Chapter 2 Chapter 2

Anthone

“Why did you pick this place to meet?” I ask Andrew. “Not exactly your usual place.”

Andrew wasn’t one to slum it. The guy had a table reserved in some of the nicest places in the city. This diner in the middle of nowhere has me worried he’s had some kind of head injury. 

“Because we need to talk and I don’t want to chance anyone hearing us.” He glances around like he’s searching for someone. 

“What are you looking at?” I glance around too, but I only see an old couple bickering in a corner booth, a family with kids throwing food at each other, and some of the staff serving coffees to some guys at the counter. 

“I’m making sure no one followed us.” He whispers. 

I look at him as if he has really lost his mind. “No one followed us. What is going on with you?”

He sighs and looks at me like he’s annoyed by my lack of concern. He’s been watching way too many crime shows.

“Nevermind. Okay, so I wanted to show you something.” He pulls a tablet out of the bag sitting next to him. “I found something weird when I was taking a look at your dad’s recent case.”

“The Deaton case?” I ask, waving a hand to get one of the staff’s attention.

Andrew pulled me out of bed before I had coffee, and I’m barely awake as it is. 

“Yes. Your dad asked me to pull their financial information and-“

He stops taking when a cute redhead walks over and smiles at us. “Good morning, gentleman, can I get you some coffee?” 

Her voice has a sweet southern drawl to it that I kind of like. I don’t normally go for girls like her, but I might make an exception. 

“Yeah, can I get some coffee, please? The stronger the better.” I say. 

“Of course. I’ll have Emery make a pot for you, special.” She glances at Andrew, but he just shakes his head. 

She gives him a look that says she thinks he’s a little off before turning and heading back behind the counter. I watch her lean closer to another girl and whisper something. The girl turns, and suddenly I forget all about the cute redhead. No, this girl…she was stunning. Her dark hair is pulled back in a high ponytail, which makes it easy to see her eyes. They’re blue…wait, no, green. I can’t tell from here, but they’re striking. She looks back at the redhead and looks to be arguing with her. The redhead gives her a big smile and walks off to the other side of the diner. There’s a young guy sitting in one of the booths. He smiles up at her and wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her down onto his lap, and kisses her. Well, I guess she’s taken.

Not that I care now that I have eyes on a new beauty. 

I watch her move around and glance over her shoulder at me. When she catches me smiling at her, she quickly turns her head around and tries to act cool. 

“Hello? Earth to Anthone!” A hand moves in front of my face.

I look back at Andrew with a scowl. “What?”

“I’m trying to tell you that your dad has got into business with some shady characters and you’re not listening,” Andrew says in a panic.

“Andrew, everyone Dad works with is shady. We represent people who live to do shady shit.” 

“We do not know that.” He says.

I give him a look. “None of our clients are innocent, but they pay well, and that’s all Dad cares about.”

White collar crime lawyers get paid better than any other kind of lawyer. Most of our clients are crazy rich and will pay anything my dad asks to keep themselves out of prison. 

“This is different,” Andrew says. “These accounts are withdrawing huge amounts of money. I’m taking ten thousand a week or more.” 

That catches my attention. “A week?”

He nods. 

It’s not unusual for our clients to move money around or spend large amounts of money, but in cash? That’s unusual. Large amounts of cash being removed from an account are usually flagged, which is why not many people do it. They don’t want the bank or anyone else asking questions. So for some to risk it…

“Good morning. I have an extra strong coffee.” The waitress with the pretty eyes sets a cup down in front of me, and I ‘m pulled out of my thoughts at the sound of her voice.

It’s lower and sultry-sounding. Not too deep, but enough to be different from other women. 

“Thanks.” I glance at her name tag and then smile at her. “Emery.”

She gives me a tight, polite smile. “No problem. Can I get you guys anything else?” 

“No, we’re fine.” Andrew snaps at her.

I glare at him, but when I try to apologize to the woman, she’s already walking away.

“Way to go, asshole. You didn’t have to be so rude.” I

Andrew rolls his eyes. “You can worry about getting your dick wet after we’re done talking about this.”

The urge to reach over the table and smack him is strong, but I resist. It would piss off my old man, and I don’t want to deal with that right now. Not when I have my own cases to deal with. The last thing I need is my dad riding my ass about one more thing. 

“Andrew, give me what you found and I’ll check it out.” I’m done talking about this.

He had my attention, but after what he just did, my patience is gone. 

“This is my find. I need to tell your dad about this.” He’s panicking again. 

“Andrew, relax. Do you really want to tell my dad about this when he’s so close to closing the case? I’ll look it over and see if we need to tell him.” 

He gives me an uncertain look but nods. He taps on the tablet, most likely emailing the information. My eyes roam over the room searching for the waitress. I spot her talking to the older couple in the furthest booth. She’s smiling at them. Not the tight smile she gave me, but a genuine smile. I’m man enough to admit I’m a little jealous. I want that smile pointed at me. 

“I emailed it to you. We should leave separately.” Andrew says, but I’m barely listening to him.

He can do whatever he wants. I need to talk to that girl again. 

Andrew must realize he’s lost my attention because I hear him grumble, and then he walks past, obstructing my view. I look around him, but the girl is gone. I look around, but it’s like she’s disappeared. The redhead has gone back to work, so I leave a twenty on the table and walk over to her. 

“Hey, the girl who brought me the coffee. Where did she go?” I ask.

She seems startled by me at first, but smiles. “She just got off. You might be able to catch her out back.”