Forgive & Forget

Chapter Eight

"Hey boss." I looked up from the piles of hasty written notes. Ignacio peered through the door looking too hopeful and bright for my taste.

"Don't. Don't call me boss ever again." Nodding joyfully, he shouldered open the door. He carefully placed three coffee cups on the only neat spot on my desk. Grudgingly I silently admitted my opinion of him slightly improved. Not that he would ever know. I opened up to him too much yesterday. "So, the owner of Foster Security came two days ago and he basically wants us to help him get out of a situation that he put himself in. He was charged for tax fraud and told us that he is guilty." I glanced at the coffee, wanting to pick it up but I didn't want him to understand how to get in my good graces. Turning the bundle of notes I scraped together, I casually picked up a cup of coffee.

Flipping through the notes, Ignacio frowned. "It seems like you don't care if this business owner gets convicted in the end." The silky-smooth caramel flavor was burned away by the brutal scalding from the huge gulp of coffee. Wincing I rushed to my reliable mini fridge to grab a can of Sprite.

"It's that obvious that I hate his stuck-up ass?" Oblivious to the pain his coffee caused, he chuckled at my notes.

"Why take up this case if you don't care about it?" Finally looking up, his eyes flew from my soda to the mini fridge. "Soda in the morning?" His gaze navigated to the empty spot my cup of coffee previously occupied. "Never mind, I take that back." He chuckled. "Soda AND coffee in the morning?"

"Coffee and soda are the only things that Gissel drinks no matter the time." I rolled my eyes as Jill appeared from her room. I stared longingly as she threw my half-finished soda in the trash. "It's for your good Gissel. She hates drinking water and refuses to try any alternatives."

Ignacio raises his eyebrows. "This sounds like an argument that's been going on for a while." Cutting off their view of each other so they can stop talking, I shove Jill to the direction of her office.

"Ignacio if we somehow win this case, I will tell you the whole water story. Until then, we need to focus." I glare at Jill who raised both of her hands as if she were surrendering. "And that soda was just to cool down my burnt tongue from the coffee." I justified hastily as Jill closed her door. "It was!" I tried convincing Ignacio as I spun around to look at him. Not understanding why I felt the need to justify with him, I took a sip of the now lukewarm coffee. Shaking his head, he sat down on the client's chair.

"You never answered the question. Why did you take this case?" I sat on my chair bracing myself for the disapproval I felt reflected on the eyes of a stranger.

"For the money." I expected yelling, walking out or even contempt. What I did not expect was a blank look and a nod to continue. With a deep breath, I let out the explanation he was waiting for. "I want to help people who need and deserve it. To do that, though, I first need reputation and money. This guy is rich. Yeah, I didn't want to take this case. Up to now I took on cases that I actually cared for, but I could not expect anything in return. They barely had any money to begin with. I guess I needed a different way to get where I want. This client is my ticket to my dream company."

"So, I'm thinking we can't really depend on these notes. We need to go see Foster Security for ourselves." Completely the opposite reaction then I was expecting, I could only stare at him. Ignacio raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"I-You're not judging me for running after money?" I only met this guy yesterday yet he keeps giving me mixed signals. At one moment he seems to be forcing himself into my life, but then he surprises me by giving me the space I need when I need it the most. I need to figure this new guy out.

"I'm not in a position to judge you, let alone make opinions. I don't know what this firm has been through. From what you said, it seems like your end goal is noble. The best I can do is help you get there, right?" He seems to always be saying the perfect things. I nodded while making a silent note to speak to Jill later. It may be my trust issues acting up, but Ignacio was really confusing. Confusing is not good. Confusing can lead to pain and failure in the long run. I would rather be safe than sorry. Even more concerning is that he seems to know more about me then what I can even begin to figure out about him.