Chapter Nineteen - Ava

“That’s it. One more arm to go and then you can eat breakfast.” I don’t know why I brushed Ethan’s hair given I’m just going to pull the Sonic the Hedgehog windbreaker over his head, only to have to recomb it, but I’ve got one sole objective for the morning and that’s getting Ethan to sit up at the table and eat.

“ Mommy. Stay. Mommy! I want to go to the park,” Ethan moans as I smile at the growing boy, his legs strong and sturdy, his perfect face stuck in a manipulative pout. He’s the spitting image of Dimitri with sprinkles of me included. He’s got the same penetrating eyes as Dimitri, his cheekbones, and my nose and lips. His physical body is all Dimitri, and it’s obvious, he’s going to be tall. He’s already above average height for his age, and if he keeps on growing, I’m going to need a bigger apartment for him to run around in. The kid has too much energy, and I can’t keep up.

“Hey,” I tell him as I hit the mark, sliding the windbreaker down, his sandy blond mohawk flattening some. I spike it back up, kissing the boy’s head. “You can go to the park today with Emily.”

Emily has been a godsend in my life and since I’ve moved to L.A. I don’t know what I would do without her. The pace of life here is frenetic, and L.A. traffic is disgusting, but it’s home for us. For now. “Emily! She’s coming today?”

“Yep. She is. Right after you eat breakfast. She told me earlier that if you didn’t eat all the food on your plate that she wouldn’t come.”

“ No! I’m going to eat it. I promise I will.” Ethan’s the best boy, and he’s kept me focused and on track. I finished my degree with flying colors, determined to not let anything stand in my way. Tears prick in my eyes as I lay awake at night thinking about how hard it was when I first arrived here. I had no friends in the city. No knowledge of how to get around the city and worse, Dimitri had no clue he had a son, but I managed, and finally I’m starting to find my feet in this crazy city.

Slowly, and painfully, I pulled myself together, transferring to UCLA Law School with my credits. If anything, the law kept me alive emotionally and mentally.

“You’re such a good boy. Do you know that?” Kissing into his hair, I stop as Ethan twiddles in his hair ruining all my handiwork.

“Ethan, I just did your hair! Why would you do that?” I wail, but all he does is turn around and grin sheepishly at me, continuing to grab handfuls of his hair and twisting it into spiky horns. “Come on, now you’re just being silly. I need you up at the table, eating!”

With my hands on my hips, I feel worn out already as Ethan does a complimentary lap around the couch, his hair sticking up. “I’m like Sonic! Zoom! Zoom!” I wait for him to stop, but I can’t help but break into a smile because this kid is insane. In the best possible way, but as I look at the time ticking away, I think Emily might have a better chance of feeding him than me.

It’s a miracle I got the job I have, Thompson and Associates are well known for grooming young lawyers, especially when they’re fresh out of grad school. I’m getting a front row seat to one of the best commercial litigation law firms in the country. Needless to say, it’s L.A., and there’s more than enough work on the table.

Ethan tires out and I take the fleeting opportunity to calm down, resmooth his hair and set him up at the table so he can eat the scrambled eggs and spinach I have for him. That’s the only thing he’ll eat without playing around with it. I sit next to him eating mine, making sure he puts at least a mouthful in, and true to his word, I watch the fluffy yellow eggs make it into his mouth.

“Thank you. You have to eat something because you’re growing every day.” Ethan makes a series of noises, settling into eating his food.

The doorbell rings as I keep one eye on Ethan and another on the door. Peering into the camera, a smiling face stares back at me. “Hey, it’s me, Emily.”

“One sec!” I hit the button to open the door and a few seconds later, Emily is at it. Letting her in, I feel the relief sink into my skin. “Good morning. You’ve come right on time. Ethan’s finally eating.”

A gleeful laugh comes from Emily as she steps inside, letting down her backpack. “Oh, that’s progress. You look great. Ready to kill them in the office?”

Chuckling, I shake my head. “I wouldn’t go that far. More like a bunch of phone conversations and a stack of paperwork to go through wielding my highlighter.” The details are important in my profession, especially when it comes to legal documents, and it’s my specialty. My killer instinct has never subsided. I got lucky with Emily, bonding with her in classes and because she has a more flexible schedule than mine, she’s able to help me out with Ethan.

“You’re downplaying it. Remember that case scenario for Plumpton Merino? You nailed that case and blew the professor away with the details. That’s what you’re good at. Finding a needle in a haystack.”

“You’re right. I am good at that.” We high-five each other, laughing together, Ethan wanting to join in, putting up his hand, but not understanding. Emily and I both high-five him softly as I curl his hand around mine kissing him.

“You are so cute, even though you run Mommy ragged.”

“He-he.” Ethan smacks his small fork into the plate as Emily sits down next to him.

“I’m early, but go, I can take over from here. Any special requests?”

“Ah no,” I tell her, locating my laptop bag on the couch and sliding in documents for a contested slip and fall I’m working on. “Oh, yeah! There is. Ethan wants to go to the park; You know the one, down near the cinema. I think it’s because he likes to see all the puppies and doggies there.”

“Ah. No sweat. I’m all over it. He told me last time he wants to go there too.”

I grab everything, smoothing down my A-line skirt, ready for action. “Okay, that’s great, then. Ethan, Mommy’s going to be back later. Okay?” Kissing the top of his head one more time, I wave goodbye to Emily, realizing Ethan’s probably picking up the bad habit of not eating everything from me. I barely ate any of my eggs either, but I’m good to do a coffee run, and there’s always plenty of food in the office.

Stopping by my new L.A. coffee shop, which is bright and light, with overhanging plants in every corner, I place my order. “Hi, can I get a cappuccino, extra strong and extra hot?”

“Sure, coming right up.” I slip to the side, relaxing and letting my eyes skim over the menu. They stop at cocoa, part of me seizing up. The same beverage that tore apart me and Ethan’s dad. There’s a space in my heart that’s broken and hasn’t ever been repaired. He didn’t believe me, and that’s what hurt me the most. My best friend sold herself out for a buck. I know Ekaterina would have paid her enough to warrant her decision. Cindy constantly complained about her money troubles and how her car kept breaking down all the time.

She wanted out of the poverty cycle like I did. The word cocoa blurs as I wait for my order, pressing down the layers of grave shame and incredible hurt. Work covers it up, but it’s in my son, and I can’t escape because every time I look at him, I see Dimitri. Us. What could have been if he gave me the chance to explain. He took the time to bring Cindy to the house, but he didn’t want to take the time to listen to me. To me, that means we never established the trust I thought we did.

“Ava!” the barista calls out, shaking me out of the fractured memory, but it’s rocked me enough to bump into the person behind me.

“Sorry, so sorry.” I hold up my hand, clutching on to my coffee and bagel, but it’s lucky it’s a nice person.

“No problem.” Frazzled, I slow down a little, getting a handle on my heart rate and taking a sip of my coffee, checking my watch. Good. I’ve got time. Taking a breather, I walk into the multilevel building occupied by other businesses on other floors and press the elevator button to level five.

Working for Thompson and Associates is my dream come true, and I’m making a good enough salary where I’ve gotten off the struggle bus and now with healthy addition of Raven’s Peak dividends. It might have been tough, but standing my ground in the early days with Dimitri has led to my son and I being able to afford L.A. comfortably enough. Popping out of the elevator, I sneak past the kitchen, soliciting a second cream cheese bagel with salmon and capers, heading to my office.

Mark Thompson, the man who hired me himself, bumps into my shoulder as he’s talking to someone else on the run. “Shit! Ava, great, you’re in early. I need to talk to you if I can for a quick minute.” Surprised, but intrigued, I point towards my office, and he shuts the door sitting down. It’s uncommon for first year associates like me to have their own office, but I do, and I’m forever grateful for it, but I’m one of the best in his firm, and Mark isn’t a man to gloss over talent. He’s a likable guy but turns into a total shark in the courtroom. He’s fun to watch.

“I hate to ask you this, and I know you have a full plate, but I need you to take on a new client.” He steeples his fingers in front of his mouth as my eyes widen.

“Mark, I would love to, but I’m stretched thin as it is. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to handle it.” With Mark it’s best to tell the truth. He treats his staff like gold, which is why he has one of the highest retention rates as a boss, and it’s most likely the secret sauce to all the cases the firm’s won.

“Hmm, I can take that Rover case off your hands. It’s small fry for you anyway. I gave it to you so you could get more runs on the board. Andy just got himself into a jet-skiing accident in Miami. I tell that guy to take a vacation for one week—one week, Ava, and he literally breaks a leg.”

Close to spitting out my coffee, I stare at Mark in alarm, but he’s not laughing. He’s funny without trying. “Shit. Damn. That’s an unlucky break.”

Mark nods. “Right. But not for us, because I need you to hit the ground running, taking on the Anatoly Petrov case on an urgent basis. You’re the only person in the office who specializes in mergers and acquisitions. And you’re damn good at it.”

“Okay. I haven’t heard the name, but I’ll dig and find out everything. “When am I making a move with this client,” I ask, and Mark winces as I switch on my computer.

“How about right now?”

Taken aback, I steal a breath. “You weren’t joking about when you said ‘hit the ground running,’ were you?”

“No—no, I was not. Anatoly has a business meeting with another renowned businessman, and he’s tough. We want to be there in the meeting to back him up and provide legal counsel and reassurance. Here’s the case file.” Frowning, I carefully take the file from Mark’s hands as he stands up, pulling the lapels of his suit jacket together.

“Wow. Is there anything I should know about this?” I ask, a thick knot in my throat. I can walk in blind and fumble my way through, but I’d like enough time to prepare and feel at ease. If I’m dealing with a new client, I usually meet with them separately to feel out their situation and what their aim is so I can get them the best deal.

But not like this… blindfolded and walking in. “No. Only that I totally trust you with this, and I have another meeting to get to myself. Good luck, Ava. Anatoly’s in Boardroom A. Waiting.” He taps the glass as I nod, taking a couple of seconds to steady myself and glimpse over the file.

I pull out my mirror, reapply my lipstick, play around with my hair and walk into the boardroom. It doesn’t sound too bad. I’m just going to be providing legal counsel. Upon entry Anatoly stands, a tall handsome guy, with dark features and an amicable smile.

“Hi, Anatoly, I’m Ava Knight and I’ll be working with you going forward. Andy’s had an accident unfortunately, but rest assured you’re in good hands.”

“That’s good news. I’m going to need it.” Anatoly seems slightly agitated as I sit down.

“Any reason?” I ask politely as I open the case file but look at Anatoly as he sips his water, and I take a swig of my coffee.

“This deal is fairly important to me and could be quite lucrative. It involves a property, but it does need to be set up correctly for maximum benefit as the man I’m dealing with takes no prisoners. I do enjoy doing business with him, however. This is just for precautionary measures. He should be here soon.”

Frowning, I take a moment to look down at the case notes, my blood freezing and my jaw dropping when I read the name. Dimitri Utkin. Shit. I’m going to see Dimitri face-to-face again. The man I cried over for nights on end. No, this can’t be happening to me right now, but it is, and I need to face it and be as professional as possible. I blow out a slow breath but offer a polite smile to Anatoly.

“If I ever see your face again, I won’t show mercy.”

I’m going to need more than mercy this time around, I’m going to need every ounce of strength I can muster.