Chapter 33
Juliet
“Turn to your left,” said the officer behind the camera. I did as he said, just before the flash went off, nearly blinding me.
“Now to your right,” he said. I again, did as I was told. Another flash.
I couldn’t believe I was getting my mugshot taken.
It was nothing like the movies where you’re clutching a placard with your name listed, along with the crime you committed, but it was still terrifying.
I held back tears the entire time, my mouth pressed into a thin line.
When I woke up this morning, the last place I thought I would end up was at the police station, pressing my fingers in ink and getting various angles of my picture taken.
“That will be all,” said the officer dismissively, waving for another officer to enter the room.
“This way, miss,” he said, placing his hand on my upper back and gently leading me down a hallway. We stopped at a phone hanging on the wall and he pointed at it with his thumb.
“You get one call. Two minutes,” he said before taking a few steps back to give me what he considered privacy.
I nodded, remembering I get one phone call. I removed the phone from the receiver. I dialed Gabriella’s number, hoping she would pick up. As the line trilled and trilled, I started to give up hope, but I finally heard a click on the other end.
“Hello?” she answered frantically.
“Gabs. It’s me. Juliet,” I said, turning my back toward the officer.
“Oh, my God! Why are you calling from jail?” she asked, her voice shrill.
There must have been a recording when she picked up the phone, delivering the news that she was getting a call from a jail.
“I’m okay,” I said. “I’ll explain everything later.”
“Jules. I’m so scared.”
“It’s okay, Gabs. Really. I just need you to come down to the police station on Thirty-Second. Can you do that?” I spoke calmly, even though I was anything but calm.
“Yes, yes. Okay,” she said. I could hear her throwing things around in the background, like she was gathering her purse and keys.
I knew Chester said we would figure this out, but I didn’t know if he was here.
I didn’t know if he was dealing with the mess at the office.
Everyone saw me being arrested and walked through the building by the police.
There was probably a media frenzy, not to mention the board hassling for answers.
I shut my eyes tight. This was such a mess.
“I’ll see you soon,” I told Gabriella before hanging up the phone with a dull click.
“I’m done,” I said quietly.
The officer pushed off the wall he was leaning against and guided me down another hallway.
The air was cool and the lights fluorescently too bright.
I wanted to be anywhere but there. We continued down the hallway until we came to a cellblock.
I was being put behind bars. I swallowed hard. This just became even more real.
The officer took a ring of keys from his belt and turned it in the large metal lock, before sliding the barred door open.
He held out his hand, gesturing me to enter the gray, concrete cell.
I wanted to run, but I stepped inside just before the door clanged shut behind me, making me jump.
The officer walked away, his footsteps drifting down the hallway, leaving me alone.
I shivered and ran my hands up my arms as I turned a slow circle in the small cell.
There was a small metal bench and that was it.
I slumped onto it and leaned my back against the gray concrete wall, the paint chipping to reveal even more gray underneath.
I picked at it mindlessly, as I looked across the way at another cell to find Mia sitting across from me on her own cold, metal bench.
She didn’t say a word. Didn’t even look at me.
Her eye was turning a purplish red and her black hair was tousled and out of place.
As horrifying as it was to be in this jail cell right now, I couldn’t help but feel a small sense of satisfaction for what landed me here.
I had never once resorted to violence in my life and I only knew how to throw a punch because my father insisted I take karate classes at the age of ten.
I had never tried out any of the moves my sensei had taught me until now.
It only took eighteen years for it to be of any use.
Mia deserved what she got. When I found out she had been the one behind the photo and the menacing threat, and that she had been doing the same thing to Chester, I was seeing red.
She had not only been terrorizing me since I had arrived at Brandfield Enterprises, but she had tried to mess with the man I cared about.
And I did still care about him.
Despite everything, I couldn’t ignore the way my heart swelled seeing him this morning.
You didn’t mess with people I cared about. Mia learned that the hard way by being knocked out cold. I had been surprised at my own force. I had given her a warning.
Eventually, I heard footsteps down the hall and my heart picked up its pace, hoping that Gabriella had posted bail. I would work to pay her back as soon as I could.
I saw Mia stand up and rush toward the door, wrapping her fingers around the bar and trying to get a look at who was coming. An officer came into view and turned his back toward her, removing the keys from his belt and unlocking my cell door.
“Juliet Martin. Your bail has been paid.”
“What the fuck?” spat Mia.
“You’re free to go,” the officer said, ignoring Mia, who had clearly thought she was being the one released.
I thanked the officer and smiled smugly at Mia as I stepped out of the jail cell. As I followed behind the officer, I held up my hand in a vulgar gesture before leaving her behind.
After gathering my items from the back office, I was led to the front lobby where I looked for Gabriella, but only saw Chester rushing toward me, his face etched with worry.
“It’s…you,” I said, almost as a question.
“Of course, it’s me,” he said, pulling me into a hug. I was reluctant at first, but gave in to his embrace, melting into him. Desperate to feel safe, and knowing I would with him. He was warm and I breathed in the familiar smell of sandalwood as I buried my head into his chest.
“I was so scared,” he whispered, his mouth pressed against my hair as he held me tighter.
“You were?” I asked, pulling back slightly and raising a brow.
He chuckled softly and placed his hands on either side of my head, looking me over like I was something broken.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Getting you out of here,” he said as if it were a stupid question.
“But the office…don’t you need to be there? Everyone saw. Ugh, I’m so sorry, Chester.”
“I need to be here,” he said firmly.
I twisted my mouth as I looked up at him. He had come to bail me out. He had put me first, ahead of everything else. I could have cried right there.
“Juliet!” I heard Gabriella yell. I looked toward the door and saw her running toward me with tears streaming down her face.
Chester released me just before Gabriella flung her arms around me.
“Oh, my God!” she exclaimed.
“I’m okay,” I said, trying to breathe in her tight embrace.
“What the hell happened?” she asked, pulling back and looking at me, inspecting me just as Chester had. I waved her off to let her know I was fine.
“It’s a long story…but I’m okay now. Chester bailed me out.” I looked up at him, realizing he hadn’t met my best friend yet. This wasn’t exactly how I pictured it playing out. Gabriella quietly assessed him before she threw her arms around him.
“Thank you for getting her out,” she cried. “It’s so nice to meet you!”
Chester looked from her to me, his mouth open, and I stifled a laugh. The first laugh I had in a while.
“It’s nice to meet you, too?” said Chester, standing rigidly.
“Chester, this is Gabriella…” I motioned my palm toward her.
He nodded uncomfortably, which just made it more humorous. Gabriella let him go and looked back at me.
“I guess you don’t need me anymore.” She shrugged, wiping a tear from her cheek and letting out a breathy laugh.
“I’m sorry I had you come all this way,” I said regretfully.
“Don’t be.” She waved me off. “You two go. You probably have a lot to talk about.” She raised her brows suggestively and I shot her a look.
“I can have my driver take you home,” offered Chester. “He’s outside.”
“The stretch limo?”
“Er, yes.”
I bit back a smile as I watched them sort out her transportation home.
“Is there champagne?” she asked.
“Yes.” Chester smiled.
“Good. I need it.”
She thanked him and hugged me one last time before slipping out the front door of the police station, eager to soothe her nerves with some bubbles and a relaxing drive home.
“She’s…quirky,” said Chester, watching her go.
“Hey! Her best friend was just in jail…” I said, giving him a playful punch in the arm.
“Hey now,” he said, looking down at me feigning seriousness. “I could have you arrested for that.” His brown eyes then danced in amusement.
“Not funny,” I muttered.
“Too soon?” he asked, gesturing for the door.
I rolled my eyes and followed him out of the police station, eager to get out of there, I had no intention of ever going back there again.
We walked in silence across the street to a nearby park.
We settled onto a wooden bench and watched as people biked past on a finely graveled path, while others played with their dogs in a nearby grassy patch.
We sat there, without a word for a while, until Chester finally spoke.
“How long have you known?” he asked softly.
Without any context, I knew what he was asking.
“Only a few days,” I said, staring straight ahead at a white dog catching a frisbee.
“A few days…” he repeated quietly.
“I wasn’t going to tell you,” I said, chewing the inside of my cheek. “But then everything with Mia happened, and it all got so blurry.”
“You weren’t going to tell me?” he asked in surprise, turning to look at me. His eyes looked sad, and I hated that I was the reason for it.
“I didn’t think you’d want to…you know.” I shrugged. “We just met. This seems so fast. And I didn’t want you to think…” I stopped, struggling to get the words out as the lump in my throat formed.
“Think what?” he asked, his brows knitted together.
“That I did this on purpose. To trap you or get your money. I would never do that to you.”
Chester shook his head and took my hands in his, the familiar feeling of his callouses against my skin making me feel like I was finally home.
“I would never think that of you, Juliet. We both got lost in each other that night at my apartment. This is not all on you.”
I felt a tear stream down my cheek.
“I don’t regret it for a second,” he said, reaching up to wipe it away. I leaned in to his touch and looked up at him.
“What do you want to do?” he asked softly.
“I want to keep it,” I said.
He nodded, a look of relief washing over his face. I hadn’t expected that. I hadn’t expected any of this.
“You’re not doing this on your own,” he said. “I mean, if you don’t want to…”
“I don’t,” I said with a shake of my head.
“Whatever that might look like to you. I want to be there for you. For the baby.”
I swallowed down a sob, and saw his eyes were glittering with tears. He pressed his forehead against mine as he ran his thumb across my knuckles.
“I would like that,” I said.
We stayed like that for a while, our heads pressed together on that park bench just looking at each other, as the rest of the city moved around us. There was still so much to figure out, but right then, that was enough. That was all I needed.
Finally, Chester pulled away and studied me seriously.
“What?” I asked, my brows furrowing.
“Are you going to be able to handle the media shitstorm?” he asked, his voice laced with concern. “That picture is going to leak its way out. I don’t want the stress to affect you or the pregnancy…”
I laughed softly before tilting my head and looking up at him. I pressed my hand gently against his cheek. “Chester…you already knew me before you met me, remember? The internet has already seen my lady bits.”
He laughed out loud, genuine and boisterous.
“That’s true,” he said, reaching up to hold my hand against his cheek. He stroked it gently, leaning into its warmth. His gaze turned serious then.
“You know…because of this, you can no longer be my personal assistant,” he said, pressing his lips together tightly.
“I already quit, remember?”
“I know, but maybe I could interest you in a completely different role…”
“What role is that?” I asked, cocking a curious brow.
“My girlfriend.” He grinned at me.