across the desk with her fingers. “LeBlanc Legal Aid, you said?”
“Yeah. Hang on, I have the number here somewhere....”
Alaine scribbled the number in the top margin of her steno pad. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”
“No problem. Good luck.”
Alaine closed the phone and squeezed it tightly in her hand. Looking down the notepad page, she reviewed her day’s to-do list. The few remaining things she needed to do, she could do at home tonight.
She left a note for Pricilla, out filming a story for tomorrow, to let her know she’d scheduled the blog entry for tomorrow. Packing up everything she’d need to work from home, Alaine hustled out to her car. She dumped everything in the passenger seat, climbed in, then dialed the number for the legal aid center and pulled out of the parking lot.
Someone who identified herself as a volunteer answered the phone and asked Alaine a battery of questions about her case. She assiduously avoided mentioning Boudreaux-Guidry Enterprises but did mention her parents’ business and several others in the area by name.
“I will pass your information along to Mr. LeBlanc, and he will give you a call back soon.”
“How soon?”
“I’m not sure, ma’am. But he always returns every call he receives, so you can be certain to hear from him.”
Her surge of excitement faded. “Okay. Thank you.”
Once home, she dropped her bag and purse on the coffee table and collapsed facedown on the sofa, kicking her shoes off. She’d thought finding a lawyer who’d relish the chance to take down a big company like this—to argue a high-profile case—would be a lot easier. The Guidrys had more clout in this town than she’d originally imagined.
After moping on the sofa for a while, Alaine forced herself up and went into the kitchen to see what she had to eat. She opened the fridge and read the tape labels on the stacks of plastic containers lining the shelves. The seafood paella from last night that Mother had made her bring home. Cozido stew—too heavy. Bife —no, she didn’t need the calories in the pan-fried beef in sauce with seasoned rice. Iscas com elas —she hadn’t had liver in a while, and she loved the flavor it lent to the potatoes Mother sautéed with it. Feijoada —no, it was too hot for the bean stew. Alheira —Mother’s homemade duck sausage also with pan-fried potatoes. Was everything in her fridge meant to make her gain five pounds?
She pulled the half-gallon of skim milk out of the door and set it on the counter, then stepped into the pantry and grabbed a box of frosted flakes. She’d just poured the cereal into a large bowl when her cell phone started chirping. She nearly tripped on the edge of the living-room rug in her haste to get to her purse.
“This is Alaine.”
“Alaine—girl, where are you? We were supposed to all meet up at six for supper.”
“We—?” Alaine slapped her forehead and returned the milk to the fridge. “I completely forgot that was tonight. Give me”—she looked down at her crumpled blouse and pants—“half an hour, and I’ll be there.”
“Want us to order you a drink? The bartender seems kinda slow tonight.”
Alaine shook her head and dashed up the stairs. “You know I don’t drink anymore.” Not that she had ever done much drinking in college. But there had been those couple of times... “Tell everyone I’m sorry I’m late, but that I’ll be there as soon as I can get there.”
“Okay. See ya in a little while.”
“Bye.” Alaine tossed the phone onto the bathroom cabinet and ducked into her closet to change clothes. The enormous walk-in held more clothes than some small boutiques. Yet she still couldn’t find anything she wanted to wear for dinner with her sorority sisters.
Finally, she settled for a sleeveless, silky, royal purple blouse, a pair of close-fitting, dark-wash jeans, and strappy, wedge-heel sandals.
She touched up her makeup, trying extra hard to
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