by Linda Verji
“It’s either Conrad or Paul.” Grinning, Angelina held out the two files. “Choose.”
Spencer eyed the two files for quite some time before sighing. “Conrad.”
Annoyance swept through him as he plucked Conrad’s file from Angelina’s grip. This is what he’d come to; defending murderers and bratty rich kids. How ironic was that? Barely half a year ago, he’d been the guy who made these hooligans pay for their crimes. Now, it was his job to help them get away with murder. Wincing, he thumbed through Conrad’s file.
Talk about switching sides.
Right then, Kelly whispered something to Russell, drawing Spencer’s attention to her. As Spencer stared at her, he couldn’t help acknowledging that maybe it wasn’t that black and white. Being a defense attorney wasn’t just about helping clients get away with murder. It was about making sure that the system didn’t railroad both the innocent and the not-so innocent. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but it was better than being the guy who sent innocent people to prison.
Almost as if she could feel his stare, Kelly looked his way. Their eyes met, and not for the first time, Spencer was awed by how beautiful her eyes were. How he longed for that day when those eyes wouldn’t hold anger and hatred whenever they met his. With an internal sigh, he looked away from her.
“Since both Spencer and Kelly are new, Kelly, you’re with me,” Angelina said. “Spencer, Duke will help you out. He knows a lot about both cases so he should be a big help. If you need any investigating done, Russell’s your man. Just make sure you get to him before Civil Lit. finds something else for him to do.”
“Got it.” Spencer nodded even as unexpected disappointment speared through him. He wanted to work with Kelly, he realized. He wanted to spend more time with her and get to know her. Given Kelly’s barely veiled hatred of him, that counted as being suicidal, right?
I must be a masochist.
The meeting ended a few minutes later and everyone dispersed to their respective offices. Spencer had just settled behind his desk when there was a sharp rap on his door. A moment later, the door flew open and Kelly walked in.
She didn’t waste time with pleasantries. “Where’s my resignation letter?”
A fist immediately closed around Spencer’s lungs. As far as he could see, there was only one reason she’d want that letter – so that she could take it to HR herself. Instinctively, he opened his mouth to scold her then he changed his mind. As much as he wanted to help her out, there was only so much he could without outright interfering with her life. If this was what she wanted to do, then so be it. He’d done his best.
He opened his desk’s top drawer and retrieved the letter. When he held it out, Kelly immediately plucked it from his fingers.
“Good.” She unfolded and quickly scanned the document it as if to make sure that it was her letter and not some random piece of paper. “At least now I know you won’t take it to HR behind my back.”
Did that mean that she wasn’t leaving? The tightness in Spencer’s chest eased a little, but just to make sure his guess was correct, he asked, “Does that mean that you’re staying?”
She scowled. “I came to work, didn’t I?”
Good. He almost smiled but the cautious voice in his head told him Kelly wouldn’t appreciate his celebrating her surrender. Hiding his relief, he said, “Now that you’ve decided that you’ll be working with me-”
“Not with, just around you,” Kelly retorted immediately.
Spencer didn’t bother correcting her. “I think it’s important that we keep things between us professional.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”
“I mean that we need to set up some rules of conduct.”
“Rules of conduct?” Kelly frowned. “We don’t need to do that. I already got the memo from HR.”
“I don’t mean the firm’s standard rules,” Spencer explained. “I mean between us. I don’t think we should let the antagonism in our relationship spill over into our work.”
Kelly stared at him like she was about to bite his head off. “Are you saying that I’m antagonistic?”
What Spencer really wanted to say was that she needed to start treating him like her superior, not the enemy. However, a glance at her stormy expression and he realized that there was no way to express that without starting World War III.
He backed off. “Never mind.”
Kelly looked like she wanted to push him harder, demand he explain himself. Fortunately, all she did was glare at him before turning on her heels. Spencer let out a relieved breath when the door finally closed behind her.
Was he ever going to be able to talk to Kelly without walking on egg-shells? He wasn’t even looking for forgiveness anymore; he just wished that they could get along.
Could it happen? He wasn’t holding his breath, but a man could dream.
CHAPTER 5
As much as Kelly disliked Spencer, it was hard not to admire his work ethic. They’d both been working in Chambers & Quinn for just close to a month, but the man had already cleared three cases and won them all. He was often the first at the office and among the last to leave while preparing his cases. And when he was in court… well, it was a sight to see.
“Ladies and gentlemen, a man is dead. And my client took his life.” Spencer paused to let his words sink in as his gaze swept over each member of the jury. He paced in front of the jury box. “But we’re not here because my client took that man’s life. We’re here because the prosecution thinks that my client deserves to go to jail for it. But does he?”
One by one, he stared at the members of the jury as he continued, “Mr. Assistant District Attorney here keeps on waxing on about the sanctity of Derrick Mosley’s life and how my client, Brian, didn’t respect it.” Spencer turned to face the A.D.A. “But what about the sanctity of Brian’s life? What about the fact that Derrick Mosley trampled on the sanctity of my client’s life over and over again, in every way possible, short of killing him?”
The jurors glared at the A.D.A as if he was personally to blame for this situation. Though the A.D.A maintained a stoic expression, you could tell that Spencer’s words were getting to him.
His tone grave, Spencer continued, “This man whose sanctity of life my client was supposed to respect abused my client for over sixteen years. Brian is twenty-two right now, which means he was six years old when Mr. Mosley began to sexually abuse him. Six years old.”
Several jurors winced. The A.D.A frowned.
“The A.D.A wants you to be offended that Brian defended himself after sixteen years. You know what offends me?” Spencer spun around to fix his piercing gaze on the A.D.A. again. With a sneer, he said, “That there were several reports made to the government in the course of those sixteen years about my client’s abuse. That his teachers and neighbors said something was off in that family and yet no one did anything.”
Frowning, he continued, “If the government had investigated just one of those reports, we wouldn’t be here today. If they had taken my client out of that house, Derrick Mosley wouldn’t be dead, and my client wouldn’t be dealing with the crippling effects of sixteen years of abuse. But hey, let’s spend over fifty thousand dollars to prosecute the boy because he finally got big enough to defend himself because they wouldn’t. Hey, let’s spend another fifty thousand to imprison him because the person he dared to kill is the nation’s most beloved football coach.”
This time the A.D.A. actually squirmed in his seat.
“If this was any other man, the prosecution would’ve put a lid on it.” Spencer laughed but there was no amusement in his tone. “Let’s face it, the only reason we’re here is because Derrick Mosley is a celebrity. His death makes for good TV. It’s a good platform for the District Attorney’s office to flex its muscles and show us that they’re doing their job. But the only thing they’ve shown us today is that a celebrity’s life is more sanctified than that of everyone else, than ours. That the celebrity can do anything to us, to our c
hildren, as long as he keeps bringing us those trophies…”
Kelly, who was watching Spencer weave his spell around everyone in the courtroom, was in awe. Though she was his second and had watched him prepare for this trial, she still couldn’t quite believe how good he was. Goodness, the man had a tongue like the devil; seductive, eloquent and oh so convincing.
And the jury ate it all up.
They were listening keenly, and some were now even nodding in agreement as he spoke. Any fool could see that he had them right where he wanted them – in the palm of his hands. No wonder he’d had a ninety percent conviction record when he was at the District Attorney’s office. He was a beast! When she grew up, she wanted to be just like him.
Ugh! What was she saying? She gave herself a mental slap. She wanted to be nothing like Spencer. Nothing. So he was good in court – big deal. She’d seen better. Okay fine, she hadn’t seen better but whatever!
“That was a good speech you gave in there,” she complimented Spencer once they left the courtroom.
“Good?” Spencer’s eyes twinkled in amusement and his lips lifted in a smile. “Don’t you think that’s an understatement?”
That smile! The man was already devilishly handsome; did he really need to smile like that? And why was her heart skipping so oddly? He really needed to stop smiling.
Kelly didn’t even realize she was just staring at him until he clicked his fingers in front of her face. “Kelly?”
“What? What?” She took a step back.
He was still smiling. “Where did you go?”
Immediate heat rushed up her face. She really needed to stop this. Lately, she’d found herself watching – okay, admiring Spencer more times than she cared to admit. It was bloody annoying. Why did Spencer have to be eye candy? And why the hell was he so nice these days? She preferred when he was a smarmy jackass who acted like the world revolved around him. This version of him was so damn hard to hate.
Looking everywhere but at him, she mumbled, “Nowhere.”
Spencer looked like he was about to say something but right then his gaze skated past her. Kelly turned to see what he was looking at and found Elijah Harris, the A.D.A. who was handling Brian’s case, waving for Spencer to head over.
Spencer grinned. “He probably wants to talk plea deals.”
Kelly smiled in response. “They’re feeling the heat.”
“They should.”
“Are we going to take the deal if they offer it?”
“Let’s first find out what it is,” he said. “Why don’t you head to the office first? I’ll meet you there when I’m done with Harris.”
Kelly nodded and minutes later, she headed back to Chambers & Quinn. If she thought that just having come back from court was an excuse to take a break, she was wrong. As soon as she got to the office, Angelina handed her a file for their newest case and ordered her to start on research. Considering that the pre-trial was scheduled for the next day, it meant that Kelly was in for a late night at the office.
With a sigh, Kelly trudged back to her office.
No wonder she couldn’t take Sin’s advice to terrorize Spencer. Who had the time or the energy? Even worse, Spencer consistently treated her professionally and as nothing more than a colleague. It would’ve been the height of pettiness not to do the same.
About an hour later, Marie skipped into the office, drawing the attention of everyone there. But she had eyes for only one person. “Kelly?”
“Yeah?” Kelly looked up from her computer to find the receptionist’s eyes glittering with unrestrained excitement. “What’s up?”
“Someone’s asking for you at the reception.”
“Who?” Kelly frowned. With so much work to do, the last thing she needed was an interruption. However, given Marie’s excitement and the fact that she’d come personally to announce the visitor instead of just calling, the guest had to be someone interesting.
“You won’t believe this.” Marie paused for dramatic effect. “Yuri Yoneshige.”
“Who?” Kelly blinked. She had no idea who that was.
But her male colleagues did. Their gasps and questions met Marie’s announcement. “Yuri Yoneshige?” “No way.” “Kelly, how the hell do you know Yoneshige?”
“I don’t know him,” Kelly said causing even more stunned looks and gasps. Their strange reactions were enough to make her ask, “Am I supposed to know him?”
“He’s only the most recently minted billionaire,” Casper explained. “You’ve heard of Rainsoft, right?”
“Rainsoft, Rainsoft, Rainsoft,” Kelly tested the name on her tongue. Where had she heard the name before? “Oh, the tech company that makes those games?”
“Those games?” Duke stared at her like she’d just insulted his mother. “They’re the best games on the street right now. The dude is a king in the game world. He-”
“Yoneshige is the CEO of Rainsoft,” Russell cut Duke off mid-sentence. “How do you know him?”
“I don’t. Maybe he’s mistaken me for someone else.” Kelly rose from her desk and followed Marie to the reception.
The only person in the reception was a tall, pony-tailed man who appeared to be in his early forties. He looked like he’d just dropped in while on his way to a rock-concert; stud in his ear, barbed wire tattoo peeking beneath the sleeve of his black, graphic tee, metal wristband, and ripped skinny jeans that clung to his thin legs like a second skin.
Had Yuri left? Kelly wondered as she looked around the room waiting for a CEO-like man to emerge from somewhere.
“Here she is, Mr. Yoneshige,” Marie smiled at Mr. Punk Rock even as she pushed Kelly forward.
Still shocked that he was a CEO, Kelly tentatively greeted. “Hello?”
“Kelly?” Yuri’s eyes lit up in obvious glee as he rose up to greet her. “It’s great to see you again.”
Again? Had they met before? If they had, she didn’t remember. However, the man was smiling at her like they were long lost friends.
Aware of Marie watching her every action, Kelly forced a smile and took Yuri’s outstretched hand. “It’s great to see you too, Mr. Yoneshige.”
“Just call me Yuri.” Yuri studied her for a long and, frankly, uncomfortable moment. The corners of his mouth turned up in a slow smile. “You don’t remember me, do you?”
Was she that obvious? Kelly offered him a sheepish smile. “No. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry.” Yuri laughed. “I’d be more surprised if you remembered me. The last time you and I met, you were four years old and still totting a plastic stethoscope around so you could be like your dad.” He gave her an appreciative head-to-toe once over. “You’ve certainly grown up well.”
“Thank you,” Kelly responded absent-mindedly still stuck on the fact that they went so far back that he even knew her father.
Before she could ask further questions, the elevator pinged. When the doors opened, Lawrence stepped out of the elevator, a huge grin already plastered on his chubby face. Usually when he came to their floor, it was to see Spencer, but today it was obvious that he was here for Yuri.
“Yuri Yoneshige. As I live and breathe.” Lawrence pumped the other man’s hand enthusiastically. “I thought you said you’d rather swim in a river filled with rusty, tetanus-infected razor blades then step into Chambers & Quinn.”
Yuri grinned. “You finally got something I liked, so I changed my mind.”
“Would that something be our very talented new associate?” Lawrence waggled his brow suggestively as his gaze switched between Yuri and Kelly.
“Something like that,” Yuri hedged.
Somehow, someway, Kelly found herself being herded to the fifth floor with Yuri. She even got to see Lawrence’s luxurious office for the very first time. Yuri was such a distinguished guest that soon the other two managing partners showed up to greet him and chat. It would be a lie to say that Kelly wasn’t intimidated by all the successful men in the room. Next to them, she was just a puny prawn seated be
tween sharks.
“So how do you know Kelly?” Lawrence asked.
“This one?” Yuri offered Kelly an affectionate look. “I met her when she was an itty bitty little thing.”
“Really?” Lawrence stared at Kelly like he couldn’t quite believe that she knew someone like Yuri. “Do tell.”
“It’s an old story. I was sixteen and running with a gang down in Hell’s Kitchen,” Yuri explained. “They were bad news, so it was no surprise when I got banged up pretty bad. I couldn’t go to a real hospital because they tend to ask too many questions when you come in with gunshot wounds. Somehow I ended up on her dad’s table.”
Ah! Now that made sense. So he was one of her dad’s ‘patients’? The information was enough to peak Kelly’s interest even more. She snatched a glance at Yuri. Sure, he wasn’t your ordinary suit-wearing CEO, but never in a thousand years had she imagined that he was a former gang-banger.
“Your dad saved my life in more ways than one.” Yuri offered Kelly a soft smile. “He stitched me up then convinced me to get on the straight and narrow. He even got me my first legal job.”
That was just like her dad, Kelly thought fondly, an instinctive smile lifting her lips. Though circumstances, namely her mother’s cancer, had dragged him into the underworld, he’d still tried to be the best version of himself while he was in there, and even tried to get others out of that world. Even though he wasn’t here, his kind actions still left a ripple-effect around her.
Her father was a good man. And thanks to Spencer, he was now gone.
* * * * *
“I TOLD YOU, didn’t I?” Lawrence greeted Spencer with unrestrained glee when he turned up at his office. Settling down on the leather couch, the older man added, “I told you Kelly was a good investment.”
“Did you?” Spencer’s eyebrows shot up. As he recalled, his godfather had proclaimed that Kelly was a risky-hire whose law degree was as good as useless. Some references had even been made about toilet paper, right?
