Chapter 6

Logan 

Two weeks later

 

 

Today we’re meeting for a pre-trial conference and once again I’m going to be up against Andrew Patterson on a trial that begins in about three weeks. I haven’t seen him since that day in the tunnel… not since that mysterious kiss that ended oh so abruptly. As much as I tried to put the kiss out of my mind, it was impossible to forget completely.

If I’m being perfectly honest, the kiss was hot. And I’m not going to sit here and deny that Andrew isn’t a stud, the total package. Maybe not his character, but at least in the looks department he is.

And I can’t help but shake the feeling that there’s more to him than meets the eye. Sure, that part is super sexy, but underneath, maybe he’s a better person than I give him— my rival and complete opposite— credit for.

But given the obvious circumstances, there’s little reason to pine over something that’s never going to go anywhere. He’s straight and he’s married.

And he’s obviously confused.

And I know that my dating life has been slim pickings lately, but I can’t stoop so low as to begin a romance with a closeted straight man who’s questioning his sexuality. I’ll be Andrew’s friend but that’s as far as it’s going to go. End of story.

I begin going over my notes when finally, Andrew enters the room, along with Wyatt Young and their client trailing behind. Wyatt sits across from me while Andrew is sitting kitty-corner to me at the end of the long cherry-wood conference table.

Something is off about Andrew though… he looks a bit disheveled… twitchy even. Odd, since he’s usually so poised and professional in his appearance. Good ole Wyatt is looking like his usual smug and self-important self.

Their client is yet another rich old man who’s made the majority of his money by scheming and committing fraud against his investors. Andrew sits down and gives me a quick glance and nods while fumbling through his briefcase, as if he’s either looking for or has forgotten something.

Wyatt is keeping a close eye on Andrew and whispers, “For Christ’s sakes Andrew, didn’t you prepare for this?” 

Andrew doesn’t answer, so Wyatt pours two cups of coffee from the pitcher that is on the table, into little white Styrofoam cups provided by the court.

“Here, have some caffeine,” Wyatt commands. “You clearly aren’t fully awake today. Are you going to get your act together?”

But just then the judge walks in.

“All rise!” declares the deputy clerk, and we do.

The deputy clerk begins. “The matter before the court, civil action 16-2936 in the matter of APD Capital Management vs. LeHeigh Group S.A et al., will be called to order. You may take your seats.”

We sit back down. She pauses slightly, before continuing.

“Today is Thursday, June 7th. It’11:00 am and we’re here for the pretrial conference in the matter of the investor fraud case.” She then takes a seat herself.

The judge nods and begins. “Counsel, please stand and make your appearances for the record.”

We stand back up. Sometimes I feel like being in court is much the same as being in church. It’s full of rituals, recitations, and a lot of standing and sitting and standing again.

“Logan Daniels representing the DA for the state of New York,” I say.

“Andrew Patterson, representing the defendant, Capital Management,” Andrew says. “With me is my co-counsel, Mr. Wyatt Young.”

“Please be seated,” The judge announces.

“Good morning, your Honor,” Andrew begins. “My first concern I have is that all exhibits be pre-marked and pre-admitted. Also…” he stops, then begins again. “I wanted to say…”

He pauses again and begins fumbling around in his briefcase. It’s as if he’s forgotten mid-sentence what he wanted to say.

But it’s what Andrew does next that really seals his fate. As he’s shuffling around clumsily, his arm makes a sudden twitch in the direction of his coffee that is on the table in front of him, knocking over the cup and spilling the contents everywhere, including onto his notes. He quickly grabs the cup, but it’s too late. Some of the coffee even drips over the side onto his client’s lap.

“Holy crap! Look at this!” The client yells.

Andrew looks up. “I’m sorry, your Honor, I…”

Wyatt leans over again and whispers to Andrew, but it’s so loud that I can hear it. “God damn it, what the fuck is wrong with you today?”

Now flustered, Andrew takes a hankie out of his pocket and tries to sop up the liquid, but it’s not enough to make a dent in the vast amount that has spilled.

Wyatt interjects. “Your Honor, I’m requesting a continuance of this conference. My co-counsel is obviously in no shape to carry on in this matter.” He then asks if there is a towel or something to wipe the coffee up with.

“Okay, but you do realize, counsel, that I’m a busy man who doesn’t have time for this sort of ineptitude,” the judge responds. “We’re adjourned until Monday at 11:00 a.m. And this time, be prepared or I’ll rule in favor of the state.”

The judge gathers his notes and leaves the room, as does his clerk, who sends a scolding glance in Andrew’s direction, as if to warn him not to make the judge upset again.

Wyatt angrily looks at Andrew. “Do you realize how incredibly incompetent you made the firm look, Andrew? I’m warning you, get your shit together before coming back to the office! I won’t put up with this kind of horseshit.”

Then he closes up his briefcase and abruptly exits the room, slamming the door behind him.

Their client looks at Andrew and shakes his head. “Nothing like this better happen in trial, Andrew. If you’re not capable to handle this case, I’m going to begin looking at other law firms to represent me. Competent ones.”

He stands up and looks down at his coffee-soaked crotch, shakes his head again and walks out of the room.

Ha! That was one of the best things I’d seen all week, I think.

But, trying to be serious, I turn my attention back to Andrew, who is obviously upset. He sets his elbows on the table and puts his hand to his head and whispers to himself, “What am I doing?” 

I gently ask, “What’s going on, Andrew?”

He’s quiet though, not responding. We sit in silence for several moments before I place my hand on his hand that is sitting on the table and give it a squeeze.

The poor guy just looks beside himself. He nods at me and squeezes my hand back. I decide that it’s probably best to leave him alone for now, so I gather up his coffee-stained papers and place them beside his briefcase. As I do so, I get a little coffee on my hand.

“I’m sorry about your hand,” Andrew says to me.

This actually makes me smile at the absurdity of what happened. I tell him, “It’s nothing a little soap won’t fix, and there’s no need to apologize, especially after staining your client’s crotch.”

Andrew looks up at me and grins. Little does he know that witnessing this spectacle has caused me great joy. A part of me thinks Andrew probably liked it too.

Upon getting up from my seat, I walk by Andrew and pat him on the back. “See you in the park?” I ask.

Then, I walk out, leaving Andrew alone and nearly in tears.

Heading back to my office, I decide to check in with Matt and see how he’s doing. But before I do, I need to call Brooke. I haven’t spoken to either one of them all week and need to catch up.

“You were right.” I say as soon as she picks up the phone.

“Logan? Wait, you’re not talking about the jolly green giant, are you?”

I smile and answer, “Uh huh.”

“What! Logan, what the fuck happened?”

“Well, after you left, I kept running and suddenly Andrew was running beside me. He called out for me to stop and the next thing you know he fell! Injured himself, so I helped him to a tunnel to get out of the rain.”

Brooke gasps. “I like where this is headed! The tunnel of love. Go on.”

“Nothing much happened. I sat there with him for a while and we had some small talk. When his leg felt better and we were ready to leave, he went in to kiss me.” Brooke then screams upon hearing this.

“But then he ran off just as quickly as the kiss started.”

Brooke says, “Aww. Okay, Now I’m getting the picture. Shit, Logan. What are you going to do?” 

“What is there to do?” I start out. “The guy is confused. I agreed to be his friend, but come on, there’s nothing in it for me but heartbreak maybe.”

Brooke finally agrees. But she asks, “Was it a good kiss, at least?”

I make an mmmhhhhm noise and say, “Fuck me, he’s a good kisser. I thought I was going to die from shock when our lips locked.”

Brooke screeches and then quiets down before saying, “Logan honey, I’m at work and my supervisor is breathing down my neck. Call me later, okay?”

I tell her goodbye.

Now I need to see how Matt is doing. Last time we spoke, he told me he was going to take the week off from work and go to his mom’s to figure things out. He told me to call him after a while.

I dial and Matt answers. “Hi babe. How are you doing?” I ask.

Matt still doesn’t sound like his usual self, but then again, it would be odd if he did, considering what happened.

“I’m leaving Gage,” He starts out. “And I want to get my own place in the city. But before that I need a place to crash… maybe for just a few weeks or month at the longest. Is your couch still available?”

I’m happy that he’s asked and I let him know.

“Of course you can, sweetheart. Just say when.” And that’s when I have another thought. “Say, was any of the furniture at your guys’ place, yours? You should at least bring a mattress to put on the floor. Something besides the couch.”

Matt pauses, then says, “I’ll have to think about going back there. Some of the stuff was mine, but a lot of it we bought together. I’m not going to worry about it. I’ll sleep on your couch for now.”

Even though it’s a sad situation, I’m actually looking forward to Matt moving in for a while. We enjoy each other’s company and I think it will be good for both of us.

“Alright. Are you coming this weekend?” I ask.

Matt says yes and that he’ll call or text to let me know when. But he quickly asks me, “So how are you doing? What’s new with you?

I don’t want to go into the Andrew Patterson thing with Matt just yet. There’s really not much to talk about and besides, I’d rather tell him in person. This weekend when he’s at my house.

So, I just say. “The usual. Nothing too exciting. Work, blah blah blah.”

Matt tells me that he’ll see me this weekend, thanks me and hangs up.

I think about what I just said…. Nothing too exciting.

That’s a bit of a lie, because why do I feel this little tingle inside me every time I catch myself thinking about Andrew? I’m actually starting to look forward to seeing him in the park later this evening.

Jeez, what the fuck is happening to me now?