CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Duplex Realitas
I drove so fast through the city that I’m sure I’ll be hearing from the traffic department soon. I parked in a rush and tore up the office stairs like a hurricane, ready to sweep anyone away who dared get in my path.
The moment I arrived, Joe bombarded me with updates as we walked to my desk.
“Jim’s hearing is scheduled for next week.” Joe dropped the folder on my desk while I hung my coat on the back of my chair. “And Judge Rutz got assigned to the case.”
“No!”
“Yes,” he confirmed. “I knew you’d make that face.”
Judge Rutz is my father’s best friend and my biggest enemy in the legal world, second only to my father. He’s ruled against me on every single case, and Jim doesn’t deserve another disappointment from the system.
“It’s the worst time to deal with him, but we’ll survive.” I sat down and took a sip of the coffee Joseph had already left waiting for me.
Joseph continued running through his list of updates for another forty minutes until Célie interrupted.
“Ron asked me to let you know he’ll be fifteen minutes late. His flight just landed.”
“Damn, Ron.” I pulled up my calendar to remind myself of the obvious—the meeting Ron Voight had scheduled with me over a month ago.
Ron Voight is a friend from back when Célie and I practiced corporate law.
He’d been in New York when he called to set up this lunch, and back then I was living such a different life that saying yes just made sense.
“I completely forgot. I didn’t prepare for this lunch at all. ”
“Really? I thought you spent yesterday afternoon at the spa, since your skin is glowing today.” Célie had no idea it was post-sex glow. “Don’t you think, Joseph?”
“I don’t know anything about spas... But she does look beautiful today.” Joseph blushed.
“I spent the night working. That’s what makes me powerful,” I joked, steering the conversation elsewhere. “Will you come with me, Célie?”
“Not a chance. George hates Ron,” she laughed. “He says I drool over his hairy chest.”
“But you do,” I teased.
“Though he only has eyes for you,” she teased back, knowing I couldn’t deny it. Ron had always made it clear he’d cross any professional line if I’d agree to be his.
“Any idea what he wants from us?”
“From you, yes.” Célie’s comment drew a shy laugh from Joe, who slipped out of the room when he realized he’d been caught. “But from us, I have no idea. You’ll have to find out.”
“Once again I’ll have to sacrifice myself for us,” I grumbled.
“Are you talking about Ron or Dante?” Célie sat down across from me.
I stared at her in silence.
“You know, I’m a discreet friend, but I’m not an idiot,” she said, leaning over the desk and lowering her voice. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
“Better not.”
“It’s the kind of thing I wouldn’t want to know, isn’t it?”
“It’s more like something no one would want to know,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “I just wanted us to have a quiet first year with rich, boring clients.”
“Then maybe we should never have left Alta Ridge,” she said, standing up and walking to the door.
“Don’t lawyers have the right to be happy?” I grunted.
“Lee.” Célie stopped at the door and turned to face me. “Just fix this… for all our sakes.”
I took a deep breath. Célie didn’t know anything, yet she still seemed fully aware of the chaos ravaging my mind.
“We’ll be fine,” I answered, not knowing if it was a comforting lie or a doubtful truth.
“I hope so.”
She left, taking with her the little peace I still carried in my heart. Being solely responsible for my own ruin was one thing, but dragging Célie and Joseph down with me would be too much. And that thought stuck in my throat like a hairball.
I buried myself in paperwork for an hour before I had to leave to meet Ron at a fancy restaurant near the entrance to the mountains. I thanked my lucky stars I’d chosen an outfit appropriate for the place but not flashy enough to distract Ron from whatever he’d come to discuss.
When I walked into the restaurant, he was already waiting for me at the table. Ron Voight was a very specific type of guy—the kind no one quite knows how he got rich, but who clearly wouldn’t need to worry about money for a long time, yet still lived in meeting rooms and new venture launches.
“My dear.” Ron stood up to greet me.
“Long time, Voight,” I said with a pleasant smile. “Sorry I’m late. I had to stop by the office.”
“How’s Célie?”
“She’s… more Célie than ever.” The waiter approached to take our orders, and I went with a light soup and juice, though Ron insisted on white wine. I was still hungover, physically and morally, from the night before.
“And you?”
“Me? I’m fine. Working on a... complex case.”
“Marino v. Darwin, right?” Ron surprised me. “I heard something about it on a video call with your friends in Alta Ridge.”
“Are there any left?” My departure had been less friendly than I’d like to remember. I was the first to break my contract after being assigned to a case where we were clearly wrong—cruelly wrong.
“You always make a good impression, girl.”
After the waiter brought our appetizers, Ron and I took a trip down memory lane, almost transforming the past into something predominantly good.
My phone vibrated a few times in my purse before I realized it was ringing.
“Sorry,” I said, interrupting our conversation to see Dante’s name on the screen. The memory of the conversation he and Maressa had earlier flooded back, but this wasn’t the time to think about it. So I declined the call.
I declined two more times before Ron insisted I answer—that it could be serious.
“Hello, Mr. Marino,” I answered, bringing the phone to my ear under Ron’s watchful gaze.
“Am I interrupting?” It was bizarre how Dante’s voice seemed capable of conducting a scientific experiment beneath my skin—as if the sound waves agitated my molecules, generating heat.
“My phone was in my purse,” I lied.
“I was thinking of picking you up at the office for lunch. I know it’s a bit late, but—”
“I’m not at the office right now, Mr. Marino.”
“Do you have company?”
“That’s right. I’m in a meeting with a client.”
“Really?” Dante’s voice grew heavy.
“If it’s not urgent... we’d better talk later.” Ron leaned back in his chair, watching me as he savored his white wine.
“Are you dismissing me or challenging me to find out where you are right now?” I couldn’t tell if he was joking. “Both answers have consequences.”
“That’s fine. We’ll talk later then.” I sat up straighter. “Thanks for understanding.”
Before he could respond, I hung up and pretended—once again, like every time we talked—not to be completely exhilarated.
“Seems like a difficult client...” Ron leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.
“I think youth makes us... impatient for results.”
“But you’re still quite young. When you young people reach fifty like me, you’ll realize how patience can be rewarded.” Ron’s tone turned seductive. “But I don’t want to take up too much of your time, if you need to go...”
“It’s fine, Ron.” I raised my juice to my lips to wet my dry throat. “Where were we?”
“I was about to make you an offer.”
“Oh yes... of course.”
“Helena, you know how much I admire your determination to leave everything behind and pursue justice for the most vulnerable, not to mention your impeccable ethics.” His eyes held mine. “Plus millions of other adjectives I could use to describe you.”
“That’s kind of you.”
“Not really. Trust me.” He winked and I laughed. Ron never missed an opportunity to wear me down. “But I need you on my legal team.”
“Did you commit some kind of crime?”
“Only the crime of caring about this country.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’m going to run for mayor of Alta Ridge.”
I almost choked. This was completely unexpected. I’d never imagined Ron Voight sitting in city hall. It didn’t make sense at first.
“I feel like I’m the administrator Alta Ridge needs to grow and make an even bigger mark on the state.”
“You’re a great businessman, Ron. But politics is a complex game.”
“Yes. That’s why I need the best by my side, and I thought it would be an excellent way for you to help the disadvantaged while staying out of dark, moldy cells.”
“I don’t know, Ron. I don’t think I have a knack for politics.” It was almost funny to imagine the possibility.
“I used to think that too, Torres. But the more I think about how much systemic change we could implement, the more sense it makes.”
“I can’t abandon Célie. And there’s this case now.”
“That’s not a problem. We have a few more months of pre-candidacy. I’d only need you for specific bureaucratic matters right now, but later we could create a position for you at city hall—if we win.”
“Wow, you seem really excited about this, Voight.”
“I am, girl.” He laughed. “I think I’m getting tired of the market just taking from society. I want to start giving back.”
“Sounds like something good... but I don’t know if it’s for me.”
“Don’t give me a definitive answer yet.” Ron called the waiter over and ordered another glass of wine. “Let me show you a bit of my campaign plan.”
“You already have a plan?”
“I even have a jingle,” he joked, scrolling through his phone.
The waiter cleared our plates and we stayed there talking about Ron’s bold plans for Alta Ridge. At some point, even I got excited about it. It felt good to see some of the political law I’d studied in college actually proving useful.
When we finally decided to leave the restaurant, it was already late. Ron offered to walk me to my car and helped me with a tire that looked a little low.
“I can’t believe I made the future mayor of Alta Ridge change my tire,” I laughed, watching him straighten up, sweating. Ron was a big man—not just tall, but wide too. Like he’d been a bodybuilder when he was younger and still carried the bulk from those days.
“Can’t let my advisor struggle out there. Gotta start taking care of my citizens now,” he said, stowing the jack in the trunk and handing me the keys.
“I’m not your advisor… I’m not even a citizen of Alta Ridge anymore.”
“Matter of time,” he winked. “See you later, Lee.”