopped, and she turned stone cold. “Drop your case, Renee. It’s in direct conflict, and I will use it.”
“I’m not dropping my case, Donna. Graham is my client and has been for years. I’m sorry, but your civil suit has to go elsewhere.” In the trash was where Rennie wanted to tell her to put it.
Donna stood, straightened her skirt, and set her hands down onto Renee’s desk. Her mentor’s gaze was menacing, terrifying. “Lex agrees—drop the case.”
“I won’t,” Renee fired back.
The senior partner smirked as she stood and walked out of the room. Even though she hadn’t slammed the office door, Renee still jumped nonetheless. A lawsuit was the last thing Graham needed right now.
Rennie called Ester into her office. “Hey, can you get me a copy of Donna’s case, the one involving the paralyzed teenager?”
“Of course.”
As soon as Ester left her office, Rennie began to pace. Deep in the recesses of her bag, her cell phone rang. She searched for it and answered without looking at the caller identification. “What?”
“I’m not sure how to respond.”
Shit. Theo hated rudeness. Rennie closed her eyes, inhaled deeply, and counted to ten. “I’m sorry. Long day.”
“I was calling to see how court went.”
Rennie smiled. “It went really well. My clients are happy. How was your day?”
“Busy. I have to go to San Diego for a couple of days and wanted to see if you wanted to go with me?”
She did. She wanted to go sit on the beach and bask in the warm sun. Work plagued her, though. Rennie had to talk to Graham about this other lawsuit, and there was a lingering suspicion that something was off at work. “Oh, Theo, I would love to, but I’m so busy right now.”
“I see.” She sensed disappointment in Theo’s tone, which angered her.
“No, I don’t think you do. It’s a great luxury you have, being able to travel. I can’t. My clients need me, and I already have a vacation booked this month. I can’t drop everything on a whim and leave, Theo. You know this.”
“I understand.”
“Do you? Because right now I feel like you don’t.”
“Believe me, Renee. I do. I just wanted to offer because I know how much you enjoy the coast.”
He made her feel like an ass. She slumped over and rested her head on her desk. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly into the phone. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you. I feel like we have this disconnect, and I want nothing more than to go with you.”
“I know, love. Soon, we’ll be together for a nice long week. Nothing will interrupt us.”
His words brought a smile to her face. “I can’t wait.”
“Excuse me, Ms. Wallace?”
Rennie’s head popped up at the sound of Ester’s voice. She had papers in her hand, which Rennie believed to be the complaint against Graham. “Theo, I have to call you back. Love you,” she said and hung up.
Ester came forward. “I don’t know what’s going on, but some of us have noticed Ms. Pere acting weird, especially around you, and when you asked for this case, it’s clear there’s a conflict with the parties involved.” She handed the documents to Rennie. “I printed it out instead of emailing.”
“You’re smart, Ester. Thank you.” Ester turned and walked toward the door. “Hey, if you don’t mind, can you keep your ears open but nose clean?”
Ester smiled. “Already on it.”
Rennie read the complaint and wished she had taken her criminal law classes more seriously. She understood the jargon but not how Graham could be responsible. She looked at the clock and calculated the time it would take her to get to Cape Harbor. To go now or wait—the decision weighed heavily on her mind. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. Rennie was tired, exhausted from the drive, and needed to go home. Cape Harbor would have to wait.
FOURTEEN
For the first time in a long time, Graham was back to work, and he was happy. Ecstatic. The Whale Spout gave him a sense of purpose, belonging, even though running a family-owned business, especially a bar, in a tourist town was the last thing he’d ever wanted for a career. However, he loved it. He loved the regulars who frequented the bar, the groups of people, from the fishermen to the locals—who for generations made the Whale Spout their only watering hole—and he adored the tourists. They were what made living and working in a small town enjoyable. And, it took Grady almost dying for Graham to figure out it was time for him to move on. The only question that plagued him was, “What does it mean to move on?” He didn’t have the answer, and he was certain he wasn’t going to find it scrawled in messy handwriting on the bathroom stall door. It was Rennie who brought about this sudden change in him. He’d lain awake the previous night, staring at his ceiling—which, as of late, was a common occurrence for him—and thought about how his life could’ve been different.