The Grass is Greener (12 page)

It was unfortunate that she had completely forgotten that the lie about being an Eddings had not started in Cyril's office. The first time she'd told it was at Seashells, when Nelson had also been present.

And sadly no one had sworn him to secrecy.

Sebastian always grabbed his morning coffee from the street-corner cafe, Costello's, a five-minute walk from Hanks and Eddings. Thursday morning was no exception. What he didn't expect was to bump into his junior lawyer, Claudia, in the line.

He refrained from bringing his presence to her notice immediately, content to just study her for a moment in dissatisfaction. He still hadn't quite decided what he was going to do with her. When she had started yesterday he'd sent her a few files and decided to wait and see if she sank or swam. This time they were going to play by
his
rules, not hers.

Watching her unguarded movements was actually quite liberating.

Since their second meeting, in Cyril's office, he had noticed that she only wore her hair up, in a loose but professional chignon. Almost as though dressing in that way improved her chances of being taken seriously. It was definitely a far cry from the sexy disarray she had sported in the hotel bar the day they'd first met, yet it did not detract from her youthful beauty. He certainly felt the age gap between them when the
barista, a good ten years younger than him, started flirting with her. He gritted his teeth.

Despite having been served by the same young man almost every day for the past two years, this was the first time Sebastian had bothered to read his name tag.

Tom Rubin. Assistant Manager.

He wore a dark T-shirt printed with the words ‘Ten cents from every coffee bought here goes to the Lucas Foundation.'

‘So I haven't seen you around before,' Tom said to Claudia as he held his silver milk jug under the steamer. ‘Have you just started working in the area?'

‘Hanks and Eddings,' Claudia responded shyly.

‘A lawyer.' Tom raised his eyebrows as though impressed. ‘You must be super smart.'

‘I get by.' Claudia shrugged. ‘I like your T-shirt. What's the Lucas Foundation?'

‘It's a charity dedicated to helping young people with drug and alcohol addictions get off the streets and return to their families.'

‘That's really great.'

Tom pressed a lid onto her takeaway cup. ‘Yeah. We're having a big fundraiser in a couple of weeks actually. A special breakfast here.' He grabbed a flyer off the counter and passed it to her. ‘You should come.'

‘I think I will.' Claudia smiled.

She turned around then and almost walked straight into him. ‘Sebastian!' she gasped.

He inclined his head. ‘Claudia.'

She hesitated, as though unsure whether to continue the conversation, then said finally, ‘I'll see you back at the office.'

‘You will,' he agreed and stepped forward to order his own coffee, but Tom was busy waving at her.

‘See ya, Claudia!'

‘Er … yeah,' she said quickly under Sebastian's hard stare. ‘Catch you later.'

They met again in the foyer of Hanks and Eddings outside the lifts. She seemed uncomfortable by the silence that stretched between them so he made no effort to break it. She was probably wondering why he hadn't come to see her yet, welcomed her to the office, so to speak.

Ha! Did she deserve a welcome?

‘Thanks for the files yesterday.' She sipped her coffee. ‘Let me know if there's anything you want me to go through with you.'

‘Of course.'

She shuffled from foot to foot when he said nothing more. To his amusement, she then tried to engage him in small talk.

‘So I think I might put this on the noticeboard in the kitchen.' She lifted the flyer she was holding. ‘Might be a good thing for everyone to attend.'

‘I'm sure, though I think Tom was extending the invitation mostly to you rather than the entire firm.'

‘Tom?'

‘The barista you were flirting with.'

‘His name was Tom?' To his annoyance her eyes lit momentarily with interest. ‘He didn't mention –' Hastily she cut herself off, cleared her throat and glared at him. ‘I mean, I wasn't flirting with him.'

‘My mistake,' he said drily.

She frowned. Inwardly, he was wondering why he cared so much that his inference had been right. Those two were well suited to each other. Similar in age, and if the fundraiser was anything to go by, both carrying backpacks of idealism on their shoulders.

As if to prove his point she said, ‘I happen to believe in this cause, it sounds like an extremely worthy charity.'

‘Is that so?'

The lift doors opened and they both stepped in. ‘Drug addiction, any sort of addiction really, places a lot strain on families.' She pressed the number of their floor. The lift doors closed.

Unwilling to get into a conversation he knew all too much about, he turned the topic back on her. ‘Family means a lot to you, I take it.'

‘For many years,' Claudia nodded, ‘it's been my everything.' Belatedly, she seemed to realise to whom she was talking, squared her shoulders and cleared her throat. ‘I mean, with things like addiction, those important family relationships are the first to break down. Bringing people back together after trauma –'

‘Is not always a good thing,' he said involuntarily.

‘I beg your pardon?'

‘You can't force things like that, especially with just a lot of high ideals from people who have never been in that situation.'

‘So don't even bother to try?' she demanded, and then muttered under her breath, ‘I might have known you'd say something like that.'

It was his turn to get angry. ‘You know absolutely nothing about me, Claudia. And if I were you I would stick to your case files rather than saving the world at large.'

The lift doors opened and he was relieved to step out.

Damn it, Seb! That was a complete overreaction.

Why did this girl have the power to rile him so badly? He had to stop thinking about her as the sexy temptress he met in a bar and remember she was a lawyer he was now supposed to manage.

It was what Cyril wanted. Though damned if he knew why.

‘I thought you said you were giving me a gift,' he'd said to Cyril when he'd come back after Claudia's interview.

‘I have.' Cyril had winked at him. ‘Exactly the sort you need. You haven't had a decent challenge around here in a long time.'

‘It sounds to me like this present is more for yourself,' he had retorted angrily.

‘What can I say?' Cyril had shrugged. ‘Any excuse to make Bianca Hanks wiggle like a worm on a hook.'

Seb's eyes had narrowed. ‘So you admit it, you don't think this girl has come from Bianca Hanks.'

‘She's my niece,' Cyril professed even more cryptically. ‘Why would she have?'

There was no use talking to the old man. He seemed to think his bizarre actions were completely justified. Not only was he going to settle old scores with Bianca Hanks, he was going to teach Seb a much needed lesson about women, which only served to incense Seb further.

If Claudia taught him anything about women, it was that they should never be underestimated. If they were smart enough, which this girl obviously was, they could get away with just about anything.

 

It was perhaps unfortunate that he had a meeting with Nelson later that morning and was still in this rather acrimonious mood. Nelson was in fine spirits and had only nice things to say about the new addition to their team.

‘She's so efficient,' he sighed. ‘You should see her. Not an ounce of fear. I bet she'd be awesome in court. I always find it so demanding.'

Sebastian pursed his lips, trying to soften his words but not quite succeeding. ‘Trials are trying, Nelson. They define the word. No one finds them easy.'

‘I guess so. Is there anything else you need help with today? Or perhaps you'd like me to assist Claudia? I heard her talking on the phone to Casuarina Prison yesterday about interviewing an inmate. ‘

Sebastian's mind had already started wandering towards to his own cases but Nelson's words jerked him right back.

‘What? Casuarina Prison?'

‘Yes,' Nelson nodded.

‘That's not one of my cases.'

What the hell was she doing working on files that weren't from him? Which of the other partners was already trying to poach her?

Surely she wasn't that good.

Would you really be surprised?

He ground his teeth again.

Meanwhile, Nelson was beginning to look a little guilty. ‘Maybe I heard it wrong. I was just impressed by her gumption, calling them.' He sighed as he reflected on his own flaws. ‘Some people just have a gift. She's going to be hugely successful.'

Tired of hearing him sing Claudia's praises, Sebastian's fingers curled into a fist and he said, a little too tightly, ‘You don't own success, Nelson, you lease it. And trust me, payments are due every single day.'

‘Even though she's one of the Eddingses? I thought they were born with it or something.'

Sebastian's eyes widened. He had forgotten that Nelson had been there that day at Seashells. ‘No,' he responded, ‘success isn't genetic either.'

‘You know, when we first met her in that hotel,' he remarked, ‘I was kind of sceptical about her claim, but having seen her in the office …' He looked up trustingly. ‘What did Cyril say? You would know. Is it true?'

If the local TAB was taking bets, Sebastian would have withdrawn his entire life savings and put it on ‘false'. And yet, he suddenly found himself addressing Nelson with a tone as deadpan as his face.

‘Of course. Absolutely.' He shuffled the papers on his desk. ‘It was a surprise to me too.'

Not as surprising as what's coming out of your mouth right now!

An endorsement from him would carry weight around the office. He had Cyril's ear and his confidence. Everybody knew how close they were. If he backed up the rumour then it would be believed.

Nelson heaved a sigh of relief. ‘You know, she hasn't mentioned it to anyone else. Do you think I shouldn't either?'

Sebastian debated with himself momentarily – on one hand was the honourable urge to rein Nelson in and on the other, the unmistakable desire to teach Claudia Franklin a much-needed lesson.

She'd brought this on herself.

Shouldn't she reap the fruits of her own misbehaviour? He had already kept his side of the bargain and told no one. It was up to Cyril to protect his project. And if Claudia felt the discomfort of uncertainty until then, it was no more than he had felt after being pushed into a corner he had no desire to stand in.

‘It seems a silly thing to keep a secret,' he said to Nelson. ‘After all, who wouldn't want to be part of the Eddings family?'

‘Too true.' Nelson stood up to leave.

As soon as Nelson was out the door, Sebastian threw down his pen and sat back in his chair, trying to decide if he'd made the right move. He picked up his phone. ‘Juliet.'

‘Hi, Seb, what can I do for you?'

‘I just had an interesting conversation with Nelson. He told me that Claudia is working cases for another partner at the firm. Who is it?'

There was a startled pause. ‘No one, as far as I'm aware. Claudia only has the three files I gave to her yesterday.'

Odd.

He frowned. ‘Can you please monitor her phone calls? And if any of the other partners ask to see her, please let me know.'

‘Sure.'

He put his phone down, unease spreading through his veins. What did they really know about this girl? Honestly, the only thing that was absolutely certain was that she couldn't be trusted. She was masquerading as Cyril's niece and was now wanting to make contact with an inmate at Casuarina Prison.

He thought about their run-in that morning and her judgemental comment about
his
values.

As with all young, pretty girls, she thought she had the world on a string. That no one would see through her fake veneer and false attempts at morality.

This time, however, Claudia Franklin was poking a stick at the wrong man.

Nobody made a fool out of Sebastian Rowlands and got away with it.

Claudia should have known that her first day was far too easy and that things were only going to get worse from there.

Day two started off with Sebastian witnessing her flirting with a cafe barista and somehow making her feel bad about it. How was it any of his business who she took a fancy to? Tom had been rather good-looking – blond, easygoing, with a great sense of community responsibility, practically all the things on her checklist. Wasn't it about time she stretched her dating muscles, especially now that her father and his shotgun were nowhere in sight? She'd always been so envious of Bronwyn's freedom and choices.

So incensed by the ridiculous way he'd made her feel, the first thing she did upon arriving in the office was head up to the kitchen to stick the flyer that Sebastian had condemned onto the noticeboard.

‘Anybody with half a heart would approve,' she muttered darkly as she stuck pins into the corners.

‘Who doesn't approve?'

She spun around, her hands self-consciously going to her throat. ‘Oh, hello, Mr Eddings. Er … Cyril.' She quickly made her tone less formal. ‘Great to er … see you.'

‘How are you enjoying your first week?'

‘A lot,' she smiled.

‘I'm sorry I didn't come to welcome you yesterday morning.' Cyril filled a glass jug from the water cooler. ‘I had back-to-back meetings and today is much of the same.' He looked her over thoughtfully. ‘I take it you and Sebastian are getting on well?'

‘As well as can be expected,' she said, with a sheepish glance at Tom's fundraiser advertisement. He followed her gaze.

‘Sebastian has a very close connection to addiction,' Cyril commented, seemingly out of left field.

Claudia started. ‘He has a drug problem?'

Cyril laughed. ‘With the amount of work he turns around, you'd think he was on something, wouldn't you? No,' he shook his head sadly, ‘his mum was an addict. Left him at a police station, aged six. I don't think he's ever forgiven her.'

Sebastian's words came back to her, making her want to bite her own tongue in shame.

You know absolutely nothing about me, Claudia.

So now it appeared she owed him an apology as well.

‘Sebastian may appear to be heartless,' Cyril said, ‘but that's only because few people have showed him theirs. Good luck, Claudia.'

With his full jug, he walked out of the kitchen, leaving her standing there.

She spent most of the morning trying to figure out how she was supposed to rectify her faux pas. However, sometime after lunch a new development had cause to distract her.

The mail clerk came by her desk to stick an envelope in her tray. ‘So you're Cyril's niece, are you?' she said.

Claudia's hands stilled over her keyboard, her mouth went dry. ‘Who told you that?'

‘Nelson.' Her colleague was conveniently absent from his desk. The mail clerk tilted her head to one side. ‘I've never seen a brunette in Cyril's family before.'

Claudia had no idea what she was supposed to say to this, unless the woman's pointed gaze indicated that she should fish out her birth certificate and an accompanying family tree. Luckily, the clerk didn't seem to require a response because she pushed her trolley on to the next desk.

Damn you, Nelson.

She couldn't very well yell at him when she hadn't asked him to keep quiet about it. Her heart dropped to the bottom of her stomach. What chance was there that this news would not be delivered to the whole office along with their mail?

Fat chance.

As if to confirm her suspicions, the next day Anna Mavis dropped by with a few barbed remarks of her own. She was already sore that Claudia had snaffled the Cornwall case, which she had thought was rightfully hers, and she was in no mood to be friendly.

‘So I see you've got three cases already.' She looked down her nose. ‘Seb must have a lot of confidence in you. Or did Cyril put him up to it?'

Claudia knew she was talking to a crocodile but her guilty conscience couldn't stop a flush of heat from invading her cheeks. ‘I'm sure Cyril had nothing to do with it.'

‘But everyone knows Cyril just dotes on his family. I heard you were related.'

‘Distantly,' Claudia responded quickly.

‘Must be,' Anna smirked, ‘because Liam didn't think you were connected to Cyril Eddings at all.'

Liam was one of the lawyers she had recognised from university and she couldn't really blame him. She swallowed.

Well, this has to be a world record – two days on the job and I'm being exposed already.

Sweat broke out on her upper lip.

How can I spin this one?

‘In fact, he said you and your family were in wine,' Anna went on, leaning her hip on the side of Claudia's desk with all
the manner of someone who was going to stick around until she drew blood.

‘Yes,' said a voice from behind her. ‘Isn't it deplorable how some lawyers think running a B&B in the South-West will be that much easier than a full-time job.' Sebastian Rowlands entered their workspace like a prowling tiger. ‘Cyril was very happy to see his niece return to the fold.'

‘Seb.' Anna straightened and spun around, all a-fluster.

‘Good afternoon, Anna.' Those dark eyes and flat mouth gave no warmth to the greeting. ‘I see you've met Claudia. Don't let her relation to her uncle deceive you, we didn't take her on for that. She was recommended by Bianca Hanks.'

‘Bianca Hanks?' Anna uttered weakly, like she'd just whispered the name of God.

‘That's right.' His eyes ran over her person as though he were looking for something. ‘Don't you have enough work, Anna?'

‘I have mountains,' Anna tried to laugh but it came out somewhere between a gasp and a choke.

‘Yes, I thought you wouldn't need that Cornwall case on top of everything else.'

‘It wouldn't have been any trouble,' Anna whitened. ‘I don't mind the pressure.'

‘Still, the last thing I would want to do is overburden you,' Seb returned sweetly as he delivered the kiss of death.

There was a heavy pause as Anna's bitter gaze flicked quickly from Seb to Claudia, panic and accusation in her eyes. Claudia quickly looked away and Anna turned back to Seb.

‘Er … thank you,' she squeaked tightly before scurrying off like a mouse into the scrub.

Claudia released a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding as the man in front of her turned towards her, his dark eyes cutting a straight line into her brain.

‘Making friends already, I see,' he observed.

Her smile was more wince than a grin, especially when she thought of what had passed between them earlier. Her silence
did allow her a moment to fully take him in, however. It was the first time he'd decided to come into her workspace since she'd arrived. And honestly, she now thought it was worth the wait. The word that most adequately summed up his appearance was ‘perfection'.

His suit was black, faultlessly cut to set off his tall, trim figure. The jacket was taut across broad shoulders, indicating muscle, and this was only confirmed by the certainty of his movements. They were as crisp and clean as his shirt. By contrast, his tie was a glossy blue net design. A statement, no doubt, that had just the right proportion visible above the buttons of his jacket. His cufflinks winked silver and his after-shave was subtle but effective, like a smoky hand that wafted out and caressed your throat. He was a work of art. There didn't seem to be a thread out of place and she found herself wondering the stupidest things.

How does he keep so fit when he works such long hours?

He must get up before five and go to the gym.

Or maybe he plays sport after work.

Probably rugby, he's certainly got the shoulders for it.

But then how does he find time to shop?

That suit is a masterpiece.

I wonder if he has a personal tailor?

Oooh, wouldn't it be great if they did skirt suits for women?

‘Claudia.'

She blinked twice. ‘Er, sorry, yes?'

He frowned. ‘I asked you a question.'

Of course you did.

Heat flooded her face and her voice came out raspy. ‘Would you mind repeating it?'

‘Can you read up on the McCarthy file first?' he asked impatiently. ‘We have a pre-trial conference next week and I'd like you to attend.'

‘Really?' She sat up straighter. ‘That's great. I'd love to.' And then realising she didn't sound as coldly aloof as the other
lawyers in the firm, quickly moderated her tone. ‘I mean, I'll start getting our documents in order now, unless there was something else you wanted to talk about?'

‘No.' He seemed amused by her sudden change in demeanour. ‘I'd like to see what you can do. Bianca Hanks or not, you'll have to prove yourself to me first.'

His expression indicated that he didn't anticipate this challenge being easy. He walked off then, leaving her to breathe a sigh of relief. So that was it – her first real ‘welcome to the firm' conversation.

Did she feel like a lawyer?

Hell yeah.

‘Wow,' Nelson said without turning around. ‘Bianca Hanks, eh? How many head honchos do you have in your corner? I'm counting three so far.'

‘I think that's it,' she tried to say lightly, realising that he'd added Sebastian's name to Cyril's and Bianca's, which seemed like very wishful thinking.

Sebastian didn't like her or trust her and he meant for her to earn his respect. What she hadn't expected was for him to have her back with Anna. She simply couldn't imagine him not being pleased that she was getting her comeuppance. After all, she was sure as apples in pie that he didn't believe for a second that she was related to his boss. So why had he stuck up for her?

Perhaps he preferred revenge on his own terms.

 

As one week moved into the next, she began to grow more sure of it. She didn't see him much, but every time she did, she felt like the stakes to prove herself to him were getting higher and higher.

Sebastian Rowlands was as tough as any ancient Egyptian slave-master. He worked her to the bone and critiqued her best efforts with the diplomacy of a Middle Eastern Dictator.

He didn't like her formatting. He thought her sentences were too long. She didn't get to the point fast enough. Her arguments lacked credibility. She didn't quote enough precedence. And the list of his complaints went on.

The hardest part, of course, was not his words but his eyes!

He would stare at her just so, without saying a single word, and it cut far deeper than any verbal complaint. You knew he wasn't just disappointed in your work but in
you
. The very core of you.

Claudia Franklin was not good enough.

Her biggest problem was that she respected his opinion and craved his praise, hanging out for a kind word like a seagull waiting for a stale chip. She couldn't discount his criticisms, however. There were elements of truth in everything he said and she knew she needed the feedback. The best thing to have at this stage of your career was a good mentor – a role model to set you straight. Nonetheless, well into the second week she had to wonder if she was really being guided so much as bashed into a mould that was exactly to Sebastian Rowlands's liking.

It wasn't like she made friends elsewhere in the firm either. Cyril Eddings, for all his family devotion, made no further attempt to find out how she was doing, and this seemed to be proof to the other lawyers that her relationship to him was bogus. Basically, she'd set herself up a nice little posse of enemies without even trying, and they made her pay any chance they got.

She didn't have her own secretary, so had to rely on a pool of administration staff who served other lawyers at the same level as her. In turn, the secretaries took sides. They had formed their allegiances before she'd even introduced herself. And, suffice to say, they were not in her favour. Her work ‘mysteriously' never seemed to rise to the top of any administrator's pile till very late in the day.

‘Don't be too hard on yourself.' Nelson had tried to cheer her up. ‘You're not the only one they punish. I'm sure someone
else will rise to the top of the “most hated” list soon. These things tend to run in cycles.'

How reassuring.

Somewhere in it all, however, she did manage to fit in a visit to Peter Goldman in hospital. His room was watched over by a prison guard so she still had to get special permission from Casuarina to see him. She had phoned them earlier that day. At the time, Nelson had been out at lunch. Juliet had been seated at her desk but she'd had her earphones in so Claudia didn't think she heard anything that was said.

When she walked into Peter's room, he looked so pale and insignificant in the hospital bed she had to wonder why she had been so anxious about seeing him. After all, he was the one who had been bashed up, not the one who had picked the fight. White-collar criminals didn't know violence until it literally hit them in the face. The man was in his mid-forties, he had a slim bony structure and a rather large forehead further enhanced by his receding hairline.

He adjusted the bed into a sitting position using the remote control, wincing as he did so.

‘Who are you?' he croaked, his eyes grey and watery.

‘I'm Claudia Franklin.' She stopped half a metre from the bed. ‘A friend of Bronwyn Eddings, and a lawyer from Hanks and Eddings.'

He dropped his head back into his pillow and grimaced. ‘Your friend should have listened to me.'

‘About what?'

‘About giving the dog back. Elsa now belongs to someone else.' He nodded. ‘Pass me that pad and a pen.'

Curious to see what he was going to write, Claudia passed him the hospital stationery. He scribbled an address down and tore it off.