“Drew, have you ever needed legal representation before?” Jalen asks.
“No.” I sit up straighter in my chair, still not convinced that I need it now.
“Are you familiar with the term attorney-client privilege?” When I nod, he continues. “Even though you and I haven’t officially entered into a retainer agreement, this conversation is still covered by that privilege. If you decide that you want me to represent you, then whatever you share with me will remain between us.”
I blink. “I don’t have anything to hide.”
“I understand, but as your legal counsel, I would be looking out for your best interests, and that would mean working separately from Cameron and Reggie moving forward.”
“Helping Cameron is in my best interest,” I say as my heartbeat spikes. “I don’t want to work separately.”
Cameron squeezes my hand. “I want you to be comfortable, so maybe we can figure something out, but it really is better for you if we work separately since this might end up being a criminal case.”
After a long pause, Reggie clears his throat. “It’s clear that Drew is still a bit shook up, so while Jalen is right that we need to move forward separately, maybe we should give her more time to process everything before we ask her to make a decision.”
Jalen presses his lips together and looks down at his legal pad.
I turn to Cameron after another awkward stretch of silence. “Can I talk to you for a second? Alone?”
“Of course.” He follows me through the open adjoining door, and closes it behind us.
I cross my arms and look up at him. “I don’t like this one bit.”
“I know.” He takes a step towards me, but when I step back, he pauses.
“You should have told me this morning. I feel completely blindsided right now.”
“I know.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I’m sorry.”
I drop my arms and start to pace. “I don’t understand why we can’t work together. We were together the entire time, and I am still struggling to come to terms with the fact that the police think that one of us may have murdered Delaney.”
“We weren’t together the entire time, remember?” I pause my pacing to look up at him, incredulously. “It really is in your best interest to distance yourself from me, because if the camera footage doesn’t come through—”
“No,” I say, as what he is implying sinks in. “This is exactly why wedoneed to work together. If the police think that someone hurt Delaney, then we need as much information as possible to figure out who, and to make sure that they don’t try to pin it on you.” I lift my thumb to bite my nail and frown down at the gauze that keeps me from doing it.
Cameron holds back a smile. “Thank you for looking out for me. It really means a lot. But I trust Jalen and Reggie with my life. They are way better lawyers than I ever will be, so I’m going to defer to their judgment on this one.”
I sigh and begin pacing again.
“Do you want Reggie to represent you instead? I can always ask Jalen to switch.”
While Iwould prefer that, I want the attorney with the most experience to be in charge of Cameron’s defense, if it comes to that. I shake my head. “I’m fine with Jalen.”
“Do you want some time alone to think about it? I can go back in there—”
“No, I’m ready,” I lie.
He looks down at me with concern in his eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” I walk past him through the door before I lose my nerve.
Back in Cameron’s room, Reggie is using a fountain pen to jot notes onto a steno pad and flips to a blank page when he sees us. “That was fast.”
Cameron and I return to our seats, and I lean forward to address our attorneys. “I agree to the terms, but I want to make it clear that if there ever comes a time when my recollection can help Cameron in any way, then we will need to find a way to work together.”
Reggie smiles at my impassioned statement, revealing a worn pair of dimples, but Jalen’s face remains stoic. “We can cross that bridge when we get to it.”
I consider arguing back, but I know that I am already teetering on the line between being direct and just being plain rude, so I keep my mouth shut and lean back in the chair.
