“All right. Let’s see your idea.”

I showed him. Afterward, he leaned back in his chair and rubbed his jaw. “I don’t know what I think,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“That’s the point. It forces you to remember it because it makes you think.”

“It doesn’t have much of a sales pitch.”

“No, it doesn’t, but it keeps your name out there. I’m thinking we should follow that up with a couple of billboards in January. Two fantastic ones are coming available around then, and I’d like to lock them up if you’re in agreement. And then, of course, there are the third and fourth commercials. Like the first commercial, those will air year-round, one starting in October or November depending on filming schedules, and the other in January, rotating after that. They’re shorter, single theme, and humorous.”

“Let’s see what you have.”

“I didn’t put together any slides for them.”

“Why not?”

“You’re not my client yet.”

He seemed to think about that. “How about you give me a hint?”

“It would focus on your experience.”

I had the sense that the meeting had become more important to him than he’d anticipated, always a good sign.

“I’ll need a bit more than that.”

“All right,” I said. “But only for one of them. Imagine a little girl, around eight years old, sitting at a legal desk surrounded by law books, including one that says ‘Personal Injury.’ She’s scribbling on a yellow legal pad, looking harried, and reaches over to the phone and says into the speaker, Dolores? Can you bring me another chocolate milk? At that point, the screen fades to black, and words appear as if being typewritten onto the screen.

“When you’ve been injured on the job and need help with your medical bills, you don’t want a lawyer who’s new on the job. You want a lawyer with experience. You want someone who’s won millions of dollars for his clients. You want Joey Taglieri.”

When I finished, Joey began to grin. “I like it.”

I nodded without responding. I’d learned over the years that saying nothing was often the best thing I could do when it came to a client who was considering pulling the trigger.

No doubt, Joey knew that, too, because he leaned back in his chair again. “You should know that I’ve checked into your background,” he said. “After you talked me into this meeting, I called your old boss.”

I felt my chest constrict. “Oh,” I said.

“He was vague, as bosses always are, but he said that you went out on your own a couple of months ago. You told me you had your own firm, but you didn’t mention that you just started it.”

I felt my mouth go dry “My firm might be new, but I’ve been in advertising for thirteen years.”

“He also suggested to me that instead of talking to him, it would probably be better if I called to get recommendations or opinions from your current clients.”

“Oh,” I said again.

“Do you think I could do that? Contact some of your other clients?”

“Uh… Well…”

“That’s what I thought you might say. If I were to guess, my suspicion is that you don’t have any other clients as of yet. So after I spoke to your boss, I drove by your office this weekend. Turns out I recognized the place. A former client of mine owns the place. It’s not exactly the kind of office that inspires confidence.”

I forced myself to keep my voice steady. “For the most part, I meet clients at their place of business. And if you want to talk to previous clients, I can probably get you some names. I’ve worked with dozens of clients in the Charlotte area.”

“I know that, too,” he said, raising his hand. “I called a few of them already. Three of them, to be exact. They’re still with Peters and they weren’t thrilled at the idea of talking to me until I told them I had no intention of telling Peters anything about it.”

“How did you…?”

When I trailed off, he finished the question for me. “Know who to contact? You’re good at your job and I’m good at mine. But anyway, each of them said you were terrific. Very creative, very hardworking, and very good at what you do.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I want you to know that while I’m not thrilled with the idea of being your first, and only, client, I’ve been trying to convince myself that it probably means you’ll have more time to work on my campaign. Frankly, I’m not sure I’ve gotten there yet. But after seeing what you’ve done, I’ll admit that I’m impressed with the thought process you put into all this.”

He stopped there and I took a deep breath.

“What exactly are you saying?”

With my head spinning after the meeting with Taglieri, I drove to Emily’s house. Had it not been for the navigation system on my phone, I never would have been able to find it. Though not far from my home, I’d never detoured through that particular neighborhood, and the main access road wasn’t particularly well marked. The lots were heavily wooded and the homes were midcentury modern, with large windows, cedar plank siding, and main levels that rose and fell with the topography.

After pulling up the drive, I followed a curving walkway that passed over a koi pond and led to the front door. When Emily opened the door, I was struck again by the warmth of her smile.