“You’re not gonna regret this, Joe.”
“Mm-hmm. I’d better not,” Joseph grumbled.
Jonathan stuffed the check in his front pocket and stared past Joseph with a frown. “Hey, isn’t that your ole lady’s dad?”
Joseph swiveled around and looked up at the TV to see what he was talking about. It was breaking news—footage of Katherine’s father being taken out of his home in handcuffs. The Feds had raided his house. Some exited carrying boxes of what Joseph assumed were the incriminating files that Katherine had told Rick Bolin about.
“And so it begins,” Joseph muttered under his breath.
* * *
KATHERINE
Halfway to the copy machine, Katherine noticed that people were staring. She’d chosen an internship at Kaplan and Harlow, a small boutique law firm that specialized in Immigration and Civil Rights. So, it wasn’t hard to see that she was being closely watched by the small group of employees.
She’d seen the news coverage of her father being arrested. She understood their curiosity, but they could have been a bit more discreet as opposed to outright gawking. Katherine made her copies and ignored all the eyes burning into her. Once she was done, she hurried to her office, making sure to avoid eye contact with anyone along the way.
She entered her borrowed office, which was more like a storage room, and closed the door. She leaned over her desk, gasping for air as her breath quickened. Her eyes burned with tears as she thought about what was ahead. She would have to testify in court. Deservedly, her family’s name was about to be dragged through the mud and since she was also a Chase, she was certain to get stained.
Katherine jumped upright when the door opened. She tried hard to compose herself but failed. As soon as Henrietta, the receptionist, stepped inside, Katherine began to hyperventilate. She was a crying, heaving mess.
“Oh, child.” Henrietta closed the door, hurried over to Katherine, and wrapped her arms around her. “What you must've gone through in that house,” she whispered.
Henrietta’s assumption was correct, but she truly had no idea of the hell she’d endured.
Katherine held on to Henrietta and sobbed. Henrietta rubbed her back while slowly rocking her from side to side. “Shhh. Don’t cry. This mess will blow over before you know it.”
Katherine nodded and wiped her face. “I hope so.”
She stood straight and worked to pull herself together. Of course, Henrietta was wrong, but she still felt better when it came out of her mouth.
“I’m sorry, Henrietta. Did you need something?”
“Oh, yes. You have a phone call. You can take it on line three.”
Katherine placed her hand on Henrietta’s shoulder and smiled. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll leave you to it.”
Henrietta left and closed the door behind her. Katherine took a deep breath and grabbed the receiver. “This is Katherine Chase.”
“Katherine, leave now.” Joseph’s voice on the other end was soothing.
“Joseph, everyone in my office is—”
“Katherine, leave!” he reiterated. “Don’t go out the front. There are reporters there. I’m leaving the office now. In ten minutes, go out the back. I’ll be there waiting.”
Katherine nodded. “I’ll be there.”
Chapter Eighteen
JOSEPH
Joseph was grateful that the reporters didn’t know about him, or where he lived, when he pulled into the parking lot adjacent to his apartment building. He parked and ran around to open Katherine’s door.
“Let’s get inside and get you a drink.”
Katherine got out and placed her hand in his. She pulled him close and looked up at him. “We knew this would get ugly, but it’ll be okay.”
