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Aisha tapped her free fingers on the antique secretary desk in the tiny room serving as her office in the flat she and Rey had rented in Paris. Calling it a room was generous. She had a suspicion the previous tenants used it as a closet.
But for a closet, she couldn’t fault the view. The Eiffel Tower rose over the City of Lights less than three miles away. It made for a lovely evening walk with her husband and son. This was so much better than accompanying her dad on his digs in Mexico and Central America.
She smiled to herself. Definitely far less mosquitoes.
“How’s the jetsetting?” Harri chirruped over the phone receiver. Marriage was obviously agreeing with her, but Aisha didn’t dare say that thought out loud.
She laughed. “I wish I was actually jetsetting. This apartment may have been furnished, but there was still a lot of stuff we needed. I think we’re finally situated.”
“Hey, girl!” Susan called out. “Eat a few real croissants for me!”
“I will.” Aisha glanced at her notes before she launched into the status of her ongoing cases.
When she finished, Harri blurted, “How’d you get all that work done?”
“We found an au pair. And before you start bitching, she’s a super herself. I’ve already vetted her, and she’s awesome, so don’t ruin this for me.”
“All right,” Harri drawled, “What’s the catch?”
“Her parents are Lightstreak and Raindrop. The parents want me to meet with their attorneys in London about doing some licensing in the U.S. for them. They were highly impressed with my Captain Justice and Sparx campaigns.” Aisha couldn’t keep the sour note out of her voice. Nearly two years after Captain Justice’s “death”, her husband’s first alter ego was still haunting her career.
“Who?” Harri demanded.
“And what kind of split are we talking about?” Susan asked.
“Amblehurst, Mintegue, and Trott in London, and the split is part of what we need to negotiate. The partners want a face-to-face meeting with me tomorrow depending on how you two feel about this.”
“It doesn’t hurt to talk to them,” Susan said.
Harri remained ominously silent.
“Harri, talk to me.”
“What if they are trying to poach you?”
Crap, her best friend’s insecurities were back. “Harri, I am not leaving Winters and Franklin. We all have worked too hard. And you know damn well Rey’s not going to throw away his plan to revitalize the Canyon Block. Either we cut ourselves a decent deal or we walk.”
“It sounds like we may need another associate before you get back,” Susan said.
Harri snorted. “That’s assuming this thing in London goes through.”
“Girl, expanding the firm into the international market is not a bad thing,” Aisha said gently.
“I don’t want us to get overwhelmed,” Harri said. “I’ve been assigned my first ad litem case in the family courts.”
“That’s great!” Aisha exclaimed at the same time as Susan.
“We’ll see. He’s a kid with powers, and I’ll meet him for the first time this afternoon.”
“Let’s take everything one step at a time.” Aisha picked up her pencil. “Now, about the split between firms…”
##
It was another hour before Aisha could finally hang up the phone. Despite Harri’s fear of abandonment rearing its ugly head, she’d actually come up with some excellent points that needed to be broached with the partners at Amblehurst, Mintegue, and Trott.
She exited her tiny office to find Mitch in his high chair in the kitchenette, munching on cut banana pieces while Rey cooked.
“Mamamama!” her son shrieked when saw her. Mitch waved his arms, forgetting he had fruit chunks in his hands. The banana nuggets sailed into the air.
With the application of a little superspeed, Aisha caught the flying fruit before they landed and placed them back on the high chair tray. She bent and kissed his forehead. “Sometimes, I think you do that on purpose, babycakes.”
Mitch grabbed one the saved banana pieces and shoved it into his mouth.
She walked over and kissed her husband. “How was you first day of school?”
“Not too bad.” He grinned as he reached around her to grab a cup of shredded carrots and dumped them into the sauté pan with the cut up chicken. “How’re Harri and Susan surviving without you?”
“Harri got her first ad litem case in the family court today.”
“Good. She’s needs something to focus on besides missing you.” Rey kissed Aisha while he reached for something else behind her.
She laughed. “You know you could simply tell me I’m in your way.”
“But if you move, I can’t kiss you every time I need something.” He poured a dollop of soy sauce in the pan and stirred. “So Harri didn’t freak out about the meeting in London tomorrow?”
“A little. But it was a perfectly valid worry about us overextending the firm again.” Aisha walked over to sit next to Mitch at their little table. He proceeded to feed a banana bit to her. After she chewed and swallowed, she smiled at him. “Thank you, kind sir.”
“And you’re comfortable with Delphine being here alone with Mitch all day?”
She made a face at her husband. “Are you trying to make me paranoid?”
“I’m just thinking maybe we should have asked Molly to come with us.” Rey pulled the kitchen towel from his shoulder and wiped his hands. “She’s been Mitch’s nanny since you ended your maternity leave.”
“I’m very aware of that,” Aisha said dryly. “But you’re moving on with your education. It’s time she does the same. And I do trust Delphine.”
“Good.” Rey turned and gave the chicken and carrots another stir before he added the cup of peas. He faced Aisha again. “I don’t think I could handle both you and Harri freaking out over our au pair at the same time, even if one of you is half a world away.”
“I didn’t freak out,” she protested.
“Speaking about not freaking, why don’t you take the train to London tonight after dinner?”
“Really?”
“Baby, we both know you’re not a morning person.” Rey grinned. “Staying in a hotel tonight will give some sleep-in time tomorrow. And if you get done early, you can do a little sight-seeing.”
“But Mitch—”
“I think I can handle our son by myself for one night.” Rey walked over to the table. “Besides, I think you could use the break. We both know you’ve been doing legal stuff despite allegedly taking two weeks off to get us settled in the city.”
She grinned up at him. “You are the best husband ever.”
“I know,” he said before he leaned over and kissed her while Mitch clapped his hands.
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