Devoted Defender (17 page)

He didn’t have any time for religion whether it be traditional or New Age or whatever. To him it was all just a convenient fiction made up to help people deal with their fears and insecurities. But if this case would help his firm take the next steps to success and keep paying the bills, then he was all for it.

He’d built his law firm, The Baxter Group, from the ground up—something he was very proud of, given all his long hours and sacrifices. Not a thing in his life had been given to him. He’d earned it all the hard way.

He couldn’t help but chuckle as he read over the document requests that he had prepared. All the talk of witches and spirituality and the Astral Tech app. He’d never drafted anything like that before. His law school classes and nine years of practice had equipped him with many skills, but working on a case like this was totally foreign to him.

It wasn’t like there were witches in a coven out to get him. People were entirely irrational when it came to religion. Luckily for him, he wasn’t one of those people. He might be the only sane person in the entire litigation, and he planned to stay that way. One thing he was certain about. A jury was going to eat this stuff up.

“Hey, boss man.” Ryan Wilde stood at Grant’s door.

“What’s going on?” Grant asked.

“I asked around town trying to find info on Astral Tech, but most of my contacts had never heard of them, and the few that had didn’t really have anything useful to say except that they’re trying to become players in the tech space.”

Ryan was only about two years younger than Grant. They’d both worked in a law firm together for years, and Grant was glad that Ryan had joined him at the firm. If all progressed as planned, Grant was going to add Ryan as his partner in the firm.

“If you do hear anything, just let me know.”

“Anything else you need from me?”

“Not on this. How are your other cases going?”

“I’m meeting with potential clients this afternoon on a products liability class action. It would be a good case to have.”

“Keep me posted.”

Ryan nodded. “You got it.” Ryan walked out the door and then turned around and laughed. “I have to say, I’m glad that you’re working this case and not me. I don’t think I’d know how to approach it.”

“Just like anything else. It’ll be fine.”

“If you say so. I hope you don’t end up with a hex put on you or something like that.”

Grant laughed. “Don’t even tell me that you would consider believing in any of this.”

Ryan shook his head. “Nah. I’m just messing with you.”

Ryan walked out and Grant was anxious to start the discovery process and put pressure on the other side. It was one of those things he loved about being a plaintiff’s lawyer. He was in the driver’s seat and planned to take an aggressive stance in this case to really turn the heat up on the other side. Going through these steps reminded him how glad he was that he went out and started his own firm. He truly loved his work.

His office phone rang, jerking him back to reality.

“This is Grant Baxter,” he said.

“Hello. My name is Olivia Murray from the law firm of Brown, Carter, and Reed. I just wanted to call to introduce myself. We’re representing Astral Tech in the suit filed by your client. So I’ll be your point of contact for anything related to the case.”

Well, well he thought. Astral Tech had gone and hired a high powered law firm based in Washington, DC to defend them. “Perfect timing. I was just getting ready to send out discovery requests for documents. BCR doesn’t have a Chicago office, right?”

“No, but I’m actually in town. I’m working at the client’s office in Windy Ridge. So you can send any hard copies of anything to the Astral Tech office, and I would appreciate getting everything by email also.” She rattled off her email address.

“Of course. And I have the feeling we’ll be talking a lot. This litigation is going to be fast tracked if my client has anything to say about it. We’re not going to just wait around for years letting things pass us by.”

She laughed. “Yes, I know how it is. I’ll look forward to your email.”

He hung up and leaned back in his chair. Know thy enemy, right? He immediately looked her up on the Internet finding her BCR firm profile. A brunette with big brown eyes smiled back at him. He read her bio. Impressive, double Georgetown girl. Seventh year associate at BCR where she’d spent her entire legal career. That would make her about two years younger than him—but definitely still a seasoned attorney and worthy opponent.

Astral Tech wasn’t messing around. That let him know that they took this litigation seriously. They didn’t see this as a nuisance suit. Game on.

**

“Do you think Olivia’s ready for this fight?” Micah asked Ben looking directly into his dark eyes.

“It doesn’t matter if she’s really ready, Micah. It’s a battle she has to fight and the time is now. We have no one else. She’s the one God has chosen who has to stand up and take this on. She has some idea that she’s meant to be here. But it might take her a little time to figure out exactly what she’s going to be involved with.”

The angels stood behind Olivia watching over her in the conference room. But she hadn’t sensed their presence as she continued to type away on her laptop and hum a tune.

“She isn’t fully appreciative of how strong she is, but she’ll get there,” Micah said. He stood tall, his blond hair barely touching his shoulders. The angel warrior was strong but kind—and fiercely protective of Olivia.

Ben nodded. “At least she has the foundation to build upon. A strong faith that has been growing ever since she was a little girl.” Ben paused. “Unlike our friend Grant.”

“I’m much more worried about him. He has no idea what he’s going to be facing, and he doesn’t have the skills to defend himself. Nina Marie and her followers are building up strength by the day, and she’ll surely want to go after him. We can only do so much to protect Olivia and Grant against the forces of evil running rampant on this earth.”

“But we’ll do everything we can.”

Micah looked at him. “You and me—quite an angel army.”

“The best kind.”

“Let’s pray for her now.”

The two laid their hands on her shoulders to help prepare her for the fight to come. A fight unlike anything they’d ever known before.

Rachel Dylan writes Christian fiction including romantic suspense and legal thrillers. Rachel has practiced law for a decade and enjoys weaving together legal and suspenseful stories. She lives in Michigan with her husband and five furkids--two dogs and three cats. Rachel loves to connect with readers.

Connect with Rachel:

www.racheldylan.com

@dylan_rachel

www.facebook.com/RachelDylanAuthor