Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Cassie
This is going from bad to worse.
I love my job, having this place is a crutch, a way to cling to some semblance of a normal life. King has never questioned my need to work for a law firm away from the club.
The last few days I’ve thought about nothing other than my role here. Even before shit got worse. I’ve had bad or difficult clients before, it’s part and parcel of being a defense attorney. Getting my head around Vance is messing with my equilibrium.
My instincts don’t lie. Vance unnerves me. My only option is to be removed from his case. Which I’ve oscillated on since getting back from Sussex a couple of days ago, going over the pros and cons. It was my intention to talk to Harry about it today.
Mom’s suggestion to have someone protecting me is a joke.
I can protect myself. I have a gun and I know how to use it.
Not that I suspect it will ever come to that.
The other night at dinner was an anomaly.
The deposition, seeing that woman cry and try to pull herself together to face the man who terrorized her had me feeling some kind of weird way.
Yes, I pushed the button that was a catalyst to mom’s overreaction and dad making it known they’re watching out for me, I didn’t expect her to be so passionate about her idea.
And Eli, of all people. I could kill her for bringing that up in front of him. Eli being concerned when he asked what mom was talking about, sent something fluttering inside my chest.
Eli has a heart and he truly cares. He never says anything mean, nor does he seem to get angry. Even when I’ve been continuously pushing him away, he doesn’t make me feel like I’m being a bitch. It’s like he’s accepted it and respects my wishes.
Then he looks at me with that hunger in his eyes, remembering what we did.
And now Mace is doing things to my treacherous vagina. Why the hell I slept with him, I’ll never know. That’s a lie. I could think of a lot of reasons, even though it was one of my worst decisions ever.
They couldn’t be any more different, both such different temperaments and looks.
And tempting as hell.
I get the impression they share the same standards and morals. Look at what Mace did for Waverley. He went against his own President to save her. Her safety mattered more than years of loyalty to a club that didn’t give two shits about women.
Shaking myself out of thoughts of those two, yet again, I focus back on the present situation. This is the first time I’ve seen Vance since the ill-fated dinner. He hasn’t been focused on me this time. With good reason.
Watching him pace back and forth in the conference room, I keep my mouth shut as Harry tries to placate him about what we’re going to do next.
True to their word, the oppositions lawyer has come back at us with allegations from two more women. Harry has already asked me to look into, and discredit them, a request that I simply nodded to because I had nothing to add to the conversation. Nothing that wouldn’t get me in trouble.
Vance is pissed. This is bad news for him. And us by extension. My plan to ask to be replaced is crumbling before my eyes.
“We need to get ahead of all this. Vance will you be able to stay with Cassie to go through everything about these new plaintiffs? We need to know everything so we can counter.”
Vance looks over at me, and I keep my face as neutral as possible, but there is a slight narrowing to his eyes as he studies me, waiting for me to reply.
“I have plans this evening,” I say with my most realistic neutral look.
“We need to get out on top of this Cassie,” Harry says. “I’d offer to help but I have the Flannagan case tomorrow and want to do my final prep.”
“There is no need to rush this, we have time to respond,” I point out.
“You’re making it sound like you don’t want to be around me,” Vance says. It’s said in a joking manner, but I see through it. Harry seems to be the only oblivious person in the room today.
“Not at all,” I smile. “I have a prior engagement I can’t cancel. It might also be a good idea for me to read through the new allegations first.”
“They’re trying to fuck me over that is what is going on,” he says, resuming his pacing. “They want money off me, same as that bitch, Cara. They’re trying to ruin me. And I’m paying this firm to stop that, so we need to work on this now, tonight.”
“We don’t know their identities yet,” I point out, knowing I’m about to lose my shit if he utters one more slur about that woman. “Unless you’re aware of who they are?”
Harry glares at me and Vance stops pacing.
“I have no idea,” he says, his teeth grinding over the words.
Oh he fucking knows. It wouldn’t surprise me if this bastard has a list of women he’s harmed.
“It’s an honest question,” I say. “As your attorney’s we do need to know if this is something you are aware of.”
“I’m not. It’s more money grabbers they’ve pulled out of their ass. I’ve probably never even met them let alone done anything to them.”
“Don’t worry, Vance,” Harry appeases him. “Cassie is right, we have time so let her read the amended complaint and our investigator can look into things. This won’t be a problem. We’ll deal with this the same way we’re dealing with the current issue.”
Well, color me fucking surprised. It’s not about helping me out, this is about the fact it does make sense for me to read the new court filings. It would be a waste of time going through everything with Vance now.
“Why don’t we regroup in a couple of days,” Harry suggests. “That way we will have a fuller picture of the new allegations and a game plan to work on the defense. I’m sure we can get this thrown out.”
Vance pulls his shoulders back and lets out a sigh. “Fine. I’ll have my EA call you tomorrow to arrange a time.”
“Thank you,” I say with a nod.
“This is bullshit, I want that on the record. These fucking women are like leeches. All they want to do is ruin men when they don’t get what they want. They should know their fucking place.”
He says it while staring straight at me. It’s not so much a threat, though some other women may feel threatened or intimidated. He’s pissing me off and trying to get a reaction. When he sees he isn’t going to get it, he says goodbye and leaves.
“We really need to make this go away.”
“If they have a valid complaint, I can’t make it go away,” I tell Harry. He knows it’s not that easy.
“Judge Mercure likes you.”
“What?” I look at him in shock. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Harry looks flustered as he gathers his papers. “I didn’t mean anything untoward, just that you have some sway with the judge.”
“It’s one thing forcing me to take on this case because you want a woman on his side, it’s an entirely different matter if you think I’m going to use any relationship I may have with a judge to get ahead of this. I thought I knew you better than that, Harry.”
“We have to win this.”
“By breaking not only my ethical stance, but my oath of admission to the bar? You’re suggesting I do something illegal.”
“I’m not. And you have no problem doing that when you work for your family.”
“Really. You’re going there?” I get to my feet and walk around the board table.
He pinches the bridge of his nose. There is a lot I could say right now but I choose to give him the benefit of the doubt. I’ve known Harry a long time, he gave me my start here, and he’s always greased the wheels when it came to the MC.
I’m not trying to convince a judge to take our side.
That is something I would never do. I’ve walked a fine line in the past but I’ve never stepped over it and broken any laws or rules.
I’ve never bribed anyone or done anything to make anyone think they would get something in return if they did me a favor.
Judge Mercure is a straight shooter. He’d fight to have me charged or worse if I even attempted to bribe him.
“What’s going on?” I ask, after a moment of tense silence. “This isn’t you, Harry.”
He stares at the desk, then jolts and gathers up his papers. “We’re all stressed with our workload. I had a momentary lapse of good judgment. You would never do that. And with you on our side on this, we’ll get the result we want.”
Before I can question him further, he walks out of the room, leaving me staring at the empty doorway. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this case has him rattled too. I don’t know if it’s for the same reason as me.
I don’t want anything more to do with this, but my curiosity has got the better of me.
I want to see the amended complaint. When I get back to my office, Laura says she has the document, but it’s seventy-six pages long.
I decide to at least skim it before I head out and sit down at my computer to read what I can.
An hour and a half later and I’m too deep in the total mess this is becoming.
We need to file motions to dismiss and cut it off at the knees before it gets out of control.
If I’m staying on this case, I have to harden my heart and my head.
Vance is right about one thing, we don’t know if these women are genuine complainants or they’ve been added to try to bolster up his Cara’s case, or have us running in circles while they bring in a real problem.
It’s my job to predict worse case scenarios and get out in front of it.
Rubbing my tired eyes, I glance at the clock. It’s later than I thought but still early enough that I can go home and get a nice hot bath and polish off a bottle of wine. I vaguely recall Laura saying goodbye earlier but I can’t remember what time that was.
Security wish me good night as I leave the building. It’s dark, and the street and security lights are on. My car is in the lot directly outside, one of the perks of my position means I have a reserved slot, there is no need to worry about getting there safely given it’s only a few steps away.
Only there is someone standing right in front of the car, blocking the driver’s side door forcing me to stop in my tracks.