had volunteered for another undercover job, this one starting a week from today in Colombia. Reluctantly, he pressed the elevator button and made his way to the forty-second floor.
Uncle Guy walked out to the reception area and greeted him with a handshake and a hug. “When are you going to give up chasing drug dealers and come take your place here with us?”
The question was inevitable but rhetorical, so Gray didn’t bother with replying. Instead, he chatted about his aunt and cousins’ doings as they made their way through the hallway to his uncle’s corner office. “I need your help,” he said once the amenities were dealt with and they sat on loveseats overlooking the river and University of Tampa’s silvery minarets beyond, sipping his uncle’s favorite Glenlivet 25 Scotch—a prized and pricey cask lot that Gray knew the cost of only because he’d sprung for a bottle of it for his uncle’s Christmas present a year or so ago. He had to admit, the liquor went down smoothly indeed.
“Elizabeth rattling your chain?” Guy asked. “I heard she just got you pulled off a plum assignment down in the Dominican Republic.”
“Yeah. It can’t happen again. I’m thirty years old, damn it. If she does it again, I’m going to get fired.”
“You could always come here to work.” Guy raised his hand. “Don’t give me that look, I know you want to stay as far away from my sister as you can. I feel that way myself from time to time. What do you want me to do?”
“Talk to her in the only language she understands. Tell her that if she interferes again, you’ll cut off her income—or cut it down enough to put a sizable dent in her standard of living.” Gray shot a sympathetic glance his uncle’s way. “I hate to lay this on you, because I know she’ll make your life hell on earth.”
Guy chuckled. “Having to deal with Elizabeth is one of the costs of being the only son of a wise man. Your grandpa knew your mother—that’s why he left control of the family trust to me and not her. I’ll have my secretary open up some time for me to go chat with her later this week. Afterward, I doubt she’ll meddle in your career anymore, although I don’t think anything I do will dissuade her from trying to manage your personal life. Your dad left her enough that she wouldn’t starve without the income that she gets from the Winston family trust.”
“I can resist her attempts at matchmaking—or should I say her efforts at finding a woman with suitable bloodlines to bear her grandchildren?”
Guy laughed out loud, although Gray didn’t think what he’d just said was much of a joke. It was too damn true to be funny. Just another reason he didn’t want any more contact than necessary with his mother, even though Tampa was his home and he loved the place as well as his lifelong friends and family members.
“I’ve got an appointment in a little while—a rich widow who won’t deal with any of the other partners, let alone an associate, even if it’s about something a first year law student could handle, which it usually is.” Guy finished off his drink and stood. “She’s a friend of Elizabeth’s and you probably know her, so I won’t mention her name. Suffice it to say I don’t mind billing her a thousand to spend a half-hour reassuring her that everything’s Kosher about a bill she got from the plastic surgeon.”
“Must be nice.” Gray set his glass on the wet bar and moved toward the door. “I’ll be eternally grateful for you interceding with Mother. Thanks again.”
“You can always come work here. I’d consider letting you do criminal defense, even though your grandpa always said that it’s the lowest rung in law practice, prestige-wise—other than ambulance chasing. No disparagement meant toward our torts division, of course, since they hardly chase ambulances.”
“No, they chase airplanes, ships, and large corporations, which tends to be a lot more profitable than suing on
Uncle Guy walked out to the reception area and greeted him with a handshake and a hug. “When are you going to give up chasing drug dealers and come take your place here with us?”
The question was inevitable but rhetorical, so Gray didn’t bother with replying. Instead, he chatted about his aunt and cousins’ doings as they made their way through the hallway to his uncle’s corner office. “I need your help,” he said once the amenities were dealt with and they sat on loveseats overlooking the river and University of Tampa’s silvery minarets beyond, sipping his uncle’s favorite Glenlivet 25 Scotch—a prized and pricey cask lot that Gray knew the cost of only because he’d sprung for a bottle of it for his uncle’s Christmas present a year or so ago. He had to admit, the liquor went down smoothly indeed.
“Elizabeth rattling your chain?” Guy asked. “I heard she just got you pulled off a plum assignment down in the Dominican Republic.”
“Yeah. It can’t happen again. I’m thirty years old, damn it. If she does it again, I’m going to get fired.”
“You could always come here to work.” Guy raised his hand. “Don’t give me that look, I know you want to stay as far away from my sister as you can. I feel that way myself from time to time. What do you want me to do?”
“Talk to her in the only language she understands. Tell her that if she interferes again, you’ll cut off her income—or cut it down enough to put a sizable dent in her standard of living.” Gray shot a sympathetic glance his uncle’s way. “I hate to lay this on you, because I know she’ll make your life hell on earth.”
Guy chuckled. “Having to deal with Elizabeth is one of the costs of being the only son of a wise man. Your grandpa knew your mother—that’s why he left control of the family trust to me and not her. I’ll have my secretary open up some time for me to go chat with her later this week. Afterward, I doubt she’ll meddle in your career anymore, although I don’t think anything I do will dissuade her from trying to manage your personal life. Your dad left her enough that she wouldn’t starve without the income that she gets from the Winston family trust.”
“I can resist her attempts at matchmaking—or should I say her efforts at finding a woman with suitable bloodlines to bear her grandchildren?”
Guy laughed out loud, although Gray didn’t think what he’d just said was much of a joke. It was too damn true to be funny. Just another reason he didn’t want any more contact than necessary with his mother, even though Tampa was his home and he loved the place as well as his lifelong friends and family members.
“I’ve got an appointment in a little while—a rich widow who won’t deal with any of the other partners, let alone an associate, even if it’s about something a first year law student could handle, which it usually is.” Guy finished off his drink and stood. “She’s a friend of Elizabeth’s and you probably know her, so I won’t mention her name. Suffice it to say I don’t mind billing her a thousand to spend a half-hour reassuring her that everything’s Kosher about a bill she got from the plastic surgeon.”
“Must be nice.” Gray set his glass on the wet bar and moved toward the door. “I’ll be eternally grateful for you interceding with Mother. Thanks again.”
“You can always come work here. I’d consider letting you do criminal defense, even though your grandpa always said that it’s the lowest rung in law practice, prestige-wise—other than ambulance chasing. No disparagement meant toward our torts division, of course, since they hardly chase ambulances.”
“No, they chase airplanes, ships, and large corporations, which tends to be a lot more profitable than suing on
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