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“Mr. Kent—”
“Nathan, you and your father have been long-time family friends; I’ve known you since you were in diapers. Please call me Joe.”
“Okay, Joe. This is one of our most capable associates, Stacey Wainwright.”
They shake hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kent.”
He points at her. “Weren’t you the lead attorney for the Nimko trial?”
“Yes, sir, I was.”
He undoes his button on his ruffled suit jacket and sits down in the chair opposite her. “You argued one hell of a case. I was following that and rooting for you.”
I lean back in my seat, watching their exchange. He’s right, if it wasn’t for her hard work and dedication to the case we wouldn’t have stood a chance with all the evidence stacked up against us. She was the one that pulled the tiniest bit of evidence out of the bag, exonerating our client.
“Before we get started on your testimony, I’d like to propose something.” All three look at me with curious eyes. “As you’ve already stated: Stacey is a formidable lawyer. I’d like her to take lead on this.”
“Nate, I—”
“No, hear me out, Marina.” I look at Joe. “Having a female attorney on your case will work in your favor and she’s already proven herself.”
“You want me as first chair?” Stacey asks, her eyes wide.
I smile. “Absolutely. I’ll be second chair so I’ll still be working the case with you.”
“I’d be honored. But it’s not up to me.” Everyone’s head swivels toward Joe who hasn’t spoken a word.
He leans forward in his chair seriously. “I have never in all my life… excuse me, apart from swatting at my sisters when I was a child, hit a woman, Miss Wainwright.”
“That’s what we like to hear, Mr. Kent. But the evidence isn’t looking good right now,” Stacey answers placing the photos on the table in front of him of his wife’s injuries. “These injuries are consistent with abuse victims. Do you have any idea how she got them?”
He stares down at the photos blankly before shaking his head. “I haven’t seen my wife for two days, but that’s not unusual. She’s not known for being a homebody as you well know.” He looks over at me. “She takes spontaneous spa vacations and the likes with her country club friends so when she didn’t come home the first night, I had no reason to expect anything more.”
“And you have someone that can attest to the fact she hasn’t been home in over forty-eight hours?” I ask.
“Housekeepers, I guess.”
“It still doesn’t make you innocent, Mr. Kent.” My eyes widen at Stacey’s outburst. “What? I want to make sure we cover all the bases; the prosecution won’t go easy on him.”
“She’s hired,” Joe says.
“Then it’s settled. I already have my guys looking into anything to go toward a character testimonial, but Stacey will take it from here while I work on the background things. I want to go and talk to your wife’s attorney considering she’s dropped us.”
“I’ll come with you,” Marina says, standing up.
“Are you sure you’re okay to take things from here?” I ask Stacey.
“How many cases have I won?” She smirks at me and I shake my head, starting to follow Marina out. “Mr. Cole?”
I turn toward Stacey who has a grateful smile on her face. “Yeah?”
“Thank you,” she mouths.
Joe shoots me a wink. “Go and harass the bottom feeders over at Bond Co.”
I chuckle. “Oh you can count on it.”
Marina is waiting for me outside my office when I get there. “Do you really think this is your best idea giving a high-client case like Mr. Kent’s to a junior associate?”
