“Mr Graham,” I signal him to sit down as I settle into my chair. “Why would I agree to be your lawyer?”
“Oh. Well… my friend Ross, whom you just met,” he points behind his back, “suggested this firm. A client of the nightclub where he works recommended it to him, and…”
“Mr Graham,” I stop him before he gets any further.
“Yes?”
“I didn’t ask you how you got our name, and you really shouldn’t talk in bursts like you have no filter.”
“I’m sorry, I’m nervous, and when I’m nervous, I talk.”
“I asked you why I should take your case.”
His eyes slowly fill with tears.
“I’m desperate to lose my kids. I can’t imagine having to say goodbye to them. I’d do anything to make them happy. Even let them go. And if I knew that Shonda would love them as much as Mark and Jillian and raise them with their values and the same love… If I was sure that living with her was the best solution, I swear I wouldn’t fight it.”
And it only takes me a few seconds to understand a person.
“No one can love those children more than Mark and Jillian, but I…” He touches his chest, and at the exact moment, something happens in mine. “I’m getting very close.”
Seth
Mr Kennedy pushes a box of tissues towards me.
“I’m mortified.” I immediately apologise, grabbing a tissue and wiping my eyes. “I got carried away by my emotions.”
“And is this something that happens often?” he asks, one eyebrow raised.
“Is it a problem?” I ask anxiously.
“No more than your agitation.” He leans his back against the chair, elbows on the armrests, arms folded. Strong arms. You can even see them through the jacket. Arms that look like they get a lot of exercise. I’d rather not imagine how powerful everything else could be.
That’s not true. I’m thinking about it.
Now I am agitated!
“Can I get you some water or something else? I would offer you coffee, but I have a feeling that's not what you need right now.”
“Oh no, not another coffee.”
“Another? How many have you had?”
“Three since this morning.”
Mr Kennedy looks at his watch. “It’s only ten o’clock.”
“I worked last night, and I didn’t go to sleep yet. I didn’t want to risk not waking up or being late.”
“Mmm…”
“I work in a nightclub,” I quickly explain, not wanting him to think who knows what.
“A nightclub…” He comments, his expression wrinkled.
“Night 101, do you know it?”
“I have heard about it.”
