Shut Off (Just This Once #3) (10 page)

Chapter Nine

Joel

The whole night before my trial I could barely look at Blaire. I didn’t need any more reminder of what I had to lose. There wasn’t anything else that had been running through my head since the phone call from my lawyer Friday night.

The only good thing to come of any of this was at least I knew the case was being held behind closed doors, and Blaire wouldn’t be there to watch my downfall. How would I tell her I lost?
What would she do? Would she leave immediately? Or, would she stay out of pity for me, all the while knowing that it was only temporary?

Usually I was up before Blaire, but she was already sitting down in the kitchen when I came down dressed and ready for court.

“You’re up.”

“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep. Are you off to work?”

I straightened my tie feeling self-conscious that she could see exactly what I was dressed for. I couldn’t tell her what I was really doing.
What if she wanted to be there to support me? Or worse, what if she didn’t care?
It wasn’t like we had the whole “are we dating or not” discussion, and as much as I wanted to label what was happening between us, it wasn’t exactly the right time.

“Yes, I’ve got some things I need to take care of so I’m off a little early today, but I should be back sometime around lunch. Do you have any plans today? Another lunch with Kerri maybe?”

“Maybe. Did you want to stay and eat breakfast? I could make something for you.”

The somber way Blaire spoke made me feel like a dark cloud was hanging over the house, and though she didn’t know what today meant for me, she seemed unusually quiet and reserved for an ordinary morning.

“That’s OK. I have to go, but if you wait another hour or so, Dennis will be in. You could have him make you breakfast.”

“I’m not really hungry. I was just offering for you.”

I tried not to make eye contact with her, tried to overlook the look of pain that crossed those beautiful brown eyes that I continuously got lost in, but it was pointless. Blaire had this way about her that drew me in every time.

Walking over to where she still sat in the dining chair, I leaned over, brushing the stray hairs from her face so I could plant a kiss on her forehead. Her eyes closed and she inhaled slowly as my lips met her skin. She clutched the back of my blazer, pulling me closer until my legs brushed hers. Looking down her body ignited the desire in me. She was dressed in little shorts and a cami, and I could see an outbreak of goosebumps flood her skin and her nipples practically heaving for my attention.

It took everything I had to leave her like that—with her body begging to be noticed and mine looking to sink itself into every part of her.

Later. If I’m lucky
.

Our eyes met as I pulled back—a flood of distance rushed between us, giving me the space I needed to remove myself from her. More importantly, giving me the resolve to settle things once and for all. Except when I pulled away, her eyes branded me with a look—one I couldn’t quite decipher, but it flashed through my mind the whole ride over to the courthouse.

I hated going down to that part of the strip. Vegas didn’t really have a “downtown” area, just a seedy, rundown extension of the strip—the area that the city intentionally passed over in all of those, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” ads. What happened on that side of town was the kind of shit that stuck with people long after the credit cards were paid off.

The people loitering around the surrounding streets were all dark—regardless of their race—from endless days spent in the sun. Their skin was bone dry like crumbling rocks; clothes hung from their skeletal bodies. Even the ones I was sure were hookers looked a stone’s throw away from death’s door. And that was just the homeless. Then you had drug peddlers and pimps fighting over street corners. Needless to say, it wasn’t my scene.

Jerry met me in the west parking lot like we’d planned. He looked sharp, his thousand dollar suit and brass cufflinks had the illusion of someone who was accustomed to winning. I only hoped it was true in this case.

“Are you ready?” he asked as we made our way to the side entrance.

“Don’t really have a choice, do I?”

“They don’t have any damning evidence, Joel, not really. In this case, she would need to prove your guilt.” His voice was quiet as he looked around, ensuring that no one could overhear this little pep talk he was giving me.

“Then, why don’t I feel good about any of this?”

He stopped just outside the door and looked at me sternly. I took notice of more than his suit. He was probably early fifties with a dusting of gray sprinkling his hair and mustache. He was shorter and slimmer than me, but he had the stature of a man who wasn’t intimidated easily. Everything about him fit the image of a lawyer.

“You have something to lose.” He looked at me squarely.

He was talking about my business, my money, my reputation, but the only thing I could think of was Blaire. Everything always came back to her. I wanted to do the right thing by Blaire, wanted to be good for her. I just didn’t see how that would be possible if we started out on a bad foot.

“Take a deep breath. Do everything I told you to. Be respectful to the judge. Don’t engage, address, or even acknowledge Lara. Stay calm and I’m sure everything will work out fine.

We walked in, and I was surprised by how much activity there was for a Monday morning, a time when I figured most people were either on their way to work or were already
at
work. I watched a man empty his pockets into a small plastic bowl and walk through the metal detector. A red light blinked a few times and beeped, signaling he wasn’t cleared to gather his things and continue on. A police officer patted him down as Jerry and I moved in line to go through the same procedure. Men in beige officer uniforms lined the stone walls, while people navigated their way to and from the courtrooms or elevators.

Jerry and I made it through the detectors without any problems, and I followed Jerry as he led us to our designated room.

The room was smaller than I imagined, with oak wood covering every part of the room that blue carpet didn’t. As expected, the jury area was empty, and only the bailiff stood to the right of the judge’s bench. Lara and her team weren’t there yet, which allowed us time to get seated and hash out a few last minute things before the proceedings began.

“Don’t look at her,” Jerry rush-whispered to me just as the sound of the doors pushed open. Despite the carpeted floor, I could hear the sound of multiple pairs of feet make their way inside.

I didn’t look at her, but I knew the moment she was next to our bench. The smell of her drifted over to me, that nauseating floral scent that made her smell like a teenager shopping in the Pink section of Victoria’s Secret. She smelled like a little girl.

She coughed lightly, trying to cover a giggle that escaped. I knew exactly what she was doing. She was luring me to sneak one little peek of her, an accident of a look. But I stayed committed, staring at the wood grain of the bench ahead of me.

The door to the judge’s chambers opened and the bailiff said, “All rise,” and Jerry and I both stood as the judge entered to our left. The woman who walked in looked to be swimming in her robes. She was short with dark brown hair that barely touched her shoulders and deep brown eyes that looked young despite her age—something I figured to be around Jerry’s.

The judge introduced the case, and Lara’s team immediately jumped into presenting followed by her being sworn in. I still didn’t watch her, focusing my sole attention on the judge. Lara’s heels sounded deep and hollow as she clomped her way up to the stand. I listened as the bailiff swore her in. Her voice was sugary sweet, a sound I’d heard a million times when she was around people who could do something for her. It was the same sound she used around me before she snagged me.

I tuned out her testimony. I tuned all of it out. That was the only thing to stop me from jumping up and screaming, “It’s all lies!” at the top of my lungs. Jerry sat perfectly poised with his elbows propped up on the table and a pen resting between his fingers as if he weren’t fazed by anything that was being said. I guess he wasn’t because he’d heard it before. Not only that, but it wasn’t like there was anything riding on this for him.

“They’re going to call her witness before you have to testify,” he leaned over and said to me, drawing my attention to something other than the judge.

Ten minutes later, she was climbing down from the stand, and I heard the back door open, drawing my attention to a man wearing brown slacks—a few inches too long—and a simple button-up with a tie slightly askew. His hair was long and wavy, covering the tops of his ears and eyebrows. He was little, probably a little taller than Lara’s 5'4" frame with heels on. I could probably bench-press his weight.

I had no idea what this guy was doing there, but I assumed it was her supposed boyfriend. He could sense me watching him; I could tell by the way he purposely avoided my eyes while he scanned the room—everywhere except the front, left corner where I sat.

Once seated and sworn in, the door opened again. I looked at Jerry, who only raised his shoulders and lifted his eyebrows in an “I don’t know” expression, before turning to see who else would be testifying.

There she was.

The one woman who I left this morning, whose skin still lingered on my suit from the hug I gave her, whose taste still tickled on my tongue.

Blaire.

Our eyes met across the room and everything in my body told me to stand for her, like she was the president deserving a salute. As much as I didn’t want her there, I realized I’d been missing her. I needed her. For the first time since the hearing started, I felt like I could breathe again. That’s what Blaire was—a fresh breath of air after the feeling of drowning.

I’d been drowning before I met Blaire. Not just after my father died, but even before then, when the hardest part of my day was putting clothes on in the morning. I was fucking spoiled, but Blaire brought me down a peg like no other woman could. Most didn’t even try.

I love her. I love Blaire.

The thought pulsed through my body and shocked my heart like a defibrillator, working life back through my limbs.

She sat behind me in the very last row, her face framed with large curls and her clear brown eyes filled with a mixture of sorrow and worry. Her eyes flickered between me and the man on the stand, but I didn’t understand. Blaire looked at him with expectation as she worried her lip between her teeth.

“What is the nature of your relationship with the plaintiff?”

“She’s my girlfriend,” he responded almost aggressively. I could tell her lawyer was a bit taken aback by it, but he pressed on.

“You were the one to take her to the hospital, correct?”

“Yes.”

“You sound like a good boyfriend. Can you describe the state you found Lara in after her meeting with Mr. Trevaunt?”

He looked down at his hands, and when he looked up again, his eyes shifted past Lara and landed on Blaire’s in the back.

“I was a good boyfriend, but you were planning on leaving me, weren’t you, Lara? You said we would move away, that we could build a life together, but that was a lie, wasn’t it?”

For the first time, my eyes darted to Lara. I didn’t need to see her reaction to know the anger I would see there in those black eyes of hers.

Her lawyer moved closer to the stand and said, “Excuse me? Uh…” He looked around frantically before trying to put a muzzle on his now unpredictable witness, “I hadn’t asked you a question yet, Paul
. Do you need to take a break?”

“I don’t need a break. She’s lying,” he pointed. “She lied about him, and she lied to me.”

“Shut the fuck up, Paul!” Lara called out.

The gavel pounded as the judge
yelled
“order,” and when I glanced back to Blaire, she had a small smile on her face. It was then I knew why she was there. I didn’t know how she did it—what she did to get this man to betray Lara, but I owed her.

“Lawyer, control your client.” The judge pointed the gavel at Lara who looked like she could spit
fire,
her alabaster skin was so red.

“Sir, let me remind you, you are under oath. Now, what do you know about the events that happened May 15
^th
,” the judge continued.

“She went to Joel’s house, but he wasn’t the one who did that to her face—

“Paul, don’t do this,” Lara yelled over him.

He stared daggers at her as he continued. “I know Joel didn’t do that to her face because I did. She told me to. She said it would help us. Help her.”

Lara shot up, nearly propelling herself over the table in an attempt to get to him. Her lawyer held her back, and the judge began pounding her gavel again.

“We got this, Mr.
Trevaunt
. You should hit up the casinos; it looks like today is your lucky day,” Jerry said, shaking my hand.

“This case is dismissed,” was all I heard before the judge disappeared back in her chambers and Blaire came bouncing down the hall. She wrapped her arms around my neck and clutched my head to her neck with joy.

“Oh my god. I did it! We did it!”

I kissed down her neck before I remembered where we were and broke away. She held my hand as we left, and as soon as we were free of the room, I pulled her over to the nearest bench.

“Now, who’s the rule breaker? How did you even do this?”

“I had a talk with Paul. I wasn’t even sure—”

The doors swung open again, and Lara and a couple of Blaire’s colleagues came through the door. Lara flashed me a look full of hatred and loathing, and as much as I wanted to hate her for all she’d put me through, I was just elated to finally be done with her. With this behind me, I could finally get back to some semblance of normalcy.