Legal Artistry (11 page)

Dieter tasted like the spices from dinner and the saltiness from the popcorn, and then those flavors faded and the sweet tanginess that their first kiss had hinted at burst through, driving the kiss deeper. Pulling away so he could gasp for breath, Gerald shifted his weight, and Dieter fell back on the cushions as Gerald kissed him again. He'd wanted this every single time he'd seen Dieter. Hell, he wanted so much more. Images of Dieter dancing in the club flashed behind his closed eyes, and Gerald moaned softly as his hands slid along Dieter's body.

Gentling the kiss, Gerald let his lips pull away from Dieter's as he looked into his unfocused eyes. Breathing heavily, his heart pounding, Gerald's body throbbed with desire, especially when Dieter moved beneath him and Gerald felt Dieter's hardness against his hip. “You are so beautiful,” Gerald murmured as he stared into Dieter's eyes, watching as they began to focus and then seeing Dieter blush before he tried to shift away. “You have nothing to be ashamed of,” Gerald soothed. “I like that I can make you excited."

Dieter swallowed, blinking in surprise. “But...."

"No. It's amazing, wonderful, and absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about,” Gerald said reassuringly before lifting himself off Dieter and righting himself and then helping Dieter back to a seated position.

"It's just so hard to get my mind around. I've wondered what it would be like to be held and kissed, but that was just dreaming,” Dieter said very softly, and Gerald moved closer to kiss him again.

"You aren't dreaming now, are you?” Gerald asked, and Dieter smiled shaking his head.

"I should be getting home, though,” Dieter explained before standing up. “It's getting late, and... and I want to do things I shouldn't."

Gerald felt his heart jump slightly. Dieter was truly attracted to him. He'd felt his body's reaction when they were kissing, and now he'd told him in a roundabout way. The idea seemed heady and thrilling. “I'd like to know if you have plans for next Saturday evening."

"No. Not that I can think of,” Dieter replied tentatively.

"Then I'd like to take you out on a proper date. Can I pick you up at your house at six?” Gerald asked rather formally, but if Dieter hadn't dated much, then he wanted to make this special, he needed to make this special. He wanted Dieter to remember the time they spent together.

"All right,” Dieter answered with a grin. “What are we going to do?"

"That's part of the surprise.” Gerald returned the smile, catching some of Dieter's excitement and energy. Walking his guest to the door, Gerald hugged and kissed Dieter good night before watching as Dieter walked to his car. He saw him look back, and Gerald waved as Dieter started his car and drove away. Shutting the door once Dieter was gone, Gerald straightened up the living room, carrying the dishes to the kitchen, where he did the dishes and made sure the house was clean and put to rights before cleaning up and getting ready for bed.
What a day
, Gerald thought as he opened the bedroom windows to let in the cool breeze off the lake. He'd found an angle in Dieter's case that could possibly make his career, but even better than that, Dieter liked him, really liked him—that was the best thing of all. Now he just had to figure out how he was going to make it all work.

The rest of Gerald's weekend had been very low-key. He'd worked a bit, getting his ideas together for Dieter's case as well as reviewing the rest of his cases before his Monday-morning meetings. He'd called Dieter on Sunday afternoon just to talk to him and tell him he'd had a wonderful time with him. He knew he probably shouldn't have called right away, but he wanted Dieter to know he was thinking of him. Sunday he'd gone to bed early, and on Monday morning, he got up early, almost beating everyone else into the office. The ideas were racing, and he wanted to get them down on paper. A small alarm next to his computer dinged, and Gerald wrapped up what he was doing so he could get ready for the morning case briefing with the partners.

In the meeting room, Gerald took his usual seat, sitting as still and normally as he could. Harold entered and started the meeting. Gerald listened to the other attorneys talking about their cases. When it came time for the junior associates, the other two were called on first, and they gave their updates. When it was Gerald's turn, he gave an update on his other cases. “Are there any developments in the Krumpf case?” Harold prompted.

"Actually, there are. I've been able to establish standing as well as verify through multiple sources that
The Woman in Blue
is Mr. Krumpf's great-grandmother."

"But aren't the paintings in question in Austria?” Linda Thomas, one of the partners, asked him. “I don't know why we're pursuing this when it's obvious that the painting is in Austria and the bond required to file suit in Austria is way beyond the client's means.” Harold nodded at her assessment and turned his attention to Gerald.

"We're not planning to file suit in Austria. We're going to sue in the United States,” Gerald said, but before he could explain, Linda jumped on him again.

"What grounds? Wishful thinking?” It sounded really bitchy, but Gerald kept his cool, knowing she was doing her job for the firm. It wasn't personal.

"The Belvedere Museum is owned and operated by the Austrian government. So in order to bring suit, we need to sue the Austrian government, and we can do that in the United States because of this.” Gerald pulled out the copy of the poster he'd purchased on Sunday at the Milwaukee Art Museum store and unrolled it onto the table. “The Belvedere, and by extension, the Austrian government, made money selling this poster of the painting in question here in the United States. Since they made money here, we can sue them here."

"But you can only sue up to the amount they made in the United States,” Linda said, her voice a little less sure than it had been.

"Actually, no. In this case, since they made money directly off the property in question, then we can sue for the property itself. There are other works of art involved, but
The Woman in Blue
is the primary property involved. Furthermore"—Gerald was just getting started, and everyone in the room was totally enthralled—"the US government has shown a willingness to enforce these judgments. Four years ago, the US Customs Service impounded four paintings that were part of an exhibition in New York so they couldn't leave the country when the true owners brought suit claiming the works were looted Nazi art and belonged to them. I understand this could be precedent-setting, but it's also justice. These paintings were looted from our client's family not once, but twice: first by the Nazis and then by the Austrian government.” Gerald stopped, figuring he'd said enough, and the other attorneys looked a little shocked.

"Is there anything else?” Harold asked, looking around the room. “If not, we're adjourned. Gerald, I'd like to speak to you in my office.” Harold got up and walked out of the conference room. Gerald followed the others out of the conference room.

After Brian went on his way to Harold's office, one of the partners put his hand on Gerald's shoulder. “You did great. That's an amazing legal strategy, and it might just work."

"Thanks,” Gerald said, smiling as he continued toward Harold's office, knocking lightly before entering.

"Sit down and close the door,” Harold told him, and Gerald wondered what he'd done wrong. “That was an interesting presentation in the meeting and very effective. The question is, can you pull that off in federal court, because that's what you'll need to do."

"Yes,” Gerald answered with confidence and excitement. “This case could be precedent-setting."

"Yes, and it could give our firm a national reputation. The thing is that I think this case needs to be handled by one of the partners now,” Harold said, and Gerald felt as though all the wind had been let out of his sails.

"I thought you'd be pleased, and instead you're taking this case away from me.” Gerald battled to hold his emotions in check. Every fiber in his being wanted to lash out, but he managed to keep his cool. “Besides, there may not be a case. Dieter isn't sure he can afford to go forward with this. He knows it's going to be expensive, and he doesn't have that kind of money. He most certainly doesn't have the money to be able to afford one of the partner's hourly rates. I was going to speak to you about that this morning. There is a huge potential payoff in publicity alone if we can win this case. The paintings are worth tens of millions, possibly hundreds of millions, and are sure to be newsworthy. Even if we lose, people will be flooding us with business. And if we win, while I doubt Dieter would be willing to actually sell the paintings, there are many possibilities that could be explored where they would generate income to pay our fees."

Harold leaned back in his chair. “What are you proposing?"

"Can I speak freely?"

Harold smiled at him. “You'd better."

Gerald swallowed and thought carefully before speaking. “I like Dieter, a lot. He's someone I could possibly care for a great deal.” Gerald met Harold's eyes to make sure he understood what Gerald was saying. “And I think he likes me."

"So you're saying the client is probably going to want you to handle the case,” Harold clarified.

"Yes. But if I thought I couldn't handle this, I would step back because that would be right for Dieter. I told him I was going to be talking to you because of the money issue to see what your ideas were. But I know I'm the attorney to handle this case. It's going to take someone who can think differently, and I've demonstrated already that I can do that.” He wanted this case for so many reasons he could taste it, but mostly he wanted it for Dieter. Yes, if he won, it would make his career, but winning in this case was getting Dieter's family legacy returned to him.

Harold sat back without moving or talking, and Gerald nearly held his breath. He probably could have pushed to let Dieter decide, but that would have alienated Harold. Yes, he was taking a gamble, but he also knew how to read people. He just hoped he was right this time.

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Dieter looked at himself in the mirror, checking to make sure he looked okay, keeping the butterflies in his stomach at bay. Harold Prince himself had called yesterday to invite him to dinner at his home. He'd said he had some things he wanted to discuss with him and he thought dinner would be a better venue than the office. Dieter wondered what it could be and had thought of calling Gerald, but wasn't sure if that was proper since Mr. Prince had called him directly. Mr. Prince had specified that the dress was casual, but somehow Dieter figured that didn't mean jeans, so he was taking the time to make sure he looked properly casual, but not too casual. Giving up, he made sure his hair wasn't too unruly before heading downstairs. Carefully picking up the flowers he'd gotten to bring along, Dieter left the house, locking the door behind him.

The drive to the northern suburbs took a little time since Dieter stayed off the freeway, taking city streets out of Milwaukee and into Shorewood. Following the directions he'd been given, he pulled into the driveway, checking the numbers on the house before getting out of the car. The house was very nearly what he'd been expecting, imposing stone exterior, maybe not as large as he would have thought, but classic and elegant.

Mr. Prince opened the door to Dieter's knock. “Come in,” he said warmly, ushering Dieter inside and closing the door as a stunningly elegant woman entered the hall. “Dieter, I'd like you to meet my wife, Christine."

"It's a pleasure to meet you,” Dieter said rather formally as he handed her the flowers.

"Thank you,” she replied with a smile, sniffing the colorful blooms. “I'll put these in water. Harold, we're in the summer room this evening."

Mr. Prince led him through the house, past beautifully decorated rooms that looked as though they were rarely used. “Would you like anything to drink?” Mr. Prince asked as they arrived in an outdoor-type room with stone floors, floral-print furniture, and large plants and greenery. It felt like an extension of the garden, though indoors, the breeze through the open windows cooling the room perfectly.

"Iced tea would be very nice. Thank you, Mr. Prince,” Dieter answered as he took the seat he was offered.

"Please call me Harold,” he said as he handed Dieter a tall glass with ice clinking. Dieter heard the Westminster chime doorbell and then heard footsteps. Realizing there were to be other guests, he stood up, waiting. Gerald entered the room, shaking hands with Harold before smiling at Dieter, shaking his hand as well. Dieter smiled and some of the butterflies he'd been feeling floated away.

"Are you going to talk business for a while?” Christine asked from the doorway. “Dinner will be ready in an hour, so get the business out of the way,” she added with a smile before disappearing into the house, leaving the three of them alone. Dieter sat back down on a comfortable wicker sofa, and after Harold got drinks for Gerald and himself, Gerald joined him with a quick look and a smile while Harold sat across from them in a matching chair.

Harold sipped from his martini before beginning. “Part of the reason I asked both of you here tonight is to talk business. Dieter, your case has caused quite a stir in the office. Every attorney in the firm, including the partners, would like to be the attorney on your case."

"Gerald is my attorney,” Dieter said softly as he looked at Gerald, wanting to touch him for his own reassurance, but he refrained. He didn't want anyone else. “Gerald understands what this case means to me and why I'm thinking of pursuing it. He also understands my limitations and why I may have to decide to let it go for now.” Dieter took a sip of his tea to tamp down his nerves and give his hand something to do. “I trust him,” he added once he'd swallowed. Harold sat quietly, and Dieter glanced at Gerald briefly, but he looked relaxed, so Dieter returned his gaze to Harold. “What's going on?” he asked both of them, wanting to move closer to Gerald.

"As I said, it seems your case has caused quite a stir, and I'll be honest with you, when I asked Gerald to look into it, I never realized it would be this complex or this potentially important. My first thought was to transition this case to a more senior attorney."