Page 13 of Keeping Denver

"Come in," he answers.

"Mr. Hawk. Mrs. Dennis is here for her appointment."

Mr. Hawk stands from behind his desk and greets his client. "Mrs. Dennis, it's good to meet you. Please come in and have a seat."

I go to leave, but Mr. Hawk stops me. "Miss Hollis. I'd like you to stay and take notes."

That's a first. "Yes, Sir. Let me grab a notebook and pen from my desk." Notebook in hand, I take a seat in front of Mr. Hawk's desk, next to Mrs. Dennis, and I absorb the conversation between them.

"First off, I'll start by telling you I had a meeting with your husband."

Ms. Dennis' shoulders sag with a sense of defeat. "I figured he would get to you first. I assume you will be representing him during our divorce. I don't understand why I am here; why you reached out to me."

"After talking with your soon to be ex, I politely declined my services. I reached out to you because I'd like to represent you instead."

Mr. Hawk's admission stuns Mrs. Dennis. "I…I don't understand. My husband is a very successful man. He also has the means to afford a lawyer such as yourself. I, however, don't. My husband is leaving me with nothing. After twenty years of marriage, I am leaving the same way I came into it; penniless. He has literally supported me our whole marriage."

Mrs. Dennis's confession both shocks and angers me. How, after twenty years together, can a man toss his wife aside as if she were worth nothing.

"That is precisely the reason I am taking your case, Mrs. Dennis. I also will not be requiring payment for my services."

My heart warms, and my lips turn up into a smile. Over the past couple of weeks working here, I have begun to see a pattern with my boss. I see how he takes consultations with these rich and powerful men, charging them an extensive fee for his time, only to turn around and decline his services. Mr. Hawk then turns around and contacts the spouses of these men. He takes on all those cases for free. I'm not entirely sure why he agrees to meet with the husbands, but I'm starting to admire the way Mr. Hawk does business.

"Miss Hollis, please set up another appointment for next week with Mrs. Dennis. And Mrs. Dennis, I'm going to email you a list of things I want you to bring the next time you come in. I'm going to put a call into Judge Franks and have the child support hearing pushed to tomorrow. It's my understanding your oldest son is away at college, but you have two other children at home? Has he helped support the children since the separation?"

Mrs. Dennis shakes her head. "My son's tuition is paid up for the semester, but my husband has not given me any support since we separated two months ago."

I watch as Mr. Hawk's face darkens. "That won't be an issue after tomorrow, Mrs. Dennis. You have my word."

The three of us stand. Mrs. Dennis looks as if the weight of the world is lifted off her shoulders.

"Miss Hollis. Call Judge Frank's office. Tell his secretary I need an early morning meeting tomorrow."

"Yes, Sir." I shuffle out of his office while Mr. Hawk walks Mrs. Dennis to the elevator. A few minutes later, he returns with Kelly trailing behind. In her hands is two white bags with the TARANTINO'S logo on the front. "You can set them down on the table in my office, Kelly." The delivery must have come while we were in the meeting with Mrs. Dennis.

Kelly saunters past me with her nose in the air doing what she is told. When she walks back out, she stops. "You know Mr. Hawk; Tarantino's is one of my favorite places to eat. They have the best Chicken Fettuccini in the city." She bats her eyelashes, and I duck my head to hide my eye roll.

Ignoring Kelly's blatant attempt at an invitation, Mr. Hawk addresses me. "Denver." My name is the only word he says, and I shiver at every use. It's the same every day since the day I passed out in the office. Lunch is delivered at noon. Mr. Hawk then orders me to eat with him in his office. I have managed to gain a few pounds in the last couple of weeks too. Acknowledging Kelly for the first time since she opened her mouth, Mr. Hawk turns to her, "Handle Miss Hollis's calls while she is at lunch."

Pursing her lips, Kelly strolls back to her desk. I'd be lying if I said it didn't enjoy her dismissal.

A small giggle escapes my lips as I take a seat on the sofa and pull our lunch from the bag. I also don't miss the grin that crosses Mr. Hawk's face. Our lunch is spent the same as the days before; in silence. That is, until a knock at the door, followed by Joslyn and all her beautiful glory float in. Stopping mid-stride, she accesses the scene in front of her with a look of heated anger, which is quickly replaced with a fake smile. "Baby," she whines and continues with a pout, "I wanted to surprise you and take you out to lunch but I see you've already eaten." Her eyes cut to me, narrowing to slits. "But don't worry, I can provide you with desert." Ignoring me, she saunters over to Callan and drops down in his lap, covering his mouth with hers.

My stomach drops. "I'll finish this at my desk," I say, my throat tight.

"Yeah. You do that," Joslyn sneers.

I don't say anything in return, and I refuse to look at my boss as I close his office door with a soft click. To top it off, Kelly is waiting for me when I exit.

"As I said, he'll never choose you over a woman like Joslyn."

"I'm not in competition with anyone, so I don't see how your statement is relevant," I fire back. "The only person here trying their damndest to get noticed like a cat in heat is you." Yeah, I went there. Because even though I am a person who tries like hell to avoid confrontation, I have my limits, and Kelly is testing them all. "Don't mistake my silence as weakness," I warn her.

"You better watch your back around me, Denver."

"You know what, Kelly. You sure do talk a lot for someone with nothing to say. Your threats don't scare me." I flick my hand and shoo her away.

"Whatever. You'll see," Kelly huffs as she's walking off.