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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


While Cassie and Dani toured the location for the charity fundraiser, Luke worked in his office. He was reading through a deposition Carmen took for him when someone knocked on his door. Before Luke could respond, Henry stepped inside. In his wake, came an older, somewhat portly gentleman and a young woman. With his thinning hair parted to the side and his skin slightly tan in color, the gentleman was at one point handsome. The young woman, whom Luke deduced was probably no older than he was, was attractive. Her thick auburn hair was pulled into a bun. She wore only a hint of make-up that accentuated her natural beauty. As Luke examined the unknown guests in his office, he noticed that the woman and the older man shared similar features. The shape and color of their eyes were the same-both round and blue. He assumed the pair were father and daughter.

"Luke," Henry started. "This is Ben Miller and his niece Lyndsey Hinton. He finally had some time to get down here."

Luke stood and walked across his office to greet his client. "Mr. Miller it's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Mr. Miller said squeezing Luke's hand. "Henry says that you're the best. I only like to work with the best."

"I'm pretty damn good at what I do." Luke laughed confidently.

"That's good to know. Lyndsey here is also a lawyer. She's on my payroll, directly of course. It's nice to keep some things in the family."

"It's good to finally meet you Luke. My Uncle has been raving about Henry and his firm and how he's put the best on his account. I've been asking Uncle Ben to bring me down here to meet you since he hired your services months ago."

"I've had several conversations with Henry Lynds, and he's assured me he has relayed everything I need to this young man here." Mr. Miller told his niece. "Isn't that right Henry?" He asked facing the man to whom he was speaking.

"That's correct." Henry nodded.

"And I've been able to scan your files. I have a couple of open cases I want to finish up before I truly dive into your account." Luke smiled. "If I knew you were stopping by, I could have had your file in front of me in case there was anything you wanted to go over."

"Oh, that's not a problem, kid." Mr. Miller smiled.

"Actually Uncle Ben that would have been a great idea." Lyndsey said in contradiction to her uncle's previous statement.

Luke watched as Mr. Miller's facial expression changed from lighthearted and jovial, to something a bit sinister before returning to a more neutral state. The mood of the room changed with Mr. Miller's whims.

"I take it you want to look over my file then sweetheart?" Mr. Miller said. His voice dripped with slight annoyance and his head tilted to the side.

"Uncle Ben, I just want to make sure everything is in order. I get my incessant need of being in control of a situation from you. All those meetings by your side has taught me a thing or two." Lyndsey said, easily diffusing an escalating situation.

Luke could tell that Lyndsey was a woman who knew how to placate a controlling old man. He wondered what else she knew. "If you like Ms. Hinton, I can have my assistant bring in the file and we can go over it. What I was working on can wait a couple of hours." Luke smiled. "I'm ahead on my list of things to accomplish for the week so I have some time."

"See Ben, I told you Luke was the best." Henry said looking to Mr. Miller and clapping his hand on Mr. Miller's back. "How about we let these two kids talk business and you and I can go to my office. I have a nice bottle of bourbon in there you can sample." Mr. Miller nodded his head as Henry led him out of the room.

"Why don't you have a seat." Luke suggested as he picked up the phone.

Lyndsey sat quietly in the chair in front of Luke's desk.  She took an inventory of her surroundings, making note of the bookcases and the few decorations that the man before her allowed to occupy his space. After he put the phone back on its receiver, Luke sat down in his own chair.

"So," Lyndsey started. She looked Luke up and down. "You're the best this firm has to offer."

"I've been told that."

"And your clients are satisfied with you?"

"Ninety-five percent of the time." Luke responded.

"What about the other five percent?"

"There are some people even I can't satisfy despite how favorable the outcome of their problems are. Those people are idiots." Luke said honestly.

Lyndsey smiled. "I like you."

"It's good to know I have your approval." Luke laughed.

"Oh you need it. If I don't like you, Uncle Ben won't like you. It's rarely a good thing if my uncle doesn't like you." Lyndsey said.

"I'll make a note of that."

"As you should."  Lindsey reached for a frame that sat facing Luke and turned it around. "You know if you have pictures in your office, you should really display them."

"They are displayed." Luke said. "I can see them just fine."

"But your guests can't." Lyndsey said. "Is this your son?" She pointed to the picture in the frame she had just moved.

"No, my godson AJ."

"He's cute." Lyndsey placed the picture back in its place.

"I think so." 

Before any more could be said about the pictures on his desk, a tall redheaded man showed up in the doorway of the office. "Excuse me," he said as a way to gain the occupants' attention, "Laurie asked me to give these to you." The man placed a box of file folders on Luke's desk.

"Thanks Jack." Luke said.

Jack simply nodded his head before exiting the room. Lyndsey stood and closed the door. Luke raised an eyebrow at the woman's actions.

"What's in my uncle's files really should not be fodder for your office gossip mill." Lyndsey said as she sat back down.

"What do you mean?" Luke asked confused. "There is no reason for your uncle to be the subject of any gossip around here. He's a real estate mogul with numerous businesses throughout the city. I'd say the most exciting thing about him is that he's looking to expand internationally."

Lyndsey gave Luke a knowing smile and shook her head. "I thought they said you were the best. If you were, you would have done some simple online research to see what they say about my uncle and how he conducts his business."

"Is there something I should know about, something you want to tell me Ms. Hinton?"

"It's Lyndsey, and if you haven't found it out for yourself, I'm not going to tell you." She said cryptically.

Trying to get a better read on her, Luke studied Lyndsey. There was something she was not saying about her uncle that seemed like it could be important in the long run. Luke made a note to himself to check into what she was saying. However, if she was unwilling to help him with her uncle's account, Luke had to wonder why she stayed behind in the first place.

"Why are you still here if not to give me any information I may be lacking?" Luke asked.

"You want the truth?" Lyndsey said.

Luke rolled his eyes. "No, I want you to lie to me. Of course I want the truth."

"You are attractive and I wanted to see if my attraction to you is more than just physical." Lyndsey said.

"And your conclusion...?"

Lyndsey stood. "I haven't decided yet. I need more time." She walked to the door. Before turning the doorknob, Lyndsey turned around. "In all seriousness, you need to dive a little deeper into my uncle's files and read up about him online. As with most things, with Uncle Ben, there is more than what meets the eye. If you are going to have his account, I want you to know what you're in for. You need to be all in when it comes to him." She warned.

Lyndsey walked out of the door and Luke watched as she walked away through the cubicles and toward the elevators. "That wasn't cryptic at all." Luke said to no one in particular. He then reached for his phone and dialed Carmen's desk. "Carmen." Luke said into the receiver after the young lawyer picked up. "I need you to come to my office, get the Miller files that are on my desk, and give me a thorough background. Do some Internet research too. I'm about to go grab a sandwich for lunch."

"Okay." Carmen said from the other end of the line.

 

Luke stood and picked up his suit jacket from the back of his chair. He needed some fresh air with his food and time to think about both his new client and his alluring niece. 












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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.