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“What about you? What was the outcome of that case you were working on?”
Syneda studied her manicured nail for a long moment before answering. “We lost.” She shook her head and tried shrugging off her disappointment. “As far as I'm concerned the judge's decision was wrong. No one can convince me that Kasey Jamison should have been returned to her biological mother. Where was the woman when Kasey really needed her? If you ask me she showed up five years too late. You of all people know how I feel about parents who desert their kids.”
There was a slight pause before Lorren replied. “Yes, I know. And you're thinking about your father, aren't you?”
Syneda's body tensed. “I don't have a father, Lorren.”
Lorren said nothing for a while, then broke the silence. “So what're your plans now about the case?”
“For one thing, I won't give up. I feel like I've let Kasey down, not to mention her adoptive parents. I plan to appeal the judge's decision.”
“Don't let things get you down. You did your best.”
“But in this case, my best wasn't good enough.” Syneda stood. She let out a deep sigh of frustration, not wanting to talk about the Jamison case any longer, not even to her best friend. “Lorren, I'll get back with you later. I need to prepare for my next client.”
“Okay. You take care.”
“I will.”
As Syneda hung up the phone, a part of her mind slipped into a past she had done everything in her power to forget. Eighteen years ago this week, at the age of ten, she had received her mother's deathbed promise that the father Syneda never knew would be coming for her.
Syneda sighed deeply, remembering how her mother had died of an acute case of pneumonia. Even after the juvenile authorities had come and taken Syneda away because she'd had no other relatives, her mother's words, “Your father will come,” had been her comfort and hope. Weeks later, after she'd been placed in the foster home with Mamma Nora and Poppa Paul, she still believed her father would come for her. She would never forget how she would stand in front of her bedroom window, watching and waiting patiently each day for him.
For an entire year she had waited before accepting he was not coming. She began pitying her mother for dying believing in the love and devotion of a man. If his actions were proof of the love two people were supposed to share, then Syneda wanted no part of love. As far as she was concerned, love was like a circle. There was no point in it. She swore to never blindly love a man and put her complete trust and faith in one like her mother had done.
Syneda's thoughts drifted back to the present when she heard a group of fellow attorneys conversing outside of her door. She quickly wiped away the tears that had filled her eyes and released a quivering breath. Just as she had told Lorren a few minutes ago, she didn't have a father.
“Hello.”
“Clayton?”
“Lorren? Is anything wrong?”
“No. I'm glad I was able to reach you before you left the hotel for the airport. Will your flight make a layover in New York?”
“Yes, why?”
“I need to ask a favor of you.”
Clayton Madaris smiled. “Sure. What is it?”
“Will you check on Syneda when you get to New York?”
“Why? Is something wrong?”
“I talked to her a few minutes ago, and she's down in the dumps. She lost an important case.”
Clayton frowned. “I'm sorry to hear that. No attorney likes to lose.”
“It wasn't about just winning the case, Clayton. This case was very important to Syneda.”
He glanced at his watch. “All right, Lorren. I'll check on her when I get to New York.”
“Thanks, Clayton. You're the greatest. Next to Justin, of course.”
Clayton laughed. “Of course.”
“By the way, how was the convention?”
“Not bad. I had a nice time.”
Lorren laughed. “Knowing you, I'm sure you did.”
Clayton chuckled. “I'll call you after I've seen Syneda.”
“Thanks.”
“Hold your horses, I'm coming!”
Syneda's nylon-clad toes luxuriated in the deep smoke-gray carpeting as she made her way to the door. A smile touched her lips when she glanced through the peephole. She quickly opened the door.
“Clayton! What on earth are you doing here?”
Clayton stepped into the room and turned to face the attractive light-brown-skinned woman standing before him. Thick, golden-bronze hair fell to the shoulders of her tall and slender figure. She looked cute in a short-sleeved blue blouse and a flowing flowered skirt. Her full lips formed a wide smile that shone in her sea-green eyes.
He returned her smile. “I'm here at the request of Lorren. You know what a worrywart she is.”
Syneda laughed as she took Clayton's hand and led him over to the sofa. She always enjoyed seeing him. He was Lorren's brother-in-law, and since their first meeting a couple of years ago, they had become good friends. The two of them were attorneys and somehow could never agree on various issues, legal or otherwise. They were both extremely opinionated and at times their different viewpoints led to numerous debates and sparring matches at the Madaris family celebrations and holiday gatherings. She had gone head-to-head with him on just about every topic imaginable, from the government's policy on illegal immigrants to whether or not there were actual UFOs.
“Can I get you something to drink, Clayton?”
“No, I'm fine.”
Syneda sat across from him in a chair, tucking her legs beneath her. “Lorren was always the mothering type. Now you would think the kids would be enough. Don't tell me she sent you all the way from Houston to check on me?”
Clayton's attention had been drawn to three framed photographs that sat on a nearby table. One was of Justin and Lorren, their son, Vincent, and daughter, Justina. Another photo showed Dex and Caitlin, with their daughter, Jordan. The last photo was of her foster mother, Mama Nora. He smiled at the photographs before turning his attention back to Syneda to answer her question.
“No, I've been in D.C. for the past three days attending the National Bar Association convention. She knew my flight had a layover here and suggested I look you up.”
“How was the convention?”
“Pretty good. I'm sorry you missed it. Senator Lansing was the keynote speaker, and as usual he kept the audience spellbound.”
Syneda nodded. She knew the one thing she and Clayton did agree on was Senator Nedwyn Lansing of Texas. He was admired by both of them and had a reputation for taking a stand on more unpopular issues than anyone in Congress. “What was this year's convention theme?”
“Law and order.”
“Not very original was it?”
Clayton laughed. “No, not very.”
Syneda smiled. “I know Justin, Lorren and the kids are all doing fine. How's the rest of the Madaris clan?”
Clayton smiled. “My parents are doing great. They're off again. This time the ever-traveling retirees are headed for the mountains in Tennessee.”
He leaned forward in his seat. “Since Christy's home from college for the summer, she went with them,” he said of his youngest sister. “Traci and Kattie and their families are doing all right. With me being their only single brother, they've been playing the roles of ardent matchmakers lately.”
Syneda grinned. “How're Dex and Caitlin?”
“They're fine. The baby isn't due for another six months but Dex is coming unglued already. Since he and Caitlin weren't together when she was pregnant with Jordan, he's really into this pregnancy big-time.” Clayton laughed. “Sometimes I wonder who's really having this baby, him or Caitlin. He swears he's been having morning sickness.” Clayton shook his head. “By the way, you missed Jordan's birthday party.”
“Yeah, and I hated that. Unfortunately I was deeply involved in a case and couldn't get away.” A cloud covered Syneda's features. “We went to court on Monday and lost.”
Clayton noticed the shadow of disappointment in her eyes. “Do you want to talk about it?”
She nodded. She did want to discuss it. Maybe doing so would unleash all the frustration, anger and resentment that had plagued her since the judge's decision. Although she and Clayton usually took opposing sides on most issues, she knew that like her, he was a dedicated attorney, and hopefully on this one he would understand how she felt, even if he didn't agree with the position she had taken.
Syneda took a deep breath. “It was a custody fight. The natural mother gave the child up at birth six years ago. She fought the adoptive parents for custody…and won. That has happened a lot lately, and I don't like the message being sent to adoptive parents. They don't have any protection against this sort of thing under our present legal system.”
Clayton frowned. “In the last two cases that received national attention, I thought the only reason the child was returned to its natural parents was because the natural fathers had not given their consent.”
“True, but in our case the consent was given. However, the biological mother claims that at the age of fifteen, she'd been too young to know her own mind and had been coerced by her parents to give up her child. She contends the contract was between her parents and the Jamisons, and that she wasn't a part of it. How's that for a new angle?”
Clayton shuddered at the thought of a fifteen-year-old giving birth. “You're right. That is a new angle.”
Syneda leaned back in her seat. “As far as I'm concerned, the real issue is not why she gave up the child. No one seems concerned with what's best for Kasey. She's being snatched from the only parents she's ever known and is being given to a stranger. That's cruel punishment for any child, especially a five-year-old.”
Clayton nodded. “Hopefully things will work out. But you can't allow what's happened to get you depressed.”
“I know I shouldn't but at times I can't help wondering if what I do really makes a difference.”
“Of course it does.”
Syneda smiled. “Do you know this is the first time we've been able to talk about a case and not take opposing sides?”
Clayton chuckled as he rested back comfortably in his seat. “Just because I didn't oppose anything you said doesn't mean I fully agree. Tonight you needed someone to just listen to your thoughts and feelings, and not force theirs on you. I gave you what I thought you needed. But what I really think you need is a vacation.”
“I took a vacation earlier this year.”
“I mean a real vacation. You usually use your vacation time to mess around here and not go anywhere. You need a real vacation to get away, relax and do nothing. I'm sure you can take time off from your job if you need it, so what's the problem?”
Syneda shrugged. “There isn't a problem. I just never thought about it.”
“Well, I'm giving you something to think about. What about going someplace with that guy you're seeing?”
“Marcus and I are no longer seeing each other,” she said slowly. “We decided it was for the best.”
“Mmm. Could it be you're also suffering from a broken heart?”
Syneda frowned. “Not hardly.”
Suddenly Clayton sat up straight. His eyes gleamed bright with an idea. Before checking out of the hotel, he had phoned his parents and asked their permission to spend a week at their time-share condo in Florida. They had given him the okay. “I have a wonderful idea,” he said.
“What?”
“My parents have a condo in Saint Augustine, Florida. It's right on the ocean. I'm leaving next Sunday and will be there for a week. Come with me.”
Syneda's brows arched in surprise. “Excuse me? Did I hear you correctly? You want me to go on vacation with you?”
A wide grin broke across Clayton's face “Sure. Why not? You need a rest and I think it's a wonderful idea.”
She shook her head. “Clayton, get real. You know I can't go on vacation with you.”
“Why not?”
“For a number of reasons.”
“Name one.”
“My work. I've appealed the Jamison case.”
“So. It'll be a while before the courts review it. If you ask me, you need a vacation to deal with what you'll be up against when they do.”
“True, but I still can't go anywhere with you.”
“Why?”
Syneda refused to believe the man was so overlooking the obvious. It was rumored that no woman spent too many hours alone with Clayton Madaris and managed to keep her reputation clean. She considered herself a modern woman—and in some people's opinion she carried her fight for sexual equality too far—but she was cautious by nature in some things, although impetuous and aggressive in others. In this case, she needed to carefully weigh Clayton's invitation.
“What will people think, Madaris? Specifically, what will your family think?”
Clayton inwardly smiled. She always resorted to calling him by his last name whenever she was getting all fired up to stand her ground against him about something.
“If I remember correctly, my family has extended itself to become your family. They won't think anything of it. For Pete's sake, Syneda, they know we don't think of each other as sexual beings, and they know we aren't romantically involved.” He chuckled. “If anything, they'll wonder how we'll spend a week together without doing each other in. We're usually completely at odds over just about everything.”
Syneda laughed. “That's an understatement.”
He grinned. “We aren't compatible. You know that as well as I do. There's nothing sexual between us. We're good friends, nothing more.”
Syneda nodded in agreement. “But I wouldn't be any fun. What if you meet someone while we're there and want to get it on with them? I'll just be in the way.”
“Women will be off-limits to me that week. I'll be on vacation for rest and relaxation, nothing more.”
“Maybe you should get away by yourself.”
Last night he would have agreed with her, but now he didn't think so. He liked Syneda. She was intelligent, witty, highly spirited and fun to be around, even when she was giving him hell about something. Besides, he could tell by the tone of her voice when she had talked about the case she'd lost that she needed a vacation as much as he did.
“The beach isn't any fun when you're by yourself,” he said. “I plan to unwind and relax and have a good time. I want to just chill and do whatever I want to do, whenever I want to do it.”
