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Savannah gulped.
She couldn’t feel her feet to even begin to move. She couldn’t make herself walk even if she tried right now. The woman pursed her lips, the bright red of her lipstick showing off their fullness, right along with her dark, dark brown eyes. She was the perfect example of the queens that Savannah dreamed about so many times, the ones she was always attracted to, the ones she never ended up staying with because they always left her.
She was too frumpy.
Too chunky.
Too boisterous with her laughter.
Too loud.
The litany could go on, but Savannah stopped herself just in time, because the goddess of a woman standing right in front of her was giving her an inquiring look. Had she missed something in her daydreaming? Had she missed the literal step she was supposed to take?
“Are you coming?” the woman asked.
Savannah whimpered. Did this woman even understand what she was saying? Probably not. That was just Savannah’s teenage hormone brain taking over her thoughts for a second.
“Right,” Savannah cleared her throat and followed.
She was led to a small conference room that held a table fit for maybe six people max, but even that would be pushing it. There was a spread of treats. This woman had told her in the initial phone call that it would take anywhere from one to two hours. She just hadn’t realized she was speaking to the kid of the dead woman she kept leaving flowers for.
“Stay here,” the woman said sharply. She shut the door loudly as she left.
Savannah tried to bolster herself, but she was off her game now. She was as ill-prepared as she had been six months ago. And it had taken her that long just to get here. Taking off her jacket, Savannah hung it over the back of a chair and chose a seat. She couldn’t stomach any food or drink. She’d promptly throw it right up. That’s how bad her nerves were.
“She’s the one who was at the cemetery!” the woman’s loud voice came through the closed door.
Savannah cringed. She’d known she’d made an absolute fuckup over that one, but she hadn’t thought it would be that bad. There was another voice, one much calmer, but it was mumbled and quieter. Savannah couldn’t quite make out what was being said.
But she could tell the woman was angry, and that the other one—that Savannah could only assume was Athena Pruittherself—was trying to calm her down. It wasn’t much longer before the door snicked open and another woman stepped inside.
“So sorry to keep you waiting.” She sat down across from Savannah. “I’m Athena Pruitt. It’s good to meet you, formally.”
“Yes.” Savannah nearly choked on her words. She looked at the door again. Would the other woman be joining them? Would she be taking notes? Savannah honestly had no idea how any of this worked. “I’d apologize again, but I don’t think it would do any good.”
Athena tensed, then she slid her pen slowly from the notepad she’d brought into the room with her. She cocked her head and sighed. “You heard that.”
“She wasn’t exactly quiet. And I don’t blame her. I know I’ve thrown a huge wrench into her day, especially if she is who I think she is.” Savannah grasped her hands under the table, twisting her fingers together hard. Athena was never going to represent her now.
“Tell me what happened, because she was vague.”
“Nothing really.” Savannah strangled her fingers now. “We bumped into each other at the cemetery. I tried to explain who I was and why I was there, and she didn’t want to hear it, so she left and I left.”
Athena stared her down, those cool, icy eyes boring directly into Savannah’s soul, as if she could see the truth under everything. Which was good, because Savannah hadn’t actually lied.
“And why were you there?” Athena spoke slowly, each word was pointed and direct.
If she was this good with her clients, then she must be amazing in the courtroom. “That’s a very long story.”
“I have time.”
On my dime,Savannah thought. Then again, it would make sense that Athena would want to make sure that nothing funky was going on in order to take her on as a client, especially if it involved one of her employees.
“Can you just tell me which sister she is?” Savannah’s voice dropped at the end, already knowing that Athena wasn’t going to tell her anything. She hadn’t said a name once since they’d been in the room, which was very inconvenient for Savannah. “You know what? Never mind. My brother died six months ago, that’s why I’m here.”
“It is,” Athena agreed, but she didn’t seem to want to move forward with the conversation.
“W-well that’s why I was at the cemetery. I don’t live on this side of town, and it was convenient to go before our meeting.” Savannah worried her lower lip. Would Athena believe her? “I used to come more often, and there was a grave next to his that just had a name and never had flowers, and I felt bad.”
