Lowest on the Totem Pole

Chapter 24

Elsa stared at the phone in her lap, her thumb hovering over the call button. She had typed in the number on Jake Summers's card, hoping to set up a meeting so that she could really get to know him, but her nerves were getting the better of her. Her hands were shaking so badly that she accidentally hit the green button before she was ready. She nearly dropped her phone, bobbling it for a moment before holding it up to her ear.

"Summers Law." Elsa could tell it was Jake's voice, but it was (what she thought to be) uncharacteristically professional. It took her a moment to find her voice.

"Uh, hi, uhm... Dad?" Elsa squeaked, mentally slapping herself for sounding like a helpless child.

"Elsa?" Immediately, the professional tone was gone, replaced by one of concern. "Are you okay? You're not in trouble are you? Do you need help?"

"No, no," Elsa said quickly. "I'm, uhm, just nervous. I'm okay. Sitting in my apartment, safe as can be. I appreciate the concern, though."

Jake heaved a sigh of relief and chuckled. "Claire used to open up phone conversations like that when she was in trouble. I guess I'm just a bit jumpy. What can I do for you, Elsa?"

"I was, uh, I was kind of hoping you'd be free for lunch or something this week. I'd like it if we could, y'know, get to know each other."

"Mm," Jake hummed. Elsa could hear paper rustling in the background. "I'm pretty open this week. I've got court in the mornings, but if one o'clock would work for you, I'm free tomorrow."

"One's great," Elsa said, finally relaxing and settling back down into her couch. "The warehouse I work at opens back up tomorrow, and I start work at three. That gives us a bit of time."

"Awesome! Have you heard of a place called Oaken's Sandwich Shop?" Jake asked.

"And sauna?" Elsa asked, giggling. "Yeah, Anna introduced me to them. It's a nice place, do you want to meet there?"

Jake chuckled. "The Summers family has a weird thing for sandwiches. I'm not surprised that Anna took you there. But hey, sorry, my next client is here for a meeting. Tomorrow, Oaken's, one o'clock?"

"Yessir," Elsa confirmed. "Have a good day at work, Dad, I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, kid." Elsa could hear the smile in is voice and grinned as she ended the call. She put her phone on the coffee table before settling back into the couch with a happy sigh. She picked up the XBox controller that was on the cushion next to her and unpaused her game. She cursed as the interactions started, nearly throwing the controller against a wall. "You left to fight a war, and you come back without levelling up at all? This is bull shit!" Settling back into the couch, yet again, she resorted to grumbling as the game progressed.

"I have a dad," she mused to herself after a few minutes of gameplay. "A real dad."

Elsa sat at a table near the entrance to Oaken's Sandwich Shop, sipping at a hot chocolate and nervously glancing at her phone to check the time. She had shown up early, mostly so that she wouldn't keep Jake waiting. She didn't want to keep him from work for too long.

When the man entered the sandwich shop, Elsa nearly jumped in surprise. It wasn't the sloppy, tired looking man she had met on Christmas; instead he was well-groomed, his hair neatly flattened against his head and his suit without wrinkles. A pair of glasses rested on the bridge of his nose, a neat and professional design. As soon as he saw Elsa, his face lit up with a smile and he waved.

Elsa waved back, rising from her seat to join him at the counter. "You look different," she said after greeting her father. "It's a good different."

Jake chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I much prefer being lazy and messy, but I have to do the best I can for my clients. I don't get taken seriously unless I look like this."

Elsa nodded to show that she understood, and smiled when Oaken met them at the front counter. "Yoohoo, Mr. Summers! Young miss Elsa," the big man said. "What'll it be this time? My tuna salad is particularly nice today!"

"I'll just have my usual," Jake said. "And a cup of coffee, if I could. Elsa?"

Elsa started, not having expected Jake to offer to pay for her meal. "Oh, uh, I - I can get my own, I mean-" She stopped, seeing the look on Jake's face. "I'll give the tuna salad a try," she said. "Thanks, uh, Dad."

Jake reached up to pat Elsa's shoulder, but pulled back when he saw her flinch. His eyes narrowed in thought, but he didn't say anything. After paying for their order, he followed Elsa to her table and sat across from her with his cup of coffee. After a few moments of awkward silence, he cleared his throat.

"So, Elsa," Jake said, "could you tell me a bit about yourself? How are you doing in school? What are your plans for the future?"

Elsa sipped at her hot chocolate before answering. "I'm doing well in school," she said. "I'm a Junior at the University, in the Business Management major. My mother wanted me to take over my step-father's business, but now they have a son together and he will be doing that instead. I'm thankful for that, though, as I didn't want to take over Winters Management anyway. My current plan is to start my own business, though I'm not sure in what yet. Whatever my future holds, though, it will involve Anna and Kristoff."

Jake nodded, taking a sip from his coffee. "Have you talked to Anna about doing something with her passion for cars? If she were to pursue that instead of business management, the two of you could partner up."

"I have thought about that," Elsa said. "I haven't brought it up with Anna yet; it's been a stressful couple of weeks for us. I will soon, though. So how about you? What kind of law do you specialize in?"

"I started out specializing in custody cases, trying to keep what happened to me from happening to anyone else. After a few years of that, and seeing some of the children in those cases, I branched out into sexual assault of children." Jake paused. "Wait, no, that sounded wrong. While I can't do any criminal prosecuting of abusers, I take them to civil court for damages, restraining orders, all that stuff. I do what I can to protect victims from further damage."

Elsa chuckled lightly, looking down at the cup in her hands. "That's ridiculously convenient," she muttered to herself. She looked back up at Jake and smiled. "You're a good man, Dad. Are you married, should I expect to meet a step-mother?"

Jake shook his head. "After you, I buried myself in school and then work. I've dated a few women, but they get sick of my working habits real quick. I would too, if the situation was flipped. I just couldn't justify abandoning my clients. I want so badly to help people, and I don't mind if my personal life takes the hit for that."

Elsa and Jake continued chatting, pausing only to eat their sandwiches after Oaken dropped them off. Elsa slowly realized that even though she had been raised by a different family, there were some things that just ran through Summers blood. When Elsa checked the clock on her phone at two, she took a deep breath and looked Jake square in the eyes.

"Dad, I need your help," she said. "And if you can't help me, hopefully you can point me to someone who can."

"Anything for you, Elsa," Jake said.

Elsa took another deep breath before continuing. "I would like to press charges against my step-father."

A/N: Dun dun DUNNNNNNNN - You guys are going to hate me next chapter. Just so you know. Anyway, Elsa's starting to get to know her father and get comfortable considering him family. Jake is a character that has always kind of existed alongside Claire, but I've never been able to flesh him out. I'm having a lot of fun getting to know his character! He's the self-sacrificing type, so hopefully he won't do anything crazy, but no promises. It's gotten to the point where these guys just kind of do what they want anymore.

Thanks, as always, for reading! I love each and every one of you, even if I don't know your names cause you don't review (cough cough). See you on Thursday!

~Matt