Chapter Seven: Laying it On Thick
Numbers
I didn’t see her car in the parking lot, so I was curious as to how she was getting home. We’d been in the meeting room for just over an hour and we were strolling to the front door of the club. As we came out of the meeting room, I heard Ink behind the bar scrambling around and getting set up for the evening.
He saluted as we walked past.
“Hey man, how are you?” I called out to Ink.
“All good. Getting ready, you know how it is,” he said, as the smile on his face questioned me without statement.
I pointed to Mia. “This is Mia, we were just having a chat about legal representation,” I said. I wanted to walk straight out with her, but it would have been rude to walk right past Ink at the bar.
“Ahhh, you’re Mia! The one everyone is talking about.” He wiped his hands on his jeans and held out his hand to her.
Mia frowned and looked at me.
I put a hand to my mouth “Shhh! Don’t tell her that everyone is talking about her, her head might swell.”
Mia’s laugh was so amazing it made me light up from the inside. Something was making her sad, but I didn’t want her to feel like I was harassing her, so I left it. The banter between us was nice and light, and she seemed to be enjoying it.
“As they say, I hope it’s only good things.” A touch of a smile grew on her lips.
“Only good things is right, don’t let this goofball fool you into thinking he is the world’s best accountant or anything.”
“Hey! You’re supposed to be on my side here. We are trying to hire her, hello!” I exclaimed behind my hand in jest. I was hamming it up a little bit.
Mia seemed to be warming up to it.
“I think she’s onto you already. She seems a little too smart to be fooled by you,” Ink added.
“Alright, enough talking to you.” I raised a brow at him. “Have a good open, and I’ll see you in a little bit.”
Ink shook his head at me.
Mia waved at him as I led her out the door. Nightfall had crept up on Holbeck, and I couldn’t let her walk home alone.
“Are you on foot?” I asked, feeling excitement that I could take the opportunity to spend more time with her.
“I am on foot. It’s still light enough. I don’t live that far. I wanted to give my legs a stretch,” she said.
I wanted to say something inappropriate but instead I held my tongue. “I’m going to need to walk you home. I need a solid alibi in case someone commits a crime. I don’t have a lawyer yet, remember?” I chuckled.
Her striking green eyes narrowed to slits. “If I didn’t know any better I would think you were flirting with me,” she observed.
I opened the door letting the breeze hit us. It was a lot cooler than when she came, which was a relief. “I have to make sure, don’t I?”
She said nothing, but a glimmer of a smile was there as we strolled at a leisurely pace to her house.
For a couple of blocks, we were silent.
The silence wasn’t awkward at all. It was a peaceful silence I enjoyed as we both took in the suburban streets with their weatherboard houses and open fields. I broke out of it eventually, “Convenient that you live so close to town,” I brought up casually.
“I did that on purpose, because I have a lot of clients that like to meet centrally and my mother lives not too far away.” A tinge of regret came through her voice when she mentioned her mother.
I wondered what that was about. I didn’t want to make her feel awkward or anything. “That’s good. Everything okay with her?” I asked as we strolled.
“Yeah, I mean ? she’s okay. It’s a little harder as your parents get older. You want them to stay young, but time moves us on I guess,” she said as her eyes grew wistful.