get my hopes up for my client.â
Ricky didnât seem to share her enthusiasm. âI donât know, Ms. Carter. I think . . .â
âBillie,â she corrected him. âI doubt our ages are that far apart, so no need for formalities. I can call you Ricky?â
âYou can call me anything you want,â he said, suddenly flashing a flirtatious smile. âBut there is some seriously shady business going on with my case. You canât fight the man.â
Suddenly Billie heard music and the muffled sounds of singing.
So you got to try a little tenderness . . . a little tenderness . . . a little tenderness . . .
âSorry,â Ricky said as he reached in his back pocket and pressed a button. âThat was my phone.â
âIs that Otis I hear?â
âThe one and only,â he said, smiling. âYou like Otis Redding?â
âI donât associate with anyone who doesnât.â
âHe was the man.â He looked impressed. âIâm surprised a young woman like you even knows who he is.â
âMy daddy was his biggest fan,â she said. âHe used to play his music all the time. I donât care who you are, when you hear that man sing, you have to fall in love with his voice.â
âThat,â he said, pointing into the air. âThat is the Godâs truth. That man just had soul seeping from every pore. R&B these days . . . these boys just donât know.â
Billie laughed, nodding in agreement. He looked at her and their eyes met for a moment that made things suddenly awkward. She should be happy that they were getting along since this wasnât always the case with a client. But something told her this was probably not a good idea and she better get back to business.
Billie looked down at the file folder on the table, flipping it open as she cleared her throat.
âI can tell you that you are wrong on one account,â she said.
âNot about Otis,â he answered back.
She looked back up at him, her head held high. âNo, but when you said you canât fight the man. You can fight him. Itâs what I do. Itâs what I love to do and Iâve gotten pretty good at it.â
His eyes softened as a satisfied expression came over his face. âWell, you have spirit, and I could tell from the second I read up on you that you have the brains. Not too bad to look at, either.â
âThank you,â she said appreciatively. âFirst, I want to let you know that I appreciate you coming to our offices on a Saturday. Iâm sure youâre busy.â
âIâm busy?â He laughed, looking around. âI walked up in here expecting half the lights to be off and see nothing but a janitor. I must have passed at least twenty people on my way to this room. This is how you guys roll here?â
âGotta make those hours,â Billie said. âThis place is pretty much poppinâ on Saturday and Sunday.â
âThatâs wrong,â he said. âI mean donât get me wrong. Iâm glad youâre here to help me, but a beautiful sister like you should be out running the streets with her man or her girls on a nice summer Saturday.â
Billie agreed, but she had given up a lot of her personal life when she started working at the firm, but there was no point in going into that now.
âLetâs get down to business,â she said. âIâm gonna tell you what I know of your case and you fill in any blanks.â
âShoot,â he said, leaning back in his chair.
âYou started working at the shelter, Saturn House, ten years ago.â She was looking directly at her notes. âYou house immigrants who have acquired asylum from prosecution in their countries in transition. They stay with you an average of two months before moving on their own or to relatives in other parts of the DC area or the country.â
âWe take entire families,â he