“Well, Terry… I don’t…” I struggle to find the words. How do I tell him that I have a hunch Riker is innocent? I barely know how to tell myself that I think he is the man I’ve spent the last month with.
“You see…” I continue. “I’ve spent a lot of time with Riker this past month, as you know. I…” I sigh. It’s now or never. “I don’t think he did this.”
Terry looks taken aback. “Jane, he got his ex-girlfriend pregnant. I can hardly say I’m surprised. No one will blame you for wanting to leave. You’re free from this. Free from Riker.”
“But I don’t want to be,” I say it before I can stop myself. Terry and I both look away, embarrassed.
“Think about it, Jane. Think about it for you. Think about it for Nia,” she says.
“Thank you,” I say, unsure what I’m thanking him for.
I don’t blame Terry for this. She’s only looking out for me. I feel disgusted by the thought of breaking things off with Riker. I like him. I like who we are together. I pause on the thought. I don’t like it. I feel fearful for a second. Could everyone else be right? But then I realize, I don’t like him—I love him.
As soon as I think the words, everything falls into place and I feel more sure of myself than ever. I love Riker. I love Riker because I know who he is. He didn’t do this.
I briefly run through all of the arguments as to why he couldn’t have done this. Everything amounts to hearsay. It wouldn’t hold up in a courtroom, and I don’t know if it will hold up in Terry’s office, but I have to try.
“I don’t think he did this,” I repeat, more sure this time. “I know I don’t have any evidence, but I’m a good lawyer because sometimes I have to trust my gut. This is one of those times.”
I stare at her earnestly. I refuse to be the first one to break eye contact. I have to communicate all of these feelings and instincts wordlessly to him. Terry sighs, being the first one to break away. I have won the battle of wills, but who knows if I will win the war.
“Ultimately, this is your choice, Jane. We’re all behind you.”
It’s rare that any young lawyer hears that. Not only is she loosening the leash she has on me, but she’s letting go entirely. We’re completely off whatever path we started on trying to get Riker out of jail. Now it’s become deeply personal.
I stand up. “Thank you for your time and advice, Terry. Is there anything else before I go?”
She looks up at me. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Jane.” She gives me a nod, and I take that as my cue to exit.
I do know what I’m doing. I’m loving a man who has earned it. I think this to myself with a small smile. I almost feel guilty for doing so. With everything going on, I shouldn’t be smiling. But I feel like I’m bursting at the seams with my sudden revelation. I want to open the nearest window and shout to the world that I love Riker Lord. I’m practically giggling at the thought. I make myself a pull a more serious face. Think, Jane. Be logical about this.
I’m not like all of Riker’s groupies. I don’t let him get away with nonsense. With each step away from Terry’s office, I become more sure of my next course of action. I need to prove Riker is innocent, and I need to make this relationship real. I wonder briefly to myself if it’s been real the whole time. Who can say?
My lawyer brain is working overtime. Even though it isn’t a legal issue, I’m on the case. This didn’t happen. I know it didn’t happen. So then I just need to find the evidence that it didn’t happen. Ana has a solid case so far. It does seem like the type of thing he would do. But he denied it so fervently that I believe him. We could put him on camera and have him deny it just as passionately to the world, but then it’s still her word against his. No. We need hard evidence.
I need to prove Riker’s innocence.
32 Riker
This whole situation is such a fucking mess, and I don’t even know what to do about it, which is why I’m sitting here at the bar with Mark, trying to figure out my next move. My ex showing up in the news and claiming that I got her pregnant was inconvenient at best, and catastrophic to my relationship with Jane at worst.
Currently, this situation is definitely on the ‘worst’ end of that scenario.
“So you’re sure you didn’t sleep with her, Riker?”
I look over at him with a scowl, scoffing as I lean forward and narrow my eyes. Does he really think that I’m the kind of man to just sleep with someone and forget?
“Are you fucking kidding me, Mark?” I snap, shaking my head. “Of course I’m sure. I think I’d remember sleeping with her.”
He shrugs his shoulders with an apologetic grin and sighs, clearly trying to tread lightly.
“I’m sorry Riker but look, it wouldn’t be the first time that you slept with a girl and didn’t remember, right? I mean come on, it literally happened last month.”
Okay so maybe he had a pint, but that’s not me anymore. And I do know with one hundred percent certainty that I most definitely did not sleep with my ex.
“Look man I get it, okay? But that’s not who I am anymore, and even if it was, those girls were random. We’re talking about an ex whose name I know and remember, not some groupie that I picked up at a club for a bit of fun. I didn’t fuck my ex and I didn’t get her pregnant. if she’s pregnant, it isn’t mine.”
“Okay, fair enough,”
