The Complete Julia and Clay Collection by Lauren Blakely

Author:Lauren Blakely [Blakely, Lauren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lauren Blakely Books

10

Clay

Another pair of Advil did wonders to mute the throbbing in my skull, but the dull ache was a useful reminder of what I was up against as I pushed open the door to Mr. Pong’s shortly after noon the next day. The smell of fried pork and noodles filled my nostrils. Waiters bustled around delivering plates of pepper steak and lo mein to the lunch crowd.

It was your standard order Chinese restaurant with thick menus and illustrated pictures of the twelve signs of the Chinese New Year— such as horses, snakes, and rats, along with an illustrated dragon image presiding over them all.

Fitting, I reasoned, as a hurried waiter rushed over.

“One for lunch?”

“No. I’m joining someone. You can tell Mr. Stravinsky I’m here.”

The waiter looked confused. “Sorry. Who should I tell him is here?”

“Tell him the guy he’s expecting to see.”

“Okay,” the waiter said, narrowing his eyebrows briefly at the request before turning on his heels to find the man in charge.

Moments later, a tall man in a sharp suit strode over to me. He had thick, dark hair and muddy-brown eyes and some of the worst teeth I had ever seen. He wasn’t thin, he wasn’t fat; he was simply the sturdy type.

He extended a hand to shake.

“Clay Nichols,” I said.

“Charlie Stravinsky. I had a feeling I’d be seeing you. Come,” he said, gesturing grandly to the restaurant as if he were quite proud of the joint he’d taken over on a debt that went belly-up. “There is a table for us near the kitchen.”

“Fantastic,” I said coolly, as if this were just another lunchtime business meeting.

After we sat, a waiter handed me a menu. “Thank you.”

Charlie tapped the menu. “Everything here is delicious. But may I personally recommend the kung pao chicken,” he said, bringing his fingertips to his mouth and kissing them as a chef does.

“Consider it done,” I said, pushing the menu to the side. I had every intention of not only talking to Charlie, but breaking bread with the man. If there was one thing I’d learned in my years as a lawyer, it was that the more you knew about the opposing side, the better off you were. And the less fear you showed, the more likely you’d win the points you wanted. Besides, I had a hunch Charlie was the type of man who would act supremely gentlemanly to a worthy adversary.

I planned to be just that.

“So, you messed up the nose of my new guy,” Charlie began, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.

“It got in the way of my fist.”

Charlie scratched his neck, as if he were a dog itching fleas. “He shouldn’t have been there. He’s too hot-headed to be on the street.”

“Yeah?”

Charlie shook his head, and blew out a long stream of air. A man frustrated, he placed his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers. “Stevie was supposed to give her the message, but he came down with the flu, he claimed,” Charlie said with a scoff.

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