“Sure seems like it to me.” He marched back over to the table and sat down again.
“I don’t want to argue, Jefferson.”
“We’re not arguing. This is a discussion.”
I inhaled. “Having a baby is a big decision. It’s my body that’s going to blow up like an elephant for nine months. It’s my life that’s going to change.”
“You know I’ll be there helping you every step of the way.”
“Yeah, like when I’m having morning sickness and I have a brief to write, a deposition to take and a client to interview. I’m sure you’ll be right there feeling all my pain.”
“So it is all about the job,” he said accusingly.
“No, it isn’t. But you act like I can just walk away from what I do. We need two paychecks to pay the mortgage on this house.”
My statement was not intended to say he wasn’t an adequate provider, but the quick flinch of his left eye told me he had interpreted it that way.
“So you’re saying you’d quit your job if I could handle paying all the bills? Because if that’s what it takes, I can make it happen. The rental income from the duplex in Gardena my grandmother left me could easily cover your half of the mortgage.”
“I’m not quitting my job, Jefferson,” I said. “I didn’t go to law school so I could stay home and bake cookies.”
“Nobody’s asking you to stay home and bake cookies. Anyway, you told me your firm gives you four months paid maternity leave. So, it’s not about the money then, is it?”
When the hell did I tell you that? And why did I tell you that? “Jefferson, I can’t make a life-changing decision like this overnight. Just give me some time.”
“I’m not asking you to make a decision overnight.” The way his nostrils flared told me he was getting even more upset. “We’ve been talking about this for months, except every time I bring it up, you want to put it off. Well, we ain’t putting it off any longer.”
I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him this mad. I didn’t like where this conversation was going. It would be a mistake for either one of us to put an ultimatum on the table. “Jefferson, I just need some time,” I pleaded.
“Okay, you want time, how much time do you need? We don’t have a lot of time to play with. You’re 32, I’m 36. I want to be able to enjoy my kids while I’m still young.”
I pushed my plate away. The pungent odor of the food was suddenly making me nauseous. “I know lots of women who have babies in their forties,” I said.
His body tensed. “I’m not waiting eight years to be a father.” His statement sounded like a threat.
“I’m not asking you to wait that long. I just—”
“Just forget it.” He got up from the table and headed for the den. “Take all the time you need.”
I followed after him and joined him on the couch. I tried to find the words to make him understand my point of view, but before I could speak, the telephone rang. It was Special.
“Girl, can you believe it? That woman murdered her fine-ass husband!”
“What are you talking about?”
“The wife of that rich, fine-ass Max Montgomery. They just showed her on TV. They brought her in for questioning in her husband’s death. And I just know she did it. That boy was a big time ho. He even tried to hit on me once. I was at this pool party up in Bel Air and I was wearing these shocking pink hot pants and he—”
“Wait,” I said, running into the bedroom to turn on the TV. I hoped Jefferson didn’t follow me. This was not the way I wanted him to find out about the Montgomery case.
It seemed to take forever for a picture to appear on the television screen. “You saw Tina Montgomery on the news?” I asked, as I paced in front of the TV.
“Yep. Standing right out in front of Parker Center.”
I held the phone between my ear and shoulder and frantically pressed the remote, switching from channel to channel. “What station is it on?”
“Eleven. And her attorney is that chick from your firm. The one you don’t like with the country-ass name who always looks like she wants to bite somebody.”
My blood began to boil. “Neddy?”
“Yep. A reporter was interviewing her. Girl, you need to help that sister with some makeup tips. She didn’t even have any lipstick on. And it looked like Stevie Wonder did her hair. Give that girl Shawnta’s number so she can hook her up with some extensions. She can’t be going around looking like that. Don’t she know she’s representing her people?”
I could hardly think. “What did she say?”
“The typical lawyer nonsense y’all are always spouting. ‘My client’s innocent. Justice will prevail.’ Yada, yada yada.”
“I can’t find it,” I said.
“Girl, the story’s over now. Your girl claimed her client was only brought in for questioning. But that’s a straight-up lie. They could’ve of questioned her ass at home. Homegirl’s about to go down.”
I was so mad I was seeing red, black, and purple. I kept channel surfing in the hope that another station was running the story, but no luck. “This is that case I was telling you about the other day at Friday’s,” I said.
“No shit! Then why weren’t you out there talking to the media with your client?”
“I don’t know,” I said, still stunned. “But I’m damn sure going to find out.”
CHAPTER 11
The first thing I did when I arrived at the office the next morning was check my voice mail. I’d checked it right after I got off the telephone with Special and again during my drive into the office, but I wanted to check it one more time just to make sure Neddy hadn’t tried to call me. I suffered through three lengthy new messages to find out that she had not.
I glanced at my watch. It was 8:15. Neddy was usually in by 7:30. I’d already stopped by her office twice. She was probably avoiding me. And it was a good thing she was. I still needed more time to calm myself down before confronting her. No need for me to be facing a murder charge, too. Before I could decide whether to visit her office a third time, Neddy walked into mine.
I didn’t give her a chance to speak. “Is there a reason you didn’t let me know our client was being brought in for questioning last night?” I asked with mucho attitude in my voice.
As usual, Neddy was grim-faced and distant. “Everything happened really fast last night. When I got the call from Tina she was already on her way to the police station so I had to just rush down there.”
I stood up, but remained standing behind my desk. “You could’ve called me.”
She closed the door and walked over near my desk. Maybe things were about to get ugly.
“I knew you had already left the office and I didn’t have your home number,” she said, her look as unpleasant as the tone of her voice.
“You could’ve left me a voice mail message,” I replied.
She raised her eyes to the ceiling, like I was annoying her.
I just glared back at her. I was so hot I was scared I might do something crazy, like reach over and start choking her.
“Look,” she said finally, “I don’t have time for this territorial bullshit. If you want to be on TV, I’ll make sure the next interview is yours. I didn’t even want to talk to them but they ambushed us.”
“It’s not about being on TV, it’s about being included.” I couldn’t believe Neddy was trying to act like excluding me was no big deal. I had to let her know that I would not stand for her blowing me off. “If we’re going to be working together, then that’s exactly what we should do. Work together. I don’t know what kinda stuff you’re going through but—”
“Who says I’m going through anything?” The worried look on her face mirrored the panic in her voice. I smiled inside. It was nice to finally find a pressure point. The woman did not like having her business in the street.
I paused, careful not to disclose anything O’Reilly had shared with me. “You must be going through something because you’re always walking around here
like somebody’s got a foot up your ass.”
Her body language told me she was willing to take that shot only because she could see I was too hot to be played with. “Nothing’s going on. I’m fine.”
“I’d appreciate it if you’d include me in anything else dealing with this case from now on.”
“No problem.”
She made a move toward the door, then stopped. “I forgot to mention it,” she said, trying to sound matter-of-fact, “but I hired an investigator the day after we met with Tina to gather some background information on her husband. Can you stop by my place tonight to go over what he’s come up with so far? I really need to get out of the office.”
Forgot to mention it!
My lips were perfectly poised to spew some hateful words that I probably would’ve regretted later when O’Reilly barged through the closed door of my office.
“Didn’t I tell you!” he said, throwing a copy of the L.A. Times in the middle of my desk. “You two are about to become household names. When you get the first book deal, just make sure you thank me in the foreword.”
I picked up the newspaper as Neddy walked over to get a closer look. The headline on page one of the California section read UNIQUE DREAM TEAM IN MONTGOMERY MURDER CASE. The article went on to explain that Tina Montgomery had retained two of L.A.’s finest African-American female litigators to represent her, even though she had yet to be charged in her husband’s murder. It tracked our legal careers, including my big win in the Hayes case and a series of victories Neddy had at the P.D.’s office and more recently at O’Reilly & Finney. The article even noted that I attended Compton High School and that Neddy was raised on the south side of Chicago. The picture of Neddy looked pretty decent. The one they had of me made my face look bloated.
The article was even more complimentary of my legal talent than the ones following the Hayes verdict. If this case proceeded to trial, we really could end up being celebrity lawyers.
“How did they get this story?” Neddy asked. She eyed O’Reilly suspiciously, as if she were the boss, not the other way around.
He responded with a broad, telling smile.
“You actually leaked this stuff to the Times?” she asked in disbelief.
“I wouldn’t exactly call it a leak,” he grinned. “I just happened to mention it to a friend whose wife is on the paper’s editorial staff.”
“O’Reilly, c’mon!” Neddy scolded. “We need to be thinking about the best interests of our client. Tina hasn’t even been charged with anything yet.”
“And that’s exactly what the story says,” O’Reilly said defensively.
Neddy looked down at the article again, then back up at O’Reilly. “This story pumps us up like we’re some magical saviors. Everybody’s going to think Tina’s guilty because she hired us. You’re already poisoning our potential jury pool.”
“There’s nothing about this article that causes any harm to Tina Montgomery’s defense. You two should be ecstatic about it.” His face was lit up like a Christmas tree. “Do you know what kind of advance Marcia Clark got for her book deal after the O.J. trial? Millions. I bet she’s still pulling down ten or twenty grand a pop for speaking engagements. And I don’t even have to tell you how that case made Johnnie Cochran a household name.”
“The firm pays us quite well, thank you,” Neddy quipped, but there was nothing but cynicism in her voice.
“Lighten up, Neddy. Your life’s about to change—dramatically. You two are about to become members of the legal elite.”
I tossed the newspaper on the desk. I agreed with Neddy regarding O’Reilly’s big mouth, but just the same, I felt a tinkle of excitement about the attention. “I hope we don’t get too famous,” I joked. “I can’t have any paparazzi stalking me to the grocery store.”
“Well, I can’t promise you that.” O’Reilly grabbed the newspaper. “I have to go talk to the folks in marketing to see how much mileage we can get from this.” Few firms our size had three full-time people dedicated solely to marketing and publicity.
“Do you know how many clients are going to be coming through the door because of this article?” O’Reilly winked as he left the room. “Just get ready.”
Neither Neddy nor I said a word for the first few seconds after O’Reilly’s departure.
“So where were we?” she said finally. “Can you stop by my place tonight?”
O’Reilly’s interruption had allowed my anger to dissipate some, but seeing Neddy standing there looking like an irate schoolmarm recharged my engines.
“Yeah, I can make it, but we have some things we need to get straight first.”
Her hands flew defensively to her hips. “You don’t need to keep harping on this. Let’s just focus on representing our client.”
I couldn’t believe her gall. She was trying to screw me and expected me to act like I enjoyed it. “I’d be perfectly willing to do that if you’d remember that Tina is our client, not just yours,” I said.
“How long do we have to keep rehashing this?” Her voice was louder and sharper than before. “I already apologized for not calling you.”
“Excuse me? I don’t remember you apologizing.”
She threw up her hands. “You’re really blowing this thing all out of proportion.”
I took a step closer to her. Our faces were only inches apart and I saw a troubling weariness in her eyes. “I’m not blowing anything out of proportion,” I said. “First you run off to the police station without telling me. And then you tell me you’ve hired a private investigator? When were you planning to let me in on that little detail?”
Neddy’s face tensed for a second, then her entire body seemed to wilt. She plopped down in one of the chairs in front of my desk and stared down at her hands. “I—just—I have a lot going on right now, okay? I’m not myself. You’re right, I’m really going through some things. I’m sorry you’ve been taking the brunt of it. I promise it won’t happen again.”
She finally looked up at me. “Anyway, I need to debrief you about Tina’s interview with the police,” she continued. “I really would appreciate it if you could meet me at my place around seven.” This time her words seemed sincere.
I couldn’t believe I was actually seeing her in a moment of weakness.
“Fine,” I said. Her show of vulnerability had softened my rage.
“And you might as well prepare yourself for a long, taxing trial.” She stood up. “Based on the grilling Tina took from the police last night, she’s definitely their prime suspect.”
CHAPTER 12
Just after five o’clock, I rushed home to change clothes before heading over to Neddy’s condo in Redondo Beach.
I stuck my key in the front door and was about to turn the knob when Jefferson snatched the door open. I could see veins the size of pencils protruding from his neck. His bottom lip was tucked between his teeth.
“Why’d I have to read the newspaper to find out you’re handling some big-shot murder case?” he asked. The level of his voice was half a decibel shy of shouting.
Because if I’d told you about it, you’d go off just like you’re doing right now. I could’ve kicked myself for not using the drive home to come up with an acceptable explanation to appease Jefferson until I could figure out if there would even be a case.
“Uh…I…uh, I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t talk about it,” I said. I stepped around him and headed for the kitchen. “The client still hasn’t been charged yet. So there may not even be a case.”
I dropped my purse on the kitchen table, grabbed a bottle of Evian water from the refrigerator, and headed into the bedroom.
“That’s bullshit,” he said, close on my heels. “You always tell me stuff you’re not supposed to tell me.”
I unbuttoned my blouse, tossed it on the bed, and began looking through my closet for a pair of jeans. “This case is different. I’ve never handled a criminal case before. I didn’t tell anybody about it. Not even Special.”
He gave me a patronizing look that called me a liar. He was right. I’d told him enough confidential stuff about some of my cases to get me disbarred.
“I’m sorry.” I brushed his lips with a kiss and scurried past him into the bathroom. “I’ve just had a lot on my plate lately,” I said.
Jefferson was unwilling to be appeased with a peck on the lips. He followed me into the bathroom and stood in the doorway, taking up the whole frame. “Your working on this case means I’ll be lucky to see you five minutes a week. You just got done with a trial. You’re not the only attorney at that damn firm.”
I reached for a washcloth from the towel rack and began scrubbing my face with Oil of Olay soap. “Jefferson, I’m a lawyer. This is what I do. I swear I tried to get off the case, but O’Reilly wouldn’t let me.”
“Did you tell him why you wanted off the case?”
“What do you mean?” I said, even though I knew exactly what he meant.
“Did you tell him you wanted off the case because we’re trying to have a baby?”
You must be insane! “Nope.”
He tilted his head sideways and stared harder at me. “Why not?”
“Because that’s not the way I want to do it.”
I could see muscles bulging beneath his white T-shirt. Either he’d been hitting the gym a lot harder or he was so pissed every muscle in his body was flexed in frustration. “So how do you want to do it?”
“I haven’t figured that out yet.”
His chest heaved up, then slowly back down. “I’ll say it one more time. This whole thing would be much easier if you would just come clean. You’ve never been any good at lying anyway. Just be honest and tell me you don’t want to have kids.”
“I do want to have kids,” I insisted. “Just not this instant.” I made a move to leave the bathroom, but he didn’t budge so I had to squeeze past him. I walked over to the dresser and pulled a sleeveless cotton shirt from the top drawer.
“I guess with this new case you’ve got, it’ll be at least another year before we can even start thinking about having a baby.”
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