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CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
Sadie
A knock sounded on the door to my bedroom, and I let out an anxious sigh. “What is it?”
The door opened, and Thomas peeked his head inside the room. “Are you decent?”
“Hardly ever,” I shot back with a smile. “What do you need, Thomas?”
I didn’t miss the flare of heat in his eyes, or the way he banked it quickly and pushed the door open. He stood tall in his black and gray pinstriped slacks and matching vest, looking like a proper gentleman instead of…whatever else he was to me. To the Ashby Organization. “Your lawyers are here.”
I glanced at the slender gold watch on my wrist, the one Cillian had given me just before he died. “Which ones?”
“All of them.”
Usually, it wasn’t a good sign when a gang of lawyers showed up, but they were all—for once—completely necessary. “Send in Andrew and his team first.”
Thomas nodded. “Your office?”
“Yes. Put the business lawyers in the dining room and have the housekeepers feed them. I want you in both meetings with me.”
Surprise flashed in his hazel eyes, but Thomas knew better than to comment on the request. “I’ll get them all settled and meet in your office.”
“Good. Thanks.”
“No problem. And Sadie?”
“Yes?”
He flashed a wide, knowing smile. “You’ve got this.”
I dipped my head to him as if I agreed, but at the moment, I didn’t feel nearly as confident as Thomas, which is why I wanted him in the meetings. I didn’t like feeling unsure; it wasn’t a feeling I was used to. At all. His confidence in me would build me up until I got over whatever the fuck was making me feel this way. “I do.”
The meeting with Andrew and his team took about an hour. “We need to work on a trial strategy, Sadie. We have to.” Andrew’s tone told me exactly how worried he was about this case going to trial.
“Do you know something I don’t, Andrew?”
He blinked. “No, but I win cases because I’m prepared for every eventuality.”
I smiled my agreement. “The only acceptable outcome is an acquittal, Andrew, so whatever strategy gets us there is the one I’ll approve. Got it?”
Andrew nodded, but I could see the frustration on his face. “That means a concrete alibi for you and an alternate theory.”
Jameson had four million reasons to ensure none of this ever saw the inside of a courtroom, but I couldn’t tell Andrew that. He was a lawyer, a shark of an attorney, but he still had ethics to guide him.
“Bonnie was a recovering drug addict, and Mueller was an undercover federal agent.” Thomas’ words brought silence over the room.
“Excuse me?” Andrew blinked and looked to me for confirmation.
“It’s true.”
Andrew stood with a smile on his face and fire burning in his eyes. “Okay. I’ll need to look into all of this, and I’ll get back to you soon, Sadie.”
“I look forward to it.” I had a feeling Jameson would come through before it ever came to that, but I paid Andrew Castro a hefty retainer, and I had no problem with him earning his fee.
Thomas gave me ten minutes to decompress, have some iced tea, and shift gears before he brought in the business attorneys. And the builders I’d hired to work on my changes for Lucky Lopez.
“Gentleman, thank you for trekking all the way to me for this meeting, but I’m sure you’ll find this will make us all rich. Very fucking rich.” Once I had their attention, I told them about my plans. “Not only will Lucky Lopez be something more than a hangout for undesirables, but the whole Green Zone is about to experience a glow up.”
