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Sam tapped the papers. "Do you think Tiffany will give a deposition in your favor if it comes to that? And can you find that logger?"
Erin sighed. "Tiff, maybe, maybe not. She was pretty angry when she left. The logger comes in at least a couple of times a week, but I don't know if he'd be willing to get involved."
"That's what I figured." Sam shrugged fatalistically. "Hopefully, James can get Mr. Adams to see sense once I file your answer, but Adams is a bit of a hothead. Especially when it comes to his kids." She grimaced. "I'll get a draft to you this week. If you can review it right away and send it back, that will be helpful. I'll also send you an attorney-client agreement for your signature, and I'll need a thousand-dollar deposit. If this goes before the judge, you can expect to spend five times that, easy." Sam's face was grim.
"Great." Erin sighed again. "Just what I need. I can do a thousand, but five? That will take an extension of my loan, which means Mom can put more pressure on me to date her sleazy clients. Wonderful."
Sam clamped her lips together for a second. "Sorry to ask you for the deposit, but being a small-town lawyer isn't exactly lucrative. I've got too many pro-bono clients and too many people who won't pay. I can't extend credit to anyone, not even you."
Erin held up her hands. "I understand. I'd never ask. It's tough being a small business owner."
Sam snorted. "You know how this goes. Still, this really isn't an appropriate use of the law, so I'm sorry."
"Seems like legal extortion to me." Erin sat up straight and put her nose in the air, imitating her mother. "I'm angry, so I'll sue, knowing you don't have the money to fight me. And I'm connected with all the judges in town, so they'll be on my side too." She slumped.
Sam shrugged again. "You know I can't agree with you, but..."
"I get it. But it sucks." Erin sighed.
"I will agree with you there." Sam gave her a commiserating smile, then nodded sharply. "I'll get a draft to you soon, probably tomorrow."
"Thanks, Sam." Erin left Sam's office, confirmed her contact information with Sam's secretary, and walked out to her car. At least Smoky was reliable. More reliable than hired help anyway. And far easier to fix when he broke down.
Chapter 6
Putting out Fires
"Ryan, got a minute?" William beckoned from the office door.
"Sure. You're the boss." William pointed at the door, so Ryan closed it, the hinges squealing.
William plopped into his chair. "I got a problem."
Ryan waited. Figured he wasn't getting a pat on the shoulder. Not with a closed door.
"Corporate is hassling me about our payroll. They want me to cut it. But I've got everyone on the minimum hours now, except you. I have to cut your hours." William held up a hand to hold off the protest Ryan wouldn't bother making. Neither of them could do anything about the situation. "I don't want to because you're an outstanding employee. You show up, you're a talented mechanic, and you're calm and polite. But I have a proposal for you that might fill the gap."
"Yeah?" Since he trusted William, Ryan was unusually curious.
"Yeah. You know Erin at Coffee and Cars, right?” Ryan nodded and William continued. “Her girl got in a catfight with another girl and then she quit. The girl was a lousy employee, but now Erin's stuck. She needs someone to work the early shift at her coffee shop for her from six to eleven. Then you could come here and work one to four, if you're willing to do that." William gave him a brief smile—Ryan wasn't sure what it meant, but it didn't help the anxious tension creeping up his spine. "Erin's got some other incentives, like a private apartment, in trade for hours, but she'll talk to you about that if you're interested."
The automatic "No" for anything concerning Erin Moore abruptly changed to a "Maybe." Ryan frowned at William. "An apartment, huh? Where?"
"Right above the coffee shop." William's smile turned smug.
"Really? Now that might be interesting." It would be the perfect location, except for the proximity to Erin. Ryan's shoulders tightened.
"I can set up an interview for you. Either way, I can give you only twenty hours a week, at most."
"I don't know if I'm the right guy." Ryan snorted. "I'm not really a coffee guy. I mean, I drink it, but not that fancy stuff."
"Drip's good enough for me too, but Erin's is fantastic." William raised his brows. "She'll want to give you a test as part of the interview. I didn't tell her anything about your medical issues, of course."
Ryan scrubbed his hands through his hair, dropping the left arm immediately. "I'll have to tell her, won't I?"
William shook his head. "Not legally." He held up his hand and tipped it back and forth. "Not if you can do the job. But if you need some sort of accommodation to do the job, you'll have to let her know what that is."
"Huh. I have no idea if I can make flashy coffee drinks. Don't know how those machines work." Ryan shrugged. "Can't say I'm thrilled about the whole idea, but I definitely need my own place."
