by Alexa Davis
“Hi, Mr. Butler,” she chuckled from behind me.
“We both got sacked this morning,” I told him coolly, still reeling from the shock if it myself. “Frank decided to throw a temper tantrum and fire me this morning. Meghan quit in retaliation, and now we’re in serious need of some alcohol. Do you want to join us?”
He put down the hedgers and grunted, walking over to the front door and beckoned for us to follow him. “Sure, girls. Why don’t we talk about this inside?”
Meghan and I followed him into the kitchen where Mom was putting together some pastries. “Vanessa, you’re back so soon,” she commented airily.
Dad breezed right past her and went over to the liquor cabinet, pulling out a bottle of Jack Daniels and setting it on the counter. “Honey, do you mind getting out the shot glasses? Me and the girls are going to have a drink.”
She pursed her lips together and walked over to the pantry, pulling down the crystal glassware. “It’s not even ten in the morning,” she reminded him.
“I’m well aware of that, dear.”
She got down four shot glasses, one for each of us—herself included. I snickered to myself at the thought of her actually getting drunk with us. I’d never seen her let her hair down like that. She set them on the counter and pulled up a bar stool next to me.
“Vanessa and her friend are in a bit of a pickle,” Dad informed her. “Frank Howell is not working out for either of them. Now we’re up shit creek and need to come up with another solution.”
She hummed in acknowledgment as he poured us each a drink of the dark brown liquid. We threw them back in a sign of solidarity and made a communal groan of the burn as it went running down our throats.
“So, what do you want to do?” Mom asked me seriously. Her light brown hair waved down across her shoulders with streaks of silver near the temples.
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Dad poured the two of us another drink and said, “The last time we spoke about your job, you told me that opening a company of your own was what you’d been aiming for all along. Is that still the case?”
I nodded sadly, looking down at the countertop in front of me. The alcohol was starting to take effect, and I felt a warm sensation in my chest that spread across my body. It loosened my tongue and helped all the muscles in my back relax. “Yeah, that would be amazing, but I don’t have the capital it takes to create a startup.”
He and Mom both shared a meaningful glance as he continued, “Well, your mother and I had been talking about this for a while. We’ve got some money put away I could give you to get things started.”
My father was not known for handing out money, so his offer caught me off guard. He was a frugal businessman and chose his investments carefully. I couldn’t imagine him taking that kind of a risk on a creative project unless he really believed in it: he really believed in me.
“You mean like finance the whole thing? I wouldn’t be able to pay you back for a couple years, when I start bringing in an income.”
He chuckled, the skin around his eyes crinkling behind his glasses. “It’s not a loan, Vanessa. It’s a gift. I don’t do loans with family; that gets too messy and complicated. I want to give this money to you as a present: no strings. You can use it any way you need to get that company started and hire an assistant to manage your schedule.”
“Oh my gosh, Dad… I don’t know what to say.”
Meghan practically squealed in the seat beside me. “Vanessa! This is perfect; it’s what you’ve always wanted!”
I turned to her and smiled, overwhelmed by the complete shift in my life’s plan over the last twenty-four hours. “You’re going to come on board with me, right? You know Frank Howell’s clients better than anyone; you could help me pick up some of my own.”
“Heck yes, I will! Thank you so much, Mr. Butler. This is going to be the best thing that ever happened to us,” Meghan said to him.
Tears started forming in my eyes as I stared back at him and smiled. “Thank you, Daddy. I promise I won’t let you down.”
Chapter 35
Adam
One Week Later, Monday
Rays of sunlight came streaming through my bedroom window, and I tossed over on the pillow. I’d been lying there awake for several minutes before the alarm clock started ringing. The loud, jarring sound quickly shook off any remaining dregs of sleep that I’d been holding onto, and I hit the snooze button. My mind was spinning around and around in circles, unable to move on from the thought of Vanessa and her sudden absence from my life.
The past week had been long and boring without her living here. I missed the smell of her shampoo on the cotton sheets and the sound of her laughter down the hallway. Sometimes when I closed my eyes and thought really hard, I could almost hear it. She was my favorite person to talk to, and arguably my best friend since we’d been spending so much time together.
I hated her not being here with me, but there was nothing I could do about it. Until Brandon was locked up for good, she wasn’t safe. Hopefully, though, all of that would change today. Max and I worked tirelessly over the last few days, and we finally had all the evidence to present to the district attorney and put Brandon away for life.
It was going to be a busy day at the courthouse.
With a tired yawn, I rolled out of bed and turned off the alarm to stop the infernal buzzing. I walked out of the bedroom toward the kitchen to start making breakfast. Max and I had worked throughout the entire weekend, putting together the bank statements and flow of cash to prove that Brandon was the one behind the drug cartel.
We were both exhausted, but at least it was finally done.
I ate quickly and got dressed, finishing my morning routine and quickly heading out the door. On the morning drive, I was listening to the local news on the radio. One of the hosts mentioned Brandon’s run for city council and inquired as to why he dropped off the campaign trail. I couldn’t help but laugh while listening to them talk, because the truth would be coming out very soon and I got a sense of schadenfreude at watching his empire fall.
A few blocks later, I made it to the office and brought my briefcase and coat inside. I skipped up the steps to the front door and pulled it open with a smile. “Good morning, Leslie,” I greeted.
She glanced up from her desk and nodded, “Good morning, Mr. Hillis. You’re looking well today.”
I chuckled at her assessment and said, “I’m feeling good today; let’s keep that positive momentum going!”
It was a few minutes before Jon or any of the other attorneys arrived, giving me plenty of time to set up and drink my morning coffee. When Jon finally did show up, I met him in his office and hoped that he’d be pleased with all the work we’d done. My shoes creaked up the wooden stairs as I made it up to the second floor with a shit-eating grin plastered on my face.
“Mr. Hansen,” I called out to get his attention.
He turned at the sound of my voice and greeted me with a smile. “Oh, hello there, Adam. Don’t be shy, come inside and have a seat.”
I followed his instruction and came into the tiny office, sitting down on one of the armchairs in the corner. “Sir, I think we got him,” I announced cheerily.
Jon raised an eyebrow while he was taking off his coat saying, “Oh, really? What do you have there?”
I told him all about the work that Max and I had been doing over the weekend, following the cash flow and leading it back to Brandon’s bank account. It was a lot of technical jargon and several steps along the way, but the case was rock solid. There was no question about where the funds were coming from or why.
As the lead attorney on the case, Jon was near ecstatic by the news. “Adam, this is incredible! I can’t believe you pulled this off.”
I chuckled. “Well, I couldn’t have done it without Max; he was the brains behind the operation.”
“He has my thanks, to be sure. Go get your coat, and let’s go tell this asshole that he’s sunk.”
We lef
t this office together, and I hurried down the stairs, popping in to grab my coat and briefcase from my office. Jon was right behind me, pulling out his keys as we walked down into the parking lot and headed over to the county jail. As he started up the car, I asked, “What do you think Fletcher will say once he realizes there’s no escape?”
Jon grinned. “He’s not going to know what hit him. He thinks he’s untouchable, remember?”
I nodded. “I can’t wait to wipe that smile off his sleazy, arrogant face.”
A few minutes later we pulled into the security checkpoint and they waved us on to the parking lot. We parked in an empty spot near the front and gathered our things before going to the doors and walking past the metal detectors. The corrections officers let us pass and showed us to one of the open rooms while they went to collect Brandon.
It was a small, insulated chamber without any color or window to the outside world. Jon and I took our seat across the table from where Brandon would be entering and breathed out a sigh of satisfaction. We’d barely had time to settle down before an electronic beep went off, and the door to the housing unit opened. Brandon smirked when he saw me sitting there. His hair was long and greasy from being locked in his cell for the last week and had the start of a scraggly beard.
“Oh, it’s the two of you,” he commented slyly as he took a seat in the chair across from us. “I thought I’d made my platform regarding you quite clear.”
He was in the same prison jumpsuit as last time, his hands cuffed to a chain in front of him that the guard silently hooked to the table.
I smiled widely, knowing that we had an ace up our sleeve that would knock the socks off him. “It’s too bad we missed you at the Men’s Club meeting last week. Isn’t that what you said, that you’d be seeing me at the party? It’s a shame that didn’t happen. Oh, well, I guess you were pretty busy being locked up in here and all.”
He snorted, looking back at me with a sneer. “No, I’m afraid I didn’t make it. I sent you a present though; did you get it?”
“Oh, that was from you! Thank you, now that we finally have that on record, I can let you know that witness tampering and intimidation have now been added to your charges.”
Brandon scowled, banging his hand against the table and said, “Fuck you, Adam! You don’t have anything on me.”
The clang of his metal handcuff scrapped against the table and reverberated about the room. Mr. Hansen cleared his throat and pushed a sheet of paper across the table. “Actually, son, we do. With the help of some colleagues, Adam was able to trace back the drug sales to your campaign.”
“So, I got some extra funding from anonymous investors,” he scoffed dismissively. “That doesn’t prove anything.”
“It proves a lot,” Hansen shot back acidly, leaning forward in his seat. I’d never seen him get into serious lawyer mode before, and it was awesomely inspiring. “With this evidence, the district attorney can put you away for the rest of your life, and that there will be no bail set this time.”
Brandon’s face went pale for a moment, and then he said, “That will get thrown out in court in a heartbeat. I’ll appeal the judge and make this whole thing go away.”
“You could try, but this information was acquired legally, and with the appropriate warrants, so it would be near impossible.”
Brandon’s expression fell. “You don’t want to do this. I could make you rich. What good am I to the community being locked up in here?”
“What good were you to the community before?” I shot back angrily. “You provided drugs to children and ruined their lives. I’d rather have you rot in prison than on the streets of Akron again.”
He started blubbering and calling after us as Jon and I got our things and headed out the door. It felt good leaving him like that. We got out into the parking lot and drove back to the office, laughing like school children the entire way. It was such a rush, and I rode the high for as long as possible.
There was still a lot of paperwork to do around the office, so I spent the rest of my day filing the motion to proceed and responding to emails from my other clients. Before I knew it, the clock read five o’clock, and it was time to go. Dad had guilted me into another dinner with him and Sarah, so I needed to get off on time.
After work, I drove over to the house and parked in the driveway, looking forward to a homecooked meal and catching up with him. When I knocked on the door, it was actually Sarah who answered; she had a vintage apron on and a smile on her face. “Adam, you’re here!” she greeted me happily with a hug.
“Hello, Sarah. Thanks for having me.”
She opened the door to let me come inside and said, “Psh! Of course, you’re welcome here anytime.”
Dad stood up from the couch and came to meet me in the living room. “Adam! Nice to see you, son.”
“Hi, Dad.”
“How are you doing these days? Things still going well with Vanessa?”
I cleared my throat embarrassedly and shook my head. “Actually, she moved out about a week ago. It’s kind of a long story.”
His expression fell slightly, and he said, “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. We had big hopes for you.”
“I know. How are things with you?” I asked them cheerily. “You seem to be getting along just fine.”
Sarah smiled, glancing over at my father and said, “Actually…that’s something we wanted to discuss with you.”
I raised an eyebrow at them confused, urging her to continue, “Oh?”
Dad blushed and put his arm around her affectionately. I could see in the way he looked at her that he was completely smitten. He hadn’t been this happy since before Mom died, and I was glad to know that he had found someone. “Son, Sarah and I are getting married. I know that may seem fast—”
I had my arms around both of them, hugging them with a joyful sob before he could even finish talking. Alarmed, he just patted me on the back at first and then warmed into the familial embrace. “Dad, that’s wonderful. I’m so happy for you.”
The both exhaled a sigh of relief and smiled. “Thank you so much; it means a lot to me,” Sarah whispered.
I hugged her properly and said, “Welcome to the family, Sarah.”
“We just want you to be as happy as we are,” Dad explained. “I know there’s some girl out there for you if you’re willing to put yourself out there for her.”
I nodded. “I know you’re right, and I’ve got feelings for Vanessa. I really fucked it up with her, though. I don’t think she’ll take me back now.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Sarah told me with a smile. “Have you told her how you feel?”
No, the opposite in fact. I deliberately forced her away and lied about caring about her.
“Not exactly…”
“Give it a chance,” she urged me gently. “We’ll be rooting for you.”
In my heart, I knew that they were right. I had to make things right with Vanessa and let her know how much I need her and want her to come back. I’d crawl on my hands and knees if it would win her back, but coming from me, that wouldn’t mean anything. It had to come from someone else, someone she would listen to.
That is exactly what I intended to do.
Chapter 36
Vanessa
Tuesday
“What do you think about having some chairs over here?” I asked.
Meghan glanced over from setting up her new reception desk, looking over to the space where I was pointing. A thoughtful expression came across her face as she formulated a response, “Yeah, I like that idea a lot. It’s light and open; it doesn’t feel like an uncomfortable waiting room. We should probably get a coffee table, too, and some magazines.”
I nodded, trying to picture the adjustments in my head. “Cool, we’ll have to pick some out them and get them ordered.”
The new office space we had rented still smelled like new paint and was receiving the finishing touches before I opened shop next week. It wasn’t big and fancy as Frank Howell, bu
t I was proud of it. Over the last week, we’d picked out everything from the carpet to the lighting fixtures. I’d spent a lot of time at Home Depot and filling out paperwork to get a business license. When I wasn’t doing that, I was here, trying to ease into the space.
Every now and then I would have these moments where excitement would boil over into a fit of giggles; I couldn’t believe this was happening. I’d been so busy, in fact, that I hadn’t had much time to think about Adam or feel sorry for myself about what happened. At the end of the day though, when it would be quiet, I would miss him.
It ended between us so suddenly, that I never got the closure, or answers, that I needed.
Meghan sighed, looking out across the lobby with a quizzical expression. Her eyes rested on the blank walls, contemplating what to do with them. I came up beside her and shoved my hands into my pockets asking, “What are you thinking?”
Her lips pursed together into a line like she had tasted something bitter. “I’m thinking we need to get some artwork to hang in here. Maybe we could blow up some of your pictures and frame them; that would be cool.”
I nodded in agreement. “We should probably display a price list, too; that could be useful. How about the reception desk over here; do you need anything else?”
She shook her head. “No, I’ve got everything I need. It’s all down to ambiance at this point. It’s clean and professional, but still kinda feels like a stuffy office building.”
“I agree. Should we make a trip to the store and get some accents?”
She nodded. “I think that might be a good idea, just to make the space feel more welcoming.”
We started tossing around ideas of ways to decorate when I saw Max’s car pull up in the parking lot outside. His distinctive dirty blond hair poked out of the driver’s side door as he locked up and started coming toward the entrance.
