Love, Lies & The D.A.

by Rohman, Rebecca

  Another awkward silence lingers. I feel the anger circulating through Jonathan’s body. I slip my hand under the table and wrap it around his clenched fist.

  “Well, Counselor… you would have made your dad proud,” I blurt out, trying to ease the tension. I take a huge gulp of my water.

  There is a slight chuckle by some, but the air is very tense.

  “Well, instead of getting my information from all the gossip, I thought, since I had the opportunity, to go straight to the source. Why not?”

  “Daniel, can I talk to you outside for a second?” says Jonathan.

  “Can we talk later?” his brother replies.

  “No.” He thrusts his chair away from the table. “Now!” He walks away fuming. Daniel follows. I feel very uneasy. I’m not quite sure how to get rid of the anxiety.

  “Aren’t we supposed to be family at this table? Doesn’t family discuss everything?”

  Well, aren’t you a brash one…

  “Wendy, I know who you are. I’m not doing any interviews; you can go write that in your magazine,” I say quietly.

  “You are out of place,” Caroline says sternly, glaring at Wendy. “Neither is this any of your business. If you can’t respect that, I’d like you to leave.”

  That’s the last I hear before excusing myself from the table. I head to the bathroom. I need to be away from that woman. Tonight was supposed to be a fun family affair, but I feel like an imposter ruined it.

  I wash my face and throw down some painkillers before heading out of the ladies’ room. While going out through the corridor to the dining room, I see Sophie walking towards me. I do not say anything to her as I stagger on my crutches. However, as we pass each other, her eyes meet mine.

  Just what I need. Two bitches in my presence…

  By the time I return to the table, there is no sign of Daniel or Wendy, but Jonathan has returned.

  “You okay?” he asks, helping me into my seat.

  I nod politely, but I really don’t want to be here.

  “I’m sorry about this,” I say to the rest of the table.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Caroline responds angrily. “None of this is your fault.”

  “Mom. Don’t get worked up over this. It’s not good for your health,” Pierce says.

  “Look, Jada. I can only imagine how uncomfortable this must be for you, and I’m sorry. However, I don’t want this lovely weekend we’ve had ruined by this incident. Please. Let’s all try to enjoy the time we have together and move past this.”

  I smile at Caroline but don’t respond.

  “Bitch!”

  “Megan!” Caroline exclaims.

  “Where does she get off anyway?” Megan continues. “Who told her she’s family? She doesn’t even have an engagement ring on her finger. She’s known him for five seconds, and already she’s been upgraded to family status?”

  “You know she was asking what everyone else was thinking. She could have used a little more tact though,” I say.

  “She works for one of those trashy tabloid magazines. How my quiet accountant brother would be attracted to a girl like that is beyond me.”

  “They say opposites attract.” I smile.

  “You know, I’ve never been one to judge people on where they work, but I thought she’d have some class. Boy was I wrong.”

  I stretch my hand across the table and hold Megan’s hand.

  “Thank you for defending me, but there really is no need for you to get so worked up over this. The one thing I’ve learned from this mess is how not to sweat the small stuff.”

  She tightens her grip on my hand and smiles. Jonathan drapes his arm around my waist, pulls me towards him, and kisses me on my cheek.

  “Sophie’s here,” I whisper over my shoulder.

  “Where?”

  “I saw her on my way from the ladies’ room.”

  “More and more, I’m regretting we chose to come out this evening,” he responds.

  “I know. But try to enjoy the time with your mom. She enjoys being with you all.”

  When we return home, Daniel and Wendy are there. I assume they’re in their bedroom. His car is outside, but they’re nowhere in sight.

  Everyone decides to get together for a game of Monopoly, but I’m distracted and not in the mood. I say goodnight, and Jonathan helps me up to bed.

  I get chills when we enter the room. Something feels off.

  “You okay, Babe?” Jonathan asks as he helps me into an oversized sweater.

  “Besides this text, something doesn’t feel right.”

  I hand him my phone and show him the message.

  I look around. “I want my life back,” I say, somewhat distracted.

  “It will be over soon,” he says, pulling me into his arms.

  I sit at the edge of the bed, but something’s bugging me. I’m uneasy.

  “You’re so tense.”

  “Something’s not right.”

  “Could it be that you’re feeling this way because of what happened at dinner and maybe because you saw Sophie?”

  “I don’t know…” I reply. Then I notice a pen poking out through my bunch of keys on the bedside table. It’s not mine.

  “Is this yours?” I ask, handing it to him.

  “No.”

  I take it from him and slip it under my pillow.

  “Neither is it mine. It wasn’t there before we went to dinner. Someone was in here.”

  Chapter 12

  Jonathan pulls out the pen, and after further inspection, we both notice the camera on the end, not to mention the USB port to the backside.

  He pulls out his phone, takes the pen, and heads out the bedroom. This had to be Wendy’s doing. Moments later, I hear a huge ruckus coming from downstairs.

  I open the door and hobble out to see what the fuss is.

  “She can’t stay here,” Jonathan says.

  “You’re throwing me out?” Daniel asks.

  “I’m throwing her out. What you choose to do after that is completely up to you. I will not have a fraud in my house.”

  “If you throw her out, you’re throwing me out.”

  “Well, that’s your fucking business, but I want her and all her things out of my house. Now!”

  “Where am I supposed to go?”

  “You’re part owner of a resort now. I highly doubt the owner will have problems finding a place to stay.”

  Moments later, I hear a door slam shut, and soon after, the engine of a vehicle kicks in then tires screech away.

  The doorbell rings a while later. Shortly after, Jonathan returns to the bedroom and helps me downstairs. He motions to me to be silent. Douglas is there with a woman and another man. I assume agents.

  Jonathan pulls a throw off the couch then we head outside. He closes the door shut. The rest of his family sits around the outdoor fireplace, but we stand some distance away while we talk.

  “I didn’t know the FBI was here,” I murmur.

  “I’m not taking any chances after that so-called accident,” he replies, draping the throw over my shoulders.

  “What happened with Daniel?”

  “He was defending her.”

  “Are you sure it was her?”

  “Yes. The house has been under surveillance since before we got here yesterday. We’ve been the only ones in and out of here. She must have placed the camera there while we were at dinner.”

  “I’m sorry about this.”

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “You and your brother had a fight over this. I bear some responsibility in that.”

  “My brother and I had a fight because he was being a gullible ass. You don’t need to worry about it. They’re sweeping the entire house now.”

  We join the rest of the family around the fireplace. Forty-five minutes later, Phillip motions to Jonathan that they’re done. After a short conversation with him, we return inside.

  He shuts the bedroom door. He’s quiet and twitching.

&nb
sp; “What is it?”

  “They found twenty hidden cameras and microphones in the house.”

  I sigh. “Are they sure they got them all?”

  “Yes.”

  I need to lie down. At this point, I feel like my head will explode.

  “Go play with your family. It will help you relax.”

  “No. I need to be with you right now,” he says, kissing me on my head then slipping under the covers beside me.

  My heart tingles, and at that moment, I realize how thankful I am to have him in my life.

  He holds me close and twiddles the locks of my hair between his fingers while we lie in bed.

  “Did you discuss our relationship with your family?”

  “With my mom, I did. Megan obviously knows. My brothers… they can figure it out for themselves. Why?”

  “Just curious. I don’t think Daniel ever approved of me.”

  “Did he say something to you?”

  “No. Just a gut feeling. And his behavior. He’s always respectful, but very distant.”

  “What about his behavior?”

  “Well, on a few occasions, I’ve tried to have a polite conversation with him, but he always brushes me off. And he was the only one of your siblings who didn’t visit or call after my accident. Even your mom, in her condition, called.”

  “He’s always been the quiet, cautious type.”

  “Why? Everyone else in your family is so outgoing.”

  “A few years back, he was engaged to be married to his high school sweetheart. They even went to college together. The day before the wedding, she disappeared.”

  “Disappeared as in went missing?”

  “No. She left. She left him a Dear John letter. He later found out that she was seeing someone else.”

  “That’s sad.”

  “Yep. Since then, he hasn’t been the same. I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you.”

  “I won’t. But I hate that there’s friction between you two.”

  “He’s being an ass. He only met Wendy a few weeks ago. After I told him she’s been trying to reach you since Richard’s death, I hoped he would see that her being in his life might be a matter of convenience, but he refuses to see it that way. You’d think that after everything he’s been through, he’d open his eyes.”

  “He’s probably in love with her.”

  “I certainly hope not, but that’s his choice. She is not welcome in my house. I don’t trust her around you. And I don’t trust her around my family.”

  “This can create a wedge between you two.”

  “I hope not. Douglas is going to see if he can pull any prints off the devices he found and see if he can match them up against their database.”

  “What if she doesn’t have a record?”

  “Then I suppose, at the very least, they can ask her to provide her prints and see how she responds.”

  “What if the prints do belong to her?”

  “I don’t know… I haven’t thought that far ahead, but she could go to state prison for this. If her company put her up to this, either of us could potentially sue them.”

  “I don’t know if I’d want to go that far. It would only alienate your brother further.”

  “We don’t need to talk about this now. Right now, I’m happy that you were intuitive enough to actually follow your instincts.”

  “Me too.”

  After a bit of silence, he says, “Tell me… were you going to leave on Saturday because you saw Sophie with me?”

  “I was indecisive. The last few days, I had been wondering if I should return to Big Sur or try to settle back into a normal life at home. I went to the office for a few hours that morning then I went to the store. Not one person bothered me.”

  “You’re evading my question.”

  “I’m not. It just forced me to make a decision.”

  “Do you always run when there is a problem?”

  “No. And that’s not what I’m doing now. I hope you realize that we met and are getting to know each other at a time in my life when nothing is the norm.”

  “I do. What was normal life before this all started?”

  “Let’s see… Work. Tennis at least twice a week. Then many nights, I’d either be by Richard or he would be by me. Koto and I had lunch together three or four times a week. She and I usually did something together on the weekends. I attended a lot more social events and traveled too. Depending on where I was going, I could be out of the state or country anywhere from a couple of days up to a week or two, monthly.”

  “I would imagine it’s been very difficult.”

  “It has. I know you probably see me leaving as running, but that’s not the full picture. It’s about me having some sort of a normal life. When I stay in San Fran, I’m confined to my condo. I’m either harassed or followed everywhere I go. When I leave San Francisco, I get to go out and enjoy what there is to offer. Saturday, for the first time in months, I stepped out of my building with no problem. Obviously, things have changed since then.”

  “You miss Koto?”

  His question makes me think. “I do… At least, who I thought she was. She’d been in my life from the day I stepped foot in the US. Bobby, in many ways, has replaced her. But in many ways, he hasn’t. I sometimes feel a void. Especially at times when I knew for certain we’d be together.”

  “Do you think you could ever forgive her?”

  “I don’t know… maybe. But I could never have her in my life. Even if I did, I could never trust her again. If this were a one-night stand, perhaps… maybe we could get past it. But they started this affair within weeks of Richard’s proposal—that I know of. It went on for nine months, and I see no evidence to make me believe they intended to end it. She told me they were going to after he and I got married, but why should I believe that when they didn’t have any respect for a monogamous relationship in the first place. And to top it off, it looks like she’s now probably pregnant with his child.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Better I found out then instead of years from now, right?”

  “True.”

  “And besides, if they didn’t screw up, I wouldn’t have met you, so there is a bright side to this.”

  “Awww. You’re so sweet,” he says. Then kisses me on my lips. “Now that they’re out of your life, where do you see your future?”

  “First, I need to get past this disaster I face. Beyond that, my wants haven’t changed. I still want the same things—love, happiness, my happily ever after.”

  “Richard’s screw up didn’t faze you?”

  “No. It probably made me insecure in many ways, but I’d still like to get married, travel the world, and have a family someday.”

  “Insecure? You’ve said that before. Why?”

  “I don’t trust myself the way I used to before. I used to be so sure of myself and my decisions—both with work and my personal life. Now, I question myself all the time. That belief I used to have in myself is gone.”

  “That must be discomforting.”

  “It is… but I guess as time goes by, I’ll get back to where I once was.”

  “You’re not to blame for this, you know.”

  “I don’t blame myself, but you know what’s so scary, I was completely clueless. Blindsided. I had no idea anything was going on, not with Richard or with him and Koto, and it was going on for so long.”

  “This is on them, not you. You trusted them.”

  “I did, and look where it got me.”

  “It doesn’t always turn out that way.”

  “I hope not because I don’t know that I can handle that kind of betrayal or loss again. First my dad, then my ex and best friend all at once…then your dad.”

  “I’m sorry for what you’ve been through. Just know that you’re safe with me.”

  I kiss him gently on his hand in response.

  “What about you?” I ask.

  “I have to get things back on track at the firm. Outside of that
, I want all the same things you want. Except I want ten babies.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  He chuckles. “I am… maybe two.”

  I sigh inwardly.

  We spend the rest of the night in bed. What starts out as hours of enlightening conversation gives way to us watching a movie, and then an intense and passionate session of making out. I wish we could make love, but I don’t think my body can handle it.

  The events of the last week are behind us and completely forgotten.

  I don’t know how much time has gone by, but Jonathan’s ringing phone wakes me.

  “God! What now?” he shouts, then answers, “Yeah? Yes, what make? Blue? Yes, I know who it is. She has no business here. No, but thanks for letting me know. Yes. Thanks Douglas. Bye.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It looks like Sophie is spying on us,” he sighs. “Damn it. How could I not have seen this coming?”

  A mischievous thought crosses my mind, and I can’t help but smile.

  “What’s the big smile all about?”

  I giggle.

  “What?”

  “It’s too bad I’m crippled right now. I would have loved to give her something to really spy on.”

  “You’re being naughty.”

  “It would have been nice to show her all the things I’d love to do to you.”

  “Do to me… titillating,” he replies, trailing kisses down my neck. “We’ll have to make sure we get you back up on your feet soon—literally. It’s too bad we can’t speed up healing a broken wrist.”

  “What makes you think I need an extra wrist for what I had in mind?”

  “Jada McLean, you surprise me.”

  “I can’t wait to be healthy again…”

  I am surprised the next morning when Jonathan parks at the very place we first met. We’re all getting together for brunch. When we walk in, the familiar face of the host, Mandy I think Jonathan said her name was, greets us. The rest of the family waits. When she sees us together, she smiles, but when her eyes meet mine, I think she’s a little embarrassed. No doubt, she remembers me well. I wink at her, and she eases a little and escorts us to our seat.

  We enjoy an extended brunch. I listen as they reminisce about old times with Charles. Pierce talks excitedly about his upcoming series he’s soon to release, and Jonathan and Megan are excited about how they will restore their father’s legacy. Jonathan smiles, but he doesn’t say much. I know his last conversation with Charles must still bother him.