Dominic would join him. He’d never trusted the guy, but Daisy could be damn headstrong when she wanted. Seeing only the good in people, what little there might be. “What she needs is an attorney. Someone to go after the bastard.”
“Yeah. But you know Daisy. Proud and stubborn, she’s refusing my help. I told her it would only be a loan, until she got back on her feet. She won’t hear it. She went down to Legal Aid, but according to Mom, resources are pretty limited and it might be months before she hears back from them. If she does.”
And Daisy needed someone now. Someone smart and passionate.
And he could think of one person right now who might fit that description.
“We can figure it out tomorrow at fam
ily dinner,” Cruz said finally. “I’m thinking about bringing Becca. She’s been hounding me for weeks to meet the family. You know, she has a roommate, a really cute dental assistant that I can line you up with.”
Not a chance. “Not necessary. But thanks.”
“You’ve got to move on sometime, Dom.”
“I’m doing just fine. But look, I’ve got to get going. I’m in the middle of something.”
“Fine. But just be nice to Becca. And please don’t regale her with any stories circa high school or earlier. Payback can be a bitch.”
“Hey, I’m always nice. Besides, women love to hear how the serious, always stoic Cruz once wrote a love note to his sixth-grade teacher. They eat that stuff up.”
“Ha-ha. Just remember. Payback,” Cruz said.
“Yeah, I’m worried. I’ll talk to you later,” he said and hung up before his brother could say anything more. Not just to avoid another lecture about not letting one woman scar him for life, but because an idea had struck him. Was it as ludicrous if he said it out loud as it was running through his head?
Dominic returned to the other room, where Kate was sitting on the couch glancing through one of the home repair books they’d picked up.
He sat on the edge of the step stool. “This retreat thing with your work,” he started. “It’s going to be pretty tough keeping up the charade of being in a happy, dedicated relationship if your boyfriend can’t bother to show for such a pivotal moment in your career, don’t you think?”
Kate grimaced. “I don’t really have a lot of alternatives, do I?”
“Maybe you do.”
She shook her head, her brows furrowed in confusion. “I do?”
“What would you say if I agreed to go with you? Continued the charade to your senior partners, as well as your former boyfriend, that you were in a happy, committed relationship.”
“Why would you want to do that for me? Wait. This isn’t some proposition thing, right? You’re not trying to sleep with me or anything. Because I can tell you now, I’m not willing to whore myself out for—”
“Easy there. I wasn’t implying we were going to sleep together. Well, not in the biblical sense.” Unless she wanted to. “I’d just be there to add credence to your lie. That’s all.”
She narrowed her eyes in suspicion and bit her bottom lip. “Uh-huh. What’s the catch? What do you get in return?”
“I need your help. Your legal help,” he added. He briefly explained his sister’s marital situation and the urgent need for reliable legal service right now, not in a few months. “We’ve offered to pay for an attorney, but she won’t accept any financial assistance. But don’t firms like yours do free legal service on occasion?”
“Pro bono. And of course. At Strauss, we’re usually expected to do at least fifty hours of billable work a year pro bono.”
He nodded, the idea sounding more and more plausible by the minute. “The thing about Daisy is she’ll never accept it if she knew I sought you out, asked you for help, or gave you any sort of compensation to help her. Even just pretending to be your boyfriend. But if you’re my new, totally devoted girlfriend, who mentions you do this sort of thing on a regular basis and offer to take her case pro bono—something you would do for your firm anyway—she just might buy it if for no other reason than for the sake of the kids. Of course, this goes without saying, we need to hit that bastard hard. You are good, right?” he added, almost as a dare.
She narrowed her eyes. “Damn straight. I’ve worked several domestic and custody cases, most pro bono, and my clients have been nothing less than satisfied.” She paused. “So if I understand you correctly, you’re proposing that for the next month, we actually perpetuate this charade that we’re together, publicly? That you’ll do this for me, provided that I represent your sister in her divorce? What if she declines?”
He shrugged. “She declines. But I’ll hold up my part of the deal. See you through until they hold that meeting and that partnership is yours.”
“I don’t know.” She stood. “I’ve got to think about it. I mean, if we do this, pretend to be a couple, I’m putting myself at a lot of risk. One wrong word and everyone will know I lied. And I could definitely kiss that partnership good-bye.”
“You don’t have to make any decisions now. When is the retreat?”
“Next weekend.”