As soon as the thought crosses my mind, I squash it down.
I can’t think like that. The minute I start thinking of myself as guilty is the minute I start dying a slow, painful death.
With a deep breath, I make my decision. I’m fighting. It doesn’t matter who else is in the line of fire, as long as I have a chance to clear my name. I’m going to face this head-on. Fuck the consequences, fuck the risks, fuck everything. The alternative is laying down and giving up.
I can’t do that.
Maybe it makes me the selfish bastard that Stella thinks I am, but I don’t care. I’m fighting this thing to the bitter end. Governor Hardy can shove his indefinite leave of absence up his generous ass.
On Monday morning, I head over to the lawyers’ offices. Theresa is there to greet me and leads me to the same conference room where we had our first meeting. Stella isn’t far behind. She glances at me, her cheeks reddening. She’s clutching a notepad to her chest, and nods to Theresa. A paralegal and a junior lawyer follow them in.
Theresa clears her throat. “Thanks for coming in, Mr. Mayor. I have some good news.”
“Oh?” My ears perk up. Theresa nods to Stella.
Stella smiles at me and looks at her notepad. “I found a few inconsistencies in the original tender documents, and I think we can argue that Hansen Constructions were awarded the job first of all on merit, since they were the least expensive, and second of all without your knowledge or influence. Your name is nowhere in these documents. If we can argue that, then the campaign donations become irrelevant.”
Theresa nods. “I’ll be honest, Mr. Mayor, it’s thin. It’s not enough to win in open court, but it could be enough to strike a deal with the DA. If he thinks we’re building a convincing case, we could settle this quickly and quietly.”
“Settle out of court?” I adjust my tie and swallow. That doesn’t sound like clearing my name. It doesn’t sound like facing things head-on.
Theresa nods. “Yes. Stella and I will present this to the DA in a couple hours, and we’ll come back to you with what he says. In my experience, he’ll be willing to drop the corruption charges if you agree to resign.”
“I’ll be acquitted?”
“The case will be dropped.”
“But my name won’t be cleared.”
“Well, no,” Stella says. She frowns at me and glances at Theresa. “Mr. Mayor, with all due respect, the chances of you being acquitted in this type of case—”
“No.” I shake my head. “I want to fight this.”
“Mr. Mayor,” Theresa says, splaying her hands on the table between us. “You have to understand that if we take this to court, you will almost certainly lose. There are no lawyers in the country that will be able to convince a jury that you are innocent.”
“Almost certainly,” I repeat.
Theresa raises her eyebrows. “Excuse me?”
“You said I would ‘almost certainly lose’. That means it’s not certain.”
“Well, I—”
“I’m not going to run away from this!” My pulse is thudding through my veins. Theresa takes a deep breath, but it’s Stella who interjects.
“Mr. Mayor, the consequences will be far-reaching. It’s not just you that will be impacted, it’s your entire team.” And my sister, her eyes plead. I know what she’s saying, but I can’t give in. I can’t sacrifice everything for her.
I look away from her and harden my heart. I shake my head. “I don’t want to do that. I want to be acquitted.” Theresa opens her mouth to say something, but I silence her by standing up. “The answer is no.”
I don’t take another breath until I’m out of the building. I feel exhilarated and confused and angry and afraid. I feel like I’ve stood up for myself and maybe made a big mistake.
It’s not until I’m nearly at my car that I hear Stella calling my name. Her heels clack on the pavement as she jogs toward me, her dark blonde hair streaming out behind her.
“Adrian! Wait!”
15
Stella
“What are you doing?” I’m breathless when I get to him, and I make a mental note to do more cardio. “What was that about?”
“What was what about?’ His eyes are cold.
I frown, shaking my head. “You’ll ruin your life, Adrian. And you’ll ruin Ashley’s and your brother’s in the process.” And mine.
“I don’t give a fuck about my brother.”
It feels like a punch in the gut. I hear the unsaid words: I don’t give a fuck about your sister, either. I look at this man—the man I thought I’d judged wrongly—and I know that he’s exactly who I thought he was. Selfish, arrogant, conceited.
I’ve been so stupid.
With a deep breath, I take a step toward him. “Adrian, this is your best shot. You will not win in open court.”
“Well, maybe I need a new lawyer.”
“Maybe you do. That would solve a lot of problems for me.” Fire ignites in my heart as the anger rips through my body. My hands tremble, and I grip my notebook tighter. His eyes are cold. He shakes his head.
“You don’t get it.”
“I don’t get it? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“You don’t know what it’s like.”
“Oh boo-fucking-hoo, Adrian. Little rich boy doesn’t get to play politics anymore. Do you realize what you’re doing? You’re ruining people’s lives. You’re ruining your reputation. You’re putting your entire future at risk. For what? For the newspapers to say ‘acquitted’ instead of ‘charges dropped’? Here’s a newsflash for you: no one will remember your name in six months’ time. No, scratch that—six weeks’ time.”
He shakes his head.
I snort. “Don’t believe me? You’re not as fucking special as you think you are.”
“That’s not what you thought last night.”
I stare at him as he wrinkles his nose, his face twisted into a bitter snarl. I shake my head and sigh. “No, but last night, I was a fool.”
I turn around and walk away from him. Every step strengthens my resolve, until I find myself walking through Theresa’s office door. Theresa looks up at me with an arched eyebrow.
“I won’t work this case. If you want to fire me over it, that’s fine, but I will not work with that man.”
Theresa looks at me in shock. “What? Because of that meeting?”
“Because my sister is distraught. Because my family is being torn apart for that selfish, arrogant bastard. Because defending him will do nothing for my career. I won’t do it. I’ll clear my desk and be out of here this afternoon.”
“Stella, wait.” Theresa stands up as I reach the door. I turn around, my lip trembling. I can hardly contain my tears. She comes around her desk and puts her hands on my upper arms.
“I’m not going to fire you. Take the day off. I’ll get Michael to pick up the case—he has some relevant experience. Just do a handover and the case will be off your desk.”
My eyes widen. “You mean it?”
“I’m not going to lose a good lawyer over a prick like Adrian Maguire.”
I snort-laugh as a tear falls out of my eye. Theresa sighs and hands me a tissue. “Come on. I’ve never seen you cry, and I never would have guessed that it would be over a man like that.”
“It’s just such a mess,” I say as I dab my eyes. “A total mess.”
“Go to your sister.” She squeezes my arms again and then turns back to walk to her desk. I slip out of her office and take a deep breath. I grab my purse from my office and head for the elevators.
When I get to Ashley’s house, I can hear the television blaring. I take a deep breath and knock on the door. Shifting my weight from foot to foot, I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. I hear footsteps on the other side of the door and my heart skips a beat.
There’s a pause, and the peephole goes dark. I try to keep my face steady, but I know my sister is looking at me. The door swings open. She’s got her hands on her belly, as if she’s p
rotecting her unborn child from me.
“What do you want? I told you to give me some space, Stella.”
“I dropped the case. I’m so sorry.”
Ashley stares at me for a second, and then dips her chin down as she opens the door wider and lets me in. I kick my shoes off and follow her over to the kitchen. I help myself to a glass of water and we sit in silence at the kitchen table.
“I’ve missed having you over at my place in the evenings,” I say. “I didn’t think I would.”
Ashley’s mouth purses. Her eyes are watering and she looks away from me. Last time I saw her, she was storming through my front door, yelling obscenities at me and calling me a terrible person for taking the case.
And she was right.
So now, it’s time for me to make amends.
She chews her lip. “So you’re not working the case anymore?”
I shake my head.
“Why did you take it in the first place?” She frowns, tears misting in her eyes. I hurt her so much by agreeing to work that stupid case, and now I don’t know how long it’ll take to win her trust back.
I shake my head. “I don’t know. I thought I had to. Theresa threatened my job, and I… I don’t know. I was afraid.” And attracted to the man that almost ruined your life.
Ashley takes a deep, shuddering breath. She nods. “Okay. I get that, I guess.”
She takes another deep breath and glances at me. “Did you at least tell Adrian Maguire that he’s an asshole?”
“Multiple times.”
She laughs. “Well then I guess I’m okay with it. At least one of us got to do it.” As a smile tugs at her lips and she nods at me, I know she’s already forgiven me.
My heart squeezes—I’ll take that kiss with Adrian to my grave. My sister asks me to stay for dinner, and we move on as if nothing had come between us at all. At the back of my mind, I know that I haven’t been completely honest with her.
I like Adrian. That in itself feels like a betrayal. But if I have to choose between him and my sister, I’ll choose my sister every time. He showed me who he really was when he refused to settle this case. He showed that he doesn’t care about anyone but himself, that he’d rather ruin other people’s lives for a chance at a fleeting, forgettable acquittal.
Pretty soon he’ll realize that even if the courts decide he’s innocent, the public has already convicted him.
16
Adrian
The next time I’m at the lawyer’s office, Stella isn’t in her usual seat. Instead, there’s a man about my age sitting across from me.
“This is Michael Gregory. He’s taking over from Stella. So, we’ve moved forward with the items we talked about last week. First—”
“Why isn’t Stella working on this anymore? I thought you said she was the best in the state.”
“Michael is more than capable of handling this type of case.”
Words stick in my throat. I glance at Michael. “No disrespect, buddy, but I don’t know you. I trust Stella. I want her on my team.”
“Well, buddy,” Michael says in a measured voice. “Unfortunately, in this particular case, you’re stuck with me.”
“So,” Theresa says, taking control of the meeting again. “Let’s move on.”
I try to focus, but my eyes keep drifting back to the seat where Stella usually sat. Last time I saw her, I thought she’d come around. I thought she’d understand that this is important to me—that my name is everything. She was mad, sure, but she’ll get over it. I have to fight this!
Doubt creeps into my heart. I try to quash it, but it wriggles its way through my chest until I start thinking that maybe Stella is right. Maybe this is too far, too selfish even for me. Risking everything to save my name is one thing, but I’m putting a lot of other people at risk, too.
Cheryl will go down with me; her career will be over. Depending on what Ashley says in her deposition, her past could come back to bite her, too. If Ashley goes down, Stella will be right there with her.
“Does that sound reasonable to you, Mr. Mayor?” Theresa looks at me, her eyebrows drawing together. Her hair is pulled back in a tight bun, and her eyes drill into me. She’s a terrifying woman.
I nod. “Sounds good.”
I have no idea what I just agreed to, but I’m not going to ask her to repeat herself. Through the conference room’s glass walls, I see Stella’s office door open. She’s carrying a coffee mug and heading across the office. Her hips sway from side to side as she walks. She flicks a strand of hair over her shoulder and turns a corner.
My heart squeezes.
What have I done?
I got carried away. The one woman who was fighting for me, who was in my corner and who cared about the outcome—now she wants nothing to do with me. Now I’m stuck in a room full of lawyers that despise me and don’t believe I can win.
Stella chose her sister’s side. I get it, obviously. She hardly knows me. I can’t expect her to choose me over her sister, especially considering what happened before the election last year.
And yet, it stings. It stings a lot more than I expected.
It’s one more door being slammed on my face. One more back being turned on me. One more person telling me I’m not worth fighting for. It’s one more bullet in the armor I’ve so carefully crafted over the years.
Soon, I’ll have no-one. I wouldn’t be surprised if my parents disowned me next.
Theresa shuffles her papers and extends her hand. “We’ll see you on Friday, Mr. Mayor.”
“Call me Adrian, please.” We shake, and I swallow past a lump in my throat. Dread seeps into my spirit and I glance around the room at the team of lawyers that don’t give a damn about me.
“Well, Mr. Mayor, you might not be the mayor for much longer, so you might as well enjoy the title for now.” She arches an eyebrow and I stare at her, mouth hanging open.
Even the lead lawyer on my case doesn’t believe I can win. The team files out of the conference room, and I follow them. Theresa nods to me, and I make my way to the elevators. Halfway there, I turn toward the hallway where Stella disappeared.
She’s walking back, staring at her phone. Feeling my gaze on her, she looks up. Her face hardens, she blinks and looks away. I stop walking and she ignores me.
She’s going to walk right by me as if I don’t exist.
“Stella,” I say.
She doesn’t break her stride.
“Stella.”
Her eyes don’t move in my direction.
“Stella!”
“What?” She stops a couple feet away from me. Her eyes blazing and her hands are trembling as she clenches and unclenches them. A vein in her neck is pumping.
It’s turning me on. I know it’s wrong. I know I should feel something other than lust right now, but this woman is so fucking irresistible that I don’t know what to do with myself. She arches her eyebrows, her face full of contempt, and I like her even more.
She’s so real. She doesn’t pretend, she doesn’t call me some bullshit title, she doesn’t give me the time of day if she doesn’t think it’s worth it. She dropped the biggest case this city has ever seen on principle.
As much as I hate it, I respect that. She’s strong—stronger than I am.
“I’m sorry,” I start.
She snorts. “No you’re not. Excuse me.”
Brushing past me, she sways her perfect hips all the way back to her office. My cock throbs as her door slams and I let out a breath. Dragging my feet along the marble floors, I make my way to the elevator and back to my car. When I get behind the driver’s seat, my phone dings.
Barry: Need to see you. Usual place.
Adrian: Give me 30 mins.
I take a deep breath and lean back on my headrest. I’m hungry, I’m horny, and I’m worried about my future and my career. I know that when Barry asks to see me in private, it’s never good. With a deep breath, I turn the ignition and start driving down the road.
The doubt tha
t assailed me in the conference room comes back. It feels like it isn’t worth it. All this—fighting to clear my name when I know I’ve done something wrong. Losing contact with my brother, having every relationship I’ve ever had crash and burn… what’s the point?
I stop at a red light and watch a young family cross the road in front of me. It’s a Tuesday morning, and young parents with their baby are walking toward a nearby park. The woman is laughing and the man slides his arm around her waist as she pushes the stroller.
They look happy. They don’t have political ambitions, or huge, looming, life-destroying corruption cases hanging over their heads. They’ve chosen a simple life—a life that once made me turn my nose up. Now, I’m not so sure. They make it across the road and the man leans over to kiss the woman.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see some movement coming out of Stella’s office building. I can’t take my eyes away from the doorway when she walks through. She smiles when she sees the young couple, giving the woman a hug and then kissing the man’s cheek. She leans over the kid and all of them smile.
In my car, I feel like I’m intruding on an intimate moment. I feel so cut off from them, so fucking isolated that it makes my chest hurt.
Then, the cars behind me start honking. I jump, taking my foot off the brake pedal. Stella looks up at the noise and sees me staring at her. Her face drops and she straightens up, shooting daggers at me until I drive away.
17
Stella
“What was that about?” Nicole frowns at me as I stare at the disappearing car. My heart is still thumping. No matter where I go, he’s there. I can’t get away from him—at work, in the street, everywhere.
I just want it to be over. I don’t want to see his face on the news or to hear about the case at work. I don’t want to talk to my sister about it or see memes on the internet about him.
I want to forget that he ever existed.
“What was what about?” I try to act nonchalant, avoiding Nicole’s stare.
Love/Hate: The Complete Enemies to Lovers Series Page 42