mistress in Carmel on a sunny Sunday afternoon, she could run into them anywhere, anytime. Avoiding Half Moon Bay was no longer an issue.
Spending the day with Adele had put her in a nostalgic frame of mind. She longed for the comfort of a small beach town. She’d love to get up early and walk to the beach with her sister, exercising before work. She wanted work that was satisfying and a lifestyle that was healthy. When she stopped for groceries after work, she’d rather walk to Bronski’s than fight for a parking space at Super Foods. In fact, wouldn’t it be great to walk to work?
With that in mind, she went to the law offices of Sam Gillespie, Esquire. He was located in what passed for the business district of Half Moon Bay, nestled between a photographer’s studio and a bookstore. Down the block was a beauty shop and day spa. On the other side was a sandwich shop and bank. Also on the block were a secondhand clothing store, a hemp goods store, a UPS store. There was a bakery, a fast food restaurant, a barber shop and a place called The Beach Club, displaying board shorts and flip-flops in the window.
Just looking up and down the street, feeling the desire to browse, to look into the shops, chat with the owners or sales people, confirmed what she was looking for—a quieter, less rushed lifestyle. Room to breathe. A life where all she had to worry about was food, shelter and the ability to take care of and educate her girls. Could she do that, knowing Scott and his mistress were just down the street?
She went into the office; a buzzer sounded, bringing a man from the back.
“Can I help you?”
“I wonder if Mr. Gillespie is in?”
“I’m Sam Gillespie,” he said.
She stretched out her hand. “Justine Somersby, attorney. It’s come to my attention you’re looking for an associate, and I’d love to hear more about the position and your practice when you have the time. I can make an appointment, if you like.”
“I have a few minutes to talk,” he said. “What brings you to Half Moon Bay?”
She smiled. “I grew up here. My sister still lives in the house we grew up in. I’ve been gone about twenty years.”
He leaned a hip on one of two desks in the front of the office. “Almost exactly as long as I’ve been here. Where have you been working?”
She opened her briefcase and pulled out a copy of her résumé. “Over twenty years with the same software manufacturer in San Jose, corporate law, some of that time as general counsel. Given the size of the company and number of employees, I handled some human resources issues. I’m recently divorced, and now that I don’t have to concern myself with supporting a nonworking spouse, I’m looking for a slower pace. I have two daughters, sixteen and seventeen. They both drive. I resigned from Sharper Dynamic.”
His eyes lit up. “There’s been talk of a takeover,” he said.
“Actually, there’s a merger,” she said. “There will be some reshuffling internally. It was an ideal time to move on.”
“I have a lot of questions for you,” he said. “You will undoubtedly have some for me. Why don’t we meet tomorrow, if you’re free. My afternoon looks good. Two o’clock?”
“Excellent. I can’t wait.”
Chapter Ten
The month of June became a month of huge changes for both Adele and Justine. Justine took an associate’s position in the law office of Sam Gillespie just a few blocks from Adele’s house. Justine explained to Addie that Sam wanted to wind down his hours a bit. He’d gotten three kids through college, he was in his late fifties and his wife, Maddy, was a professor at Berkeley. He had no plans to retire, but he and Maddy wanted to travel a little more, spend some time with their kids and two grandchildren and spend less time in the office.
“Sam said he’d begun to despair of ever finding a mature, experienced attorney interested in such a small storefront legal firm. The term experienced should be used loosely. I don’t have much by way of small town lawyering, but