Free Wrangling with the Laywer by Fran Louise Page B

new blood added to the existing team of privileged Harvard grads. He trusted Jamie, and had been mentoring him as much as he could.
    “For your information, I’m thinking over a particularly troublesome aspect of the case.” His brows lifted. “The one point I fear I may not be able to resolve satisfactorily.”
    “That’d be a first.”
    “What brings you all the way out here?”
    Jamie slipped his hands into the trouser pockets of his infinitely cheaper suit. He had a boyishly pleasant face that was quick to humour. “Jones sent me on an errand to Judge Alcott. I thought I’d pop in on the patent hearing, pick up a few pointers. I thought it’d be started already?”
    “Always looking to learn, that’s my boy.” He put his arm around the kid’s skinny shoulders. “Likely story. I know you’re here to meet to Harper. I suppose we should get it over with.”
     
    Finishing up a long email to a particularly troublesome investor, Harper was surprised to see the approachable, smiling face of a twenty-something man beaming at her when she looked up. His hand was outstretched. Gabe stood unobtrusively behind him with an opaque smile.
    “Hi, I’m Jamie Mulligan,” he told her effusively, his voicing rising at the end even though he hadn’t posed a question. “Gabe said he’d introduce me. I’m one of the associates at the firm.”
    “Hi.” She placed her tablet aside and stood up, shaking his eager hand.
    “I’m a huge, huge fan of Anna’s World.”
    She smiled. It had been a long time since she’d heard that name. “You know, I heard they just upgraded the online multiplayer servers a few weeks ago. I couldn’t believe how many people are still playing it-”
    “It’s a classic. I was addicted while I was at college-”
    “Anna’s World?” Gabe sat down on the bench, eyeing them more expectantly than interestedly.
    “It’s a game.” Jamie’s enthusiasm couldn’t be bounded. “Miss Green’s studios have made some the most kick-ass games out there. Anna’s World; Fall of Men; Combustion-”
    “I started as a physics programmer at a video game studio,” Harper supplied helpfully. She turned back to Jamie. “Call me Harper. It’s nice to meet you.”
    “Call her Miss Green.”
    She turned back to Gabe, incredulous.
    “It’s okay,” Jamie reassured her with a laugh. “It’s a mark of respect. I just wanted to say hi, let you know I was a fan of your work. Even the software apps. You’ve got Davidson and his mediocre mob on the run. I hope we can help you stick it to them.”
    Gabe stood up again, amused now as he regarded Harper meaningfully. “Okay, Jamie. It was nice of you to drop by. Maybe you could get us some coffee from the store across the street before you leave. And some fruit.” He pulled a couple of bills out of a clip and then replaced it in his pocket. “Get yourself a cab back to the office afterwards.”
    “Thanks a lot, Gabe.”
    Harper waited until the associate had left before she sat down. “How come he calls you Gabe? Isn’t that a mark of disrespect?”
    “How come you never told me you made kick-ass computer games?”
    She smiled reluctantly at his teasing, picking up her tablet again. “I would expect you to know these things considering the money I’m paying you.”
    “I’m serious. Is there anything you haven’t done?”
    “I haven’t stuck it to Joe Davidson,” she returned smoothly, repeating Jamie’s phrasing for effect. It was, as usual, disproportionately satisfying to hear Gabe laugh.
    “Well, we don’t want to ruin your track record.” He checked his watch, falling serious. “I hope that kid gets back with the coffee soon. I have a feeling Abernathy’s probably going to wake up from his post-lunch nap and call us in any minute.”
    “You seem to like this associate, Jamie Mulligan.” She watched him knowingly. He didn’t look at her, checking his phone screen briefly. It tickled her to know he was a good guy underneath all of