Oh, that so was not going to fly with me. “Nah. I think you’ll explain it now. Because if you don’t, I’ll guarantee there won’t be a later.”
For the first time Keston looked disconcerted. “Excuse us a second,” he said to Ambrose and pulled me into a corner of the office. “Shit…look, I don’t talk about my personal life. That shouldn’t surprise you.”
It didn’t, but this went beyond being cagey about dating. “No. But this isn’t a casual discussion with acquaintances. This is your best friend. Why don’t you want him to know about me? I thought we were trying to make this thing between us work.” At the flicker of Keston’s eyes, I nodded. “Oh, sure. I’m not your usual type, is that it?” I laughed but not because it was funny. Far from it. “But that’s only when it’s in the dark, huh? You’re ashamed that you’re attracted to a guy like me. I’m not part of your cool, hip vibe? I’m one of them—alawyer.” I laughed,but damn, it hurt. “I’m too straight, even for a gay man. Well, fuck you. I thought we had something real. Something special. Goddammit, I was falling in love with you.”
Keston paled. “Bailey—”
I put up a hand and stepped away. “No. Don’t say anything. I’m fine. I should’ve known. Wanna hear the funniest thing? Here people were teasing me, joking that I was taking a walk on the wild side with you, when all along, it was you who was afraid to admit to being with me because I’m what? A lawyer? You’re embarrassed you like screwing a guy in a suit who sits behind a desk for a living?” I pushed past Keston and Ambrose, virtually running out of the shop. I wasn’t sure if Ambrose heard me, and I didn’t care if he had. What a god damned fool I was. I had to get out of there and go home to lick my wounds.
The night air hit my overheated face, and I walked down St. Mark’s toward Astor Place, blind to my surroundings. At the touch of a hand to my shoulder, I stopped and spun around to tell Keston to fuck off, but instead I met Ambrose’s chastened face.
“What do you want, Ambrose? Go back to your friend.”
“I’m sorry. I-I shouldn’t have acted like that to Keston.”
“It doesn’t matter to me.” I started walking again.
“Wait, Bailey.” He came after me.
“I don’t need your explanations for Keston’s behavior.” Then I remembered about Ambrose’s brother and stopped. The crowd passed by us, several people shooting us glares, as we were in the middle of the sidewalk, blocking traffic. “I have to tell you something. Let’s move over so we can talk a minute.” We found a spot by a lamppost, and Ambrose cocked his head.
“What is it?”
“I looked into your brother’s case. I think he might have a shot at an appeal.”
Ambrose’s eyes bugged out, and he grabbed my arm. “Are you shittin’ me? Really? I fuckin’ knew it. Awesome. When can he get out?”
“Whoa, whoa.” I put my hands up. “It’s not as simple as that. I’d need to meet with him to get some details straight, and talk to the DA. They’re not just gonna unlock the cell and let him stroll out. These things take time.”
Excitement drained from Ambrose, and his shoulders slumped. “And lots of money, I bet. Listen, I can pay you a little every week. I swear I’m good for it.”
Dammit. I hated the thought of Ambrose putting so much effort into getting his brother out, when the guy was a piece of crap who sold drugs. I took on very few criminal cases because while I believed everyone deserved a fair trial and you were innocent until proven guilty, guys like Lucas turned my stomach, and they deserved a lawyer who would give it their all. But I’d made a promise to Keston to look into it, and knowing Ambrose didn’t have much money, I’d suck it up. I wouldn’t take my hurt feelings out on Ambrose, even though it was partly because of him that Keston lied about us.
Shit, my brain hurt from those mental gymnastics. How the fuck did I get myself into these things?
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. I’ll take his case pro bono, but you have to understand there is no guarantee.”
“Yeah, yeah, of course. But you’re the only one willing to do anything. Even Keston’s brother didn’t want to help.”
I wasn’t going to let anyone put Grady down. “This has nothing to do with wanting to help. Grady’s a great attorney, but criminal law isn’t his specialty, so I understand why he passed.If I’m gonna work with you, there’ll be no shitting on him. Got that?”
Ambrose nodded like a bobblehead. “Yeah, okay, sure. So what’s your next step?”
“I meet with your brother and see what he has to say. I gotta go to the DA. Give me your number, but like I said, these things don’t happen overnight, so don’t expect him to be sitting at your dinner table next week or even next month. I’ll be in touch.” I entered Ambrose’s contact information into my phone.
Ambrose stepped in front of me. “Listen, about you and Keston—” he began, but I put a hand up.
“Don’t. I’m done talking about it. I’ll call you if I have any info.” And this time when I walked away, he let me.
I boarded the 6 train at Astor Place and spent the trip in my head, missing my stop to transfer for the West Side. I got off at 68th Street, and cursing my stupidity, decided to cool my anger by walking home across town instead of calling a car. Head bowed, I’d crossed Park Avenue. I heard my name and looked up to see Weston and Brenner waiting. Just what I didn’t fucking need. Inwardly I groaned, while on the outside, I pasted a fake-ass smile.
“Hey, guys. What’s up?”
“Not much, just going home. What’re you doing on this side of town?” Brenner asked.
Not about to reveal my mistake, I shrugged. “Client meeting. I decided to walk home.”
Despite his playboy demeanor, West was sharp as hell in reading people. “Yeah? Must’ve been a hell of a meeting ’cause you look like shit. Why don’t you come to our place and have a drink?”
