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“I love you,” I croaked, emotion still clogging my throat.
The solemn look in his eye disappeared as his face split wide into a grin. “I love hearing that, even if you do sound like Kermit the Frog.”
I laughed, grateful for his humor, and slapped his arm. “If I’m Kermit, that must make you Miss Piggy.”
“Oh, Kermit,” he said in a voice that was supposed to sound like the pink diva, but instead sounded more like a dying cat. “Let’s go.”
I chuckled and took the hand he was offering. “Only if you promise to never talk like that again.”
The attorney’s receptionist ushered us into a conference room and offered us water or coffee, which I declined. I didn’t think it would be a wise idea to put anything on a stomach that was trying its best to do a Simone Biles floor routine.
I’d never met the man before, but Lawson had worked with him on some cases in the past and assured me the man was a shark among piranhas, whatever that meant. All I knew was that if Lawson trusted him, then I did as well.
When he came in, I stood up and wiped my clammy palms on my skirt before taking the beefy hand he’d offered. He wasn’t anything like I was expecting. Mainly because he was about thirty years younger than I’d envisioned and suddenly I was even more nervous than I’d been before walking in here. How was this guy who couldn’t be much older than me going to save my medical license?
“Miss Kelley, nice to meet you. I’ve actually heard a thing or two about you from Lawson here. Sorry that we’re meeting on these terms, but still nice to finally put a face with a name.” He pumped my hand one more time and then released his grip on my fingers and turned to where Lawson stood beside me.
I glanced over, wishing I could ask him what he’d said to this man about me in the past, but it wasn’t the time for that. I tried to file it away for later, but my brain was all over the place the last few days, I knew it would be a miracle if I remembered my own name later tonight.
“Wheeler,” Lawson addressed him, sticking his own hand out. “I’d say it was good to see you again, but really, I would’ve rather gone another few years of not seeing your ugly mug if it meant we weren’t in this situation in the first place.”
I didn’t think his “mug” was that ugly, but I kept that tidbit of information to myself.
Mr. Wheeler nodded in agreement and then gestured to the chairs we’d stood from. “Okay then, let’s get straight to it.”
I sucked in a breath and slid back into my seat at the same time Lawson did. Without hesitation, Lawson grasped my hand, locking his fingers with mine, and gave me a squeeze. The gesture did little to reassure me that things were going to be okay, but I squeezed his fingers back in acknowledgement and turned my attention to the man who was slated to defend me.
He opened a file folder and began shuffling through the papers inside, his brow creasing every now and again as he read over whatever documents he had.
“Well, Miss Kelley.” He paused.
I took the opportunity to say, “Please, call me Piper.”
He nodded and continued, “Now, I’m going to be honest with you here. The evidence they have against you is pretty damning.”
I sucked in sharply, surprised the State Board of Medical Examiners had any evidence at all. I hadn’t done anything wrong for there to even be evidence.
“What kind of evidence are we talking about?” Lawson asked, releasing my hand and leaning forward, resting his forearms on the table.
Mr. Wheeler shuffled some papers and when he found the one he was looking for he cleared his throat. He pushed his thick-rimmed glasses up on his face. “Let’s see here. Nearly one hundred prescriptions were written for Oxycontin in the last six months to…ah, six people.”
The words that came out of his mouth hit me in the stomach like a physical blow. “That’s impossible,” I breathed. The sheer numbers of pills I had been accused of dispensing was mind-boggling and it was everything I could do to keep from vomiting on the table in front of me.
I wished I had taken up the receptionist’s offer of water when Lawson snapped, “No fucking way.”
Mr. Wheeler’s head snapped up, his eyes focusing on Lawson beside me as he continued his rant. “Piper hasn’t even been in the state for the last four months. How was she writing prescriptions for people when she was in Philadelphia treating kids at a children’s hospital?”
The attorney set the paper down on the table and pulled his glasses from his face. “I’m not saying she’s guilty”—he turned his laser beam gaze to me and said—“but, Ms. Kelley—Piper, if you did in fact write these prescriptions, you’ve got to be up-front with me now so I know how to further pursue this case.” His gaze was intense, but his eyes were soft and there was a hint of genuine concern in them.
I didn’t even have a chance to open my mouth to respond before Lawson was on his feet, the chair he’d been sitting in scraping across the hardwood floor. He slammed both hands down on the glossy conference table, the smacking noise making me jump, and leaned forward. “She did not do this. And that is the last time I’m going to hear those words come out of your mouth again. You wanna know how you pursue this case? You do it like she’s innocent and has been set the fuck up. Because, that’s the truth. The only truth.”
His shoulders were heaving with the exertion of his rant and I reached out a tentative hand in his direction. My fingers were trembling as I placed them over one of his hands and whispered, “Lawson.”
When his head whipped toward mine, I saw the tic of his jaw and decided not to say anything more.
“Reed, I’m not accusing your friend here of this,” Wheeler said, his voice even. “And with attorney client privilege, I could never divulge wh
at was discussed here today. But—”
