But she had a long-standing aversion to asking anybody, especially a man, for favors. Raised by a single mom, she’d had it drummed into her head from an early age that the only person she could count on was herself.

Ben Fentress was skinny, with long arms and legs that never seemed to move in any kind of coordinated fashion. He owned an impressive array of concert T-shirts for obscure eighties grunge bands, and from the first day she’d shown up at work at the law firm, Ben had gone out of his way to be kind to her. He was a true Boy Scout. No, an Eagle Scout, probably.

He was younger than Drue, only twenty-nine. Over sandwiches at the coffee shop across the street from the law office, on her second day of work, he’d told her all about himself.

“I’m your typical data bro,” he’d said, munching on the potato chips he’d filched from her plate. “Undergrad degree from Colorado State. I started work on my master’s, but then I ran out of money. And motivation too, if you want the truth.”

“St. Pete’s a long way from Colorado,” Drue said. “How did you end up here?”

A bright pink flush crept over his freckled face. “Followed my girlfriend. She had a job with Honeywell. Three weeks after I got here, she dumped me for some dude she met at her gym.”

“You didn’t want to go back to Colorado after that?”

“No,” he said succinctly. “It took moving to Florida before I figured out I don’t really like winter. I don’t ski. Don’t snowboard either.”

“I loved snowboarding,” Drue said dreamily. Then, she asked, “Are you interested in the law?”

“I’m not un-interested in it. And besides, Brice Campbell isn’t just a good lawyer, he’s a genius at business. I can learn a lot from him. And I’m getting paid at the same time. It’s not a bad gig.”

Drue rolled her eyes. “Just what I always dreamed of becoming. A cubicle monkey.” She leaned forward. “So, if you’re not interested in becoming a lawyer, what are you doing working here?”

Ben’s smile was enigmatic. “I’m working on something. A side hustle, I guess you’d call it. You ever play video games?”

“My ex-boyfriend was big into Call of Duty, but I don’t really see the point,” Drue said.

“Ex? Why’d you break up?”

“Lots of reasons. Including too much Call of Duty.”

When they got to the break room they found Jonah already standing in front of the coffeemaker. He nodded a greeting, then reached into his pocket and brought out one of his special coffee pods. He slotted it into the machine, poured in a beaker of water and stood, waiting, his back to the counter.