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“I have. We had a little mix-up over a salad yesterday.” He leaned forward and kissed the other woman’s cheek. “I gotta get in there. See you later, Stell.” He walked away but looked over his shoulder. “You too, Tally.”
“It’s Ali.”
TJ laughed. “He knows it is.”
“Then, why’d he call me Tally?”
“Look it up, sis. Tally Graham.”
“Why does he call you Stella?” I rolled my eyes when it dawned on me that Stella Hunter had been a famous actress. “Never mind.”
“I knew you were smart. She was my grandmother. What’s the deal with the salad?”
“It isn’t that interesting.”
“Honey, we’re going to be sitting out here for at least three hours. Plain lettuce is going to be interesting.”
“How do you know him?” I asked an hour later.
“Press conferences. You know who his father is, right?”
“Remind me.”
“Senator Henry Clay Copeland?”
“Chair of the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence?”
“That’s right, sis.”
“Will he give you a story?”
“Cope?”
I nodded.
“No fuckin’ way in hell,” she muttered under her breath.
The courtroom door swung open, and Cope stalked out ahead of everyone else.
“Uh-oh,” said TJ, gathering her stuff. “Come with me, kid.”
“Where are we going?”
“To get the story.”
4
COPE
Iwas ready to throttle Irish. Did he really need me to hold his fucking hand through this whole thing? He was wasting valuable time, and I needed him to knock it off.
I damn near looked behind me when I walked out of the courtroom, to see if Ali was still in the hallway with Stella. I couldn’t explain why she was on my mind when it was crowded with a thousand other things. Important things. Like whether or not I could salvage my career or if I’d end up in jail like Irish was.
I stepped onto the elevator and was waiting for the doors to close when I saw the little spitfire walk past with Stella. I leaned against the back panel and closed my eyes.
“Who was the hot number with Stella?” questioned the attorney I’d asked to fly in from Texas, Sterling Anderson, aka Hammer.
“A reporter with the Express.”