CHAPTER FIVE
Alisa
I watched him go and my heart sank. Why would he think I was scared of him? We didn’t know each other at all anymore of course, but still... scared that he would hurt me? A scowled pulled at my lips and I turned to find Lizzy watching me closely.
“Did something happen between the two of you? He seems rather deflated.” She motioned for the door. “You can close that if you want to.”
“No, I’m good. I need to schedule something with Jon Mills. I just wanted to tell you that all of the rape cases Melissa has filed have been settled out of court. She’s lying. I need to dig up the proper evidence, but I think if I can get in to see Jon today, I can understand if he’s in on it as well.” I walked to the door. “Nothing happened with Mr. Kellington. He misunderstood me, which is upsetting, but we have some baggage between us.”
“How much baggage?” Lizzy’s voice wasn’t condescending or sharp. I needed to start trusting her a little if I was soon to ask her to fine an ally in her, which I needed due to being new to the firm.
“Very little. We had a sweet love story that turned into nothing. He was four years older and went off to college when I was a freshman in high school. He was my brother’s best friend, so I was smitten. I think some part of me wants to know what could have been, and I assume he’s going through the same thing.” I touched the door handle and leaned against the door frame. “He’s a good man. I want to help prove that. I’m just scared that I’ll end up wishing that he were my good man.”
“Let’s keep those thoughts locked away until after the case is tucked in bed, but I can understand where you are in all of this.” She dropped her hands by her side. “I’m here if you need to talk. You’re great at what you do. Treat Zek like you would any other client, but soften your approach a little bit. That might rub him the wrong way if you’re stiff and unyielding.”
“Because he’s used to getting his way?” My shoulders tightened at the thought of relenting to anyone. I was my own person and was far too pig-headed to relent.
“Because he’s a relationship guy. He’s good to everyone he works with, and for someone to treat him like he doesn’t matter tips him off fast.” She tilted her head a little, studying me much more than I was comfortable with.
“He does matter, but that’s the issue I’m running into. I need this to be purely professional. I can’t have some silly childhood crush ruling my decisions. I’ve just gone through a nasty divorce, and honestly my job is the only thing saving me from a dark room and a bottle of scotch.” It was probably more than I wanted to tell my new boss, but she needed to understand my side of the situation as well. She was related to Zek. She would bend to him, which was good and fine, but I wanted her to see my struggle as well. This wasn’t just about me not wanting to take a case, or questioning the worth of a client. It was me still running from something that haunted me, though it was ignorant that it did. Eighteen years was plenty of time to get over someone.
Especially when you didn’t even date him.
“That’s heavy stuff.” She took a few steps to stand in front of me and reached out, resting her hands on my shoulders. “Life has a way of throwing shit our way when we least expect it. I have no clue how your divorce is affecting you, but I do know that you have a chance to push into your gifts here as an incredibly talented attorney. You don’t owe me any favors. Do what you think is best where Zek is concerned.”
I nodded and fought back tears. I wasn’t losing myself in front of her. Period.
“I’m going to visit with Jon Mills. I’ll let you know how it goes if you’d like to be kept in the loop.”
“I would love that. Thank you for helping him.” She squeezed my shoulders and released me. “Send in my secretary if you don’t mind.”
“Of course not.” I turned, delivered the message and walked to my office, closing the door behind me. “God, you’re impossible, Zek Kellington.”
And he was. The image of him jerking around and grabbing my arm tightly rolled over me and I shook off the need to groan. I wasn’t into being manhandled by anyone, but something about the dark need that moved through his eyes as he glared down at me opened up so many possibilities in my mind.
I needed him to disregard my rules and tug me close, lower his mouth to mine and show me the man he’d become.
“See... this is the fucking problem.” I growled and walked to my desk, needing to get my mind off of him before I went stir crazy. It was more than obvious that he was pissed at the thought of me being scared alone with him in the woods. That rested on the sound proof that I mattered.
Picking up the phone, I dialed the number to reach Jon Mills and waited impatiently.
“Mills, Canterbury and Viking. How can I help you?”
“Hi, I’m looking to speak with Jon Mills. This is Alisa Manning from Dellup and Brown. I’m representing Mr. Zek Kellington.” I paused to give the woman a few minutes to put together who I was.
“Yes, Miss Manning. Give me just a second and I’ll see if he’s available. Please hold.”
“Perfect. Thank you.” I pulled up the file on my computer and scanned through the information on Jon’s firm and his rise to success. He was listed as the personal attorney for Zek and several other billionaires in the area. “Sucks to be sued by your own damn lawyer. Funny how he probably knows exactly what Zek is worth.”
“Miss Manning?” The woman’s voice was on the line. “He’s in a meeting right now, but he said that he would be more than happy to meet with you this afternoon if you’re free.”
“That would be perfect. Three o’clock?” I checked my watch, realizing that I would have time to grab a quick sandwich before I’d need to head that way.
“That’s perfect. Do you need directions to get to us?”
“No, but thank you. I’ll see you shortly.” I hung up, grabbed my suit jacket and my briefcase and walked out into the lobby. Lizzy’s secretary, Marsha stood and smiled.
“Before you go, we just had someone leave a message for you. He said he was an investigator from the SEC. Want me to text you the information?” She smiled warmly.
“Yes, please. Thank you.” I pulled out my phone, waiting for her text. I would call them on the way to see Jon. Chances were that they just wanted to make contact with whoever was representing Zek. I wasn’t so sure that would be me for the securities claim, but I would stand in the gap until we knew better who it would be.
***
“Miss Manning. What a pleasure.” An older man with white hair and a stiff smile walked from the open door across from the waiting room. He extended his hand and shook mine firmly. “I’m Jon Mills. Thank you for coming by to chat. We’ve heard so much about you.”
“I wish I were here to chat.” I gave him a curt nod and followed him into one of the conference rooms down the hall. Taking a seat, I unbuttoned my jacket and pulled out the files. “I’m going to jump right into the meat of the matter.”
“Please do. No reason to waste anyone’s time, now is there?” He sat across the buffed wooden table from me and slid his arms out in front of him. “I assume you want to haggle a little on the settlement. It would only be prudent to do so.”
“No. Actually, I’ll be representing Mr. Kellington, and we won’t be settling out of court.” I pulled out a pair of glasses and perched them on my nose.
His eyes grew wide. “Surely you’re pulling my leg. Have you seen the evidence stacked against Zek? I know your green, but here... let me offer you a piece of advice.”
I glanced up. “I don’t need advice. If you’d like to show me the pictures you have as evidence, I’d love to see those.”
“What?” His face contorted as if he’d eaten a lemon. “Why would you want to see pictures of a young girl’s body having been violated and bruised?”
A smile lifted my lips. “You’re a lawyer and quite a successful one. You’d want to see them too. I’m not here to play games, Mr. Mills. I’m here to present a few facts to you as a respect to your practice. We’re not settling out of court, but if we go, we will bring every bit of Melissa’s past into the courtroom with us. Substantial evidence will point to the fact that this isn’t the first, but the fourth time she accused a man of rape and ended up settling out of court.”
His eyes flashed and I could see the muscles in his jaw clench in anger. “How dare you imply that Melissa wasn’t violated!” He exhaled deeply, then sat back as his expression softened, but only slightly. “Do you have kids, Ms. Manning?”
He wasn’t talking to me as a lawyer might another, but as an older man giving advice. It was the bane of my existence to look six years younger than I was. I’d been practicing law for five years, and I could hold my own. I didn’t need a training session, nor would I stand for one.
“I do not, but if I did,” I leaned forward and locked my gaze onto his, “there is no way in hell that I would ever settle out of court for any amount of money. I would want the guy who touched my daughter to rot in a jail cell for the rest of his life.”
“Well, do not mistake my graciousness for a lack of animosity and hate toward your client.”
“He’s been your client for quite some time now. I’m a little taken aback by your willingness to settle due to that alone. Both the vile combination of him allegedly harming Melissa, combined with the trust that should have been part of your relationship... you must have been destroyed after receiving the news.” I moved back in my seat and busied myself with the files.
“You have no idea.”
“Of course not. I don’t have children.” I glanced up and gave him a blank stare. “I’ll need to meet with Melissa before we fully decide our next steps.”
“You’re not meeting with my daughter. That’s not part of the process and you know it.” He stood up. “What kind of practice are they running over there at Dellup?”
“The kind where we investigate and gather evidence before we reach any solid resolution, including settlements.” I stood as well. “You can schedule the meeting with Melissa for me, or we’ll set up the first round of hearings and I’ll bring to the stands her allegations as well as your continued involvement, as history has repeated itself once again. It’s not only her who will be on trial, Mr. Mills. You will be as well.”
His jaw locked as his cheeks flushed pink. I had him, and though I hated to play hardball most days of the week, the old man needed a lesson more than I did. He was part of the ruse from what I could tell. I needed to dig quite a bit more, but my intuition rarely sent me in the wrong direction.
“I’ll set up the meeting, but you’d be wise to talk to your senior counsel about settling. I’m not beyond bringing the full power of my firm to rest on this case.” He leaned forward, pressing his hands to the table top. “I’m the senior partner here. We will win this. No matter what.”
“Good. I love a challenge. Your secretary has my number. Have her text me the time and place. Thank you for your time today. Always nice to meet a legend.” I picked up my bag and extended my hand, daring him with my expression to deny me.
He shook my hand, his grip painfully tight. “You need a mentor. You have a lot of potential, but someone’s reputation in this field is only as good as their last win. Keep that in mind, Alisa.”
“It’s Ms. Manning, and I will do just that, Mr. Mills. Thanks again.” I turned and walked out of the conference room as chill bumps broke out across my skin. The thought of Jon’s daughter sneaking into Zek’s office to seduce him sickened me. She had to be stopped, and I was almost excited at the idea of being the one to put my foot down in front of her.
Some sick twisted part of me wanted to see the girl face to face so that I could assess what Zek saw in her. What was so intriguing about her that it made Zek Kellington break the rules? He was sexy as hell, so I could see what her play was even outside of wanting to take a large sum of his earnings. But for him... was it because she was young and perky? Maybe she had dark hair and he enjoyed that kind of girl.
The few memories I had from high school where of him playing ball and he was always with a dark-haired cheerleader named Beth. What happened to them? Did he still see her?
“Stop it,” I grumbled under my breath as I got on the elevator. My phone buzzed as I walked from the building and I answered it, not wanting to miss talking to anyone related to Zek’s cases.
“Alisa Manning.”
“Hi, Miss Manning. This is Jon Mills’ secretary. He said that he would like to schedule the meeting you requested tomorrow morning at nine-thirty. It will be at the coffee shop just downstairs in the bottom of our building if that works for you.” Her voice was less friendly than before, which caused my lip to turn up in a smirk. He was worried.
Good. He should be.
“That’s perfect. Thank you.” I walked out into the late afternoon and paused as the sun warmed my face.
“Good day.” She hung up and I chuckled.
Jon knew far more than he was ever going to give up, but I didn’t need the truth nearly as bad as I needed them to retract the suit. That was the goal, and I wasn’t giving up until we reached it.
The fact that I could impress not only my new firm, but also Zek Kellington was just too much to pass up. Where most people loved success, I adored respect.