by Claire Adams
“Jack,” I said as I walked into the sitting room where they were all having coffee. “What a surprise.”
“Alicia,” Jack said, rising from his seat next to my mother, “I’m sorry to just drop by unannounced. I didn’t realize your parents were visiting. I had just been watching the news, and I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“That is actually what phones were invented for,” I said, somewhat sarcastically.
“Alicia,” my mother chimed in. “There is no reason to be rude. You owe Jack an apology for your tone.”
“It’s okay, Lady Winston,” Jack said. Ever the ass-kisser, I thought. “I know she’s had a rough go of it lately. I am the one who should apologize and get going. I’m intruding.”
“You are doing no such thing!” Mother told him. “We were happy to see you and catch up. If my daughter won’t apologize for her rudeness, I will.”
“Mother, I can apologize for myself, thank you.” Looking at Jack and pasting the second non- genuine smile of the day on my face, I said, “You’re right, Jack. It has been rough week. I do apologize if I’ve been rude.”
“No need, Alicia, really,” Jack said, oblivious to the fact that I had said “If I’ve been rude.” I hadn’t actually admitted to anything. I felt he was the one being rude just by virtue of being there.
“All I want is to be sure you’re okay,” he said again.
“I’m fine, thank you,” I said, and took a seat next to my father.
My dad took my hand. “Are you really, dear? We saw on the television that your office was broken into.”
“It’s awfully frustrating yes, but we can deal with it. Now, enough depressing talk. How about I put what I had out for dinner tonight in the refrigerator until tomorrow and we go out to a nice restaurant? I’d love to take you to see Rockefeller Center. You haven’t ever been there around the holidays, have you?”
“No, we haven’t,” my mother said, “What do you think, John? Are you up for a stroll out in the cold tonight?” I knew that my father had had some medical issues lately. It was touching to see that my mother still worried about him after all these years.
“I would love to see all of the Christmas decorations and watch the skaters out on the ice,” my father said, enthusiastically.
“It’s settled then. I know of an excellent seafood restaurant near there. I’ll call for reservations now, and that will give us time to dress.”
“I better be on my way, then,” Jack said, rising once again off of the sofa.
My mother gave me a look that I knew full well meant I was being rude again and should offer Jack an invitation, but I pretended not to see it and said instead, “It was nice of you to come by, Jack. Perhaps we can have you over again before my parents return home.”
“That would be nice,” he said. He kissed my mother on the cheek and shook my father’s hand. I walked him to the door and as he was leaving he said, “Don’t forget that you can call me if you need anything,”
“I won’t, thank you,” I said as I closed the door.
There was something about him that bothered me so badly lately, but I just couldn’t figure out what it was. I shook it off for now, and returned to my parents. I was looking forward to our outing. It would be nice to forget about everything for a while and just enjoy our time together.
CHAPTER SIX
ADAM
I returned to my penthouse that evening. It was creepy being there, knowing that Marjorie’s dead body had been here only a few days prior. I didn’t believe I would ever be able to use the bathroom where they had found her again. Thankfully, the penthouse offered two other choices.
I mixed myself a drink and after taking off my suit jacket and tie, I sat down on the couch to watch the news. The break-in at the firm was the top story of the evening. The news anchors of course had to link what had happened to the “recent murder” of the “firm’s leader.”
They re-hashed the sordid details of Marjorie’s death and even included an interview with that rat-bastard Hal Rogers. He told the story of how he was helping this poor woman fight in court for what was legally hers and made me out to sound like some kind of Simon Legree in the process. He said that when she had finally gotten some “small” resolution, someone had viciously taken her life. He worked up a tear as he said how his heart went out to her family and what a tremendous loss to society her death would be. I wanted to throw my drink at the television.
Rogers hadn’t said a word about how he happened to be screwing poor, dead Marjorie while trying to help her steal every dime she could from me, whether I deserved it or not. He also hadn’t mentioned how large his cut of what Marjorie had gained was. I knew it was upwards of a million dollars. The bastard was using Marjorie’s death and now what was happening at my firm as publicity for his ramshackle practice.
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.