“I need your help, Victoria. And in return I will keep you safe. I won’t let Vega touch you,” he whispered.
“I don’t know how I can help you when I don’t know what you’re hiding. And I’m not afraid of Vega.” Something that wasn’t totally true, but Ben didn’t need to know that.
“You should be afraid of him.” He pulled her closer and when she thought he would have kissed her, he didn’t. He touched his forehead to hers, holding them together as if the possibility of them separating was too painful to comprehend.
“You should be very afraid,” he repeated.
Chapter 13
Victoria
“Are you out of your mind fraternizing with the enemy?” Jules came screaming into Victoria’s office about twenty minutes after she’d arrived at work.
“Excuse me?” She set down the pen she’d been writing with and let her hands fall flat on her desk.
His tie was crooked and hanging around his neck more like a noose than an accessory. Sweat peppered his brow and his cheeks were ruby red. She’d seen him flustered during and after his trials before, but nothing like this. Still, she remained calm, or she gave the impression that she was remaining calm. Inside she was trying to figure out if asking him “who the hell he thought he was talking to” might result in losing her job.
“What the hell are you doing having lunch with Donovan? This damn picture is all over the papers. Do you see the headline?” he asked as he tossed the folded newspaper onto her desk.
She stared down at the paper and held in the curse.
DEFENSE AND PROSECUTION TEAM UP FOR A SECOND SHOT AT ALLEGED MURDERER
“It was just lunch,” she replied stoically. “I am allowed to have lunch.”
His brow wrinkled and he huffed. “Not with defense counsel from the biggest case in this office at the moment,” he yelled back.
“He doesn’t represent Vega anymore.” It felt good to at least add that to her defense. Not that she felt as if she needed to defend her personal choices, but Jules was clearly pissed off about this and, after seeing the headline, a small part of her couldn’t say she blamed him.
“Right, that’s what the record says. But how do you think this looks? How do you think this makes our office look? No answer, I’ll tell you. It makes us look like a bunch of incompetent jackasses, running around grasping at straws to try and get this guy locked up for good! And I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all!”
And neither did she, but this was where she had to put a stop to the nonsense.“Are you finished?” she asked, still using the calm voice that he couldn’t tell was about to break. “Because if you are, I’d like to address this situation from my point of view.”
Jules didn’t respond. He only waved a hand in her general direction. An action she considered rude, as was this entire out-of-control rant he had going on.
“How I try this case will depend on the evidence and witnesses I have to work with. I do not now, nor have I ever relied on help from outside counsel to do my job. If you think I’m not doing my job in an acceptable manner, file a report and have me removed from the case. But do not come in here questioning my integrity again.”
Jules was her immediate supervisor and he wanted to run for District Attorney. And if that depended on her vote he was most likely never going to sit in that office. She loved her job and she did it well. What she would not do is be disrespected in theprocess. If that meant she would lose the job she loved, then so be it.
He stopped pacing and stood directly in front of her desk. For a moment she wondered if his head would actually explode, he was still fuming, eyes wide, fists clenched at his sides. Then, he flattened his hands on her desk and leaned forward so that he was closer to her face.
“What did you talk about at lunch? What did he say to you and how long have you two been seeing each other?” he asked through clenched teeth.
Did he not just hear what she’d said? This was obviously one of those moments where he showed his privilege and authority. It wasn’t enough that he was her supervisor. No, this was the moment where he also reminded her that he was a white man and she was just another Black woman he tolerated. She almost shook her head.
Instead, she inhaled a deep breath and released it slowly. “What I do on my personal time is none of your business.” Her voice was cooler than it had been, her gaze intent on his. She would not look away or cower.
“You little bitch!” He yelled, this time slamming a fist onto the desk. “Do you know how important this case is? Do you know what’s at stake here?”
He was visibly shaking now, the sweat that had been just beads on his forehead were now running in rivulets down his cheek. He looked like he was about to have a heart attack right there in front of her.
“I’m going to ask you to leave my office.” She shook with anger but was still trying her best to hold it together. This situation could go from bad to much worse in seconds if she didn’t keep her shit together.
Jules looked like he was about to say something else but she stood and placed her hands on her hips. “I’m only makingthat request one time. Next, I’m going to call security and file a formal complaint against you for verbal assault. Now. Get. Out!”
Jules snatched his hand away from her desk, pulling the files and their contents with him to fall in the floor.
“If you mess this up I swear I’ll hunt you down! I’ll hunt you and I’ll?—”
