"Hogwash," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I'm an old man now and I know it. My joints do me the honor of reminding me every morning."
"My mother says you're as spry as ever."
"Liar," he said, a slow, gum-filled smile spreading across his face. "But do continue to flatter me. It keeps me young at heart, if nothing else."
"You seem to be as busy with clients as ever. People still trust you with their work."
Just then Peter stopped at the table with an iced tea and lemon for Alexis and a clear liquid on ice with a slice of lime for Morris. Alexis guessed it was a vodka tonic.
She seemed to recall that Morris had a fondness for vodka.
"Let's be honest," he said and took a sip of his drink. He smacked his lips together before continuing, "Mangrove Island is hardly a hotbed of legal activity, but it's real nice, the kind of law I've had the privilege to practice. Helping local folks with their needs. Sometimes I think I'm part life coach, part lawyer."
"It does sound nice," Alexis agreed and realized with a start that she meant it. After years of inflated egos and unrealistic face time and companies with unlimited funds and the demands to match, Morris's description sounded like legal bliss. "I helped Betsy with an issue recently and it was so gratifying to see how much it meant to her personally. I never get that from my clients."
Morris eyed her carefully and Alexis was quickly reminded of his aptitude for, as her mother put it, 'sussing people out.' "No, I imagine you wouldn't," he agreed.
She swallowed some of her iced tea.
"So how nice does it sound?" He leaned back in his chair now, still assessing her.
"Nice enough to want to do it?"
"Are you offering me a job, Morris?" she asked. "Did my mother put you up to this?"
Morris wagged a finger at her. "We are not talking about your mother right now, although we'll get to the topic of one Tilly MacAdams shortly."
"I've only practiced corporate law, Morris. I don't have a clue how to do what you do. Helping Betsy was easy. It wasn't out of my comfort zone."
"Do you think I came straight here from law school and threw up a shingle? Heck no. I paid my dues in a big Miami firm before I jumped to the island."
"Really?" Alexis couldn't imagine Morris in a big firm environment. No wonder he fled for the smallest island he could find. She was surprised she'd never heard mention of it before.