Adverse Possession (The Anna Albertini Files #3) - Rebecca Zanetti Page 0,10

Rory was a few years younger than Quint. “What’s going on?”

“Quint slept with my nemesis.” I put my hands on my hips.

Quint’s lips barely lifted in a grin. “You do not have a nemesis, and believe me, we didn’t sleep at all last night.”

I might’ve growled. Just a little bit.

Just then, my new law partner Clark Bunne barreled in behind them, his glasses askew and his jeans dirty. “All right. On the way in I checked out all of the storage areas in the basement, and believe me, we want to use the ones in our office here if possible.” He paused. “What in the world happened to your face?”

I gingerly touched my aching cheekbone. “Bar fight last night—totally wasn’t my fault.”

Clark blew out air. His black hair was cut very short, which accented his angled facial features. His skin was a deep brown, and his eyes a shade darker with sharp intelligence shining in them. “You can’t get in bar fights. We’re starting a new law firm.” He shook his head, and surprisingly enough, I felt like I’d disappointed him. Clark had been a public defender when I worked briefly as a prosecuting attorney, and we’d both been fired on the same day. He was patient, brilliant, and oddly cautious when it came to opening a law office with me. “Tell me you didn’t get arrested.”

“Of course not.” I kept my voice calm. The last thing I needed was Clark ending our fledgling partnership. He was a good guy and he had more trial experience than I did. In fact, I barely had any. “It was a silly misunderstanding.”

“You have a lot of those,” Clark observed.

The guy wasn’t wrong. “Clark Bunne, please meet my cousins, Quintino and Rory Albertini,” I said. When all else failed, I’d learned to fall back on manners.

They all shook hands.

“We have your desks down in the van,” Rory said. “They’re all polished up per your requests, and you’re gonna love them.”

I bounced on my heels. Clark and I had found some great desks at an old antique store, and Rory refurbished wood furniture in his spare time, so we’d taken the furniture to him up in Silverville, which was a small mining town through the mountain pass where most of my family lived. “You have to send us a bill.”

“It’s on me as a congrats for opening your own law firm. Don’t argue.” Rory turned and headed out of the office.

We all followed. The office was on the third floor of a brick building holding all businesses. We unloaded the desks, and they were amazing. Mine was a light and polished pine with a glass top. It was delicate and sturdy at the same time, and it matched my file cabinets perfectly. Clark’s was a more modern wood and cement desk, and the receptionist’s desk was wide and I think a cherry maple or something like that. Rory did a fantastic job, and by the time we’d finished unloading everything, I had forgiven Quint.

Not that he’d done anything wrong to me. But still.

The Albertini brothers left while Clark and I perused the conference table. It was an old picnic table I’d borrowed from my Nana O’Shea. Compared to our desks, it looked pretty sad.

“We’ll get a new one as soon as we have extra money,” I promised Clark.

He nodded. “Are you ready for tomorrow?”

“Sure. It’s just a cocktail party.” One where our friends and families were bringing food and drink. I smiled. “My office is as good as it’s going to get tonight. Do you want to eat an early dinner?”

His smile was a charming flash of white against his dark skin. “I already have plans.”

Curiosity grabbed me. “Do tell.”

“Not a chance. Go home, and I’ll see you tomorrow after I finish with my office and then meet my friend for dinner.” He patted my shoulder with his wide hand and then walked back to his office.

Interesting. Who was Clark seeing?

I retrieved my purse and headed down the hallway to the stairs, and then I turned for the back door where the private parking area in the alley was situated. The sun was going down, but considering it was August, it was still plenty warm. Donna’s wedges were comfortable on my feet as I maneuvered around some cracks in the concrete to my car, where I opened the driver’s side door to let hot air escape.

A truck screeched down the alley and stopped. Sasha jumped out with her two cronies. Then two more women