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The one saving grace was that even November was probably too soon to plan a wedding. Maybe he could convince her to wait until next autumn. Their mother’s birthday wouldn’t fall on a weekend, and he could live with his sister getting married a day or two before it so long as the day itself remained sacred.
It took effort, but Steven pushed the scene with Lanie from his mind. He finished filling in the template for the will he was working on, adding the various items the client wished to bequeath. Mr. Rochester had quite the estate, and Steven couldn’t help wondering why his client had left it all to chance for so long. The man had to be pushing eighty, and most of Steven’s estate clients began the planning in their forties.
Perhaps Mr. Rochester thought he would be the exception to other humans and could beat death. Maybe he saw himself as some Dorian Gray character. Though if that’s the case, what caused him to finally take care of it now? Steven didn’t know, but he was glad for the business.
He saved his changes and closed the file. Mr. Rochester wasn’t expecting an updated version for a few days, and Steven liked to let the draft marinate before he went in to edit and finalize it. But it probably wouldn’t take many more iterations. During their meetings, Mr. Rochester had been very specific about what he wanted. His questionnaire response was the only one Steven had had to alter because it went over the maximum character count.
With a sigh, Steven stretched before making his way to Michael’s office. That neither Michael nor Sandra had interrupted him that afternoon had caught him off guard. When he entered the lobby, he heard whispers coming from Sandra’s room.
“Is everything all right in here?” he asked, not bothering to knock.
Sandra and Michael exchanged glances, and Steven crossed his arms. His gaze vacillated between the two.
“Lanie had a breakthrough in the research,” Michael said.
Sandra shot Steven a look. Clearly, she was aware of his fight with his sister. He would deal with that later.
“That’s good news,” Steven replied, waiting for them to elaborate. “Isn’t it?”
“It is.” Michael turned the screen of Sandra’s computer and pointed. “I mean, it’s an old case, but we couldn’t find anything that supersedes it.”
Steven nodded. “More recent is always preferable, but I’ll take what I can get. What are the facts?”
Michael summarized the case, and Steven smiled at how closely it resembled the Harris case. The incident at the center of the lawsuit had occurred at a government building. A coffee had spilled at a stand near a staircase. While the spill had been mopped up, the janitor failed to put up a sign. The victim had slipped on the wet spot and tumbled down the stairs.
“I had actually seen this case myself,” Michael admitted. “But since the victim was an employee and not a member of the public, I thought it was distinguishable. However, the attorneys representing the plaintiff took multiple approaches to ensure victory. They went after workman’s comp but also pointed out the danger to the public, including the testimony of a witness.”
“What did the witness say that was so interesting?” Steven asked.
Sandra’s eyes lit up. “It’s not what they said but what happened to them.”
He frowned, squinting at the screen. “I’m not sure I understand.”
Sandra scrolled down and pointed. “The witness was almost a victim too. They slipped on the same area but managed to avoid a similar fate by grabbing onto the handrail before they tumbled.”
“And the witness wasn’t an employee,” Michael added.
“Interesting.” Steven studied the screen. “Send this to me. I’d like to take a closer look, but in the meantime, feel free to start plugging in the relevant facts to your pleading.”
“Sure thing, boss.” Michael gathered his papers and headed to his office, though he stopped at the door. “I’ll get the pleading to you ASAP as well.”
“Sounds good, thanks.”
Once they were alone, Sandra leaned back in her chair with a frown. “I heard your argument with Lanie.”
He bristled. “I don’t want to discuss it.”
“So you don’t want me to tell you I agree with you?”
That caught his attention, and he raised his eyebrows. “You do?”
She sighed. “Your sister means well, but she’s not thinking this through. It’s like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. She’s trying to change the entire meaning of the day, but it’s not going to cover the significance to all of you, herself included.”
“Should I try to talk her out of it?”
She snorted. “Not if you’re going to scream at her, no. But maybe allow someone with a softer hand, someone who has reached Lanie before when no one else could.”
Steven scrunched up his face. “You mean Nate?”
