AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lidia walked inside the break room, keeping me from saying what I wanted to say but didn’t need to. Amelia must have been grateful for the distraction because she quickly hopped up from her seat and told me she’d talk to me later.
A part of me was grateful for the distraction too. This was a dangerous path for us to take. For me to take, at least. She didn’t seem to be bothered physically by our conversation at all. I, on the other hand, had a hard dick that Iwishedshe could have taken care of.
As I gave my body time to calm down from thoughts of pleasuring Milli, I checked my email on my phone. Because my hours could run long depending on what I was working on, I opted to work from home as much as I possibly could in between trials. When I needed to account for billable hours, I worked at the office. Otherwise, I took care of business at home to ensure I’d be there if and when my son needed me.
When I first started working at HGP2there were times I’d get so caught up in my work I wouldn’t make it home until nine or ten o’clock in the evening. By then, AJ would be asleep. I never wanted a job to come between us and keep me from being a present father, no matter how well it paid. I felt like I had a pretty good handle on balancing work and being a father. My romantic life was the only part of my life that seemed to suffer, which was why what Taylor and I shared worked so well.
She didn’t give me a hard time about being consistent, taking her on dates weekly, or anything like that. We spent time together when we wanted and had sex when we needed.
I continued to check emails for a few minutes longer before Gloria made her way into the breakroom in search of me. Relief washed over her face as she rushed in my direction.
“I’m so glad you’re still here. Mrs. Ingram is here, and she says it’s urgent. I can tell she’s been crying.”
Standing, I told her to lead the way. Stacy Ingram was the wife of Eric Ingram, a billion-dollar fast fashion mogul that I’d locked in as a client in the most unexpected way. Amelia had tickets to a fashion show, and we went. There was a situation with one of his vendors and he was having trouble getting around the contract they’d signed. Without knowing who he was, I offered to take a look, and it took me hardly any time to resolve the issue. As thanks, he had a Rolex delivered to my office.
That caused me to look up his name, and that’s when I realized who he was. He’d told me he was simply the man over the event for the evening, not the founder of the brand, and I could understand his desire to conceal his identity. With the money he made, Eric kept a low profile, keeping his face off his brand and using a fake name to handle business. I invited him to dinner, and that ended with me bringing him on as a client.
Over the last three years of him having me on retainer, the bulk of his issues had been small lawsuits from people accusing him of stealing their designs, him trying to sue people for stealing his designs, or looking over contracts for brand deals and sponsorships.
Contract law was my favorite part of working with clients like Eric. Ideally, I’d practice contract or entertainment law full-time. Contract law was tedious, but it didn’t require me to be chained to my office here all the time. I could work from literally anywhere and have more freedom. Contract law, here at least, meant big billable hours. If I worked for myself, I’d work for a fee instead to allow myself more flexibility. That was one of the downsides of working with a large firm. There was opportunity to make great money, but you often had to sacrifice your time to get it.
When I made it to my office, Stacy was there, pacing. She sniffled and wiped her nose with a shake of her head.
“Mrs. Ingram,” I called, gaining her attention.
“Attorney Williams. I’m so sorry to just drop by like this but I need your help.”
“Of course.” I closed the door to give us some privacy and motioned for her to have a seat on the burgundy leather couch on the back wall of my office. “How can I help?”
“Eric was arrested last night. Well, around three this morning. I’ve been making calls like crazy to get him out myself but I’m not making any progress.”
“I’m glad you came to me since this is what I’m here for. Do you have an idea of what he was arrested for?”
Chin trembling, her eyes shifted. “Rape.”
I kept my expression blank as I nodded. I would get Eric out, but if he was guilty of what he was accused of, I would not be defending him. While I believed everyone deserved a fair trial and day in court, there were some offenses no amount of money would make me defend.
I shared with Stacy that I would do all I could to get him out as quickly as possible, making sure my assistant kept her in the loop, and that calmed her down before she left. I asked my floor assistant, Finola, to search for Eric’s affidavit and bond information. All I could do was hope Eric was innocent. Until I spoke with him, I’d defend him as if he was.
Eight
Amelia
The Next Day
My eyes were almost crossed as I looked over the deposition transcript for an upcoming case. With Mecca and I paving the way into class-action lawsuits and civil law, we were getting more opportunities to represent groups of people. I’d given him a young lady’s information a couple of months ago that I believed would lead to a class-action suit. She’d lost her baby and believed it could have been avoided if her OB/GYN had been more present and concerned. For several visits, and even with calls in between, Katie complained about pain and discomfort that her doctor downplayed.
Mecca accepted the case, but as I suspected, Katie wasn’t the only one who was a victim of this doctor’s negligence. So far, there were twenty-eight women on the lawsuit. Because I didn’t want to overwhelm Mecca, I offered to be his second chair. If things kept progressing like this for us, not only would he be partner soon, but I’d be his right-hand woman and we’d need our own team of associates.
He made his way back into my office and placed our food on top of my desk. As much as I hated missing dinner with my family, I had a good pace and didn’t want to stop just yet. I was on part two of the deposition, which was two hundred and twenty pages.
“Thanks,” I mumbled, opening the to-go box. I requested something light and easy to eat so it wouldn’t tire me out. He’d done good with the sushi, dumplings, and fried shrimp with a creamy, spicy sauce.
“Why don’t you call it a night, Milli? I know Lis wants you home.”
All I could do was sigh as I popped a shrimp into my mouth. That was true. Bigger cases meant less time at home. Though my baby was understanding, she was also expressive. Even when her words didn’t say how she felt, her face did. Every time I told her I had to work late and saw the sadness that covered her face, I considered saying to hell with my career goals. Working a standard nine-to-five job so I could spend more time with her sounded better and better with each day that went by. The only thing that kept me from making that decision was knowing I was doing some good in this world—this city.
“I really want to, but if I don’t go through this tonight, I won’t be able to go home to her early tomorrow.”
