Page 9 of Falling for the Unexpected

“It’s not like I was going to answer!” Trent shot back, glaring. Having caught it before it hit him between the eyes, he smartly put his phone away. “It was just an update on a case of mine that I’ve been keeping close tabs on.”

Like me, Trent was an admitted workaholic and, also like me, we loved the single, bachelor life. He liked dating a new girl every couple weeks. He didn’t seem to have a problem finding women who agreed to his no-strings-attached dating, much to the disappointment of his mom, who would love to have more grandchildren. We were both twenty-six and having slaved through four years of college plus three years of law school, it was time to have some fun and recharge. Not take our personal lives too seriously. That’s why weekends like this were perfect.

I laughed at their bantering as I grabbed all the empty plates, dishes, and bottles and stepped inside to put them in the kitchen sink to take care of later.

When I walked back out, Trent glanced over at me as he headed down the back steps right behind Erik. “So, Erik and I came up with a game plan on how to start mingling with those volleyball babes over there,” he said, glancing back at them briefly. “Time to officially jumpstart this weekend… You ready, bro?”

I smiled, grabbing my sunglasses and followed suit. “Hell, yeah I am.”

*****

The following week in the office had flown by. Addie knocked quietly on the doorframe then entered my office. “Morning, Kyle. I have the Wilson files you wanted.” She hefted up the files in the crook of her arm. “What do you want me to do with them?”

It was early Friday morning and things were already busy. It was always like that right before the weekend. Addie had only recently started working with us, but she was already proving to be a great addition to the office. It made me extremely happy to have my sister back home and I loved being able to spend time with her at the office as well.

“I need you to search the court records from last month. I want to make sure they are in compliance with the ruling made,” I told her.

She gave a nod. “Sure thing. Anything else?” she asked.

“I could really use some coffee,” I said. When I looked up she had her eyebrow raised in question. Knowing she had a smartass response ready, I quickly added, “Please.”

“Just this once.” She laughed as she exited my office.

I rubbed my eyes behind the glasses that I wore while working, then went back to staring at my computer and finished up the last of this morning’s slew of emails before getting to my paperwork. Filings, court appearances, meetings with judges, other lawyers, research… it was endless, but I loved it.

Jim had started the law firm twenty years ago when he got tired of working for other people. Now he was ready to retire and was prepping Trent and me to take over. We provided and specialized in many legal services, but our bread and butter was family law and mediation. However, Trent and I kept up-to-date in other areas of practice to give us a broader appeal.

Jim only worked on special cases now and pretty much let Trent and me run things as we saw fit while he played endless rounds of golf or played grandpa whenever he could. He was counting down the days to when he could fully retire. Right now, we had one junior associate, a paralegal, a receptionist, and Addie, our legal secretary. The operational work was done between me and Trent, but with our increasing caseload, we’d have to hire someone for that soon. I was proud of the work we did and that our firm was growing. I just wished my grandmother could see how successful I was. It was because of her that I had my strong work ethic. She was the first person to encourage me to go into law, turning elements of a bad childhood into something positive and helping others.

As well as we were doing, Trent and I were more ambitious. We planned on expanding the firm in the next five to ten years, and eventually move our offices to a more modern and bigger space. We also wanted to move closer to downtown San Diego rather than staying near the airport, which wasn’t an ideal spot with the loud planes taking off and flying overhead. Currently, our office was small, but everyone had their own space to work in. There was also a basic break room, and a small conference room for meetings. It wasn’t glamorous like those law firms you see on television dramas, but it served its purpose and kept our overhead low.

“Hey, Addie, do you want to do lunch today?” I shouted from my office, knowing she could hear me since her workspace was only a few feet away.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” she shouted back.

“Hey, assholes, you going to invite me?” Trent yelled from his office, which was across the hall from mine.

“Well… I guess, if we have to,” Addie answered, sighing loudly. Those two had teased each other since childhood and could go back and forth all day. I shook my head at their relentless banter, but mostly, I was glad Addie had settled in without any issues.

Once lunch rolled around, the three of us walked a couple blocks over to our favorite Mexican restaurant since the weather was perfect for a quick stroll. Living in Southern California provided us with many options, but Anita’s was definitely a favorite of ours. With the spring tourist season in full bloom, we had made a reservation in hopes of not getting caught up in a crowd of clueless visitors.

We were seated in the back corner of the restaurant, which suited me just fine. I enjoyed watching people come and go.

“Hi there, can I get you all something to drink?” our server asked. He was a young guy, and once he spotted Addie, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her.

“Yeah, I’ll have an iced tea,” Trent answered, looking the menu over.

I glared at the waiter. “I’ll have the same, and I would appreciate it if you stopped checking out my sister,” I added. I heard Trent chuckle next to me.

Addie glared at me then turned to our waiter with a sweet smile on her face. “Ignore him, he’s just a big jerk. I’ll take a Diet Pepsi.” As soon as the waiter left, she asked, “Was that really necessary?”

I just shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t step in when she dated Brad, even though I knew he wasn’t good enough for her. I should have protected her and not let her get tangled up with him. Instead, I’d let her do what she wanted—and look how that turned out. I would never fail in my brotherly duties again.

After we got our drinks and ordered, Trent cleared his throat. “So, what time are you guys coming over for the party tomorrow?” he asked in an effort to stop an argument from starting. It worked like a charm.

“Do you think Mom needs any help getting things ready?” Addie asked. We’d been referring to Jim and Marla as Dad and Mom since we were kids. It felt natural at this point, even if Addie hadn’t talked to them much in the last two years.

“Probably,” Trent said, after some consideration. “We plan on eating at one so why don’t you guys get there around eleven. Mom would never ask for help, but I know she would appreciate it.”

Marla loved to cook. I couldn’t remember any get-together at their house where she hadn’t cooked the meal herself. She reminded me a little bit of a 1950s housewife you would see on TV; the main difference was how Jim treated her. He viewed her as an equal and was always appreciative of all the effort she made to create a comfortable home for them. He never acted like it was expected. The love they had for each was evident to all those around them.

“We’ll be there,” I responded. Addie nodded in agreement, but quickly looked away, keeping her eyes on the pedestrian traffic. I knew what she was thinking.

While I was excited to share in Jim’s special day, I was also expecting Brad to find some way to ruin it. And I wasn’t sure how Addie and Simone would deal with seeing each other. I took a sip of my tea, hoping Jim’s celebration didn’t end up being a complete disaster.