His cell phone rang.
“Are you going to take that?” Marissa asked. “It could be important.”
“They can leave a message. I’m enjoying dinner with a colleague and friend.”
She did not respond, leaving Griffin to wonder if he had said something to upset her.
Chapter 8
Bored, Marissa surfed through the channels on television in the family room, searching for something interesting to watch.
Her mother walked into the room. “How are you feeling, sugar?” She sat down on the chair across from Marissa.
Marissa could feel her mother’s eyes on her and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She picked up a pillow and placed it in front of her stomach. “I’m okay. I think it was something I ate that just didn’t agree with me.” The housekeeper had informed her mother earlier that Marissa was in her bathroom throwing up.
“Are you hungry? You haven’t eaten anything today.”
Marissa shook her head. She did not believe she could keep anything down. She was looking forward to this nausea phase of her pregnancy ending.
“I think you’re working much too hard, Marissa.” Jeanette’s words broke through her musings. “You’re sure you don’t want to try eating something?”
Marissa shook her head. “Not right now, Mother. Maybe in a little while.” She felt so disappointed in her mother, which made it difficult to hold a pleasant conversation with her.
“Did I do something to upset you?” Jeanette blurted. “We’ve always been so close, Marissa. Why can’t you talk to me?”
“There isn’t anything to talk about,” she responded. “I don’t know why you feel that I’m upset with you. Are you feeling guilty about something?”
Jeanette opened her mouth and then closed it. After a moment, she uttered, “I think I’ll go make a few phone calls.”
Marissa knew that she had hurt her mother’s feelings, but that pain could never compare to the one Jeanette had inflicted on her.
* * *
“Where’s Mom and Dad?” Jillian asked when she entered the kitchen. She had just arrived home from the office.
“I left Daddy at the office,” Marissa announced. “I haven’t seen Mom. She wasn’t home when I got here.”
“Daddy left shortly after you did,” Jillian commented. “I’m surprised Mom is not here. She’s usually home by now,” Jillian said. “It’s nine o’clock. Mom doesn’t like to be out alone at night.”
Maybe she was not alone, Marissa thought silently. The thought had not occurred to her before, but maybe her mother was using the planning of the charity gala as a means to have an affair. Jeanette was the chairperson of the planning committee for the Hearts and Hands Charity Ball, which benefited the Tuck Me In Foundation. The annual fundraiser was very close to her heart.
“What are you thinking about?” Jillian asked, cutting into her thoughts. “Marissa, you’ve been in a strange mood for weeks now. What’s going on with you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Marissa said.
Jillian openly studied her sister’s face. “You’re my sister and I know you well. Something is going on with you—I’m sure of it.”
“I just have a lot on my plate right now. I need to stay focused.”
“Do you need help with anything?”
Marissa stiffened. “No, it’s not that at all. Look, Jillian, I may be the youngest in the family, but I’m more than capable of pulling my own weight.”
“Sorry,” Jillian uttered. “Didn’t mean to offend you.”
“I shouldn’t have snapped at you,” Marissa confessed. “I know you were only trying to help.” She had never been a moody person, but lately, her moods seemed to shift constantly.
“Marissa, if you need to talk about anything, I’m here for you.”
“I know that.”
They looked up when they heard the front door open and close. Jeanette walked in. “Mom, where have you been?” Marissa asked. “You are not usually out so late by yourself.”
“I had dinner with a couple of friends,” Jeanette said. She glanced over at Marissa. “What’s wrong, dear?”
“Nothing,” she said. “I was just wondering where you could be. I know that planning meetings do not last this long.”
Jeanette gave a short chuckle. “Do I have a curfew now?”
“No, but you should let your family know where you are,” Marissa stated, “in case you need us or we need you.”
She held up her cell phone. “That’s why I carry one of these. It goes where I go.”
Jillian glanced over at Marissa. “When did you become such a worrywart?”
“Mom imposed these rules on us and so I just assumed she would follow them, as well.” Marissa retrieved a bottle of water from the fridge and then headed toward the door. “I’ll see you all in the morning.”
* * *
As soon as Marissa arrived at work, she had a few minutes to check her email before heading into a staff meeting.
Griffin was seated at the end of the table when she entered the conference room. The only available seat was the one across from him.
“Good morning,” he greeted politely.
Marissa returned the greeting.
She relaxed some when Marcus asked her a question. Marissa turned sideways in her chair to face her brother.
Jacob opened the meeting by commending everyone on their hard work. The topic then turned to the upcoming high-profile trial of Blaine Morton. They had been working on the Ponzi case for months.
“Our investigators have discovered that the asset management of Houston Douglas is nonexistent. According to Blaine Morton, he had no idea that his partner’s company was one huge lie,” Griffin stated. “I believe him.”
“Houston took investors for almost fifty billion dollars over the course of ten years,” Jake interjected. “He fled the country last year, months before the authorities could build a case.”
“Do we know where to find him?” Jacob questioned.
Jake shook his head. “No idea, but I’d guess that wherever he’s living, there are no extradition laws.”
Marissa was finding this case an interesting one. She had been looking forward to working a high-profile case like this one day and proving herself.
“One reason that Houston was so successful in fooling everyone including Morton was that he was a highly respected, well-established and esteemed financial expert,” Griffin explained. “What’s more, at the same time he was running his scheme, he was also running a legitimate business. He earned our client’s trust because whenever they requested a withdrawal, his partner’s investment company got money to them promptly. He did not tempt investors with unbelievable returns, and he reported moderate returns to his investors.”
“So our defense is that Blaine Morton is also a victim,” Jillian stated.
Jake and Griffin both nodded.
“This whole ordeal has wrecked his marriage and has left him bankrupt. Morton truly believed he was partnering with a legitimate company,” Jake said.
“It’s a good defense,” Albert commented. “Let’s hope the jury buys it.”
“They won’t if it’s not the truth,” Jillian contributed. “I’m not necessarily convinced that Morton had absolutely no knowledge of what was going on. I do believe his partner left him behind to face the charges. I’m just not sure I’m buying the whole ignorance-of-the-truth scenario.”
Jacob looked at Marissa and asked, “What are your thoughts?”
“I feel the same way as Jillian,” she responded. “The evidence we present has to be solid in order to prove our client’s innocent of the charges. People, charities and other companies lost a lot of money in this scheme. They want someone’s blood in return.”
“I agree with my sisters,” Marcus said. “There are eight hundred victims and we have to convince them and the public that this man who has dedicated his life to creating an air of respectability did not do it to defraud people into parting with their money.”
As the associates debated the case, Marissa felt the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Her eyes traveled around the table till she found Harper watching her.
When his father spoke up, Harper’s expression changed. He looked furious.
The meeting ended an hour later and Marissa walked with Harper to his office.
“I can tell that you’re really having a hard time with this secret we’re carrying,” she told him as soon as she shut the door behind her. “My mom keeps asking me what’s wrong, but there is nothing I can tell her.”
“Marissa, my father used to be my hero,” Harper said. “I wanted to be just like him. Now I don’t want anything to do with him.”
“I feel the same way,” Marissa confessed to her cousin. “I will never look at my mother in the same way. To be completely honest, Harper, I’m not sure I can ever forgive her.”
Chapter 9
There was one other car in the parking deck when Griffin arrived shortly after six o’clock the next morning. He pulled into the space designated for him and turned off the car.
Humming softly, Griffin got out and walked briskly through the front doors of the building. He had stopped off at Starbucks for a cup of his favorite coffee.
He was always grateful to have this time alone. It gave him time to sort out his day without any distraction.
“I thought I would find you here,” Albert said with a small chuckle as he entered Griffin’s office. “You certainly remind me of myself when I was your age. I had that same hunger…that same drive. Just like you, I used to be the first one here.”
Griffin considered his words a compliment and smiled. “This is the best part of the day.”
Albert nodded. “I certainly appreciate it. The quiet.”
They talked for a few minutes more before Albert left and headed to his corner office down the hall.
Griffin turned his focus to a case he was working on that would be going to trial next week, but he was finding it difficult to concentrate. He could not stop thinking about Marissa. Everything about the firm, including his office, reminded him of her.
Griffin found himself tortured by the images of that one night they had spent together. He regretted giving in so easily to his impulses. Griffin knew that Marissa felt the same way because of the gulf between them now. They used to be so close before that night. There were moments when Marissa seemed to condemn him with her eyes, although she tried to hide her true feelings.
It was his fault really. He had come up with the stupid idea that they act as if nothing had happened between them—as if he were capable of forgetting the most incredible night of his life.
Making love to Marissa had been wonderful.
Griffin debated whether he should attempt to have an honest conversation with Marissa about that night. Perhaps it might help to clear the air. On second thought, it might make things worse, he decided.
Outside in the halls he heard voices. Employees were starting to arrive for work.
Griffin returned his attention to a case that would soon go to trial. He was grateful that this one seemed to be an easy win for the firm. This would leave him with more time to prepare for the upcoming Morton trial.
He knew the moment Marissa arrived because he felt her presence. Griffin was tempted to leave his office just to get a glimpse of her beautiful smile, but to do so would be more than a mistake. It would be his undoing.
* * *
Marissa had been in her office for all of thirty minutes when she suddenly felt completely overwhelmed.
“What am I doing here?” she whispered.
She loved being a lawyer, but there were times when she questioned her decision to become one. Was it because everyone in her family seemed to follow family tradition? Was it because it was expected of her?
Marissa eyed the stack of paperwork on her desk and sighed. Although she had gotten a full night’s sleep, she was still battling exhaustion. Now that her nausea was dissipating, she was back to working longer hours to stay on top of her workload.
She wanted to prove to her family for the last time that she could handle her job, especially now that she was having a baby.
Marissa thought about the way she had questioned her mother the night before. Things would never be the same between them because she no longer trusted Jeanette.
She had enough on her plate in both her personal and professional life. Marissa got up and walked over to the window, peering out.
I have to find a way to deal with this stuff. I can’t let myself become stressed out.
Her assistant knocked softly on the door before strolling inside.
“Here is the information you requested for the Hanover case,” she told Marissa. “It just came over on the fax.”
“Thank you, Roberta.”
When the telephone rang, Roberta leaned over the desk and answered it. “Marissa Hamilton’s office. Oh, hello, Mrs. Hamilton. How are you?”
Marissa tensed. Her mother was on the telephone.
I don’t want to talk to her right now.
“It was so nice talking to you, Mrs. Hamilton. Marissa’s right here,” Roberta said.
Marissa made her way back to her desk. She took the phone from her assistant and waited until Roberta had exited. “Hello, Mother.”
“I hope I haven’t interrupted anything important,” Jeanette said.
“I can take a few minutes.”
“Marissa, I wanted to know if we could have lunch. I feel like we’re growing apart.”
“I’m really busy today,” she responded abruptly. “There is a lot going on here in the office, as I’m sure Daddy’s already told you.”
“Your father will understand—”
“Mother, please stop trying so hard,” Marissa snapped. “None of this has anything to do with you. I am just really trying to stay focused.”
Jeanette was silent for a moment.
“Mother…”
“I’ll let you get back to your work.”
Marissa hung up the phone and wiped away a tear.
The tears would not stop coming. She had not shown much emotion since finding out about her mother’s affair. But this, on top of work, being pregnant and feeling alone, was just too much. She let out a sob and released all that she had kept locked away as she cried.
* * *
It was time he and Marissa had a conversation.
Griffin decided that they both needed closure about that night. He rose from his desk and strolled briskly out of his office. They could not continue working together with a cloud of tension floating over their heads. It followed them everywhere, and soon others in the office would begin to notice.
He navigated to the other side of the floor where Marissa’s office was located. Griffin opened the door and entered without knocking.
Marissa quickly wiped her eyes with her hands, but not quick enough to keep him from seeing her tears.
“This is not a good time, Griff,” she managed to say.
“I can see that,” he said. “What’s wrong, Marissa?”
She wiped her face with the back of her hand. “Would you do me a favor and please leave? I need some time alone.”
Instead, he sat down in one of the chairs facing her desk. He would not hear of leaving her like this. “You know, I used to be the one you came to whenever you had any problems. Marissa, what happened to us?”
She bristled at his words. “That was then, Griff,” Marissa stated flatly. “I’m surprised you would ask me that, especially wh
en you were the one who said that going forward we needed to keep our distance.”
Suddenly it dawned on Griffin that he might be the reason behind her tears. “Marissa, I’m so sorry. I really messed up everything.”
She stared down at her keyboard. “There’s really no need to apologize. We are both adults and we knew what we were doing.”
“I want you to know that I really miss our friendship.”
Marissa looked up at him. “You set the terms, Griff.”
“I didn’t expect that we would become so distant,” Griffin admitted. He had hoped they would be able to remain friends, but Marissa did not seem interested in having him as a friend.
“You said we should keep our distance and that’s what I did. I don’t know what else you expect me to do.” Marissa released a sigh. “Griff, I really don’t want to continue this discussion. What’s done is done. We cannot go back and change what happened that night. We can only move forward, and this is exactly what I plan to do. Now, if you would please excuse me…”
Griffin nodded. “For the record, I do care for you, Marissa.”
She did not respond.
Confused, Griffin headed back to his office. He was not sure what to make of Marissa’s lack of response.
He removed his blazer and hung it up in the narrow closet and then navigated over to his desk and sat down to check his email.
He had been invited to speak to a group of law students at Beasley School of Law at Temple University. Griffin quickly checked his calendar and accepted the invitation.
An image of Marissa formed in his mind. Griffin shook his head as if trying to shake her from his thoughts. He put a hand to his mouth, disconcerted.
Griffin tried to regain his focus. He pushed away from his desk and got up. He walked to the door of his office. “Paula, could you come here, please?”
His assistant immediately responded by saying, “I’ll be right there.”
Griffin walked back over to his desk and sat down.
Paula rushed in. “I have those papers you needed,” she announced. “Oh, and I will be meeting with Mr. Drake this afternoon.”
Legal Attraction Page 5