Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 52699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
“You’re making fun of me again.”
“Never.” He ran his fingers through my hair. “Stop focusing on the black and white, and give the jury the ugly grey.”
“How?”
“Act like you’re talking about me.” He slipped an arm around my waist. “Give them your honest first impression.”
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my client was an asshole.” I sucked in a breath, and he pulled me against his chest. “Start with that?”
“That actually might work.” He kissed my lips, and I stared into his eyes. “Keep going…”
“He’s a complicated man, but he’s not a criminal.”
“Good.” He pushed me against the jury box, sliding his hands under my skirt. “Tell me more.”
“And he’s—” I swallowed as he yanked off my panties in one smooth motion. “He’s really not guilty.”
“You can’t skip over the evidence, Elizabeth…” He pushed my body against the wood panel. “Go over that part, too.”
“He’s not guilty,” was all I could manage to say.
Letting out a low laugh, he splayed his hand against my ass, tapping it with his palm.
Then, without warning, he spun me around to face the courtroom and kissed the back of my neck.
I heard him unwrapping a condom, and within seconds, he was buried deep inside me, giving the gallery a full view of him fucking me, owning me.
He kept me steady by keeping one hand on my hip and the other in my hair.
The position was all too much for me, and I came apart faster than usual; the screams ripped from my throat.
I never wanted to have sex with another man in my life, never wanted to experience anyone else but him.
“You’re so perfect,” he whispered, holding me as I shook against him. “Always so perfect…”
Slowly pulling out of me, he pressed one final kiss against my skin. I heard him zipping his pants, and then he smoothed my dress into place.
“Do you feel better now?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Good.” He spun me around. “Now that you’re relaxed, give the jury a better closing statement.”
“You want me to do that now?”
“Of course, Miss Tanner.” He looked at his watch. “If you don’t give me a better rendition within the next half hour, I’ll have to keep re-teaching you the lesson until you do.”
“And if I do get it right?”
“I’ll still fuck you again.” He strolled to the jury box and leaned back in a seat. “Get to work.”
COLLATERAL ATTACK (N.)
A LEGAL ACTION TO CHALLENGE A RULING IN ANOTHER CASE
DAMIEN
The following weekend
Elizabeth marked an “x” on my living room whiteboard as she finished up a phone call.
“Everything alright?” I asked.
“Yes.” She flipped through a stack of papers. “I did some digging for your pro bono case and found a lot of issues with the police reports.”
“You don’t need to do anything else on that,” I said. “We can’t afford to spend any resources on that case at this time.”
“Doesn’t pro bono mean free?”
“Yes, as in I’ll get to it whenever I’m free.” I picked up my mug. “Tell me about the witness preparation for the McDaniel case.”
“Have you even read over the case since I gave it to you?”
“No.”
“That was weeks ago, Damien.”
“I’m aware,” I said. “Where are we on the McDaniel case?”
She walked over to her bag and pulled out a manila folder; then she handed it to me.
“Here’s a copy,” she said. It’s time-sensitive, and Mr. Hamilton said you need to get at least one done.”
“Mr. Hamilton is not my boss, Elizabeth.” I tossed the file into my mail stack for later. “And a pro bono case will never be a high priority for me.”
She suddenly swiped everything off my desk, shattering all the glasses and sending files everywhere.
What the hell?
“You really think you’re too good to give someone a few hours of your time every week?”
“I think you’re suffering from a mental lapse,” I said. “Go home, Elizabeth.”
“No.” She shook her head, glaring at me. “You’re nothing but a corrupt and evil shill under that Armani suit.”
“It’s Valentino.”
“No matter how many times I try to convince myself that there’s a layer of good in you, that maybe, just maybe, you’re not as awful as you seem, you really are the worst type of lawyer that exists.” Her voice cracked. “This isn’t about justice or doing what’s right. It’s about your ego and how much money you can make.”
I pushed a drawer shut.
“You’re the reason why no one trusts the system,” she said. “You tamper with the scales, so that they’ll weigh on your side no matter what.”
“Elizabeth...” I stood up as she paced my floor. “I’m going to give you one last chance to get the hell out of my condo. Preferably in silence.”
“That’s the real reason why you have so much trouble sleeping.” She stepped forward. “You’ve screwed so many people over in your lifetime that it keeps you up at night.”
“Get out.”
“That’s it, isn’t it?” She moved even closer, her eyes on mine.