by Adams,Claire
I drained my glass and started to turn off the TV. As I picked up the remote, however, I heard the bleached-blonde anchorman with the too-white smile say,
“This just in, it seems that a source close to the investigation of the break-in at the Hanson law firm has said that information from one of the files had just been released to the authorities. This source also said that the information this file contained held clues to an unsolved murder. Keep watching as the story unfolds for up to the minute details.”
I flipped off the set. The sounds of my world crashing down around me could almost be heard out loud now. Once Miles realized the “information” they were talking about was probably his son, he alone would make sure that I never practiced law again in this city.
I knew that I should call Alicia. I didn’t want her to see her client’s business splayed across the evening news. She took her work and her clients’ privacy to heart. This was going to upset her badly. It would be better if she heard it from me. I reluctantly reached for my phone just as it started to ring. The caller ID said it was Alex.
“Hey,” I answered, actually looking forward to hearing a friendly voice.
“Hey, buddy, I’ve been listening to the news. I’m sorry; it seems like everything that could go wrong for you lately has. How are you holding up?”
“I don’t know, Alex. This all really sucks, you know?”
“I know. You have to keep your chin up, though, and believe that you’ll get through this. I have faith in you.”
I laughed – it was the alternative to completely losing it. “I think you and maybe Alicia are the only ones in the greater Manhattan area who still feel that way.”
“Whatever I can do to help,” he told me.
“Have you seen Miles today?”
“I spoke with him a while ago. I’ll bet he gave you hell about all of this, huh?”
“That’s putting it mildly. I’m afraid of what he will do when he hears what the press is saying we have now.”
“Yeah, it’s about Miles V, right?”
“It has to be. We didn’t have anything else even remotely that damaging to anyone else in those files that were taken.”
“Is it enough for the authorities to arrest him, you think?”
“No, but it will definitely prompt them to reopen the case, I believe.”
“What about the civil case?” Alex asked. “How damaging will the files being public be to Miles’s business, if that were to happen?”
“Like the black plague,” I said with a sigh. “Alex, there were things in there to indicate that Miles and all of the executives knew their tankers weren’t up to code. If that gets out, we’re all screwed.”
“I’m sorry, buddy. Again, if there’s anything I can do…”
“I’ll let you know, thank you.”
“No problem,” Alex told me. “Get some rest, huh?”
“Yeah, sure,” I said, hanging up the phone and looking around the penthouse that I used to love. It smelled like death to me now. “I’m sure I’ll do that.”
********
I didn’t call Alicia. After talking to Alex, I decided it was too late and I would call her in the morning. I hoped that she had been too busy with her parents to have watched the news. I would try to catch her early in the morning before she saw the paper. I went to bed missing her, remembering the last night we spent together. I loved the way she smelled and the soft feel of her skin and her hair. God, I hoped that all of this drama wouldn’t drive her away – or worse yet home to the UK. I needed her now, more than ever.
In the morning before I called Alicia, she called me. “Hi, baby,” I said. “Did you sleep well?”
“Would have been so much better with you curled up by my side,” she said.
“Ditto over here, too.”
I was about to ask if she heard the news when she said, “Adam, I got a phone call this morning, from David.”
“David? What did he want? How did he get your number?”
“I asked him that, he never gave me an answer. He says he wants to meet with me. He claims he has some information that I need.”
“You’re not meeting with him alone. This guy has a finger in everything that’s been going on lately. I don’t trust him.”
“Me neither,” she said. “But I’m really interested in what he has to say. He mentioned Jack, Adam. Isn’t that strange?”
“I knew that guy was up to no good. What did David say exactly?”
“He was really cryptic about it all. He said he had some things I’d really like to discuss with you, in person. When I asked what things he said they involved my clients the Brigham’s, my boyfriend Adam Hanson, and my ex-boyfriend, Jack Grant.”
I tried to let the ex-boyfriend go, I really did. It wasn’t important now. But before I caught myself I said, “I thought you and Jack were only ever friends.”
“We were. We dated for a minute in high school and that was it. Adam, this is no time for jealousy.”
“I know, babe, I’m sorry. Listen, tell him you’ll meet with him, but only if I can be there as well, okay? Don’t agree to go alone, promise me.”
“Okay, I promise,” she said.
“Did you happen to see the news?”
She groaned. “Yeah, actually the morning paper. I found my father reading it when I got up.”
I felt so fucking bad for all of this. I have no idea why she’s still with me. “What did the paper have to say?”
“The article began by re-capping Marjorie’s murder. It called you a person of interest and referred to me as your “Love Interest.” After all of that, they finally got to the break-in. They knew that my office and yours were the only ones broken into and the reporter speculated on what, if anything this may have to do with Marjorie’s death. They talked about possible ramifications on our open cases and then they talked about Miles.”
I groaned. “Specifically?”
“Yeah, too specifically. They quoted things out of his file – most sickeningly when he said, ‘My son killed my wife.’”
“Shit.”
“Yep.”
“What did your parents say about all of this? Are they ready to kidnap you and take you back to the U.K.?”
“Mother didn’t read it. Hopefully, she won’t get a chance. My father is more understanding. We had a great evening together last night and Mother is in a great mood. I plan on trying to keep her that way.”
“Good luck, baby. I love you. Let me know what David says.”
“I will. I love you, too. I miss you.”
“I miss you like an amputated limb. When this is all over, we need to find a new place to live, together.”
“Really?”
“You’re still marrying me, right? We might have to go to Vegas because I’ll be destitute…”
She laughed. “I’d marry you on the street in Brooklyn. I love you. I can’t wait to be your wife. I will see you in a few hours. I got my parents tickets to the Met and after I drop them off, I’ll be into the office.”
“I can’t wait to see you,” I told her honestly. It was what would get me thorough another wretched day.
I showered and dressed after I spoke to Alicia and headed into the office. I had a meeting at nine a.m. with the judge presiding over Brigham’s civil case and I wanted to be well-prepared. Judge Newman was a no-nonsense type. When I made it into court, I found him not amused, at all.
“Pretty shoddy alarm system you must have over there, Hanson. Thieves in and out with over twenty files before the authorities arrived? You’ll be lucky if this doesn’t destroy you, boy.”
“Yes, sir,” I said, feeling as if I were sitting in the principal’s office in middle school. “I’m hoping that’s not going to be the case, however.”
“Well, for now, I haven’t found any reason not to proceed on this case as we have been. I’ll have the jury sequestered if need be to keep them from being tainted by the press. Meanwhile, I don’t want my courtroom made into a circus by
you and Rogers.”
Hal Rogers was the attorney for the plaintiffs in the oil spill case. Somehow, I just couldn’t get away from that clown. He hadn’t been able to make it to the meeting this morning, so it was almost postponed. Instead, he sent an associate and said he “trusted” me and Judge Newman not to have any ex-parte discussions. The associate was there just mainly to make sure things were kept legal, and the court stenographer was busy taking it all down as the judge and I talked.
“It won’t be, sir, I assure you,” I told him sincerely. I just wanted to get back to business as usual, if that was going to be possible. I glanced over at Cyrus, the associate Hal had sent in his place.
“No theatrics, Judge,” Cyrus assured. “Mr. Rogers is very serious about this case and the press is only a distraction to him, as well.”
“Okay then,” Judge Newman told us. “We will commence with the opening statements on Monday as planned. Thank you for coming, gentlemen.”
Cyrus and I both thanked the judge and went separate directions after leaving his chambers.
As I was leaving, I met Mac coming up the steps of the courthouse.
“I’m sorry, I got held up in traffic,” he told me. “How did it go?”
“Good, I think. He agreed we could go on with the case as if none of this had happened, as long as we promise not to create a circus in his courtroom, as he put it.”
Mac chuckled. “Did you tell him we would try, but we can’t speak for that clown, Rogers?”
I laughed. “I would have, if I thought the judge had a sense of humor,”
“So, how about we get an early lunch, or late breakfast? I’m starved.”
“I’m going to pass, thanks,” I told him. “I have something kind of important I need to take care of.”
I left the courthouse and headed for the office. After checking in with Marie, I returned a few calls, and then asked her to let anyone who was looking for me know that I’d be in conference the rest of the afternoon. I then called Romaletti’s and made a few arrangements. I hoped Alicia didn’t have a big lunch while she was out with her mother; I had plans for her this afternoon.
CHAPTER SEVEN
ALICIA
After I hung up with Adam, I showered and dressed. I was nervously waiting for David to call back. When he did, I told him what Adam said and the little bastard laughed.
“Afraid to meet me alone, are you? I find that laughable, considering the people you’ve been keeping company with lately. They are quite a collection of murderers and thieves.”
“When and where?” I wasn’t in the mood to engage him in his mind games.
“Friday morning, six a.m., at the café attached to the Motel 6 off of Highway 414.”
“Okay, we’ll be there.” I hung up quickly. For some reason, talking to that man made me feel dirty.
After breakfast, my mother and I went out to do some more Christmas shopping. We planned to meet my father at the Met just before two, and then I would go into the office and hopefully spend the afternoon getting some work done.
We had yet to hear back from the judges on our open cases. I didn’t even know if I had cases any longer or if we’d be thrown out or reassigned. I also had to call Miles IV. That was not a conversation I was looking forward to at all. I did my best to put it all out of my mind for the duration of the morning. For the most part, I did a good job and we had a nice time. Mother is an acquired taste, but I do love her, and I realized having her all to myself for a few hours that I’d really missed times like that.
I dropped her at the Met at one-thirty, so she and Daddy could find their seats before the show began. My father had used a car service and the driver would be picking them up and returning them to the apartment after the show. I made plans to meet them back there for dinner that evening after I finished up at work. I headed downtown to the office from there; traffic was light and I made it there in only fifteen minutes.
When I arrived, I wasn’t surprised to find Carla hard at work at her desk. I opened my office door, expecting to see the same mess I had last time. I should have known better. With Marie and the housekeeping staff’s help, Carla had scrubbed and shined every visible piece of furniture. The carpet had been cleaned and the place looked and smelled like brand new. I could almost forget what had happened the day before until I began sorting through the messages Carla had left on my desk. Just as I was about to start returning calls, my phone rang. Not waiting for Carla, I picked up the call,
“Alicia Winston,”
“Hi, it’s your boss, and your fiancé, though not necessarily in that order,” Adam said on the other end. “Do you have time to come up to the roof?”
“Excuse me?” I said with a giggle. “The roof?”
“Yes, please,” was his simple reply, and then he hung up. I looked at the phone in my hand in disbelief.
I took the service elevator to the top of the building and then the stairs to the roof access. The building was thirty stories tall, and the view was beautiful above the line of smog that usually hung over the city. I looked around for Adam, and found him standing next to a small folding table. It was covered with a white linen tablecloth that held a vase in the center with a beautiful red rose. On either side of that sat two covered silver serving trays, and a basket of bread that smelled so fresh it made my mouth water.
“What is all of this?”
Adam bowed slightly at the waist and said, “Your lunch is served, my lady.” He pulled out my chair, and I sat down. I was smiling so hard it almost hurt. I couldn’t believe with all he was going through that he had done this for me.
Adam sat across from me and clapping his hands gently twice, he summoned our waiter. It was Romaletti’s best waiter. He came right over and removed the tops from our trays. My senses were assaulted at once by the delicious aroma of shrimp linguini. The waiter popped the cork on a bottle of wine and poured us each a glass.
When I looked at Adam, he said, “I think we deserve just one glass, Tony here has coffee for us afterwards.”
“Well, in that case…” I lifted my glass. Adam lifted his, as well, and as we clinked them together he said,
“To us.”
“To us,” I agreed.
Before Tony discreetly disappeared, he lit an outdoor furnace that must have been brought out for the occasion. Adam had thought of everything. We dined and made small talk about my visit thus far with my parents, both of us were careful to leave the serious talk for later.
After we finished our entrée, Tony reappeared with dessert. Although I had thought I’d not be able to eat another bite, the chocolate volcano Tony sat before me with a steaming cup of coffee on the side proved too much to resist. After we finished dessert, a soft music began playing and Adam stood and asked, “May I have this dance?”
I gave him my hand, and we danced slowly to the music, both of us trying to live only in this moment. As the music came to an end, Adam kissed me softly. That one soft kiss ignited a passion in us both, and Adam led me over to the side of the roof where a small tent had been set up. I raised an eyebrow.
“I was hoping…”
I smiled and nodded, and he led me inside. The music started up again as he lay me down on a soft air mattress covered with a feather blanket. He kissed my eyelids, my nose, my cheeks, and my ears before starting on my neck. He nuzzled his face into my soft flesh, causing me to moan.
My moans urged him on, and he began to unbutton my blouse slowly, kissing each part of my chest as he did so. He kissed and tickled my stomach softly with his tongue as he pushed away the fabric of my blouse, running his fingers softly across the tops of my breasts. I arched my back, and he slipped his hand underneath me, unhooking my bra and allowing my breasts to escape. He moved his mouth back up and used it to set my body on fire.
When I couldn’t take it any longer, I began to pull at the fabric of Adam’s shirt and pants. I suddenly needed to feel his hot flesh against mine. He stood up and stripped down as I finished doing the same.<
br />
Neither of us felt the cold as we lit our own fire in each other’s bodies, making love that went from soft and gentle to passionate and urgent. When we finished, our bodies were glistening with sweat – in New York City in December at the top of a thirty story building.
I lay there in Adam’s arms, never wanting this day to end. Unfortunately, however, it would have to. I promised my parents I’d be home for dinner with them, and I couldn’t disappoint them. I had a sudden idea though.
“How’d you like to come to dinner tonight and meet the parents?” I asked Adam.
The look he gave me was almost comical. “Really?”
“Yes, really, I think it’s about time, don’t you?”
Adam sat up and scratched his head. “Well, since I just ravaged their daughter out in the open in broad daylight I suppose I do owe them at least a meeting.”
I laughed. “I think we should leave that part out of the conversation tonight, okay?”
“Okay, if you insist,” Adam said with a grin. “I’ll have to come up with another opener.”
I pulled him back down and kissed him hard. “Thank you so much for all of this; it was so wonderful,”
“You are very welcome,” he said. “When all of this craziness has passed, we’ll do things like this all the time, I promise.” Then, turning more serious he continued, “Will you really still want to marry me if we have to start over?”
I propped myself up on one elbow. “Of course I will. I hope you know that money and power are not what’s important to me here. I want to be with you. We can work on the rest of it together, right?”
“Right,” he said with a smile. “Thank you.”
After we dressed and straightened up a bit, we went back inside. Tony had somehow cleared up the table and the dishes while we were…otherwise engaged. I was suddenly embarrassed at the thought that maybe he heard us. I’d forgotten all about him.
“What are you thinking?” Adam asked me. “You’re blushing.”