Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 104448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
I wanted to be petulant. To ask him why the fuck he would imagine Dev had any intention of allowing any of them to take Lellie for the night considering how they were treating him, but I held my tongue. Not only was it not my place to fight Dev’s battles for him, but it was also a waste of time.
Even if I wanted to try, there was nothing I could say to convince Dev to hand Lellie over to the Scotts, even just for one night. And I couldn’t imagine he was keen to allow his parents to take her after they’d refused to speak to him for over five years.
Because I knew the truth of the “neglect to communicate” situation, and it wasn’t Dev’s decision. He’d told me how much their rejection had crushed him, and I knew he would never have been the one to shut them out the way Orris implied.
“I think we should leave it up to Brock to handle,” I said as neutrally as possible. “He’s in the best position to manage it without anyone accusing our firm of a conflict of interest.”
Orris watched Dev interact with his parents. I could sense Dev’s discomfort in the stiff line of his spine and the protective way his arms curled around Lellie’s little body.
“He seems off to me,” Orris said in a low voice. “What was he like in Wyoming?”
“He’s a great father, Orris,” I said. “He cares about her very much and has a stable life there with plenty of friends and family to support him.”
Orris turned to me. “I thought the McKays were his only living family?”
I realized my mistake. “I meant he has close friends there who are like family. And he’s been embraced by the family who owns the ranch where he lives and works. They all love Lellie and want to help him raise her. It’s a small town that’s very family-centered, and he’s been established there for over a year with friends he’s had for a decade.”
He clapped me on the shoulder. “We’ll figure it out. Just keep doing what you’re doing by keeping an eye out. Anything you find, you just make a note of it in the case file, and I’ll take care of the rest.”
I stared after him in shock. From the very first meeting after Katie’s death, he’d bent the ethical rules to support his friend and client and made all sorts of implications about what he expected of me, but stating it outright like this was something else entirely. “Sir, with all due respect, I will not be a party to breaking client privilege. Surely that’s not what you’re implying here.”
I’d joined Dunlevy, Pace, and Trumble because of its reputation for excellence, its impressive client list, and its strong leadership in the legal community. Were the founding partners typical good ole boys sometimes? Absolutely. Had Orris pushed some ethical boundaries this week? No doubt. But until now, I’d always felt like he was careful to toe the line and act within the bounds of legality.
He widened his eyes in surprise. “Absolutely not, Tully, and I’m offended you’d imply such a thing.”
“I’m sorry. Please explain it to me so I can understand what you meant.”
“It’s very simple. Devon McKay is not our client. Quite frankly, neither is Eleanor. Not technically. Her current legal guardian is Mr. McKay, who does not have an agreement of representation on file with our firm. Hence, we are not bound by any privilege.”
He was right. My head swam with the realization that while I felt bound to Lellie’s best interests as an extension of Katie, who had been my client, the firm wasn’t actually legally obligated to anyone other than Katie now that Katie no longer held legal custody of Lellie.
“I see,” I said weakly.
Orris nodded. “It is not our responsibility to educate Mr. McKay on how the law works. We can leave that up to Ms. Botero over there,” he said, tilting his head toward Susanna, who was sticking close to Dev but didn’t seem to be interfering. “In the meantime, if Mr. McKay happens to give us information that can help us with an ongoing case one of our actual clients is involved in, I don’t see the problem with that.”
While it may not have been illegal, it was certainly shady as fuck. I did my best not to show my boss how disappointed in him I was. Instead, I ended the conversation as gracefully as I could by mentioning a need to speak to Susanna about something.
After making my way over to her, Dev caught my eye. His expression was haggard and full of pain. I wanted to approach him and pull him into my arms, carry him far away from here where he, Lellie, and I could hide out and be safe and happy together.