Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Julian
Melinda ran into my office and shut the door.
“You slept with Laurel last night?”
“No.” I looked up at her.
“Bullshit. I heard the conversation. Why did she ask you if you used a condom? Oh my God, Julian. Did you take advantage of her while she was drunk?”
“We both had a little too much to drink, and I asked her if she was sure, and she said yes. She kissed me first!” I pointed at her. “Oh, come on, Mel. Don’t look at me like that.”
“Okay.” She turned and left my office.
Sighing, I turned my chair around and stared out at the city. Last night was amazing—maybe a little too amazing. My mind kept remembering the soft curves of her beautiful body and the delicate arch of her back when I was buried deep inside her.
“Jesus Christ.” I placed my hand over my cock to stop it from getting hard.
“Hey,” I heard Roman’s voice from the doorway and turned my chair around. “Morgan and I decided to have a family barbecue tomorrow afternoon after we get back from our golf game. Don’t make plans.”
“Yeah. Sure. Sounds fun.”
“What’s wrong with you?” His brows furrowed.
“Nothing.”
He stepped inside and shut the door, sitting across from my desk.
“Parker told me about last night.”
“Of course he did.” I sighed.
“Do you regret it?” he asked.
“No. Yes. I don’t know, bro.” I pinched the bridge of my nose and felt a headache coming on. “It was different with her.”
His brow arched as a smirk formed on his lips. “I know that feeling.”
“No, Roman. It was even different than with Danielle. I can’t explain it.”
“You don’t have to, brother.” He smiled.
My office door opened, and Parker walked in.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Just discussing last night with our brother,” Roman replied.
“We need to take on one more pro-bono case this month,” Parker said.
“I have way too many cases right now,” I said.
“I handled the last one,” Roman said.
“Then let’s give it to Laurel. She’s new, and she was a public defender.”
“Give me the file,” I said. “I’ll take it down to her.”
He handed me the file and glanced at his watch. “I have to get to court. I’ll see you two later.”
I walked down to Laurel’s office. She waved for me to come in while she was on Facetime with her daughters .
“I’m happy you’re having a good time. I’ll see you three tonight. I love you girls.”
“We love you too, Mom!” They all shouted.
She ended the call and set her phone down.
“Can I help you, Julian?”
I handed her the file. “We need you to handle this pro bono case. His hearing is in a couple of hours. I have to see a client, so if you want, we can drive together.”
“Yeah. Do you want to leave now? I can review the file on the way.”
“Sure. I’ll text Sam to let him know we’re heading down and to pull the SUV around. I just have to grab my briefcase from my office.”
After grabbing my briefcase, we headed to the lobby and climbed into the Escalade at the curb. I glanced at her as she opened the file, scanned it, and closed it within seconds.
“I thought you were reviewing the case,” I said.
“I did.” A beautiful smile graced her face.
“How? Never mind.” I sighed. “I forgot you said you can speed read. Are your children just as smart?”
“Every parent thinks their child is smart.” She smirked. “Stella, my ten-year-old takes after me. The twins are smart, but Stella is a little extra smart.”
Her phone rang. Pulling it from her purse, she answered it.
“Hello? Hello? Damn, telemarketers.” She sighed, ending the call.
“Listen, Laurel. I’m sorry about last night. I know you’re upset about it, and that’s the last thing I want.”
“You don’t have to apologize. It was as much my fault, and I apologize for being a psycho about it.”
“You were a little psycho, weren’t you?” A smirk crossed my lips .
“Don’t push it, Hamilton.”
While Laurel went to meet her new client, I met with mine. When I was finished, I headed to the room where Laurel was and heard yelling. Opening the door, I saw Laurel practically across the table.
“You listen to me, you sorry little punk ass. You call me names again, and I’ll make sure your case gets so far buried that you’re in prison for a very long time.”
“Yeah, right.” He laughed. “I’m not going to prison. So, fuck you.”
“You carjacked a woman at knifepoint. You’re looking at a sentence of up to nine years. The ADA is going for the maximum penalty because the woman was pregnant. I can get it reduced since you have no priors.”
“I said no prison time!” he shouted. “You deaf or something?”
“Apologize to her now,” I said.
“Fuck you.”
“Fuck me?” I reached across the table and grabbed the front of his orange jumpsuit.
“Who are you anyway?”
“The person who’s going to make sure you aren’t safe when you go to prison if you don’t apologize to Ms. Evans. I know a lot of people in prison who will do whatever I ask them to, either hurt or protect. So, it’s up to you.”
“I can’t go to prison.”
“You should have thought about that before carjacking that pregnant woman,” Laurel said.
“I wasn’t going to hurt her, and I didn’t know she was pregnant. I just needed her car. My mom is very sick, and I’m the only person she has. I had to go to Jersey to get some special medication for her. I couldn’t afford the cab fare. We barely have enough to pay for her meds. I’m sorry. ”
“I’ll talk to the ADA and see what I can do.” Laurel stood up.
“Please. No prison time,” he said.
We left the room and walked over to where ADA Westin stood.
“ADA Westin? I’m Laurel Evans, the attorney for Joseph Jones.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Evans.” He smiled. “Julian.” He nodded.
“James.”
“My client is asking for no jail time.”
“Of course he is.” He chuckled. “They always do. Your client carjacked a pregnant woman at knifepoint. Trust me. He’s serving time.”
“He has no priors. That has to count for something,” Laurel said.
“Sorry, sweetheart. Legally speaking, your client committed carjacking against two individuals—the woman and her unborn child. This means I could request the judge to impose a double sentence since two people were in the vehicle.”
“Where did you go to law school?” Laurel cocked her head at him, and I chuckled.
“Excuse me?” ADA Westin asked.
“Where did you go to law school?”
“Santa Clara University Law.” His brows furrowed. “Why?”
“Ah, that explains it,” she said. “The Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004 only recognizes a fetus as a legal crime victim if fetal injury or death occurs during the time of a federal violent crime. Therefore, you cannot ask the judge for two separate counts of carjacking. But I think it would be fun to see you try.” She smiled .
I could see the burning rage in his eyes as he stared at her.
“Do you think I’m new to the law or something?” she asked him.
“Thirty days and two hundred fifty hours of community service. Take it or leave it. That’s all I’m offering.”
“Three hundred days of community service, no jail. It’s his first offense, and his mother is very ill. He’s the only one who takes care of her. Hence, the reason he stole the car was so he could go to Jersey and pick up some medication for her. He wrongfully acted in a time of desperation. I think everyone deserves a second chance, counselor. Now, if he screws his second chance up, then I say throw the book at him.”
“Fine. Three hundred days of community service and two-year probation,” he said.
“You have yourself a deal, ADA Westin.” Laurel smiled and extended her hand.
“Don’t. Just don’t.” He shook his head and walked away.
“Wow. He’s a jerk.” She glanced at me.
“Well, you did tell him the law school he went to was shit.” I chuckled.
We stepped back into the room where Joseph was.
“Good news, Mr. Jones,” Laurel said. “Three hundred days of community service and two-year probation.”
“So, I’m not going to prison?” he asked, letting out a breath.
“No. Not this time. This is your second chance to turn your life around. It’s all you get. You break the law again, and you’re going to prison. Your mom needs you, Joseph. Wasn’t she always there for you growing up?”
“Yeah. She was.” He looked down.
“Now, you need to be there for her—not as a criminal, but as a well-rounded member of society who will be on his best behavior and not be tempted by the criminal life. Can you do that?”
“Yeah. Thank you, Ms. Evans. I’m sorry for earlier. I was scared.”
She glanced at her watch. “Your hearing is in fifteen minutes. You’ll plead guilty, and the ADA will tell the judge about our deal. You’ll be out of here soon.”