raced to Garrett. At the sound of the slap when Nick’s small palm collided with his, Garrett’s throat knotted with a wash of emotion. Hell, he was in deep.
A while later after they’d returned to the lodge, his phone rang. He walked into the small efficiency kitchen in his suite, snagging his phone off the counter.
“Garrett here.”
“Elaine here,” Garrett’s assistance parroted. “Sorry to call you ahead of schedule, but I figured I’d better call you before Tom Carlton does.”
Tom Carlton was a regular client. He ran Carlton Industries, a corporate conglomerate that included ownership of the insurance company Garrett had represented in multiple lawsuits. He’d succeeded in getting every single one thrown out. Garrett charged his highest rate to Carlton Industries, in part because Carlton was notoriously difficult to deal with. He had trouble keeping attorneys as a result of his pushy, demanding nature. A part of Garrett’s personality thrived on managing clients like Carlton. He had little patience for bad behavior and often ignored demands if there wasn’t an active case. He made no apologies.
He sighed. “What’s he in a snit about now? We don’t have an active case with them right now.”
“Since when did that stop him from being a pain in the ass?” Elaine asked wryly.
Garrett chuckled. “Never. Anyway, what’s he want now?”
“He has a new case for us. Another insurance one.”
“Give it to Olivia. She can handle all of those going forward.”
He’d never enjoyed working insurance cases and was happy to let Olivia hone her skills on them. Problem was, he knew damn well Carlton wouldn’t like it. Carlton had an inflated sense of importance and tended to think it was beneath him to work with associate lawyers.
“I’ll call him myself.”
“Thanks for volunteering,” Elaine replied. “You know if he doesn’t hear it from you, he’ll raise a stink.”
“You think Olivia can handle him?”
“She’ll be fine. He’s all bark and no bite. I’ll give her the rundown. How about you let me know once you’ve talked to him?”
“Of course.” He glanced at the clock above the stove. “I’ll call first thing tomorrow morning. He gets crankier towards the end of the day.”
He hung up to the sound of Elaine laughing. He walked to the windows and pushed the curtains back. The suite was situated on the corner of the lodge and offered a view of the slopes with the bay in the distance. The sun was setting behind the mountains. Even though Alaska’s days were short in the winter, he didn’t find it bothersome. He was so accustomed to the gray days of Seattle that early sunsets offered more color. Rays of faded gold reached into the sky from behind the mountains. Lavender and pink wove through the gold and shimmered on the water below. He leaned his shoulder against the window frame and let the quiet soak through him. He watched the sunset almost every evening here. For the life of him, he couldn’t remember when he last took time to watch the sunset before he came to Alaska.
Calling Carlton was an annoyance. It should have motivated Garrett to make some sense of what he was doing. He’d put his life on pause and didn’t know precisely why. He shoved away from the window and snatched his phone up, calling the only person he could think to call. After two rings, his twin sister answered.
“Hey Garrett, I was wondering when you’d call. Are you in withdrawal yet?” Becca asked.
Garrett could see her sly grin. Becca was two minutes older than him. She’d only stopped lording that detail over him a few years ago. He and Becca had always been close, and she knew him like no other. After a childhood of pushing and pulling at each other, they’d gone to law school together. Becca followed her passion to advocate for those who didn’t have a voice and was currently a prosecutor who specialized in cases involving victims of abuse. Garrett had followed the money and was damn
A while later after they’d returned to the lodge, his phone rang. He walked into the small efficiency kitchen in his suite, snagging his phone off the counter.
“Garrett here.”
“Elaine here,” Garrett’s assistance parroted. “Sorry to call you ahead of schedule, but I figured I’d better call you before Tom Carlton does.”
Tom Carlton was a regular client. He ran Carlton Industries, a corporate conglomerate that included ownership of the insurance company Garrett had represented in multiple lawsuits. He’d succeeded in getting every single one thrown out. Garrett charged his highest rate to Carlton Industries, in part because Carlton was notoriously difficult to deal with. He had trouble keeping attorneys as a result of his pushy, demanding nature. A part of Garrett’s personality thrived on managing clients like Carlton. He had little patience for bad behavior and often ignored demands if there wasn’t an active case. He made no apologies.
He sighed. “What’s he in a snit about now? We don’t have an active case with them right now.”
“Since when did that stop him from being a pain in the ass?” Elaine asked wryly.
Garrett chuckled. “Never. Anyway, what’s he want now?”
“He has a new case for us. Another insurance one.”
“Give it to Olivia. She can handle all of those going forward.”
He’d never enjoyed working insurance cases and was happy to let Olivia hone her skills on them. Problem was, he knew damn well Carlton wouldn’t like it. Carlton had an inflated sense of importance and tended to think it was beneath him to work with associate lawyers.
“I’ll call him myself.”
“Thanks for volunteering,” Elaine replied. “You know if he doesn’t hear it from you, he’ll raise a stink.”
“You think Olivia can handle him?”
“She’ll be fine. He’s all bark and no bite. I’ll give her the rundown. How about you let me know once you’ve talked to him?”
“Of course.” He glanced at the clock above the stove. “I’ll call first thing tomorrow morning. He gets crankier towards the end of the day.”
He hung up to the sound of Elaine laughing. He walked to the windows and pushed the curtains back. The suite was situated on the corner of the lodge and offered a view of the slopes with the bay in the distance. The sun was setting behind the mountains. Even though Alaska’s days were short in the winter, he didn’t find it bothersome. He was so accustomed to the gray days of Seattle that early sunsets offered more color. Rays of faded gold reached into the sky from behind the mountains. Lavender and pink wove through the gold and shimmered on the water below. He leaned his shoulder against the window frame and let the quiet soak through him. He watched the sunset almost every evening here. For the life of him, he couldn’t remember when he last took time to watch the sunset before he came to Alaska.
Calling Carlton was an annoyance. It should have motivated Garrett to make some sense of what he was doing. He’d put his life on pause and didn’t know precisely why. He shoved away from the window and snatched his phone up, calling the only person he could think to call. After two rings, his twin sister answered.
“Hey Garrett, I was wondering when you’d call. Are you in withdrawal yet?” Becca asked.
Garrett could see her sly grin. Becca was two minutes older than him. She’d only stopped lording that detail over him a few years ago. He and Becca had always been close, and she knew him like no other. After a childhood of pushing and pulling at each other, they’d gone to law school together. Becca followed her passion to advocate for those who didn’t have a voice and was currently a prosecutor who specialized in cases involving victims of abuse. Garrett had followed the money and was damn
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