by Alora Kate
“Oh, that’s right; I forgot you told me her name was Molly.”
“Well, she invited me, thinks I’m one of them because of my sick calendar skills.”
“You can get pretty OCD at times.”
“It keeps our business and finances in order.”
“True. And we don’t have to pay someone else to do it.”
“So, you wanna crash happy hour with me? Meet all the assistants?”
Alexa wrinkled her nose, and we started walking. “Gee, thanks, Ki. But, I think I’m gonna have to pass on that one.” The sarcasm in her tone rubbed me the wrong way. I didn’t want her to feel left out, but I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to mingle with some lawyer assistants either.
“Seriously, Alexa? Why the snobby tone?”
Her cheeks pinkened a touch, which surprised me. Nothing embarrassed Alexa. I once saw her streak through our dorms during finals’ week in college. I once saw her convince a man that she didn’t speak English, just by speaking with an accent. I even saw her dress in Amish-style clothing when we first moved to New York, just for shits and giggles.
“I’m sorry, Ki. I didn’t mean it that way. I just think it is a good opportunity for you to do something without me.”
“I do tons of stuff without you, Lex.”
“Well, go then. Have fun. Mingle. Thanks for the invite, honestly. But, I’m kinda having my own little happy hour with a certain detective.” She tried so hard to hide her grin, and I smirked right back at her.
“Oh, well that explains a lot. Will this be for business or pleasure?” I almost didn’t want to know. She only dated men for a month or two, and as soon as they started to have feelings for her, she’d leave. She’s afraid of commitment, but most of all, letting someone down. She doesn’t think she’s good enough for a relationship.
“Both, Ki. It will totally be both.”
We giggled our way into the office before getting back down to business. Alexa ducked out after an hour or two to get ready for her ‘business date.’ An hour later, after I finished writing the last email on my list, she slinked over to me wearing an incredibly tight black mini dress. Her hair was piled on top of her head that screamed sex-kitten, but if I tried to pull off that look, it’d scream hobo. Her makeup was light; she was a natural beauty and hardly needed anything at all. She wore her ‘lucky’ heels and a few classic silver bangle bracelets and blew me a kiss as she strutted out of the office. I sent her off a text, reminding her to keep it business related, and she sent me back a winky-face emoji. I then sent Molly a quick text, letting her know something came up. I skipped happy hour and reorganized some of our files while listening to music. I made sure I had everything ready for the accountant to pay our quarterly taxes before I closed up for the night. I warmed up some leftover take-out and settled on the couch for a much-needed Netflix binge session. I got a few episodes in before my eyes started to close. I cleaned up, changed, and then crawled into bed at midnight. I pulled up my newest ebook on my Kindle app on my phone and resolved to finish at least a chapter before I went to sleep. When I dropped my phone on my face from falling asleep during reading, I tossed it aside and finally gave in to sleep.
Chapter 8 – Ki
“Finally.” I trudged up the twenty-some steps to the top row and walked to the middle. I didn’t bring my camera with me to the movies, but I did have a pocket full of suckers. Some of them were even popcorn flavored. I found them online when I got my braces. It’s not the same, but it did the job.
“Less than two weeks ‘til these are gone.” I ran my finger over them. I would never miss these damn things.
I sat down, put my feet up on the chair in front of me, and was happy to see that the theater was completely empty. As a rule, I always come to the earliest show time. Fewer people. Less chatter. Less eating and slurping noises.
I checked our email account while the infomercials ran in the background. No new business, just a bunch of junk mail. I put my phone on silent and opened my Kindle app to sneak in a few pages before the preview trailers started. I was reading a new book called, One. It was about an amputee girl and a football player. It was hilarious, cute, and very well written. I’ve read all of the books by Jewel E. Ann, and I couldn’t wait to see what she wrote next.
A few pages in and I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Someone was walking up the stairs, holding a bag of popcorn. It looked like a man, and he kept walking up the stairs, passing perfectly good empty rows. I hated it when people sat right in front of me when clearly, there were tons of open seats.
The lights were slightly dimmed, and he was wearing a hat so I couldn’t make out his facial features at this distance. He kept walking until he hit the top step.
Crap.
I was prepared to move over a few seats because I hated people sitting next to me.
He walked right up to me, and I dropped my feet. “The theater is empty, dude, go sit somewhere else.”
He sat down next to me, and I let out a frustrated sigh. The nerve of this man sitting next to me in an empty theatre!
“We meet again.”
I looked at him, Lucas Hills, while he took his hat off after setting his popcorn on the other seat. He ran his hand through his hair and got comfortable.
“Why are you following me?” I asked watching his mouth curl up in a smile.
“You’re following me, Ki.”
I sat back in my seat. “We hit a dead end.”
“Not what I heard.”
“Then you heard wrong.”
“You didn’t give my mom the message.”
“We haven’t found you.”
He put his arms out wide. “Here I am.”
“You found me, or followed me or whatever this is so no, technically I didn’t find you per your mother’s request.”
He dropped his arms and sat forward in his chair. “You haven’t worked many cases that involve risky things.”
“How do you know?”
He continued, “You mainly catch people cheating on each other or serve papers.”
“Again, how do you know?”
“Your website says it all.”
My jaw dropped and clenched my hands. “It was a free website. We couldn’t afford anything fancy.”
“You’re in over your head. Stop now before things get . . . complicated.”
I gasped and gripped the armrest, my heart pounding. “Are you . . . are you threatening me, Lucas?”
“Look, my point is, I’m trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“From me. From the bad guys. From the world.”
I sat back in my chair and tried to relax. Nothing he said made sense. He was protecting me, from him? I just couldn’t figure out why. I needed to know why. I noticed the infomercials were still playing and figured now was the time to try to get some answers.
“You’re rich. Why are you hiding?”
“No comment.”
“Fine. Why are you protecting me?”
He shrugged a shoulder and grabbed his popcorn. “I like you.”
“Why?”
“Why not?”
“How long have you been following me?”
“Long enough.”
What the hell is going on?
“I’m so confused,” I muttered watching him put a handful of popcorn into his mouth.
He jerked his chin to the screen. “It’s starting.”
I glanced at the screen and saw the lights start to dim, and blackness drawled throughout the theatre, making everything disappear.
“You can’t stay.”
“I paid for the ticket,” he shook the popcorn bag, “and this. I’d offer you some, but I know you can’t eat any.”
“Now you’re making fun of me?”
“No.” He chuckled. “Now pull out a popcorn sucker and shut up.”
My eyes went wide.
“The previews are starting,” he added, grabbing more popcorn. “I never miss the previews;
they’re truly my favorite part.”
This was wrong on so many levels but what was I going to do?
Have him kicked out?
Leave?
I’ve been waiting for this movie to come out for over a year. They already moved the release date once, and I was devastated so I wouldn’t leave either. “We’re talking after the movie.”
“No, we aren’t.”
“It’s not fair.”
“Nothing in life is fair, and we leave separately.”
“This is so messed up!”
I glared at him, and he smiled. “Then stop looking for me.”
###
Two hours later and without a word, he got up and left. His clothes looked like he’d worn them for days, but he didn’t stink. He had a light wood smell that kept tickling my nose during the movie. I said nothing, but I pulled my phone out and tried to take a picture of him walking away, which turned out dark and blurry. I called Alexa and waited a few minutes before I left.
While I waited for her to answer, I started to collect my sucker wrappers and sticks, placing them inside my empty drink cup. She answered after the third ring, breathless. I didn’t bother saying hello, instead, I got right to the point. “I found Lucas again.”
“I thought you went to see a movie?”
“I did.”
“Where did you see him?”
“He watched the movie with me.”
“You went on a date with Lucas Hills?”
“No, Alexa.”
“You sure? Anyway, I’m listening.”
I heard the theater door open and waited a second to see who was coming in. An employee of the theater strolled in, carrying a broom and dustpan, and pulled a trash can behind him. He glanced up at me and made his way to the front of the theater. I lowered my voice when I answered, “He came to the movies after I was already here. He bought popcorn and sat right next to me. He said he was protecting me.”
“Protecting you?”
“Yes, but he wouldn’t say why.”
“What else did he say?”
“He told me to shut up and watch the movie.”
Her laughter pissed me off, and I started to walk down the steps so I could use the restroom and get out of here. “Well . . . did you?”
“Of course I did. I’ve wanted to see this movie since the first time I watched the trailer for it.”
“Then it was totally a date.”
“Shut up, Alexa!”
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I served the envelopes; I’m headed back to the office.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
The movie theater lobby was starting to fill up a bit for the next showings, but thankfully, the restroom was empty. As I left, I nearly ran into a group of teenagers who snickered as one almost dropped their popcorn and soda combo. I tried my best to get out before anything else could happen. Too many people in too small of a space. This is why I always come to the earliest showing.
It was cooler today, so I had on a light sweater over my tank top and started to walk back toward the office. After my disappointing performance with the stairs yesterday, I figured I should try and get some more exercise. I wouldn’t necessarily be joining the gym anytime soon, but I promised myself to make a conscious effort to walk more than I had.
It was mid-afternoon, and the foot traffic was starting to pick up. The city was always so busy and crowded that I didn’t notice the crowds as much as I did when we first moved here. I used to try to avoid them at all costs, but now I just do what I do best—blend in.
I waited at a light with a bunch of other people and noticed a guy next to me, who was rather large, wearing all black.
The light changed, and we all rushed to get to the other side. The man with the black T-shirt was only a few steps behind me. I glanced back at him while I stood waiting for the next light to change, and he quickly looked away. I pulled out my cell phone, turned the video on, and cradled it in my hand, facing him. I slowly dropped it to my side, hoping no one would notice. I had no idea what I was recording, but I tilted the phone up, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. I’ve done this before and caught enough on the tape to prove that a client’s husband was cheating on her.
The light changed and people started shoving again. I put my phone back into my pocket and went with the flow because that’s what you do in New York City; you go with the flow.
I walked as fast as I could and glanced over my shoulder.
He was still there.
Shit.
Was he following me, or am I paranoid?
And if he was following me, did that mean Lucas sent him?
Were they working together, or was this someone different?
I didn’t want to look over my shoulder again, but I did.
I shouldn’t have.
I didn’t want to lead him back to Alexa, even though he probably already knew about that. I couldn’t go home since we lived where we worked, so I did the only thing I could think of.
I turned around and went to see a lawyer.
Chapter 9 – Prescot
“We’re gaining ground,” Thomas said to whoever was on the other line.
My partner in the firm.
His office was on the other side of the building with the associates.
I was stuck in the corner.
I liked my space; it was my solace.
It was best.
It was perfect.
Vicki wasn’t quiet.
My biggest regret.
“You good?” Thomas asked.
“They made an offer this morning.”
My client was innocent.
Very innocent.
“And?”
“Two years.”
He laughed and stood from his chair. “No deal.”
“I know.”
“You hear about the new signs?”
His name was on the door.
He wanted the signs.
They were black.
Shiny.
Simple.
Elegant.
My law partner.
He was loyal.
Ki seemed loyal.
“No.”
I stood at his doorframe.
I didn’t like his chairs.
I didn’t like Ki’s chairs either.
They were too small.
She was too small.
“I’ll have Mary call about the signs again.”
Mary was his executive assistant.
I didn’t have one today.
Today was Friday.
Mediation.
No court.
Vicki.
Ki.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, stopping next to me.
“Nothing.”
“I know how your mind works, Prescot. Short, sweet, and to the point. I don’t know how you do it, but you come to conclusions and find details in things that most people can’t.”
I shrugged a shoulder.
“You’re a genius.”
I hated that word.
Genius.
Smart.
Talented.
The expectations of others.
The pressure.
“Oh, you think you’re some big shot because you’re smarter than your mama?”
I knew by now not to look at her.
My words stuck in my throat. No, Mother; I’m nothing.
My math test trembled in my hand before she snatched it away. I thought she would be proud of me, but I’m never going to be enough to make her happy.
She hasn’t been happy since Dad died.
Always taking her anger out on me.
Always screaming for my words.
Never giving me enough time to organize my thoughts before she beat me.
“You’re nothing, Prescot! You hear me? You’re nothing! These stupid teachers don’t know anything. You don’t have one brain cell worth a damn in that empty head of yours.” She laughed as she stepped closer to me and I instinctively curled
into myself. “You can’t even speak; how the hell can you pass a fucking test if you can’t say one fuckin’ word to your mama?”
Her lip curled in disgust and her hand fisted at her side. That’s when I felt it, a sob bubbling from my throat. No, not one sound. It only makes it worse.
Lightning fast, she struck me with a bamboo switch, her new favorite weapon against my silence. She gave me twelve lashes, one for every miserable year of my existence. Crisscrossing lashes scarred my back, reopening scabbed skin, blood sliding down my back. She’d whip me again once she saw the bloodstains on my clothes.
“I wish your daddy had left you where you belonged,” she sneered as the switch hit my back one last time, my silence pushing her to her breaking point, “tied up, in a rubber.”
Thomas’ heavy hand on my shoulder brought me back. “Sorry,” he said patting my shoulder, “I know you hate that word, but it’s the truth. Let your mind wander; do your thing and get your client home safe with his family.”
He walked out.
I walked back to my office.
Molly waved at me.
I didn’t stop.
I went into my office and stopped next to my desk, where I saw two crumpled up, one-dollar bills.
Dirty money.
I looked at the desk outside my door, it was empty, so I walked around my desk.
It thumped.
Ki.
“You scared me!”
“You’re under my desk.”
She crawled out with her phone in her hand.
“I was reading a book.”
“Under my desk?”
“Yes! I was hiding.”
“Is my wife here?”
“I don’t know.”
Ki was back.
I pushed the money to the side of the desk with my pencil.
“I need you to take that money.” She rubbed her head while walking to the door to shut it.
“It’s dirty.”
“Then put it in your drawer?”
Money.
Dirty money.
My other client had dirty money.
In his mattress.
Millions of dollars hidden in the mattress.
I sat down and did as she asked.
It was in the drawer.
Not a mattress.
She sat down in front of me.
“I just hired you as my lawyer.”