The Vanished, page 3
“No need to frown. I’ll take that for you since I need to check on the other galleries after I find this elusive board member.”
“You don’t need to—”
“I insist. But first …” He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a square business card, which he extended to her. “I find the museum may be in need of an attorney. Could you have your assistant call in the next morning or two to set up a meeting?”
Of course she would. Once she had an assistant and a dedicated office. Landing the museum as a client could give her needed clout as she established a reputation in town and talked to others about letting her work for them. “I arrived in town today but will reach out in the next couple days.” She paused as a thought flitted through her mind. “Does the museum use the university’s attorney?”
“Not for items like this. The general counsel has deferred every art-related matter to us. He’s insisted it’s outside his area of expertise. I can confirm with him if you prefer.”
“That would probably be best and give me time to get settled.”
“That should be fine.” He looked around at the hubbub. “It’ll take a while to get everything sorted, but I would like to connect about this, since I anticipate he’ll continue to ask us to handle all art-related matters.”
“Of course.” She exchanged the card for the glass. “Thank you.”
“The pleasure has been mine.” He paused as if waiting for her to give him one of her cards.
She gave a small shrug. “Need to get new cards.” She could only hope Ashley and Ashby would have some ready for her when she arrived Monday.
He nodded. “I’ll look forward to hearing from you.” Then he followed Ariel from the gallery.
Monday, October 24
Butterflies fluttered aggressively in Janae’s stomach as she steeled herself for her first day at a new law firm. Ashley and Ashby filled the role of a small-town Virginia fixture. She remembered the original Ashley and Ashby as overweight, seersucker-clad old men who’d scared her as a child. Now her best option was walking through that door and working for their sons. Mark Ashby had gone to school with Janae’s mother and had assured Janae they’d have work for someone with her skills. However, the way he said it made her think he didn’t believe she had skills. After all, what could she learn in the big city that would have value in good ole Kedgewick?
Guess she’d demonstrate exactly what she could offer.
She straightened her bright red peplum suit jacket over its matching skirt, then opened the door and strode into the reception area.
A mousy woman with teased hair grimaced at her. “Can I help you? We don’t open for another fifteen minutes.”
Janae paused, a bit taken aback, because this wasn’t her mother’s friend whom she knew well from church, the one she’d talked with when setting up the position. “I expected Caroline Stone. She asked me to arrive now to get set up.”
“Caroline is out for several weeks with an emergency. I’m filling in for her.”
“Oh.” Janae puffed a quick breath as she recalibrated, and then held out her hand. “I’m Janae Simmons, the new attorney.”
“Who?” The woman’s brow furrowed as if she couldn’t understand what Janae had said.
“The new associate. Mark hired me.” Well, she supposed it was a joint decision, but Ashley’s first name escaped her in the haze of change. “He and Mr. Ashley.” And Caroline, but that didn’t seem worth mentioning right now.
“They didn’t say anything to me.” She pursed her hot pink lips, the lipstick already bleeding past her lip line. “Let me call back.” Her voice dropped but Janae still caught the next words. “And see what they say.” She swiveled slightly as if to block Janae from hearing anything.
Janae bit back the urge to say something that wouldn’t help the woman’s skepticism. Why hadn’t the receptionist done the bare niceties and given Janae her name? Even for a temp she’d done a poor job. Janae would mention something if it wasn’t her first day.
The woman had to have an inflated sense of the value of the firm.
Seriously, why would someone come to town and pretend to work for them? She’d have to be extremely desperate.
Maybe she was.
Janae took in the chairs that had probably been used since the 1970s, the vinyl cracked and repaired in places with colored duct tape that didn’t match. A fake mimosa tree stood in a corner, the dust coating its leaves visible from where she stood. Men’s Health. Popular Mechanics. Sports Illustrated. Wired. The magazines spread across the laminate console table dated from at least a year earlier. The issues hinted that old and middle-aged men were the firm’s primary clientele.
The vibe of the space suggested the owners had stopped trying sometime around the end of the last decade, if not earlier.
Everything about her standing here felt like a bad idea, but she didn’t see other options. The other attorneys in town said they didn’t need anyone, but if she wanted to volunteer, they’d gladly find work for her. She’d had to decide whether to laugh or cry.
Saturday she’d felt like the belle at a ball, and now she felt like the forgotten stepsister.
The receptionist cleared her throat. “Yes, sir. I’ll send her back.” She hung up and then looked at Janae. “I guess it’s your lucky day. He seems to think you should work here, though I have no idea why. We didn’t have a new client last week.”
“Maybe I’ll bring them in.” After all, the museum director wanted to talk.
The woman studied her and then shook her head. “Doubt that.”
So they wouldn’t be best friends. Janae squared her shoulders and straightened her posture. “Since we’ll be working together can you tell me your name?”
“You won’t be here long enough to need it.”
Janae felt the words like a punch. So much for collegiality. “Where am I headed?”
“Second door on the left. I’ve got to warn you. The only room they can put you in is the storage room. It’s overflowing with files.”
“I’m used to stacks of files when working on discovery.”
“Well, some of those go back at least a dozen years. Good luck.” She shook her head. “You’ll need it.” The phone rang and she picked it up. “Ashby and Ashley.”
Did the woman even notice she’d reversed the order of the partners? The original Mr. Ashley had to be rolling in his grave over that misstep. The receptionist took her temporary status seriously.
The woman shooed her back even as she kept talking.
No time like the present to see what she’d gotten herself into.
Three hours later, Mark Ashby hadn’t stopped talking, his hands resting on the obnoxiously striped, gravy-stained tie spread over his rotund middle.
As he paused for air, Janae quickly spoke. “Do you have anything for me to work on?”
He pushed to his feet and then looked at his watch. “I suppose you should see where you’ll sit, and then I have to head to the Rotary meeting. Time to remind everyone we’re ready to serve their legal needs. It’s chicken-fried steak day down at the diner. The best one if you ask me.” He eyed her. “Looks like you could use some of that. Put some meat on your bones.”
“My bones are fine and none of your concern.” She stiffened as her pulse sped up. What was he thinking making statements like that? This was moving from a questionable decision to a terrible one.
He took his time looking her up and down. “It is if you’re too weak to work.” He brushed past her through the door, and she refused to shudder. “Follow me.”
She released a breath. At least he wouldn’t make her walk in front. One partner in Philadelphia had delighted in seeing how far he could push his assigned associates before they would quit. Complaining was never an option because no one believed the young women, at least no one who could do anything. If Mark was anything like that partner, she knew where his attention would focus.
They’d barely walked ten feet down the hall when he stopped.
“Here you go.” He pushed open a door and reached inside to flip on a light switch.
Janae’s mouth opened and she couldn’t push words out at first. It was even worse than the receptionist had indicated. A desk was shoved into the far corner of the room with a computer and monitor on top of its surface. To get to the desk and chair, she’d have to squeeze between banker boxes piled against two walls in a double row. On the other wall a table was tucked with more boxes towering over and under it. Even more stacked around and in front of the table.
“This is what I left Philly for?”
“No one asked you to come home, Janae Simmons. But we’re glad to give you this space and twenty-five dollars an hour to do paralegal work. If you get your own clients, we’ll bill your time at a hundred fifty dollars an hour and pay you fifty.”
She sputtered. “Are you serious?”
“As a dog wrestling a bone from the ground.” His expression dared her to leave.
“You’ll be making one hundred dollars an hour on my time.” At least. Angry tears formed but she blinked them back. He was right that she wouldn’t find other options without heading closer to DC. At least not quickly. This ugly reality was exactly why she’d left the small town behind and never looked back until now. The niggling concern she’d made a mistake threatened to overwhelm her.
The only thing that was more overwhelming was the risk of failure if she didn’t stay here and do all he asked. Because fail was what she would do if she went out on her own. If she couldn’t remember to file the correct documents on time when she had the support of a massive infrastructure, there was no way she would on her own.
And she couldn’t look like a failure in front of the people who’d already watched her leave.
She shook loose of the thoughts. “How can you expect me to get anything done here?”
“You’re an enterprising girl. You’ll come up with something.” Then he tipped an imaginary hat at her and left.
Chapter 4
Monday, October 24
INHALING DEEPLY, CARTER IMAGINED THE caffeine racing through his veins on the strength of the espresso’s scent alone. He’d about stopped at Flo’s Diner but remembered in time that it was the day the Rotary Club descended. They could kill a person’s enjoyment of a good meal with the way they carried on about assisting the community and how wonderful they were. He’d rather experience their greatness than hear about it each week. And it was country-fried steak day too. The fried food sounded comforting and good, but instead he’d grab a panini from Java Jane’s.
The dark wood and dim lights always made him think of a hip cocoon that one could sink into and take a deep exhale while also sipping the nectar of the gods. The house roast was the perfect combination of robust and smooth.
The line was short, only three people in front of him, and he let his thoughts wander as he waited his turn. When he reached the counter, he couldn’t hide a grin. It was his favorite barista, the one who always gave him an extra squirt of whipped cream for good measure. “Hey, Ellie. I’d like my usual with the best panini you have today.”
She ducked her chin as if she couldn’t find the courage to meet his gaze. That was different from her usual. “Regular meat or extra, Dr. Montgomery?”
The barista should be in one of her college classes now if he remembered correctly, but she stood behind the counter in her red apron and a white shirt that always carried dots from espresso gone astray.
He waited but she didn’t meet his gaze. “What kind of sandwich is it?”
Her cheeks turned red while she looked at the cash register as if she’d never seen it before. “A ham and Swiss with spicy mustard.”
“Regular’s fine.” He reached down and grabbed a package of jalapeño kettle chips from the basket. “I’ll take these too.” He waited for her to look at him. “Don’t you have a class now?”
“Not today.”
He arched a brow and she finally grinned. “Promise. I’d be in class if I needed to be.”
“It’s still the best place you learn the material.”
“For some people.” Her feisty grin was back. “Really, class got cancelled, and Adora needed someone to cover a shift. It worked out.” As Ellie finished ringing him up, the door opened, and the bell tinkled. He shifted to see who had entered. It was the woman from the gallery show. “That’ll be fourteen dollars and thirty-seven cents.”
He handed his credit card to Ellie and then pivoted to watch the petite woman approach. “Janae, right?”
The woman looked around as if expecting he was talking to someone else. Then she shook her head. “I don’t know why I’d think there’s another Janae.” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes, which held strain. “It’s good to see you.”
He slid his card into his wallet and then slipped it in his back pocket. “What did you think of the exhibit?”
“It’s good. An interesting exploration of the role women played in Expressionist and other styles of art.” She clutched her purse strap as if waiting for someone to dash by and try to steal it. “I almost sound like I know something about art, but I enjoyed returning to the museum and seeing the new paintings.”
“Changed much?”
“I’m sure it has in places, but nothing that left me wishing for what used to be.”
“Your drink’s ready, Dr. Montgomery. Extra squirt of whipped cream like you love.”
Janae’s eyebrows rose. “Doctor?”
“Guess I forgot to mention that Saturday.”
She shook her head. “This town is full of surprises.”
“There is a college here. I’m not the only PhD running around.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “It’s pretty normal for museum directors and curators to have advanced degrees.”
“I don’t know why it caught me off guard. It’s been an odd Monday.” She stared at the menu board for a minute. “I haven’t been here before. Any recommendations?”
“The Miel. It’s a latte with cinnamon and honey.”
“Interesting choice. I’m more of a straight latte person.”
“Dr. Montgomery?” He shifted his attention and noticed Ellie still holding his mug. He took it from her with an apologetic glance. “We’ll let you know when your sandwich is ready. I can even bring it to you.”
“Thanks, Ellie.” He glanced at Janae, who was still considering the menu. “The panini’s also a good choice if you haven’t had lunch yet. Try the daily special.”
She nodded but didn’t meet his gaze, the little furrows at the top of her nose illustrating that something bothered her.
“And if you’d like company, I’ll be at the table over there. We can talk about the museum’s legal needs or anything really.” Why had he offered that? He wasn’t sure, but he found he didn’t mind the idea of her joining him as much as he might have thought. Spontaneous or not, it had a nice appeal and was a contrast to the solitary way he usually spent his time.
“Th-thank you.” Janae looked away as she stammered the words.
“Of course.” Not waiting to see if she’d respond, Carter tipped his mug in a silent salute and then walked to the round wooden table that sat in a corner, separated from the other customers by a ring of empty tables. After he sank onto a hard wooden chair, he sighed at the first sip. Perfection. Whoever roasted the beans needed a raise. He tried not to study the counter to see whether Janae would join him, because then he couldn’t be disappointed if she didn’t accept his offer.
Still, he felt the letdown when she slipped out the front door with her to-go cup. Had she taken his recommendation? It didn’t matter, but he was curious.
Carter knew he shouldn’t expect anything from her, but he’d hoped she’d join him. That would have been better than another lunch by himself. Time to build his network. He’d done it while getting his PhD, and he could again.
The problem was, he’d lived in Kedgewick for four months and still didn’t feel like he’d transitioned to calling it home. That required more than having a nodding acquaintance with a handful of people beyond those he worked with and the few he knew at his nephew’s elementary school. He couldn’t count on Andrew and his work for personal connections.
He could find an ally or two on the board. A church would help too. That’s where people got to know the real person … if he risked it. His sister, Charlotte, had known the real him but then found herself embroiled in an art fiasco involving an Italian crime family. Now she was gone, killed in the shoot-out at an art gallery in Indiana, and he had Andrew, hopefully safe from anyone who might have a lingering vendetta.
Could anyone really hide in today’s technology-infused world?
If they couldn’t, moving here was nothing more than a diversion.
A handsome man close to her age had invited her to stay, and Janae took the coward’s way out. She was too embarrassed to try to explain the mess that was her current existence at Ashley and Ashby. She couldn’t bring a client to that—not yet. So she slipped from the building without the courage to meet his gaze.
Instead of heading back to the law firm, she strolled around the block. The town hall and jail sat in the middle, with the county courthouse located a few miles away in Leesburg. The town hall was a modern monstrosity, replacing the original building that had burned down the year Janae joined the world. With a stuccoed exterior, it didn’t match anybody’s idea of a stately building. Instead, it looked like it was left over from the former Soviet Union.
The wind snaked down her neck, and Janae tugged her coat collar up with one hand, balancing the drink in her other. Maybe strolling wasn’t her best idea. She shouldn’t catch a cold her first day on the job, but she also couldn’t go back to that dreary hole-in-the-wall office. Not yet.
She didn’t see how she’d have anything worth doing for the rest of the day. She couldn’t imagine a firm less prepared for her arrival, but she should at least see if they were willing to give her real work, since her morning had involved listening to Mark and she imagined the afternoon would crawl by in the closet trying to get the computer to work. Without log-ons for the legal software, which Mark hadn’t given her, she couldn’t do much other than surf the web. That was not what she’d gone to law school to do, and without a purpose, it felt like a waste of her time. At the same time, without an idea of the type of cases they’d give her, she couldn’t proactively prepare for anything.
