CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
ERIC
“Another, Becky.” I drop the shot glass on the bar and nudge it forward. “Better make it two.”
“And a water.” Paxton says.
“Fuck off.”
“Big water.”
“I hate you. Why are we friends?”
“We bonded over a joint hatred of Geoff.”
“You both can go straight to hell.” Geoff says it like he’s waving off flies. Getting laid cleaned him up good. “And be nice to Becky tonight.”
“I am being nice. I’m padding her tip as we speak.” I say. “Tell your girlfriend to make them extra strong.”
“That’s a surefire bet to get diluted shots, big guy.” Becky slides two more shots of whiskey in front of me. “You should probably have some water.”
“I liked you better when you wanted my dick.”
“Oh, darling.” Becky laughs. “I never wanted your dick. I just wanted your money.”
Paxton and Geoff both erupt in hoots and hollers when Becky walks away. I clutch my hand to my chest and play it up big to distract from just how big a blow that is. She can only be saying that right now because she’s banging Geoff. Surely.
“That’s my girl.” Geoff beams.
“Fuck women.” I steer the conversation so we don’t have to talk about the burn Becky just dished out. “They are all terrible creatures. Men are terrible creatures. We are all terrible creatures who deserve to be burned on the sun.”
“Shit, man.” Paxton frowns at me. “Who pissed in your Cheerios?”
“Life.”
“For fucks sake. Don’t be a drama queen. You’re better than that shit.”
“Nah, he just got played.” Geoff says a little too smugly. “A woman used the stupid game he plays against him and he can’t deal.”
“Nobody played me.”
“You know, Geoff. I don’t say this often, but I think you’re right.” Paxton says. “That sounds exactly right.”
“Whatever.” I shoot the whiskey and chase it with a beer. “Let’s talk about Geoff’s sex life.”
“Oh, hell no.” Geoff laughs. “You aren’t going to throw me under the bus. Just admit that you treat women like shit and now that it’s finally turned on you, it sucks. Admit that you learned you need to treat people with more respect.”
I glower at him over my bottle.
“Man, you got railroaded by the McArthurs, didn’t you? All you could see was dollar signs and they burned the shit out of you. I mean, I wouldn’t say I told you so, but I fucking love saying I told you so.”
“No.” I say firmly. “I don’t get played. I used her like I used all the other women in this fucking town and then dropped her just as fast. I feel like shit because my jackass client is giving me an ulcer.”
“Ah, yes. So you’re drinking the ulcer away. Great plan.” Paxton snorts. “I would respect you a hell of a lot more if you’d just admit you got in over your head.”
“Never happened.”
“You really are a shitty attorney.” Geoff says. “Terrible liar. How do you make so much more money than I do?”
“Because you’re a horrendously shitty lawyer.”
“Says the guy who’s about to lose his ass over the biggest case of his career.”
“Fuck off.” I snap. I need to get out of here, but I’ve run out of places to go to. Maybe I should just go home and sleep until the hearing. “I need new friends.”
“No, you need to get your priorities in order. The same thing I’ve been telling you for almost two months.” Paxton throws a punch at my shoulder. “I told you she was trouble.”
“You told me you wanted to fuck her.”
“There are a lot of people I want to fuck. You don’t see me cut up about not doing it.”
On the TV above the bar, the interview I set up for David is re-airing. The closed captioning can barely keep up with him as he outlines Kate’s infidelity and his broken heart. It’s mostly bullshit, but I can’t shake how insistent he is about sleeping with Kate during this process.
I’ve heard him tell a lot of fake stories, but he showed me the pictures to prove it. That’s what I get for letting my emotions out of their cage: betrayed and fucked over. Never again.
“That interview is probably the best damn thing you’ve done in a while.” Paxton points to the TV. “Evens out the playing field a bit. Have you offloaded those pictures yet?”
“What pictures?” Geoff asks.
“From the photo shoot Casanova over here staged with McArthur’s ex.”
“You were serious?” Geoff says, judgment pouring out of him. “I thought you were just being an asshole.”
“He is an asshole, but he was always serious.”
“Christ, Eric. You could lose your license over that shit.”
“Worse things can happen.” I deadpan.
“For an attorney? Not really.”
“Who did you send them to?” Paxton says again.
“I haven’t decided yet.” I don’t bother looking at either of them. Instead, I watch David continue to spew his bullshit story for the world to eat up.
Despite everything, despite the betrayal, I can’t shake the feeling that I did something awful with this. Yes, she betrayed me, but does it count if it’s with the guy she’s legally attached to? Do two wrongs make a right?
Fucking Vivian and her morals. I need to purge her from my head, too.
“You need to dump those soon. Bolster your case so it can be over as fast as it starts. No three-day plea for you.”
“He should not.” Geoff shakes his head. “That’s falsifying evidence. That’s a felony.”
“Does it count, though, if it’s in family court?”
“You guys really are the worst goddamn attorneys I’ve ever met. Do you know what morals are?”
“No.” Paxton grins. “Because I’m an attorney.”
Geoff rolls his eyes and mutters something about fulfilling stereotypes. I ignore him and flag Becky down for another shot. I watch her carefully to make sure she doesn’t top it off with water. I paid my way through UCLA by bartending. I know all their tricks.
“You need to shred those pictures.” Geoff taps my shoulder. “Don’t screw yourself over in the process. Let them destroy each other and walk away with clean hands.”
“Nobody in this fucking town has clean hands.” I mutter.
“Oh, give that shit a rest.” Geoff rolls his eyes. “I’m so tired of listening to this ‘woe is me’ routine where you pretend you’re so persecuted against because you live in one of the largest and most thriving towns in the country. Corruption is everywhere, Eric. You aren’t special because you live here.”
“Can it, Geoff.”
“No. You have to stop acting like you have the worst goddamn job in the world. Everyone has to deal with shit at work. Have you ever had to represent a murderer? No? You just get to sit in your cush office and cast judgment on how other people live their lives? Boo-fucking-hoo. It’s so hard to be Eric Stevens.”
I shove my chair back from the table and throw on my jacket. “I don’t need your shit. Not from either of you. You don’t know what it’s like.”
“We hear you bitching enough to know.”
“Whatever. I don’t have to explain myself.” I throw down two twenties on the bar and storm off without another word.