“I’m well,” Liv said. “And you? You’re working for your father?”
“Part-time. I’m in law school at UNL.”
“That’s great, Kyle, just terrific.” Liv felt the ache again.
Kyle didn’t ask why she was there, just led her through the door to the back of the suite and into his father’s office.
Noah came around from behind his desk. “What a surprise.”
“Not an unpleasant one, I hope.”
“Are you kidding me?” He gave her a hug. They both made a point of patting the other’s back.
“I see you’ve met the office whipping boy,” Noah said. He put a hand on Kyle’s shoulder.
“I did. I thought I was looking at a photo of you from college.”
“But without the mullet,” Kyle added with a small laugh.
“Hey, that was totally the style. Tell him how cool I was, Livie.”
Hearing the old nickname threw her off balance. “He certainly thought he was cool,” Liv said, giving Kyle a knowing smile.
“I’ll let you two catch up,” Kyle said.
“Great to see you, Kyle,” Liv called after him.
Noah directed her to the sitting area. She took a wing chair opposite him on the settee. The office was tastefully decorated, except for the vanity wall. Dozens of framed photos of Noah with politicians and famous people. Her eyes landed on one of him and George Clooney sitting at a long table, like it was a panel discussion, looking suitably serious. ‘A Violent Nature’ hadn’t thrust just Liv’s family into the spotlight.
“I hear you’re getting a promotion,” Liv said.
He gave a knowing half smile. “If I’d known you were coming to town,” Noah said, “I would’ve taken you to lunch. Or—”
“It was last minute,” Liv said. “My dad…”
“Oh no, I hope he’s okay.”
“He’s fine. About to be evicted from his retirement home, but fine.”
“Oh yeah?”
“He’s been giving the staff hell.”
Noah chuckled. “I’d expect nothing less from Charlie. He gave me my share of hell back in the day.”
Liv smiled.
“I’m really glad you stopped by,” Noah said. “I thought after last time…” He trailed off.
“I’m sorry about that. I was in a bad place.”
“No, I should apologize.”
“How about we both just start again?”
“I’d like that,” Noah said. After a moment he added, “I saw the Supreme Court denied the appeal.”
Liv nodded.
“And you heard I may be appointed governor, and want to see if I can help with the pardon process.…”
“Oh, Noah, no,” Liv said. “Well, strike that—yes, of course I’d want help, but that’s not why I came.”
“No?”
“I came for a different favor.”
Noah smiled. His teeth seemed whiter, straighter than before. Porcelain veneers, she thought. Whatever it was, he had improved with age. Time unfairly favored those with the Y chromosome.
“My sister and the director of the nursing home hatched something up. Thought the soon-to-be governor may be able to cut through some red tape on some of the company’s licensing problems, and they’d be willing to look past some of my father’s, um, behavior problems.”
“Ah, Dennis Chang put you up to this.”
“I normally wouldn’t ask, but they’re going to kick my dad out. We don’t have any other options. And—”
“Okay,” he said. “Done.”
Liv didn’t understand. “What do you mean? You think you can help?”
“No, I mean it’s done,” Noah said. “After he struck out with Turner, Chang has been on me for months about the licensing issues. They want to open more facilities, and they’ve been in limbo.”
“So, really? That’s it?”
“Really. Go back. Tell him he’ll get good news by the end of next week. But only if he guarantees your father has life tenure.”
“But what if— Are you sure this is legal? I don’t want to get you in any trouble.”
“Trust me. Just tell him life tenure for your dad and he’ll get good news by the end of next week. If he says no, you’ll have to figure it out, since he’s getting the good news either way. The license thing was cleared two days ago.” He flashed a smile.