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“Actually, Gabriele, could you drop me off at my office, please? I have some stuff I need to work on for a client meeting tomorrow morning. I just want it done, so I don’t have to think about it once I get home.”
“Sure.”
It’s terse, but I’m still not sure why.
“I’m going to be there for a few hours. I don’t want you to have to sit around, waiting with nothing to do.”
He looks at me in the review mirror, and I can tell he’s contemplating arguing with me, but we barely know each other. He relents and nods.
“I’ll drop you off and text one of our guys to be here. He’ll drive you home.”
“That’s still someone waiting with nothing to do.”
“That’s what we pay our drivers to do.”
Now it’s my turn to contemplate arguing. But I know I won’t win, and I don’t want to start a conflict when we’ve only known each other a few hours. That won’t set our relationship on the right path.
“Thank you.”
It’s only twenty minutes later, and we’re at my office. Gabriele pulls into the parking structure and agrees to walk me to my office.
“There are still plenty of people here, Gabriele. I’m safe. I’ll be over there.” I point. “In my office.”
“Text me before you get on the elevator. I’ll make sure the driver is waiting for you outside the front door. Don’t leave the building without him.”
He pulls out his phone and holds up a photo of him and two other guys.
“The one in the center is Afonso. He’ll be here. Don’t go with anyone else. If they say they work for the Mancinellis, don’t believe them. Call me immediately. I’ll have my phone nearby.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
I do, but it’s overkill. Better to have the guard and not need him than to need him and not have him. That’s what I keep telling myself as I head into my office. It’s almost three hours later before I’m ready to leave. I finished one task and found another. It happens a lot. I’m so ready to take off these heels.
* * *
I have trial prep with a man charged with embezzlement. From what I’ve seen of the evidence the prosecution has already gathered, the man is guilty as the day is long. But everyone’s entitled to a rigorous defense and all the rights the U.S. Constitution bestows. At least, that’s my mantra many a day when I have guilty-as-sin clients. We’re going to trial next week, and it’s going to take pulling a fluffle of rabbits out of my hat to get him off. I’m hoping the prosecution will come through with a plea deal, but I’m not holding my breath. He defrauded elderly people who depend on Social Security to get by. I’m fairly certain he’s paying his legal fees with his ill-gotten gains. He came to us just before the feds seized his accounts. He paid a massive amount— a medium-sized fortune —to retain us.
Gabriele’s case is still in discovery, so it’s evidence and deposition gathering. I have a meeting with him tomorrow morning to review what we already have. My hope is the prosecution cannot gather enough evidence to go past the preliminary hearing. The burden of proof is on them, not me. If it goes to trial, I can still file a motion to dismiss.
I know the Assistant DA trying the case, and he’s a fucking asshole. I know because I dated him in law school. We went out for seven months, and he was a douche after the first three. It was like he got me on the hook, then did a one-eighty. He was a good fuck and good to study with. Beyond that, he was pompous, socially inept, and a mama’s boy. Can we still say that? He truly was. He talked to the woman at least once, if not twice a day, and she still picked out clothes for him. That was a nugget I didn’t discover until I broke up with him, but it explainedsomuch.
In the afternoon, we have a pre-trial conference with the prosecution. I’m going to advise Gabriele against attending, but I know he’ll insist. I can only imagine what he’s going to think when he meets Tyler. He won’t say a word, but I’m certain he’ll think plenty. I just need to get through today.
“Sinead?”
I look up as Ashley, my administrative assistant, knocks on my open door.
“Hey. Mr. Cohenour is here. I took him to the conference room and am about to get him a cappuccino. I mentioned I’d have to run across the street to get that. All he said was ‘great.’”
She rolls her eyes, but she’ll do it and return with a smile. She’s in college and one of the most hardworking people I’ve ever met. If she stays local for law school, the senior partners have already offered her an internship along with her regular job as my admin assistant. I don’t know how she’d juggle all that, but if anyone can, it’s her.
“Thanks, Ash. Let me gather my things.”
I make my way to the conference room with a stack of folders, girding my loins for this meeting. I’ve never had a cavity, but I have to imagine getting one filled would be better than this. I take a deep breath, grit my teeth, exhale, slap a smile on my face, and push the conference room door open.
“Good morning, Mr. Cohenour.”
“Morning, Ms. O’Malley. What’re we doing to get these charges dropped today?”
