Loyal Lawyer - Jeannine Colette Page 0,3

grin on my face as I take a seat across from the banker who is helping me with my small-business loan.

Correction: the banker who was helping me.

An hour after my meeting, I’m sitting in my office, which has become my bedroom since I left Hardin, staring at the screen of my laptop and the funds in my account. I have a decent savings, but if I want to grow Amy Morgana Chocolatier, I’m gonna need money to invest in a multitude of things.

In order to get all that, I need more capital.

The banker said the loan process would take a few weeks. When I asked what would happen if a judgment was placed against me by a former landlord, she informed me that my application was already on the verge of being denied due to a lack of assets. Having anything against my credit would put the entire thing in jeopardy.

I extra-hate my ex-boyfriend right now.

When I left the bank, I called Hardin on his correct number and gave him a piece of my mind. It was no use. He’s moved on, and the fact that he’s held our dog hostage for three months gives me little faith that he’ll do the right thing and fork over the money to Gerry, like I demanded.

This is a matter I’ll have to fix on my own.

Needing some Zen, I put my Spotify on to a contemporary jazz playlist and make myself a cup of tea. I wrap myself in my favorite afghan, blow on the hot mug, and listen to Cécile McLorin Salvant. Sometimes, when I get stressed, smooth jazz, my grandma’s blanket, and Earl Grey help calm me.

Sadly, it’s helping only a little. I need to come up with forty-five hundred dollars—fast. I can’t make any large withdrawals from my account because the bank wants every dollar accounted for while my application is in review, so dipping into my savings isn’t an option.

I could ask my friends, but they don’t have that kind of cash lying around.

My parents would help me. Of course, that would come with my perfect siblings chiming in about the lack of proper direction I have in my life, how I’m not running my business correctly, or how they all told me Hardin was trouble. I didn’t listen to them then, and I certainly won’t go running to my parents for help unless it’s my absolute last resort. Nothing in my family is ever secret, and I’d never, ever … ever hear the end of it.

No, I have to get myself out of this pickle on my own.

I would seek a lawyer’s opinion, but that means money.

Unless …

I put my cup down and start typing on my phone.

Sebastian Blake. Lawyer. Philadelphia.

The first search entry shows me Blake, Fields, and Moore—a leading Philadelphia law firm with nine attorneys promoted as super lawyers. Over two hundred million dollars recovered for clients. Counsel who cares. Research that matters.

I click on the link and am brought to a sophisticated website for personal injury and civil rights attorneys.

Virtual badges of the multimillion-dollar verdicts that were won are on display. They represent people in everything from personal injury to car wrecks, workplace accidents, and discrimination. The site is certainly impressive, as are the cases they’ve taken on and won.

There’s a link to meet the members of the firm. I scroll over, and the first face I see is one Sebastian Blake.

Well, he certainly is handsome.

A charismatic smile, strong jaw, and kind-looking eyes. His hair is combed back, and he looks very polished in the black-and-white photo.

If I were in the market for a man, I might even deem him attractive.

But I’m not. I’m in need of an attorney’s opinion and one who offered his services—for free.

“What do I have to lose?” I ask myself.

Famous last words.

I open the text exchange I had earlier with Sebastian and hope this isn’t a colossal mistake.

You still interested in helping me out?

Lady Featherington would appreciative it.

Absolutely. Name the place.

Pick somewhere busy with lots of people around.

A man has to protect himself from strange women who cold-call him. ;-)

I roll my eyes as I find that smile I had on earlier back on my face.

And so it begins …

Chapter Two

I’m sitting at Love and Lavender, a boutique coffee shop in Center City that has great lattes and is always busy yet never so packed that you can’t get a seat.

I know what Sebastian looks like, yet every time the door opens, I do a double take to see