Love's Verdict Read online

  * * *

  “She’s not here.”

  Carly listened to Rhonda on the other end of the phone tell her one more time that Jane expected her to bring Landon directly to the office. Carly was used to Jane’s aversion to taking no for an answer, a trait that had rubbed off on Rhonda. She started to lay out her case about why she’d determined Landon wasn’t at the airport, but decided it was pointless. She hung up the phone and wandered over to the baggage attendant one more time. “I’m guessing you haven’t had anyone show up in response to the page?”

  “No, ma’am. Are you sure your friend was on the flight?”

  Carly didn’t bother correcting her. “Actually, I’m not, but I appreciate you checking. Thanks.”

  Not that she needed it, but Carly had a picture of Landon on her phone from the firm’s website. She’d arrived at the airport before the flight landed, but hadn’t seen anyone matching Landon’s description wandering from the gates. She supposed it was possible she’d missed her in the crowd and Landon had taken a cab. Probably just a miscommunication. Either way, if she didn’t get back to the office soon, she’d be late for the meeting.

  The office was a quick fifteen-minute drive from Love Field, and Carly pulled into the parking lot just moments before noon. She’d already prepared packets of information about the case for everyone and made sure there were sufficient copies before heading to the airport, so all she’d need to do before the meeting was grab a minute alone to review her notes and she’d be all set.

  Her plans were thwarted by pastry. Russell, the firm’s receptionist, accosted her the second she walked into the reception area.

  “Kolaches!” he called like he was hawking the baked goods for extra cash. “You don’t want to miss these.” He punctuated the admonition by waving a white baker’s box under her nose.

  “I’m good,” Carly answered although the loud rumble of her stomach betrayed her.

  “Seriously, Car, they’re from the Czech Stop. In West?” Russell shook his head. “None of this is registering, is it?”

  Carly resisted telling him one more time not to shorten her name, and peered into the box where several rows of sweet rolls lined the interior. She looked back up at Russell. “Should it?”

  “You need to get out more. West, Texas, home of one of Texas’s oldest Czech settlements, and a must stop on the way to or from Austin, exit 353 to be precise. I never make the drive without stopping on the way there and back…”

  He kept talking, but Carly had stopped paying attention after he said the word Austin. “Wait a minute. Who brought these?”

  “Guilty as charged.”

  Carly whirled at the sound of the unfamiliar voice behind her and came face-to-face with the missing-in-action Landon Holt. She opened her mouth to give her a piece of her mind for not being at the airport, but stopped at the sight of her wide smile and stunningly gorgeous blue-gray eyes.

  Landon stuck out her hand. “I’m Landon Holt, nice to meet you.” She looked down at her hand which Carly had left hanging, and pointed at the box in Russell’s hand. “You should have one of these. Or two. I risked the wrath of Jane getting them, so it would be a shame for them to go to waste.” Landon reached into the box. “Sweet or savory?”

  “You stood me up at the airport.” Carly blurted out the non sequitur, instantly regretting her lack of control. While she fished around for something more intelligent to say, Landon cast a sideways glance at Russell, who merely raised his eyebrows while munching on one of the kolaches. Carly took a breath and tried again. “Jane asked me to pick you up at the airport. I was there. I waited. I even had you paged, but you never showed.” She rolled her hand with each statement as if the physical action would jog Landon’s memory.

  “Oh, sorry. I decided to drive.” She rocked back on her heels. “My bad. Guess I should’ve called, but I had no idea Jane was sending someone to pick me up. Please accept my apology with a kolache on the side.” She flashed a big smile and waited for Carly to relent.

  Caught in the tractor beam of light, Carly held out for about five seconds before muttering, “It’s okay.” Truce accomplished, she glanced at her watch, noting there was only three minutes before the meeting was supposed to start. Barely enough time for her to consult her notes. She edged away. “I have something I need to do.”

  “Before you go, can you let Jane and Mark know I’m here? And who should I talk to about getting a Coke?”

  Carly started to ask if Landon thought she was a secretary, but instead she merely pointed at Russell and marched to her office, hoping Landon’s stay in Dallas would be short-lived.

  Chapter Three

  Landon avoided Carly’s glare and waited until everyone else took their seats before sliding into one of the chairs around the table. How was she supposed to have known Carly was an attorney and a fifth-year associate at that? What self-respecting attorney volunteers to pick up one of their fellow employees at the airport?

  Jane, seated at the head of the table, cleared her throat to draw attention to the front of the room. “Looks like we’re all here, or most of us anyway. Carly, I assume you met Landon.” She didn’t wait for an answer before tossing packets onto the table. “Mark has his hands full with the Rogers case, so I’ve selected Carly and Landon to take point with me on this case. Carly will give us a full report in just a second, but I wanted to see if anyone has any comments about the information contained in the arrest warrant affidavit.”

  Landon looked around the table. Besides her, Carly, and Jane, there were a few other people she tagged as interns and first-year associates by the way they sat on the edge of their seats, eager to run errands at the slightest hint they might be useful in order to stand out from the crowd. Had she ever been like that? Maybe, for a millisecond, but it hadn’t taken long for her to realize sucking up didn’t necessarily equate to racking up billable hours, which was the only real way to get noticed. She’d done her part in that regard, and although the Austin office was viewed as the laid-back younger sister of the Sturges and Lloyd empire, she knew her annual billable hours put her at the top of the scale.

  But she hadn’t done it to rise in the ranks. Her immersion in her work was more about proving to herself she was capable, on her own, of top-notch legal work without any assistance from the pedigree that came with being a Holt. Jane’s news that she was being considered for partner was icing on the cake, but now that it had been dangled in front of her, she wanted in. She waved a hand at Jane. “I noticed a couple of things.”

  Jane nodded and Landon pressed on. “Other than the strand of rope, no physical evidence is mentioned. The only thing that definitely points to Trevor is the bit about the neighbor who heard arguing, and Meyers said it was about ‘Trevor Kincade drama.’ Now she’s dead, and boom, he must have done it. If there hadn’t been a prior police report documenting their argument over whether or not he was sending her threats via email, and Trevor’s recent headline-grabbing bid to contest his suspension, DPD may still have looked at him for this, but I doubt they would’ve made an arrest.” She settled back in her chair and watched for the rest of the team’s reaction to her summary.

  Jane gave a low whistle. “Pretty good for as little time as you had to review the warrant.”

  “I had Siri read it to me in the car,” Landon said, but her pride at making good use of her time was dampened when she heard Carly mutter, “Of course you did.” Landon turned to her and said, “Excuse me?”

  Carly looked around and then cleared her throat. “It’s not that simple.”

  “Sure it is. You just load the document and ask her to read it out loud.”

  “No.” Carly waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Yes, the evidence is weak on facts, but the circumstances all point to Trevor. Who had the most to lose if Vanessa Meyers kept pressing for his suspension? What are the chances someone else wanted her dead or that this was a random act of brutality? Do I believe the police jumped the gun by arresting him before all the facts wer
e in? Yes, but they have time to develop more evidence before they present the case to a grand jury, and we need to make sure there’s nothing else looming.”

  Jane nodded at Carly’s words, and Landon wished she’d gotten a better night’s sleep and hadn’t been so cavalier, because Carly was right. “What does Trevor say about all this?” Landon asked.

  “The NFL is looking at appealing the suspension and imposing a new one, and word from management is they plan to sideline him for now to keep the drama of the arrest from distracting the rest of the team. Trevor says the charge is ridiculous and wants to fast-track the trial so he can get back in the game,” Jane said.

  “That’s insane,” Carly blurted at the very same time Landon said, “That’s brilliant.”

  “It is,” Landon insisted. “Brilliant, I mean. The DA’s office will be expecting delay after delay, especially since he’s out on bond. They’ll never see this coming.” She reined in her enthusiasm when she saw Jane smiling. “What?”

  “You two will be perfect for this.”

  Landon wasn’t sure she wanted to know what “this” was, and she sure as hell wasn’t as enthusiastic as Jane seemed to be at the prospect of working with Carly, stick-up-her-butt, Pachett, who disagreed with everything she said, but what else was she going to do? She was already here in Dallas and Jane had gotten her all whipped up at the prospect of a partnership. She supposed she could be a team player with just about anyone for that kind of reward. “When can we meet with Trevor?”

  Jane nodded. “That’s the spirit. Let’s give him the day. The bond hearing was this morning, so he’s still pretty worn out. In the meantime, I want you two to spearhead all the research you can find to justify getting early discovery, even before grand jury. Donna Wilhelm is the prosecutor on the case and the grand jury setting is in ten days. Let’s try and win there first, and if that doesn’t work, we’ll ask for a speedy trial. And we need a private investigator. See if Skye Keaton is available to work with us to interview witnesses and see what she can dig up.

  “Landon, Carly can fill you in on the grand jury procedure up here. Put together a packet and run it by me.” She gestured to the first years sitting on the perimeter of the room. “Use whatever resources you need.”

  Landon remembered what it was like being a first-year associate whose job was to hustle for research assignments the more senior attorneys and partners didn’t want to do in an attempt to rack up the necessary billable hours to stay on track for bonuses and promotions. The push to outshine the others hadn’t been as strong at the Austin office, where things were a little more laid-back, but the pressure was still there, just below the surface. Resolved to making this work, she took a few more notes as Jane outlined more of her conversation with Trevor at the jail, and when Jane called the meeting done and the rest of the attorneys started to disperse, she hung around to ask about where she should office.

  “Carly,” Jane called out. “Can you stick around too? I’d like to talk to you and Landon for a moment.”

  Sounds serious, Landon thought, sliding back into her seat when Jane motioned Carly into the chair opposite hers. Landon assessed her new litigation partner. Carly took all her notes on an iPad with a keyboard case, and she’d hauled it back out and was poised to type up whatever new assignment Jane unloaded on them. Landon glanced down at her Montblanc fountain pen and Midori notebook. She enjoyed the convenience of technology as much as anyone else, but these simples tools were still her favorites. Tattered ends of tiny slips of paper notes edged past the aged and worn leather cover and the string holding it closed bulged against the girth of too much information. As if. She’d carried the coveted notebook all through law school, and it was as much a journal as it was a place to capture important assignments and research. Landon had always shrugged off the judgment of those who viewed her analog system as an inferior method. She’d found that the act of handwriting was the perfect method to remember key facts and ideas that would be lost quickly after she typed them into a software program. She released the string fastener and opened to a new page, poised to write down whatever Jane had to say.

  “Both of you have shown a strong commitment to this firm and you both deserve to be rewarded for your efforts. This case is going to be very important for us since it’s likely to produce headlines on a weekly, if not daily, basis until Trevor Kincade is either vindicated or convicted.” Jane crossed her arms and let her gaze linger on each of them for a few seconds as if to impress upon them the gravity of what she was about to say.

  Landon held her breath. This was the moment. Maybe Jane was about to make them both partners. She didn’t know if Carly deserved it, but she knew she did and she could hardly wait to hear the words. Becoming a partner at Sturges and Lloyd would take the sting out of being back in Dallas. She glanced at Carly, who sat ramrod straight on the edge of her chair, her face fixed into an expression of rapt attention, and Landon wondered what dream this announcement would fulfill for her.

  “We have one partnership slot this year,” Jane announced. “We’ll be announcing the new partner as soon as this case is resolved.”

  “Wait, what?” Landon bit down on her lip, wishing she’d kept her mouth shut, but now that the words were out, there was really no point in stopping. “Did you say one slot?”

  Jane nodded, and Landon looked over at Carly, whose fast typing fingers had frozen over her mini-keyboard.

  “It’s a dead heat between you. You both have very different strengths, all essential for a successful law practice.”

  “I don’t get it.” Landon was frustrated at her inability to process Jane’s announcement. “You’re saying the partnership will go to one of us. Just one.”

  “Yes.”

  “And how are you going to decide?” Landon felt a rising anger she fought to tamp down.

  “Trevor’s case is the perfect test. You’ll work on the case together. A good team will not only play off each other’s strengths, but learn to become better on their own.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” Landon didn’t bother to hold back. “I ditched a good docket back in Austin to come here—something you know I didn’t want to do—based on the promise of a partnership, but in reality, it’s just some contest between me and…her.” She jerked her chin at Carly, who wore the hint of a self-satisfied smile. Figures. Of course Carly thought she had the partnership in the bag, which was why she wasn’t saying anything. She worked with Jane and Mark in this office every day.

  You could have too. Landon shut down the voice and struggled to get her anger under control. “How do you plan to quantify our work?”

  “Obviously, our assessment will be subjective, but I think you have a good idea about what we look for in a partner. Loyalty, dedication, hard-work, ingenuity.” Jane rolled her hand in the air to signal she could go on and on. “What better way to measure success than performance on a high-profile case for one of our well-known clients?”

  “But we’ll be working toward the same goal.”

  “Yes, you will. It’s a win for everyone.” Jane stood to signal the meeting was over. Landon sat frozen in her seat, trying to process what had just happened, but Jane had moved on. “I’d like a preliminary plan for the grand jury on my desk tomorrow.”

  And then she was gone. Landon stared at the conference room door willing the last thirty minutes of her life to rewind. Hell, she’d like to rewind to last night, when she’d celebrated her birthday with tequila shots and a night of rowdy sex with Meg. Or was it May? Whatever. She should’ve ignored Jane’s phone call and stayed in Austin where she might not have been a superstar, but she knew what to expect.

  * * *

  “Did you know about this?”

  Carly flinched at the press of a hand on her arm, but she schooled her features into a neutral expression and turned to see Landon standing behind her, looking completely out of sorts. No surprise there. Carly had met plenty of people like Landon in law school and after—people who got by on their looks
and charm, often leaving the harder, smarter workers in the dust. She shrugged off Landon’s touch, ignoring the surge of cold that sprang up in its place. “Know what?”

  “That there was only one partnership spot.”

  She hadn’t, but admitting that would put her a couple of steps behind. She was already feeling a bit off-kilter since Jane handpicked Landon to come to Dallas to work on this case. “I don’t really focus on stuff like that. I figure if I do a good job, I’ll get what I deserve.”

  Landon shook her head and grunted. “Nice sentiment. I feel kind of sorry for you if that’s what you believe.”

  A shadow fell over Landon’s eyes, and she seemed suddenly distant. Something was going on in there, but it wasn’t Carly’s job to figure it out. She started to edge away. “I have to make a call.” She was two steps into her escape when Landon called out.

  “Wait. Do you know where I’m supposed to office? And where can I find the files about the suspension? I think we should start with the allegations that led to his suspension and go from there.”

  Carly sighed as Jane’s words played back in her head. Loyalty, dedication, hard work, ingenuity—all the things they looked for in a partner. Carly didn’t have any loyalty to Landon, but she did have an allegiance to the firm and Trevor, and she was going to have to find a way to make this work if she wanted a chance at the partnership slot. “Come with me.” She didn’t wait for a response before she took off at a brisk pace until they arrived at Rhonda’s desk.