Rose felt strong. Perhaps even stronger than she had thought she would in that moment. But she was ready to try living as just herself. No boyfriend, no husband, no Saturday night fling; Rose was going to go it alone for a bit and see just how much she could manage to survive.
She knew her emotions were going to be raw. Rose knew she hadn’t dealt with feelings and thoughts that she needed to for many years. She was a smart woman and very clearly understood that she had been using sex as a cop out for not dealing with life. And now was the time that she was going to start giving life a true shot. She was going raw and bare without her coping mechanisms, and Rose was ready.
“I’m cool. No worries here. You take some time for yourself and make sure you think of me first when you decide to come back up for air.”
“Thanks, Bronx.”
“We are friends, remember. I only want what’s best for you.”
“I’ll see you at work. Remember we have that interview with the president’s wife this morning.”
“Oh, yeah, the sugar baby of the White House,” Bronx joked.
It was true, though, or at least Rose thought it was. There had been lots of press and tabloids who reported that Kayla Storm had come from a family who had some money, but not enough to live luxuriously. There had been stories about Kayla and Matthew flying on private jets together when she had only worked in his office a few months. It all seemed too convenient for Rose; she thought for sure something sinister was going on with Kayla, or Matthew, or both of them.
“See you then.”
“Rose, I’m glad we can still be friends, and I’m sorry if I pushed you too hard. Do you think you’ll need a lot of time alone? Could we talk more later about this all? Would it help if I told my aunt the truth?”
Rose decided not to answer the questions Bronx was posing in his statement. He was hurting, and she needed to give him the space to have those feelings. There would be plenty of time for talking later; they did work in the same office together. For the time being, Rose was going to let things be.
“I’ll see you at work,” she said kindly.
“Alright, see you in the meeting.”
Rose was relieved when she hung up the phone. Her little break up with Bronx had gone more smoothly than any breakup in her entire life. She took the time to swing by her favorite coffee shop, and when she finally arrived at work, she felt a huge weight lifted from her. It was going to be a good day. She was going to start making herself a priority and not worry about everyone else. Rose knew she had to get herself happy on her own, and her argument with Noah had been just what she needed to refocus herself. Life was way too short, and Rose knew that better than most people; she was focused and determined not to waste her life any longer.
Chapter 25
Rose was nervous as she walked into the meeting with Michaela Storm. Kayla was the First Lady of the United States, and yet she was about the same age as Rose was. It was about to be an odd interaction, for sure. But Rose was also nervous to see both Noah and Bronx again. Rose had always struggled to get along with other women when she thought they weren’t being truthful, and she certainly didn’t think Mrs. Storm had told the firm everything they needed to know about the mess of a legal situation she had gotten herself in.
She’d had a deep conversation, argument, or whatever it had been with Noah the night before, but seeing him seemed to be the most anxiety provoking, though. Although it had ended well, and they both seemed to have gotten a lot out on the table, Rose still wasn’t really sure how Noah would be feeling that morning. She hoped that they could go back to the way things were, but until she actually saw him and talked to him, she just wasn’t sure.
Everything in her life seemed rather unsure in recent days, and that was driving Rose to rethink the decisions she was making. She was feeling more confident in her position at the firm and wanted to take on more responsibility and work, yet she knew her personal life was quickly turning into a disaster. Hopefully, her decision to break things off with Bronx would at least calm her personal life down a little bit.
Then there was Bronx; Rose had literally just broken things off with him over the telephone that morning. He seemed understanding of her and why she wanted to take some space, but she still had a lot of anticipation over what it would be like to work with him after their breakup. Sure, they weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend, but Rose knew that Bronx had feelings for her, and she knew he wanted to be with her and not broken up.
She took in a deep breath and opened the door to the conference room. Everyone fell silent as she made her way to a spot at the table. Rose did her best to smile and look at Noah and then over at Bronx. No matter what was going on with her, she was still going to have to work with them, so she needed to get along with them both.
“Thank you guys so much for all the work you’ve done on my case. I think the criminal aspect of the case is wrapping up, and I’m hopeful I’ll be able to take over as head of my non-profit organization again very soon,” the first lady said.
Rose felt herself cringe as Kayla Storm talked. There was something off with the way she addressed the legal situation. There were too many details missing, and Rose couldn’t stand to listen to the half-truth that was being laid out for them.
“Any time. We are more than happy to work with you on any legal issues that arise. Do you already have a firm on retainer?” Noah asked.
“Yes, I do. But when my contract is up with them, I certainly will give your firm an opportunity to pitch your services to my husband and me.”
There was something about Kayla Storm that rubbed Rose the wrong way, but she couldn’t exactly put her finger on it, though. Maybe it was simply that Kayla had managed to marry the President of the United States, and Rose was jealous, or perhaps it was the fact that Kayla didn’t seem to care at all that she had legal ramifications from her threats to a co-worker. And then there was a totally different possibility; maybe Rose was only annoyed because she was wrapped up in all that was going on in her own life and didn’t have the energy to exude to listen to Kayla talking.
“I’ll head over to the courthouse to file this last motion, and we should be set,” Noah said as he stood up and shook Kayla’s hand. “Why don’t you stay for a bit, and Elaine will share with you all the details of the filing?”
“Thank you so much,” Kayla responded as she sat back down.
Rose saw an opportunity to get out of the meeting and went with it. She didn’t ask anyone; she didn’t wait for a response—Rose just took the opportunity and started to walk out the door as she talked.
“I’ll come with you,” Rose said as she quickly followed Noah out of the office before he had the opportunity to object.
Noah was halfway down the hallway by the time Rose caught up to him, though; he certainly wasn’t waiting around for her. He didn’t seem to care one way or the other that Rose had left the meeting, and he didn’t stop her from following him.
“Sorry, I just couldn’t sit in there any longer.” Rose laughed as they got in the elevator.
“I don’t need your help filing a motion.”
“Oh, I know. I’m just coming so I don’t have to be in there,” Rose said through a fake smile.
She wasn’t happy, and by looking at Noah, he didn’t look happy either. But Rose wasn’t going to pout about anything. She would rather put on a fake smile and go for a walk outside than sit in that meeting for one more minute. And although Noah wasn’t happy, he wasn’t yelling at her either, so that was a positive sign.
“You know I’m still angry at you, right?” Noah said sternly.
“Sure, yeah. You can be angry. I totally get it. But are you too angry to walk with me to the courthouse?” Rose smiled.
“Don’t try being all charismatic with me.”
“Oh, come on. I’m just teasing. I promise. Let’s just walk there in total silence; I’m fine with that.”
Apparently, Noah was also fine with that as they did walk to the courthouse
in total silence. Noah only broke his silence to talk to the county clerk when he filed the necessary paperwork. He was kind to the woman behind the counter and even smiled at her and exchanged a pleasant conversation about the weather. At least Rose knew it was her he didn’t want to talk to and not everyone.
“You know, I think I’ve decided to give up on my weekend flings. I know, I know, you are wondering if it’s still me; Rose. Yep, it’s me. I think I’m going to just take some time for myself. Explore life without a man in my bed for awhile. Just see how I do. You know?”
Rose babbled on for a bit and waited for some sort of response from Noah, but she didn’t get one. He continued walking a step ahead of her and ignoring her, or just not talking. But Rose wasn’t giving up on her friend yet. He was hurt by some of her decisions, and she understood that, but she thought he would get over it soon enough. She just needed to give him some space.
“No worries. I know you’re the strong silent type,” Rose joked as they got into the elevator. “You know, in this light, you look a little like The Rock,” she said with a straight face. “Has anyone ever told you that you look like The Rock? Do you know who that is? He’s a professional wrestler who turned into a movie star. He’s in those Fast and Furious movies.”
“Okay, okay, I give up. I’ll talk to you.” Noah laughed. “And I know who The Rock is.”
“It’s true. Chiseled jawline, ripped arms, I totally see the resemblance,” Rose said as she kept her face void of laughter.
She was of course teasing Noah, as he didn’t look a thing like The Rock. Noah was tall and slender. He was muscular but not overly bulky. His skin was slightly tanned and his hair a little shaggy, and Noah definitely didn’t look anything like The Rock. The Rock was a beast of a man, with huge muscles that could rip through T-shirts; he was probably twice the size of Noah, and that’s why it was funny to Rose, and she continued to keep a straight face.
“There is no person on earth that would agree with you and that description of me,” he said with a laugh. “Now let me finish being angry with you.”
“Oh, okay. How much longer will that be for?” she teased. “I mean should I take a nap or read a book? Are we talking a few hours, days, months or years?”
“I don’t have a timeline on my anger. Just let me think through things a bit.”
“Yes. I totally understand. That’s pretty much what I told the guy I’ve been seeing for the last few months. Let me think. I get it. I’m totally fine with letting you think. I’ll just be over here in my world thinking, and you be over there in yours,” Rose babbled as they got off the elevator on the second floor.
“I’ve got to visit with a judge here; are you going to stop babbling and come into the courtroom with me? Or should I leave you here to talk to yourself for a bit?”
“I’m with you,” she said, following him through the doors.
Rose couldn’t help smiling as she went into the courtroom with Noah, though. She had acted like a maniac talking nonstop on their way down the elevator. It wasn’t like Noah and her were an idea or anything, they were just friends. She wanted to make sure that friendship continued while she took time to find herself. But most of all, she hated to hear that Noah was angry with her. In her mind, he hadn’t been angry at all; she thought of it more of him being upset that she was sleeping with another man instead of him.
She had really thought that Noah would have acknowledged or been at least a little happy to hear that she had broken off with the man she was sleeping with on the weekends. Although, he probably wouldn’t have been happy at all to learn that it had been Bronx who she was sleeping with.
As they found a seat near the front of the courtroom, Rose quickly got rid of the smile on her face. The tension in the room was heavy as the prosecution questioned a witness to the crime. Rose hadn’t spent very much time in criminal courtrooms, and it was fascinating to witness the skill of the prosecutor and then the defense team.
The witness looked uncomfortable on the stand, and if Rose had to guess, he also looked like he wasn’t telling the full truth. He continually looked over at the prosecutor who nodded and egged the man on. It was just one more reason that Rose didn’t like criminal law.
Criminal law took a special kind of person, and sometimes Rose thought she had what it took to be that kind of lawyer, but more often than not, she realized it wasn’t for her. She didn’t have the internal fortitude to deal with losing a case when she thought her defendant was innocent. Or worse yet, if she were a prosecutor it would terrify her that she would lose a case when the defendant was guilty.
Rose couldn’t handle the emotions that were involved in criminal cases, and she knew it. There were victims and perpetrators. There were an innocent party and a guilty one, and sometimes the line between the two was very thin. Rose at least knew enough about herself to know that criminal law was not for her.
“He’s lying,” the man at the defendant’s table leaned over and whispered to his lawyer.
The lawyer just put his hand on the defendant’s to quiet him. But Rose saw the agitation growing in the defendant. Rose was good with people; well at least in a work setting, she was good with clients. She wanted desperately to be at that defense table and calm the defendant down before he said something stupid. Any sort of outburst from him would likely change the jury’s view of him, and as an attorney, Rose would advise against it.
Again the defendant leaned over to his lawyer to say something, but this time the attorney put his finger to his lips and made the sign for his defendant to be quiet. Rose grabbed onto Noah’s arm and pointed to the incident. The defendant was obviously getting agitated, and his attorney didn’t have the slightest idea it was going on. Rose watched the man’s body language and how he looked around the room like he was searching for something or someone.
“Something’s about to happen,” she said nervously.
Not two seconds had passed, and the defendant jumped at the courtroom officer and grabbed his gun from the holster. It was shocking how quickly the man was able to disarm the officer and take control of his gun. He pointed the gun directly at the witness and didn’t listen at all to the other officers as they screamed to put his weapon down.
Noah grabbed Rose, and the two of them fell to the ground in an effort to avoid any sort of gunfire that might take place. They could no longer see what was going on, but they could hear it. Everyone else in the courtroom had also fallen to the ground in reaction to the incident and in hopes of avoiding flying bullets if a shootout took place. Rose had never been mixed up in such a scary event and had no idea what to do, but it felt like the right thing to stay put and let Noah wrap his arms around her and protect her.
“Tell the truth. I won’t kill you if you tell the truth,” the defendant said to the witness.
“Mr. Flanner, put the gun down, or you’re going to be shot,” his attorney begged him.
“Please don’t shoot me. I’m not going to hurt anyone. I just want this asshole to tell the truth. It’s my life on the line. I am entitled to the witnesses actually telling the truth.”
“Put the weapon down!” screamed a police officer.
“You know what, I’m not putting it down. I will lower it to show that I don’t want to kill anyone. And you lower yours, but I want him to tell the truth. It’s that simple. I’m not asking for anything more than the truth.”
It was clear that the defendant was now in charge of the courtroom. Rose felt bad for the man. He might get the witness to tell the truth that he wanted him to say, but in the end, it wouldn’t matter. The case would be declared a mistrial, and the man was going to have additional charges added to his current ones. That was if he made it out of that courtroom alive. It was just as likely that the other courtroom officer would decide to shoot the man before he got any answers that he wanted at all.
Chapter 26
Rose felt her hands shaking uncontrollably as the adrenaline from the moment rushed through her. She was afraid, genuinel
y scared for her life. It was an odd feeling for Rose since she hadn’t valued her own life much since losing her husband. For the first time in a very long while, she felt just like everyone else. She had emotions and normal feelings and was scared of dying; she was weak, and it was alright.
“Mr. Flanner,” the judge said calmly. “I can’t condone any violence in my courtroom. Why don’t you hand the gun back to the officer?”
There was a shot fired, and everyone screamed. Rose tucked her head into Noah, and he wrapped his arms around her. He would have done the same for any woman who was near him when the incident had started, and Rose knew that, yet she was still very comforted to have him there with her.
Throughout her life, Rose had only experienced true terror a few times. She hadn’t been old enough to know her life was really in danger during the first incident. She had been in the midst of grief during the second. And in the current moment, Rose was very aware of the danger that was going on and the potential for her and Noah to both end up dead. She was happy to have him there with her, yet sad that he was also in danger.
They waited patiently for the screaming in the courtroom to subside. Rose didn’t know if the defendant had shot someone, or if he had been shot, or if he had just fired the gun in an effort to quiet the judge. But as the chaos died down, it became clear that no one had been killed.
The courtroom officer on the other side of the room stood still with his hand on his gun, and his gun pointed at the defendant. The rest of the people hiding on the ground didn’t move either. Whatever had happened, the gunshot had not ended the situation, and the defendant was clearly still holding the room hostage.
“How about you let me talk, and you be quiet,” the defendant said to the judge.
The judge did not reply. He was quiet, and so was everyone else in the courtroom. The defendant was in charge, not because he deserved it, but because he had a loaded weapon and had just proven that he was more than willing to use it.
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