Thanks to everyone for their feedback on the previous chapters, with a special thank-you to my real-life editor. Remaining errors, if any, are mine. Reading the chapters of this story in order is highly recommended. All geek culture references are properties of their original copyright holders.
*****
"Hey, Veronica, what's wrong?" Jenny asked as she poured her friend a cup of coffee. The third woman in the room, Cassie, was busy with the pancakes she was making for breakfast.
Veronica sighed, but wrapped her hands around the coffee mug with an appreciative glance. "You know I'm a bit restless. Yesterday's news didn't help."
"Oh. Yeah," Jenny sympathized. Snowbound in the house for the last five days by the worst recorded blizzard in New England, Veronica did not take the news very well that their SUV had broken down.
Of course, life typically gave her all kinds of distractions from things she would rather not think about, but now Veronica was staring deep into the heart and mind of Veronica. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. At least the car trouble was the frustration she could talk openly about. She flicked her eyes to Cassie, who was shaking her hips and humming some upbeat tune, and once again had to wrestle with the reaction it brought out of her.
It had been a long time, that was all, only exacerbated by the hot encounter with Mike a few days before when he fingered her to orgasm with his hot semen still covering her chest... That had been a good day. And she was tense here. Mike was great and all, but Veronica would have preferred being there by choice. She just needed to relax. That was it.
She was still letting her mind turn over when Mike galloped down the stairs.
"Morning, all," he said with a smile. All three ladies returned it warmly. Veronica noticed again that whatever tension was between Mike and Jenny was gone. That was good. Veronica was going to have to kick Mike's ass if they started not getting along, and that would have been a conflict of interest.
Another thing Veronica noticed was that Mike was a lot more comfortable in close physical proximity to her friends. Had they made their moves yet? How far had they gotten? Was it too late? Did Mike already rule her out?
Veronica truly wanted her friends to be happy, and if that was with Mike, she was okay. But if she had been sidelined already... well, that just hurt.
No
, she thought,
I'm just reading too much into things, seeing worry where there's none.
Out loud, she said, "Hey, Mike? That offer for the hot tub still stand?"
"Um, sure," Mike said, and then wrinkled his brow. "Didn't you already shower?" He gestured at her still-damp hair.
"Recreational bath," Veronica explained, "I've been tense from... shoveling yesterday."
"All right. You know how to use one?"
"Yeah. Been in one a couple of times."
"Oh, good. You guys still exercising today?" This was directed at Cassie and Jenny. They said they were, but ultimately agreed to move their workouts to later in the day. This meant that the major water usage was spread out.
"Are you working again today?" Cassie asked Mike once Veronica had gone upstairs.
"Yup. Gotta keep up my skills, at least."
"What a shame," said Jenny, "Cassie is going to show me the Mario Party games."
"Mario Party 4's my favorite," Mike said, "You'll have a blast."
*****
Smiling, Mike closed himself into his office and buckled down to his work. The bulk of his load today was for a construction company. They needed to make paycuts, here, here, and here, and how would that affect the employees, specifically? Was there another way to make ends meet? Would they only have to cut some people's pay, who would then quit, leaving their salaries free, while the company saves face?
That last suggestion Mike smiled at. It was devious, and quite a biting commentary on the human condition, on both the parts of the employer and the employees. So now, how was he going to explain the complications to his client? Sometimes, that was the hardest part: not in knowing the answers, but in getting clients to see what they need to see.
Mike was in the middle of typing up his third recommendation package for the client when his phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hello. I'm calling for Michael Evans."
"Speaking."
"Mike! I didn't recognize your voice over my new phone. It's Rick."
"Rick, good to hear from you! Either your mouth is lined with cellophane or your microphone is crap, too. Or both. Speaking of, how's the Denver party scene?"
"Hopping in its own snowbound way, but I hear you got it worse."
"Yeah, but we're all right."
"Did you just say, 'We?' Who you got with you?" Mike filled him in, sticking to the basics and leaving out various intimate details.
"Well, I guess it's fortunate they're not the suing type. They try, you call me," Rick said.
"They won't, but okay. Say, isn't it, like, seven in the morning there?"
"Yeah, we just closed a major case and the firm threw a party to celebrate."
"And you more than most."
"Actually, I heard another lawyers-ears-only tidbit that made me think of you." Mike heard screeching tires in his brain.
"Me."
"Yeah. I'm not sure how much I can tell you, or even how much I know, but, see, I have a colleague I consulted with for a lot of your arrangements back in the day. He's a local, up your way in New England."
"I think I remember you mentioning him."
"Right, so we've kept in social contact since, 'cause it pays. Like now. For the last month, he's been hinting to me, strongly and pointedly, that he's a little overworked, even though his caseload isn't getting heavier. I ask why, he brushes off the question. Very squirrelly. I figure he's looking for a favor, reminding me of everything he's done for me before, so I'm patient, and I figure I'll wait for the other shoe to drop sooner or later."
"It dropped at the party."
"Exactly, but not by him," Rick continued, "Well, one of the guests of this party was a real estate lawyer. And he starts talking about some recent changes in zoning in the Northeast."
"Another possible connection to me."
"Yeah. So now my gut is giving me a bad feeling, and it ain't the tequila. Well, mostly not. Anyway, I put down my drink, excused myself, called the paralegals that weren't at the party, and sobered up while they came in. We've been scouring everything potentially related to you ever since."
"And what did you find?"
"Someone's been pulling a Michael T. Evans up there, but damned if I know who. Or what they're up to. I've seen tweaks here and there to laws, that went into effect at the first of the year, enforceable by the end of February, all of them. I really can't see what they add up to, but frankly, man, I'm more of an injuries specialist now. I can do it, but I'll need someone to translate some of this for me."
"This could be nothing, Rick."
"I hope so... but my gut has won me more cases than I admit, and it's never lost me any. Tell you what. I'll only bill you for the hours if I find something."
"Half the hours. I appreciate the effort and the initiative, but you're still volunteering."
"...Damn. I hate that you can do that. Half my client list would be giving me
carte blanche
by now."
