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I went on. “They got cocky, thought they could fight it. They were wrong. Entire leadership of the crew got nailed hard. Turns out the DA doesn’t like it when they offer a plea and it gets thrown right back in their face. Last I heard, the Gorman Boys are going to be Gorman old men when they get out—ifthey get out.”
“She’s right,” Melissa said. “Could’ve had them out in ten, but they had to push their luck.”
Jose nodded thoughtfully. “I see. Well, it sure sounds like this young woman here knows what she’s talking about.” He turned his attention to me, looking over my face in a manner that made it clear he was interested in more than my legal expertise.
“Claire’s one of the best junior attorneys we’ve got. There’s a reason why she’s in this meeting with us.”
“So, you think that I should accept the plea deal.”
“That’s my recommendation,” Melissa said. “You’re a reasonably young man. You go for the deal, you serve ten, maybe fifteen, depending on what kind of mood they’re in over at the DA’s office. Not to mention the money you’ll be saving on legal fees.”
Jose narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. “It’s not about the money. Tell me, do I look like a man who is worried about legal fees?” he scoffed, shaking his head, making it clear that it was a rhetorical question.
“Or” I said. “You could fight it.”
Melissa shot me a hard look. “Claire.”
Jose, his eyes on me, raised his finger to Melissa. “Wait a minute. I want to hear what she has to say.”
I’d already overstepped my bounds once. Not wanting to look insubordinate, I glanced over at Melissa. She considered the matter for a moment before sighing.
“Let’s hear what you’ve got on your mind.”
“You ask me, if the DA’s going to take you to the mat over something like this, a few small-time charges, that doesn’t exactly suggest that they’ve got a killer case. Moreover, if they’re going to all the trouble of taking a big fish in, their preference would normally be to nail you for something big.”
As I spoke, I couldn’t help but notice the way Jose watched me. It was as if he was simply happy to hear my voice, to watch my lips move. I was trying to be professional, but he was making it clear he wantedme to see how attracted to me he was.
“Interesting,” he said. “You have my attention.”
“The fact that they’re trying to get you on something like this... it just makes me think they’re grasping at straws.”
“So, you think that you could, ah, get me off?”
It took all the restraint I had to not roll my eyes at his very low rent double entendre.
“It’s possible. Very possible, actually. If their case has holes in it, or is the slightest bit flimsy, it might be worth taking.”
Jose nodded slowly, the sly smile on his face making it very clear that I was telling him what he wanted to hear.
“And what do you think?” He turned to Melissa.
She pursed her lips for a moment before speaking. “I mean, she’s not wrong. It’d be a risk, a huge one, in fact. You go toe-to-toe with the DA and they might throw the damn book at you and put you away for life.”
“But Claire here seems to think that I have a fighting chance to get out of this.”
“Claire’s good, and I trust her opinion. But—”
Jose raised his finger one more time. “Melissa, I respect your opinion and legal expertise. But right now, I would like a clear, concise answer to two questions.” As he spoke, a tinge of menace crept into his words. “The first is if you think there’s a chance I could get off. The other is if Claire here is good enough of an attorney to make it happen.”
Melissa let out a sigh. “Yes. To both.”
Jose smiled, leaning back and draping his arm over the back of the chair.
“That’s all I needed to hear. I will fight the case, and I want Claire to be my personal attorney in the matter.”
If I'd been in the middle of taking a sip, Jose’s words would have cause me to spit it out all over his nice suit.
“Wait, you want me towhat?”
