The Hot Brother (Romance Love Story) (Hargrave Brothers - Book #5) by Alexa Davis (107)

PART TWO

 

CHAPTER ONE

 

ADAM

 

"You have on too many clothes," Alicia told me in a breathless voice.

All I could manage was a grunt, but I began to work on removing my own clothing. I kept my tongue busy on her sexy body and when I was finally naked, I rolled on my back and Alicia climbed up and straddled me. She started kissing my neck. Breathing in deeply, she said, “God, I love the way you smell. It’s so…I feel silly saying this, but it’s so masculine.”

I laughed. “Good to know,” I breathed out as she kissed her way down my stomach.

When she reached my throbbing erection, she took it in her hand and looked up at me as she began slowly stroking it up and down. She made sure I was watching as she let her tongue come out and lick across the tip of it. She swirled it around the head before she opened up her sexy lips and engulfed it. I let out a long moan as she sucked me all the way back into the back of her throat. Then, she pulled her head while continuing to hold my cock firmly in her hand. She took the time to lick the head again before repeating the whole thing, this time letting my cock linger in the back of her throat as she worked the muscles there a few times. Fuck, it felt good.

She took her time at first, but as we both got more excited, she began to bob her pretty head up and down faster and stroke and suck me harder. I felt my balls tightening up, and it took all of my willpower to keep from coming already. I didn’t want her to stop. It was too good. I made myself hold back for a while longer until my head felt like it was about to explode all over the wall, and then I reached for her.

She let her soaking wet pussy slide up my body and tried to stop over my cock. I used my strength to pull her up further until that sweet, wet pussy was over my lips. I stuck my tongue out and slid it up inside of her warm tunnel. I loved the way she tasted, the way she felt, and the way she smelled. I loved everything about her.

I moved my tongue in and out of her, stopping occasionally to lick across her clit just to hear her moan. She rubbed it against me, and I could feel how hot and swollen it was. I sucked it into my mouth and she tried to pull up off of my face. I held her down with a grip on her hips and for several long minutes, I did my best to drive her crazy. From the sounds she was making, I was doing a good job.

“I need you inside of me,” she said in a breathless voice. I let go of her and when she slid back down into my lap, I sat up and moved her over onto the bed.

“Get on your hands and knees, baby.” She licked her lips and turned over. I positioned myself behind her and held my rock hard cock in my hand, teasing her with it until she was practically begging for it before I let it slide inside of her. She enveloped me like a glove, and I reached down and took a handful of her hair on one side and a breast in the other hand. I held her like that, tugging gently on one and pinching and twisting the other as I pounded her from behind.

Alicia had two full-blown orgasms before I finally felt my body tightening up and I couldn’t hold back any longer. Every time with her was like the first time, and I came hard and ended up a sweaty, shaking pile of exhaustion when I collapsed down on top of her.

When I could talk again without shaking and gasping for breath I said, “Fuck that was amazing.”

She rolled over and wiggled out from underneath me. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair was disheveled, and she had a gorgeous smile on her face. I pulled her into my arms and held her. For the next few hours, we didn’t talk about work, we didn't discuss Marjorie, or what we were going to do about our relationship, we just spent the time loving each other, and appreciating the fact that we had this time together. Unfortunately, about five o’clock, my cell dinged with a message. I looked at it and saw that it was from Miles,

“Headed up the driveway, dinner will be in the formal dining room at six.” I texted him back that we would be there and told Alicia,

“I’m afraid it’s time, love. Hannah will have dinner on the dining room table in an hour.”

   She wrinkled her little nose. “If I pout, can we skip dinner and keep having our dessert, instead?”

I smiled. “If you only knew how badly I would love that.” I kissed her and continued, “But no, I’m afraid that Brigham, and for that matter Hannah, too, are both just headstrong enough to come and forcibly drag us to the table. We better get busy showering and dressing for dinner.”

“Showering…oh my goodness, I didn’t bring any other clothes. Is it a formal dinner? Will he be expecting me to be dressed up? I thought it was a working dinner.”

“Calm down, gorgeous. Your amazing man is always prepared,” I told her with a grin. Bouncing out of the bed and strutting naked over to the armoire, I flipped open the door and hanging there was the elegant black cocktail dress that I’d had sent over in her size from a boutique I knew she liked to shop at. They knew her well and they’d also sent over shoes and undergarments. “You’ll find the new underwear and bras in the drawers,” I told her. “Now, chop-chop; we don’t want to be late.”

“I haven’t been spoiled like this in…well, except by my parents, ever. Thank you! I feel like a princess.” She got up and gave me a big hug. I tried to follow her in the shower and she said, “Uh-uh. This gigantic castle has to have more than one. If you get in here with me, I’ll never get ready.” She had a point, but I was still disappointed.

“Okay, but we haven’t done the shower thing in a long time, you owe me one,” I told her.

I reluctantly left and went to the bathroom down the hall to get ready. An hour later, I met her in the hall. She looked gorgeous, as usual, and the things they’d sent over for her fit perfectly. “I’m glad I found you,” she said. “I have no idea where the dining room is.”

“I’m glad I ran into you, too. I needed another one of these.” I pushed her back into the wall and put my hands on that little silk dress she was wearing. I was so tempted to rip it off of her and fuck her right there up against the wall. I was good, though. I gave her a long, deep kiss and let her up for air before saying, “Tonight, I’m going to have you every which way.”

She giggled. “I can’t wait,” she said. I loved her enthusiasm, too.

When we made it downstairs to the formal dining area, Miles was already seated at the head of the table. To his right sat his son. He looked like Miles IV minus about twenty-five years. To his left was a young woman. I assumed it was his daughter, but I’d never met her. She looked annoyed to be there. Next to her was Alex, my best friend and our political contact at the moment.

“Well, there y'all are,” Miles said as we walked in. “Have a seat, I’ll introduce you.”

We sat down and Miles said, “This young man is my son, Miles V. My daughter, Celia, and you folks already know Alex?”

Alicia told Miles V and Celia that she was pleased to meet them and said hello to Alex. Miles V was polite, but Celia sat sulking like a spoiled child waiting to be excused. Hannah came in then and began serving soup. The group was quiet as we ate. When Miles IV had finished his, he looked at Celia and said,

“Celia, now is probably a good time to get this over with.”

“Daddy, I really don’t need to be the one to tell them. Why don’t you do it, please?”

I could tell by the way that Celia looked at Miles – she was used to getting her way. Miles V rolled his eyes in a very subtle way, but I caught it, nonetheless.

“Baby girl,” Miles IV said in a soft tone, “I really think we need to hear it from you…please.”

Celia sighed. She picked up the flute in front of her and drained the wine from it before she began. “I met Vick Landon at a fundraising rally two years ago. I was there with Dad and my boyfriend, David. Vick was very personable and charming. He and David seemed to have a lot in common, and by the end of the day we were chatting like old friends. I feel so stupid now; I really didn’t see it…”

She looked up then, in Alicia’s direction and asked, “Did you read Daddy’s file? The one with Vick’s disgusting sexual exploits?”

I felt bad for her, and I could tell by the look on Alicia’s face that she did, too. Only moments ago, I’d judged her as spoiled and selfish. Alicia nodded and took a sip of her water to lubricate her dry throat. “Yes, I did,” she said.

With a deep breath, Celia went on, “Then you know, they became more than friends. Daddy tried to get me to stop seeing him without telling me why. I wouldn’t accept his advice. I wish I would have listened now. I’d rather not have known. Anyways, my disgusting boyfriend was having a sexual affair with this man, and we have pictures to prove it.”

I could tell that Alicia didn’t know what to say. She finally said, “I’m sorry,” but the words hung in the air hollowly until Hannah came in with the main course and Miles IV broke the silence.

 “Now you know why I hated the son of a bitch. There were other things also. Things you can read about in the files, too. For one thing, that whore that he set up at the Plaza was living off of stolen money, money that rat bastard had stolen from me, money that was intended to go towards electing a President.”

Alicia looked at me. I’d already been told all of this by Miles, but it was new and shocking information to her. I reached over and took her hand in her lap and squeezed it.

She looked at Alex then who had sat silently through all of this. I could tell Alicia was wondering why he was here. She was too tactful to ask at the table, but I’m sure she would the second we were alone.

Her eyes scanned the table, and I saw them land on Miles V. I could almost hear the wheels turning in that intelligent brain of hers. He was the only one eating, and he was doing so with a gusto that implied he was completely oblivious to his sister’s pain or his father’s anger. Miles IV had his eyes on his son too and they held a look of disdain. His eyes softened when he looked back at his daughter. He put his hand on hers and said,

“You did a good job, baby. You can go now if you like.”

Celia smiled and jumped up from the table like a child that was excused without eating her vegetables. I could tell by her waif-like appearance that it probably wasn’t the first meal she had missed. The girl planted a kiss on her father’s cheek and said goodnight to everyone, except her brother before bouncing out of the room.

I looked back at the younger Brigham, who seemed to not have missed a bite. I glanced at Alicia and she was looking at me with a look that practically screamed, “What have you gotten me into here?”

We finally all began to eat. Dinner was delicious, and thankfully, the rest of it was spent in pleasant small talk and conversation. I think we had heard enough for now regarding the scandalous nature of the people we worked for and their associations. There would be time later for more.

After dessert, Miles V excused himself and the rest of the party followed the elder Brigham into the sitting room. Hannah had his Bourbon ready, and both Alex and I both accepted a snifter, as well. Alicia chose sparkling cider. She rarely drank, save for the occasional glass of wine with dinner or champagne celebration. I could tell she was impatient as Miles IV talked on and on about his passion: big game hunting. I don’t think he was finished, but he made the mistake of pausing for breath and Alicia interjected,

“Alex, if you don’t mind my asking, what is your connection to all of this?”

Alex looked at me, as if looking for permission to divulge information to her. I saw her bristle at that. If she was going to be the lead defense attorney in this case, she would need to learn how to get past hurt feelings and outright command more respect.

I nodded slightly at Alex. He looked back at her and said, “Miles has been grooming me as Vick’s replacement for a while now. We were going to make the announcement after Vick had been given the news. There was a press conference scheduled for Friday to announce his resignation and my appointment. Now, I assume, it will just announce my appointment in the wake of this, uh…tragedy.”

Miles IV nodded and then drained another shot of Bourbon. Sitting down his glass, he said, “Yes, Alex here is up to speed on all things Brigham and Presidential, so to speak. He’s going to make an excellent campaign manager, as well as a valuable ally for my company.”

 “So, there was a plan in the works to fire Vick?” she asked

“Yes, little lady, that was the plan,” Brigham said

“And, you expected him to resign once you told him about it?” she asked, I knew she would put it all together quickly. She’s one of the smartest people I know. The only small area she was lacking was in her confidence.

“That was also the plan,” he said while lighting a cigar,

“Let me ask you all this,” Alicia said, looking at each of the men individually before speaking, “How many other people, besides those of us in this house, knew what was going on with Vick? By that, I mean, the love affairs, the illicit spending sprees of campaign monies, and the fact that he was perilously close to losing it all?”

We all looked at each other and I finally told her, “We don’t know, exactly. The affairs weren’t well disguised by any standards. The stripper was only a plaything to Vick, she was interviewed by our people, and we believe she really didn’t know anything about what Vick was up to. As long as he paid her bills and allowed her shopping sprees, she gave him what he wanted in the sack when he wanted it and didn’t ask any questions. Cindy McGuire is being heavily protected, of course, by her family and refuses to have a conversation with us about Vick. And David; he’s somewhat of a wild card.”

“Meaning what, exactly?” Alicia asked.

“David has disappeared, physically that is. He’s gone pretty deeply underground. He hasn’t been seen since Vick’s death; however, he has made several phone calls to both Celia and her father. He’s looking for money, and thinks he’ll be able to cash in on this in a big way. He uses disposable cell phones and has asked for money to be wired to an offshore account. So far, our investigators, and Miles’, have been unable to find him.”

“Why does David think that Miles or Celia would give him money, considering what we now know to be true?”

Miles sighed and said, “I’ll take that one, son,”

He stood and walked across the room towards the massive stone fireplace. Next to the fireplace stood an enormous blue spruce, all decorated for Christmas with professionally wrapped presents already underneath. Miles stopped next to the tree and seemed to be admiring the twinkling of the lights for several minutes, before finally turning to Alicia.

“He has something on my son that he has threatened to go to the authorities with if I don’t send him the money he wants by midnight on Friday.”

Alicia raised an eyebrow, but didn’t speak. Miles turned towards her and continued, “My son was in the mountains the day my wife died ten years ago. The authorities never had that information, so he was never questioned regarding her death. I don’t want him questioned, and I have gone through great pains to make sure that never happens. My son is weak. He couldn’t stand up to an interrogation. He would crack like an egg in five minutes or less.

“My daughter, she was cursed only by naivety. She was thinking that she could trust this man-whore she was seeing, and she told him some things that she never should have, things that should have remained in the family. That little gay boy wants to use that information now to destroy my family. If I thought he would go away, I would just pay him the damn money. I don’t believe for a second though that he would stop there. That boy would keep this shit up until he bleeds me and my family dry.”

“May I ask why it’s so critical that the authorities not know Miles V was there the day your wife died?”

Brigham looked at her, and with his next words, I think Alicia had begun to understand the disdain he held in his eyes when he looked at his son.

“Because, little lady, my son killed her.”

 

 

CHAPTER TWO

 

ALICIA

 

I looked at Adam and saw that he wasn’t shocked by any of this. He walked over and put his hand on my arm and said,

“It’s alright. When Miles hired us, his son also paid to retain us as his legal counsel. What Miles just told you was disclosed to us after he hired us as counsel.” Adam looked at Miles, and then back at me and said,

“We did, of course, suggest the possibility of Miles V turning himself in. Neither he nor his father here were interested in that suggestion, however. Until now, it had not really become an issue. Our concern at this point is that David will in fact tell the authorities what he knows.”

I dropped down on the plush beige couch that I was standing next to. I watched the lights on the designer tree twinkle while I gathered my thoughts. Looking towards Adam, I said,

“So, my job is to keep Miles IV from getting arrested in relation to Vick’s murder, right?”

Adam said, “Yes, that is a large part of it.”

It suddenly dawned on me why he really wanted my criminal law expertise. “You expect me to defend Miles V also if what David is saying he did ever comes into play.” Adam gave me a nod and I went on, “Okay, then, what else do I need to know?” There was really no going back now.

The men spent the better part of the next hour filling in the blanks for me before I had enough and excused myself to turn in for the night. I had barely made it back to our room when Adam followed me in.

My mood had significantly darkened from earlier in the evening. He tried to touch me, but I told him I was too tired and rolled away from him. I wasn’t really angry with him, but I was pretty annoyed about what he’d gotten me into here. After a while, I felt him snuggle into me and press his hips into my behind. He draped his arm across my waist and pulled me into him tightly. I moved forward and he followed me until I was on the edge of the bed and couldn’t move any further.

I finally rolled over to chastise him, but before I could get any words out he covered my mouth with his. I didn’t resist the kiss and as usual, my entire body responded to it. My stress and fatigue was suddenly replaced by desire, and as he pulled me up on top of him and lifted my nightgown up over my hips, I didn’t protest. Instead, I made love to him and him to me until we were both so truly exhausted that neither of us could stay awake a moment longer.

We woke the next morning to Hannah’s wake-up tap on the door. We were wrapped so tightly in arms and legs that it was almost hard to tell which limbs were whose.

After a quick breakfast with just the two of us that Hannah served on the terrace, we were picked up by one of Miles’ drivers and driven to the airstrip. Hannah had packed up all of the paperwork that I had not had time to finish reading through the day before. She also issued a message from Miles, expressing his regrets at having to leave so early and not being able to see us off properly. There was no sign before we left of neither Celia nor Miles V, and for that I was grateful.

I felt a little guilty, but I actually allowed myself to hope that neither Miles would be arrested and I wouldn’t be forced to defend either of them. I also wasn’t sure that Celia was innocent in all of this, either. The look in her eyes when she spoke about David’s affairs with Vick had been pure hatred. Who’s to say she wasn’t involved, as well?

Nonetheless, I was their lawyer now and regardless of my personal feelings, I would give them the best possible defense…if any of them ended up needing one.

I read through more of Brigham’s files on the flight home while Adam reclined in his seat and took a nap. I stopped what I was doing and looked over at him.

He was probably the most beautiful man that I had ever seen. I sometimes felt that it wasn’t fair that his looks had so much power over me. His looks, of course, were not the only thing I found to love about him, but pushing him away might be much easier if I didn’t have to look into his sexy dark eyes when I did it.

I had enjoyed our time together at Brigham’s estate immensely. But if things didn’t go as Adam hoped they would at his hearing on Monday, I had already resolved to end things once and for all. I couldn’t keep this up. It wasn’t fair to act as if I were having an illicit affair when in fact I wasn’t.

I finally tore my eyes away from him and continued with my reading of the Brigham file. I looked through some of the photos, as well, during the rest of the flight. Whoever these investigators were that Miles IV had hired, had done a fantastic job surveilling Vick.

We had photos of his intimate trysts with Priscilla and David that looked as if they had been taken from inside the apartment. I felt even worse for Celia then as I looked at the photos of Vick and David. I had quickly set aside the ones of them involved in sexual activity, but the ones of them just spending time together, enjoying a glass of wine or just talking were up close and personal enough that you could almost read the love in David’s eyes. Celia had definitely been the beard here and it had to hurt the poor girl to realize it.

As the plane descended back down into La Guardia, I sat the file aside. Adam opened his eyes and smiled that sweet, sleepy, oh so sexy smile that I loved so much.

“Hi, gorgeous,” he said as he sat up and buckled his seatbelt for the landing.

“Hi,” I said simply, but with a smile that let him know what I was thinking.

As I was buckling my seatbelt, he leaned forward and kissed me. “A few more days, and then we’ll be together…forever. Think you can handle that?”

I couldn’t help myself. Just the thought of having Adam to myself at last made me smile broadly. “I can’t wait,” I said, and although I was thinking ahead about what I may have to do if things didn’t go as planned, I didn’t have the heart to bring it up.

We went our separate ways at the airport. Adam was going back to the office, so he took a cab. I took the town car back to my apartment. I was exhausted and all I wanted was to relax in my own home.

After a long hot shower, I listened to my voicemails. I had been so wrapped up in all of the Brigham drama that I hadn’t even answered my phone in almost two days. The first message was from Kyla, wanting to know how mine and Adam’s time together had gone.

The second was from my mother. It reminded me that my parents would be in town in just over a week, and I had better find some time to do some decorating and shopping for Christmas. My mother would be shocked if she knew her daughter had waited this late in the season to get a tree or put out so much as a twig of holly. Mrs. Winston had always begun the decorating on the first day of December, albeit she mostly acted as an orchestrater to her staff.

The third call was from Jack. He wanted to know if I would like to have dinner on Friday night. I would have to give that one some thought. Instead of calling him back, I called Kyla. A little innocent girl talk was what I really needed after the past two days of drama and bizarre confessions.

As it turned out, it was a lot of girl talk. I finally hung up almost two hours later. I told Kyla what a great time Adam and I had, what a bizarre family Miles Brigham IV had, and about Jack and his most recent phone call. Kyla had helped me to decide that there would be no harm in an innocent dinner out with an old friend. I had ultimately agreed, and after hanging up with Kyla, I called Jack and accepted.

I spent the rest of the day getting things done around the apartment and didn’t sit down with the Brigham file again until evening. Over a cup of chamomile tea and some homemade cookies, I set about re-reading all of the documents.

Miles IV had told me that he was out of town the night Vick was murdered. He claimed he had been in Louisiana with a woman he had recently begun seeing. Inside the file were copies of his private pilot’s flight plans for the day in question. I thought that it could be used as a very convincing alibi if need be.

There was no mention in the file of Miles V or Celia’s whereabouts that evening. This concerned me a bit, knowing now what I did about the murder of Brigham’s third wife. There were copies of Miles IV bank records, as well. I assumed that these were to prove he hadn’t paid anyone to kill Vick while he was out of town formulating an alibi. I did think, however, that had I been the police or FBI, I would know that the great and powerful Brigham would never be foolish enough to write out a traceable check for a murder for hire scheme.

My eyes were growing weary. I put the file aside at last, and headed to bed. I checked my phone before lying down, somewhat disappointed that Adam hadn’t called to say goodnight. I started to think about him being across town in that plush, Manhattan apartment with Marjorie, but made myself stop. First of all, if I knew Adam, he was probably still at work, and second of all, even if he was home, he was not with Marjorie. I turned off the bedside light and closed my eyes, willing myself to dream of days to come when we could finally be together. Maybe all of Adam’s Marjorie drama will be over before my parents arrived for the holidays, and then it would really be a Merry Christmas.

Adam finally called me the next morning as I was making my coffee.

“Good morning, baby,” he said. “How was the rest of your day yesterday?”

“It was peaceful,” I said. “Much more relaxing than the drama we walked into at the Brigham mansion.”

Adam laughed. “Yes, they are an interesting bunch, aren’t they? I got to spend the rest of my day working on his civil case. We go to trial soon. The press continues to tear him up on a daily basis, baby, and I don’t think things are looking too good for us as far as an untainted jury pool here in New York. I don’t know if you’ve seen the Post yet?”

I said I hadn’t and he went on, “That reporter I met with, Rose, did a piece today that wasn’t just about the oil spill and the effects it had on the environment and the people, it was about Brigham himself. She had some pretty personal things in there, and even hinted that although she didn’t personally believe that Brigham had killed anyone himself, it was a pretty safe bet that his hands weren’t clean. She wasn’t only speaking about Vick’s murder; she was hinting around about his wife, as well.”

“Wow, I wonder where she’s getting her information.” I opened the front door and picked up my own paper. I recognized Rose’s byline on the front page, and as Adam talked, I skimmed through the article. I was surprised to find that some of the information in the article mirrored things that had been in personal documents Miles had allowed me to view.

“Adam,” I said, thoughtfully, “do you think maybe David has been in touch with Rose and perhaps that is where she is getting some of her inside information?”

“I thought of that, too. Whoever she is getting her info from is definitely skewed towards Brigham being guilty of more than just wealth and power.”

We mused over that for a bit, and then before I finally told Adam that I had to hang up and finish getting ready for work, I told him about Jack being in town and planning to have dinner with him on Friday night.

“Hmmm, an old friend, huh?” Adam said, I think he was trying to sound like he was joking but he also sounded a little worried. He confirmed that as he said, “No old feelings there, I hope?”

“He’s just an old and dear friend,” I told him. “It’s nice to catch up with someone from back home for a change.”

Adam didn’t say anything else about it. Instead, he changed the subject back to his hearing on Monday and how he couldn’t wait to finally be rid of Marjorie. We hung up on that note, with Adam promising to check in on me later at the office.

When I got to the office several hours later, it was unnaturally quiet. I ran into Carla in the hallway headed to our office.

“Why is it so eerily quiet around here today?” I asked.

“Well, Mr. Hanson and Mac are closed in the conference room in a meeting with Mr. Brigham and his associates. Nico and Kyla are in court this morning, I think, and I am not sure what’s going on with the rest of the staff. Maybe they’re all taking time off for the holidays,” she said.

“Hmm, maybe,” I said, thoughtfully as I took the message slips Carla handed me. I stepped into my own private office and began going through them. They were mostly all simple matters that I could handle quickly this afternoon. There was one, however, that intrigued me at once. It was from a Rose Dugan at the Post, and it had a number. The message urged me to call ASAP. I was curious enough that I did just that. The number I called was a cell phone, and it was answered at once by a girl that didn’t sound old enough to be a journalist at all. I was tempted to ask her if her mommy was home.

“Ms. Dugan?” I asked instead.

“Yes, this is her.”

“This is Alicia Winston; I’m returning a call from you.”

“Ms. Winston, yes, I am so glad you called. I was interested in finding out if perhaps you and I could meet sometime to talk about a serial piece I am doing on one of your client’s for the Post?”

“Well, Ms. Dugan, you do know that a lawyer who is in the process of representing a client is bound by confidentiality? I’m sure there wouldn’t be much information I could give you.”

“I am aware of that, Ms. Winston; actually, I was hoping to give you a little inside information.”

I was really intrigued. I agreed to meet with Rose over lunch at a coffee shop nearby the office. I couldn’t imagine what type of “inside information” she could possibly have, but I was interested enough to go and find out.

I spent the rest of the morning returning phone calls and completing paperwork I had gotten behind on the past few days. I was about to wrap it up and leave for my meeting with Rose when Adam walked in. He came around behind my desk, and taking me by the hands he lifted me to my feet and planted a kiss on my lips.

“I missed you,” he said.

I smiled and kissed him back. “I missed you, too.”

“Have lunch with me?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t,” I told him. I was genuinely sorry. “I have a meeting. I was just leaving before you came in.”

“Well, I guess as your boss I can’t complain about you working through lunch.” Then taking me into his arms, he said, “As your boyfriend, however, I am very disappointed.”

I smiled again and said, “Me, too, love. Maybe we can have dinner?”

Adam’s mood seemed to change slightly. “Maybe, I’ll try to finish things up here in time.” I wasn’t sure what the mood shift was about, but feeling a little guilty myself for not admitting that my meeting was with Rose Dugan, I let it go.

 

********

 

I found Rose waiting for me outside of the coffee shop when I arrived. She looked almost as young in person as she had sounded on the phone. She wore very little make-up, and her dishwater blonde hair was swept back in a hasty bun. She wore Converse tennis shoes and a pair of jeans that were bleached and frayed in places and the overall effect was a high school girl.

“Ms. Winston?”

“Yes, hello,” I said as I approached the girl. I put out my hand and received a hasty shake in return.

“Let’s go inside,” Rose said.

After we took a seat and ordered our coffees, I said, “I must say, I am curious to know what information you might have with regards to one of my clients.”

“Well, first of all let’s cut to the chase, Ms. Winston,” Rose told me. “We both know the client that me and all of New York are most interested in right now is the wealthy and powerful Mr. Miles Brigham IV.”

I had of course known who the client was that interested Rose, but I was determined to let her do all of the talking during this particular meeting. I only nodded slightly, and she went on. “I’m sure you’ve read my piece on him by now?” I again nodded. “I am in touch with a source who knows quite a bit about your client and his family. This source of mine is helping me build my piece, but is also concerned about you being drawn into the mess known as the Brigham family.”

I couldn’t help myself; I had to ask, “Why would this ‘source’ of yours have any concerns about me?”

“Let’s just say they do. and leave it at that,” Rose said. “This person has some pretty convincing evidence that Mr. Brigham and his devil’s brood are guilty of many things other than arrogance and vulgar wealth. They asked me to tell you that you would possibly be placing yourself in danger by agreeing to represent them.”

I arched an eyebrow. Who did this little sprite think she was telling me who I should and should not “represent?” Surely, she didn’t think I would be so simple minded as to dump my client on her say so alone. She must be up to something else, but I couldn’t figure out just what yet. When I sat quiet long enough to make Rose uncomfortable, she said,

“Miles Brigham IV had everything to do with his third wife’s murder and everything to do with the murder of Vick Landon, as well. I intend to prove it, and my source was kind enough to ask me to warn you before I brought the Brigham empire crumbling down. You can do what you wish with the information.”

With that, the arrogant young girl stood and put her bag on her shoulder. I looked up at her and said, “So that’s it, you brought me here to warn me that I may or may not be in danger and that you have some anonymous source who has some investment in my personal safety. You will not, however, tell me whom that source may be or what this so called evidence is that we have against my client. I think you have wasted my time, Ms. Dugan. I charge hundreds an hour for my time, I don’t have any to spare for playing games.”

Rose smiled. The smile made her look like a kid who knew something that her mother didn’t. “I warned you like I was asked, and here’s one more warning, Ms. Winston. You may be charging Mr. Brigham hundreds of dollars an hour for your services, but be careful. He plays with people’s lives just for fun.”

And with that, she walked out the door, leaving me to wonder what the hell that had even been about.

 

 

CHAPTER THREE

 

ADAM

 

I had another excruciatingly busy day and to make it even worse, I wasn’t going to have time to meet Alicia for dinner. I grabbed a rose off of my assistant’s desk and knocked on Alicia’s door around five.

“Come in!”

I pushed open the door and found her still at work behind her desk. She looked up at me and smiled. God, she’s gorgeous even with her hair falling out of the loose bun she had it tangled in and most of her make-up rubbed off from her hours of pouring over paperwork. I held out the rose to her and said, “I’m afraid I can’t make dinner tonight, baby. But can I have a rain check?”

She took the rose and smiled, “I suppose. It’s kind of been an exhausting day, anyways. I think a bubble bath and a cup of tea is just what the doctor ordered.” I waited for her to pack up her things and put the files on her desk in Carla’s basket so that she could take them back to records in the morning. Then, I walked her out to the parking garage.

It seemed like she was debating whether to tell me something important, but she stayed silent. I thought about asking her about it, but had so many things on my mind and a team still inside waiting for me, so I selfishly decided to wait and maybe she’d tell me at another time when I was not so overwhelmed.

When we reached her car, she pressed the unlock button on the fob in her hand and then I took her into my arms and gave her a long, deep kiss. When we came up for air, I held her back so I could look at her pretty, flushed face. It suddenly morphed into a look of disgust when she spotted something over my shoulder. I turned and saw Marjorie. I felt like losing my lunch. She had that permanent nasty smirk on her face.

 “What the hell? Marjorie, what are you doing here?”

“I was meeting my lawyer for dinner, and I just thought I’d come by and let you know. I didn’t want you coming home to eat with me like you did last night and finding that I wasn’t home.”

The bitch was trying to cause trouble as usual. I turned back toward Alicia quickly. “She’s lying. I did not have dinner with her last night. I was here, working.”

Marjorie feigned a serious look and said, “Oh dear, was I not supposed to say anything in front of the little woman?”

I spun around on her and before she had time to back up, I was in her face. “Shut the hell up, Marjorie! Shut your nasty, lying mouth! I wish you were dead, you know that? If I thought you were worth it, I would kill you myself.”

Marjorie didn’t even flinch. She wasn’t afraid of me because although I talked a good game, we both knew I’d never follow through with the violence she made swell in my veins. She laughed instead and said, “Such passion. Love and hate are such closely related emotions, aren’t they? Do you remember what amazing sex we used to have after a roaring fight?”

Every muscle in my body tightened and for a fraction of a second, I thought I just might be able to do it. Maybe I could kill the bitch. I felt Alicia’s hand on my arm and heard her say,

“She’s not worth it, Adam.”

Marjorie still didn’t seem to realize she’d just almost pushed me too far. She smiled at both of us before turning and heading for the garage elevator. Just before the doors slid closed, she blew me a kiss. It turned my stomach and I felt Alicia’s hand tense against my arm. “I didn’t have dinner with her.”

Alicia put her hand up on my face and said, “I know.” I pressed my face into her palm and then slid it over to my lips and kissed it. “Enjoy your bath and quiet time.”

“I will. You don’t stay too late. You can come and sleep at my place tonight. You need to get some rest.”

I nodded. I probably wouldn’t just because I hated the idea of letting Marjorie have my place to herself. She made my blood boil. I kissed Alicia’s cheek and she slid into the car.

As I closed her door I heard myself say, “I really do wish she was dead.” I don’t think I meant to say that out loud. I know Alicia despises her, but me talking about her being dead couldn’t be sitting well with her. At this point I was too exhausted and too fed up to care what anyone thought. I was sick to death of my life being ruled by an evil, ungrateful bitch and I’d do just about anything at this point to just make her go away.

 

********

 

I stayed at the office until after ten. I was so tired by the time I got into my car that I was glad I wasn’t driving. I actually saw spots in front of my eyes. I said a little prayer that Marjorie would be out when I got home, but it went unanswered, as usual. I walked into the penthouse to find her on the couch in her lounging outfit, painting her toenails and drinking a glass of wine. She had a fire roaring in the fireplace and the surround sound playing smooth jazz. She makes me sick. I tossed my keys on the table in the foyer and turned toward my bedroom.

“You don’t want to have a glass of wine with me? You look like you could use a little unwinding.”

I looked at her with fire in my eyes and said, “I won’t be unwound until you are out of my life once and for all.”

She smiled. “Don’t count on that being any time soon.” Once again, rage hissed through my body. I took a step toward her, but caught myself and instead turned back toward the hallway and went to my room. I closed and locked the door behind me before ripping off my tie and jacket. I pulled my phone out of my pocket then and called Alicia. She was the only thing that could calm me down where Marjorie was concerned.

“Hi, baby. What are you doing?” I was practically whispering. I was feeling paranoid like Marjorie was listening at the door. I didn’t want her being any part of my conversation with Alicia.

“Hi, I’m taking a bath. I wish you were here.” My mind pictured that and I groaned and then it dawned on me that she was headed home to take a bath hours ago.

“What took you so long to get your bubble bath?”

“Why are you whispering?”

I sighed. “Marjorie’s in the other room. I don’t want her overhearing us – she doesn’t need any more ammunition to torture us with.”

I could hear the change in Alicia’s voice at the mention of Marjorie’s name, but she was supportive anyways as she said, “I’m sorry, baby. Maybe Monday it will be all over, huh?”

“God, I hope so. It has to be. Let’s not talk about her any more though, please. Tell me about your evening and why you’re getting your bath so late.”

“I went shopping. I realized I haven’t even decorated for Christmas yet or started my gift shopping. While I was out, I bumped into Jack Grant, my friend from the U.K.” I felt a tightening in my chest. I counted to ten in my head before saying,

“He seems to have a knack for bumping into you when you’re alone.”

“He was Christmas shopping, Adam. No evil intentions there, I assure you.”

I felt like a jealous ass. “I’m sorry, baby. Everything that’s been going on lately has given me the eerie feeling that there are evil intentions all around us.”

“I suppose I can’t blame you there,” she said. “We just can’t let all of this change the way we think about people. Everyone is not like Marjorie, or the Brigham’s, for that matter.”

“Thank God,” I said, wearily. “I think I should turn in for the night, so that we can deal with people such as Marjorie and the Brigham’s again bright and early tomorrow morning.”

“I love you, Adam,” she said. It’s funny how much better I feel hearing her say that in her cute little British accent. “Everything will be okay, soon.”

“I wish you knew how much I appreciate you.”

“I do know, love. I do believe it will be better soon. It has to get better, right?”

“I suppose it can’t get much worse.” It could, though. She could leave me. Now that this guy “Jack” was sneaking around, that could even be another nail in my coffin. Shit! I was getting way too paranoid. I needed to get some sleep. “I love you, too,” I told her before hanging up the call. I undressed down to my boxers and collapsed on my bed. It was only seconds before I slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.

 

 

CHAPTER FOUR

 

ALICIA

 

   I put the phone back down on the side of the tub after I talked to Adam and sighed as I dipped back down into the sudsy, warm bubbles. I felt horrible for him, but I also felt bad for me. He should be here or I should be there and Marjorie shouldn’t be anywhere in our solar system.

I closed my eyes and heard the sound of his voice when he said Jack had been “bumping into me” a lot lately. I wasn’t happy that he was jealous per se, but at least maybe it gave him just a taste of how I have to feel every time he was with Marjorie, only ten times worse, considering he was still married to her. Jack and I had really only bumped into each other again, just this time not literally.

   On the way home, I’d decided I still had too much nervous energy after the run in with Marjorie to relax. Instead, I headed down to Times Square where the shops were all still open late for holiday preparations and began my Christmas shopping.

I walked from shop to shop, picking out things that I thought my mom and dad would like. I found a gorgeous pashmina for Kyla, and bought several small holiday baskets for assorted people from the office. By the time I reached the last shop, my arms were so full of packages that I could hardly carry them all. The last shop was a jewelry store that offered custom designed items. I found exactly what I was looking for as a gift for Adam. I placed an order for a watch and inscribed it with the words,

“My boss, my mentor, my lover, my friend. Always, Alicia”

After I left there, I stopped in to a quaint little coffee shop on my way back to the garage where I left my car and ordered an extra-large latte. As I sat down at the nearest table to the counter and relieved myself of the weight of the packages, I slipped off my heels, too, and for the first time since seeing Marjorie in the parking garage at work, I began to relax.

“Wow, I hope you have a sleigh outside to carry all of that home in.” The voice startled me until I looked up and realized it was Jack. He was standing next to the table dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a black polo shirt, wearing that sexy lopsided grin that used to take my breath away.

I laughed and said, “That would be nice, actually, because maybe there would be a few elves out there to help me carry it all.”

“Well then, tonight is your lucky night,” he said as he sat down without an invitation,

 “My other persona is an elf, and I was born to be a helper and a giver.”

I smiled, and asked him, “Do you have a crystal ball that helped you to find me this evening or were you just out shopping, as well?”

“Shopping,” he said, grinning again. “Unfortunately. That crystal ball thing would have been really cool.” We sat for a while, sipping our coffee and talking again, like hardly any time had passed between us. By the time we were ready to leave, I had laughed so much that my cheeks hurt and I had hardly allowed Marjorie to enter my thoughts once.

“Thank you, Jack. I needed this.”

“What? Coffee with an elf?” he asked playfully.

“Yes, an elf that can make me laugh and forget my problems for a bit was exactly what I needed.”

“Well then,” he said with a mock bow, “I am so glad I could be of service to you.”

Jack helped me gather up my bags and insisted on carrying most of them to my car. I gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek before getting into the car. “Thank you again. I had a wonderful evening,”

“You’re welcome, again,” he said. “So did I. Do you need me to follow you home and help you get this stuff up to your apartment?”

“No, thank you. The doorman will help me. He’s a very nice man.”

Jack looked disappointed, but said, “Okay, be safe and have a good night. I am looking forward to our dinner on Friday night.”

“Me, too,” I said as I got in the car.

Jack had stood there and watched me drive away. As I glanced in the rearview mirror before I pulled out of the lot I found it a little strange that he was still rooted to the spot I had left him in and watching me. I wasn’t going to admit that to Adam, though, especially since my imagination was probably simply going crazy because of all of the stress.

 

********

 

Adam and I didn’t see each other outside of the office again until Friday afternoon. He had sent a message to me through Mary inviting me out to lunch. He had been in meetings all morning outside of the office, so we decided to meet at a café we both liked in Manhattan. Adam met me out in front and gave me a long, sweet kiss.

“God, I missed you,” he told me when he had finally let me go.

“I missed you, too.” We went inside and were seated at a table near a big window. While we waited for our lunch, I asked him about his meetings and then finally addressed the elephant standing between us.

“How have things been with Marjorie?"

Adam made a face like he had tasted something sour. “The good news is, I’ve been so busy with work, I’ve hardly had to see her. The bad news is, I did have to see her a few times coming and going. I can hardly stomach looking at that woman. I can’t imagine what I ever saw in her to begin with.”

 “Well, I wasn’t going to ask, but…”

Adam laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “It will forever be one of those ‘what was I thinking’ moments I guess.”

“I would probably understand it better if you had told me you were smoking crack when you proposed,” I said with a giggle.

“Me, too, actually,” Adam admitted. He turned serious then. I was glad when our lunch came and he was at least distracted for a time while we ate. Feeling bad about bringing Marjorie up, I changed the subject to Christmas and what I planned on making for dinner Christmas Eve.

“Do you think you’ll have any time next week to go and buy a tree with me?”

“I will do my absolute best,” he said. “I haven’t bought a Christmas tree in years.” I was about to ask about his and Marjorie’s Christmases, but caught myself. He was looking at his watch anyways, and I knew he was on the verge of leaving.

“Time flies, huh?”

He smiled. “Unfortunately, only when I’m with you. I do have to get back, babe. Miles’ trial begins right after the New Year. There are so damn many witnesses to interview. Each time I think we’re close to finishing up, someone else gets added to the list.”

“I have a lot to do at the office this afternoon, too,” I told him.

“And, your date with the old flame tonight, right?” Adam asked. He was smiling, but it was a tight one.

“Adam, you aren’t truly upset that I’m having dinner with Jack, are you?”

“No,” he said as he signed the credit card receipt the waitress had brought him. “I’m just jealous that he gets to spend the time out with you and not me, and honestly, baby, I’m still a little uneasy about how he seems to keep turning up everywhere you go.”

We walked outside arm in arm and stopped on the sidewalk. I rose up on my toes so I could look into his eyes and said, “He’s only ‘turned up’ twice, actually. And, if it helps to know this at all, I’d rather be with you, than anyone, anytime.”

Adam tipped my chin up further, and parting my lips with his tongue, he gave me a deep, passionate kiss that I never wanted to end. It did so suddenly, however, as we both felt and saw a flash of light at the same time. We turned simultaneously towards the source. Standing about three feet away on the sidewalk was Rose Dugan, and some young kid with pimples on his face and a professional-looking camera draped around his neck.

Rose, with the over confidence that we had both seen upon meeting her on separate occasions, waved at us with three fingers and smiled like she was in on a private joke that neither of us knew about before getting back in a van that was adorned with the Post logo on the side and driving away.

We stood there stunned for a moment. We weren’t celebrities, but somehow representing a billionaire oil baron had brought us both smack dab into the middle of the media circus. We both had a few choice words to say about the young and exceedingly arrogant Ms. Dugan on the way back to our cars. Once there, Adam kissed me again and said,

“I actually hope that picture gets put on the front page, that way the whole world will finally know how I feel about you.” That simple statement sent me back to work with a smile on my lips and hope in my heart.

I spent the afternoon working hard, leaving a little later than I had hoped. When I got home, I showered and dressed in a white angora sweater dress and boots. I was putting the final touches on my hair and make-up when Jack called. “I just wanted to make sure we were still on.”

“Yes, of course. I was just getting ready.”

“Great! I’ll be there about seven.”

“Perfect. Do you need directions to pick me up?”

“No, I have you on GPS,” he said, and then added, “I just pulled it up now, as we were talking so that you wouldn’t have to bother trying to tell me how to get there.”

That was odd and gave me a little creepy feeling. Maybe I did need to talk to him about my relationship with Adam. I thought again about what Adam was implying about Jack running into me “too often.” I decided I’d talk to him at dinner and said, “Okay then, I’ll see you at seven.”

Jack rang the bell exactly at seven o’clock. I had known he was there already, thanks to the phone call that I had received from my doorman Luis, asking if I was expecting him before sending him up. I opened the door, and there stood Jack in a black suit with very small dark green pin stripes that perfectly matched his eyes. He was holding a bouquet of fragrant pink and white roses in one hand.

“You look beautiful,” he said as he held out the roses. “For you.”

“Thank you,” I said and stepped back to allow him in as I went to put the flowers in a vase. “You look very nice, yourself. Where are we going?”

“To a little Italian place I found downtown called Romaletti’s.”

I turned to look at his face. I wasn’t sure if Adam’s suspicions were playing on my mind or if in fact Jack knew way too much about my movements since he had been in town.

“Romaletti’s?” I repeated. “What made you decide on that restaurant?”

“I asked the concierge at my hotel for a recommendation,” he said. “He recommended it highly. Is there a problem?”

“No. No problem. Romaletti’s is a wonderful place. I’ll just get my coat.”

I grabbed my coat and bag and as I started to lock the apartment door, Jack took the key from my hand and locked both locks. He gave the knob a shimmy to make certain and then handed the key back to me. When I gave him a quizzical look he said,

“I just want to make sure you’re safe.” I didn’t say anything, but definitely we needed to talk. I allowed him to open the elevator and push the buttons and then open the car door for me when we got downstairs. He tried to lean across me to buckle my seatbelt also, but I thought that was going too far.

I took the belt out of his hand and said, “I got it, thanks.”

Jack only nodded, and then closing the door, he went around to the other side. Once in and buckled up himself he hit the automatic lock buttons on the doors. I looked at him strangely again.

“This is kind of a scary city, I want to be sure no one sees my gorgeous passenger and tries to jump in the car with us.”

Weird. I thought this was my opportunity to talk to him.

 “Jack,” I started, “I’m not complaining that you’re so thoughtful of me. I’m afraid though that I’ve maybe led you to believe there could be more between us than is possible.” I looked at him, and couldn’t quite decipher the look on his face in the dark car. He didn’t say anything, however so I went on,

“I’m in a relationship. I didn’t tell you before because I hadn’t really seen it as being significant in our relationship since we have been only friends for a very long time now. I’ve just started to get the feeling the last few times that we’ve talked that you may be looking for this to go further?”

I said the last sentence like a question. He glanced over at me, and then putting his eyes back on the road, he said,

“Honestly, I had hopes. I’m a little embarrassed to say it now. I had just seen you so many times and you had been alone always, so I assumed that you weren’t seeing anyone seriously right now. I suppose it was wrong of me to assume. I should have asked.”

“I’m sorry, Jack. I never meant to lead you on. My relationship has been really complicated lately and difficult to explain to anyone.”

He didn’t say anything, but as he pulled into the parking lot and the lights illuminated his profile I could see that his mood had drastically changed since we had left my place. He parked the car, then looked over again.

“You don’t have to be sorry. You haven’t done anything wrong. I suppose I also just imagined myself as not ‘just anyone’ in your eyes. At the very least, you are my best friend. I feel like I can tell you anything, even after all of these years. I was sincerely hoping you at least felt that much for me, as well.”

“Oh, Jack, I do think of you as my dear friend. It’s not that I felt I couldn’t talk to you about it. It’s like I said, it’s just all so complicated that it’s not a conversation I wanted to try to have over a fifteen-minute coffee ‘catch up’ session. Maybe we could talk about it tonight, if you’d like.”

He nodded and got out of the car. I waited and let him open mine for me and then I took the arm he offered and let him lead me into the restaurant. Marco was at the front desk and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he recognized me right away. I smiled at him and said, “Hello again, Marco. This is Jack. He’s a friend from my childhood that is visiting New York from London.”

I was afraid that he’d think I was cheating on Adam. Marco didn’t let on if he did, though. He gave Jack the same welcome that he had given me the first time he had met me. After our boisterous greeting, he upgraded the table Jack had reserved for us to one that he referred to as his “first class, VIP tables” and a complimentary bottle of the best house wine was sent over, as well.

“Wow,” Jack said. “This guy you’re in a relationship with must be really something to merit all of this attention just by knowing him.”

I smiled. “I think he’s really something, and apparently so does Marco.”

“So tell me about him,” Jack said as he poured us both a glass of wine.

“Well, he’s the owner of the firm I work for, for starters.”

“Adam Hanson?” Jack asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, you know of him?”

“I think anyone who is connected to the law in this town, or who picks up a newspaper, knows of Adam Hanson. He’s currently representing the most infamous billionaire in the country, is he not?”

“Yes, which is part of the reason you have been running into me alone so often. Adam has been up to his eyeballs with this case.”

“And the other part,” Jack asked, after the waiter had taken our orders.

“Well, that’s the complicated part. Adam’s in the midst of a messy divorce. His soon to be ex is being extremely difficult, and has even recently moved back in with him, claiming she’s staking out ‘her’ home so that Adam doesn’t take it from her just by virtue that she’s not in residence.”

“Hmm, actually that sounds like a smart move on her part.”

I gave him a look that I hoped conveyed I didn’t appreciate him defending Marjorie in any way before saying, “It was actually her lawyer who gave her the idea. Adam thinks she’s sleeping with him.”

“Alicia, you do know that you deserve better than part of a man’s affections and all of this drama, don’t you?”

“It’s not like that, Jack. Adam is entirely devoted to me. This will all be over soon. I find him to be worth waiting for.” Jack didn’t respond to that, so trying a shot at changing the subject I said,

“Is there anyone special in your life these days? My mother mentioned not long ago that she heard you had gotten engaged.”

A dark cloud passed before Jack’s eyes. “That was a mistake. Alicia, promise me something. If the drama doesn’t stop soon with this man, you’ll reevaluate what you want and need out of a relationship.”

“Jack,” I said, trying to choose my words wisely, “I am quite capable of looking out for myself. This will be over soon, but even if it’s not, I do have the right to choose what I do and do not wish to deal with. I feel that I’m level-headed enough to make that decision on my own.”

Jack nodded. He looked about to say something else when our dinner arrived and interrupted him. By the time we started eating, his mood seemed to have changed again. He was back to being the old witty Jack, telling jokes and funny stories to make me laugh. I wrote off his moodiness to the residual feelings he still harbored and let it go at that for the time being.

The rest of the evening was spent on light conversation and I really enjoyed myself. By the time Jack dropped me at my apartment and gave me a chaste kiss on the cheek goodnight, the uncomfortable feelings about his earlier behavior had all but gone away.

 

 

CHAPTER FIVE

 

ADAM

 

   I made time Saturday afternoon to go pick out a Christmas tree with Alicia. I didn’t really have the time, but I had barely seen her all week and I was having withdrawals. I also knew she’d been out with her “friend” the night before and shamelessly, jealousy was eating away at me.

I picked her up in the morning and we walked to a nearby coffee shop. We started our day out with hot chocolate and warm croissants before walking to a nearby tree lot. At the sight of the trees, Alicia’s pretty eyes lit up and I watched her in awe as she went from one tree to the next examining them like she was making a lifetime purchase.

“This one is nice and fat, but he has a hole on the other side.”

“Put that to the wall,” I told her.

“No, I’d rather find one full all the way around.”

I tried not to laugh at her as she went to the next one and the next. I saw one that I liked and said, “What about this one?”

She came over and walked a circle around it. “He’s kind of skinny.”

“Maybe we could feed him and fatten him up,” I said with a grin.

She stuck her tongue out at me. “I just want it to be perfect. It will be our first year celebrating together and Mum and Dad will be here, too.”

“I know, baby, I’m just teasing. Pick away.”

An hour later she’d finally picked out the tallest, fattest one on the lot. Thankfully, they delivered. After paying for it, we walked hand in hand back over to Central Park and had lunch. There were a lot of holiday kiosks set up around the park, and Alicia bought some Christmas decorations. We had another cup of hot chocolate and sat on a bench to watch the ice skaters while we sipped it. She slipped her hand into my pocket and laid her head on my shoulder. I watched all of the children playing on the ice, imagining what it might be like to have a child someday with her. I’d never wanted kids before, but I think Alicia would make a wonderful mother and, maybe because I was getting older, I thought I might enjoy being a father myself.

After another hour or so, we walked back to her place. Luis met us at the door and told her that the tree had been delivered. He’d had them set it in the hallway just outside of her apartment. When we got upstairs, I dragged it inside. We set it up…and watched it fall over three times before it was stable enough to decorate. She brought out a pot of coffee and Christmas cookies to enjoy while we dressed up the tree. It was something I hadn’t done since I was a kid, and I had a great time with her doing it.

When she was finally satisfied with it, we lay back on the couch and she snuggled into the crook of my arm while we admired our work. It only took fifteen minutes before we were kissing and my hands were roaming around underneath her clothes.

“Do you want to take this to the bedroom?” she asked with a grin.

“Nope.”

Looking confused she said, “No? You want to do it here on the couch?” I was obviously aroused so there was no denying I wanted to “do it,” as she had so cutely put it.

“Nope.”

“You don’t want me?”

I laughed. “I want you all the time, too much. I walk around with a semi-hard cock all day just thinking about you. I want you, baby. You owe me a shower, though, remember? Or at the very least, a bubble bath.”

She smiled. “A bubble bath would get my vote.”

“Okay, why don’t you go fix it while I put these cups away and pour us a glass of wine.”

She giggled like a little girl as she headed down the hall to the bathroom. I heard the water running as I carried the wine glasses down the hallway toward the bedroom. When I made it into the bathroom, the first thing I noticed was that she’d stripped out of her clothes. I hardly noticed anything else but that. She took the wine glasses out of my hands and instructed, “Strip.”

Laughing, I did as I was told. She watched as I peeled off each garment and once I was fully naked, she sat our wine on the wide edge of the now bubble-filled tub and climbed in.

She turned off the water and I watched her sexy body disappear down into the water. I stepped in behind her and she leaned back into me. She had pulled her hair up into a messy bun and her gorgeous neck and shoulders were bare. I kissed across one shoulder and then up her long graceful neck. Then I started massaging them. She moaned and leaned forward slightly. I ran my hands down her spine, massaging with my fingers and when I reached the bottom of it, I slid them up her sides and brushed my fingers lightly against the sides of her breasts.

She shuddered and tipped her head back. I put my mouth to her ear and slipped a hand around her waist. I sucked the delicate lobe in between my lips and used my tongue to tantalize her as I slid her up into my lap.

   I used the hand on her waist to caress her stomach and then slid it up to her breasts. She let out a little cry as I pinched one nipple firmly between my thumb and forefinger. I moved my hand over and did the same to the other one and then I slid my hand down between her legs. She squirmed against my hard cock, which she was sitting directly on top of, as I put my fingers against her clit and began to rub it in small circles. She had her head all the way back and pressed into my shoulder and her breaths were coming in short gasps. I rubbed hard and fast and loved the way her sliding against my cock felt as I did.

It didn’t take long to bring her to her first orgasm. She shivered and shook in my arms as she came and then relaxed back into me once she was finished. I could feel her legs shaking against mine. When she caught her breath, she pushed up and slid around to face me. She was straddling my waist with a knee on either side of me. I pulled her up on top of my cock and let the tip slide into her. I reached behind her and unplugged the tub…we were about to make one hell of a mess. She wrapped her legs around my waist and sat down, taking the rest of me inside of her as she did.

   I started thrusting my hips up, and she clutched onto my shoulders and rode me as the water sloshed from side to side and over the edges of the tub. I didn’t care if we flooded the whole place. I’d buy her a new one.

I slid my hands down and gripped the firm cheeks of her ass and squeezed them. I used them as leverage to slide her up and down on my hard pole, striking deep and hard each time. Alicia was returning each one of my thrusts with one of her own. Her soapy breasts and hard nipples were pressed into me, and the sight of her and the smells of the perfumed bath and the sounds she was making that echoed off the walls filled my senses. When I couldn’t hold back any longer, I plunged into her all the way and held myself there as I came. It was another earth-shattering orgasm and once again, I reminded myself that I needed to get rid of Marjorie so that I could have this every day…and soon.

   I held her in the tub until all of the water drained and then we got out and into the shower. Things got wild again and I ended up fucking her up against the cold tile wall before we could both concentrate on an actual shower. Once we were clean and dried off, I reluctantly told her I had to go. Brigham’s jet was picking me up at JFK in an hour.

   “You’re going back out to his estate?”

   “Yeah. I’d rather stay with you…”

   She smiled. “Most people would rather stick needles in their eyes than spend an evening with those crazy people, I think.”

   I laughed. “That, too. But I really would rather be with you than with anyone at any time.”

   “I know,” she said as she leaned into me. “Me, too.”

   “Want to go with me?”

   She grimaced. “Do you need me to go…for business?”

   “No, baby, this part is about the civil case.”

   “Then, not a chance,” she told me with a grin. I didn’t blame her, at all. I kissed her again before dressing and forcing myself to leave. On my way out, I looked at the tree we’d decorated together once again. My heart swelled in my chest.

It was the little things like that I wanted to do with her forever. I’d never had fun with Marjorie – or any woman really for that matter. My marriage to Marjorie had always been more like an unpleasant business arrangement and any women I was with before her had been strictly for sex. With Alicia, I wanted it all, and no matter what I had to do, I was going to have it. I was beginning to think fighting Marjorie over “things” was completely moronic when it took time away that I could be spending with the most beautiful, amazing girl on earth. I’d have to call my attorney before we went to court on Monday. Maybe I would be willing to change my terms to please her…and get rid of her.

 

 

CHAPTER SIX

 

ALICIA

 

I actually spent a lazy Sunday just reading and catching up on housework and laundry. I didn’t hear from Adam, but I knew he was stuck at the Brigham mansion all weekend, so I didn’t worry about it. I thought it was a lot better than the alternative actually: being stuck at the penthouse with Marjorie. On Monday morning, I called him to wish him luck with his and Marjorie’s court date.

   “Thanks, baby, but I don’t think I’ll need much luck today. I think she’s finally going to agree to our terms and accept them.” I wasn’t sure what had changed, but he sounded excited and hopeful for the first time in quite a while, and I was happy about that.

“Well, luck or no luck I hope all goes well. I miss you,” I told him.

“I miss you, too. Dinner tonight?”

My mood elevated at the mere thought. “Absolutely.” We made plans to talk later and after saying good-bye, I got ready for work and got my own day started. I was humming when I stepped off the elevator until I saw Carla’s face. Suddenly, I knew for sure it was Monday.

   “What’s up?” I asked.

She gestured her head to the waiting room to the left. I glanced over, and in the waiting area sat DA Dawson. He was dressed to kill in what I could only imagine was a suit he had purchased in the children’s department, and his bald little head was so shiny that I almost couldn’t look directly at it.

He stood when he saw me notice him. “Ms. Winston,” he said, holding out his pudgy little hand with the stubby fingers on it for me to shake. I had to force myself to take it.

“Mr. Dawson, to what do I owe the pleasure of an early morning visit from the District Attorney?”

Dawson looked at Carla as if he was concerned she may be a spy and then said, “Perhaps we could discuss it in your office.”

 “Sure, this way.” As I passed Carla’s desk, I rolled my eyes and made a face. I could tell she was trying not to laugh. Once inside the office, I offered Dawson a seat and a bottle of water. After he was settled, I asked again, “How can I help you, Mr. Dawson?”

“Well, Ms. Winston, I believe I am actually here to help you.”

“And how is that?”

“Well, I have a warrant for the arrest of one of your current clients, and I wanted to offer you the chance to surrender him, as opposed to me sending the state police to fetch him at his home or his office.”

Knowing who it was without asking, I asked anyways, “Who is this client, and what is he suspected of?”

Dawson smiled his little gnome-like smile. “The great man, Miles Brigham IV is the client, and I think you and I both know that the crime he is suspected of, as you so delicately put it, is murder.”

I could feel a headache beginning to start just slightly behind my eyes and in my temples. I had a feeling that it would only get worse as the day went on and by sundown I might be sporting a full-blown migraine.

“Murder?” I said to Dawson in a skeptical tone. “May I ask what evidence this is based on?”

“You may, indeed,” he answered smugly. “First of all, your client had motive. He had recently discovered two things about Vick Landon, the first being that he was sleeping with his daughter’s boyfriend. I’m sure that set his teeth on edge.”

He smiled that nasty little smile of his and then went on, “Secondly, Mr. Brigham had also recently discovered that much of the monies he believed had been sunk into the Presidential campaign had actually been diverted into Vick’s own account and used to keep his stripper girlfriend set up at the Plaza and in designer shoes.”

“Okay, so he had reason to dislike the man and possibly have him arrested for embezzlement or misappropriation of funds,” I agreed. “But kill him? I do think that if the affair had pushed him too far, perhaps David would have been the target of a murder, rather than Vick?”

“Yes, I thought about that. But, have you seen David since any of this took place? The man is hiding out, running for his life. I don’t believe Brigham intended to leave him as a loose string. The night that Vick died, he and David had made plans to rendezvous. I believe Brigham got impatient and scared David off before he could kill them both.”

“Fancy little theories you have there, Mr. Dawson,” I said with a smile. “But there is the small matter of proof. You haven’t forgotten that, have you?”

Dawson snorted out a laugh before saying, “I have a ninety percent conviction rate, my dear. No, I have not overlooked the proof. Vick lived in a very swank apartment building in SoHo. There are security cameras everywhere. Mr. Brigham, be he a formidable business man, is not skilled at playing the dress-up game.”

I continued to sit silently. I had the feeling that Dawson was about to tell me they have Miles on tape, which was definitely a game changer. I waited for him to continue, however.

“He wore a plaid flannel shirt and a pair of jeans. The ball cap that he wore was pulled low, almost over his eyes. His tennis shoes were well-worn. He made it through most of the place without getting his face on camera. I’ll guess he’s become pretty good at that over the years. Unfortunately for Mr. Brigham, there was one camera in the back stairwell that was not obvious. In fact, a pigeon had actually built a nest on the brackets that held it to the wall. We almost didn’t find it ourselves.”

“So, you have a man who resembles my client leaving the building on the night of the murder. No smoking gun? No witness?”

This time, Dawson laughed out loud. “Oh, I have a witness. Did I forget to mention that David contacted us? He was scared to death of facing Brigham in court, but we assured him that we would provide for his safety. So, my dear, I have to ask again… Would you like to surrender your client or should we fetch him?”

My headache began to spread. Damn Brigham if he lied to me. Taking a deep breath and calling again on my professional façade, I said, “Give me a few hours to get a hold of him. I’ll call you by noon and let you know when and where.”

Dawson rose from his seat with a satisfied smile and held out his pudgy hand once more. “I will look forward to your call, Ms. Winston. Have a pleasant morning.”

I shook his hand, and as he let himself out, I slumped down behind my desk. If they really did have video of Brigham in the building and if David really is willing to testify against him, our case was all but lost already. Brigham was a villain in the media already because of the oil spill – finding an untainted jury pool anywhere in this country would be a challenge, if not impossible. There was also the gay angle. If the gay activists attached themselves to this case as the EPA had attached themselves to the civil one, we were in for even more bad P.R.

Carla cracked open the door, and poking her head inside, asked, “Anything I can do for you?” I smiled at her, grateful I had good people in my corner.

“Yes. Please get Miles Brigham IV on the phone, ASAP. Call Mr. Hanson’s team if you need to, one of them will have to know where he’s at. Oh, and Carla, get the investigator in here, too. I need him to find someone, today.”

Carla headed out to make her phone calls, and I started making my own. First, I called Miles’s cell phone. It went straight to voicemail, and I left a message telling him he needed to call me and it was urgent. I tried his home, and left another message, this time with Hannah to have him call me as soon as he got in. Before I began dialing his office, Brett, one of Adam’s best investigators knocked on my door.

“Brett it’s so nice to see you.” I shook his hand and said, “I need to you to find someone, fast.” I told Brett a little about the case, and then gave him a description and a picture from the Brigham file of David. “I need to speak to him right away.”

“I’ll get right on it,” he said, “I’ll call you as soon as I get anything.”

I thanked him, and after he left, I called Miles’s main office and again left another message. No one seemed to know where he was. I glanced at the clock as I hung up the phone. It was ten a.m. Adam’s hearing had started at eight-thirty. I was surprised I hadn’t heard from him by now, telling me how it went. I decided to try his phone, hoping that the hearing had gone well, and perhaps he may know where I could locate Miles. Adam answered on the first ring, but he didn’t sound happy.

“Hi, babe,” I said. “How did it go?”

“It was ridiculous!” Adam barked into the phone. “The judge gave that worthless bitch everything she wanted – everything, Alicia. She has my home, my assets, and is even a financial partner of the firm. Isn’t that just great?”

I was stunned. I didn’t know what to say. Adam had been so sure that things would end on a more positive note for him. “How did this happen?”

I could hear Adam sigh. “She had pictures of us. She told the judge that we had been seeing each other even before she and I split up. She actually cried and gave him some big story about how much she had loved me. How much she had given up so that I could go to law school and establish my business. The judge bought it all.”

“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.” I was in shock myself. I didn’t know what else to say.

“Nothing to be done now,” he said, abruptly

I allowed the silence to fall between us for a moment, and then said, “I’m sorry to ask this right now, but do you know where I can find Miles? Dawson has issued a warrant for his arrest.”

“Damn!” Adam said too loudly into the phone. “No, I haven’t spoken with him today. Find him though, quickly! If the police or the press finds him first, there is no telling what the old SOB might say to get himself into even more trouble.”

“I know. Adam, I’m looking. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he said as he disconnected the call.

 

 

CHAPTER SEVEN

 

ADAM

 

   Alicia called me around six. “I found Miles. I see why you were so worried about what he would say. He’s an idiot for such a smart man.”

“I know,” I said. “You can fill me in on the details at dinner if we’re still on?”

I could almost hear the smile in her voice as she said, “There is nothing I’d rather do tonight. You sound better than earlier, I’m glad.”

“Yeah, I feel better. I’ve spent the day with Mac going over just exactly what Marjorie can and cannot do as far as my firm is concerned. I stand to lose a chunk of money, but she cannot take my business over.”

“That is good news!” Alicia said happily. “Does this mean she can’t fire me, either?” She sounded like she was kidding, but it had crossed my mind, too.

“Never!” I told her, “My employees, and my lover for that matter, are out of her control.”

“I’m really glad things are looking better, babe. Where are we having dinner?”

“At Romaletti’s, if that’s okay?”

“Of course.”

“Would you mind meeting me there at seven-thirty? I just have a few more things to take care of first.”

“Not at all, I’ll see you then.

Alicia was already seated at the table Marco saves for us when I walked in at seven fifty-five. She was looking out the window watching the ducks and I got to study her profile as I approached the table. She’s so beautiful it takes my breath away. When she looked up and saw me, I could see the light in her eyes, and I loved it. I bent down and kissed her cheek. “Hi, baby, I’m sorry I’m late.” I had stopped and bought her a bouquet of orchids from a street vendor. I handed them to her and she buried her nose in them and then smiled up at me. “It’s okay, I was just getting worried.”

“I’m sorry you worried, but all is well.” She didn’t ask any questions about why I was late and I was glad. I was just happy being here with her and I didn’t want anything else getting in the way of that. Marco prepared an exquisite meal for us, and while we ate, I said, “Okay, tell me what happened with Miles today.”

She rolled her eyes. “So, I was in my office making phone call after phone call and he was suddenly on the line saying, ‘Hi there, young lady, I hear you’re looking for me.’

“‘Yes, Mr. Brigham, I have been. I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but the District Attorney has issued a warrant for your arrest.’ He cussed so much and so loudly I had to hold the phone back from my ear. Finally, he calmed down and said,

“‘So what now?’

“‘I need you to meet me at the station, to turn yourself in.’

“‘And why the hell would I want to hand myself over to the piranhas?’ was his reply.”

I shook my head. I could just hear him. “So what did you tell him?”

“The truth,” she said. “I told him, ‘Because, sir, if you don’t, they’ll come looking for you. It won’t be pleasant when they find you, and they’ll make sure the media is on full alert, as well.’ He didn’t agree to turn himself in right then; he wanted to see me at the office first, so I agreed.’”

She looked like she was remembering something else. She had a pained expression on her face and I asked, “Did he not show up?”

“He showed up. It was just that in between that time was when Marjorie came in shooting off her mouth and I smacked her,” she admitted. I couldn’t help it – I laughed loud enough for other people to glance at our table. Marjorie had it coming, and I was sorry I missed it.

I laughed again and she said, “I’m so sorry. She made me so angry I just wasn’t thinking.”

   “I don’t know why you’re still apologizing.”

“She marched into my office and told me she was taking over the business and I were going to be fired.”

“Sounds like she asked for it.”

   “I’ve never hit anyone in my life.”

“Some people don’t understand anything else,” I told her. “Besides, I’m sure everyone knows she goaded you into it. Tell me more about what happened with Miles.”

 “I spent a half an hour telling him what evidence the DA claimed to have. He denied killing Vick again, but then added that, ‘the stupid little bastard had it coming.’”

“He has no filters,” I said. She nodded and grimaced.

 “So what happened at the police station?” I asked

   “He was read his rights and booked. I watched the video. It’s grainy and it could be Miles, but I don’t see it as proof. Anyways, I pushed for the bail hearing, and he was let go on two million dollars bond and he had to surrender his passport.”

“Did he cuss a lot?”

She laughed. “Under his breath, thankfully. Brett called while I was there, though, and told me he found David.”

   “Great! Where is he?”

 “He is surrounded with police and federal agents. They are there for his protection, but Brett says the manpower is overkill.”

“Yeah, the Feds have some kind of stake in him they’re not telling us about.”

“Right? So anyways, Brett is going to look into that. There is one more thing…”

“What’s that?”

“Probably nothing, but I ‘ran into’ Jack again at Starbucks after I left the courthouse. Once again, he said it was a coincidence, but I’m beginning to wonder…”

I didn’t like that at all, but I also didn’t want it to damper what I had planned. “We’ll talk about that later, baby. In the meantime, promise me you won’t be alone with him until we figure out his angle.”

“I don’t think…” The look on my face must have convinced her not to argue because she said, “Okay, I promise.”

Marco sent over a rich piece of chocolate cake and when we finished our dessert, we walked around the duck pond again and watched the swans glide across the surface. Toward the end of the deck was an old-fashioned light post. I led her over to it and turned her so her back was against it. She grinned up at me, thinking I was going to kiss her, but I had bigger plans. I knelt down on one knee and watched her eyes widen.

“What are you doing?” I pulled the velvet box I was carrying in my pocket out and flipped it open to reveal the ring inside. “Adam…”

I laughed. “Shush! I was going to wait for Christmas to do this, but with all that’s been happening; I thought we needed something to look forward to right now. Alicia Winston, will you marry me?”

She looked stunned. We had spent so much time talking about mine and Marjorie’s marriage that we had never mentioned our own happening someday. I had thought about it though, a lot. I knew I wanted her to be my wife more than anything in the world and I was sure that somehow everything else would work out if only we were together.

Alicia’s face told me she felt the same way once the shock wore off. “Yes, oh, Adam, yes, I’ll marry you,” she said with tears in her eyes.

I slipped the beautiful diamond on her finger and then stood to kiss her. Marco’s staff came out on cue and suddenly violins were playing somewhere across the pond. We kissed in the moonlight, feeling the warm glow that love brings with it. It was a beautiful night that I knew I’d look back on forever when I needed to smile.

When it was time to go, I left my car with the valet at Marco’s and told him I would send for it tomorrow. I drove Alicia’s car to her apartment, and we barely made it across the threshold before we began tearing at each other’s clothing like teenagers. The stress of the day and the excitement of the evening had manifested itself in an animal-like lust that neither of us could – or wanted – to control. When we were fully inside and the door was locked behind us, I lowered her down to the carpet in the living room and began my exploration of her body with my hands, lips, and tongue.

Alicia moaned and writhed on the carpet, begging for more. I gave it to her, licking and sucking her to an almost screaming orgasm before I finally slid my throbbing erection inside of her. It didn’t take long for both of us to explode simultaneously, and I held her afterwards and rocked up inside of her for a long time before looking at her face and saying, “Damn! If that’s what stress does for us, I think we need more of it.”

 “I agree,” she said as she snuggled into me.

 We lay there like that for a long time enjoying the silence like only lovers can until it was rudely shattered by the ringing of my phone. I refused to let go of her, so I half-dragged her along with one hand while I reached my jacket and pulled the phone out of the pocket. I looked at the face and said,

“Hmm, it’s Mac. I wonder why he’s calling so late. Hey Mac, what’s up?”

“Marjorie’s dead.”

I pulled my arm out from underneath Alicia and sat up. “What?”

“She’s dead, Adam. The police are here…”

“Jesus, I’ll be right there.” I ended the call and Alicia said,

“Your face is as pale as a ghost. What happened?”

“Marjorie is dead.”

 

 

CHAPTER EIGHT

 

ALICIA

 

   Adam tried to go without me, but I wouldn’t let him. When we got there, we were turned away by the officer guarding the door. Adam told him who he was, though, and insisted on talking to the detective in charge of the case. They made us wait for half an hour before two detectives appeared at last. The older one introduced them, but directed everything toward Adam. “This is Detective Cane and I’m Samuels,” he said. “How did you know what happened?”

“My partner called me. He said he received a call from Marjorie’s lawyer. I don’t know why he called Mac and not me. Anyways, we came right over. But, I still don’t know what happened to her. Was it an accident?”

The detective acted as if he had just noticed me then and said, “And you are?”

“My name is Alicia Winston. I am Mr. Hanson’s associate.”

The detectives exchanged a glance that said they weren’t buying the “associate” thing at eleven-thirty pm, but they didn’t push it. I had my hand on Adam’s arm. His muscles felt tense and I could tell that he was growing impatient.

“What happened to her?” he asked again.

Instead of answering his question, the detective said, “Mr. Hanson, maybe you and your ‘associate’ can come inside with us and answer a few questions.”

“Fine,” Adam agreed. He was definitely annoyed. He’s used to being the one in control. This was going to be hard on him. We followed the detectives around the caution tape and into the lobby of the building.

Once inside, the detective that had been doing the talking thus far said, “Mr. Hanson, would you follow me?”

“Ms. Winston, I’ll need you to come with me,” instructed the other detective. I looked at Adam and he gave me a slight nod before following the detective to a seat across the room. It was going to be a long night.

I followed Detective Cane across to a couch in the lobby and he gestured for me to take a seat. I looked across the room at Adam. He looked lost and even a little nervous, which was totally out of character. My heart was aching for him. I looked towards the detective and said,

“Can we please just get this over with? It’s been a long day.”

He sat down next to me. “Ms. Winston, can you tell me how well you knew Mrs. Hanson?”

I sighed; my headache had finally grown into a full-blown migraine. It was hard to think around the way it was pounding.

“I did not know her well. I had met her on several occasions, and we weren’t on the best of terms.”

“And why was that?”

“Because I have been seeing Adam for the past six months or so. He and Marjorie were separated for quite some time before he and I began seeing each other, but she was a bitter woman, and she was angry with me for whatever reason.” The detective raised an eyebrow, and made a note on the little pad he carried.

“How did Mr. Hanson get along with his wife?”

“Ex,” I corrected him. “It was an ugly divorce. Adam obviously wasn’t pleased with what was going on between them.”

“May I ask where you were earlier this evening?” the detective said as he absently scratched his head with his pen. Now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow.

“Am I a suspect?” I asked.

“No, ma’am, we’re just trying to get a time line on everyone involved here.”

“I was out this evening, at dinner in a crowded restaurant. Adam was with me, so neither of us were ‘involved’ in Marjorie’s death. That will be the last question I will answer tonight and now that you have your ‘timeline,’ I’d like to get back to Adam.” The detective looked as if he were about to say something else, but changed his mind.

“Alright, ma’am, I’d like to get your information in case more questions arise later?”

I gave him my cell, home, and office numbers, and then without waiting for him to give his consent, I stood and walked over to where Adam was still talking to the other detective. As I approached, I heard Adam repeating almost verbatim, what I had told the other man.

“Ms. Winston and I were at dinner, at Romaletti’s. Are you implying that you think either of us had anything to do with this?”

“No, sir, not at all,” the detective told him. “I'm just trying to establish a timeline.”

“I think that’s enough for tonight,” I interrupted. “Perhaps you can speak to Mr. Hanson tomorrow, after he’s had some time to absorb all of this and get some rest.”

“Sure,” the detective said, although somewhat reluctantly. “Let me just ask where I might reach you.” Adam gave him his cell and office numbers as I had the other detective, and then he said,

“So, now will you answer my questions? What happened to her?”

Before the detective had time to speak, a gurney was brought out of the elevator. It carried a black body bag, and as the attendants rolled by with Marjorie’s body, Adam looked as if he were about to wretch. I shuddered. I had despised the woman, but the thought of her lifeless body being inside of that bag replaced all of my hard feelings with sadness.

After the medics had rolled the gurney outside, Adam repeated his question, “What happened to her?” This time through his clenched teeth.

“The M.E. hasn’t made a determination yet, but at this point we do know that it looks like she was strangled. Whether or not that was the cause of her death remains to be seen. We’ll have more information after the autopsy is completed.”

“And did you talk to her attorney…her boyfriend, whatever you want to call him, Hal Rogers?”

“Yes, sir. We spoke to him as soon as we arrived. He was the one who discovered the body.”

“I’m a little curious about how he got into my apartment,” Adam said.

“He told us he had a key. He said the lady was expecting him.”

Adam stood up and said, “Well, far be it from me to tell the police how to do your job, but he’d be someone I’d be looking into, if I were you.”

“Thanks for the advice,” the detective said somewhat sarcastically. “I’ll be in touch.”

As he started walking away Adam said, “Wait, can I get my things from the apartment?”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible tonight sir,” the man told him. “The crime scene techs will be a while.”

“Come on,” Adam said, taking me by the hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

As we walked out through the lobby doors, we saw that in the short time we had been here, the press had arrived. Standing next to a white van, photographer at her elbow, was Rose Dugan.

We tried to hurry past as she yelled out, “Mr. Hanson, didn’t you lose most of your assets just this morning to your ex-wife?” and when Adam continued to walk on, pulling me along beside him she yelled,

“Ms. Winston, would you like to make any comment about the scuffle you were in with Mrs. Hanson this afternoon?”

I stopped and turned to look at her. I was caught off guard by her question. Who had told her about that? Just as I looked Rose’s way, the flash from the photographer’s camera went off in my face, blinding me to all else going on around us.

“Baby, come on,” Adam prompted as he tugged gently on my hand. “We’ll figure this out when we get home, let’s just get out of here.”

Adam guided me through the sea of reporters, and as the bulbs continued to flash and the voices all seemed to meld into one terribly loud roar in my pounding temples, I couldn’t help but think how surreal this all was. I had always thought, growing up, how exciting it would be to become an attorney someday. I had never thought that someday I would wish the excitement would just stop, and that my life could be just average and boring like everyone else’s.

 

********

 

On the car ride home, I let my thoughts drift back to a simpler time when I was a little girl and would spend hours in my playhouse in the backyard. My playhouse was not like other little girl’s. My father who often over-indulged me had seen to that. Mine was an actual house, only on a much smaller scale than grown-up people lived in. It had a kitchen with a real working sink, a living room, bathroom, and a bedroom. I often pouted to my father that the bedroom may as well have been left out, since Mother would never allow me to spend the night in the backyard. It wasn’t an “appropriate” thing for young ladies to do, according to the Lady Winston.

I always had an active imagination as a little girl. I could spend hours playing alone with my dolls and stuffed animals. I was the attorney and they were the bad guys or the victims or the judge. I knew even then what I wanted to do when I grew up. I wanted to defend all of the innocent people who were wrongly accused or had been forced to do things they wouldn’t have otherwise because they had been in a bad situation.

I hadn’t lost all of that idealism. I still believed that people were inherently good. I had promised myself long ago that if I ever lost that ideology, I would change careers. I truly believed that people deserved a chance to either prove their innocence or explain what kind of terrible situation they were in that had caused them to do whatever they were being accused of. Tonight, I found myself wondering what kind of situation the person who had killed Marjorie tonight had found him or herself in that would cause them to take a life.

Adam and I hadn’t spoken a word to each other on the way back to the apartment. I had been lost in my memories, and I presumed he had been, as well. I looked over at him as he parked the car. His face was drawn and sad, and all I wanted to do right then was hold him and make it all go away for a little while. When we had gotten up to the apartment, I brewed him some tea while Adam went in to build us a fire. I could hear him on his cell phone as he arranged the logs and paper. He was talking to Mac, trying to find out why Hal had called him and if Mac had any details other than what we had been given tonight. As I brought the tray with the teapot and cups into the room, I heard him saying,

“So, he called you because he knew I would ask how he got into my house and he didn’t want to have to explain.” Adam’s tone was disgusted. He listened quietly for a moment and then with a chuckle he said,

“Oh yes, I’m sure he just thought the news would be easier for me to hear coming from you. The fact is, Marjorie, as usual had given no thought to how her giving out a key to my apartment to her boyfriend would affect me, and at this point, it doesn’t matter anyways. I want you there if the police question either Alicia or me again; they were treating us like criminals tonight.” After another brief silence, he said,

“Okay, Mac, I appreciate you, thanks. I’ll touch base with you in the morning.” After he hung up he took the cup of tea I had poured for him and said, “I have to make one more call, babe. I’m not sure if anyone has told Marjorie’s parents, but I should call them.”

“Of course,” I said, shuddering to imagine how it would feel for a parent to get the news Adam was about to deliver. Adam punched in the number and then waited. After a few moments he said,

“Sam, I’m sorry if I woke you, it’s Adam.”

I could tell that Marjorie’s father was asking him how things were going. Adam looked almost green as he said, “Sam, I’m sorry, but I have some terrible news.” He took a deep breath and said, “Marjorie is gone, Sam. Someone killed her.”

Adam spent the next twenty minutes or so trying to answer Marjorie’s dad’s questions. He ended the call by again telling the man how sorry he was and saying that if he or his wife needed anything, they could call him. As he laid down the phone, he placed his head in his hands and rubbed his fingers across his face. I went to him and put one arm across his back and my head down close to his. With my other hand, I took his hand from his face and laid a palm on his cheek.

We sat there like that, not speaking for quite some time. The crackling of the fire was the only noise in the room until our quiet reprieve was broken by the sound of my phone. I looked at the number and although I didn’t recognize it I answered.

“Ms. Winston?” It was a man’s voice I didn’t recognize.

“Yes?”

“This is Matt Peterson with the Times. I’d like to talk to you about the murder of Marjorie Hanson.”

I hung up the phone, and as I released my finger from the end button, it rang again. This time, I didn’t even look at the number. I just pushed answer and yelled,

“I have no comment!” into the phone.

“I just wanted to make sure you’re alright." It was Jack. Once again he was "popping up." “The murder of Adam’s wife is all over the news. Are you safe, Alicia? He's not there is he?”

“Of course, he’s here. I’m fine, Jack, thank you for your concern.” At the sound of Jack’s name, Adam looked at me and narrowed his eyes.

“Alicia, the newscasters are saying he is a person of interest. If he would kill her…” I hung up. Adam was still looking at me.

“What did he say?” Jack’s words rang out in my head once again. A person of interest. I thought my life was a mess before. Shit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PART THREE

 

CHAPTER ONE

 

ALICIA

 

I awoke the next morning with a headache again. This one felt like a hangover, it hurt right behind my eyes. When they had adjusted to the morning light coming in the window, I looked over at Adam still asleep next to me. He looked more peaceful than he had in a long time. I didn’t want to wake him; he could enjoy his dreams a while longer. I slipped out underneath his arm. We’d fallen asleep on the couch and the fire had died out in the night. There was a biting chill in the room. I took the afghan off of the back of the couch and laid it gently across Adam.

I had to get showered and dressed for my meeting with Miles V at nine a.m. He was lucky he’d been let out on bail, but I was still worried he would do or say something stupid and screw it up. I gave Adam a soft kiss on his forehead and went to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee brewing. Then, after laying out my clothes for the day, I got into a hot shower. I just stood there under the water for a while, allowing the warm water to release some of the tension that had embedded itself in my tired muscles. I eventually convinced myself to finish up and get out. I was wrapping up in a towel when I heard Alex in the next room on the phone. I peeked out to see him changing into one of the suits he leaves at my place with the phone tucked under his chin.

“Alex, I was with Alicia last night, I told them that. No, I didn’t give them any more information. What was I supposed to do? I realize that. I am an attorney, and I tell my client’s not to speak to police without me present, but I was present. It is the same. Okay, fine, you’re right. I won’t speak to them again without Mac. Yes, we are still on for lunch. I will see you at noon. Alex, do you think this has anything to do with… Okay, we’ll talk about it later.”

I stood silently as I listened to the last part of Adam’s conversation. What did he mean by asking Alex if he thought “It” had anything to do with… With what? I closed the door quietly and hurriedly dried myself off and slipped into the robe I kept hanging in the bathroom. When I opened the door to the bedroom, he was no longer there. I found him in the kitchen pouring himself a cup of coffee.

“Hi,” he said with a smile when he saw me. “You want coffee?”

“Yes, please.” His smile took me somewhat aback at first, but I was glad to see it.

“How are you feeling?” I asked as he handed me a mug.

“Like I drank a bottle of whiskey last night,” he said with another smile. I couldn’t help myself, I smiled back.

“Me, too,” I told him. He sat his cup down and opened his arms. I melded into him and wished that we could stay right there like that all day.

Adam kissed the side of my face. “I better let you get ready for work.”

I sighed. “Yes, I suppose I should. I heard you speaking to Alex earlier, is there anything I should know?”

Adam looked at me like he wasn’t going to answer before he said, “No, honey. I’m just getting a little paranoid, I guess. I was asking Alex if he thought Marjorie’s death had anything to do with my involvement with the oil spill and the Presidential campaign. We’re getting so much bad press and pressure from all types of radical groups. What happened to Vick… Anyways, he assured me that what happened to Vick, and ultimately to Marjorie, are very likely not connected.”

He put his hand on the back of my head, and pulling me gently towards him, he placed his lips firmly on my forehead. “Just be alert, and always careful. I couldn’t bear it if anything ever happened to you.”

I just nodded slowly. I didn’t know what to say to that. I hadn’t even considered the possibility that I might be in any type of danger. I was well aware that politics, big business, and massive amounts of money could make people do crazy things, but Adam wasn’t so involved in any of it that someone would want to hurt people he was close to, was he? We were simply the attorneys…right?

I gave him a soft kiss on the lips and said, “You be careful.”

 

********

 

My meeting with Miles was actually short and painless. He’d asked me to meet him at the bakery near my office and we talked over croissants and coffee. He assured me that he was going to keep his mouth shut. I think the arrest had scared him a little once he was faced with the real possibility of jail time.

We set up another meeting before his arraignment the following week, and I gathered my things and headed down toward the office. I was walking across the courtyard when I saw something that stopped me in my tracks.

Two men were standing near the edge of the sidewalk. I was too far away to hear what we were saying, but the man facing me looked agitated and the man with his back to me was waving his arms as he talked. They were both well dressed, and I absolutely recognized the one facing me as Alex. The other, although I couldn’t see his face, closely resembled Jack. I stood watching for a minute hoping the man would turn towards me.

They seemed to have reached a boiling point though and the man facing away from me pushed his body up against Alex in an aggressive nature. I was sure we were about to come to blows when suddenly, the other man stepped back and shoved past Alex, taking off down the sidewalk at a hurried pace.

Alex stood there watching him go for a few seconds, and then glancing in both directions quickly, he hurried across the street away from the courtyard. His eyes skimmed across me, but the courtyard was already filling with people in business attire and I don’t think he realized it was me.

I was confused. I didn’t think that Alex and Jack knew each other. What could they possibly have to argue about? I told myself that maybe I had been mistaken about it being Jack. After all, I hadn’t seen the other man’s face. Maybe it hadn’t been Jack at all, but whoever it was is not a fan of Alex, that was for sure.

I continued my walk to the office, and when I saw the reporters out front, I cringed. Fortunately, our security was there, as well, and they forced the crowd to clear a path for me to the door. They couldn’t stop the reporters from yelling out their intrusive and insulting questions and comments, however.

“Ms. Winston, did Mr. Hanson kill his wife? Are you sleeping with him? Were you sleeping with him while we were still together? Was he getting back together with her? Did you assault her in your office yesterday?”

I had seen plenty of media circuses in my few years as an attorney, but had never been at the center of one myself. It was disturbing, but I tried to practice what I always told my clients, “Hold your head up, act like they’re not there, don’t respond, and don’t take any of it personally.” My own advice was harder to take than I had ever known. Just as the door was opened for me by the building doorman, Rose Dugan came up behind me and asked,

“Ms. Winston, did you kill Marjorie Hanson?”

I looked in her direction, but thankfully caught myself before I replied. Don’t let her get to you, I told myself and continued into the office. I breathed a long sigh of relief as the doors swung closed behind me.

Carla was at her desk as usual with my messages sorted and ready for me. As she said good morning and handed them to me, she asked, “How are you doing?”

I smiled at her. “I see you’ve heard what happened last night?” When she nodded, I said, “I’m doing as well as you would expect. I do appreciate you asking.”

Once I was in my office with the door closed and hopefully the world shut out for the time being, I took out my file on Miles V. I flipped through the pages until I got to the statements that Miles IV and his daughter had given to police the day after Miles’ third wife was killed. I winced as I read the words the police had taken down as they spoke to Miles IV.

“Mr. Brigham, why was your wife out climbing in the wilderness, along a steep cliff, alone?”

“Because she was a spoiled, selfish little viper,” Miles had told them, as if a matter of fact.

“And by that, you mean what?” the detective had asked him.

“Just what the hell I said. We had an argument, about money, again. She spent my money like there was going to be no end to it. We had planned on a climbing trip that day to de-stress. What a joke that was. I got to listen to her bitch and whine and pout until I could hardly stand it any longer. She gave me an out by telling me to go on and leave her alone. I did just that. When I got back to the lodge later and found out she hadn’t returned, though, I went right back out to look for her.”

“And discovered her, dead,” the detective had said. “Mr. Brigham, do you believe your wife’s death was an accident?”

“If you’re asking me if I think someone killed her, the answer is no. No one cared enough about her to even expend the energy, I think. She just shouldn’t a been out there alone. She was stupid, plain and simple. I was stupid to for leaving her out there and I feel bad about that, but you have to believe me that girl was proof positive you can take the girl outta the trailer, but you can’t take the trailer outta the girl.”

It went on like that for three pages. I sat it down for a few seconds and massaged the leftover headache behind my eyes.

I just couldn’t believe that a man could be so smart in business and finance that he had amassed a veritable fortune, and yet he could also be completely ignorant to the fact that you couldn’t just go around saying whatever you felt like, giving no consideration to what it may make people think of you or what the consequences may be. I was about to pick the file back up to continue reading when my phone rang. It was the investigator, Brett.

“Ms. Winston, I found out why the feds are interested in David Tyler.”

“Why?” I asked, anxious to hear the answer.

“Mr. Tyler apparently has some information with regards to a fortune in missing campaign contributions. Mr. Brigham’s money was apparently not the only funds Mr. Landon had misappropriated, and Tyler has agreed to testify before the Grand Jury regarding all of that, as well as naming others that were allegedly involved.”

“Wow,” I said with a sigh. “This thing is a lot bigger than I thought.”

“Do you want me to keep digging?” Brett asked. “Maybe see if I can come up with some names of people he’s fingering, stuff like that?”

“Yes, Brett, thanks,” I told him. I hung up and tried to sort out my thoughts. I was starting to get more than a feeling that somehow everything that was happening led back to the oil spill. That was where this mess had all started. Miles was being sued by some very angry people. Vick was stealing from some very powerful people. Lots of them had motive to want Vick dead, and many of them also had motive to want Miles to be blamed for that murder.

I hated to think it, but even Alex had a stake in all of this. Once Vick was killed, Alex was able to step right into his position as campaign manager for the President of the United States. That was a position that some people would kill for.

I shook off that thought. I was being silly and as Adam had said this morning, a little paranoid. Alex was Adam’s good friend. He wasn’t a murderer.

I thought about Marjorie then. How did she tie in to all of this, or did she at all? Was her murder, coming so close on the heels of Vick’s, just a coincidence? None of it was making much sense to my tired brain.

I looked at the clock and realized it was mid-afternoon. I hadn’t eaten a thing all day. I grabbed my purse, and decided to take a walk to the sandwich kiosk down the street. As I stepped outside of the office, I took a deep breath of the fresh, cold air. The reporters had disbursed some, and the few that were left yelled out some questions at me that I let fall on deaf ears. I took my time walking. The city was decorated beautifully for the Christmas season. I strolled along and tried to lose my stress in the beauty all around me.

When I got to the kiosk, I ordered a turkey sandwich and a coffee. I took them to a bench in the little park across the street and sat down. Just as I was about to take a bite, I heard Jack’s voice, again, “Hi.”

I looked up at him. I didn’t want to be angry or suspicious right then so I just said, “Hi.”

“May I join you?” he asked, holding out a sandwich and coffee he had in his hands.

“Sure,” I told him. “I’m not the best company today, though.”

“It’s alright,” Jack told me sounding sincere. “I understand you’ve been through a lot. How is Adam holding up?”

I studied his face, trying to ascertain if he was still being sincere. I didn’t see anything threatening there, however, so I said, “He’s doing as well as can be expected, I guess. It’s been a rough couple of days.”

“I can’t imagine,” Jack said between bites of his sandwich. “The news reports are calling him a ‘person of interest’ in Marjorie’s death. Did you see the press conference today?”

“No…what press conference?” I’d suddenly lost my appetite.

Between bites of his sandwich, Jack said, “The Chief of Detectives was asked by one of the reporters if Adam was a suspect. He said no, however, Adam was a person of interest.”

I knew well from my job that being a person of interest in a murder case was not good. What it technically meant was that the police had no evidence that Adam was involved, however, they had strong suspicions about him. What it said to the public unfortunately was that Adam was guilty, and the police just didn’t have enough evidence to convict him. It was a term that could very well ruin a person’s life.

I had defended a man not long ago in a civil suit who had been declared a person of interest in the death of his wife. That man had lost his job; his friends and family no longer wanted to have anything to do with him. His credit was ruined, and the worst part as far as I was concerned, was that I had firmly believed he was innocent.          

“I’m sorry, Jack,” I said as I got up from the bench. “I need to get back to the office.”

Jack stood, as well. “I am really sorry I upset you,” he said. “It wasn’t my intention.”

“I know,” I told him. “I just need to get back to work. I’ll speak to you later.”

He said okay and I began to walk away. I got a few steps down the sidewalk and turned back around. “Jack, do you know a man named Alex Fritz?”

“Hmm, the name sounds familiar, but I can’t place it. Who is he?” I wasn’t sure, but I thought there was a slight change in Jack’s demeanor. He looked worried or anxious, maybe.

“Just a friend of Adam’s,” I told him. “I thought maybe I saw you with him earlier today. I must have been mistaken.” With that, I turned back around and continued my walk back to the office.

I waited until I was almost a block away before glancing back again. The man I had seen arguing with Alex this morning had been wearing a black suit and overcoat. When I looked back, Jack was walking away in the other direction. The overcoat was thrown over his arm, and his black suit really stood out against the light cover of snow on the ground. I was sure it was him.

I continued on my walk back to work, stopping at a small newsstand about a block from the office. The little Chinese man who waited on me could barely speak English, yet he knew enough to point at the front page and say, “The lady looks like you.”

I gave him a tight smile paid for my paper, tucking it under my arm as I went on my way. When I was back in the safety of my office, I opened it. There was Adam and I on the front page. It was mostly me since I had turned to look at Rose Dugan. Adam was holding my hand, but he was still facing the other way and trying to pull me along behind him.

The look on my face was sure to not win me any fans. Rose’s question about the fight with Marjorie had thrown me off guard. I was looking at the camera with daggers in my eyes. Not exactly the face of a woman who was broken up about the loss of a life that had just taken place.

I folded it closed with the intention of tossing it in the recycle bin, but then with a heavy sigh I opened it once again. I was compelled to see what Rose Dugan had written. I hated to, but I had to admit that the girl was good. Although she used words that would float heavy suspicion around both Adam and I, she was very careful to state only facts and nothing that we could possibly use later in a libel suit.

For instance, there was no mention of the fight. It had only been witnessed by Carla and since I was sure that it must have been Marjorie who had given her the information, the informant was now dead and wouldn’t be here to back it up in court if it had come to that.

My headache was growing again. I still had so much to do, both here at work and to get ready for my parents’ visit. I hadn’t even gone grocery shopping yet. Tossing the paper in the recycle bin where I should have put it in the first place and glancing at the gorgeous diamond that Adam had placed on my finger only the night before for strength, I got back to work.

 

 

CHAPTER TWO

 

ADAM

 

I tried to make it through the day without bothering Alicia, but it was sucking so badly about two p.m. that I had to at least hear her voice to make it through the rest of it. Carla buzzed her for me and when Alicia answered, I instantly felt better.

“Hi, baby,” I said, “how’s your day going?”

“Well, not my best day ever,” she told me. “Better now that I’m hearing your voice. And yours?”

I sighed. “I’ve also definitely had better days. I’ve gotten about a hundred phone calls today. Some of them are saying ‘Ding Dong the Witch is dead,’ and others are acting like they believe I killed her. I suppose you’ve seen the news?”

“Yes, I’m so sorry.”

“I’m just glad I have you,” I told her. “I wouldn’t know what to do if you decided all of this was too much. Not that I would blame you.”

“Oh, Adam, that is not going to happen. This is not your fault. You are a victim here, too.”

“Well, I definitely don’t say this often enough, but I appreciate you, and I love you, and I need you.”

 “You’re right,” she said with a laugh. “You don’t say it often enough. Will you be staying with me again tonight?”

“If it’s okay. Detective Samuels called earlier. He says I can probably go home tomorrow…just in time for your parents to come into the country and not find you harboring a ‘person of interest’ in a murder case.”

Alicia groaned. I knew she couldn’t be looking forward to that conversation. She changed the subject and said, “I have to go grocery shopping this afternoon. How about I make us a nice dinner?”

“Sounds like just what I need. I should be there by about seven, if that will work?”

“Perfect. And Adam...”

“Yes?”

“I love, need, and appreciate you, too,”

“I know,” I said with a little laugh. “How could you not?”

I felt so much better after I had hung up the phone. I had something to look forward to tonight, something so simple, but a definite change from where my head had been at ten minutes earlier. I got back to work with the sound of her voice in my head. I could get through this, with Alicia’s help.

 

********

 

Alicia already had the table set with candles and a hot meal waiting when I got to her place. She never fails to amaze me. I took her into my arms and just held her for a few minutes, breathing in her energy. When I let her go, I kissed her lips softly, and then my eyes landed on a copy of the National Inquisitor lying on the counter. Alicia’s picture was on the front of it but they had done something to it with photoshop.

“Baby, why did you buy that crap?” I went over and picked it up. They had transposed a picture of Marjorie into the shot and it looked like Alicia was glaring at her. The words above it said, “Maybe Looks Can Kill.”

“I don’t know. I guess I figured it would be one less in circulation. Or, I’m a glutton for punishment. It’s awful.”

I tossed it face down on the counter. “It’s trash.”

“I know. I’m handling this all as well as I can, I promise.”

I took her back into my arms. I felt slightly ashamed that touching her was turning me on at a time like this. She just sincerely overwhelmed me. “I’m sorry. I know you are,” I told her.

She pulled back and said, “Let’s sit down.” We took our seats at the table and she picked up her napkin as she said, “On my way home from the office, I went by the store to buy groceries. The simple and mundane task of shopping for my home made me feel better at first. It was so…normal and that was all I really wanted lately.

“All that was shattered suddenly when I got into line to pay for my things. The lady in front of me kept staring when she didn’t think I was looking, she snapped a picture of me on her phone. I was confused until I looked to the right and saw these awful rags there.”

“I’m so sorry I’ve pulled you into all of this.”

“I don’t blame you, Adam, really. It’s just…surreal, I guess.”

“Yes, it is. How about we try and make tonight as normal as we can?”

She held up her wine glass and I picked up mine. She clinked her glass to mine and said, “To normal.”

“To normal.” We drank and then started in on the delicious meal she’d made.

Afterwards, I helped her clean up the kitchen and made a fire while she got the dessert ready. She came out with two plates of strawberry shortcake, and we ate and talked about one of our cases that had nothing to do with Miles or Marjorie or anything remotely close to either of them.

Once we finished our dessert, she wanted to watch a chick flick on DVD. I agreed, but I really had other “normal” things on my mind. I was working her clothes off of her once again. I had her blouse up under her arms and was going for her bra strap when she sat up and said, “Are we finished with the movie?”

I unhooked the bra and when her breast spilled out, I took one in my hand and rolled the nipple as I looked into her eyes and said, “You can go ahead and watch it if you like.”

She sucked in a hard breath. “I might be slightly distracted by what you’re doing.”

“You want me to stop?”

She moaned. “No…not even a little bit.”

I grabbed one of her hands with my free one and pressed it to the front of my pants. “Good.” She groaned again and started rubbing me. I leaned in to kissed her hard, and at some point, I stood up and picked her up with me. She wrapped her sexy legs around my waist and I carried her down the hall to the bedroom.

I sat her down on the bed and pushed her back with my body. My tongue slipped back into her hot mouth for a few seconds before I abandoned it again to trace a line down the side of her face to her neck. She didn’t seem to mind that I wasn’t in the mood to be gentle. As I bit and sucked on her sensitive flesh, she moaned, whimpered, and squirmed.

I did that for a while before pulling her up and finishing undressing her. I looked her over and smiled. “Where are those shoes you wore the night we went out? The burgundy or wine-colored ones?”

She grinned and pointed at the closet. I went and got them and handed them to her. While she put them on I flattened my palm and used it to rub against her hard nipples. Once she was finished putting on those sexy shoes, I pushed her back again and let my hand find the wet treasure between her legs. She was already soaked. I fucking love how her body responds to me.

I played with her that way for a few minutes and then I flipped her over so her ass was in the air. Once again I put my hand down between her legs. I let my fingers play up and down along her slit, stopping to pinch her hard clit and make her shiver and moan. She came up off the bed, and once again I pushed her down with my body. My hard cock pressed up against her ass and I rubbed myself against her.

“Are you going to take those clothes off?” she asked. Her words were mumbled into the comforter that her face was pushed down into.

“In a minute,” I told her. “I’m busy here.” I used one hand to continue my torture on her pussy while I slid the other one underneath her chest to grab a breast. I massaged and kneaded it and got even more excited by not only the feel of her, but the sounds she was making. I flipped her over again and took one of her hands and put it down between her legs.

She brought her feet up and I felt those sexy heels dig into my back while she began to rub her own clit. I bent down further and sucked one of her breasts into my mouth. I tickled her nipples with quick strokes of my tongue and the harder I licked the faster her hand moved between her legs. I could tell she was getting close when she breathed out a simple, “Please.”

Instead of undressing and fucking her, I moved her hand and continued sucking on her breasts while I fingered her. I slid two fingers inside of her and felt her tight walls clamp down on me as she held my head to her chest and cried out my name. I used my free hand to pick up one of her legs and put it up on my shoulder.

Then, I used my fingers to fuck her fast and hard until she was screaming in ecstasy and coming all over my hand. When she finished I pulled it out and licked my fingers, tasting her sweetness. It only made me want more.

I leaned down and put my face between her legs and began to lick and suck. She was muttering incoherently as she grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled hard while I brought her to another quick orgasm.

 I let her recover, but after a few minutes, she reached up with shaky hands and unbuttoned and unzipped my pants. She pushed down on them until they were around the tops of my thighs. I stepped back and took them the rest of the way off, depositing my shirt down on top of them.

As soon as I stepped back up to the bed she reached out for me. She wrapped both of her hands around my hard cock and pulled it to her mouth. She started licking me all over like she was going after a lollipop. I stood at the edge of the bed and watched her lick and then suck and even gently graze her teeth along the underside of it, the whole while massaging my balls with one hand. She nearly put me sailing through the ceiling when she took one of my balls into her mouth and sucked on it.

I was shaking all over when I finally worked up the energy to pull back. I threw myself at her, pushing her back on the bed in one big movement. I mounted her and fucked her until we were both crying out in an orgasm that rocked the room around us. I fell asleep wrapped up in her arms and the world went away if only for the night.

At five a.m., I was rudely awakened to the annoying sound of my phone. I should have left it in the living room. I sat up and looked around. Alicia was blinking her eyes like she was trying to wake up. “I’m sorry, baby.” I reached over and fished for my phone.

I put it to my ear and heard a strange voice say, “Mr. Hanson this is Sergeant Mason of the NYPD. We got a call from your alarm company. There has been a breach at your law office downtown. I’m afraid there was a break-in.”

“Shit! Did you catch them?”

“No, sir, but we’d like you to come down so we know if anything was taken.”

“Okay, I’ll be right there.”

“What’s wrong?” Alicia asked, sitting up. I told her as I got dressed. She put her hands on her head and said, “When is it all going to stop?”

“I wish I knew, baby.”

 “Do you want me to go with you?”

“No, baby. Your parents’ plane comes in at eight, right? I know you need to get ready for that.”

Alicia laid her face all the way in her hands and said, “God, I wish I didn’t have to explain all of this to Mother.”

“What about your father, do you think he’s going to take it any better?”

“He’s more understanding,” Alicia said. “All he has ever wanted was for me to be happy. He’ll worry about me and how all of this is affecting my life, but Mother… Well, let’s just say that she likes to give orders and issue ultimatums. If they’re not followed, then you have an argument on your hands.”

Great. I couldn’t wait to meet her. I kissed Alicia and said, “I’m sure it will be fine.” I’m a lawyer. Lying comes easy.

 

CHAPTER THREE

 

ALICIA

 

After Adam left, I got up and put the coffee on to brew. I made sure the guestroom was free of dust and the bathroom well stocked, and then I started getting ready to bring home the parents.

While I was dressing, I slipped off the ring on my finger and put it gently back into the velvet box it had come in. I had too much to discuss with my parents, and the ring was a conversation I felt could wait for later.

I waited nervously near terminal twelve at John F. Kennedy airport. I had been notified that the plane my parents were on was running approximately one hour late. This made me even more nervous. I knew Mother well. She did not tolerate anything that interrupted or altered her schedule in any way, unless it was her who had changed the plan. I was already dreading having to explain all of the things that were going on in my life, without anticipating her irritable mood in the mix.

As I sat waiting for the plane to come in, I thought back to the day I had left my home to start a new life in New York. Mother, Father, and I had all waited at the airport for my plane to board. It was snowing, so the flights had all been delayed, and my mother’s mood grew blacker by the hour.

She hadn’t wanted me to go; she had made that abundantly clear in the weeks leading up to my departure. She had expected to win the argument, as she usually did. For one of the first times in my life, I had stood firm, though, with my father’s support making me stronger. I was going to New York if I had to sit in that terminal all week before a plane was able to land and pick me up. I loved my mother, but the Lady Winston’s dreams of raising a daughter who would be a socialite on the arm of some rich, handsome, successful man were just that, her dreams, not mine.

Thankfully for me, Lord Winston had raised me to be strong and independent. He encouraged me to dream big and to go after those dreams with everything I had in me. If not for his steady and constant support, my mother may have won out. She was a hard woman to say no to, especially when she was in a mood.

The voice over the loudspeaker announcing that their flight had landed brought me back into the present. I pasted a smile on my face as the first class passengers began disembarking through the tunnel. I watched the crowd of people coming through, searching for my parents. I spotted my father first. When I saw him, I felt warm inside and for that second, I was his little girl again and all of my troubles were forgotten.

“Daddy!” I said, waving him in my direction. I caught a glimpse of Mother just to his right as they came toward me. My father waved back heartily, and I smiled and waved at Mother, as well. The wave I got in response was as if she were swatting at a fly. I felt my stomach tighten into a hard knot.

“Alicia!” Daddy took me into his strong arms and hugged me so tightly I nearly lost my breath. I didn’t care, though. I had seldom found anywhere in life that I felt as safe as in Daddy’s arms.

“Oh, my little girl,” he said as he held me back at arm’s length. “Let me look at you. I am so happy to see you!”

“I’m happy to see you, too, Daddy.” Looking Mother, I said, “I’m happy to see you, too, Mother. You look well.”

My mother leaned forward and gave me a peck on the cheek. “You look tired, dear,” she said as she looked more closely at my face.

It’s funny how a person’s parents could cause them to go from successful, confident adult to an instant child that wanted to please in mere minutes. “I’m fine, Mother,” was all I said, however. “How was your flight?”

“God awful,” The Lady Winston said with a huff. “I can’t believe they dare call that first class.”

I gave her a sympathetic look, but had to stop myself from smiling when I looked at my father’s face. He rolled his eyes and had a silly smirk painted on.

“Let’s go collect your things,” I told them, taking the carry-on my mother was holding.

We all walked over to baggage claim, where Mother continued to complain about the shoddy conditions of the airlines in the States. Her complaining prompted a porter to come to our aid, and he loaded the luggage onto a dolly for us and rolled it out to the car. After we were finally loaded and in the car Mother said,

“I assume you have a lot to tell us?” It was more a statement than a question.

I sighed. “Yes, Mother, I suppose I do. Would you mind if we waited until we get to the apartment and get you both settled, though? It’s a conversation I’d really rather not have on the Turnpike.”

Before my mother could speak, my father interjected. Glancing a silent warning at Mother he said, “Of course, dear. You tell us when you’re ready. Isn’t that fine, Diane?”

I could see my mother’s face in the rearview mirror and knew my poor dad would probably pay for that later. For now, though, she said, “Of course,” with a tight-lipped smile.

The rest of the ride was spent with chit chat and gossip about folks back home that I hadn’t seen in a while. When we reached the apartment at last, Luis was there to help and he called two young men on his staff to carry my parents’ things up to the apartment. I could tell my mother at least approved of this.

Once inside, I showed them to their room so that they could freshen up after their long flight and began brewing a pot of tea. They had both told me they weren’t hungry yet, so I just fixed a platter of croissants and pastries I had gotten at the bakery in case they wanted a small snack. Taking a deep breath, and willing myself to be strong, I headed back out to the sitting room.

As I poured the tea, we again made small talk. My father told me how much he liked my apartment and how proud he was I had done so well for myself. Unfortunately, that left an opening for Mother.

“Yes, we hadn’t been concerned about you at all dear until we started reading and seeing some things that upset us this past week.”

“I know, Mother, and I’m sorry I didn’t warn you about what was going on. I just thought it would be better if we talked face to face about it all, rather than on the phone.”

Daddy reached over and took my hand for support; I smiled at him as Mother said,

“Well, we’re here now, and we’re listening.”

I wasn’t sure where to begin, so I started at the beginning. My mother raised an eyebrow or two throughout my spiel, but didn’t interrupt. When I finished, my father squeezed my hand and said,

“I’m sure you can see how this, um, situation would concern us as parents?”

“Yes, Daddy, of course I can. It concerns me, as well, trust me. But I’m telling you that as bad as it all sounds, and as stressful as it all has been, Adam is no killer. He is a kind, loving, smart, amazing man, and I can’t wait for you two to meet him.”

“Alicia,” Mother began in that even tone she usually reserved for reasoning with people she thought were in desperate need of her advice. “Have you considered what might happen if Adam is arrested?”

I opened my mouth and she stopped me by saying, “I’m not finished. Innocent people are accused of things all the time, dear, are they not? I’m just saying, what if he is arrested? Not only do you end up in a relationship with a man who is incarcerated, wrongly or not, but have you realized that if that were to be the case, your job could be lost, as well?”

“Mother, Adam is not going to be arrested. The police have no evidence to use to arrest him because there is no evidence to find. Adam was with me, in a crowded restaurant. He didn’t kill his wife, and the district attorney is not going to risk arresting a well-respected attorney for something he could never prove.”

“So,” my father began still in a cautious tone, “there still may be the problem of how all of this negative publicity is affecting his law practice. Do you have a back-up plan at least, sweetheart?”

“No, Daddy. Adam is my plan.” I got up and told them I’d be right back. Coming back into the room with the velvet box I saw my parents exchange a look.

“Adam asked me to marry him, and I said yes.” I took the ring out and placed it on my finger. “I will stick by his side no matter what, and we will figure this all out together. I want to have a strong, happy marriage like the two of you. I always admired how you were partners in everything. That’s what I want, and I know I can have with Adam. I need you two to have enough faith in me to know that I’m smart enough to know what I am doing here.”

My parents looked at each other again. I really did admire them. They had been together so long and shared so many things in life that they almost didn’t have to speak. Their thoughts were often conveyed in looks or a touch. My mother gave an almost imperceptible nod in my father’s direction and he said, “Okay, sweetheart, we’ll trust you. Promise us you will keep us informed, though, even when we go home. And, let us know if we can help.”

I threw my arms around his neck. “I promise, Daddy, thank you!”

As I turned towards Mother, I thought I saw the slightest hint of a smile on cross her lips, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. My mother acted like she was waiting for a peck on the cheek, but when I put my arms around her neck, too, she softened for a second. Softly brushing my hair away from my face with her right hand, she put her left palm on my cheek and said, “I do hope you know what you’re doing.”

I could see the traces of tears that lined her pretty eyes. I wanted more than anything to fast-forward time to where this was all over and she could see just how happy Adam can make me.

“I do, Mother. I promise.”

 

 

CHAPTER FOUR

 

ADAM

 

When I got to the office that morning, I was let in by a uniformed officer posted at the door. I made his way to the large conference room where law enforcement seemed to have gathered and introduced myself to the detective in charge.

“Sorry we have to meet under these circumstances, Mr. Hanson,” the detective told me.

“It seems that has been happening to me a lot lately,” I said with a sigh. “What happened here?”

“Well, it looks as if the thieves made their way into the building through the vents that lead from the building next door to this one. That building doesn’t have an alarm, and so breaking into it was easier. Once they got in here, they had to work pretty quickly, as the motion detectors alerted the alarm company and we had police units here in less than ten minutes.”

“Which offices did they break into?”

“We’ve checked the entire building. It seems that your main office and that of a Ms. Winston,” he said, glancing at a notepad, “were the only two where things seem to be disturbed. You can probably tell us more as you look around, however. That’s why we needed you here.”

“Okay, well, let’s get this over with.” I headed out of the conference room and across the hall to my office and the detective and uniformed officers followed me. The lock on my office door was scarred from the tools the thieves had used to force entry. I looked around as I entered the room. Papers and files were strewn across the desk and floor. The locked cabinet where I kept client case files was tipped over and had obviously been forced open. It was mostly empty. I went around to the front of my desk. The drawers had all been forced open, and the files I considered most private, mainly those involving Brigham and the oil spill case, were gone, as well.

“Damn!” I said, dropping momentarily into my desk chair. I felt like my head was going to explode. How much more was I fucking supposed to take?

“Files are missing?” the detective asked.

“Yes,” I told him. “Almost all of them. Confidential files, open cases, what a mess.” I stood up and without another word, left my office and headed down the hall to Alicia’s. Her door had been forced open and the same type of mess awaited us there.

“For specifics, you’ll have to speak with Ms. Winston,” I told the detective. “But it seems that most of her files are gone, as well.”

I glanced around the office again, this time noticing that the pictures Alicia kept on the shelf above her desk were in disarray. Upon close inspection, I realized that the pictures Alicia kept here of us together at various business functions were all laying down on their face while the others were still sitting upright and facing outward. That was odd, but I didn’t mention it to the policemen. I wasn’t sure what it meant, but it felt personal and I couldn’t bear to get Alicia any more involved in this mess than she already was.

With my lead, we checked each of the other offices. They all remained locked tight, and when I used my master key to open them, it appeared as if nothing had been disturbed in any of them.

As the cops were finishing up taking my statement, people began coming in to work for the day. The police had them all wait in the lobby or the conference room until they were finished with their evidence collection. I had to explain what had happened over and over, until finally I had a massive headache and assigned the task to Marie.

When Mac arrived, he and I began the daunting task of informing clients that our confidential files had been taken and we had no way of knowing whose hands they were now in. We also had to notify the courts. I had to wonder how many of my and Alicia’s cases would just be thrown out now regardless of how well they had been going so far. When I made the call to Miles, the man was incensed.

“Do you mean to tell me that all of my personal business, including statements I have made to you behind closed doors and never meant to be public, are out there floating around somewhere with God knows who? What the hell are we going to do now?”

“I don’t know yet, Miles. I’m not even sure yet how damaging this is to any of us. I assume much of it depends on who it is that has this information now.” I was as worried about those files falling into the wrong hands as Miles was. I could feel everything I’d ever worked for slowly slipping away.

Throughout the morning as I called one pissed off client after the other, Miles kept calling back with another question and each time before I got him off the phone, he would ask, “Who the hell would do this?”

“I don’t know, Miles. I wish I did. The police are working on it, but it’s only been a few hours.”

“You know what this will do to me?”

“Of course I do,” I answered with a heavy sigh. “I’m so sorry, Miles. I don’t know what else to say.”

“I’m sorry, too – sorry I trusted you. In this day and age, why wasn’t everything kept on the computer and password protected, anyways?” he asked gruffly.

“A lot of information is.” I tried to explain to him. “Unfortunately, the nature of our business requires us to take files of data into court with us. Most of that is written information. I promise you, Miles, nothing these people took can be used against you. It has lost any credibility just by virtue of leaving the office. The law cannot touch you based on anything you said in confidence to your lawyers.”

“What about the press? Are you gonna tell me that they can’t use this information to smear me more than they already have?”

When I didn’t instantly reply Miles continued, “I didn’t think you could,” and hung up the phone.

I sat there with my head in my hands for a while, letting the phone ring and knowing Marie would be picking it up on the other line and taking messages, none of which I’d be looking forward to hearing, I was sure.

I thought about Alicia. I hadn’t told her yet about what had been taken, and what kind of fallout we would be facing. I knew she would have her hands full with her parents today and I was trying to give her a break. The police needed to talk to her in order to get an inventory of what had been taken from her office, but I had been able to get them to agree to wait until tomorrow. I looked around at the office I sat in at the business I had built from nothing and thought about what I might do when it all crashed down around me. I had no idea.

 

********

 

Mac and I had lunch behind the closed doors of my office trying to strategize about what we would do now. The phones had not stopped ringing and angry clients had even begun to show up at the office. The press was running with it and as usual were making things worse.

“Have you talked to Alicia yet?” Mac asked me.

“No, but she is my next phone call. The police aren’t going to let me stall them much longer. They say now that they need to talk to her today.”

“What about the open cases? Will we have to talk with each judge independently to know how to proceed?”

“I’m afraid so,” I told him. “I have Nico and Kyla working on compiling a list right now. Once that is done, we’ll arrange a meeting that includes the clients, not just ours but in the civil cases, the other side, our attorneys, and the individual judges and in the criminal cases, of which we thankfully don’t have many, the district attorney will have to be invited.”

Marie stuck her head in the room. “Excuse me, Mr. Hanson, I have Ms. Winston on the line.”

I exchanged a look with Mac who took the hint and said, “I’ll meet up with you when that list is ready.” He left with Marie and she closed the door behind them.

“Hi, babe,” I said when I picked up the line.

“Hi, how’s it going with the police? Was anything taken?”

“I’m afraid so, Alicia. My office and yours were the only ones breached. They took all of our files.”

“Oh my God, Adam! We have all of that information on people who hired us and trusted us to keep issues private? Oh my God!”

“Calm down, sweetheart,” I told her. “I know it sounds really bad, but we’ll fix this, I promise.”

“Are the clients aware?”

“Yes, most of them have been notified. They have been calling or showing up all day. It’s like a three-ring circus around here. Alicia, I’m sorry, but the police need to speak to you, today.”

“Great, that will make my parents’ day,” she said with a sigh. “Adam, why are all of these things happening to us?”

“I don’t know, baby. But we’ll fix it, okay?” I knew it wasn’t much, but it was all I could think of to say right now.

I had thought a lot today about how I had struggled to get through law school on scholarships and student loans. I had worked twenty hours a day sometimes as an associate at the first law firm that hired me, until I finally made partner, and then when I had finally saved enough I had opened my own firm and brought Mac on as a partner.

It had been, up until today, the most successful and respected firm in Manhattan. I knew that if I had accomplished all of that once, I could do it again. I really did plan on fixing it all somehow. I knew too, that it would all be easier with Alicia by my side.

 

 

CHAPTER FIVE

 

ALICIA

 

I was numb and in shock when hung up the phone with Adam. I didn’t want to imagine what this was going to do to the firm’s reputation…to all of our reputations. I also had no idea how I was going to tell my parents. It was just all too much. Adam told me he would have the detectives come back in two hours. That would at least give me a chance to arrange lunch for my parents and give them some type of explanation as to why I had to leave them already. This was another conversation that I was not looking forward to at all.

I arrived at the law office a little earlier than Adam told me to. Once again, the sidewalk out front was congested with reporters. I slipped in the back way this time and took the service elevators up to the floor that housed the firm. I went straight to Adam’s office, and although Mac, Kyla, and Nico were there when I arrived, Adam got up and put his arms around me. We stood there like that for several minutes and then I finally pulled back and said,

“Are we working on a plan?”

“That’s exactly what we’re doing,” Kyla told me. “Pull up a chair and help us out. Another great mind is always welcome.”

I sat down and Nico began explaining to me what they were doing. Nico, Kyla, and a few of the junior associates had compiled a list of all my and Adam’s open cases. Then, they separated them into civil and criminal cases.

As it turned out, Miles’ and Nelson’s cases had been the only open ones that Adam or I had been working on as a criminal case. The oil spill lawsuit was a different story. Adam, Mac, and our teams had spent hundreds of hours interviewing and taking depositions on witnesses. Most of that information was in the files that had been taken. They had listed out the names of all of the people involved in those interviews and also had a list of all of the judges involved on cases that have already been assigned and the attorneys representing the other side.

“Wow, you guys have been busy. Great job,” I told them when Nico had finished. “I don’t know that I have anything else to offer until I’ve seen what the damage is in my office. If you’ll all excuse me, I think I’ll take a look now, before the police arrive.”

When I opened the door to my office, I was sickened at the sight. The damage that had been done originally was compounded by the trail left by the police during their investigation. Black powder used for picking up fingerprints could still be seen on the door the desk and other furniture in the office. As I stood there, trying to decide where to start, I heard Adam’s voice behind me.

“What a mess, huh?”

I turned towards him and said, “I’m not even sure where to start.”

He put his arms around me again and held me longer this time. “It’s going to be alright, baby, I promise.”

I didn’t say anything, just stood there with my head resting against his chest. I wished we could go back to when our love was new and business was thriving. I’d even be happy to have to deal with Marjorie’s nonsense again, if it only meant that the old shrew was still alive to antagonize us. Life had gotten so complicated so fast. I was a pro at handling other people’s messes and drama, but I wasn’t quite sure how to handle my own at that point.

Up until a month ago, life had more often than not come easily to me. Yes, my mother could be difficult at times, but my parents had given me every advantage in life and had done an excellent job of shielding me from the bad things.

Adam held me back so he could look at my face. “Is this the final straw?” he asked, looking genuinely afraid that I might say yes.

“Of course not,” I told him. “None of this is your fault. Now, let me take stock of what is missing before the police get here.”

“Okay, but there’s one more thing,” he told me, “I don’t know what if anything this means, but the pictures you have of you and I on the shelf behind your desk were all laid face down.”

My eyes went to the shelf. “Why? That seems a bit…personal, doesn’t it?”

“Yes,” he said. “It does, and I don’t like it.” I got a chill down my spine. I didn’t like it, either. What the hell was going on?

Adam left me alone after that and by the time the police arrived, I had compiled a list of what was missing. I had been working on two civil cases; one was a woman who was suing a large corporation for the wrongful death of her husband. He had been on the company’s private jet on the way to a business meeting when the jet had crashed. The company had not compensated the woman in any way, other than a very small life insurance policy they held on her husband.

I had found out that the pilot who had been flying the jet had been drinking earlier in the day, prior to the flight taking off. The FAA had investigated and found the cause of the crash to be equipment failure, but I thought that the pilot drinking prior to a long business flight was still significant and could be used to force the company to compensate the widow.

My other civil case was a domestic one. The husband hired a private investigator to follow the wife, who in this case was my client. The wife was cheating on him, and the man was trying to use the infidelity to keep basically everything they had accumulated together over a period of fifteen years of marriage. I disagreed with the infidelity, but did not believe it entitled the man to take everything that the woman had helped work for.

The two criminal cases, Miles’ and Nelson’s, were the most complicated. In Nelson’s case, since we were already in the stages of going to trial, I could get most of what we lost from court documents or the DA’s office.

In Miles’ case I’d have no such luck and it was going to suck. We would have to re-interview anyone that had already been interviewed and re-compile a case file. We would probably also have to fight the press. It made me crazy just thinking about it.

In that file were the documents Miles had given me at the beginning, as well. There was background on Vick, information Brett had found for me on David, and most damaging of all was Miles IV’s admission that his son had killed his third wife. It wasn’t enough for the police to arrest Miles V on, but it would be damaging in other ways if the file was in the wrong hands.

I spoke to the detectives when they arrived and gave them a run-down of what was taken. The nature of their job made them inquisitive about who the clients were, but I stuck firm on only telling them what type of case file it had been.

I called my own clients myself. The two women weren’t happy, but they were reasonable and seemed to understand that I was doing all I could. I left a message for Miles and had to reassure Nelson ten times that this wouldn’t be his ticket to jail. It was an exhausting afternoon.

When I finally finished all of that, I said goodbye to Adam and told him I would call him later. I needed to get back to face the music once again with my parents. I could only hope that they hadn’t watched or listened to any news while I’d been gone.

When I got home and opened the apartment door, I was surprised to hear a voice other than one of my parents. It was Jack. I thought about just sneaking back out. I could only imagine what sort of ideas he was filling my Mother’s head with about Adam. I was beginning to distrust him and as much as I hated that my instincts told me it was the safe thing to do.

“Jack,” I said as I walked into the sitting room where they were all having coffee. “What a surprise.”

“Alicia,” Jack said, rising from his seat next to my mother, “I’m sorry to just drop by unannounced. I didn’t realize your parents were visiting. I had just been watching the news, and I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“That is actually what phones were invented for,” I said, somewhat sarcastically.

“Alicia,” my mother chimed in. “There is no reason to be rude. You owe Jack an apology for your tone.”

“It’s okay, Lady Winston,” Jack said. Ever the ass-kisser, I thought. “I know she’s had a rough go of it lately. I am the one who should apologize and get going. I’m intruding.”

“You are doing no such thing!” Mother told him. “We were happy to see you and catch up. If my daughter won’t apologize for her rudeness, I will.”

“Mother, I can apologize for myself, thank you.” Looking at Jack and pasting the second non- genuine smile of the day on my face, I said, “You’re right, Jack. It has been rough week. I do apologize if I’ve been rude.”

“No need, Alicia, really,” Jack said, oblivious to the fact that I had said “If I’ve been rude.” I hadn’t actually admitted to anything. I felt he was the one being rude just by virtue of being there.

“All I want is to be sure you’re okay,” he said again.

“I’m fine, thank you,” I said, and took a seat next to my father.

My dad took my hand. “Are you really, dear? We saw on the television that your office was broken into.”

“It’s awfully frustrating yes, but we can deal with it. Now, enough depressing talk. How about I put what I had out for dinner tonight in the refrigerator until tomorrow and we go out to a nice restaurant? I’d love to take you to see Rockefeller Center. You haven’t ever been there around the holidays, have you?”

“No, we haven’t,” my mother said, “What do you think, John? Are you up for a stroll out in the cold tonight?” I knew that my father had had some medical issues lately. It was touching to see that my mother still worried about him after all these years.

“I would love to see all of the Christmas decorations and watch the skaters out on the ice,” my father said, enthusiastically.

“It’s settled then. I know of an excellent seafood restaurant near there. I’ll call for reservations now, and that will give us time to dress.”

“I better be on my way, then,” Jack said, rising once again off of the sofa.

My mother gave me a look that I knew full well meant I was being rude again and should offer Jack an invitation, but I pretended not to see it and said instead, “It was nice of you to come by, Jack. Perhaps we can have you over again before my parents return home.”

“That would be nice,” he said. He kissed my mother on the cheek and shook my father’s hand. I walked him to the door and as he was leaving he said, “Don’t forget that you can call me if you need anything,”

“I won’t, thank you,” I said as I closed the door.

There was something about him that bothered me so badly lately, but I just couldn’t figure out what it was. I shook it off for now, and returned to my parents. I was looking forward to our outing. It would be nice to forget about everything for a while and just enjoy our time together.

 

 

CHAPTER SIX

 

ADAM

 

I returned to my penthouse that evening. It was creepy being there, knowing that Marjorie’s dead body had been here only a few days prior. I didn’t believe I would ever be able to use the bathroom where they had found her again. Thankfully, the penthouse offered two other choices.

I mixed myself a drink and after taking off my suit jacket and tie, I sat down on the couch to watch the news. The break-in at the firm was the top story of the evening. The news anchors of course had to link what had happened to the “recent murder” of the “firm’s leader.”

They re-hashed the sordid details of Marjorie’s death and even included an interview with that rat-bastard Hal Rogers. He told the story of how he was helping this poor woman fight in court for what was legally hers and made me out to sound like some kind of Simon Legree in the process. He said that when she had finally gotten some “small” resolution, someone had viciously taken her life. He worked up a tear as he said how his heart went out to her family and what a tremendous loss to society her death would be. I wanted to throw my drink at the television.

Rogers hadn’t said a word about how he happened to be screwing poor, dead Marjorie while trying to help her steal every dime she could from me, whether I deserved it or not. He also hadn’t mentioned how large his cut of what Marjorie had gained was. I knew it was upwards of a million dollars. The bastard was using Marjorie’s death and now what was happening at my firm as publicity for his ramshackle practice.

I drained my glass and started to turn off the TV. As I picked up the remote, however, I heard the bleached-blonde anchorman with the too-white smile say,

“This just in, it seems that a source close to the investigation of the break-in at the Hanson law firm has said that information from one of the files had just been released to the authorities. This source also said that the information this file contained held clues to an unsolved murder. Keep watching as the story unfolds for up to the minute details.”

I flipped off the set. The sounds of my world crashing down around me could almost be heard out loud now. Once Miles realized the “information” they were talking about was probably his son, he alone would make sure that I never practiced law again in this city.

I knew that I should call Alicia. I didn’t want her to see her client’s business splayed across the evening news. She took her work and her clients’ privacy to heart. This was going to upset her badly. It would be better if she heard it from me. I reluctantly reached for my phone just as it started to ring. The caller ID said it was Alex.

“Hey,” I answered, actually looking forward to hearing a friendly voice.

“Hey, buddy, I’ve been listening to the news. I’m sorry; it seems like everything that could go wrong for you lately has. How are you holding up?”

“I don’t know, Alex. This all really sucks, you know?”

“I know. You have to keep your chin up, though, and believe that you’ll get through this. I have faith in you.”

I laughed – it was the alternative to completely losing it. “I think you and maybe Alicia are the only ones in the greater Manhattan area who still feel that way.”

“Whatever I can do to help,” he told me.

“Have you seen Miles today?”

“I spoke with him a while ago. I’ll bet he gave you hell about all of this, huh?”

“That’s putting it mildly. I’m afraid of what he will do when he hears what the press is saying we have now.”

“Yeah, it’s about Miles V, right?”

“It has to be. We didn’t have anything else even remotely that damaging to anyone else in those files that were taken.”

“Is it enough for the authorities to arrest him, you think?”

“No, but it will definitely prompt them to reopen the case, I believe.”

“What about the civil case?” Alex asked. “How damaging will the files being public be to Miles’s business, if that were to happen?”

“Like the black plague,” I said with a sigh. “Alex, there were things in there to indicate that Miles and all of the executives knew their tankers weren’t up to code. If that gets out, we’re all screwed.”

“I’m sorry, buddy. Again, if there’s anything I can do…”

“I’ll let you know, thank you.”

“No problem,” Alex told me. “Get some rest, huh?”

“Yeah, sure,” I said, hanging up the phone and looking around the penthouse that I used to love. It smelled like death to me now. “I’m sure I’ll do that.”

 

********

 

I didn’t call Alicia. After talking to Alex, I decided it was too late and I would call her in the morning. I hoped that she had been too busy with her parents to have watched the news. I would try to catch her early in the morning before she saw the paper. I went to bed missing her, remembering the last night we spent together. I loved the way she smelled and the soft feel of her skin and her hair. God, I hoped that all of this drama wouldn’t drive her away – or worse yet home to the UK. I needed her now, more than ever.

In the morning before I called Alicia, she called me. “Hi, baby,” I said. “Did you sleep well?”

“Would have been so much better with you curled up by my side,” she said.

“Ditto over here, too.”

I was about to ask if she heard the news when she said, “Adam, I got a phone call this morning, from David.”

“David? What did he want? How did he get your number?”

“I asked him that, he never gave me an answer. He says he wants to meet with me. He claims he has some information that I need.”

“You’re not meeting with him alone. This guy has a finger in everything that’s been going on lately. I don’t trust him.”

“Me neither,” she said. “But I’m really interested in what he has to say. He mentioned Jack, Adam. Isn’t that strange?”

“I knew that guy was up to no good. What did David say exactly?”

“He was really cryptic about it all. He said he had some things I’d really like to discuss with you, in person. When I asked what things he said they involved my clients the Brigham’s, my boyfriend Adam Hanson, and my ex-boyfriend, Jack Grant.”

I tried to let the ex-boyfriend go, I really did. It wasn’t important now. But before I caught myself I said, “I thought you and Jack were only ever friends.”

“We were. We dated for a minute in high school and that was it. Adam, this is no time for jealousy.”

“I know, babe, I’m sorry. Listen, tell him you’ll meet with him, but only if I can be there as well, okay? Don’t agree to go alone, promise me.”

“Okay, I promise,” she said.

“Did you happen to see the news?”

She groaned. “Yeah, actually the morning paper. I found my father reading it when I got up.”

I felt so fucking bad for all of this. I have no idea why she’s still with me. “What did the paper have to say?”

“The article began by re-capping Marjorie’s murder. It called you a person of interest and referred to me as your “Love Interest.” After all of that, they finally got to the break-in. They knew that my office and yours were the only ones broken into and the reporter speculated on what, if anything this may have to do with Marjorie’s death. They talked about possible ramifications on our open cases and then they talked about Miles.”

I groaned. “Specifically?”

“Yeah, too specifically. They quoted things out of his file – most sickeningly when he said, ‘My son killed my wife.’”

“Shit.”

“Yep.”

“What did your parents say about all of this? Are they ready to kidnap you and take you back to the U.K.?”

“Mother didn’t read it. Hopefully, she won’t get a chance. My father is more understanding. We had a great evening together last night and Mother is in a great mood. I plan on trying to keep her that way.”

“Good luck, baby. I love you. Let me know what David says.”

“I will. I love you, too. I miss you.”

“I miss you like an amputated limb. When this is all over, we need to find a new place to live, together.”

“Really?”

“You’re still marrying me, right? We might have to go to Vegas because I’ll be destitute…”

She laughed. “I’d marry you on the street in Brooklyn. I love you. I can’t wait to be your wife. I will see you in a few hours. I got my parents tickets to the Met and after I drop them off, I’ll be into the office.”

“I can’t wait to see you,” I told her honestly. It was what would get me thorough another wretched day.

I showered and dressed after I spoke to Alicia and headed into the office. I had a meeting at nine a.m. with the judge presiding over Brigham’s civil case and I wanted to be well-prepared. Judge Newman was a no-nonsense type. When I made it into court, I found him not amused, at all.

“Pretty shoddy alarm system you must have over there, Hanson. Thieves in and out with over twenty files before the authorities arrived? You’ll be lucky if this doesn’t destroy you, boy.”

“Yes, sir,” I said, feeling as if I were sitting in the principal’s office in middle school. “I’m hoping that’s not going to be the case, however.”

“Well, for now, I haven’t found any reason not to proceed on this case as we have been. I’ll have the jury sequestered if need be to keep them from being tainted by the press. Meanwhile, I don’t want my courtroom made into a circus by you and Rogers.”

Hal Rogers was the attorney for the plaintiffs in the oil spill case. Somehow, I just couldn’t get away from that clown. He hadn’t been able to make it to the meeting this morning, so it was almost postponed. Instead, he sent an associate and said he “trusted” me and Judge Newman not to have any ex-parte discussions. The associate was there just mainly to make sure things were kept legal, and the court stenographer was busy taking it all down as the judge and I talked.

“It won’t be, sir, I assure you,” I told him sincerely. I just wanted to get back to business as usual, if that was going to be possible. I glanced over at Cyrus, the associate Hal had sent in his place.

“No theatrics, Judge,” Cyrus assured. “Mr. Rogers is very serious about this case and the press is only a distraction to him, as well.”

“Okay then,” Judge Newman told us. “We will commence with the opening statements on Monday as planned. Thank you for coming, gentlemen.”

Cyrus and I both thanked the judge and went separate directions after leaving his chambers.

As I was leaving, I met Mac coming up the steps of the courthouse.

“I’m sorry, I got held up in traffic,” he told me. “How did it go?”

“Good, I think. He agreed we could go on with the case as if none of this had happened, as long as we promise not to create a circus in his courtroom, as he put it.”