Zack grinned. “Yep. Anyway, it’s always good to know what’s going on. I’ll wait a couple of days before I approach Margot.”
“What are you going to approach her about?”
“Becoming a partner at Falconer Shreve. She’s a terrific lawyer, and your warnings that I have to cut down my caseload are beginning to seep in. I want to be around to grope you in our golden years.”
“I want that too,” I said. “I’ll try to ignore the fact that Margot’s a gorgeous blonde with a great body.”
“There’s nothing wrong with your body,” Zack said. He drew me close. “What are you doing for the next half- hour?”
“Not a thing,” I said. “And we have longer than half an hour. After school, Taylor’s going to get her hair cut.”
For me, getting ready for sex meant kicking off my shoes, taking off my clothes, brushing my teeth, and sliding into bed. Nothing physical was simple for Zack, and I had learned to stay away when he was forcing his body through movements that were both painful and, in his eyes, demeaning. That afternoon, I lingered outside, carrying the geraniums Ed had brought into a spot where they’d get the afternoon sun, and casting a critical eye on a juniper that had not wintered well. When I decided that Zack had had enough time to get ready, I went back in the house. There was a complication. The doorbell was ringing, shrill and insistent, and the dogs were barking. I peeked out the window and called to my husband. “Better lay low,” I said. “It’s Margot, and I don’t think she’s going away.”
Margot didn’t wait to be invited in. When I opened the front door, she pushed past, planted herself firmly in the centre of the entrance hall, and cast an accusing eye about her. “All right. Where the hell is he? And don’t tell me he’s not here. I can see his car.”
“I’ll get him,” I said. “Margot, it’s a gorgeous day, why don’t you wait for Zack out on the deck?”
Saskatchewan girl that she was, Margot took off her stilettos and padded down the hall in her bare feet. It was an endearing courtesy, and I found myself warming to her. I took her onto the deck to the round wooden table we used for family dinners. “Make yourself comfortable,” I said.
“Tell Zack I’m going to kill him,” she said.
“I’ll pass that along.”
Sensing big doings, the dogs followed me back into the house. Zack was pulling on his jeans when I got into our bedroom. “It’s Margot,” I said. “She wants me to tell you she’s going to kill you.” I looked at him more closely. “Incidentally, do you realize you’re not wearing any underwear?”
Zack glanced down. “Shit. Jo, it’ll take me more time to get undressed and dressed again than it will take to hear Margot out. Her storms are intense, but they pass quickly.” He pulled up his zipper and snapped the top button. “Besides, going commando will make me feel tougher.”
“Shall I make myself scarce?”
“God, no. I’m going to need all the help I can get.”
When Zack and I went out to the yard, I left Willie and Pantera in the house. Neither of them handled conflict well, and from the moment Margot spotted Zack and sprang out of her chair, she was ready for battle.
“What the hell happened to my case, Zack? And don’t play innocent. There’s no way Little Boy Blue could have pulled that off without some grown-up advice.”
Zack was sanguine. “If Sean got advice, he didn’t get it from me. He handled this on his own.”
Margot eyed Zack suspiciously. “You really didn’t know?”
He met her gaze. “I really didn’t know. Why didn’t you ask your client?”
She slumped into her chair. “I did. He’s not talking. This doesn’t make sense, Zack. Jason was ready to go the distance this morning. Then he and your little protege waltzed into the boys’ room together and my client emerged a changed man.”
“Love at first sight?” Zack said.
“You’ve become a romantic,” Margot said acidly. “And it’s clouding your judgment. My client didn’t fall in love with Sean, but something sure as hell happened. I did everything but bang my forehead on the pavement to get Jason to change his mind or at least explain, but no deal. When we went back into court, I had to tell Madam Justice Leather Lungs that we were withdrawing, so of course she minced me up into tiny pieces. Meanwhile my client’s standing beside me with this hangdog expression, like someone kneed him in the ’nads. All in all, it’s been a lousy day.” She gazed at the garden with longing. “God, this is nice. Am I ever going to live in a big house like you, loverboy?”
Zack and I exchanged glances.
“Why don’t you stay awhile, Margot?” Zack said. “Have a drink. Relax.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “In our family, we have a saying: don’t take the bait – it has a hook in it. What do you want, Zack?”
“You. The firm needs another senior trial lawyer, and you’re our first choice.”
Margot sat down again, but she positioned herself on the edge of her chair, ready to spring. She narrowed her eyes to slits. “Are you suffering from some deadly disease?”
“I want to spend more time with my wife,” Zack said.
“Fuck that,” Margot said. “But as an opening gambit, it’s not bad. That said, I’m happy where I am. I like being on my own. I don’t want you breathing down my neck.”
“I wouldn’t be breathing down your neck,” Zack said. “I’d be at home breathing down Joanne’s neck.”
“Until a serious client showed up, then you’d be down at the office faster than a speeding bullet. I know you, Zack. You have to be Numero Uno. You’d never let anyone else handle a really big case.”
“I’d let you handle a big case because I respect your work and I trust you. Contrary to what you may believe, I’m not an egomaniac. I take on tough cases because clients deserve the best representation our firm can give them.”
Margot chortled. “And that’s you.”
“Until you join the firm, yes.”
“You think I’m as good as you are.”
“I think you will be.”
“Bullshit.”
Zack held out his hands, palms up. “The offer’s on the table.”
Margot gazed at our yard and house with undisguised lust. “I’ll have to look at the books, of course,” Margot said. “If Falconer Shreve is tanking, I’m not bailing you out. In any event, I’ll want a limited liability partnership, and I want a draw from the profits – a substantial draw.”
“Why don’t I get the drinks while you two negotiate,” I said. “Margot?”
“Gin and tonic, please, but light on the gin. I don’t want loverboy to charm me out of what is rightfully mine.”
I turned to Zack “Loverboy?”
“Heavy on the gin,” he said. “Numb myself against defeat. And thank you, Ms. Shreve. I’ll take care of dinner.”
“Does he really cook?” Margot asked.
“He orders in,” I said. “But he does it well.”
Pantera made a break for the yard as soon as I opened the door. Every second away from Zack was agony to him. Willie, loyal and dumb as ever, stayed with me. The phone was ringing. I picked up and heard Sean Barton, sounding surprisingly vulnerable. “Joanne, it’s Sean. I wanted to thank you for coming to the custody hearing. You brought us luck.”
“You must be delighted at how the case worked out.”
“Delighted and relieved,” he said. “For a while there, I didn’t think it would go our way.”
“Well, it did, and that’s cause for celebration.”
“And hope,” Sean’s voice was tentative. “Have you talked to Zack about what happened in court today?”
“Of course. He was really pleased.”
“That’s a good sign, isn’t it?” Sean didn’t wait for an answer. “So is he around?”
I glanced out the window. Margo was sitting on the grass rubbing Pantera’s belly, and Zack was watching them, looking like the cat that swallowed the canary.
“He’s busy at the moment. Could he call you back?”
