VERSUS (Second Chances 2)

He takes a sip of the herbal tea. “You’re talking about Eden. She’s doing a great job here in Manhattan.”

“And back in Buffalo,” I point out. “I have to hand it to her. Two courtrooms in two different cities in two days. I don’t know a lot of lawyers who could handle that and the flight in between.”

His gaze narrows. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Eden’s in court in Buffalo today. We’re facing off tomorrow in the Alcester case in front of Judge Mycella.”

I doubt I’m giving away a secret. It has to be an oversight on his part. He’s got over a hundred employees spread over two offices. Keeping track of all of them isn’t an easy task.

He edges a finger over the bridge of his nose. “Eden’s not in court today. She booked the day off.”

That makes zero sense. She left my place last night in route to Noelle’s so she could rest up before her early morning flight.

“You’re sure?”

“One hundred percent sure.” He taps his forehead. “Eden called me a couple of days ago to check-in. She mentioned needing a personal day today. I gave her my blessing because sometimes you need to rest before you face the lion.”

I take it that I’m the lion in that analogy.

If she’s not in court in Buffalo, where the hell is she?

He glances over my shoulder. “It’s been good seeing you, Dylan. I need to run. I’m meeting with my partners. Retirement is on the horizon. I need to start thinking about who will fill my shoes.”

Eden is the logical choice, so I point that out. “Eden must be at the top of the short list.”

His mouth curves into a smile. “I agree, but she doesn’t.”

I query him with a raise of both brows.

He shrugs. “Off the record, I already offered her the job. She turned me down. No explanation. Nothing. Just ‘thanks, but no thanks.’”

Something inside of me splinters. Maybe it’s hope. I’ve rarely experienced it in my life, so I’m not an expert on what it feels to have your dreams torn in two.

She’d rather go back to Buffalo than stay in New York.

Just as Kurt’s about to walk away, I stop him with another question. Curiosity fuels it because maybe he asked her before that first night at the club. Maybe he needs to pose the question to her again because circumstances have changed. Everything has changed in the past few weeks.

“When did you offer her the job?”

“During that call two days ago.” He chuckles. “She said she’d think about it so I gave it one last valiant attempt last night in an email, but she replied before dawn today to let me off easy. It looks like Buffalo is where she wants to be.”

***

“She’s not here, Mr. Colt,” Betsy Burton looks up at me. “She has the day off.”

“It’s my understanding that she’s in Buffalo.” I shoot her a dimpled smile. “Can you check to see if her court session is done for the day?”

“I have Ms. Conrad’s Buffalo schedule right here.” She taps a fingernail on her laptop screen. “There’s nothing booked for her.”

I’m not surprised. Kurt may be recovering from major heart surgery, but he’s got a finger on the pulse of his employees.

He knows what they’re up to.

I could wait for Eden to meet me for a drink tonight or I can push Betsy to get to the bottom of it.

I choose the latter because I’ve tried calling Eden and it went straight to voicemail. The two text messages I sent her asking about how her day is going have gone unanswered.

“Can I get the number of her assistant in Buffalo?” I lean on the reception desk with both forearms. “I need to get in touch with Eden regarding our court date tomorrow.”