“God,” I groaned. “You talk a lot, don’t you?”
“I am sorry, but it’s tru—”
“I am not defending Merrick!” I said. “Dad was talking about the Averys.”
“Oh,” she said, embarrassed. “I really do have a bad habit of jumping to conclusions. Well, then you should.”
“There is no hope,” I said. “No evidence and no case. There is little proof, and what we do have is useless because of how powerful his family is. There is no point giving false hope to the girl’s family.”
“Oh, wow,” she said. “Never thought there would be a day when I would say that Gale Fears is a wuss.”
“You are teetering on the edge,” I said. “Forget that I am your boss one more time, and I might just decide that I need a new secretary.”
“Oh, bull crap,” she exclaimed. “You think I want to work for a man who is such a coward? That family is suffering and begging for justice for their daughter! If there is a lawyer out there that has any chance of winning this, it’s you. And if you want to fire me, then fire me. I don’t want to work for a man who is too scared to stand up for what is right. Who is too scared to fight!”
“There is bravery and then there is foolishness,” I said. “And I am not a fool.”
“Listen to me,” she said, reaching out and grabbing my hand. Her eyes burned with a passion that impressed me despite myself. “You have to help them. I know what it’s like. That used to be me, Gale. A year back, I was the one being abused and assaulted and beaten up. I have lived with that fear and that pain for a long time. At one point, my parents were going through the same thing. Knowing what I was going through but too helpless to do anything. I survived because I escaped. What if I hadn’t? I would have been just like Avery. I was lucky. But she wasn’t. You have to help them, Gale.”
I’m absolutely fucked, she'd completely had me by the balls.
