She felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, and turned to see her mother, smiling optimistically.
“It’s almost over,” Dina whispered. “You’ve been so strong, honey.” She hugged her daughter and added, “And ignore those dicks in the weirdly tight pants.”
Heidi laughed openly, and the wolf pack turned to stare her down with narrowed eyes. She didn’t care; her mom was right. It was almost over. And that was a sad thought, but her life couldn’t keep going on as it was.
The judge, a woman in who looked to be her early sixties, banged the gavel.
“Are both parties ready to begin?”
“Yes, your honor,” replied Heidi.
“Yup,” Gary said.
Even in court, he had the arrogant air of entitlement about him. He talked like a guy who already had a win in the bag.
The judge eyed them. “Very well.”
She paused, reviewing a sheaf of notes on her podium.
“I’ll outline the intended proceedings of the court. Each party will have the opportunity to present their case. Parties are herewith to be identified as Ms. Morris, the defendant, and Mr. Hummel, the plaintiff. After the presentation, I will meet with Ms. Morris and Mr. Hummel individually. We will attempt to reach a settlement by the end of the business day, defined as five p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The settlement must be acceptable by both parties. Are there any questions?”
Heidi and Gary shook their heads.
“Very good, then we may—”
In the middle of her sentence, she stopped abruptly. Everyone in the courtroom tilted their heads and furrowed their brows. Was that—? Yes. The distinct sound of running footsteps, a muffled shout.
The judge turned sharply to a nearby security guard.
“Ralph,” she said calmly, “can you please go investigate?”
The man nodded and began bumbling towards the exit. Just then, the door swung open, and in its frame stood a breathless Bradley Fox.
For only a moment, he locked eyes with Heidi. She gripped her stomach, and thinking she might faint, sat down on the bench behind her. A tall desk loomed in front of her, throwing shade on her belly and obscuring it from sight.
Could it be? she thought wildly. Is he really here, in the flesh?
But she knew this wasn’t a dream—it was reality. And so far, it looked like it might be a good one.
“Bradley,” she said in an even voice, “what are you doing here?”
“Yes,” interrupted the judge, obviously displeased at the lack of decorum in her court. “What are you doing here, Mr. Fox?”
Bradley was about to open his mouth when she continued.
“Never mind. Don’t tell me. Just exit my courtroom quietly, and I won’t have you arrested for disruption of the peace.”
He’d arrived with a flurry of security on his tail, probably trying to stop him from running through a federal building like a mad man. One brave soul attempted to hand-cuff him, then, taking another look at Bradley’s towering frame, thought better of it. Bradley remained firmly planted.
“Bailiff,” the judge began, voice dripping with annoyance. “Mr. Fox doesn’t appear to be moving anywhere. Please show him out.”
The bailiff, as intimidated as the rest of the guards, moved cautiously towards Bradley. Bradley held up one large hand, indicating that he had better stop. The bailiff halted and swiveled his head to shoot a pleading look at the judge, as if to say, ‘Please don’t make me fight the best athlete in the country.’
“I have new evidence, your honor,” Bradley said with a polite restraint. He tried to look her full in the face, but couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off Heidi. “It’s relevant to the impending settlement.”
The judge sighed. “Mr. Fox, I’m kindly asking you to—”
“No,” Bradley interrupted. “Not until I say my piece.”
She threw up her hands. “Fine. Say what you will, but make it quick.”
Bradley took a breath, and walked to the front of the room so that he could address her and both parties. Heidi felt her heart going a mile a minute, and was glad she’d taken a seat.
“I’d like to take the court back to a few months ago,” he said. “I was wondering how Heidi—Ms. Morris—was doing. I felt badly about how I had left things between us, and I wanted to make it right.”
He averted his eyes in shame. Heidi’s heart leapt higher into her throat.
“So, against the advice of my lawyers, I began trying to contact her. No such luck. I tried social media, the telephone company, her old apartment, everything. I exhausted one resource after another. I began to wonder if she had simply dropped off the face of the Earth, and barely resisted the urge to hire a private eye. Don’t wanna look too crazy,” he added with a wink.
“But then, then I started to wonder. This all felt…wrong. I was reevaluating the circumstances, and decided that it might be prudent to investigate the catalyst for these proceedings. In other words, I went back to the tape.”
He didn’t need to explain what he meant by the tape. Everyone in the room was well-acquainted with the precipitating incident. Heidi guessed that about half of them had been forced to watch it to prep for the case, and the other half…well, the other half had probably watched it for fun.
“Upon watching it for the first time, I noticed something odd. The girl in the video didn’t seem aware that there was a camera. Never once did she look in the direction of the filming device either to turn it on or to make sure that it was still taping. This gave me what I can only call a hunch, so I followed up on it.
“I went to my bedroom, where the tape was filmed, and using pictures of the camera angles from the film, I figured out which wall it would’ve been mounted on. It was my bookshelf, which is bursting with stacks of graphic novels, mostly. The perfect place to hide a small recording device.
“I began to take each book out, one by one, until I was two-thirds of the way down the shelf. I pulled out one large hardcover, and thought it looked unfamiliar. I opened it, and found that it was hollowed out, and that there was a camera in the middle. A hole had been drilled in the spine through which the camera could record.”
He reached into his back pocket, pulled out a tiny camera, and held it up for the room to see. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Bradley placed the device on the judge’s stand.
“I’d like to enter this into evidence. I found this camera, in my room, hidden inside of a book. The camera, as I soon discovered, had wireless capabilities. It also remembered Wi-Fi networks it had previously been on, and there was only one network besides my own that it had utilized. The network was entitled ‘PartyHouzz134.’”
Heidi heard a sucking in of breath from somewhere in the room, and looked in the direction of Gary’s legal team. Bradley continued, unperturbed.
“That’s the personal Wi-Fi hotspot in my agent Todd’s office.”
The entire court room gasped, Heidi included.
“Meaning,” Bradley continued, “that the camera must belong to Todd.”
He paused again, letting the drama radiate throughout the room. People on Gary’s legal team began whispering frantically to one another.
“Well,” the judge said. “What are you implying?”
“Nothing. Yet. First, I thought that it was impossible. Todd? One of my oldest associates, who’s known me since I was in college? Couldn’t be. But I knew in my heart that I had to follow up on the lead. I called a friend of a friend at Image-ine. I explained to them what I’d discovered, and they were willing to help.”
Heidi surmised that he must be referring to Meredith. Though that also meant, by extension, that he considered Heidi a friend. Really? This man who—only months ago—had said he never wanted to see her again?
“My insider recalled an old piece of office news, something she hadn’t thought was particularly relevant. Apparently, Gary had helped Todd quietly manage a scandal of his own a few years back, free of charge, with the understanding
that it was a tit-for-tat deal, to be redeemed at a later date. In other words, Todd owed Gary a favor. And that’s when I put it together.
“Todd set me up. That’s why the camera was there; that’s why the woman in the video didn’t try to blackmail me for it. Because Todd orchestrated the whole thing. He was supposed to make good on his and Gary’s deal. Todd would instigate a huge scandal for the wealthiest football player in the state, and Image-ine, under Gary’s lead, would swoop in to ‘help’ me. In the process, he stood to make millions, and bolster the reputation of his firm.”
Everything hung in the balance. Bradley slowly approached the judge’s bench, and pointed at the camera.
“I’d like to show you the final piece of evidence, if I may.”
The judge nodded, as entranced as the rest of them.
“Please open the camera menu and scroll to settings. Click ‘share media’, and then the first ‘outbox’ item you see there.”
The judge followed his instructions, moving slowly and carefully, unfamiliar with the technology.
“Could you please read what it says?”
The judge nodded, and replied, “It just says, ‘You’re welcome. We got him.'”
“And who is that addressed to?”
“Some random number—448-903-7383.”
While she was speaking, Bradley had taken his phone out of his suit coat, and dialed the numbers that she read aloud. Just as she finished, a cellphone rang from somewhere in the room. It rang several more times, until Bradley strode directly up to Gary, and while maintaining full eye contact with the man, reached into Gary’s pocket and took out the ringing phone.
A modern-day smoking gun.
The room was silent. Bradley stepped back from Gary and turned to Heidi. Her mouth fell open as they held each other’s gazes. He had saved her. After all this time, just when she’d thought she was alone in this world, as good as doomed—he had returned, and given her new hope.
The judge spoke at last.
“In light,” she said, “of this new evidence…”
Her words hung in the air, as everyone waited for the verbal rollercoaster to go over the edge.
“In light of this,” she continued, “I announce that the case is being thrown out.” The room erupted in cries. “Case dismissed.”
“This is fucking bullshit!” screamed Gary, growing red in the face.
His army of frat lawyers nodded furiously, but did nothing. Turns out they, as Heidi had suspected, were useless.
From her seat, Heidi lazily called to the other end of the room, “Thanks for everything, Gary. And give your ex-wife my regards.” She shot him a huge grin.
He began to shout incoherently, while Todd approached Bradley, apparently in the hopes of some reconciliation.
Bradley narrowed his eyes, and Todd backed away, knowing this was a fight he couldn’t win. Todd moved to one side of the courtroom and punched the wall.
“All right,” the judge roared, seeing Todd’s rage. “We’re done here. Guards, please escort the plaintiffs and their team out. If they give you any trouble, feel free to use handcuffs.”
“Fuck you,” Gary yelled.
“I’ll see you back here in 30 days, Mr. Hummel,” she shot back. “For contempt of court.”
The retinue of Gary, Todd, and their lawyers were roughly led out by the slew of guards, who seemed more than happy to manhandle them. Not to mention, all of them had recognized Bradley, and their eyes had gone saucer-like with hero-worship. Bad idea to cross America’s real-life superhero. The judge followed the unhappy fray out of the room.
Still dazed, Heidi thanked her lawyers for their support and said they were free to go. She turned back to her parents, who were waiting in the public pews.
“I love you guys,” she said softly.
“We’re so happy for you, honey,” her dad replied. Her mom nodded and smiled.
Heidi indicated Bradley with her chin, and her mom, always the one to pick up on social cues, got the hint.
“Er, Tom,” she said. “I think we best clear out of the room.”
“But our little girl just won—”
“Tom,” she repeated, gesturing unsubtly in Bradley’s direction. Tom’s lips formed a surprised ‘O.’
“Yup, yeah, let’s get out of here,” he said clumsily.
With more smiles, her parents hugged her goodbye and left the room, both of them giving Bradley a once-over as they passed by. Even though he’d essentially just saved her life, her parents were still protective.
Bradley hadn’t budged in the last few minutes; he’d remained with his eyes locked on her the whole time.
At last, they were alone. Bradley was the first to break the silence.
“Heidi,” he breathed.
She struggled up from her seat and watched as his eyes widened in shock.
“You’re, you’re…” He stumbled over the words.
“Pregnant.”
Heidi walked towards him, her white dress floating behind her, looking for all the world like a Greek goddess. Bradley looked her up and down, eyes wide, and lips struggling to form a question.
“Is it…” He paused and gulped.
“Yes,” she said with a nod. “It’s yours. Sorry, I mean he is yours.”
She saw a tear leave Bradley’s eye and trace down his cheek. Tentatively, she walked closer to him, until they were only a few feet apart, her stomach accentuating the little space between them.
“Are those happy tears?” she asked nervously.
He laughed.
“Are you kidding? Of course they are,” he said. “Heidi I…I couldn’t be any happier.”
Emotions flooded through her, as she thought with relief that this was exactly what she had wanted—this recognition, this mutual joy.
“I thought about contacting you,” she said hurriedly. “Only I didn’t want to make the lawsuit any tougher; my lawyers were already telling me not to—well, and I thought you didn’t want to see me, and—”
“No, Heidi,” he interjected gruffly. “This is my fault, and my fault alone. I should never have believed them.”
He hesitated and closed the remaining distance between them, until his abs were lightly touching the sheer fabric across her round belly.
He continued, “All I want—maybe all I’ve really wanted, ever—is you. Just you. And your forgiveness. And, wow, our baby.”
“Oh, God,” she sobbed, “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too,” he whispered, and pulled her into an embrace that was more than just an embrace—it was a reconciliation, a show of true love.
Heidi wanted to stay in his arms forever, thinking, This is where I belong.
But she had to pull back suddenly, because a resounding pang had just shot through her stomach. She doubled over, wincing.
Anxious, Bradley asked, “What is it? What’s wrong?”
Heidi let out two quick pants, and then looked at the ground. There was a pool of water between her legs.
“Bradley,” she gasped. “I think I’m in labor.”
Chapter 20
Heidi
Heidi faltered, swayed, and fell into Bradley’s arms. He caught her smoothly, and sat her back down on the bench.
“I’m calling an ambulance,” he said frantically, reaching for his phone.
“Don’t be silly,” she replied with some effort. “There’s a plan for this, and it does not involve an ambulance ride. My parents are in the lobby; take me to them.”
He nodded and followed the instructions. Apparently, Mr. Big and Brave got a little meeker in the presence of a woman delivering a child.
Heidi insisted that he let her walk, but he wrapped his arm under her armpit and around her with such vigor and insistence that he was nearly carrying her.
With uneven steps, they at last arrived in the lobby, where Tom and Dina stood waiting. Dina took one look at Heidi and understood.
“Tom,” she said calmly, “pull the car around front.
”
“But it’s parked three lots over—”
“Our daughter is in labor.”
Tom’s eyes went wide with recognition. “Oh.”
Poor Dad, Heidi thought. Always a little late to the game.
“Dad, it’s okay. Bradley’s driver is right down the steps; I’m gonna have him take me. I don’t think we have enough time to get your car.”
Dina looked at Bradley long and hard with scathing eyes. It was clear that she wasn’t quite ready to forgive him for the months of pain he’d inflicted on her daughter. If Bradley wanted to stick around, he’d have to work his way back into her good graces.
“I’ve already texted my driver,” Bradley offered. “I can get her to the nearest hospital in under five minutes.”
Slowly, using precious time, Dina nodded, and in doing so took the first step on the road to forgiveness.
“All right,” Dina said cautiously. “But you’d better keep her safe.”
“I swear to God, I will.”
Heidi stepped in, anxious to speed up the process.
“Mom, Bradley—if I’m gonna have this baby in a hospital, we need to move. Now,” she hissed as a contraction ripped through her abdomen.
There was a chorus of ‘yes, okay!’ and then Tom and Dina jogged out to their car, and Bradley and Heidi to his.
Sure enough, the driver was waiting as close to the curb as he could get. Soft meditation music was already flowing through the car speakers; Bradley had thought of everything.
Bradley climbed in the back, then helped pull Heidi in alongside him. He put her hand in his, and instructed her to squeeze every time it hurt. For a guy that, less than two hours ago, didn’t know he had a kid on the way, he was doing this whole delivery thing remarkably well.
Fatherhood suits him, Heidi mused happily.
She squeezed his hand, but not for the pain. In fact, he seemed to be the only anesthetic that she needed.
Bradley’s presence was slowly but surely healing the emotional scrapes and bruises of so many months. The longer he sat by her side, and whispered words of encouragement, the more she knew he would stay there. Maybe forever. His murmuring became rhythmic, calming.
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