The Maybe Series

by Ella Miles

  “Now, do any of you have further questions about the company or what our focus should be in the upcoming months?”

  I look around the room as everyone shakes their head.

  “Good. If anyone has any questions, please contact me or Tony. He will be my assistant and will get any questions you have to me. Understood?”

  I smile as I look around the room, and everyone nods.

  I can do this, I think. I can run a company. I just need a little confidence and a little more practice. I can do this.

  A sense of calm washes over me as I walk into the Felton Grand casino. I shouldn’t feel this way, walking into a place that I’m helping to destroy. I shouldn’t feel like I’m walking into my home.

  I walk through the casino to the door that says Employees Only. I swipe my employee card, and it still works. I open the door. I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be doing this. Kinsley might not even be here, but I have to see her. I have to try one more time.

  I walk down the hallway to Robert’s office. I grab the door handle, but it’s locked. I knock, but no one answers, and from what I can tell, it looks dark inside. I walk past my old office that still looks the same. I could go in and just pretend that this is still my life. That I get to feel important and useful, helping to build a company, instead of feeling like a fraud FBI agent. I rest my hand on the handle of my office door, ready to go inside, when I hear the door to the meeting room open.

  I watch as several of the other execs file out of the room. I nod at them as they walk by with shocked, wide-eyed expressions on each of their faces. I wait until the last one has passed, and that’s when I see her.

  Kinsley closes the door behind her as she takes a deep breath with a large smile on her face. I can’t help but smile at her, too. Whatever happened in there happened because she finally found herself. She found the piece of confidence that had been dampened years ago. She looks beautiful and strong, standing there in her business suit.

  Kinsley tucks a strand of her long blonde hair behind her ear as she looks up and straight into my eyes. She freezes when she sees me, not sure what to do, and then she narrows her eyes at me, like she’s not sure if I am really here.

  She begins walking down the hallway, her eyes now looking at the floor instead of me, but I can’t keep mine off of her. Despite looking down, she struts down the hallway like she owns the place. When she gets to me, I plan on stopping her and dragging her inside my office, but she stops and looks at me. I try to read her face, but I can’t.

  She raises her eyebrows at me.

  “We need to talk,” I say.

  She doesn’t hesitate like she usually does. She doesn’t say maybe. She simply says, “No.”

  And then she’s walking again, and I have to resort to my original plan.

  “It wasn’t a question.” I pull her into my old office and quickly shut the door behind me.

  She glares at me, but it looks more cute than menacing. “I want your employee access card back.”

  I shake my head and get straight to the point. “Take the plea deal.”

  “If that’s why you came here, then you are wasting your time and mine. I have a lot of work to do. After we found out that the man we’d thought could run the company is a lying scumbag, a lot of work has been left to me to do.”

  I smile. She deserves to run the company. Then, I think about what it will mean for her case. Her legally running the company will just make her look guilty.

  The smile drops from my lips. “You are running the company now?”

  “Yes. I am capable.” She scowls at me. Her voice quiets. “I don’t know everything yet, but I’m a fast learner.”

  I run my hand through my hair, frustrated that I keep screwing this up, but I can’t tell her the truth. “I know you can run the company. That’s not what I’m worried about.”

  I begin pacing the room, trying to think of what I can tell her that will change her mind. When I turn back, all I see is her getting more and more annoyed with me.

  “What do you know?” I ask, hoping she will say enough so that I can tell her the truth. If I can tell her everything, then she might listen to me.

  But she stares back at me with a blank expression. She cocks her head to one side. “What do I know about what?”

  I shake my head. This is a bad idea. I turn to pace again, but she reaches her hand out and touches my arm. I freeze at her touch as it electrifies my body. I don’t know what it is about her that effects me like this. There is nothing sexual about her touch. It’s not even that comforting. I’m not even sure she really she realizes she is touching my arm. She just is like she is autopilot.

  “Take the plea. If not for you, do it for me.”

  She scrunches her nose. “I’m not going to help you lock Granddad away.”

  “You won’t. You don’t know anything that could worsen his case. Just don’t make me testify against you. Don’t make me hurt you, princess.”

  She lets go of my arm. “You can’t hurt me, Liam. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  I hate hearing the name Liam coming out of her mouth. “I can hurt you though. I could send you to jail with my testimony.”

  “It would be a lie.”

  I shake my head. “It wouldn’t be.”

  “Then, tell me what you saw. What evidence do you think you have against me? Tell me what you think I did?”

  “I don’t think you did anything, but with what I saw, the FBI will make the jury believe that you knew what you were doing.” I can’t tell her more though. “You just have to trust me.”

  “I can’t, Liam, not after you lied to me.”

  “Take the plea deal. Choose your own freedom.”

  “Tell me the truth, and maybe I will.”

  I suspiciously eye her, trying to decide if she would change her mind if I told her. I’ve studied everything about this girl for five years, from afar and up close. She’s too loyal to her family, no matter the cost.

  “You won’t. Even if I told you the truth.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. It depends on what the truth is.”

  “You won’t.”

  “Try me. Let me make up my own mind.” She steps forward in a challenging manner until her body is pressed against mine.

  I try not to show her how much her body affects me, but it’s a useless endeavor. My eyes fill with need, and my body aches for her, to kiss her and own her body until she forgets why she hates me.

  “Trust me,” I say.

  “I can’t.”

  I close my eyes in defeat. I hear her phone buzzing in her pocket and watch as she pulls it out and glances at her screen.

  “It’s my lawyer,” she says.

  “Take it.” I nod toward her phone. I lean forward and softly kiss her on the cheek because I can’t stand not to at least touch her skin. And then I’m walking toward the door.

  I know this is the last time she won’t fully hate me. After I testify against her and her grandfather, I will know what true hatred feels like.

  “My name’s not Liam. I haven’t been Liam since I was seven. I’m Killian. I didn’t lie about that.”

  She smiles at me, and it’s a memory I will take with me forever, a last piece of happiness she gave to me. And then I leave her to find out how long she has left before her life changes forever.

  Killian came to see me again. Each time I see him, it gets harder and harder to tell him good-bye. Each time, it gets harder and harder to tell him no when his body is asking for more.

  I walk over to my closet and pull out the pastel-pink jacket I’ve chosen to wear with my khaki dress pants. My lawyer said appearance is important in court. I’m supposed to look professional but not too professional. Pretty but not too pretty. He said the most important was to look young and naïve, not like a strong businesswoman.

  That’s not hard for me though. That’s what everyone thinks of me on a normal day.

  I slip the jacket on and take a deep breath, trying to calm myself, b
ut it’s no use. Granddad still isn’t well enough to leave the house. My mother is still in rehab. Scarlett and I haven’t made up yet. I have no one to go to court with. No one to lean on for support. I’m on my own.

  I grab my purse and head downstairs.

  “Would you like any breakfast?” Paige asks when I walk past the kitchen.

  I stop, and my stomach growls. She smiles at me.

  “I don’t know,” I say because I have no idea if I could stomach any food right now.

  “I’ll make you a smoothie, so you can sip it on your way.”

  “Thanks.”

  The doorbell rings, and I stare her in confusion. “Are we expecting anyone?”

  She shakes her head and then goes to gather ingredients to make the smoothie. I sigh and walk to the door. I don’t want to deal with anybody today. I just want to go to court and then climb back into bed and cry.

  I open the door, and my mouth falls open.

  “Hi, Kins,” Scarlett says hesitantly.

  “Hi,” I breathe back.

  “I, uh…I came here…I mean, I just thought…”

  I take in Scarlett’s appearance of heels, a black skirt, and a white blouse. I smile.

  “Thank you,” I say.

  She smiles back at me, and that’s all it takes to make up. We don’t need any other words. We don’t need to say we are sorry.

  Scarlett wraps her arms around me, and I can finally breathe. It’s exactly what I needed. Someone to support me today. To know someone will be sitting on my side of the courtroom with me. When she lets go, she grabs my hand instead.

  “We’ve got this,” she says.

  I nod, unable to speak. We’ve got this.

  “You ready to go?”

  I nod again.

  “Smoothies for two,” Paige says from behind me. She hands me and Scarlett each a strawberry-banana smoothie. “Best of luck, sweetheart.”

  “She doesn’t need luck. We’ve got this,” Scarlett says, winking at me.

  I smile as we walk to her car. I climb in the passenger seat, feeling good that I don’t have to drive myself.

  “How’s your grandfather doing?”

  “He’s recovering well. A therapy team comes twice a day to help him get stronger.”

  “That’s good,” she says, backing the car out of the driveway.

  “Company doing well?”

  “Yeah, it’s doing better than ever actually.”

  She smiles. “There is no such thing as bad press.”

  I smile, too. “That’s what I thought.”

  She hesitates before asking me the last question, the one she’s dying to ask if I know Scarlett at all, “And Killian?”

  I twirl my hair around my fingers. “It’s over. He’s going to testify against me today. I think, after hearing that, any lingering feelings I have for him will disappear.”

  “It’s okay if they don’t.”

  “No, it’s not. I need to move on.”

  She nods.

  “Do you want to talk about…”

  “No.” If I think about where we are driving, about what I’m going to have to do today, I’ll lose any bit of strength I have worked so hard to get. I need to save it all for the courtroom.

  “I went on an audition,” Scarlett says, trying to distract me.

  “Yeah? For what?”

  “A horror film.”

  I raise my eyebrow. “Horror? Really? How did it go?”

  She laughs. “It was horrible. Evidently, I make a terrible scared face. And they said I was too pretty for horror anyway.”

  I laugh a little, too. “I can’t imagine you covered in blood. You should try romance or comedy or suspense.”

  “Yeah, I don’t think I could handle being covered in blood.” Scarlett pulls into a parking spot outside the courthouse.

  She turns off the ignition, but neither of us moves or looks at each other. We just breathe.

  Scarlett breaks first. “Ready?”

  I look out the window at the looming building that looks fifty-plus years old. I look at the blue sky. The weather today is beautiful and perfect.

  I didn’t do anything wrong. Granddad didn’t do anything wrong. Dad didn’t do anything wrong. Justice always wins.

  “Yeah, we’ve got this,” I say, grabbing Scarlett’s hand. I’ve got this.

  I put my purse on the conveyer belt, and then I walk through the metal detector. It beeps as I walk through, startling me and ruining any strength I had built up inside me.

  “Put your arms out,” the officer says.

  I stretch my arms out, and he moves a wand over every area of my body. It beeps when it goes over my bracelet. He inspects it and then motions me forward. I take my purse and wait for Scarlett, who is behind me. When she makes it through I take a step forward and then stop. I don’t know where to go. My lawyer mentioned an area where I should meet him, but my mind has gone blank.

  Scarlett grabs ahold of my arm. “I think we should go this way.” She leads me to a bench outside the courtroom.

  My arms and legs shake as we walk until we sit down. I notice that her arms aren’t any steadier than mine are as she holds on to me.

  “It’s going to be okay,” she says.

  She looks worried though, as worried as I feel.

  “How are you doing today, Ms. Felton?” Mr. Greene, asks.

  I glance up. “I’m doing all right.”

  He extends his hand, and I shake it.

  “This is my friend Scarlett.”

  Scarlett stands next to me and shakes his hand as well. “Nice to meet you.”

  Mr. Greene glances at his watch. “We have about five minutes, and then we will make our way into the courtroom. Now, everything is going to happen just like I described to you on the phone yesterday. Do you have any questions or concerns before we go in?”

  I feel my heart beating rapidly in my chest. Faster than I think it has ever beat before. “No.”

  “Good.” He puts his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry. It will be over quickly, and then this will just be a distant memory.”

  I nod.

  He glances at his watch again. “Let’s go in.”

  I follow him, and Scarlett holds on to me. We walk into the room that is more crowded than I expected.

  “Who are all these people?” Scarlett whispers to me.

  I shrug. “I don’t have a clue.”

  As I look around, I realize who the people are—reporters, agents, and others who are just curious about a high-profile case. None of them are friends or family though. Even though I don’t really see any of their faces, I know that none of them are on my side.

  I follow my lawyer up to the table at the front, a table I never imagined I would ever have to sit behind. Scarlett squeezes me again to try to comfort me, but it doesn’t help. I can see the worried look on her face.

  “I’ll be sitting right behind you.”

  “Thanks, Scar.”

  She smiles, and then true to her word, she takes a seat at the bench behind me.

  My lawyer pulls a chair out for me, like we are sitting down for dinner at a nice restaurant, not like he’ll be defending me in court. I take a seat, and he sits next to me. Then, he begins pulling out papers from his briefcase while I sit nervously.

  I feel the sweat building under my shirt. I nervously tap my foot under the table. And then I swing my leg. And then I tap again. I switch back and forth, trying anything to calm myself, but it’s useless.

  Mr. Greene leans over to me. “It’s normal to feel nervous and scared. You shouldn’t be here after all, but just make sure you don’t look guilty. Just be as natural as you can.”

  I nod.

  “All rise,” a woman says.

  I stand next to my lawyer as everyone else in the room also stands. I watch as a judge and jury file into the room, and then we all take our seats.

  I see the judge’s lips moving, but I don’t hear the words. I’m too busy tapping my foot again to listen
. I watch the prosecutor stand. He’s older. His hair is graying, and he has wrinkles around his eyes.

  He begins speaking about why we are here. That, by the end, he is going to prove my guilt. He doesn’t speak to me. He speaks to the jury while occasionally motioning to me. It makes it easier for me to pretend like I’m not here.

  I try to picture myself sitting on the beach. When that doesn’t work, I picture myself hiking in the mountains. Image after image goes through my head when the prosecutor speaks and then when my lawyer speaks. Their words don’t matter. I don’t have to respond to them. I won’t have to testify until next week—if at all, depending on how today goes. So, I just try to forget I’m here. It’s all I can do.

  When I hear Killian’s name, my ears immediately perk up.

  “Agent Byrne will take the stand now.”

  I keep my eyes forward as Killian makes his way into the courtroom. I don’t look at him until I watch him climb up into the witness box next to the judge. He only glances at me for a second, but it’s enough. Enough to calm me and excite me at the same time, and then his eyes go right back to the prosecutor.

  “Can you explain your relationship with Ms. Felton?”

  Killian looks to the jury. “I was an undercover agent for five years at the Felton Corporation, the company her family owns and operates. I also spent time getting romantically close to Ms. Felton in order to gain her trust.”

  “And what was Ms. Felton’s relationship with her father and grandfather?”

  “She was close to them.”

  “Close enough that they didn’t have any secrets between them?”

  Killian nods. “I would guess not, but I can’t be sure of that.”

  The prosecutor nods and walks back to his desk. He picks up a piece of paper in a plastic cover. “I would like to submit the first piece of evidence.”

  He places the piece of paper in front of Killian. “Can you describe for the jury what this is?”

  “It’s a document, a contract of sorts between the Felton Corporation and their investors, stating how much money the Felton Corporation earned during a specific time period. It’s a lie the Felton Corporation presented to their investors to get them to invest more.”