Phoebe and Samantha met up again the following Friday.

“How was your week?” asked Phoebe.

“Wednesday was good. Well, waking up next to you made it a good start and the company liked what I’d done to their website.”

“I sense a but coming?”

“Are you sure that we haven’t been together for ten years?”

They both laughed.

“My father was a real pain on Thursday. He sat in his monster truck outside my bedroom window at four in the morning revving it hard. He stayed there for almost half an hour. In the end I got fed up and went outside with a hammer and broke two of the god knows how many lights he has on the front of that thing. He took the hint and roared off up the drive. I’d swear that he was laughing as he passed me.”

Phoebe wrapped her arms around Samantha.

“What was worse, was that he had a new woman with him. She’s younger than both of us!”

Phoebe knew that was the real cause of her pain.

“I guess then it is time that Lawyer Phoebe returned?”

“Are you sure about this?”

Phoebe sighed.

“I thought you liked my plan?”

“I do but… You don’t know my father like I do.”

“I have to try… We have to try to get him to see reason and either leave you alone or to buy you out then you will be out of his hair or rather sight once and for all…”

“I know but?”

“We both need to make a fresh start and you need to have him off your back and out of your life. Only then will you be able to concentrate on the future. Am I right?”

Samantha looked Phoebe right in her eyes. Slowly, she nodded her head.

“Good. Now do you have the contact information for his Solicitor?”

“I have it somewhere at home.”

“Then let me get into ‘Lawyer Drab’ and we can get this going.”

Samantha sat and looked at Phoebe.

“You really are a lawyer at heart, aren’t you?”

“What do you mean?” asked Phoebe.

“Your eyes have grown larger; your nostrils are flared and everything about you is more alive…”

“Are you saying that I was dead before?”

They both laughed.

“No, you were not but the scent of a case has… It is as if you are high on something?”

“Oh! Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. It is just that I’ve never seen you or anyone for that matter get enthused like you are at the moment.”

“I must learn to curb my enthusiasm.”

“Please don’t. It is all part of you. The you that I love.”

“You say the sweetest of things. Things that I love so much.”

Phoebe went to get changed for their meeting while Samantha sat thinking that she was so lucky to have found Phoebe at the Speed Dating Event.

Samantha approved of Phoebe’s outfit when she returned.
“You’ll have to do it again tomorrow. I’ve arranged for a meeting with him and my father for eleven. I’ll have to go home and look for something a little less vibrant…”

Phoebe shook her head.
“Sorry darling. I don’t want you there. You will get all emotional. This meeting will be like playing poker. A dead-pan emotionless face will win the day and the best deal for you.”

Samantha showed her displeasure at Phoebe’s insistence that that she must not be present at the meeting.

Phoebe took hold of Samantha’s hands and looked her right in the eye.
“I mean it darling. You are a novice when it comes to situations like this. Lets’ say that is a case of act in haste, repent at leisure. Let me do my job and get a good deal for you.”

Then she said,
“Please… let me do this. You deserve to take your father for a as much as you can. With my help we can get you enough money to start afresh.

“What about us? You keep talking about me. What about you?”

Phoebe thought for a moment and smiled.

“I have to act like that. You are my client. Personal relationships have to place in situations like this. I’ve seen two QC’s tear each other to pieces in court. Outside they are a happily married couple. It is what we have to do in order to get the best for our clients. The moment I put on my wig or gown, nothing else matters apart from getting the result that my client wants.”

Then Phoebe laughed.
“Afterwards is a different matter. I take off all this clobber and ‘Lawyer Phoebe’ goes away. That was getting harder and harder to do until I met you. I owe you this much for saving my life.”

Samantha relaxed and hugged Phoebe.

---

[the following day]

“I’m Phoebe Russell. I’m Ms Mason’s Lawyer. I have a meeting with Mr Gregson and Mr Mason,” said Phoebe when she arrived at the offices of Lever, Gregson and Young, Solicitors and Commissioners of Oaths.

“Ah, Ms Russell. They are expecting you. Please go into the first room on the right,” said the receptionist as she pointed to a doorway on her left.

“Thanks.”

Phoebe strode purposefully towards the room. The door was open so she walked straight in.

As she entered the two men inside looked up from the papers that they were looking at. Phoebe could see that they were plans of the plot of land that Samantha owned.

“Good Morning Gentlemen, I see that you are ready for me. I take it that you have reviewed the deeds to Ms Mason’s property?”

She gave a small smile and closed the door behind her.
The two men didn’t say anything so Phoebe sat down and took the papers relating to the case from her briefcase. Then she sat down and waited.

“I don’t know what game you are playing Ms Russell but you are not going to win,” said Samantha’s Father.

“Mr Mason, I can assure you that I am not playing any game. I am perfectly serious about striking a deal over the sale and purchase of the land that you were looking at as I came into the room.”

“Ms Russell,” said Mr Gregson,
“What sort of offer are you talking about?”

“How about three point five for starters.”

Both men gave a sharp intake of breath.

“Are you high on something? You can’t be serious if you think that I’m going to pay…” gasped Mr Mason.

Mr Gregson put his hand on his client’s arm.

“Ms Russell, what my client is trying to say that your opening gambit is unacceptable, totally unacceptable.”

“We, that is, my client and I think that it is perfectly reasonable indeed. I’m sure you are aware that Mr Mason’s daughter has total rights to the road that runs through her property. She can and she will erect a permanent barrier across the road as well as re-instating the large metal gates that used to be there. There would be no more access to the main road from Mr Mason’s home. Then consider just how much money that will wipe off any possible sale price for the property should he be able to sell it in the immediate future?”

“You keep saying, ‘my daughter’. I don’t have and never have had a daughter. I assume you are talking about my idiot of a son who seems to think that putting on a skirt and wearing crap all over his face will turn him into a woman. He is my son not my daughter.”

Phoebe removed two sheets of paper and handed them to Mr Gregson.

“Mr Gregson, what you have in front of you is a copy of a deed poll that shows Mr Mason’s son changing his name to Samantha. The second is her birth certificate. I say her as that Samantha Mason is legally a woman and under gender discrimination laws, if Mr Mason continues to call her a man, I shall have no qualms about filing suit against him.”

“It won’t stick. No judge will ever convict me,” said Mr Mason in a loud voice.

“Tony, please shut the hell up and for once listen,” said Mr Gregson.
“What Ms Russell is saying is totally legally correct. Your son is now legally a woman and according to the law, she should be treated as a woman. Failure to do so is against the law.”

“Hello No. I’ll be dammed if I’m going to do that.”

“Gentlemen, the clock is ticking and our offer is now four point zero. Every time Mr Mason calls his daughter a man, the offer goes up by half a million. Do I make myself clear?”

Phoebe’s words caused both men to shut up and stare at her.

“Good. I have your attention. Are you prepared to make a deal with me in a civilised manner?”

“Why the hell isn’t… she… here? Can’t it stand being in the same room as me?”

Phoebe was prepared for taunts like this.
“Mr Mason, your daughter has instructed me to act on her behalf. We both agreed that her presence would only inflate tempers all around. It seems that… that was a good decision.”

“Who the hell do you work for eh? You sure as hell don’t work for those slimy Barristers any more. Just what law firm pays your salary?” demanded Mr Mason.

“Mr Mason, I have recently started working for a very discrete law firm that is based in the City of London. We are discrete because of our client base. We specialise in Art and Antiquities in areas of ownership and authenticity. They are letting me do this case because I had agreed to take it on before I left my previous employer.”

Slowly, Mr Gregson nodded his head.
“I’ve heard about a company that does that sort of stuff.”

“Bollocks. How… If a company like that did actually exist why would they employ someone still wet behind the ears eh?”

Phoebe bit down on her lip before answering.
“Mr Mason, I am a qualified Barrister and I have an interest in Antiques having worked in my Uncle’s Antique Shop as a child. For instance, I know that the picture on the wall behind you is a reproduction. The original is in the Kelvingrove Museum just outside Glasgow.”

Mr Gregson smiled.
“She is perfectly correct. In any case, Ms Russell, is the appointed legal representative of your daughter and deserves that respect.”

This did not satisfy Mr Mason.
“Is he bonking you?”

“Four point five million,” said Phoebe with a straight face.

“Tony, will you just shut up. Insults will not get what you want.”

“Mr Mason, may I humbly suggest that you please take the advice of your lawyer.”

He glared at Phoebe and started to say something but stopped himself just in time.

Then he stood up and flung open the door. Before he exited, he said,
“Get a deal done. You know my limit but I’m not paying that understand!”

Then he slammed the door behind him.

There was silence in the room for quite a while before Phoebe said,

“Shall we talk turkey Mr Gregson?”

“I think that we should do just that Ms Russell.”

[half an hour later]

“I think we are agreed then Two million nine hundred thousand and the property is yours?” said Phoebe.

“Agreed,” said Mr Gregson.

Phoebe pulled out a draft contract from her briefcase. She filled in the date and the amount in words and numbers. Then after she had signed and dated every sheet she passed it to Mr Gregson.

“This is a pro-forma contract. There should be no objections to the terms. It signs over all rights to the property and the surrounding land upon payment of the agreed amount.”

Mr Gregson had been reading the contract. As he did so, he smiled.

“I do like the bit about the all the money going into escrow within five working days of signing.”

“Is that too fast?”

“No, it will be fine. He’ll grunt and groan a bit but if he wants the property he’ll find the money in time.”

Mr Gregson stood up. Phoebe did the same. He offered Phoebe his hand.

She shook it and smiled.

“Mr Mason is a bit of a hothead when it comes to spending his money. Spending other people’s money is very different.”

“It does not matter. We have reached a deal. All you need to do is ensure that Mr Mason signs on the dotted line and then stumps up the money. Then two calendar months after that, the property is his free and clear. If not, it remains the property of my client plus five hundred thousand pounds of the purchase price as a non-returnable deposit.”

“You drive a hard bargain Ms Russell but fully understood. I would not like to be cross examined by you in a court of law, you are a real tiger.”

Phoebe smiled.
“Thanks for the compliment Mr Gregson. I think your day is going to get an awful lot harder.”

He smiled.
“I think you might be right about that.”

“I’ll look forward to hearing from you about Mr Mason agreeing to the deal.”

Mr Gregson showed Phoebe out of his office. She walked around the corner and sank back against the wall of the building. She was knackered. Her supply of adrenaline was just about on empty.

---

Despite being tired, she was elated. She’d done a deal and if Mr Gregson could sell it to his client then Samantha would be well setup provided the deal went to completion. Even if it didn’t once the money was in escrow it would be hard for Samantha’s Father to pull out without losing a sizeable chunk of money. She’d done her part, now it was down to Mr Gregson and Samantha’s Father.

Phoebe arrived back in Brighton in mid-afternoon. She was rather frustrated that Samantha was busy with clients all day so she just had to keep the good news to herself for the time being.

For someone that had been content to sit in the shadows before she’d met Samantha, now, she wanted to sing it from the hilltops. That was the effect that her lover had on her.

Instead of getting the bus home, she took one in the other direction and went shopping. On the spur of the moment, she decided to look at engagement rings. Even though Samantha had said ‘yes’ to her proposal, neither of them had said or done anything about rings. Phoebe had some time on her hands so she went shopping or rather looking at what was available.

After a couple of hours, Phoebe had not seen anything that wowed her. It looked like it was coming on to rain so she decided to give up for the day and started to head towards the bus stop and her No 27 bus home.

Her route took her through the ‘Lanes’. Normally, she’d not stop at any of the retailers as everything was usually very expensive but one shop caught her eye and within two minutes, she’d seen a pair of rings that were in her eyes perfect. The only problem was that they were priced at over £500 each. There was no way that Phoebe could afford that so with a sigh, she carried on walking.

She could not get them out of her mind so she turned around and returned to the shop and went inside.

The assistant asked if they could help her.

“There are two matching rings in the window. Tray eleven.”

The assistant smiled and went off to get the tray.

“Those two,” said Phoebe when he returned with the tray. She hoped that she was sounding confident. Her efforts at doing deals for antiques and collectables had usually ended in failure.

“Ah yes,” said the assistant.

“What is your best price on them?”

After a bit of umming and arring the assistant said,

“Four hundred each.”

Phoebe tried not to react. That was still far too high for her.

“I’ll give you five hundred cash today for the pair?”

The assistant remained expressionless.

“Sorry, but we paid a lot more than that for them,” was his eventual reply.

Phoebe knew that he was lying but she guessed that he wasn’t going to budge.

“Five fifty. Cash today. My final offer?”

After some more delay, the assistant said,
“Sorry, we can’t drop that low.”

Phoebe had been expecting to get that sort of reaction but she had to try.

“Ok, your loss.”

Phoebe left the shop and headed for the bus stop totally frustrated by the whole thing.

---

That evening, Samantha came to Phoebe’s. Phoebe had sent her a text with the brief details of the meeting in London so she was in a good mood.

“Did his lawyer give any indication of when he might get a signature?”

“He didn’t but he knows that for both sides, time is of the essence. I got the distinct feeling that there is already an offer on the table for the whole property so… If your Father says no then that offer might just go away. It depends upon how much he wants to move really.”

“Yeah, you might be right about that. He always said that he would sell the place once he got his hands on it. With Gran giving me the gatehouse for my eighteenth birthday and living beyond the inheritance tax limit, pissed him off as he had to pay a load of tax on the house after she died.”

Samantha gave Phoebe a big kiss and ducked outside of her flat only to return with a large bunch of flowers.

“These are for you for a job well done!”

“It didn’t all go well though,” said Phoebe.

The smile disappeared from Samantha’s face in a flash.

“I went looking for engagement rings. I saw two but they were just too expensive for me.”

Samantha hugged Phoebe.
“Then we can both go hunting for some at the weekend.”

Phoebe still wasn’t happy.
“But as I proposed, it should be me that buys the rings.”

“It does not matter who pays for them darling. What matters is that we have them.”

Then Samantha said,
“Don’t forget your cut from the sale.”

“Cut from the sale? What do you mean?”

Samantha smiled.
“Agents who broker a deal get a percentage of the sale price don’t they?”

Phoebe started to understand what Samantha was going on about.

“At one point five percent, you just earned yourself over forty three grand. Not bad for a day’s work.”

Phoebe sat down. She was visibly shaking.

“What’s wrong darling?”

“I didn’t think.”
“I didn’t think about that.”

Samantha sat down next to Phoebe and held her tight.

“I don’t want your money,” muttered Phoebe.

“Why? It isn’t really my money. At the moment it is my Father’s.”

“I don’t want it when you get it.’

“Why? You deserve it?”

“I can’t take it.”

Samantha looked Phoebe right in the eye.

“I can see that you are certain about that.”

“I am.”

“Then I’ll put it to one side and spend it on our wedding and honeymoon… If that is ok with you?”

Phoebe looked at her lover through misty eyes.
“Yes… Yes it is.”

“Good.”

Phoebe sat silent for a bit.
“Did we just have our first argument?”

Samantha laughed.
“That was just a little disagreement so no we didn’t.”

Phoebe kissed Samantha even though tears were running down her cheeks. They were tears of joy.

---

Despite a lot of searching and trying on rings their efforts to find some that weekend amounted to nothing. They’d been back to the shop where Phoebe had been but there was only one of the pair of rings left.

The following Monday, Phoebe received notification that Samantha’s Father had agreed to the sale price that she and Mr Gregson had negotiated and that the non-returnable part of the money was in their client account.

The downside was that Samantha had just two months to find a new place to live. Phoebe knew that time would just fly by and neither of them had any specific property type or location in mind. On top of that, it would be a new experience for both of them.

“But Darling,” said Phoebe as they discussed it over dinner one evening.
“You can stay here if it comes down to the crunch. I know that it will be cramped but it would only be temporary wouldn’t it?”

“I know sweetheart but we need to find somewhere that works for both of us. That might not be possible and as we go into winter, the market slows right down. I really don’t want ‘temporary’ to become permanent. I’m really having a hard job finding somewhere to park my car.

Phoebe knew about the parking issues. She’d given Samantha her residents parking permit but even so, there were times when Samantha had to park her car well over half a mile away.

“We’ll make do.”

Samantha smiled. Then she kissed Phoebe.
“That’s what I love about you… You are the eternal optimist.”

[to be continued]