Justice for All (3 page)

By the time Kay got home after the Faucett hearings a few days later, she was more than exhausted. Her feet were aching, and she figured she had about an hour to rest before she had to get ready for the office Christmas party. The last thing she needed was to find someone sitting on the floor waiting at her door. Still she smiled and shook her head.

“Hey, Thomas. What’s up?”

He raised one side of his lip in a grin and pressed a palm to the wall to heave himself to his feet. With a flick of his head, he popped his long hair out of his eyes as he stepped out of the way to let her open her apartment door. “Wait until you hear what I’ve got,” he began, entirely expecting to be invited inside.

“And what is so important you had to camp out on my steps waiting for me?”

He sauntered into her apartment and plopped down onto her love seat. This was so normal for him that she barely even blinking an eye at his audacity. “I got tickets to that Christmas orchestra you were talking about.”

As Kay kicked off her shoes and lay back on the couch across from him, her mind perked up as she thought about the show she’d tried but failed to get tickets to. Then a sinking feeling replaced her excitement. “But the last show is tonight.”

“Yeah, I know,” Thomas crowed, reaching into his back pocket and whipping out two tickets. “That’s why I’ve been camped at your doorstep. You weren’t answering your phone.”

She remembered her phone was still on silent after court, and with a heavy sigh she reached for it and switched it over to ring. There was a notification on top of some emails and Facebook communications, but she ignored those for now. “I can’t go tonight, Thomas. The office Christmas party is tonight.”

Her friend’s face fell, and a twinge of guilt tickled in her chest. She sat up and leaned over to slap affectionately at his arm. “I’m sorry, Thomas. But I gotta go to this shindig. You know how these parties are. It’s as much about rubbing elbows as celebrating. I want to get a permanent job here.”

“Yeah, I get it,” he nodded, stretching his mouth out into a forced smile. “It’s no problem. I’ll just give these to Dana. So what time is this shindig? It won’t take me long to get ready. Black tie?”

“Oh, Thomas,” she groaned, rubbing the heels of her hands into her eyes. “You can’t come.”

“You have a date?”

“Pfft,” she hissed derisively. “With who?”

Thomas stood up from the couch and began texting on his iPhone. “How would I know? So why can’t I come with you to this party? You know I can behave.”

She wasn’t entirely sure of that, actually. Thomas didn’t mix well with liquor, and with an open bar, he’d be sure to drink and heavily. Still, that wasn’t why she couldn’t take him to the firm party. “My boss has an extreme dislike for you. Taking you to this party would not improve my chances of getting hired by this firm.”

“Aw, Kay. C’mon. It’ll look better for you to have a date. Going solo makes them think you can’t commit.”

Her blonde head dropped to the side and she gave him a hard glare.

Thomas chuckled nervously and shoved his phone into his back pocket. “All right, all right. I gotta get rid of these tickets while I still can. I’ll talk to you later.”

He let himself out of the apartment, and she listened to his clodhopping feet as he made his way down the hall and to his own place. When she heard his door open and close, she breathed a sigh of relief and then let her head thump back onto the sofa for a quick nap.

~oOo~

“He chews with his mouth open,” Tamara noted, taking a sip of her wine and then waggling one eyebrow at Kay. She paused to swallow, then giggled. “I’m not kidding. He does.”

“I believe you. But that still begs the question. Why the hell would I care?”

The brunette shrugged. “You should care because Kyle’s going to ask you out. He’s been working up the nerve for two weeks now.”

“Oh, hell.” Kay rolled her neck and poured back the last of her bourbon. “Why me?”

Tamara snorted and snagged a carrot from Kay’s plate. “Hey, you’re new blood, and you’re smokin’ hot blood.”

Kay gazed down at her attire, a snug pair of silver slacks that fell just at her ankles, topped with a blue sweater. The shoes were what set off the ensemble. A silver, studded pair of Christian Louboutin heels. Still, she shrugged when her eyes returned to Tamara. “I’ve been here almost six months. That’s not new. Katie’s new blood.”

Said newbie walked past them, sporting about a size ten green dress on her bone-thin size three body. She waved at Kay and Tamara before approaching the bar for a drink.

“Yeah, but Kyle might break her if he went out with her.”

Kay opened her mouth to scold her friend for being so catty but stopped cold when she heard her name called. A glance at her glass confirmed that it was empty, and she wished with all her might that it would be magically refilled to the top with bourbon. Despite her mental pleading, it remained empty.

She exhaled and set the glass and her plate on a passing tray, then turned to face Thomas. “What are you doing here?”

He grinned, lifting his sport coat at the lapels, then letting it drop back as he displayed his party clothes. “Told you I could clean up. Eh? Eh? And you look ah-mazing. Blue is your color.”

“Damn it, Thomas,” she hissed, grabbing his elbow and dragging him towards the party room exit. “You aren’t supposed to be here.”

“Hey, don’t be pushy,” he whined, stumbling.

Kay drew back and glared at him with narrowed eyes. “You’ve been drinking already.”

“I had a few bars … I mean beers before I got here. What’s the big deal? I took a taxi.”

She leaned in close to him, “You’re a shitty drunk, that’s what the big deal is. And you aren’t supposed to be here. I told you I didn’t want you here.”

Thomas’ eyes went black, and he yanked his arm away so hard that she lost her hold on her clutch, sending it flying across the floor. She didn’t even spare it a look though because the expression on his face was something that so alarmed her she couldn’t speak. What she’d said was true. Thomas was a bad drunk. He got loud, he got annoying, and he got grabby. None of those were things she wanted connected to her at her company party.

But right at this moment, Thomas looked angry. Red-hot angry, causing Kay to recoil a little as she swallowed.

“You know, Kay, you should be a little nicer to me. I’m the guy who hung out with you during late nights while you were studying. I’m the guy who took you to the urgent care when you had the flu last year. I’m the one who’s been your friend, following you around like a fucking puppy for years now. You’re just too stuck up to notice I’m the guy.”

Her face fell, and she immediately felt contrite. Still, she couldn’t help that he always saw things that weren’t there. “I’m sorry, Thomas. I was always straight with you. Right from the start I told you that we could be friends. There was no duplicity on my part.” She reached out to put her hand on his shoulder, but he slapped her away, then headed out of the room

She wanted to go after him but couldn’t quite convince her legs to move. He should never have forced this issue. She wasn’t even sure how he’d known where the Christmas party was to be held. Her blank stare remained focused on the door he’d left through.

After a moment, she heard someone approach. Kay looked back, expecting to see Tamara, but instead Van’s imposing form was there. He held out his hand, and she saw her cell phone there. “I’m not sure if it’ll work. It smashed into the wall pretty hard.”

“Thanks.” She took it and held down the power button, surprised to see the cracked face flicker and start back to life. Rubbing the glass against the side of her slacks, her gaze rounded the room looking for her clutch purse. Tamara was on her knees picking it up, replacing her lipstick and other small items before standing and bringing it to her.

“Here ya’ go. Good as new. You okay?”

Kay could only nod, afraid to look either of them in the eye with all the mortified embarrassment she was feeling. She dropped her phone into her purse and tucked it under her arm. She was about to turn around when Van’s hand grabbed hers, and she was so startled by the intimate meeting of their flesh that she gasped. He grinned and placed a cold glass into that same hand.

“Thought I’d buy you a drink.”

She hadn’t realized her hands were shaking until she saw the way the ice jingled in the glass of bourbon and water. She took a long sip and let the warmth settle over her before meeting Van’s eyes. “It’s an open bar.”

He shrugged, and she found the simple gesture on his broad shoulder somehow intensely attractive. “An open bar that I helped pay for. So, in some form or fashion I’m still buying the drink.”

She lifted and dropped her head in one long nod. “And how did you know what I was drinking?”

“Tamara told me. C’mon, let’s go sit down and relax.”

She followed him without question to a table in the far corner of the room. She knew there were lots of eyes on her, but she focused on Van’s back instead.

“Oh my word, these are good,” Kay moaned as she devoured one of the quesadillas Van brought her. The way she rolled her eyes and savored the bite made him want to see how she would look savoring something else. Shaking his head at his wildly roaming thoughts, he focused on his own plate of hors d'oeuvres instead of her mouth.

She was a little more at ease now, partly because she’d had a few drinks to calm her. He wasn’t sorry about that, but he had transitioned her to water this round. Getting her drunk wasn’t what he necessarily wanted. He just wanted to distract her from the scene Thomas Bergen had made.

“I love Tex-Mex. It’s something I don’t get at home.”

Van had seen the moment the little prick had entered the party. The guy had been uneasy on his feet, swaying a little as his eyes circled the room looking for Kay. He wasn’t sure why he disliked the little creep so much, but the man had a way of getting under Van’s skin, even though they’d only been around each other a handful of times. He was always disappointed that Kay liked to keep company with him.

“No, I don’t imagine there’s much
Tex
-Mex in Colorado,” he chuckled.

“Sorry, not changing the subject here. You were telling me about you.”

Van shrugged, finished chewing and then spoke again. “I don’t mind talking about you.”

“Oh no,” Kay laughed, the sound just as deep and sultry as her speaking voice. “It’s not every day I’m going to get this chance. Proceed.” She twirled her hand at the wrist in a refined sort of way.

“Okay, I’ll proceed, but first tell me what exactly this chance is that you don’t want to miss?”

Pausing with a tortilla halfway to her mouth, Kay cocked an eyebrow and grinned. “The chance to get the skinny on the boss. Or at least one of them. Probably the most important one.”

The most important one?
He wasn’t sure what she meant by that. He was one of five partners in the firm. Still, the blush creeping from her neck to her cheeks said she probably wouldn’t elaborate right now. She stuffed the quesadilla in her mouth and waited for him to speak. He wasn’t sure where to start, what exactly she wanted to know, or what he wanted her to know for that matter.

Kay saved him from having to rack his brain too hard when she asked, still chewing, “What made you choose to go into law?”

“Ah, well, I had a double major in undergraduate school. English and History. After I graduated, I sort of floundered, with no idea what I was going to do with this precious diploma now that I had it. One day I had lunch with one of my father’s friends, and he just happened to be an attorney. He suggested I look into law school, and the rest, as they say, is history.”

She nodded and stared off a moment, wheels turning in her brain. “Well, I suppose English and History make a good base for law, so you were all set in that regard.”

Van snorted a laugh. “Actually, just a few years into practice, I quickly realized the best base for a lawyer would be a psychology degree. About ninety percent of law, especially family law, is driven by emotion.”

“I guess that’s why you were so insistent I be sure about her when I signed up Mrs. Faucett.”

He inclined his head, before taking drink.

“But you aren’t convinced that she’s really ready.”

Van jiggled the ice in his glass as he considered that. “Some studies say that it takes up to seven times for a woman to leave an abusive relationship.”

“But she testified. She went through with the protective order. That’s nothing to sneeze about. It’s a two year order that’s renewable upon expiration. I think that paints her as serious.”

“Yes, but I’ve seen women go back, even with a protective order in place. Hell, I’ve represented men who were charged with violating a protective order when the woman actually moved back into the house with him of her own accord. It doesn’t make the abuse right, but it does mean that sometimes a woman isn’t as ready as she believed she was.”

He watched from the corner of his eye as she stuffed a cheese-coated chip into her mouth, chewing like she was out for blood. He could practically hear the whooshing of different thoughts zinging around inside her brain. Finally she forced a smile and looked back at him. “So you said your dad’s friend suggested law. What did your dad think of that?”

“Dad was about as easy going as they come. If I chose it, he would’ve supported it wholeheartedly. But we lost him when I was in my second year of undergrad, so…”

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, reaching out a hand to touch his arm. She let her fingers linger there just a few seconds, then pulled away. “I lost my mom more than a year ago.”

“Hmm, then we have a bit in common. I know how difficult that must have been.”

“Yes, it was. Mom was a real lady, in every sense of the word. I admired her and wanted to be more like her. However, I was, shall we say, a
willful
child.”

“I’m sure you were.”

She drew back, a coy grin on her face, and stared him down. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“That was not a disparaging observation. And willful isn’t a bad characteristic for an attorney either.”

“When have I ever appeared willful to you?”

“You haven’t. But I can see the potential under the surface. Now that law school’s over and done, I have great expectations for your willfulness.”

Kay laughed even as she stood and took both of their glasses in hand. “On that note, I think I’ll get us some refills. What would you like?”

Van lifted his wrist and rolled it a few times to force the face of his watch around, then looked back up at her. “Just water. I’m done drinking for the night.”

She nodded and started for the bar. He didn’t mind at all the chance to watch her shapely backside as she went. The silvery pants she had on fit her just snug enough in all the right places and the metallic surface caught the low lights in a mystical sort of way. She walked with flair when she had on heels, confidence popping forth with each step. He felt someone eyeing him, and he searched the room until his gaze found one of his partners. The man lifted his glass ever so slightly to him.