Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Laurel
Walking through the front door, I found Parker and Julian in the kitchen.
“Hi, Parker. What are you doing here?” I smiled.
“Hey, Laurel. Douchebag over here called me to come over because he said you’re discussing the Bennett case. Imagine my surprise when I arrived and you weren’t home.”
“Really, Julian?” I cocked my head.
“What?” He held out his arms. “How did it go with the school teacher?”
“Yeah, Mom. How did it go with Mrs. Knox?” Stella asked, walking into the kitchen.
“You know I can’t talk about that, sweetheart,” I said.
“We’re all showered and ready for our ice cream,” Sara spoke as she and Sophie entered the kitchen.
“Ice cream?” I asked.
“Julian said we can have some after our showers,” Sara said .
“He did, did he?” A smile crossed my lips as I reached inside the freezer and pulled out the carton of ice cream.
“We want Julian to scoop it, Mom,” Sophie said.
“Be my guest.” I handed Julian the ice cream scooper. “We’re going into the living room to discuss a case. As soon as you finish your ice cream, put your bowls and spoons in the dishwasher and get in bed.”
“We will,” all three girls said.
Parker, Julian, and I went to the living room.
“What’s this about a teacher?” Parker asked.
“Stella’s teacher was arrested today for having a sexual relationship with a high school student.”
“Was she having a sexual relationship with a student?” Julian asked.
“According to her, they only kissed. However, the parents are convinced it was more than that after the text messages they found on their son’s phone.”
Julian’s phone rang. Pulling it from his pocket, he glanced at it and then at us. “It’s the ADA.” He put it on speaker. “Julian Hamilton.”
“Julian, it’s Liza. Listen, I received something regarding your client today. You need to take a look at it.”
“What is it?”
“A video of your client with another woman in a park. Mrs. Bennett hired that woman to murder her husband. We were able to locate the other woman. She and your client are being arrested as we speak.”
“Who sent it?” Julian asked.
“We don’t know. It was sent anonymously. Our team tried to trace it, but we can’t.”
“Laurel and I are on our way to the station.” He ended the call.
“It worked,” Parker said. “Now, you know what you need to do. I’ll stay with the girls while you go. ”
“Thanks, Parker.” I placed my hand on his arm. “I’ll go say goodnight to them first.”
“What is this?!” Julian shouted at Georgina.
“I—I?—”
“You what, Georgina?” he shouted. “You hired that woman to kill Derek? You lied to me!”
“You don’t understand, Julian.” She began to cry. “Derek couldn’t stay faithful. He had women all over the damn city. He was emotionally abusive and caused me a great deal of distress.”
“Then why didn’t you just divorce him?!” He slammed his hand on the table.
“Julian.” I placed my hand on his arm to calm him down.
“You need to change your plea.” He pointed at her.
“But I didn’t murder him,” she said.
“You hired someone to kill your husband. Same thing, Georgina,” I said.
“Who would have known and taken that video?” She sobbed. “I’ve been so careful.”
“Who the hell knows. But someone did and sent the video to the ADA.”
“I’m smart enough to know that it can’t be admitted as evidence, Julian. It was recorded without my permission.”
“It doesn’t matter, Georgina. The ADA saw it, showed me, and now I know you lied to me. You need to change your plea to guilty, and I will fight to get you the best deal possible.”
“I can’t do that, Julian. I didn’t murder him.”
“I’m filing a motion tomorrow morning to remove Laurel and me as your lawyers. Good luck, Georgina.” He grabbed his briefcase and headed toward the door.
“Julian, wait! Please!” she begged.
“You should have been upfront with me from the beginning.” He opened the door, and we walked out.
“Well?” Liza stood there with her arms folded.
“I’m filing a motion to withdraw from the case,” Julian told her. “I’ll see you in court tomorrow.”
It was eleven p.m. when we arrived back at my house.
“How did it go?” Parker asked.
“I’m filing a motion in the morning,” Julian said.
“You know you don’t have a choice, bro.” He placed his hand on Julian’s shoulder.
“How were the girls?” I asked.
“They were great. I just checked on them a while ago to make sure they were sleeping.”
“Thanks, Parker. I appreciate it.”
“No problem.” He smiled. “I’ll see you two in the morning.” He walked out of the house.
“I better get going,” Julian said.
“Or you could stay. It’s late,” I said.
“I’m still mad at you for going behind my back,” he said.
“Okay.” I lifted my shirt over my head. “See you tomorrow.” I began walking up the stairs.
“Maybe you can help me get over it,” he said.
I stopped on the stairs and looked at him.
“Come on, then.” I smiled.
My nails dug into the flesh of his back as our bodies moved in sync. I stood at the edge of the cliff, waiting to dive over and fall into the abyss of an intense orgasm. Julian’s fluid and intense movements were like a wildfire out of control, and I loved every second of it. The warmth of his touch sent shivers across my skin, intensifying the moment as waves of pleasure surged through both of us. My eyes held his gaze as soft moans escaped our lips, and we both dove off the cliff together.
“Damn.” He rolled on his back, placing his hand over his heart.
“Are you still mad at me?” I smirked, rolling on my side.
He stared at me momentarily, touched my cheek, and softly caressed it.
“No.” A soft smile formed on his lips. “Come here.” He patted his chest.
With a smile, I nestled my body against his and lay my head on him. When I was with him, I didn’t think about anything else. That was the beauty of it. He could divert my mind only to him and nothing else—no work, no kids, no strange phone calls, nothing—just him.
My eyes flew open when I heard the bedroom door open. Glancing at the clock, it was two a.m. Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Mom, I had a bad dream,” Sophie stood at the side of the bed and rubbed her eyes. “Can I sleep with you?”
I turned my head and glanced at Julian, who was sound asleep. Shit.
“Yeah. Come up here, baby,” I said, moving closer to Julian to make room for her.
“What’s going on?” Julian mumbled.
“Hi, Julian,” Sophie whispered.
His eyes opened and widened when he saw her.
“Uh, hey, kid.”
“I had a bad dream, so I’m sleeping here with you and my mom. ”
“Okay.” He rolled over.
We got caught again. After the first time, the girls never mentioned it. And I never stopped to consider their feelings about the situation. They missed their dad terribly, but they also seemed to like Julian. I’d have to sit them down and have a talk real soon.
The following morning, I woke Sophie and told her to go and wake her sisters up.
“We got busted,” Julian said.
“I know.” I sighed. “I’m going to have to sit down and have a talk with them.”
“About what?”
“Us.” My brows furrowed.
“What about us?” he asked.
“Us, Julian. The fact that you spent the night and we’re seeing each other.”
“Wait a second, Laurel.” He climbed out of bed. “I wouldn’t really say we’re seeing each other. I mean. Well—yeah, we’re friends, we work together, and we have sex, but that’s it. I wouldn’t say there’s an ‘us.’”
My heart sank into my chest as I stared at him. This wasn’t anything serious to him, and I was stupid for thinking it was. I needed to play it off.
“You’re right. I’m not saying that, Julian. I’m just saying that I have to explain why you spent the night.” I threw the covers back and climbed out of bed.
He walked over and gripped my hips. “Do you want to shower together?” His lips pressed against mine.
“You go ahead. I’ll make the girls breakfast.”
“When are your parents leaving for their cruise?”
“They’re leaving tonight for the airport and spending the night. They have an early flight in the morning.”
When I heard him get into the shower, I sat on the edge of the bed and placed my hand over my aching heart. God, I was so stupid. I realized that continuing to sleep with him would trap me in a relentless and destructive cycle—like being caught in a whirlpool, spinning endlessly without escape. He never planned on having a real relationship with me. It was all about physical attraction for him. While it was all just a game to him, I knew I would be the one left heartbroken.
I went downstairs, said good morning to the girls, and poured them some cereal.
“Why did Julian spend the night?” Stella asked.
“Are you two dating each other?” Sara asked.
“We’ll discuss it later. Now isn’t the time. I have to get ready for work.”