by Alexa Davis
He nodded and drank his entire glass of water in one sitting before setting it on the nightstand. “Good because I’ve already got the oven heating.”
We sat there for a while in silence, just allowing the moment to settle. Every inch of my body was still tingling from the waves of adrenaline from the heightened senses. I reached up and tugged absentmindedly on a piece of hair and stared up at the ceiling.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you about how things are going at Frank Howell,” he commented briefly. “It sounded like you were conflicted when we talked before.”
I nodded thoughtfully and looked up at him with a smile. “Yeah, I was. Things seem to be going really great, though. I’ve had a couple shoots so far, and everyone is really happy with the product, so I guess its fine.”
“Good! And, you’re enjoying yourself?” he asked with genuine concern.
I exhaled a tired laugh and told him, “Oh my gosh, yes! It’s everything I ever wanted it to be.”
Adam smiled, propping himself up of one of his arms and looked at me. “That makes me really happy. I knew Frank would be good for you.”
“You know what? He really is. I guess my concerns were a little irrational.”
Adam shook his head and reached up to brush a piece of hair behind my hair. I smiled at the tender display of affection after the physical exertion of our lovemaking. “Don’t say that; it’s completely normal to want to know who you’re getting into business with. I’m glad you were able to talk to me about it.”
Before I could respond, the alarm in the kitchen went off to let us know the oven was ready. Adam smiled and kissed me on the nose before rolling off the bed and walking over to put the pizza in. When he came back, we spent the rest of the night talking about our families and our lives.
By the time we were finished talking, the pizza was eaten, and we were still laughing naked on the bed. I wanted every night to end like this. All the stress from the day melted away, and I was completely at peace.
As I was picking up the dishes and bringing them back into the kitchen, with a goofy grin spread across my face, I realized something.
“Oh no… I’m in love with him.”
Chapter 21
Adam
Friday
When I woke up that morning, Vanessa was curled up in bed beside me. Her body was warm and soft against the mattress as we snuggled deep within the sheets. We both sat up blearily at the sound of our morning alarm, and I turned it off swiftly in annoyance.
“Good morning,” Vanessa mumbled sleepily.
I glanced over at her blonde mess of hair and tattered t-shirt while she stretched and couldn’t help but smile; she was beautiful.
“Good morning to you, too,” I told her. “I have to go into the office early today so I can get ready for that meeting with the supplier.”
“Mmm… I remember.”
I climbed out of bed and walked around to kiss her briefly on the lips. Her arms wrapped around me snugly, the rest of her body still tangled up within the bed sheets. “I’ll see you when I get home.”
“Good luck,” she called after me as I made it out into the kitchen.
I bustled about with my morning routines of making coffee and getting dressed. Vanessa wandered out in her pajamas while I was getting ready and poured herself a bowl of cereal. We exchanged a few more pleasantries before I waved goodbye on my way out the door.
I was getting really sick of driving through the icy slush covering the roads. At times, it was pristinely beautiful, but after a while, that got wearisome.
Maybe Vanessa and I should take a trip to Florida, get away from the winter blues, I thought.
Wait a minute, since when did I start thinking about taking vacations with Vanessa?
I sighed, running my fingers through my hair as I drove. She was like a drug. I couldn’t seem to shake her. Every time I thought it had been enough, I found myself coming back to her again. For one thing, the sex was incredible. It had been a long time since I connected with a woman like that. The other thing was that she was so damn likable, so I could talk to her about anything.
Whatever it was, I was getting deeper than I had planned.
I pulled up outside the office and grabbed my things before heading up the steps. Leslie and the other secretaries were decorating the lobby for Valentine ’s Day with paper hearts and jelly beans.
Of course, it would be almost Valentine’s, I grumbled. That’s going to make the situation with Vanessa that much easier.
Leslie winked at me as I walked past, and I smiled at her. Good ol’ Les.
When I made it to my office, I spent the better part of an hour looking through the case file and what they were charging Jeff with to begin with. How much did they find in his apartment? Did he have any priors? All that was information I needed to know before Jon and I headed off to county.
Shortly before noon, I headed up to meet with Jon Hansen and see if he was ready to go. I knocked on the door to his office, and a booming voice called to me inside. “Come in!”
“Morning, Sir. I was just wondering if you’re ready to meet with Jeff.”
He stood up from the desk and handed me a file. “Afraid not, son. I’ve got too much work here to do, so I’m going to send you there alone. I’m going to warn you that he might be a little angry at first, but I’m sure you can loosen him up once you explain how we want to roll on the guy in charge. Hopefully, the offer of a plea deal will make him a bit more cooperative.”
Looking up from the paperwork in my hands, I asked, “You’re not coming with me?”
Jon shook his head and smiled. “No, I think you’ve got this. See what you can find out, and we’ll talk after you get back. Worst case scenario, I have to talk with him again.”
I nodded slowly. “Okay, I’ll get my coat and head out in the next little bit.”
“Go get ‘em, tiger.”
I took the file in my hand and started back down the stairs with butterflies in my stomach. In my head, it was all a daze. I couldn’t believe that Hansen had so much faith in me that he was sending me to visit with our client alone.
It made me feel good.
The drive to the county jail took almost forty minutes by the time I pulled into a parking spot. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to going through security, and I didn’t want to; it made me feel dirty. Eventually, I made it past and was guided to the same interview room as before. Two of the corrections officers brought Jeff in from the inmate housing and sat him down in the seat across from me.
He looked exactly the way Patrick said he would: buzzed brown hair and the edges of some tattoos that came up around his neck. The inmate uniform covered most of his arms, but the file confirmed the Koi fish that was covering them.
“Good morning, Mr. King. My name’s Adam Hillis. I’m an attorney working for Fairbanks, Hansen, and Associates. I’m here to represent you. How are you today?”
The man grunted in the chair and refused to make eye contact. “I’m chained up in this fucking hellhole; how do you think I’m doing?”
I sighed. “Listen, you don’t have to give me attitude. I’m trying to keep you out prison, understand? It’s not going to help either of us if you go into this with hostility.”
He scoffed at me and sighed, looking up at the air-conditioning unit on the wall behind me. “Whatever.”
“Okay, good. Has anyone explained to you what you’re being charged with?”
“Yeah, they think I’m supplying drugs.”
I smiled thinly and sat back into my seat. “To be more accurate, the detectives here can prove that you’re supplying drugs. There enough contraband to put you away for a good long time, and a witness willing to testify. It doesn’t look good for you right now.”
“Man, I ain’t got nothing to say to that!” he spat back angrily.
“The good news,” I continued slowly, “is that the district attorney is willing to make a deal with you. You could get a plea deal and be out of here on probation. He’s mu
ch more interested in finding the person heading up this drug ring than picking off the dealers one at a time.”
“This is bullshit! I’m not going to roll on my boy like that.”
I chuckled. “Well, you might have to. See, guys like you are replaceable in an underground ring like that. They can always find someone else to supply the drugs.”
Jeff scoffed at me again and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “He wouldn’t do that to me. You don’t know my boy like I do.”
“Really?” I challenged openly. “Cause your ‘boy’ is letting you hang out here to dry. Do you want to take the fall for this or help me put away someone really bad?
He frowned, thinking that over for a moment.
I closed my briefcase and started to leave. “Sorry I couldn’t help you, Jeff. This is a two-way street with us: you’ve gotta work with me.”
As I was turning for the door, he cleared his throat and called out after me. “The guy’s name is Fletcher.”
My eyes flew open as I turned around in shock. “Fletcher?”
“Yeah, the dude that’s running for city council.”
My heart started racing as I remembered different conversations over Christmas. Max didn’t wanna talk about it, saying Brandon was “part of the family” now.
I knew I didn’t like that guy. I knew it!
My feelings were split between complete validation that my initial assumption of him had been correct, and the sickening feeling that in a twisted way, I was associated with a criminal. If we were both part of Men’s Club, then that meant I might not be able to finish this case.
“Thank you, Jeff. I’ll go speak with the head attorney and see what kind of deal we can get you.”
Beads of sweat started forming on my forehead as I was walking through security. Fuck.
My mind was racing the entire drive back to the office. I didn’t know what to do. If what Jeff said was to be believed, then Brandon Fletcher was behind a lot of this. He was part of Men’s Club, and I was affiliated with the organization.
My stomach was all twisted up in knots at the thought of it. I decided the best thing I could do was come clean and let Jon know. He might take me off the case, but that was better than having a mistrial because I hadn’t disclosed the information.
I didn’t want to impede the case, but I really wanted to get this slimeball off the street; it was a tough decision.
I let out and heavy sigh as I walked up the steps to the building and let myself inside. Leslie glanced over at me happily, and I gave her a halfhearted smile before heading up the stairs to the senior offices.
His door was open when I made it up the stairs, so I knocked on the doorframe and waited to be let inside. Mr. Hansen looked up from the paperwork at his desk and smiled. “Nice to see you, Adam. What brings you up here?”
“I need to talk to you about my meeting with Jeff,” I told him honestly.
“Ah, yes. How did that go?” he inquired pleasantly.
I cleared my throat uncomfortably and closed the door when I came inside. That got Jon’s attention, and he raised a quizzical eyebrow.
“Sir, while I was meeting with Jeff today something came out about the case that might take me off the project.”
“Oh?”
I nodded. “He gave me the name of someone who might be behind this drug case, and he’s part of my fraternity. I know him, sir. I feel like that creates a conflict of interest.”
“What is the name?” he asked me quietly.
“Brandon Fletcher.”
Mr. Hansen sat up in his seat and stared at me wide-eyed. “The councilman?”
“Yes, sir.”
“That raises the scale of this investigation greatly,” he muttered thoughtfully. “And, you said he is in your fraternity?”
“Yes, I met him over the Christmas holiday at our annual get together. I’m so sorry. I let you know as soon as I found out.”
“Do you have any business dealings with him that I should know about?”
I shook my head adamantly, “No! Of course not.”
“Do you see him regularly as part of your social engagements or have a personal relationship with him of any kind?”
“No, I’ve only met him the one time.”
“When you were at this party, did you ever meet with him in private?”
“No.”
“Then I don’t think you have anything to be worried about.”
I stared at him in shock and asked, “You’re not going to kick me off the case?”
He shrugged. “I don’t see any reason to. There’s no evidence that you have a conflict of interest, and you’ve got no personal history with the man. The fact that you belong to the same organization shouldn’t have a bearing in a court of law.”
My jaw fell open as I could not believe my good luck. “Thank you! Thank you, sir!”
He chuckled, going back to the paperwork. “There’s no need to thank me, Adam. You didn’t do anything wrong. The thing that’s beautiful about the legal system is the rules are clearly defined. You’re in the clear. Now get back to work. I wanna see the write up on this by the end of the day.”
“Yes, sir!”
How about that? I chuckled. Sometimes being honest does pay off.
Chapter 22
Vanessa
Saturday
What am I going to do about this whole Adam thing? I wondered. I should probably just squash it while I can and pretend that nothing happened. Ugh, but he’s so cute—and the sex is incredible!
I frowned, watching the technician finish polishing my nails. The slight Korean girl who was working on them had a face mask, and her hair pulled back into a ponytail. The salon smelled strongly of acetone and chemicals, with bright overhead lighting that hurt my eyes after a while.
“Vanessa?” Meghan asked me while trying to get my attention. Vanessa, you there?”
I shook my head and blinked, making sure to smile when I turned to her at last. “Sorry, I was thinking.”
“About what?”
I sighed, not daring to make eye contact with her and said, “Adam.”
She chuckled. “Oh no, what has he done this time?”
“Nothing! Everything at home is great. I actually think… I might be falling for him.”
She rolled her eyes and scoffed. “That’s just the hormones talking. Or you haven’t had decent sex in, like, a really long time. You’ll get over it.”
“No, I’m really serious!” I told her honestly. “He treats me well, he listens to me when I’ve had a sucky day at work, and I look forward to spending time with him. I don’t have any desire to even go out on the weekends anymore because I’d rather just stay at home with him.”
“Wow, seriously?”
The technician ordered us each to go wash our hands in the sink, and we followed her instruction.
“So, how long have you been feeling this way?” she asked me curiously.
I shrugged, lathering up my fingers with some soap as I washed them in a sink beside her. “I dunno, about two weeks?”
“Two weeks and you didn’t tell me? Girl… ”
“I know, I know.”
The woman at the checkout counter took our payment and thanked us for our patronage before we headed out the door. “Is it the suit?” she inquired briefly. “Because I would totally understand if you were digging him over that. Every girl likes a sharp-dressed man.”
I giggled. “Well, that certainly helps, but no it isn’t that. I just get all happy anytime I think about him and can’t stop smiling.”
“Yeah, you’re doing it now,” she teased. “I told you things get messy in relationships.”
“What am I going to do?” I asked her nervously.
She sighed, clicking her tongue in thought. “Obviously, you can’t tell him anything. Adam would shut it down completely. I think you should probably just keep it to yourself.”
My heart sank slightly and frowned. “That’s not exactly the advice I was look
ing for.”
Meghan smiled apologetically and wrapped her arm around my shoulder. “What do you want me to say, hon? It’s the twenty-first century; you knew the deal when you and Adam started this arrangement. It’s not fair to change the rules halfway through, that’s a bait and switch.”
“But how am I going to keep living with him when I feel this way? I see him every day!”
“I don’t know, Vanessa. That is one messed up situation.”
Right. How dare I develop feelings for the man I’m sleeping with? I forgot that’s such a social faux-pas nowadays.
I walked down the tile floor beside her, my eyes downcast toward the ground. My stomach was all in knots, and I didn’t know if I agreed with her advice. Still, I needed a night away from him to think about it. I knew if I went home and saw him now, we’d end up falling into bed again and having sex again. Not that I minded the sex—I looked forward to it—but it was time to get perspective.
I sighed. “Hey, you want to go over to my parents’ house for dinner? I haven’t spent a lot of time over there since moving out, and I know they’d like to see you.”
She smiled. “Yeah, okay. That would be fun.”
“Cool!”
I pulled out my phone and dialed the house line. A few rings later, Mom answered it with a sing-song voice. “Hello?”
“Hey, Mom. It’s me,” I told her happily. “Do you mind if I come by with Meghan for dinner tonight? I wanted to get out of the house for a while.”
“Sure, sweetie! We’d love to have you.”
“Cool, do you want me to pick up anything on the way?”
“Of course not, dear. What time should we expect you girls to be stopping by?”
I looked at Meghan, forgetting she wasn’t currently part of the conversation, and answered, “Around five I guess? We’re out shopping right now.”
She laughed gently on the other line and said, “Alright, dear. Have fun. We’ll see you then.”
“Bye, Mom.”
“Bye!”
I returned the phone to my pocket with a sigh. Meghan and I went to a few more stores around the mall, and by the time we were done, my arms were overloaded with bags from shopping. We headed out into the parking lot through the automatic double doors and found her car.