Chapter 13
Adam
Friday
I locked the door behind myself as I left for work on Friday. My car was dusted with a new coat of snow that had fallen the night before. I set my briefcase in the passenger seat and pulled out the snow brush to clear the windshields.
Jon Hansen and I had an appointment later to discuss the case we were working on. I was excited to share the research I had done and prove I was a valuable asset to the team.
It's hard to describe the cathartic thrill that struck me anytime a case started falling together the way I wanted it to. I didn't become a lawyer to help criminals stay out of prison, but I truly enjoyed knowing that I could help people that needed it. In my eyes justice was universal, and if it was in my power to help restore the balance and put the people who deserved it behind bars, I would do it every time.
I felt the tingles of anticipation as I finished cleaning off the car and slid into the driver’s seat. Despite the morning traffic, it didn’t take me very long to drive the route to work. There were only a few other cars in the parking lot when I got there, and I was anxious to get started. When I stepped into the lobby, Leslie waved me over to her desk before I had the chance to unload my things.
“Good morning, Leslie.”
She nodded. “Thank you, sir. Jon Hansen asked me to tell you that he’s moved up the time of your meeting. One of the detectives working on the case is sitting in and nine was the only time they had available.”
I smiled. “Not a problem, thanks for telling me. I’ll set my things down and start getting ready for it right away.”
Her lips pursed together slightly as she nodded and began typing on the computer. If Jon was testing me to see if I could withstand the pressure of a changing deadline, then he was in for a surprise. I’d been preparing for this all week.
When I got to my office, I slipped out of the coat and gloves to hang them on the rack by the door. I barely had time to set up my computer and finish my coffee before it was time for me to head up to the conference room. My shoes clomped up the wooden stairs to where the weekly business meetings were held as I slid my hand across the banister.
Mr. Hansen was standing in the hall talking with a woman dressed like a school librarian. When he saw me coming, he reached out to me in welcome and introduced me to his companion. “Adam Hillis, I’d like you to meet Janet Messinger. Janet is the lead detective working on the drug case.”
The woman reached out to me and smiled, shaking my hand in welcome. “It’s nice to meet you,” I told her.
“Adam here is a junior partner at the firm, and he’ll be assisting me throughout the case.”
“Well then, it’s very nice to meet you, too, Adam. Shall we get started?”
Jon ushered us both into the meeting room, and we took our seats in opposing chairs across the table. Mr. Hansen shut the door and then pulled out the chair beside me. “Alright, Janet. What can you tell us about the case? Why is the prosecutor pushing for the maximum sentence on a low-level drug charge?”
The woman shrugged. “I’m not sure exactly, but I know they’re open to negotiation if Patrick is willing to talk. So far, he’s been uncooperative and hostile.”
“Adam, do you have anything?”
I nodded, looking down at my noted in front of me. “I think the prosecution is over-confident and gambling on this poor guy. They only have a fifty-fifty shot of winning the case to begin with. The evidence is circumstantial and non-admissible in court,” I told him forcefully. “The police entered his house without a warrant and had no jurisdiction to search his property.”
The detective frowned. “You’re basing that on a technicality.”
“Actually, I’m not. Without the contraband, there’s nothing tying him to the drugs, or the sale, for that matter.”
“You want us to let a drug dealer go free?”
I clicked my pen and stared at her from across the table. “What if we could get him to roll on whoever sold it to him? Then you could find the supplier and get a bigger slice of the pie.”
Janet sat up in her seat and smiled, knitting her fingers together across the table. “If you could get him to do that, he might be eligible for a plea deal. That depends, of course, on him being willing to testify.”
“Naturally.”
All three of us stood and shook one another’s hand while walking out the door. “You keep an eye on that one, Jon,” she said. “He’s going places!”
Mr. Hansen laughed while clapping me on the back. “Don’t I know it. Let’s get together again on Monday after I’ve had a chance to speak with Pat.”
She smiled. “See you then.”
After she had gone, Jon smiled at me approvingly. “You did really well in there. Keep up the good work, kiddo! We’ve got another case on Monday.”
I was on cloud nine the rest of the day, riding the high of actually pulling off the negotiation I had dreamed of all four years I was in law school. Before I knew it, the work day was coming to a close. My phone vibrated suddenly on my desk, and I glanced down just in time to see an incoming text from Max: Headed to the gym in a few. Wanna come?
I smiled at his inquiry and typed back: Sure, I'll meet you there in twenty.
He messaged me back with an emoji of the thumbs up sign, and I started gathering my things.
I hadn’t worked up a good sweat at the gym in ages. I still had workout clothes packed into the trunk of my car, so I could drive there right after work.
Leslie handed me some messages on the board when I was leaving, but nothing that couldn’t wait till Monday, so I stuffed them in my coat pocket and headed for the door.
The gym we always went to was a fifteen-minute drive through the snow and ice. The Escalade smoothly pulled into a parking space, and I turned off the ignition.
I climbed out of the cab and grabbed my gym bag from the trunk before heading across the parking lot. Max was texting in the lobby when I got there and looked up from his phone.
We greeted each other with a high five and clapped each other on the back. "Hey, man. Glad you were able to make it."
"Me, too," I responded with a smile.
We showed our memberships to the man at the desk. He waved us through, and we headed back toward the locker room. My bag was slung across one shoulder, with a change of clothes and pair of tennis shoes tucked away inside.
We changed quickly once we got inside, putting our work clothes in some empty lockers. I was ready to let out some steam and work up a sweat on the weights. Max grabbed a water bottle and a towel, following me out onto the floor.
"So, what's going on between you and Vanessa?" Max asked me suddenly. "First you disappear at the Christmas party, then you bail on New Year’s Eve… What gives?"
I laughed. "I’m not sure; we just hit it off," I told him casually. "She's a really great girl, and I haven't seen her in a long time. We just started talking, and it clicked. Vanessa was going crazy living at your parents’, so I invited her to live in my spare bedroom."
"I dunno, that's a little weird for me," he confessed. "You know you're my brother, right? But Vanessa is actually my sister, so I wanna protect her."
"Chill, man. I don't have any plans."
He seemed to relax a bit and responded, "Good."
I grunted, lifting up the weight again and added. "She is gorgeous; I'll give you that, and a lot of fun to be with."
"Yeah..."
"I am attracted to her..."
Max crossed his arms in front of his chest. I could tell he was uncomfortable, so I set the weights and sat up on the bench to talk to him.
"Max, you know I would never hurt her, right?"
"Yeah, I know."
"I'm just trying to help her out, that’s all. And if anything did start happening between us, you'd be the first to know."
He sighed. "Alright, I believe you. Take care of her, okay? I know I’m not the most attentive brother on the planet, but I do care about her."
I nodded, slipping back under the weights and positioning my arms shoulders-width apart before gripping the bar to raise it. We did a couple more reps each and ended with a quick run on the treadmill before calling it a day. My shirt was rightfully drenched with sweat by the time we had finished, and I was chugging water like a fiend.
Max and I made our way back to the locker room to change and headed out our separate ways. I invited him to come by the apartment soon to see Vanessa and maybe help her assemble furniture. He practically scoffed at the last part and waved goodbye to me in the parking lot.
The cold air was particularly vicious with the beads of sweat still lingering on my forehead as I climbed into the silver Escalade. I drove the streets back to the apartment on autopilot, not even thinking about where I was going, but hyper-aware that Vanessa would be home and waiting for me.
I pulled into the parking spot in front of our place and cut off the ignition before reaching around to grab my gym bag and briefcase to bring inside. Stepping over the icy sidewalk, I opened the door and was met by the incredible smell of spiced tomatoes and feta cheese. Vanessa poked her head out from inside the kitchen and smiled at me. “Hey, welcome home!”
I chucked as I shut the door behind myself and said, “What’s all this?”
“Well, you were so nice cooking breakfast for me this morning, I wanted to return the favor.”
“Aw, that’s nice. What are we having?”
“Lasagna” she informed me proudly while gesturing to the oven. “Smells good, doesn’t it?”
“Sure does!”
“And, I landed the job at Frank Howell, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to celebrate.”
“Vanessa, that’s great! I’m so glad for you.”
She wrapped her arms around me in a hug, catching me off guard. Carefully, I placed my hand around her and relished the warmth of her body against me. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“It was no problem, really.”
Her body pressed against me and I could feel the womanly curve of her breast and waist. She smells amazing…
I breathed in the smell of her shampoo and felt a familiar stirring in my loins. She did things to me I couldn’t quite explain. Without even trying, she could turn my entire world upside down.
My hands carefully grazed against her back, caressing the curve of her waist before I realized what I was doing. They just instinctively needed to be touching her, always. She sighed resting her head against my shoulder, and I almost came undone right then and there. I pulled away from the hug abruptly before anything else could happen. More importantly, before she realized just how much I was enjoying it. I gave her a timid smile. “You’re welcome.”
“Do you mind looking at the dresser I got started while I finished up in here? I don’t wanna leave the kitchen while it’s still in the oven.”
“Sure, I’d be happy to.”
She smiled at me and then turned her attention back to the cooking. “Great! Then I can get started on some garlic bread, as well.”
I laughed, turning my back to her as I started over to her bedroom. Truthfully, I was relieved to get away from her. I didn’t trust myself to be in the same room with her for long without doing something stupid like kissing her again. No matter how much I wanted to, we couldn’t complicate things like that. We lived together; it would either go badly, or really, really badly.
I guess I’ll be taking a lot of cold showers.