Chapter 13 Zoya
ZOYA
I stared at one of the partner’s crooked ass toupee as he spoke to us in this meeting. There was nothing more in this world I wanted than to get up, shift that bitch, and return back to my seat.
Instead, I was stuck with sketching it out in my agenda instead of paying him attention. It had been two weeks since I had seen or heard from Gerald after our fight. I blocked him on everything and checked my peep hole every time I left my condo to avoid running into him.
Then he had the nerve to be a liar.
He claimed Bando was his son and then told Navy he was going to walk him.
His lying ass never came to pick Bando up.
This was part of his silent treatment he was giving me.
It was one thing to get on my nerves, but to lie to an innocent little boy was just cruel.
My son sat at that door for an hour, and he never knocked to come and pick him up.
Just like a man to make promises he knew he would never keep.
I slowly looked up from the buss down that I had drawn on the George in my agenda, and everyone at the conference table was staring at me. It was then that I realized how bad it was that I wasn’t paying any attention to what they were talking about.
I was one of the youngest attorneys in this firm, and the only Black woman in my position. While the men got to slack off and do whatever they wanted, that didn’t fly when it came to me. I had to work ten times harder than them.
“Never paying attention.” I could hear my colleague huff under his stupid stink breath.
“Teddy, you said you wanted to look under my skirt?” I gasped.
Teddy turned as red as the tie he wore as he looked around the table. I continued to look just as flustered as he did, while George looked at him in disgust. As his father, he was disgusted that those words would ever leave his mouth.
The sick part of me accusing him of wanting to look under my skirt was that I didn’t wear a skirt to the office today.
This was my payback for having to work with a spoiled trust fund baby named Teddy.
He had a membership to the country club before he could walk and used his father’s yacht to party with his friends for the weekend.
A life of privilege was one that he lived, and he was the type that never apologized for it either.
In fact, he loved to make others feel less than because he was gifted a Tiffany’s rattle when he came into the world.
“Teddy, apologize to Zoya right this second,” George sternly demanded, as his son messed with his tie, stretching out his shirt’s neck because he was so uncomfortable.
Now he understood how some of us felt about his presence. He was born into this life; I had to actually work hard and do the work to get where he was.
Despite what people thought, the Casellis didn’t always have money. We were once the broke orphan Easton kids that no one wanted anything to do with. I never knew the logistics on how Menace came into the Easton’s money.
All I knew was that our uncle was found murdered with his wife and our cousins. Menace said it was some political hit since my uncle was starting to get into politics. Teddy had been spoiled from the day he was born.
I, too, would have been spoiled when I was younger. That was until they died, and then real life took over for us. I hated to see a man be so fucking spoiled and not stand on any kind of business.
His father could cut him off tomorrow and he wouldn’t be able to stand on his own. Landon could be cut off tomorrow, and he would still eat. He had the skills to maintain his lifestyle and take care of his future wife.
Me and Kora both had careers that we could depend on. Menace made sure we never needed him. That in a room alone, we could stand on our own without ever needing a damn person.
Not even him.
“That was so unnecessary. Again, I’m sorry for that, George. Can you please catch me up… my mind is… well.” I cleared my throat. “Frazzled.”
George, feeling completely guilty for his son’s remarks, cleared his own throat and leaned back in the chair.
“Preston Vance has been indicted. I know that he has been in contact with you… wanting you to represent him. After the remarkable job you did with the Amante case, and what you’re doing with the Maze case, I’m not surprised that everyone wants to retain you. ”
I leaned forward and smiled. “Yes, me and Preston have shared a few correspondences. He hasn’t reached out to retain me as of yet.”
Me and Preston had shared a few calls, emails, and I had even met him out for coffee. He told me everything he wanted me to know, but until that wire hit the account, there was nothing we needed to discuss.
Kora told me to drop him as a client, and he wasn’t even my client yet.
I refused to give up a case like this one.
The Amante case gave me the respect I had been gunning for in the legal world.
Then this Maze case was showing that I could take it there when it came to standing for black men, and this corrupt legal system.
Everyone was so impressed with the way that I handled myself in court. How I was able to make Dane look like an angel that was being falsely accused. There were things put in place in case things went the opposite way, but for the most part, I spun that bitch like Rumpelstiltskin.
George smiled. “His attorney team wants to retain you. He has a very great team put together, and he has requested you.”
Everyone clapped their hands, celebrating the news I had just learned about. “Wow.”
Kennedy: Can I come to stay at your place for a few days?
I discreetly looked at the message that came through my phone from Kennedy. She always asked to come over, and then she never showed up. “You should be proud of the reputation that you are building, Zoya.”
“Thanks, George.”
“Don’t mention it…. We’re all proud of you here. You just need to get over the Maze case.” He winked, mentioning the case none of them wanted.
I stood up.
Teddy’s eyes nearly bulged out of his face when he saw that I had on a nasty two-piece set.
High waisted and wide-legged dress pants and the matching blazer. “Is anything else needed on my end, I have a meeting in a few.”
“Nope, you’re all good.”
“Thanks, George… gentlemen.” I fixed my blazer, and headed out of the office, softly closing the glass door behind me.
Ivy, the paralegal that I worked with, put her phone down when she saw me rounding the corner. “Ivy, I don’t care that you’re on the phone.”
Closing my office door, I sat behind my desk and checked my phone. Aside from Kennedy’s text message, I had a few messages from Blair with pictures of Zayah. Leaning back in my chair, I took a deep breath.
Everyone assumed going against Menace was the worst thing. It was Kora that you never wanted to go against, and I was choosing to go against my older sister’s orders. She told me to drop him as a client before he could even become my client.
This wasn’t just dropped in my lap. I had worked for this, and I was being recognized for the hard work and my brain. I was a damn good defense attorney and often became overlooked.
What else is new?
This time, I was looked for, and in that room with all those white men who felt I didn’t belong because I wore a buss down with a middle part, and my lips were overly glossy with brown lip liner.
Or because I heated up greens in the office kitchen and had their mouths watering because they had a bland lunch.
They were questioning why I was there, and this proved that I belonged here. Preston Vance didn’t request any of them, he wanted me.
The soft knock on my door pulled me from my thoughts. “Come in.”
George came in and smiled, closing the door behind me. “How do you feel?”
“Like I’m being hired to do a job.” I learned that emotions as a woman in this field got you nowhere.
“I’m not surprised that he wanted you on his legal team. You were tough as nails on the Amante Case.”
“So, I’ve heard.”
George barely came into the office and he damn sure didn’t do the small talk. There was a reason he was in my office and beating around the bush. “I’ve spoken to Vercotti, he’s taking lead on this case.”
“George, no offense, spit it out.”
“As a favor, he has allowed Teddy to be third chair.” I couldn’t help but to roll my eyes because I knew this was coming.
Teddy went whining to his father because he sucked as a lawyer, and I’m sure he didn’t wash his hands after he held his dick. I could tell when someone didn’t wash his hands.
“Does he wash his hands after he uses the bathroom?”
George was taken back by my question. At times, my intrusive thoughts won, and I had to almost always smooth things over because of my mouth. “Excuse me?”
“All I’m saying is that you cannot continue to clean up things for him.
Eventually, Teddy has to get his hands dirty and then wash them on his own…
without daddy’s help. This is real life, people’s freedom lays in the hands of us doing our job.
” I found some bullshit saying to deter him from my weird ass question.
It wasn’t all that weird, because his son needed to learn to wash his damn hands.
He relaxed some and nodded his head. “Understood, Zoya. I think I misunderstood your analogy.”
“I’m coming onto Preston’s legal team, so whatever he wants. This isn’t my call, but I do appreciate you coming to give me the news instead of me being blind-sided.”
“No worries. Thank you for taking the news so easy.” He stood up, straightening his suit jacket and headed toward the door.
“Tell the wife I said hello.”
He always lit up whenever you mentioned his wife. If there was one man, aside from Meer, that was proud to be married, it was George.
“Thanks. I sure will, Zoya.” He winked and closed the door behind him.
Kennedy: ??
When Kennedy sent another message, I stared at the original message. It wasn’t out the ordinary for Ken to call and ask to stay with me for a few days. At first, the excuse was that she hated to stay in the house alone when her boo traveled.