I waited for Tommy to tell me no, but he asked, “If there was so much evidence against him, how did he get arrested and charged in the first place?”
“Her father’s a rich white man. He’s friends with the mayor and the district attorney.”
“Ah. And I’m guessing your client isn’t white?”
I chuckled. “No, actually, he’s white, too. I can sometimes get passionate about that particular subject because I’m a woman of color.” I shrugged. “No offense.”
“None taken. I’m not white.”
I looked him up and down and laughed. “Yes, you are.”
“Actually, Miss Know-It-All, I’m part Native American and part Filipino.”
“That explains the dark hair and eyes.”
“Well, I’m also Italian and Greek, so there’s that, too.”
“Now, if only we could take care of the man part, then you’d be perfect,” I joked.
He snorted. “You didn’t seem to mind the man part last night when it was deep inside you, sweetheart.”
A flush started in my cheeks and went down to my toes. I was embarrassed and turned on. A memory of waking up a few hours after we’d gone to sleep made its way to the forefront of my brain. He had woken me up with his rough hands and then rolled over and gently slid into me—
“So, you said the girlfriend’s dad is rich and obviously has connections, but your client can’t pull the same strings, I take it?”
Thank God he’d interrupted my thoughts. I didn’t have time to think about sex.
“Yes. His mom and stepdad have decent jobs and a nice home, but they certainly don’t have anything left over to keep paying attorney fees. And they definitely aren’t friends with the mayor or anyone else political. I took his criminal case on pro bono, but now, her family is suing him. He can’t afford that. Which is probably why they’re suing him. Her parents are awful.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m certainly not going to let them win.” Not after everything that family had done.
“Are you going to represent him again for free?”
“Yes.” I grinned like a Cheshire cat. “And then, when we win, I’m going to countersue for emotional damage and damage to his reputation.” And any other charges I could come up with. “He lost a scholarship to college because of this case. The girlfriends’ parents smear his name on the news every chance they get.”
Tommy shook his head. “I will never understand that. With all the evidence, they have to know he’s innocent. Yet they continue to go after him. Meanwhile, the real predator is still out there. Sometimes, they continue committing crimes. It makes me sick.”
I’d had no idea he would be so passionate about something. “Maybe you should go into law enforcement like Maddox?”
He looked at me like I was nuts. “And live in a small town like him, too? No way. Brook Creek is fine to visit, but I’d go stir-crazy, living there. I grew up in New York. I need to be in a city of some sort.”
“Where in New York?”
“Staten Island. And you? Have you always lived in Des Moines?”
“I was born in South Korea actually. My parents adopted me when I was about nine months old, so I’ve lived in Des Moines ever since, minus the years I lived in Iowa City for undergrad and law school.”
“Have you ever thought about living anywhere else?”
I rolled it around in my brain. “Not really, no. You?”
He shrugged. “No. Right now, I’m still in Virginia, and I know I probably won’t stay there. Not now that I’m retired. But I don’t want to go back to New York either. I haven’t decided what I’m going to do yet. All I know is that nothing will compare to being in the Navy.”
I felt bad for Tommy. It was hard enough to figure out what you wanted to do for the rest of your life when you were young and idealistic. But giving up a career you loved and then trying to find a second career that you were never going to like as much would be even harder.
“I’m sorry,” was all I said.
He smiled way too big. “Hey, don’t feel sorry for me. I’ll get it all sorted.” He looked down at my computer. “Why don’t you get to work? You have a client who is counting on you.”
15
Tommy
I decided to be the nice guy and dropped Olivia off at her firm before I went and picked up the windows. It didn’t take me very long, so I ran a few more errands before I went back to her office. There was a little something I wanted to buy before Olivia and I got naked again.
When I arrived back at her office and went up to her floor, I had to admit, I was impressed. For some reason, I always pictured a small office—perhaps because of Addison—but Olivia had a whole firm with receptionists at the front desk, people buzzing around, and a sign up above that said Mayer, Hastings, & Lee.
“Can I help you?” a woman behind the desk asked.
“Oh, sorry. Name’s Tommy, and I’m here for Olivia Mayer.”
“Please have a seat while I call her.”
Almost fifteen minutes later, a nicely dressed man came into the waiting room, and I could tell he was headed straight for me. Olivia had already left me hanging with no word from her, and it looked like she was going to pawn me off on someone else.
“Thomas Morelli?”
“Uh…” No one called me Thomas, and it sounded strange. “You can call me Tommy,” I said as I stood.
I towered over the guy, but he still looked up to me and said, “Mr. Morelli it is.” He spun on his heel. “Right this way.”
We made our way past several offices and conference rooms until we got to the corner office.
The man knocked on the door and opened it before she could respond. “Mr. Morelli is here to see you.”
I walked in as Olivia was standing behind her desk, shuffling papers around.
“Who’s the suit?” I asked.
She paused
