Greer scoffed. “Trust me. You wouldn’t have been offered a job if he could see what was going on in there. I sort of imagine it like Cirque du Soleil, only the performers are a little drunk and also doing mind-bending, complex math problems while folding themselves into pretzels.”
I laughed. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll think about it more later.” I finished my coffee and got up to rinse my mug in the sink. “Right now, I need to get dressed and go meet with my lawyer about the lawsuit. But don’t worry, I’ll be at the store to cover you by five, like I promised.”
“Thanks. Our appointment isn’t until six, so you can even come closer to five thirty. But when did you hire someone to represent you? You didn’t mention that.”
“I didn’t yet. But I think I finally found the perfect man for the job.”
“Where did you get him?”
“It’s someone I’ve known for years.”
My sister’s nose scrunched up. She knew all of my friends. “Who?”
“Simon.”
Her eyes flared. “You’re kidding?”
“Nope.”
“I’m kind of surprised he agreed to take the case. He’s a nice guy and all, but he always treated Mia like she was some sort of queen.”
“Well, he doesn’t know he’s taking it yet.”
Greer laughed. “Oh, Lord. This should be interesting. I’ll grab an extra bottle of wine for when you get home tonight.”
“Thanks, sis.”
She shook her head. “I still can’t believe Christian is suing you. The guy has giant balls.”
“I know. Such a shame his penis wasn’t a matching set.”
• • •
“Evie? What are you doing here?” Simon asked.
I looked at the receptionist, who had just walked me back for my eleven-AM meeting. She looked confused.
“Evie is what they call me for short,” I explained.
Her nose wrinkled. “For Jill?”
Simon waved to the receptionist. “It’s fine. Evie, or Jill, come on in.”
He came around from behind his desk and kissed me on the cheek. “So you’re my eleven o’clock? What’s with the fake name?”
“I’m actually surprised you didn’t crack the code. You must be slipping, Simon.”
“Code? What do you mean?”
“The name I gave.”
Simon walked back around his desk and looked at the printed-out calendar on top. “I thought the last name was unusual. Tedbride.”
“Say it with the first name.”
He looked down again. “Jill Tedbride.”
“Now put them together.”