Client Confidentiality

(55) Zachary

I lean back in my chair casually as I watch Carlie. The patio chair of the cafe creaks under my weight but I ignore it, focusing all my attention on my girl. 

She has her phone pressed to her ear, her manicured fingers rubbing along her temple as she discusses a case with one of her employees. The bags under her eyes have slightly disappeared, but one night of no sleep will bring them back ten-fold. 

This woman doesn't know how to look after herself. 

A heavy hand on my shoulder draws my attention from Carlie. I look upwards towards the bright sky to see Elijah smirking down at me. He grins and takes a seat before looking over to Carlie. His eyes soften as he watches her before turning to me. 

"How long has she been like that?" He nods his head over to Carlie, who is still on the phone and becoming increasingly more impatient. 

"Since we sat down," I sigh and take a sip of my coffee. The cappuccino foam sticks to my lips and I wipe my upper lip with my tongue before meeting Carlie's eyes. She stares at the action with hungry eyes and I smirk, waggling my eyebrows suggestively at her. Elijah watches the exchange and barks out a laugh before stifling it as Carlie raises a finger to her lips. 

Callum is the last to arrive, basically at the same time as the waitress brings our food. He leans over to Carlie and kisses the side of his head before immediately digging into his meal without a word to us. 

I swirl the ice in my drink around the glass as Carlie stabs some of her caesar salad with her fork and raises it to her lips before scoffing and setting it down. I listen to the words she starts to rant to the other person on the phone, but it's so full of legal jargon that my head starts to spin. Callum and Elijah both abandon their food, staring at her with the same confused expression.

Finally, she ends the call and sets the phone down. She closes her eyes and sighs as he rubs her hands over her face. When she opens her eyes again, she blinks a few times and smiles guiltily. 

"Sorry," she looks down sheepishly at her salad, making Callum growl. He hates when she beats herself up - especially when she shouldn't. He lifts her chin with his fingers and forces her to look at him. A moment passes between them where no words are exchanged but everything is understood, before he releases her and goes back to his food. 

"What was that about?" I ask after swallowing a fry. 

"Just a new paralegal we hired. I have a conspiracy that he has never read a piece of legislation before, but Hannah assures me he has previous experience," she scoffs and digs into her salad. Whilst she's not looking at us, I raise an eyebrow at Elijah but he shakes his head once. 

He's right. 

We can't tell her about her boss' invasion of our business privacy right now. 

It might tip her over the fine edge she's holding onto with one hand. 

We finish our food with a few muttered words from Callum and my other brother and I picking up the slack. My chest puffs out in pride at the smile I've managed to plant on Carlie's face before she left to go back to work. A similar smile stays on mine until I reach my office and notice the stack of forms on my desk. 

My smile drops and my lips quickly tighten into a frown as I read over the words on the top document. I almost crush it in my fist as I storm into Elijah's office, with Callum doing the same thing behind me. 

As I slam open the door, I notice Elijah is staring at a similar stack of papers on his keyboard. He hasn't even sat down yet, too busy in his mind to move from his frozen spot. Luckily, my tone-deaf oldest brother snaps up his attention. 

"What the fuck is this?" Callum growls as he slams down the document on Eli's desk. Eli takes a breath and sits down in his chair, leaning forward and picking up the paper to read closely. His eyes skim over the words before he curses and the creases by his eyes deepen. 

"Seems we all got them," I comment, knowing it will be an unhelpful observation. I slump down in one of the chairs opposite Eli's desk. I gesture for Cal to sit in the other one but he stays standing, starting to pace up and down the length of the room. 

"To be honest, I thought we could fend him off," Eli says thoughtfully. I peruse over my brother's face and realise he probably didn't even realise he said it aloud. 

"You knew about this?" Cal slams his fist down on my brother's desk. His face is crumpled in anger but I can see the concern in his eyes. 

"What's going on, Eli?" I ask my spaced-out brother as I ignore the one with anger issues. I keep my tone calm, the peacemaker between the two opposite ends of the scale. Eli takes a deep breath and leans back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

"Charles had submitted a request to see some of our files a few days ago. It was when we stole Carlie from her office and brought her to ours. He wants all the files that have legal issues that Carlie has worked on," he explains, his tone and face still dazed. 

"Why the fuck would he want them?" Callum asks forcefully. Despite his angry nature, he surprises me by sitting down. 

"Because he wants to prove there was an overlap in our relationship with her and when she was working for him," I process my thoughts aloud. They both look at me in confusion, as if shocked I had an intelligent thought. I just shrug and fold my arms. 

"Why would he want to know that, though?" Cal asks, his voice slightly quieter and uneasy. 

I don't answer but look to Eli to fill him in. My heart plummets to the bottom of my chest as he answers our eldest brother. 

"Because if he can prove it... he could win the case against her."

Dramaaaaa

Guys, we're so near the end now :(

Sad I know but let me know anything you want put in before I finish this book <3