Monday morning seems to come too fast. It’s depressing that with everything going on I can’t even bring myself to be excited about the internship I’ve worked so hard for. I laugh darkly to myself as I turn my alarm off. I had originally broken up with Jeremy so I wouldn’t be distracted from getting this internship and achieving my dreams, yet here I am distracted by him anyway. The universe is playing a sick joke on me; the stars aligned all to teach me a cosmic lesson.
Scott stirs and rolls over to me as I set the alarm clock back down on my bedside table. His blonde hair sticking up haphazardly, he smiles at me and lovingly pats my leg. “Good morning,” he says, stretching.
“Hey.” My stomach is in knots. I have no idea what to expect when I get to the office.
Scott’s eyes stare at me tenderly. “It’ll be okay. You’ll do great.”
I smile at him but don’t respond. I haven’t been very talkative this weekend. I also haven’t eaten too much or slept soundly. I just don’t know how I’m going to handle working in an office that’s preparing a case against Jeremy.
Scott and I go through our morning routine as if everything is fine. This is going to be a long week for me, between still going to class half of the day and working at my internship the other half, but I welcome the distraction. I dress in black pants and a blouse, sensible but comfortable. Scott and I head out the door for class and I try to brighten my spirits.
School goes by quickly and I’m able to avoid any mention of Jeremy and anything to do with the girl’s murder.. Even though this news is still relatively new and shocking to me, everyone else was informed days before I was, and now they seem to be over it. By the time Scott and I are walking to the parking lot, my mood has brightened, even if just a little bit.
Scott and I reach our cars, parked next to each other. We had taken separate cars this morning because I have to leave straight from school to report to my internship. My little red convertible practically purred when I crawled behind the wheel for the first time in a long time. It made me think of the drive I took to get to Boston in that car.
Scott lets go of my hand he had been holding as we walked. He turns to me and runs his hand through my hair. “I love you, Dylan. You’re going to do great.”
I sigh, smiling back at him and nodding. I know that he must understand I’m not really nervous about my performance, and more afraid about hearing news about Jeremy. But neither of us seems to want to discuss that. “Thanks, babe. I’ll be home after work.”
Scott pulls me into his massive arms, holding me to his chest. I breathe in his sweet scent and allow it to comfort me. I feel a peace fall over my mind and body. Scott has that effect on me.
I get into my car and punch the address to the office into my GPS. When I finally reach One Bulfinch Place in the center of Boston and am able to find parking on the street surprisingly easy. Exiting the car, I stare up at the familiar building. It’s one of the most beautiful buildings in Boston. The front reminds me of the old cotton plantations in the South, with huge pillars holding up the overhang above the doors. The bricks of the building are a stunning reddish-brown color, the accents over the windows white. The building could fit easily into Washington D.C.’s architecture due to its large golden dome sitting on top of it. Actually, it also reminds me a lot of Philadelphia, and for a moment I’m home sick. I make a mental note to call my father later.
Walking into the office building, I go through security, who directs me to the DA’s office. I’m expected and greeted warmly by the secretaries there. They give me a tour of the massive office, easily the biggest district attorney’s office I’ve ever seen. Multiple doorways stretch down long hallways. Every room is enormous and are filled with rows of desks, all with employees scribbling on paper and typing on computers. The older female secretary providing me with most of my tour, Blair, takes me to get a temporary badge and fill out some paperwork. By the time I get everything done, it’s almost time for me to leave.
Blair takes me around to meet the staff. There are so many people I know I won’t remember their names. I try to really pay attention to the lawyer’s names that I meet, as most likely I’ll be reporting directly to one or more of them. Just before I am ready to leave, I’m taken to the office of the District Attorney, Daniel Current.
Blair nods to Mr. Current’s personal secretary, Samantha, and knocks lightly on his office door. “Come in,” I hear a low voice grumble.
Blair opens the door and I enter the office behind her, admiring the dark wood décor of his bookshelf and desk. The office is huge and has books and paperwork everywhere. The man behind the desk, still writing away on a pad of paper, doesn’t look up at us initially. I see the top of his salt-and-pepper hair. After Blair and I stand in front of his desk for a moment, he looks up at us and gives us a kind smile. His blue eyes are gentle and I immediately like him.
“Hello,” he says, nodding at me. I smile back at him.
“Mr. Current, this is Dylan Ackhart. She’s the third year intern from Harvard,” Blair introduces us. Mr. Current stands and straightens his red tie, leaning over his desk to extend a hand towards me. I shake his hand firmly. Daniel Current is an impressive man in stature, standing almost six-foot-three. His career has been equally as impressive. He’s tried and won tremendous cases in his almost twenty-five years as a lawyer for the city of Boston. Many victims can personally thank him for seeking and winning justice for the criminals that wronged them.
“Of course,” he says. “We are excited to have you join us. We’re very impressed with the work you’ve done at Harvard.”
“Thank you, Mr. Current,” I say, beaming.
He motions towards the chair behind me, indicating that he wishes me to sit. Blair excuses herself politely as Mr. Current positions himself in his chair. After the door shuts behind Blair, I look back towards him. He has a confused and strange look on his face. His eyes are studying me.
“You look very familiar. Have we met?”
My throat closes. I hope he doesn’t recognize me from when I was dating Jeremy. But, God, that seems like so long ago.
“I don’t think so, Sir,” I say, my voice a nervous whisper.
He shakes his head. “Well, as I was saying, we’re very happy to have you here, Miss Ackhart. I hope to set you up with a few different lawyers in every division so that you get a rounded experience.”
I smile brightly. “That sounds amazing, Sir.”
“I think we’ll set you up first with the Municipal Court Division. For the first few weeks, you’ll be here helping them with the paperwork that is done in this office. Then, you’ll be traveling to some of the courts. Is that alright?”
I can barely contain my excitement. Not only will I be able to see how all of the courts in the district work from the inside, I’ll be away from the division handling Jeremy’s case. I won’t hear any inside information, but at least I won’t have to hear about him every day. “That’s wonderful.”
“Great,” he says, standing again. I stand with him as he walks around the desk, motioning for me to follow him out of the office. We walk down a hallway and into a large room, with seven or eight desks in the middle of the room. We approach the desk of a middle-aged man, filling out paperwork.
“David,” Mr. Current says. The man looks up immediately in surprise and stands. They shake hands.
“Mr. Current. How are you, Sir?” the man asks, breaking eye contact with him to look over at me.
“Good, good,” he responds, releasing the man’s hand and putting it on my shoulder. “This is Dylan Ackhart. Dylan, this is David Shuster, Esquire. He works in this division and has been here a long time.”
Mr. Shuster smiles at me and shakes my hand. His teeth are blindingly white and the sides of his eyes crinkle when he smiles. His blue eyes almost sparkle at me. His friendly personality beams through him. “Hello,” he smiles at me.
I nod as Mr. Current continues. “She’s our new intern from Harvard Law. Ms. Ackhart is a third year
and the top of her class. She comes highly recommended. I was hoping she could shadow you for a few weeks or so. Maybe she can help you with all the paperwork we’re behind on.”
Mr. Shuster nods, still smiling. “Great, wonderful.”
Mr. Current turns his attention back to me. “Miss Ackhart, I leave you in capable hands.” He shakes my hand and we say our goodbyes before he walks away back towards his office.
“Well, Miss Ackhart, I’m glad to have you,” Mr. Schuster says.
I smile. “Please, call me Dylan.”
He sits back down in his chair and indicates the desk behind him. “This is empty. You can use it. You’ll need a desk for all the paperwork you’ll be doing, trust me,” he says, smiling.
I laugh nervously. “Sounds great.”
After talking for a few more minutes, it’s time for me to leave. I thank Mr. Shuster and tell him I look forward to working with him, and I am. As I make my way back out to my car, I can’t believe how everything is working out for me. I’ll be stuck doing paperwork for the Municipal Division while the whole investigation is going on. I haven’t heard one thing about him all day. I get my own desk so I don’t have anyone looking over my shoulder all the time. I just hope my internship continues to go this smoothly.
“Scott?” I say, walking through the front door. It’s strangely quiet in the house and all of the lights are out. I furrow my brows and set my things down by the front door, kicking my heels off. I see a faint flicker of light coming from the living room. “Scott?” I question again, still no response.
When I reach the living room, I’m shocked to see candles surrounding the room, seemingly on every flat surface. I stare open-mouthed at the table, window sills, and countertops all illuminated with dancing flames. When I finally look at the couch, Scott is laying there completely naked, holding a bottle of champagne in a convenient spot. The couch can barely hold his muscular body. He’s smiling suggestively at me.
“Oh my God!” I giggle, turning away from him and blushing. He laughs under his breath before I turn back around. “What’s all this?”
His eyes sparkle at me. “I’m so proud of you baby,” Scott says, with endearing emotion in his voice. “You’ve come so far. I want to celebrate with you.”
I sit down at the edge of the couch by his feet. “Well, do we have to have champagne? Or can we skip that and get down to celebrating?”
He puts the bottle down on the coffee table, fully exposing his amazing body. He sits up on the couch to lean into me, pressing his forehead against mine. Our breathing increases, and he runs his fingers through my hair before tilting my head back and kissing me passionately.
His hands trail down my arms as I moan into his mouth. I reach up and run my fingers through his hair before he lifts the bottom of my shirt up and over my head. He undoes my bra easily, tossing it over the back of the couch. He pushes his body into mine, leaning me back on the couch.
I feel his hardness against the outside of my clothes, and it feels amazing. My body heats to his touch as if every inch of me desires him. He breaks away from kissing me for a moment and begins to undo my pants. I arch my back as he slides both my pants and underwear off of me and lets them fall to the floor.
He continues to run his fingers through my hair as he begins to kiss me again, this time with more love and affection than passion. Short, sweet, and soft kisses. My muscles relax under him in response.
He enters me slowly, pushing himself into me gently. I moan and stare up at him to look into his eyes. He meets my gaze and smiles at me. “I love you, Dylan,” he whispers to me as he begins to move.
“I love you,” I respond.
Chapter 4- Visitor
It’s been three weeks since I began my internship in the office of my dreams. My job has turned out to be more than I could have ever asked for. I currently am still working with Mr. Schuster in the Municipal Court Division and have even gotten to travel to courts in different counties, meeting influential people and learning the ropes as we go along. A lot of my job is paperwork but that’s okay. I’m good at the paperwork and it really takes a lot of pressure off of Mr. Schuster.
I haven’t heard much about Jeremy’s case- both a blessing and a curse. I’m assuming it’s because there isn’t much either side knows about it yet. I’ve heard some people mention here and there that reports have come in related to the autopsy and crime scene screenings, but never a mention of Jeremy’s name specifically.
As I begin work on my fourth Monday morning at the office, I’m not expecting anything out of the ordinary. I say hi to a few people in the office I’m now friendly with as I walk to my desk. When I reach my desk, I see Mr. Schuster leaning on it, smiling at me. “Hey, kid,” he says, affectionately.
“Hi, Sir. How’s it going?” I ask him, putting my stuff down on his desk.
“You’ll never believe what I just got done talking to Current about.”
“Oh?” I say, taking some things out of my bag and setting them on the desk.
“Yeah, we were talking about you.”
That peaks my interest. I stop fiddling with the paperwork in my incoming box and look up at him. “And?” I say, arching a brow.
Mr. Schuster is smiling, so I take that as a good sign. “He was asking how you were doing, and I told him how well you’ve been working. He said he noticed your work ethic and the quality of your work, and he wants to talk to you about a big opportunity he may have for you.”
I’m giddy. The idea of moving to a new department within the office is exciting for me. As much as I like helping out Mr. Schuster, I’m ready to learn another facet of prosecution. “That’s so exciting!”
Mr. Schuster turns to head back to his desk. He plops down in his chair, turning to face me. “He said he’ll probably pull you aside sometime this week. I’ll be sorry to see you go.”
I smile and nod at him before he turns back to his desk and absorbs himself in his paperwork. I sigh and sit, grabbing the papers from my incoming box and mulling through them. I wonder how I’m supposed to deal with not knowing what the big project is for a few more days.
Throughout the day, I notice people talking in hushed whispers again. First, in the small employee kitchen I saw two women gossiping back and forth by the refrigerator. They stopped their conversation when I entered the room. Then, the same thing happened when I passed a group of people on my way to the bathroom. They were all talking quietly and as I passed they ended their conversation. In fact, I’ve seen almost everyone in the office huddled together with a co-worker at some point today.
It’s making me really self-conscious. It reminds me of what happened a few weeks ago when the news of Jeremy’s involvement in the case broke. I’m not normally someone who needs in on the gossip but this is killing me. I make the resolve to confront Mr. Schuster about all the secrecy.
I approach his desk and stand in front of it. Mr. Schuster is looking down at a huge pile of papers in front of him, his eyes moving back and forth as he reads the documents. Sensing my presence, he looks up from his work.
“What’s up?” he asks me, leaning back in his chair.
“Do you know what’s up with everyone today?” I inquire. I’m nothing if not direct.
He smirks. “Oh, there’s just some hot shot rock…”
“Miss Ackhart!” A voice cuts off Mr. Schuster from behind me. I instinctively whip around to face Mr. Current. He walks towards us slowly, raising his hands in a wave.
When he reaches us he extends his hand to shake mine. “Mr. Current?” I ask, my heart beating out of my chest. I thought it was going to take a few days for him to talk to me, but it looks like my suspense is over.
“Can I pull you away for a moment?” he asks, looking from Mr. Schuster to me.
“Of course,” we say simultaneously.
I nod at Mr. Schuster as Mr. Current extends an arm and allows me to go ahead of him. We walk in silence to his office, each footstep making my stomach hurt more and more. I’m ex
cited, scared, and nervous all at the same time. Whatever he was planning to have me do next seems like a big deal.
We walk into his office and I take a chair in front of his large desk. Mr. Current sits behind the desk and leans back, looking casual. “So, Miss Ackhart. I have an important proposition for you,” he begins.
“Okay,” I respond simply.
“You know I’m very impressed with the work you’ve been able to accomplish here in the month since you began. You get more done than most of the lawyers on my payroll. And you do it better than they do. Very impressive.”
“Thank you, Sir.” My cheeks redden.
Mr. Current clears his throat and sits forward, leaning on his desk. “You’re too talented to work in Municipal Court forever. How would you like to try working in Homicide?”
My body is rigid. The homicide unit is one of my dream units, but usually only the most experienced and talented staff is assigned to work there. “Wow, Mr. Current. I’m flattered.”
He smiles and nods. “Yes, I think if we were to bring you on board after graduation, you would do well there. My proposition for you is that we move you over to that unit tomorrow to orient you to how things run over there. Right now is a good time because we’re working on a high profile case.”
Instantly my brain slows. I try to control my breathing and keep the color in my cheeks, but Mr. Current examines my face as if he’s expecting something. I remain as stoic as possible. “High profile, Sir?”
“Yes. A homicide involving the musician Jeremy Mason. I assume you’ve heard of him.”
Fuck, shit, fuck, fuck, fuck.
Trials (Rock Bottom) Page 3
