by Tia Lewis
Thinking back on the night, I could clearly remember a few parts that I wanted to use in the case. I scrolled around the questions and answers until I found what almost sounded like a confession caught on tape. The question I asked got a little garbled in the recording, but I believe I asked him why he ran his company the way that he did.
“That’s a tough question to answer, I’ll admit.” His voice was a little shaky in the clip but still distinguishable. “The most important thing about running a business like this is knowing when to take risks and knowing when to pull out. Shit can happen at any second, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. When you’re in a position like I am, you’ll do damn near anything to save your company and make sure things are still running smoothly. Things won’t always be safe, but at the same time, things won’t always be easy either.”
I didn’t think anything of his answer the first time that I’d heard it. If anything, I couldn’t quite understand what he meant by everything. After spending some time thinking about it, however, I could discern what he was really talking about in the answer.
It took time and dedication to get to where he was because he knew the risks involved. Unlike others before him, he was careful and made sure not to get caught up to this point. He had a lot of people in charge of different things, which made it more liable on their part if he ever got caught. Truly, he was a man that knew what he was doing and saying at all times.
I took a deep breath and said, “All right. I have to do this. Just one more shot, Dustin. That’s all you got.” With a slow sigh, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Dustin’s number. The other end rang a few times before eventually getting picked up.
“Dustin?” I asked.
“Oh, hello, Bianca.” His voice sounded a little huskier than usual. “I didn’t see you this morning, so I figured you needed some space. I know last night was a little…different.”
I could feel my face scrunching up into a sour expression. The memory of last night had turned into something twisted in my eyes now. Just another ploy for his manipulation. I had to restrain myself and press forward professionally. “Dustin, there have been a few complications added to the case I think you need to know about.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’m not staying in Brazil for much longer, so you have to come clean to me now or never.”
“But, Bianca… I’ve already told you everything I know…”
I scoffed against the phone. “Right. Sure, you did.”
“Why wouldn’t you believe me?” he asked in an almost hurt tone.
“There’s been some new evidence brought up in the case, and I’ll be honest with you, Dustin it doesn’t look good for you. The prosecution’s probably banking on a guilty verdict for you no matter what we do from now on, but I’m still willing to fight for you.”
He paused for a short while. “What do you know, Bianca?” he asked in a tone that completely contrasted with his former one.
“I’m done playing games, Dustin. If you want to know everything, then you’re going to take up this one last chance that I’m giving you right now. What do you say to that, Mister Baldwin?” I asked with a smirk growing on my face.
I heard him sigh deeply on the other end of the phone. “Fine, Bianca. Fine. I’ll be there in the morning, all right? I’m taking a rental car because I gave my limo driver the morning off.”
“That’s fine with me. Pleasure working with you, Mister Baldwin.”
“As always, Ms. Reed.”
Bianca
A relationship without trust is like having a phone with no service. And what do you do with a phone with no service? You play games.
I hadn’t known Dustin for very long, but there were a few things I already knew for certain—Dustin was better at playing games than anyone I had ever met. He seemed so cunning and smooth that I sometimes wondered if he could be a sociopath. Another characteristic I had noticed about Dustin was that he always acted as if everything was perfectly fine because he was good at keeping everything in his grasp under control. Both of these made it extremely difficult for me, as a legal intern, to know whether or not Dustin was innocent.
Dustin’s innocence was an extremely important factor in determining my next move. It wasn’t only crucial for me to know for my job, but it was also essential for the sake of my personal sanity. There was no way I could peacefully sleep at night knowing I had let a criminal fuck me as hard as he did. I needed to know his level of involvement in the crime in order for me to know how to interact with Dustin.
He and I had been playing a game of chess ever since we met. I always felt like he was one step ahead of me. I could tell he liked watching how flustered he was capable of getting me. It was difficult to maintain my composure when I was with someone who intimidated and perplexed me the way that Dustin was capable of. I wasn’t completely wrapped around his finger, but I was very in tune with his desires and demands. If I only knew if Dustin wasn’t guilty, I could feel less anxious around him.
I heard someone knock on the door twice. Dustin is here I thought to myself. I put the Styrofoam cup I was drinking tea from onto the counter. I looked in the mirror across from the bed, smoothing out a few strands of hair. I opened the door to see Dustin standing there in khakis, and a white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. I hadn’t seen him look so relaxed before. He appeared as if he was just a regular tourist, instead of a wealthy man under federal investigation.
Dustin flashed a smile and extended a brown paper bag.
“What is this?” I asked him, taking it from his hands.
“I brought breakfast. I hope you like bagels,” Dustin said as he kissed me on the cheek before he walked past me, entering the room without an invite.
“Thanks, you got here quicker than I thought you would,” I pointed out, placing the bagels on the table next to my tea.
“These are important matters, there is no time to waste,” Dustin sat down at the desk across from my bed. He looked out the window as if he was looking for someone and then back at me. “Sit.”
I obeyed his command and sat down on the bed, crossing my legs and putting my hands on my lap. I was having a hard time gauging his current mood. I knew he was good at balancing his work life and personal life, but I didn’t have as much experience with these two worlds colliding. I didn’t know how to separate my attraction to him from viewing him as a client.
“Proceed,” Dustin stated, interrupting my thoughts.
I stared back at him, waiting for him to say something else but he didn’t. “What do you mean? With what?”
“You said there was new evidence, did you not? What have you found?”
“Oh yes, right,” I stood up and started to fumble through a filing bin on top of the desk. I pulled out a manila folder full of papers and sat them down in front of him. “Do these accounts look familiar to you?”
Dustin picked up the papers and scanned them carefully. “Yes, I have seen these before.”
I sighed, feeling the stress pour over my body. Dustin was used to being in control, but it was time to put my foot down. I needed to take charge of the case and not forget the reason I came to Brazil in the first place. “Dustin, when I told you I needed you to be completely transparent with me, I must not have been clear enough. I need to know everything you know, we need to be on the same page. There are absolutely no benefits in hiding important information from me. When we first began working on this case, you never once mentioned you had bank accounts in Switzerland. All of these papers here show you clearly have multiple Swiss accounts in multiple locations. Every single penny that was laundered went into these foreign accounts, your accounts. It is going to be almost impossible to believe that you had no involvement if your name is on every single transaction. Were you aware of the deposits being made into the accounts?”
“No, my accountant handles the transactions,” Dustin said, placing his hands behind his back. He was still calm as if nothing w
as wrong at all. I had no idea how he could still be relaxed as if his freedom wasn’t on the line. Maybe he really was a sociopath. “You already have my accountant’s contact information. Why don’t you email him and have a team track down the source of the transaction?”
“How could you not tell me about this? This is crucial information. Help me help you, Dustin. This is very, very serious,” I said, feeling my heart race in my chest. I sat down on the bed, running my hands through my hair. I felt as if I could pull my hair out.
“I didn’t want to bring up the Swiss bank accounts because I didn’t think there was any way of someone linking them back to me. I didn’t think it would be brought up so I didn’t think it would be a problem. My intentions were not to hide evidence from you, but I was trying to protect myself. For that, I am sorry,” he said sincerely.
But I didn’t believe him. I shook my head and let my gaze drop toward the ground. Was I fighting a losing battle? I was feeling more overwhelmed than ever. Dustin stood up from the desk and sat down next to me on the bed. He put his arm around me, pulling me into his chest. I resisted for a moment, but he overpowered me with his strength, forcing my body against his. I felt a tear fall down my cheek, but I didn’t feel like crying.
I pulled away from him and looked into his mysterious eyes. Dustin wiped the tear away and kissed me. Even though we had already had sex, it was one of the most intimate moments we had experienced together. I couldn’t help but feel better as he softly rubbed my back up and down.
“How are you always so collected? Are you not afraid? Do you not worry that you will go to prison? Don’t you value your freedom?” I asked him, once again trying to read his face.
“Having no fear is enough freedom for me. I am not worried because I know you are a great attorney and you will figure something out. This is just another piece of the puzzle, Bianca. Don’t let it get to you, you’re better off separating yourself from the details.”
“I need you to do me a favor. I need you to look me in the eye and promise, swear on your life and your career, that you are absolutely innocent. Tell me you honestly had no involvement in this fraudulent activity. I need to be able to trust you, you need to be able to trust me. Right now, I am not sure what to believe. All I know is you somehow act as if none of this is going on while I’m uncovering details that you purposefully tried to hide from me. Please just tell me the truth, don’t tell me what you want to hear. Don’t say something smooth like you do to all the other women. Say something that is raw, something that is real. Tell me something I don’t want to hear. I just don’t believe you are completely innocent. I don’t believe you’ve never attempted to get ahead in a way that will bring you down,” I said.
My thoughts were still. I was focusing all of my attention on his face, waiting for his reaction, waiting for him to break down. I thought at any moment he would finally reveal the truth to me—how he had really been behind the crime all along; how he had arranged an entire team full of people to cover up his tracks; how he had been so careful every step of the way, but one mistake lead to his demise. But he didn’t break down, he didn’t start groveling. Instead, he smiled.
“You’re right. I am not completely innocent. I have attempted and succeeded at getting ahead in many ways. I’ve hired people that were over qualified but managed to underpay them for years. I take advantage of my assistants, forcing them into overtime when they have children to take care of. I deprive my loved ones of my attention. I stay so focused on work that I hardly have time to enjoy myself anymore. I am guilty of many injustices, I am not afraid to tell you what you do not want to hear. But I can honestly say: as far as this case goes, I am innocent. Someone is framing me, and you need to find out who that is. You can trust me, I promise. And I will do my best at trusting you, as well. I think in time we will find we are both honest people with good intentions. However, my devilishly good looks can make it hard to trust me,” Dustin winked with a grin.
“Alright, thank you. I’ve just been getting so overwhelmed by this case. I have a lot riding on this, and I need to show my boss I am capable of handling big assignments like this. I don’t want him to think he sent me to Brazil for nothing.”
“I understand, and I will make sure I do whatever I have to in order to cooperate. Okay, that’s enough work talk. It’s time to have some fun, get dressed,” Dustin stated.
“What? I have to write an updated report today, I don’t have time to take a break.”
Dustin rolled me onto my stomach and slapped my ass three times in a row. He pinned my hands behind my back, holding me in place. “That was an order, it isn’t up for discussion. If I can make free time then so can you. Now get dressed, wear something sexy. I’m taking you to see some sites and then we are going to a beach party. Understand?”
“Yes!” I said. I couldn’t help but laugh. I have always been told how stubborn I am, but no one had ever tried to combat my stubbornness with force.
Within twenty minutes, I threw on a bikini, a black cover dress, some light makeup, and silver earrings. Dustin had been encouraging me to go to the top tourist attractions while I was in town, but I was set on staying focused on my work. He had finally convinced me to join him, and I was more than happy to spend the day together. First, we went to Christ the Redeemer, an iconic statue atop a mountain nearby. Dustin explained the dynamics of Brazilian culture. He told me how Brazilians focus a significant amount of importance on the family structure and the values that come along with Catholicism. He said the families are usually large and even extended family members are close to one another, providing help and support to each other whenever and however necessary.
In addition to the families being close, he explained how individuals are usually closer in physical ways than what Americans are used to. He described how Brazilians are rather affectionate, tactile people. Men often shake hands with one another, while women will kiss each other on the cheek as a way to greet one another. I was interested in the ways that the Brazilian people seemed so open with each other. I wondered how open they were willing to be.
When we got to the beach party, I was surprised by all of the vivid, colorful decorations that were exploding out from the DJ booth in the sand. Hundreds of people were dancing in their bathing suits, almost naked, in front of the booth. There were even some girls dancing topless, I even saw a woman completely naked swimming in the ocean. My eyes widened, but I tried to hide my shock. Dustin directed us toward a modern building that overlooked the water and the party.
“Let’s get some drinks in the VIP lounge. One of my business associates has been waiting for us to arrive,” Dustin said, placing one hand on my lower back.
We took a small elevator to the third floor of the contemporary house. I was astonished by the open floor plan and the significant amount of marble that had been used to decorate the walls and countertops. When we walked deeper into the room, I heard someone call Dustin’s name.
“Dustin! Dustin, over here,” a tall man waved from a booth in the corner of the bar. He was probably about 6’4” with green eyes, tanned skin, and a lean build. The woman sitting next to him was even more tan with dark brown eyes and full lips. I was surprised by how attractive both of them were, assuming they were together.
“Dustin, it is so nice to see you,” the man stood up and hugged him. “This is my wife Isabelle, Isabelle this is my good friend and business partner, Dustin. He helped me set up my first non-profit, and we have been in touch ever since.”
“Very nice to meet you, Isabelle. This is my girlfriend, Bianca. Bianca, I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of introducing Luiz,” Dustin said with a charming smile.
Girlfriend? I thought to myself, did Dustin just refer to me as his girlfriend? He must have meant that I was a friend who is also a girl, rather than implying we are in a relationship. I had considered many hypothetical situations since meeting Dustin, but I had never thought about the way Dustin related himself to me. I figured it wasn’t the time to
question his choice of words. Instead, I smiled and extended my hand. Rather than accepting a handshake, Isabelle jumped up and kissed me on both of my cheeks. Luiz followed her lead, I tried to remember what Dustin had told me about the Brazilian’s comfortability with affection.
“Nice to meet you both,” I said kindly.
“So, you are not a fútbol fan then?” Isabelle smiled as she sat back down in the booth. Dustin and I sat across from them.
“Sorry?” I had a hard time understanding her strong accent.
“Luiz has not been introduced to someone in a long time, everyone knows who he is,” Isabelle stated.
“Isabelle was asking if you are a soccer fan. Luiz is a very well-known soccer player in Brazil,” Dustin explained.
“One of the best,” Isabelle said proudly, wrapping her arms around Luiz.
“I would dare say the very best,” Dustin corrected her.
“You don’t have to point out my career every time we meet someone new, Isa. Not everyone is familiar with Brazilian sports,” Luiz reprimanded her.
Isabelle scoffed and rolled her eyes, scooting away from Luiz. He must have been annoyed by her reaction because they immediately started fighting in Portuguese. Dustin glanced over toward me, we exchanged a quick grin. It was awkward to listen to them fight, but I was relieved I wasn’t able to understand what they were fighting about. It made it easier to pretend it wasn’t happening.
Dustin called one of the lounge servers over to the table and ordered a round of drinks. He quickly started a conversation with Luiz, I could tell he was trying to distract the couple from their argument. While they were talking about an upcoming charity event, Isabelle had a strange expression on her face as she looked between Dustin and me.
“How long have you been with Dustin?” Isabelle asked me, batting her long eyelashes with a curious expression.
“Oh, uh we just met recently. I actually live in New York,” I told her, hoping she wouldn’t want to know too much detail. It wasn’t ethical for me to discuss the case with anyone uninvolved in the trial.