“No. Uh, at least I don’t think so. But….”
“But what?” He leaned forward. “Spit it out, man.”
I had to say something. It was my duty. It was about doing the right thing. “I’m seeing someone.”
“Good for you.” He slapped his desk. “About time. Who is he?”
“Well, I—I he’s great. His name is Sage.”
“Great name.”
“Yeah, uh….”
“So, what’s up? You need a little time off? You got it. Just tell me when.”
“It’s not that. I—I just saw him.”
“Okay….”
“I mean I saw him here.”
“Here? You mean here-here? As in this building?”
I nodded slowly. “On this floor.”
“He works here?”
I shook my head.
“Come on, Preston. Don’t hedge.”
“He’s being deposed right now.”
The smile dropped from Harold’s face. “On a case of yours?”
“No. No, not that. The Bremerton and Johnson case.”
Harold’s eyes darted up as if he was trying to remember. “Bremerton, Bremerton,” he mumbled to himself. “Oh, yeah. That’s the rich brat kid whose father hired us. College student or something.”
“I don’t know anything about it. I just found out today my boyfriend is a witness. I came directly here.”
Harold frowned. “Good thing you did. And thank you.” He folded his hands across his chest. “Are you thinking conflict of interest?”
“Not really. I guess maybe. That’s what I need to find out. I don’t know anything about this case and Sage never told me about it.”
Harold opened his laptop. He typed for about ten seconds. Then read his screen. “It’s no secret. This Johnson kid was caught spiking drinks at a college pub. Used Rohypnol. He’s accused of sexual assault on Bremerton.” He squinted, reading more. “Apparently, your boyfriend saw him do it. Not the assault, but the drink spiking.”
Why hadn’t Sage mentioned any of this? “Shit. Well, then he’s a key witness.”
Harold nodded. “How serious are you two?”
I shrugged, not sure what to say.
“If it’s not that serious, break up with him now. I won’t say a word.”
My body chilled. “What?”
“You just went totally pale, dude. Seriously, I think this might be a problem but we’d have to go to HR, get a review and all that.”
