Sadly, she makes it evident to all that she hasn’t learned self-preservation when she says, “Your Honor, I take issue with both of you questioning me.”
My jaw drops a little as the judge whips off his glasses and drops them on the bench with a clatter. I think I hear a snicker from the bailiff, who undoubtedly knows more than this woman that you don’t speak to a judge like that, especially not in his courtroom.
“I see,” the judge draws out, his tone one that would strike fear into more seasoned attorneys. “Then please, enlighten the courtroom as to why you’re not prepared to proceed today, even though this court date had been set for”—he picks up a piece of paper—“four weeks. And while we’re at it, please also explain why you and your client were unable to come to a resolution during mediation.”
Boothe stammers, finally seeming to come to her senses. “Uh, yes, Your Honor. Well, we tried to come to an agreement, but the requests being made were unreasonable. And as for today, we, uh, have something that came up yesterday that we were wanting to look into before we begin.”
The judge shuffles through a few papers. He finds the one he’s looking for and reads through it. “So you mean to tell me that you and your client felt returning the money needed to fix the work that was not done correctly is unreasonable?”
I slip my hands into the pockets of my slacks, curious to see what the excuse will be since I asked that same question in mediation multiple times. My client could’ve asked for all of his money back, but we compromised for the average of all the quotes he received for the repairs. Glancing over at me, as if I could help her, I raise my eyebrows in question.
“We felt there was some question about whether the claims of negligent work were actually true.”
The judge lets out an exasperated sound. “Ms. Boothe, from what I can see, they went above and beyond and gotsixdifferent opinions from licensed contractors as to whether there was negligence. What would have been sufficient for you and your client? Ten? Twenty?”
She opens her mouth to respond, and the judge holds up his hand.
“That was rhetorical. I’m ready to make my ruling. I order the defendant to pay the plaintiff the highest of the quotes in the amount of $47,235.”
Smirking, I nod at the judge. “Thank you, Your Honor.”
His eyes never leave my counterpart. “And Ms. Boothe, if you’re ever in my courtroom again, I expect you to come prepared for proceedings and to conduct yourself in a more respectful manner. Is that understood?”
Her swallow is visible. “Yes, Your Honor.”
The gavel booms in the near-silent courtroom. “Case dismissed.”
As the judge leaves the bench, I shake hands with my client.
“Mr. Rivers, thank you so much. That’s even more than we hoped for,” he gushes, tears in his eyes.
“You’re so welcome. I can’t wait to see the finished space. Please keep me posted when you have an official grand opening. I love frozen yogurt.”
“I will. Thank you again.”
I turn to Mandi. “I need to get going. Can you get everything squared away here?”
Concern filters into her eyes. Under her breath, she asks, “You okay?”
Nodding, I tell her, “I’ll tell you later. I just need to check on something.”
With that, I stalk out of the courthouse. My heart is thudding as I laser focus on one thing—making sure Lily is safe.
23
Lily
Iwas surprised and a little scared when Chris showed up at my office. Especially after he told me what happened on the way to court. He spent the rest of the day holed up in one of our empty offices until I was done for the day, insisting that he’d follow me home and drive me wherever I needed for the foreseeable future.
Having him do that is more comforting than I could admit. The more I think about this situation, the more it scares me. That fear only amplifies whenever I’m away from Chris.
In the quiet of my car, with the dusk of the evening sky settling around me, a new kind of anxiety compresses my chest.
The morning I found Blake, I thought many things died alongside him. Then someone tried to break in, renewing those dangers.
But Chris was there. Chris came to my rescue and has barely left my side since that day. Which is putting him in harm’s way.
I can handle being afraid for my life, but being afraid for his is something new altogether. An emotion I haven’t let myself feel starts to bleed into my heart—guilt. There’s so much I should open up to Chris about, especially now that his life could be impacted as well. I don’t know how to start. How do I explain everything? Would Chris even understand? Would I lose him and his support?
