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Dennis pushed those wiry glasses up his slightly bulbous nose and nodded, then he glanced at Martin Sticks, Sawyer’s lawyer, who nodded in agreement.
“We’ve dug deep,” Martin said, glancing between me and Sawyer. “What you’ve chosen is secured and I’ve already begun the filing.”
“Thank goodness,” Sawyer muttered from the couch, where he was reclining nursing an iced drink. “I was beginning to worry we were dead in the water when you found out about the patent infringement.”
“You were never dead in the water,” Dennis assured. “We simply had to take things from a different angle. Given the nature of the medication, we could have gotten away with the original patent and dealt with conflict later.”
“No,” I cut in immediately. “We need to do this right. Once we announce the details of this, every Tom, Dick, and Harry will be trying to get a piece, so we need to make sure everything is watertight.”
“It is.” Dennis smiled at me, wrinkling his nose and pushing his glasses comically high into his bushy eyebrows. “All we need is your signatures.”
“Then the rest will be up to the Government,” Martin added.
“I foresee no problems there,” Sawyer remarked sarcastically, sending me an amused glance.
I rolled my eyes in turn, then accepted Dennis's pen. “Where do you need it?”
“Just here.” He slid the tablet toward me with several pages highlighted with yellow tabs. I scrawled my signature on each one, switching at the press of a button.
Hurried footsteps on the other side of the door pulled everyone’s attention. After a short knock on the door, Liam entered Sawyer’s office with a light smile. His hair was ruffled in all directions, and there was a glimmer of confusion in his eyes.
“Hey guys, sorry I’m late.” He balanced a light pink box in his hands with the name of a local bakery scrawled on the side.
“If you brought breakfast donuts, we’re already finished,” Sawyer said, accepting the tablet when I passed it to him.
“Donuts? Oh! No, no, this cake belongs to Callie. She left it at my place and it’s supposed to be for her mother’s birthday today, but she’s not here.”
“Yes, she took the morning off,” Sawyer said, glancing at his watch. “But she should be back shortly.”
“Fuck,” Liam murmured. “I tried calling her but she wasn’t answering. I feel bad that she left the cake.”
“Must have had a good reason,” I challenged lightly, meeting Liam’s gaze.
He smirked immediately. “She may have lost a sense or two. I’m just that good.”
“Give it here.” Sawyer stood and held out his hands for the cake. “I’ll put it in the fridge while you put your Charlie down on these documents.”
“Alright.”
Sawyer and Liam swapped places, and Liam began signing immediately, which caused Dennis to rise slightly up in his chair.
“Uh, sir. Don’t you want us to go over anything first?”
“No need,” Liam replied. “I trust these guys.”
It was unexpected, but a warm sensation swelled in my chest when I heard those words. We’d all been separated for so long that I had quietly, painfully assumed that things would never recover. We would remain business acquaintances forever.
Here, Liam was acting like we were in the old days when we were just three idiots with big dreams.
The rest of the meeting ran smoothly and by the time early afternoon rolled around, Dennis and Martin said their goodbyes and left with everything in order.
Sawyer lingered near the drinks cart, pouring another glass of water from a crystal pitcher while Liam sat with one leg bouncing rapidly.
“She’s not back yet,” Liam murmured, glancing over at Sawyer. “Is that normal?”
Leaning against the window, I stared out at the city and basked in the warmth of the sun pouring in through the tinted glass.
“It’s her mother’s birthday,” I pointed out. “Cut her some slack. She probably just lost track of time.”
