Chapter 13
A Mistake Not to Repeat
Gale Fears
Iknew what had happened that night was wrong. It should never have happened. Then again, I was used to having one-night stands. There was nothing special about it. The only regrettable thing was that we’d both been drunk, and it was against my better judgment. Regardless, it was in the past. I had too much on my plate to think about it anymore.
For one, Mrs. Durrick had decided that she wanted the witness gone at all costs. To make things worse, my father had decided that this would be a perfect time to visit and see how the firm was doing.
“Keep Mrs. Durrick occupied,” I said to Seth as I headed to the conference room where my father was waiting. My secretary had decided to quit; otherwise, such a clash would never have happened.
“Gale!” my father called out. “It is nice to see you!”
“Dad, I see you are back from your trip to Switzerland,” I said. My parents had decided to go on a late honeymoon and had been touring the world.
“Yes, it was amazing. And how is my son?” he asked.
“Wonderful,” I said bluntly.
“I see the firm is running just fine,” Dad said.
“Everything is running just as smoothly as it was when you had it,” I replied. “In fact, it might be doing better.”
“It seems so. I heard that you have been retained by Mrs. Durrick. Her family is loaded,” he said. “That’s a big case.”
“Yes, it’s under control,” I said.
“The case has received a lot of public attention, you know,” Dad said. “Any mishap, and it would affect the reputation of our firm. Also, a bad referral from Mrs. Durrick will damage our company. I hope you have everything under control.”
I didn’t have anything under control yet, but I still nodded. I wasn’t going to admit my predicament to my father.
“Excellent,” he said. “I knew I could trust you.”
“Do you know she did it?” I found myself asking.
“Yes, I had an idea,” my father said slowly. “I would have preferred that you had never taken the case. But what’s done is done. We can’t back off now.”
“Even if it means defending a criminal?” I asked.
“Do you think every client you have defended has been innocent?” he asked.
“No, but I only ever had suspicions about the others,” I said. “Mrs. Durrick openly admitted what she had done.”
“Ethical dilemma,” Dad said. “I understand, but now there is nothing to be done. You must defend her.”
“I know,” I said, sighing.
“I met Stella a few days ago,” my father said carefully.
“I see,” I said bluntly.
“She asked about you,” Dad said, his eyes narrowed as he studied my expression. “It seems she wants you back.”
“I don’t want to discuss this,” I said, getting up.
“She was good for you,” Dad said suddenly. “She made you better. She made you concentrate on your studies and made you strive for higher goals in life.”
For a minute, my father and I just looked at each other.
