by Alice Ward
“What’s getting worse? Did the SEC investigation get wrapped up or is something else going on?” He shifted a little in his seat.
Paranoia rose up the center of my chest and threatened to choke me out, but I pushed it back down. After Celia turned on me, my ability to trust anyone was quickly diminishing, even if I was officially the bad guy.
“Yeah. They’re pressing charges against me and the firm. You need to pull out now so that you’re not dragged through the mud with everything. The trial will be quick from what I understand.” I pursed my lips, trying to decide if I should come clean with the man sitting across from me. I’d trusted him with everything related to my business for the last fifteen years. Why would this be any different?
“Shit, Zek.” He moved to the edge of his chair. “That’s horrible news.”
“I know. I’m just going to take it day by day, and work with them to see if I can’t come up with a way to lessen the impact of what might be coming.” I shrugged, trying to appear casual and unconcerned. There was no way I was letting anyone see just how internally fucked up I was. It was hard to breathe when I thought about spending any of my time behind bars, but that was for me to struggle through alone.
“What can I do?” His earnest care urged me to be honest with him, but I couldn’t.
“Nothing. Just draft up the partnership dissolution papers based on our original agreement. There is a clause regarding insolvency and death. Utilize some of that verbiage, and let’s split the value of the firm so that your half is protected. Mine won’t be.”
“What? No. That’s bullshit. I’m not leaving you high and dry. It’s not happening.” He pressed his hands to his knees and leaned forward, staring at me with the same look he had every time he wasn’t willing to budge.
“Draft the agreement, Jeffery. Please. That’s what you can do for me.” I picked up my phone and glanced down as the news feeds with the Jessup trading scandal popped up. The SEC had made their statement to the press and it looked like I was only one of the guys Dane hit up and then served up to the authorities.
Little bastard. He better hope I don’t see him in a dark alley somewhere.
“Did you do it?” Jeffery stood up and pushed a hand through his hair. “I mean, it doesn’t matter if you did. I know you, and if you did do it, you just made a mistake. I’ve spent my career here with you because of the man you are. This one thing doesn’t change that.”
I forced back the wave of emotion that hit me moments before in the car. I nodded and stood, extending my hand. “I’m sorry for all of this. Honestly, I am. I would take it all back in a heartbeat if I could.”
He grasped my hand tightly and nodded. “Well, you can’t, but it’s okay. People mess up. All of us. We’ll fix it. Just keep me involved in helping you do anything you need me to do. I’m not splitting the partnership. If you go down, I’ll be beside you. We’ll rebuild when everything is settled. Got it?”
I nodded, unable to speak.
He turned and walked out of my office, closing my door as I bent over and pressed my hands to my face as tight as I could. I didn’t deserve his loyalty, and yet he wasn’t willing to retract it. There was no strength left in me to push him to do as I said and protect himself. Weakness reared its ugly head, and I let him go, let him cling to me even though I knew I was dropping down into a dark hole that wouldn’t grant me freedom for a while.
I took a shaky breath and walked to my filing cabinet, working to pull out the various documents the SEC would request be part of the case file. Alisa would want to walk through the details of every part of what happened with Dane too.
“If she’s still taking the case.” My voice was broken, soft and shot another arrow of despair through me. I almost wanted to tell her to deny me representation so that I could break apart in front of a stranger. Knowing that it would most likely be her beside me as the verdict was read, and my guilt proclaimed was too much. Too painful.
I pulled out my phone and texted her that I was at the office pulling out files. She didn’t respond, which didn’t surprise me much. She needed space, room to think and breathe, or at least those were her parting remarks from the night before.
I’d have given just about anything for one more night in her arms before the news came through. I was a bastard for pushing her toward a relationship when I knew her ethics pulled her back continuously. I needed to back off and let everything settle before trying to force my desires onto her again. It was easier said than done. The minute I got around her, my body woke up, my heart beat faster. She’d awoken the parts of me that made me want to promise her forever if it meant us being together. Even if I couldn’t come through on the promise.
I’d been focused on the wrong things for the last twenty years of my life. I had no clue if I would be able to shift my desires and dreams once everything blew over, but I knew for sure that if Alisa was willing to give us a try, that I was just greedy enough to ask her to be mine. If that meant stepping back for the time being in hopes of a future together, then I would do it. If she wanted nothing to do with me, I would figure out how to respect that as well.
I dropped the files on my desk and sat down to pull up the news feeds over the investigation on Jessup. Sickness rolled through me as a scrolled through the names on the list. Dane had been a busy boy. Funny enough... his name wasn’t anywhere.
“Now... why is that?”
CHAPTER TWO
Alisa
Indecision wrecked my insides the morning after leaving Zek. He needed me there with him, to offer comfort, and yet in the face of fear... I’d left. I left like he’d left all those years before. He had done the right thing back then, but had I last night? It sure as hell didn’t feel like it.
My suit was pressed and hair in a tight bun as I headed into the office that morning. I thought about texting him a million times throughout the long, sleepless night, but I didn’t. We needed our space until the trial with the federal government was over. He wouldn’t find a better attorney for the type of charges facing him. I was a business lawyer, and where the rape case was a little out of my league, the insider trading case was my bread and butter.
Having spent half of my time in college studying finance and the rest pushing through the plethora of law and business classes, I understood the ins and outs of what we were up against. The only problem was that I was fighting against the truth. Justice always seemed to have her say in some way or another. Zek wasn’t likely to come out of the trial unscathed.
I smiled at the girl at the receptionist desk in the office as I cursed myself internally for not remembering her name. With only so much space in my head for all the rules and laws I had tucked away, names usually found no place in my memory.
The conference room was already filled with our four partners and Lizzy by the time I darkened the door. There was a tray of pastries in the center of the table, and the smell of coffee helped me to relax just a little.
Clapping and shouts of congratulations filled the air as I stepped into the room. I stopped short, a little surprised by their excitement. Did they not know about Zek’s new situation?
“Congratulations, Alisa. Great job on the Kellington Mills case. Your first large case here at Dellup and Brown and you knock it out of the park.” Lizzy moved up beside me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, surprising me yet again.
“Thanks. I appreciate the support.” I smiled warmly at her and let my thoughts of the future fade away as I focused on the moment. I needed a pick me up. The man I’d fallen in love with as a girl, and obviously not gotten over, was facing jail time, and I was all that stood between him and that verdict. I’d fought for criminals most of my young career, but seeing Zek in that light changed something inside of me. I wasn’t sure if it was for the better or worse just yet.
“We’re all very impressed, Alisa. Come have breakfast with us and let’s debrief together. We usually do this as part of our standard operating procedures.” Ronnie Dellup gave me a tight smile
and nodded to the seat beside him. “Come sit and tell us how Mr. Kellington is doing. He must be on cloud nine.”
“We need to talk about how we’re going to help get his name back on the up and up. You know the press slaughtered him without the proper information to do so.” Lizzy released me and took her seat, her voice filled with barely kept anger.
“Agreed.” Ronnie lifted his coffee to his lips and leaned back. “Don’t be shy.”
I chuckled and unbuttoned my jacket before sitting down next to him. “I’m not sure I’ve ever been called shy.”
They all joined in a quick laugh as I worked to get a pastry and cup of coffee in front of me. I needed to tread carefully on the situation with Zek. I might be willing to tell Lizzy the full deal, but everyone else in the room? Not a chance. I didn’t know these old guys at all, and after watching Jon Mills’ mask come off, I wasn’t in the mood to discover anymore character flaws in those around me. Jon had been a pillar of the community and one of the top defense lawyers in the state. Him being a greedy old bastard and working with his daughter to exploit her sexually for financial gain was sickening. That hadn’t come out during the trial itself, but I had no doubt as to his involvement.
“So talk to us. Have you spoken with Mr. Kellington this morning?” One of the other partners stole me from my thoughts with his question.
“No, but I’ll be meeting with him later today.” I let out a breath I hadn’t realized was lodged in my lungs. “He received bad news last night, unfortunately, so the win was quite short lived.”
Lizzy paled as she leaned toward the table, her eyes on me. “What bad news?”
I was a little taken aback that Zek hadn’t reached out to her, but I knew why. He was guilty, and involving anyone in the case would only ask them to do something that Zek wished he hadn’t done himself — bend their ethics.
“The lead agent in the securities matter left a message that they had wrapped up their investigation and would be pressing charges against not only Zek, but Kellington Investments as well.” I picked up my pastry, but hesitated in taking a bite. I figured I would be peppered with questions, but the room grew silent, almost eerily so.
I ate half of the sugary treat before Lizzy spoke. “Wow. I saw all of the other charges coming across CNN this morning. It’s the latest news. I didn’t see Zek’s name on the broadcast, but maybe I just missed it.”
“I haven’t watched it, but it will be quite a battle. We need to dig into what happened, and how Mr. Kellington was implicated by all of it.” I finished my breakfast, trying with all of my might to keep a calm facade locked into place. No one in the room needed to understand just how much I was connected to Zek, not even him, and especially not his sister-in-law.
“Have you spoken to him about his involvement?” Ronnie asked as he stood and pressed his hands to the table in front of him.
“No, but I would assume that he wasn’t involved in it. Zek is an upstanding man, but we have an uphill battle whether he is or not.” I glanced down toward Lizzy, wondering if she knew any different. Had he told her?
“I agree with Alisa. Even though his name was cleared in the rape charges, you guys know as well as I do that the next jury will be wondering if this guy’s just getting away with stuff and being let off the hook. To have two criminal trials for two very different matters in the same quarter, hell, the same decade is really bad. We might need to pull in additional help for Alisa.”
“It depends on who you’re offering.” I picked up my coffee and sat back. I should have been slightly intimidated by the level of knowledge and wisdom in the room, but I wasn’t. I was comforted by it. No one needed to know that Zek was guilty but me and Lizzy, if he chose to tell her. The rest of the firm would stand behind me as long as I kept a strong front present when they were around. They weren’t interested in innocence or guilt, but money and winning.
“I think it might be prudent to put you on the case too, Lizzy.” One of the other partners spoke up. “You know Zek well and can dig a little deeper than the rest of us. No one had a fuss about you supporting Alisa as Senior Counsel on the rape allegations. Let’s move forward with the two of you taking the helm on this one too.”
“I’m happy doing that. I need to move my schedule around a little, but it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.” Lizzy turned and looked down the table toward me. “If there’s a problem with me being Zek’s sister-in-law, then we’ll remove me and add someone else to the case with Alisa’s approval. Does that sound good?”
“Yes. I like that plan.” I reached for my phone as it buzzed. Zek had some files out that he wanted me to review. Damn if my stomach didn’t tighten at the sight of his name on my phone. I wanted so badly for things to work out for him so that we could move forward. I was pretty sure that I wanted to stick things out no matter what, but something was holding me back from telling him that. Hence the running away the night before.
That he was still texting me and talking to me was a good thing, but the lack of greeting or any emotional adjectives in his message let me know that he was hurt, worried or depressed.
Shit. Maybe all three.
“Do you have time for lunch today? We could talk about the other aspects of this current case. My treat?” Lizzy stood, and I did as well, nodding toward her and giving her a smile although my insides were twisted into knots.
“That sounds great. Thanks again for the support. I appreciate you guys.” I lifted my coffee in the air and gave them a cocky grin. “To Mr. Zek Kellington, who’s keeping us busy and helping us make yet another strike for good, truth and justice.”
They laughed and lifted their cups. “Hear ye. Hear ye.”
***
“Are you really okay?” Lizzy glanced over at me as we met at the front of the little Italian place down from the office a few hours later.
“No. Yes. I don’t know.” I walked into the smell of garlic and tomato sauce. It was comforting, and yet I wanted Zek beside me so bad it almost hurt. How much more reserve would I have to maintain around him?
We took our seats, and I ordered a jack and coke without caring that I shouldn’t drink during a lunch break. Lizzy could berate me or talk me down from the ledge, but both responses would be received about the same — numbly.
“Did you speak with him this morning?” She pulled her napkin into her lap and watched me carefully.
“He texted me that he wanted me to come by his office.” I pressed my fingers to my forehead and took a shaky breath. “I put on a front up there, but I don’t know if I can do this.”
Her fingers wrapped around my arm and pulled my hand down. Her expression was serious and motherly. “Alisa. You came back here and took this case for a reason. Why?”
“It was challenging and hard. I honestly thought I could win the securities case. It’s what I do. It’s who I—”
“Stop.” She lifted her eyebrow at me. “Why did you take the rape case?”
“Because Zek didn’t do it. Someone had to stand beside him, and they wouldn’t let you.” Tears burned my eyes. I knew she was going to press into me, and it was half the reason I went to lunch with her. Someone needed to unwind the tightness inside of me, pull me from my shell and remind me what real life looked like. It was hard and bloody, it was painful and yet so far beyond exhilarating that nothing would ever compare to it.
“No. I don’t believe that’s the whole reason.” She squeezed my arm again and released me. “I saw you with him last night. That affection between the two of you isn’t eighteen years old. It’s fresh and present. It’s here right now.”
I nodded and reached for a buttery roll in the center of the table as tears dripped down my face. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“I want to know if you love my brother-in-law. He means the world to Mark, and Mark means the world to me. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for Zek.” She tilted her head to the side as our drinks were delivered.
Her expression had softened, and I couldn�
��t help but chuckle through my tears as she waved the server off and tried to replace the sternness that sat on her features only moments before.
“I do love him, and that scares me.” I pulled my napkin from my lap and wiped my eyes. “I don’t want to give up on him, but you have no idea how fucking hard it is to be around him and try to keep myself unattached, removed, emotionless.”
“I can’t imagine, to be quite clear. He needs you, but I know you need to be objective. You have to be if there is any chance that he’ll get out of this.” She took a drink of her drink and nodded toward mine. “Drink up. We both need this, I think.”
Picking up the glass, I forced the torrent of emotions that plagued me back down. I could help Zek, no doubt, but doing so and not letting my emotions breathe fully around him would be a different story. I wanted to pull him close and kiss him with all the angst and need that he forced to rise deep within me. I needed more than anything to feel the pressure of his body against mine, his mouth pressed to every part of me and the adoration that followed all those things. I needed him.
“So, here’s the plan.” Lizzy picked up a roll and took a bite, speaking around it. “You’re going to find out everything you can about those other men involved in the scandal. Zek’s guilt or innocence is irrelevant. We look for every bit of evidence we can to make it appear as though he was framed. If we’re unable to do that, we regroup and figure out our very best plea bargain.”
I nodded, already knowing everything that Lizzy was rushing through. She was worried and had to at least suspect that Zek was guilty. Otherwise the topic of the plea bargain would never have come up. We worked through some of the details of the case over the rest of the lunch, and her calm demeanor calmed me.
She was quick to remind me that whatever relationship was building between me and Zek had to remain behind closed doors. The public couldn’t get wind of the two of us.