Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86367 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86367 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
“Morning, Mr. Bradley,” I reply, hoping my voice doesn’t crack. The bailiff walks in followed by the court reporter, who takes her seat and waits for the proceedings to start.
The door to the side opens, and Judge King walks out wearing his black robe. “All rise.” I push away from the desk and stand. I’ve been in his courtroom more than a couple of times. He’s tough, but he’s also fair.
“Please be seated,” Judge King says, and we both sit down. “Ms. Beckett.” He looks at me. “How are you doing?”
I try not to make Mr. Bradley see how much this is affecting me. “I’m good, Your Honor. Thank you for having me in on such short notice.” I put my hands on the desk instead of in front of me so he won’t see them shake. I start to feel like I’m being sent to the principal’s office after I’ve been caught cheating, except this is so much worse. “I’m here today because there’s an error in the trial brief that I filed.”
“Excuse me?” He isn’t the only one shocked. “The one I started reading?”
“It came to my attention yesterday morning when I was in the middle of trial prep.” I go on to explain to him how I somehow fucked up the brief. I ignore the need to look over at Mr. Bradley to see if he’s gloating.
“I have to say I’m very surprised by this.” He just looks down at me. “You’ve appeared in my courtroom before and your skills have been up to par.”
“I’ve corrected the error and will refile immediately once I get back to my office.”
“While this isn’t irreparable damage, the court will not forget what you’ve done here especially since you have aspirations of becoming a district attorney, Ms. Beckett.” He picks up his gavel. “Court adjourned.” His words are harsh, but I wasn’t expecting anything less. He was beyond pissed I’ve wasted his time since he started reading the brief and now has to wait for me to send the correct version.
I’m already standing when the bailiff says, “All rise.” I wait until Judge King walks out of the room before I grab my bag. Luckily, more people have entered the courtroom, so I avoid talking to Mr. Bradley. The last thing I need is for him to gloat. I walk out of the courtroom and opt to work from home today. I’m not sure I can face the office, knowing that the word will get out. News like this spreads like wildfire, and even though none of us judges the other, our pride makes it seem like that.
That night, when Stone calls me, I answer. “Hey,” I answer softly, looking at his face. His eyes look darker than I've ever seen them.
“Hey, you okay?” he asks, and I have to wonder how bad I look.
“Not really.” I don’t know why with him I open myself up like I have to no one else, not even my parents. “This has been a clusterfuck of two days.” I wipe the tear I’ve finally allowed myself to shed. “I fucked up.” My voice trembles. “So fucking bad I—”
“Gorgeous,” he says softly, and it just makes me want to be with him so much more. I can feel his arms around me. I wish I could crawl through the phone and be with him. “Shit happens.”
“I should have known better,” I admit. “I should have double-checked or even triple-checked.” He listens to me beat myself up.
“Are you done yet?” he asks, and I just look at him. “You are the smartest person I know.” He smiles. “You admitted you fucked up. Now you get back up and be the badass I know you can be.” I sniffle. “I hate that you are crying, and I can’t do anything about it.”
“It’s okay, you have to be a hotshot hockey player.” I roll my eyes, and by the end of the phone call, I tell myself that tomorrow is a new day.
I go all day with my head focused on my opening statement, only getting home a bit after nine o’clock to a huge teddy bear at my front door with a big blue card in the middle. I open the card to see the words.
Gorgeous,
I’m sorry I can’t be there to hug you, but he can take my place for now.
SR
I smile before dragging it into the apartment and straight to my bedroom. For the rest of the week I’m so focused on the case I don’t even know what day it is. With Stone traveling in Canada and then coming home, our conversations have been all through text.
The day of the trial, I wake up with a text from him.
SR: Go and show them what you’re made of.
I smile, getting dressed in a blue pantsuit before heading down to the courthouse. The nerves hit me right away in my stomach. I get to the courtroom and walk in, my head in a different mindset than the last time I was here. I walk over to my table and pull out my chair, sitting down. I open my bag, taking out my folders and placing them all in the order with the witnesses who will be called. I look over to see Mr. Bradley arrive with his client, Robert Phillips. He smirks at me as he takes his seat next to Mr. Bradley.