Page 116 of The Monster and the Masochist

I laughed, ambling over to my wine fridge to pour myself a glass of pinot grigio.

“And beans,” I added, splashing a few ounces of the bright golden wine into my glass before taking a deep sip.

Ahhh. Just what I needed.

I stood there for a moment with my wine, watching Theo scurry around our kitchen as she made a delicious home-cooked meal for us to share, and I was hit with this bone-deep sense of contentment.

Like maybe… this is what life was supposed to be like.

Maybe it was always meant to be like this, but I’d never known because I’d never had anything like this before.

If this was what life was, it was perfect.

Gimme fourteen of ‘em.

Just then, my phone chimed.

I looked down and flinched when I saw it was Nolan, but the preview made it clear this wasn’t a personal message, so I opened it.

Nolan:

We have a problem. Did you give a statement today about the case?

Cass:

Yeah. I just confirmed we were defending Reverend Fuck Face. I didn’t get into details.

Nolan:

Well, you’re on channel four. And… I don’t think you’re going to like it.

I frowned.

What the fuck?

Putting my wine down, I moved to the living room and flicked on the TV.

Theo glanced over at me from where she was now spooning freshly boiled noodles into a couple of white ceramic bowls.

“Everything okay?” she asked, and I shrugged.

“I don’t know. Nolan just messaged me to tell me I was on the news.”

Switching to channel four, I swirled my wine as I watched, and I almost immediately understood why Nolan had felt the need to warn me about this segment.

“Cassandra Walker, who recently went viral online for her work on the viral Steele case, gave a statement today confirming that she is, in fact, one of the lead defense attorneys for Reverend Elias Sterling.”

The segment cut from the news anchor to a clip of me walking out of my firm’s building, looking stony-faced and annoyed as reporters pushed microphones in my face.

The clip cut back to the anchor as she continued.

“While Walker has developed an overnight fanbase due to her quick wit and stone-cold delivery in the publicly televised Steele trial, fans are shocked to learn that this known LGBTQ+ advocate would take on a case like Sterling’s.”

“Recent sexual assault allegations against Sterling have put his Evangelical megachurch, The Restoration House, under investigation, as several young girls have claimed that Sterling used his position of power and religious influence to manipulate minors into sexually compromising situations.”

A picture of Sterling speaking passionately on stage to a massive crowd in what I assumed was his ‘church’ was plastered on screen as the news anchor continued to detail the reverend’s background.

Suddenly, there was a CRASH.