Chapter Ten
Mia
I went into my office and looked out the window, trying to catch a glimpse of Sam’s truck. He would be gone by now, but I still wanted to check.
For a second, I regretted my decision to turn him down. He was a nice guy: good looking, funny, and he had just done me a favor that he didn’t have to do.
I sighed and turned to my desk that was piled high with paperwork, court documents, and subpoenas. I sat down and took a deep breath, putting Sam from my mind. I had a job to do and an innocent man to acquit.
I looked through the paperwork pertaining to Seth Danube. He had been a model citizen up until his arrest four months ago. He had kept his head down and worked hard.
He was a good man – and that ultimately had been his undoing. His trust had led him to help a few unsavory characters, and it was those very people that had landed him behind bars. I was looking over Seth’s history when Helen walked in.
“Hi,” she said. “Do you have the subpoena for Seth’s ex-wife?”
“It’s right here,” I said, handing over the document. “I would like her to be his third character witness.”
“For maximum impact?”
“I think her testimony will be the strongest,” I nodded. “I spoke to her for awhile on the phone yesterday, and she provides a compelling argument in favor of Seth. I think she could really help him. The fact that she’s his ex-wife can only be an advantage.”
“How do you figure that?”
“Think about it,” I said. “What reason would an ex have to say anything nice about Seth, unless he was a genuinely great guy?”
“Good point,” she nodded. “But it might not be as clear cut as that.”
“Meaning?”
“The prosecution’s got a strong case together Mia,” Helen said despairingly. “We’re going to be going up against Andrew Dermott in court. The man’s a shark.”
“Well, I can be a shark, too,” I said, trying to sound confident and self-assured.
Helen smiled. “You’re a great lawyer Mia, but you’re young and inexperienced. Dermott’s got twenty years of experience on you. And, a stellar track record when it comes to convicting criminals.”
“But Seth’s not a criminal.”
“Not to you,” she said. “And, not to me. But in the eyes of the law… He’s got a black mark on his record.”
“What happened to ‘innocent until proven guilty?’”
“I’m afraid that’s the idealistic part of law,” she told me, with an ironic smile. “Reality doesn’t always work like that.”
“The prosecution may have been able to spin a couple of stories together,” I said firmly. “But that’s all they have: spun stories. We just need to unravel them for the truth to fall out and when we do, the jury will see that Seth Danube is an innocent man who was taken advantage of.”
She smiled. “I wish all of my attorneys were as passionate and dedicated as you are.”
“We’re going to win this case, Helen,” I said. “I can feel it.”
I could see the invigorated hope behind her eyes. “I’m starting to feel it, too.”
I spent the next few hours perfecting our defence with Helen. It was almost two o’clock when Molly, one of the younger lawyers in the department, walked in with a message for me.
“Mia, there’s someone here to see you.”
I raised my eyebrows, and for one irrationally wishful moment, I actually hoped it might be Sam. “I’m coming,” I said, without even asking who it might be.
When I walked outside the office, however, I saw Vanessa waiting by the elevators. “Oh… Vanessa,” I said.
“Well, don’t get too excited there. Geez.”
“Sorry,” I said, coloring a little.
“Expecting someone else?” she asked, good-naturedly.
“Of course not,” I replied a little too quickly.
“Sure,” she said, obviously not convinced. “I came to take you out to lunch, if you have the time.”
“I’m starving, actually,” I said, realizing that my stomach did feel empty. “Let’s go, it would be good to get a breather.”
I said goodbye to Helen and headed out with Vanessa to a little restaurant around the corner. We settled into a booth by the window and ordered our food quickly. We were sipping our drinks when Vanessa asked me about Sam.
“Did he call?” she asked curiously.
“Actually, he did,” I nodded.
“No way!” she gasped. “So soon?”
“He called this morning and asked if he could give me a lift since he knew that I didn’t have a working car.”
“Wow,” she said, clearly impressed. “So he’s the one who got you to work today?”
“Yup,” I nodded. “We dropped Renni off at school first.”
“Damn,” Vanessa said, running her fingers through her white-blonde hair. “The boy’s really interested.”
“He seems really young,” I said, biting my lip.
“If he’s over twenty-one, what the hell does it matter?” she demanded.
I sighed. “It’s not about age,” I said. “It’s about maturity.”
“You don’t think he’s mature?”
“He seems… He just has this vibe about him.”
“Vibe?”
“He seems like the player type.”
“Based on?”
“His face.”
Vanessa burst out laughing. “He’s good looking, so you just assume he must play the field?”
“It’s instinct,” I said, defending myself. “And, my instincts are pretty good.”
“Your instincts as a lawyer are pretty good,” she countered. “This is different.”
“Different how?”
“This is personal,” she told me reasonably. “Which means that you might not be seeing things clearly. Maybe your personal fears and insecurities are clouding your judgement a little.”
I sighed and looked down at my half-empty glass. “Man, I wish I could drink something harder.”
“You can….”
“I’m going back to work after this,” I reminded her. I took a deep breath and tried to collect my thoughts. “Sometimes I go back and forth so often that I actually confuse myself.”
“Give me an example.”
“Well… When Sam asked me out, I said no right away. But then I wished that I hadn’t turned him down. Then I kept thinking about how hard it is to meet a guy who’s okay with the fact that I have a daughter. But then I think about the reality of having him in Renni’s life. I don’t want her getting attached to him if he’s only going to leave.”
Vanessa listened carefully and nodded once when I was done. “Okay, first of all, you need to think about what you want. Are you interested in a real committed relationship? Or do you just want something fun and frivolous?”
“Umm… I don’t… At this point in my life, maybe fun and frivolous is the right way to go.”
Vanessa nodded. “Then you can be as casual as you want with your fire fighter, and Renni need never know.”
I smirked. “He’s Renni’s friend, or have you forgotten? She loves him.”
“All the better,” Vanessa said. “If he happens to be around, then that’s how you explain it. He’s your friend, just like he’s Renni’s friend.”
“Sounds…complicated.”
“Only if you want to make it complicated,” she said. “My advice is, don’t make it complicated.”
“Gee, thanks,” I said sarcastically.
Vanessa laughed. “Come on, Mia. He’s hot, he’s a fireman, and from what I saw, he got along great with Renni.”
“He did,” I sighed.
“You’ve hit the jackpot here,” she encouraged. “Don’t just kick it aside. I’m not saying you have to marry the guy. But let’s face it, honey: you need to get laid.”
“Vanessa!”
“What? It needed to be said.”
I shook my head at her.
“You can’t tell me you don’t miss having sex?”
I sighed. “I don’t have time to think about it.”
She smiled. “You know I’m available anytime to babysit, right?”
“I know,” I nodded. “And I love for that. Speaking of which…”
“You need me to pick up Renni this evening?”
“Please,” I nodded. “I think I’m going to be working late today.”
“No problem,” she said readily. “We can swing by and pick you up when you’re ready.”
“I can take a cab, Vanessa.”
“Don’t bother. I’m more than happy to pick you up.”
By the time the day was over, my body was aching from having to sit in an uncomfortable chair all day. Vanessa dropped Renni and me off at home and we walked into the house hand in hand.
“Did you have a good day, munchkin?” I asked.
“Uh-huh,” Renni nodded. “Aunt Vanessa took me to the park. We had hot chocolate before we came to pick you up.”
“Sounds like a productive day,” I smiled. “Now, why don’t you slip into your pjs, and I’ll read you a bedtime story. How does that sound?”
“I want to read Alice in Wonderland .”
“You got it,” I nodded.
We both changed into our pyjamas and curled into place on her bed. I was about to open Alice in Wonderland , when Renni looked up at me.
“Mommy?”
“Yes, angel?” I asked.
“Do you defend bad people?”
I wrinkled my brows and looked at her curiously. “Did someone tell you I did?”
“Martha,” Renni said immediately. “She said that her mother said that you let bad people go free. And, that wasn’t good.”
I gritted my teeth, but I kept my expression calm. Martha’s parents were both prosecutors. “I don’t defend bad people, sweetheart. I defend people who have had bad things happen to them.”
“Oh.”
I kissed the top of her head. “Sometimes people can’t always defend themselves. Sometimes everything is against them.”
“That doesn’t seem fair.”
“It’s not,” I nodded. “Which is why I help them. Because no one else will.”
Renni smiled as she looked up at me. “I knew you weren’t helping bad men. I told Martha so, too.”
“Oh?”
“She told me I didn’t know what I was talking about,” Renni said. “But I told her that her mommy didn’t know what she was talking about.”
“Did you now?” I asked, impressed despite myself.
“Now Martha’s not talking to me anymore,” she said. “But I don’t care. I know she’s wrong.”
“The problem is that most people don’t always know when they’re wrong. But we can’t let that get to us,” I told her. “We need to do what we feel is right and let them say whatever they want.”
Renni nodded thoughtfully. “I don’t want to play with Martha anymore.”
“Well, you might change your mind one day,” I said. “I would be fine with that.”
“I don’t think I will change my mind,” she said firmly.
I smiled. “That is completely up to you, sweetheart,” I said. “But whatever happens, I don’t want you to be rude or mean to anyone, okay?”
“Even if they’re jerks?”
“Renni!”
“Sorry,” she said, nuzzling into my side.
I tried to suppress my smile, but it was hard to do. “Yes,” I said momentarily. “Even if they’re being…not very nice. We must be the better men.”
“Or the better women.”
I laughed. “Exactly,” I nodded. “We are the better women.”