Mutually Exclusive
Page 7
“Hey,” he whispered, nudging her with his knee.
“Hmm,” she answered, rolling onto her side and propping her head on her arms, eyes half-closed.
“I didn’t expect you to pass out on me,” he told her, giving her a smacking kiss. Alexandra returned it, keeping her eyes closed, curling into a fetal position. The soft sound of snores filled the air minutes later, and Roman found himself studying her. She was a feisty little thing, gave as well as she got, and seemed to be willing to push some limits. He left her sleeping, setting his alarm to come wake her up in a bit.
He knocked thirty minutes later to find a dressed Alexandra sitting on the bed. And wasn’t that a shame. She was female perfection and one of the reasons wearing clothes should’ve been criminal.
“You’re awake.”
“I’m awake.” She smiled. “I should be going.”
“How about we go again tomorrow?” he questioned, moving closer.
“How about I call you when I need you?” She stared over his shoulder while she relayed her question, raising his hackles.
He held her arm when she moved to leave, cocking his head. “That’s not part of our deal.”
“I’m about to get slammed with new cases. I need a couple of days.” Given her reluctance when they first came in the room, he decided to give her an ultimatum. He wasn’t playing with her; she needed to make a decision and stick with it.
“You have a week.”
7
Six days, twelve hours, fifteen minutes, and thirty-five seconds—give or take— was how long it’d been since Alexandra told Roman she’d call him. The clock was ticking, and even being swamped wasn’t enough to keep him off her mind. She missed him. Not in an I know him so I miss him way, but a he gave me great orgasms and I want more of those type of missing him. To top it off, nothing had been going right since she’d left, as though it was punishment for not calling him.
Alexandra was late to court the morning after her Romagasm—what she called his orgasm because it seemed to be a force all its own—which forced one of the other lawyers to cover for her. Sex should make you relax, but she’d been keyed up tossing and turning half the night. She’d won her case, barely, since her co-council was a boss and nailed the closing argument. A couple days after the first night with Roman, she received the extra cases. Five more on top of the ones she had, not counting the Davis case, which was turning into its own beast. And she planned to meet with both Talia Robinson, Corey’s fiancée, as well as Franklin Williams, everyone’s favorite client, later that day.
“Ms. Kane?” her assistant buzzed. She only called Alexandra by her last name when it was official business.
“Yes.”
“Ms. Robinson is here to see you.”
“Set her up in the conference room and tell her I’ll be right in.”
If my fiancé was facing serious jail time and I had the information to free him, I would make myself available to his lawyer. She grabbed her still-sparse folder on the way in to see Talia, who’d made herself scarce the week before. Short of a manhunt, it took Alexandra calling in some favors to get the girl to see her. Talia was Corey’s alibi, but she kept acting like she was a criminal. Don’t hide your secrets from your attorney; a great one will unearth them and cover you in the dirt you’re trying to hide.
“Hello,” Alexandra greeted the pretty, auburn-haired girl with mesmerizing dark green eyes. Talia stood up, one hand rubbing her burgeoning belly, shaking Alexandra’s hand before sitting down again. Alexandra took the seat across from her. This gorgeous, petite, unassuming girl was the one who’d sent her assistants chasing their tails for the past several days? It’d taken a call to Corey to get her to come in, and a certain level of cajoling Alexandra wasn’t used to doing. Corey was in jail until his mom found a bail bondsman, but Talia got the message. It was humbling to be handed your ass by two kids unable to drink.
“Corey told me I need to meet with you.” Talia folded her hands together on top of the table, giving nothing else away.
“Yes, ma’am.” Alexandra swallowed her initial anger, not wanting to make the girl hostile by getting upset with her. “I understand you were together when the store was robbed?”
Talia licked her lips before coughing as though trying to clear the bug in her throat. “What day was the robbery?” Alexandra looked at her notes though she had the date memorized, trying to figure out the girl’s angle. No way had Talia forgotten the day her life changed. Either he was with her or he wasn’t, but Corey seemed adamant she would vouch for him.
“It was Tuesday, March 14th.” Alexandra stared at Talia’s trembling hands before the girl pressed them on the table.
Her brown eyes glistened. “Corey wasn’t with me. I remember because we had an appointment at the doctor, and he missed it.” She stared over Alexandra’s shoulder as she talked, sounding more like a script than anything else.
Careful, honey, your slip is showing. “That’s interesting.”
“It is?”
“Oh, yeah.” Alexandra nodded for emphasis. “Corey told me he was with you, and that’s what you told the detective. Corey seemed to believe the detective didn’t take you seriously. So who’s lying, you or him?”
“I…well…” Talia stuttered out a response.
“Which is it?” Alexandra asked again, not letting up. If Talia was going to lie, at the very least she needed to be more believable. “He seemed pretty adamant you guys were together, and he had nothing to do with the pizza shop being robbed. Are you telling me Corey is a liar? Did he rob the pizza place and shoot that man?” Talia looked away while Alexandra continued to lambast her with questions. Tears ran down the girl’s face. Alexandra felt a twinge of sympathy, but wanted to reiterate the importance about telling her the truth.
“Were you lying to the police when you said he was with you? Are you lying to me now? Which is it? Who’s the liar?”
“Stop it!” Talia cried, laying her head on the table. Her shoulders shook with the gut-wrenching sobs that echoed in the quiet of the room. Alexandra stood to rub Talia’s shoulders, unable to stay away while the young girl with too much on her plate cried herself dry.
“It’s okay,” Alexandra soothed when Talia calmed down enough to get her head off the table and wipe her tears. “We’re gonna fix it.” Alexandra grabbed the tissues from the side table and handed her the box.
“How?” Talia hiccupped, taking a tissue and wiping the tears from her face. “We’re out of options. The cops said they had Corey, that I was lying to protect my baby daddy, and they put liars in jail. But I wasn’t! We did have an appointment and found out we were having a girl, and we stayed in all night celebrating.”
Alexandra reached over to grab her notebook so she could write everything down, but sat beside Talia instead of across the table. She rubbed Talia’s arm while she questioned her. “Did he leave the apartment at any time?”
“No. We were there all night. I didn’t know what to do; the detective made it sound like he could really get me in trouble.” Talia turned so she was facing Alexandra. “I’m sorry I lied to you.”
Alexandra brushed off her concern. Intimidating a young, scared girl whose boyfriend was facing serious charges? She’d have lied, too.
“Who was the detective?” Alexandra wrote down the name, putting a visit to the asshole on top of her to-do list. “I’m going to fix it. I promise.” There was no other option. She wouldn’t be able to look these two in the eye if she didn’t get Corey out of jail for these charges. The justice system was run by people and therefore subject to the same human fallacies as anything else, but they would not get this wrong. These two were not going to be victim to the same system. “But I need you to tell me everything. I don’t care if it’s something you feel is a miniscule detail and don’t think it’s relevant. It’s all important unless I say it’s not.”
“Okay.” Talia went through their entire day, elaborating when Alexandra asked follow-up questions. It took them a
bout an hour to go through all the information, but when they were done, Talia appeared more confident than when she came in. The tears were dried and a definitive set of her shoulders signaled her willingness to fight. “So, what happens now?”
“You’re going to go home, because Corey should be out any time now on bond. I’m going to check into some aspects of your story and get back to you guys. I don’t want you to worry about it; I just want you to worry about you and the baby. You got it?”
Talia nodded. She gave Alexandra a hug, squeezing as though her life was in danger and Alexandra was her only lifeline. In some ways, she was, since these two had little resources and she was the last stop on the disillusionment express.
“Two more things,” Alexandra told Talia as she walked her out. “If the detectives want to talk to you again, say nothing and call me, because you can’t go into another meeting without a lawyer.”
“But I…” Talia stopped, gulping before starting again. “There’s no way we can pay for that.”
“You aren’t paying. Consider it a twofer since I’m working with Corey. Call me if you need anything.” Alexandra handed her the card with her information. “Last thing. If you lie to me again, I will make what just happened in there look like child’s play. You got me?”
Talia exhaled, her eyes wet. “Yes. Sorry about that.”
Alexandra put her arm around her, rubbing her back. “Not a problem. You’re not the first person who’s lied to me, and you won’t be the last. But that better be the last lie I hear from you about this case. I’m on your side, I need you to work with me, not against me.”
“Are you a bitch in the courtroom?” Talia asked before pressing the button for the elevator.
Alexandra chuckled. “I could lie and say no, but who am I kidding? Lucky for you guys since I’ll be ruthless in my defense of Corey.” She winked, waving goodbye as Talia stepped into the elevator.
She was working on a post-Talia high, especially once Karen confirmed most of the information Talia had given was true; they were just waiting on three people to get back to them. It still didn’t exonerate Corey, since he and Talia were the only ones who could vouch he stayed home after the doctor’s appointment, but it was a start.
If her meeting with Franklin was as productive she’d be thrilled, but he’d been cantankerous every time she’d spoken with him so she wasn’t holding her breath.
Speak of the devil. Alexandra was eager to get this meeting with Franklin Williams over and done with so he’d be out of her hair until trial, so she asked Karen to lead him to the conference room. Most of their conversations were over the phone about the case, but she needed to make sure he was going to be able to hold up in court if she had to call him on the stand. It was the only reason she’d agreed to the meeting in the first place. Just as she grabbed the folder containing the information about his case, her office door opened and Franklin Williams burst in as though he owned the place. What the hell?
He focused on her while his smile overtook his face. It reminded her of a villain in a superhero movie, with the flashy teeth and smile stretched too wide before he gutted you with a knife. “I hope you don’t mind, but I don’t want to meet in the conference room. I prefer the intimate setting of an office.” He sat down in front of her, propping his left leg on his opposite knee and folding his hands back behind his head. Something was off about him. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she didn’t trust him. He was too polished, too charismatic. She put the folder back on her desk, pulling out the legal pad with the notes for his case.
“Mr. Williams, I called you because I wanted to go over the information for your case next week one more time.”
“I don’t care why you called me; I know you’ll handle it. You are Marcus Kane’s daughter, after all.” He leaned forward, his hand on the picture of her parents before she realized, studying the photo. His finger caressed the glass while he stared at it like a creeper.
“Mr. Williams, I’d appreciate it if you would put the picture down.” He blew out an exaggerated breath and slammed the frame down with more force than necessary. Alexandra jerked back at the bang. His eyebrows arched at her reaction but she ignored him, choosing to straighten her frame instead.
“Did you know I knew your father? He was one of my best friends once upon a time. It’s why I knew I had to come to you. The Kanes are the best, and I couldn’t wait to work with you.”
Heat rose on her neck. There was no purpose for him bringing up her father. “I’m sorry, Mr. Williams, but we’re going to have to stick to the issues at hand.”
Something flickered in his eyes, gone so quickly she wondered if she’d imagined it. “Do you not like talking about your father? You worshipped him at one time, couldn’t get enough of him. And he always talked about his little doodle bug.” Her heart raced at the old nickname. She hadn’t been called “doodle bug” in over twenty years, and no one except her family knew about it. The only one allowed to call her by the nickname had been her father. She needed Williams gone.
“Mr. Williams, I’m sorry, but I forgot I have another meeting in five minutes. I’ll call you if I need any more information, but I believe we’re all set.”
“You sure? I can always stick around.”
“No.” She shook her head. “Everything is great.”
He stood, knocking on the desk in a hauntingly familiar pattern. “Tell your mother I said hello.”
***
Alexandra walked into the corner bar where she wouldn’t be noticed, looking for one thing. After the meeting with Franklin the day had gone downhill, particularly when Henry questioned whether she had what it took to become partner. Franklin had tattled to Henry that she’d thrown him out of her office, resulting in a thirty-minute verbal smack-down from her boss. It had been a bad day, and she needed to get lost. The light was spotty, reminding her of the hallway in Club Valentine, but just high enough to tell her she would get what she needed. She sat at the bar, gesturing for the bartender.
“What can I get you?” He smirked, the invitation for more than a drink.
“Just a Lemon Drop for now, but I’ll let you know if there’s something else.”
“Suit yourself.” He made the drink, setting it in front of her with a flourish. She let the tart sweetness of the drink coat her throat. As much as she loved her job, days like this got to her. It was difficult watching a young woman struggle between saving either her boyfriend or herself and her baby, especially when no one should have been threatened in the first place.
Then Franklin came in acting strange and asking questions about her father. Dad would’ve been proud of her, carrying on his tradition of excellence, and Franklin said as much, but when watching a sobbing and distraught Talia break down, sometimes she doubted her choice. Not about being a lawyer, but going into corporate law like her father. He had been partner, and all she wanted to do since his death was follow in his footsteps. She made a promise years back to him that she would continue the legacy he wasn’t able to, working to achieve both their dreams.
There was a subtle change, as though the air shifted when the seat beside her was pulled out and the guy who sat down asked for a whiskey, neat. His scent invaded her nostrils, and the heat spread in her belly to pool below.
“You come here often?” he whispered into her ear, his nose tracing the shell.
“Not really.” Her voice shook, body strumming with need. Goose bumps ran down her arm where he traced it lightly with his finger, but she tried to act unaffected. “You?”
“Nope,” he answered, fingers moving to trace the top of her thigh. “But we both know neither one of us came to drink.”
“I don’t know you.” She tried to brush his hand off her thigh but he grabbed it, squeezed, before he flipped her hand so her palm faced up. He lifted it to his lips, kissing the middle of her palm. She shivered, and he stared at her with green eyes alight with lust.
“We know enough.” He held her hand, throwing a couple bills on
the bar to cover their drinks and leading her toward the entrance. She followed, anticipation overriding the doubts running through her head, hurrying to keep up. They went to the back of the building, where the parking lot was bathed in darkness. The only working light flickered like it wanted to go out, too. He didn’t stop until he reached the black 1969 GTO in the back corner.
“Is that a GTO?” Her voice rang in awe as she ran her hand across the side.
“You wanna talk about my car or fuck?” he asked point-blank. How was she supposed to sleep with him when she was taken back to Sundays with her father, who swore riding in his prized muscle car relaxed him and revved her mama up? Sexual innuendo aside, her past and present hurtled toward her too fast to stop it, especially given her earlier conversation with Franklin. Like being thrown toward the ground with no safety net, and she desperately needed that net.
She needed a handle on everything going on, turned to tell him so, but he stopped her with a kiss. He took possession, lifting her by her ass so she’d wrap her legs around his waist. Setting her on top of the hood, classic car be damned and not giving her a chance to speak, he pulled her so close there was no space between them. She opened her mouth to allow his tongue, welcoming the quick fuck about to happen, grabbing the back of his shirt because she wanted to touch skin.
He pulled back, helping her get his shirt off and staring at her like she held all the answers.
“Roman,” she tried, but he simply shook his head and possessed her mouth again. She glided her hands down his back, welcoming the feel of him, something she’d missed since being apart. Alexandra doubted he’d come when she texted him, but he replied he’d be there. Thank God he’d given her his number the last time they’d been together. He ripped her shirt open, buttons flying everywhere as he yanked it off before grabbing her breasts and thrusting them together.