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“He can’t fire me because I quit.”
“Listen, you need to put your feelings aside and grow up. This man pays you to do a job. Whether you like what he did or not, it’s your legal obligation as his attorney to give him the best defense possible.”
“And it’s also my legal obligation to recuse myself from any case I believe I can’t handle or won’t be able to represent my client fairly on. I don’t care what you say, I’m dropping him as a client. And if you had any sense, you’d want him away from this firm before other people find out and start questioning us for being connected to him.”
“Okay, that’s enough.” Violet stepped between us, gently pushing us both back. “I agree that we need to keep Eric around because he’s a billion-dollar client.” I shook my head in disagreement. All money wasn’t good money. Just seconds ago, I thought Violet and I were on the same page about that. “But I also agree that if we keep this case and represent Eric, that can potentially cause us to lose more clients—especially women. So we need to decide what’s going to cause the least amount of loss, keeping him or cutting him.”
“Regardless of what you decide, I want nothing to do with him,” I told her.
“And I respect that. But you need to be prepared to bring in a client to replace those billable hours immediately. More than one client actually.”
I agreed but really didn’t give a damn about that shit. That was all they cared about here—billable hours and bonuses. I could respect it because that’s what big partner firms like this one thrived off. And as managing partner, Violet had to do what was best for all parties involved. I’d do my job and get a couple of new clients in to make up for what I was about to lose, and even if I couldn’t, I’d leave HGP2without a second thought if it meant maintaining my values, integrity, and self-respect.
My feet were on autopilot as I charged toward Amelia’s office only to find it empty. I pulled my phone out to call her. She answered after the third ring with, “Hello?” Her voice was already low and raspy, but it sounded even raspier like she was asleep.
“Were you sleep? Are you sick?”
Now, she was my main concern as I headed down the hall back to my office in case I needed to shut everything down for the day to go and see about my girl.
“Yes and no.” She giggled, and that calmed me down some. “I came home after court this morning and me and Lis fell asleep.”
“Is she okay?”
“She’s better.” Amelia sighed. “It’s a long story.”
“I got time.”
I listened as she told me about what happened with Alisia at school yesterday and how she went up to the school this morning before court to set her teacher and every child in that math class straight. I didn’t have to know what she said to believe she’d put the fear of God in them. Amelia was soft-spoken and sweet as pie, but when she went into Mama Bear mode, no one was safe. After court, she checked Alisia out of school early so they could spend some more time together. Apparently, they ate lunch together before falling asleep.
“Why didn’t you tell me about what happened yesterday?”
“I didn’t want to burden you. I knew you were busy getting ready for this big case.”
“Anything that has to do with you and Alisia is never a burden, and I’m not worried about that case anymore. I’m firing Eric as a client.”
She gasped. “Oh no. So he did it?”
“He did.”
“Damn. Well… you’re doing the right thing.”
“I know that in my heart. I just hate that your brother has Violet questioning if he should leave the firm altogether.”
“Unfortunately, I’m not surprised. Jeremy cares about cash more than character. I believe Violet will make the right decision, though.”
We talked for a few minutes more as I gathered my things to leave for the day. Mentally, I was drained. I told her to call me if they needed anything before heading out. It was probably best if I went home and locked myself inside for the day. Otherwise, I’d end up at Cheryl’s front door, letting her know what Eric had been up to. She’d find out soon enough. All I could do was hope Mia was able to heal from this and not be traumatized by it for the rest of her life.
Twelve
Amelia
That Weekend
Early November
I was glad Amaru offered to be here for me when Darron said goodbye to Alisia. She expressed her sadness over him no longer being in her life, but that she was happy about the fun life she was sure he’d have in New York. When she told him she thought he was going to be her new dad, he got misty-eyed. I could see the remorse as he apologized and hugged her, and that made me soften toward him. In my mind, I knew Darron wasn’t intentionally trying to hurt me and my child, but my heart didn’t want to listen to reason. Guilt had been consuming me about this moment.
Even with Amaru’s words of wisdom, I still felt really bad about bringing Darron into my daughter’s life and having him leave like this. It probably wouldn’t have felt so bad if there weren’t other things going on with Alisia at school. When he was done talking to her, she gave him one last hug before leaving the adults in the room. Mama was already waiting to help her decompress in her bedroom. I didn’t want to put my feelings on her, so I was grateful for Mama holding space until I was composed and could speak with her.
