Almost Doesn't Count

by Angela Winters

  He was leaning in to kiss her, but Billie wasn’t having it. She pushed against him with all the might her petite frame could manage. He didn’t budge, but the force of her push made her back away. She backed into something.

  Or someone.

  “Evening, Billie.”

  Billie swung around to come face-to-face with Ricky Williams. He was smiling at her in a way that told her he knew that she was attracted to him so there was no point in pretending.

  “No,” she protested. “This can’t happen. You’re my client.”

  “You can’t deny what you feel,” he said.

  “I don’t even know you,” she insisted. “Just because you look good doesn’t mean I want you.”

  “Well,” he said, seeming unfazed by her rejection. “Let’s see if this makes you want me.”

  His face leaned in to her as his eyes closed.

  Billie’s eyes shot open as she sat up, startled, in her bed. She felt her heart beating ten million times a second. She looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was three in the morning and everything around her was pitch black. She was at home and in bed, not on a yacht in the Potomac. It took her a few seconds to get her wits about her, but once she had, things weren’t any better. What was her dream . . . no, her nightmare, trying to tell her?

  “To hell with all men,” she said. “I just don’t need this.”

  “Sherise!” Billie snapped her fingers in front of her friend’s face twice.

  Sherise snapped out of her mental vacation and came back to the present. She was sitting in the bar area of Circa in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of DC, catching an after-dinner drink with the girls, but her mind had been a million miles away.

  “What?” she asked.

  “What is wrong with you?” Erica asked, sitting across from her at the small table. “Billie just mentioned that she’s meeting Porter . . . alone, and you have nothing to say?”

  “I didn’t hear that,” she said. “Why would you do that?”

  Billie knew her lack of reaction was too good to be true.

  “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “He can’t seduce me any longer. I am so over him. When I dropped Tara off at his place, he asked if we could talk, but I just drove off.”

  “I have faith in you,” Erica said, her voice holding just a hint of uncertainty.

  “I don’t,” Sherise countered. “There’s nothing you have to say to that man you can’t say over the phone.”

  “Tara considering being sexually active is not really phone conversation,” Billie said.

  “Please tell me you talked her out of it,” Erica said. “She’s just a baby.”

  “She isn’t,” Billie said. “That’s the point. To us, she seems like one, but today, their hormones are crazy and their bodies are so developed, I just . . .”

  “It’s in a public place right?” Sherise asked. “Do you need me to come with?”

  “Stop it,” Billie ordered. “I’m not under his spell anymore. I’ve moved on.”

  “Have you though?” Erica asked. “I’m not getting any fireworks vibe from . . . what’s his name?”

  “Robert,” Sherise answered for her, “and he’s perfect for you. You better cultivate that shit.”

  Billie was suddenly uncomfortable, even though she shouldn’t be with her girls. “I don’t know about that.”

  Sherise studied her. “Don’t screw this up, Billie. He’s a good catch.”

  “Have you even kissed him?” Erica asked.

  Billie nodded. “It was okay, but I think . . . I have to tell you guys something and you can’t judge me, okay?”

  Both girls leaned in for what they assumed would be juicy news. Billie told them about her disturbing dream.

  Sherise rolled her eyes. “You just need to get over that shit right now. It doesn’t mean anything.”

  “Dreams can tell us a lot about how we feel,” Erica said.

  “Look who suddenly turned into Oprah,” Sherise said. “Of course you want to encourage this. You date beneath you, why not encourage Billie to do the same.”

  “He’s not beneath her,” Erica said. “And Terrell is not—”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Billie said. “Erica is right. He isn’t beneath me. He’s done quite well with his life.”

  “He has a record, doesn’t he?” Sherise asked. Upon seeing Billie’s eyes diverted, she said, “For fuck’s sake, Billie.”

  “Really?” Erica cringed. “I don’t know about that, Billie.”

  Sherise reacted. “The only reason Terrell doesn’t have a record as long as my arm is because he’s just smart enough to not get caught.”

  “I will throw this drink in your face,” Erica warned, lifting her cosmo. “Besides, this isn’t about Terrell. This is about Billie and Ricky.”

  “There is no Billie and Ricky,” Billie said. “It was just a dream. And he sort of invited me to a concert.”

  “He asked you out?” Sherise asked. “Fire him as a client. Or give him to someone else.”

  “I am not giving up my first pro bono case,” Billie said. “I don’t know if it was really a date.”

  “Did you say yes?” Erica asked.

  “No. This is what I’m trying to tell you. I can’t date him. It’s against the rules.”

  “Good.” Sherise finished her Americano cocktail. “Then it’s settled. Back on Robert. When are you gonna sleep with him?”

  “Can we not go there?” Billie asked.

  “Just do it,” she urged. “Take it for a test drive and see if you like it.”

  “Stop trying to live out your ho life through other people,” Erica said before looking at Billie. “I think the dream is telling you that you don’t want Robert.”

  “The dream isn’t telling you shit.” Sherise sighed impatiently. “It’s just a fucking dream. If you screw up this thing with Robert, you’ll have to answer to me.”

  “Who the fuck are you?” Erica asked. “And why are you being such a raging bitch tonight?”

  “Have we met?” Sherise asked. “I’m always a raging bitch.”

  “You’re being a bit more of one tonight,” Billie said. She was eager to get the attention of the group off her. “What’s going on with you?”

  “Nothing.” Sherise opened up her purse on her lap, pretending to be busy looking for something.

  This was a lose-lose situation for her. Yes, she should be able to confide everything in her girls, but her episode with Jonah changed the dynamic. They knew she was a cheater now, even if they thought she cheated only once. With Billie’s experience as a cheated-on spouse and Erica’s constant self-righteous judgment, Sherise didn’t feel comfortable telling them she thought Justin was cheating, even though it was pretty much all she was thinking about. She had to think of something quick.

  “I’m just nervous,” she said. “I’m meeting with Jerry Northman and his team tomorrow night and I might be working for his presidential campaign.”

  “What?” Billie looked shocked. “What is this about? A job?”

  Sherise updated them on her conversations with LaKeisha.

  “What does Justin think?” Billie asked.

  “He . . . um . . .” Sherise went back to her purse.

  “You haven’t told him, have you?” Erica asked. “Mmm.”

  “Stop it,” Sherise scolded her. “You don’t know the situation.”

  “That you’re keeping secrets from your husband,” Erica said. “Is that not the situation?”

  “Erica,” Billie warned.

  While Sherise was the one to usually start their fights, Erica was in one of her judgmental moods and that only made things worse. Billie realized she was going to have to be the peacemaker . . . again.

  “Justin knows I’m unhappy being a stay-at-home mom,” Sherise said. “He knows that I might want to do something more.”

  “Last I heard, he knew you were trying to get pregnant,” Billie said. “How does this work together?”

  “Does he
even know you’re going to meet Northman?” Erica asked.

  “I want to see how this meeting goes first,” Sherise said. “Then I’ll tell him, if it’s even necessary.”

  “You two really need to go to counseling,” Billie said.

  “You’re overreacting,” Sherise said.

  “What about your family plans?” Billie asked.

  “Like I can’t have a kid after the election is over next year? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

  “It’s a mistake,” Erica said. “There was a very specific reason you quit your job to focus on—”

  “Don’t you say another word!” Sherise pointed at her. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. You’ve never even been married. You don’t know how this goes.”

  “Neither do you, apparently,” Erica spat back.

  “Okay!” Billie, sitting between the two, placed her hand on Sherise’s arm when it looked like Sherise was about to stand up. “Calm down.”

  “Fine,” Erica said. “I don’t care. Go ahead and ruin your marriage for yet another job.”

  “My marriage is fine!” Sherise realized how loud she had yelled that when both girls’ eyes widened in response.

  Her stomach was tight as knots as she looked around. The couple at the next table had turned to look at her as well.

  “Dammit.” She leaned back in her chair, feeling herself start to get too emotional. “Fuck you, Erica.”

  “I’m sorry.” Erica was genuinely apologetic after seeing how upset she’d made her.

  The table was silent for a few moments as Sherise regained her composure.

  “I know I have to tell him, and I will after tomorrow night.” She grabbed her purse and stood up. “I have to go. The babysitter can only stay until eight tonight. I’ll talk to you guys later.”

  “I said I was sorry,” Erica repeated.

  “ ’Night,” was Sherise’s only response before heading off.

  “What was that?” Erica asked.

  “Something is seriously wrong there,” Billie said. “And you were just making it worse.”

  “I didn’t mean that,” Erica said. “I do care about her marriage. I love Cady and I love her. But something is wrong with that girl. She’s gonna mess it all up.”

  Billie didn’t want to agree with Erica, but she was worried, too. She wondered if Sherise’s mistakes were finally going to catch up to her. She had no doubt the girl would land on her feet no matter what, but she didn’t want to see her marriage fall apart.

  “We have to get to the truth,” she said. “Whether she wants us to or not.”

  7

  Billie took a deep breath before she put her hand on the door to the small conference room and opened it. She was already doubting herself. She was doing a good job on this case, and one stupid little dream shouldn’t take her off her game. She was too good a lawyer for that and she knew it.

  She had never been physically attracted to a client before, but she had to stay focused. This would be the first time she encountered Ricky since the concert invite. She never responded to the text, but did send him an e-mail reminder of their scheduled meeting today. He never responded, but he was here, waiting.

  As soon as she entered the room, she was presented with Ricky’s back to her. He was sitting at the head of the small conference table, looking down in front of him. No reaction. She closed the door behind her and still no reaction. She swallowed hard and walked toward the table.

  “Hello, Mr. Williams,” she said in the most polite professional way she could manage.

  “Hello, Ms. Carter.” His voice sounded distant, but polite enough that she couldn’t tell if he was angry.

  She sat down two seats from him and looked at him with a smile pasted on her face. He was barely smiling, and after making eye contact with her, he looked down at the folder on the table in front of him.

  “How are you doing today?” she asked, hearing her voice seem a little high.

  “I’m alright.” He shrugged. “I’ve heard you have some news for me.”

  “We’re making some progress.” She was grateful to get down to business as she opened the folder in front of her and began discussing the case.

  This wasn’t working. Billie was trying to focus on the case as she shared her progress with him, but he was making it hard. He was looking at her, no, staring at her with an indescribable expression on his face. She couldn’t tell if he was angry or not, and refused to look at him long enough to figure it out. She was only a few minutes into her update when he stopped her cold.

  “Billie.”

  Looking down at her notes, she could tell from the tone of his voice that he was irritated. Then she heard him sigh and she finally looked up. His face relayed a growing impatience.

  “What’s going on here?” he asked.

  “This is good news,” Billie answered, trying to appear oblivious to what he was really referring to.

  He wasn’t buying it. “I’m not talking about this case and you know it. There’s, like, some kind of awkward wall made of icy bricks between us all of the sudden and I think I know why.”

  Billie fidgeted nervously and she maintained her posture. “I’m sorry if you feel I’m being cold to you. I’m only trying to help—”

  “It’s about the concert, isn’t it?” he asked, leaning forward.

  Why was he moving closer to her? So she could get a better look at those seductive dark eyes of his?

  “What concert?” she asked, adding, “Look, I think we should just talk about what our next steps are and—”

  “I was asking you out for a date and that was my fault,” he said. “I shouldn’t have done that. Clearly you aren’t interested in me that way and—”

  “It’s not personal,” she interrupted. While it would have probably been best for Ricky to maintain his current assumption, Billie felt compelled to clarify, even though it wasn’t in her best interest to do so.

  “You didn’t respond,” he said. “I can take a hint.”

  “I would have loved to have gone,” she said, stuttering through her words. “It’s just . . . You’re my client. I can’t get involved with you while we’re on this case.”

  Ricky’s brows raised and he smiled a bit. “So you were interested?”

  Billie smiled nervously like she was sixteen. “What I meant was that I was interested in going to the concert with you, I just . . . We have to keep this relationship professional.”

  “Because it’s the smart thing to do or because we have to?”

  “We have to,” she insisted. “And it’s the smart thing to do.”

  He leaned back in his seat, looking at her with a mischievous grin on his face. “You missed a great set, girl. The brother singing sounded more like Otis than anyone I’ve ever heard.”

  “So you’ve seen many Otis Redding impersonators, huh?” she asked, laughing.

  “I’ve seen a few. I told you I’m a fan. I thought you said you were, too.”

  “I am. I just didn’t know people were going around covering the man.”

  “Well, now you know.” He playfully smacked his hand on the table with a laugh.

  George Credin did not knock before opening the door to the conference room, and when Billie turned to him, the expression on his olive-skinned young face seemed confused as to why they were laughing. It made her uncomfortable.

  “Sorry to interrupt,” he said as he cautiously approached her. He reached out his rail-thin arm and handed a piece of folded paper to her. “You wanted this as soon as I could get it.”

  “Thank you.” Billie took the paper. “Mr. Williams, this is George, one of our paralegals. George, Mr. Williams is a client.”

  Billie gritted her teeth as Ricky smiled in a way that made it clear he knew she was trying to cover by being so professional. Did he think this was funny? This was her professional reputation. George worked with all the lawyers in her practice, including the partners. If he went back and told everyone that
it looked to him like Billie was flirting with a client, she would have trouble.

  The men greeted each other briefly before George looked at Billie, turned, and left.

  “Nice save there,” Ricky said.

  “It wasn’t a save,” Billie answered back. “I’m a professional and that is how we should—”

  She was stopped in her tracks by what she saw on the piece of paper George had given her.

  “What is it?” Ricky asked, looking concerned. “Is it my case?”

  “Yes.” Billie looked up at him. “It’s bad news and good news.”

  “Bad news first,” he said.

  “We tracked down the time frame for the nine-one-one calls reporting you, so we can get a step closer to finding out if Sanders Realty is behind it.”

  “That is . . . um, good news, right?”

  “There were four calls made in the span of two weeks and three of them are missing.”

  “How can they be missing?”

  Billie shook her head. “That they’re missing is the bad news. Only someone with a lot of influence could do this. This is extremely difficult to do, Ricky. Sanders Realty couldn’t do this. Someone in the DC government has to be involved.”

  “I knew it.” He stood up from his chair and placed his hands on his hips. “I knew it. Those motherfuckers paid someone off to get rid of those calls. I bet they did it as soon as they found out your firm was working on the case.”

  “We don’t know that yet.” Billie stuffed the paper in the folder and closed it. “I have a lot of work to do, but this could work in our favor.”

  Ricky nodded. “I knew this was the best decision I made the second you walked in that door. I can tell from the look on your face, you’re gonna get to the bottom of this.”

  “I’m not a detective.” Billie was flattered by his confidence. “But the firm hires them to look into things like this. It might take a little while, but I’m going to get right on it. Do you mind if I cut our meeting short?”

  When she stood up, he took a step forward, and Billie realized that she was only a foot away from him.

  “As much as I enjoy spending time with you,” he said flirtatiously, “I want you to get on this now, too.”