Page 9

9

Dani’s jaw dropped as Alex turned smartly on his heel and strode to the interview room’s door, ignoring the buzzer and instead banging his open palm on the steel panel to be let out.

She stared at his back in shock as a guard unlocked and opened the steel door. Alex walked out without a single backward glance.

What the actual fuck?

She collected her coat and purse at the check-in area, made her way back to mid-town, and went for a long walk. The noise and bustle of the city soothed her, or at least anesthetized her until she felt no more shock. Who on earth had ever heard of a client insisting that their attorney do a lousy job of defending them?

Eventually, she pulled out her cell phone and called Zoey. “Hey, Zo. It’s Dani.”

“Ooooh, girlfriend, what did you say to Whitney?”

“Why?” she asked quickly “Did he say something? Do something?”

“No, no. But he’s been on the warpath since you sailed out of his office yesterday. He actually made Janice cry this morning, and she’s been his secretary for like thirty years. She said in the break room that she’s never seen him this pissed off.”

“Any rumors floating around the HR department that I’m going to be fired?” she asked lightly.

“Of course not! What did you two talk about, anyway?” Zoey demanded.

“Sorry. A case. Confidential.”

“Damn it!” Zoey exclaimed. “I was so looking forward to the juicy gossip!”

“Sorry again.” She paused, collecting her thoughts as she shifted from sexual harassment to her crazy case. Then she asked, “Any chance you’ve found something of interest about Alex Koronov?”

“Lots about your client is interesting. But I’m still not even close to done researching him. Is there anything in particular you want me to look for? It’s a big job trying to learn absolutely everything about a person’s entire life. I might run across the thing you need but not realize it’s the key tidbit you’re hoping I’ll find.”

True. Dani said, “I wish I knew what to tell you to look for. All I know is that something’s definitely off with him. You’ll never believe what he just asked me to do.”

“Aww, don’t tell me he’s a creep. He didn’t hit on you, did he?” Zoey demanded.

“No, no. It’s nothing like that.”

“Well, spill.”

Dani looked around to make sure nobody was within earshot of her in Central Park. “This is privileged information, okay?”

As an employee of the law firm, Zoey was entitled to hear privileged communications between lawyers and clients so she could do her investigative job properly, and hence, she was also bound by the rules of lawyer-client privilege.

“Got it. Privileged. What did that little shit do? Am I going to have to go down to the jail and kick his ass when this case is over?”

Dani said in a hush, “He told me to screw up his case. He said if I insisted on doing my best to defend him, he would fire me and hire the worst hack he could find.”

“What the hell?” Zoey squawked. “That’s crazy!”

“So it’s not just me? I thought it seemed totally bizarre.”

“Totally,” Zoey affirmed. “Thanks for telling me. I’ll hand off the other case I’m working on right now to a P.I. who’s started just freelancing for WMP so I can concentrate on your boy. I’ll do a deep dive into everything I can get my hands on having to do with this kid.”

“I don’t mean to cause problems for you?—”

“You’re not.”

“What about the Ore-groan case?” Dani asked anxiously. “Are you still working on that, too?”

“I’m pleased—and relieved—to report that the Ore-groaner is finally wrapped up.”

Dani grinned. A long-time WMP client had gotten into some sort of dispute with the State of Oregon but insisted that WMP defend him. Whitney, Marcos, & Pinter was a New York-based firm, though, and it had been a huge pain in the ass to interface with a Portland law firm to send the relevant Oregon case law to WMP’s team in New York.

A dozen paralegals and research lawyers have been forced to comb through Oregon’s legal code like first-time law students. They’d nicknamed it the Ore-groan case.

“Has anything in particular about Alex’s life or past jumped out at you so far?” Dani asked.

“Well, I did find out one interesting thing about his family,” Zoey commented. “About his father, specifically. But I’m not sure it would explain his batshit crazy demand that you screw up his case.”

“What have you got? Throw me a crumb, Zo. I’m desperate, here.”

“Turns out the father was a spy back in the day.”

Dani frowned. She knew Alex had been born in Russia, so it was a reasonable assumption his parents were Russian citizens. Had his father been a Russian who spied on the U.S. or some other western power? Or had his father worked for the West to spy on Mother Russia?

“Which side of the Iron Curtain did his father work for? Us or them? And spying against whom?”

Zoey replied, “I don’t know. But I did find out his dad was a member of the Communist Party for a couple of decades. Apparently, only folks who are rabidly loyal to the government are traditionally allowed to become party members.”

Dani frowned. “How did a rabidly loyal Communist and his family end up in the United States, then?”

“Apparently, the dad came to the United States as a defector. Brought his son—that’s Alex—with him. The father either left his wife behind in Russia, or she chose to stay back there and abandon her husband and son.”

“Really?” she blurted. Was that what had screwed up Alex in the head? His mother chose her country over her family? “See if you can find out more about why the mom didn’t come out with her husband and Alex.”

“Already on it. The new freelancer speaks Russian and has promised to help me look for documents from Russia about Alex’s childhood.”

“Thanks.”

Zoey laughed. “No, no. Thank you . The new P.I. is smoking hot. He would give your sexy ADA a run for his money in the fuckability department.”

She rolled her eyes at the large oak tree before her. “Have you found anything that might explain Alex’s determination to screw up his own trial?”

“Not yet. Oh, and the dad got political asylum here after claiming the Russian government had put him on a list of dissidents to be murdered.”

“More like a traitor than a dissident, I’d think,” Dani commented.

“Yeah, fair.”

Dani stared thoughtfully at the tree. “What happened to Dad? Is he still alive? Still here in America? What kind of work does he do these days?”

Zoey cleared her throat. “So, new, hot P.I. is ex-military. He might’ve, umm, pulled a few strings to get that information. So don’t ask me how I know what I’m about to tell you, okay?”

“Okay.” Dani held her breath, eager to hear what Zoey’s colleague had found.

Zoey lowered her voice practically to a whisper. “Alex’s dad was caught spying against the United States about the time Alex started college and was convicted of treason.”

“Holy crap,” Dani breathed. “Why haven’t I heard about that? Treason cases are rare and a big deal in this country. They make national headlines.”

“He was working as a government contractor in Washington, D.C. Apparently, exposing him to the public would have meant that some of the intelligence he collected and sold to the highest bidder might go public, too. The new guy’s contact at the Pentagon said some of the dad’s intel would have been embarrassing to certain high-profile government officials. Hence, his trial and conviction were handled in a sealed military court and kept completely out of the public record.”

“What happened to the father? Is he alive?” she asked. After all, execution was a possible sentence for treason.

“I don’t know. The new P.I. doesn’t have the right military contacts to find out the sentence he got or if he’s still in jail. We’re still working on that.”

“Where’s Alex’s mother? Does Alex have any other family? And living relatives? “

“Unknown to all of the above. The new P.I. is fluent in Russian and has offered to poke around online in Russian records and newspapers for me to see what he can find on the Koronov family in Russia.”

Dani winced. “That sounds like a lot of billable research hours to WMP.”

“It’s your case. You do whatever you have to so you can give your client the best possible defense. WMP’s pockets are plenty deep enough to pay for my time and the new P.I.’s time.”

Dani sighed. Zoey was right, but she came from a humble background. She wasn’t accustomed to spending thousands of dollars on anything, particularly on research that might yield nothing of value.

“I’m sorry this dumb little drunk driving case is turning into such a pain in the butt for you, Zoey.”

“In the first place, it’s my job. In the second place, I like you. And I can’t say that about many attorneys at WMP. In the third place, did I mention the new P.I. is ridiculously hot?”

Dani laughed. “I believe you did. More than once.”

Zoey gushed, “I’m dying to get him in the sack, and this is just the excuse I need to make my move on him.”

“I’m happy to advance the cause of your promiscuous sex life in any way I can.”

“Speaking of which, how’s the bedding of the hot assistant district attorney going?”

“You mean Cam?” Dani blurted, startled. Her cheeks heated up at the thought that someone might’ve seen her and Cam go into the ladies room at that stupid cocktail party and was gossiping around the firm about it, now.

“Yes, I mean Cam,” Zoey replied teasingly.

“There’s no bedding going on between him and me, and there’s never going to be. It would be unprofessional, not to mention he has an ego that would fill Madison Square Garden all by itself.”

Zoey laughed brightly. “Sounds like every lawyer I’ve ever met.”

“Hey now! I’m not like that!”

“You’re young and new at the profession. Give it time.”

“Aww, Zoey. You know I’m not the ego-driven type.”

“I’m just saying. You may not like Cameron Townsend now. But he could still grow on you.”

“No way!” Dani exclaimed.

“Passion takes many forms, and anger is one of them,” Zoey said sagely.

Dani made a face at the tree standing silently beside her. At least the tree wasn’t making snarky comments about her being attracted to Cam Townsend. Maybe an oak tree was a better bet for a best friend than Zoey.

“Gee. And to think I was feeling bad about asking you to do one more piece of research besides Alex,” Dani groused.

“Oh, yeah? What else do you want from me, lover girl?” Zoey teased.

She half snorted, half laughed. “You’re incorrigible.”

“Incorrigible is my middle name, babe. Lay it on me. What else do you need researched? Anything for you.”

Dani said as casually as she could muster, “Can you pull some basic statutory information on sexual harassment law in the state of New York? And I need you to do it very quietly.”

“Discretion is my other middle name, kiddo. What kind of work place are we talking about?”

“A law firm.”

Silence.

Then Zoey asked very gently, “Is everything okay, sweetie? You can talk to me, you know. I can keep a secret and I don’t gossip.”

“I know. And thanks for the offer. I’d rather not say anything just yet, but if I decide to pull the trigger on that particular gun, you’ll be the first to know.”

“How loaded a gun are we talking here?”

Dani sighed. “Let’s just say I’m getting my ducks in a row in case WMP decides to come after me.”

“Why would the firm come after you? Does this have anything to do with the Koronov case? Is the firm getting leaned on by someone? The U.S. government maybe…” A pause. “The Russian government isn’t trying to set you up, is it?”

“No, no. It’s nothing like that. I promise I’ll tell you everything when the time is right.”

“I’ll hold you to that. And as for—” she broke off abruptly. When she resumed speaking her voice took on a formal tone as if someone else from WMP had just walked into her office. “—as for the matter’s relevant law and citations, I’ll get right on that.”

“Thanks, Zoey. And if you have tons of spare time on your hands, maybe you could take a look at women attorneys who’ve been hired and subsequently let go from WMP? Particularly women who left in, say, less than two years.”

“Can do. I know a female P.I. who can help me with that. She’s as discreet as they come. Although…” Zoey trailed off. “Maybe I should go in as loudly as possible with that particular research. Rattle the bars of the cage to see what shakes out.”

Dani gasped. “God, no. I’m not ready to kick the hornet’s nest, yet!”

“All right, all right. We’ll do it your way. But I stand ready to drop kick the whole bloody nest. You just say the word.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Dani replied in abject relief that Zoey wasn’t going to blow open a giant scandal on her behalf.

Zoey lowered her voice to almost a whisper. “What’s this about, Dani?”

“I’ll explain when I can.”

“Okay. I’ll pull some stuff together for you ASAP. And very quietly.”

“You’re the best, Zoey.”

“Don’t you forget it,” her friend laughed.

Dani disconnected the call and stared at her phone for a second in indecision. Why not? In for a penny, in for a pound. She scrolled through her recent calls and hit redial.

“New York District Attorney’s office.”

“Cameron Townsend, please.”

“May I tell him who’s calling and what this is regarding?”

“Danielle Wellford. Whitney, Marcos & Pinter. He’ll know what it’s about.”

“One moment, ma’am.”

A familiar voice murmured in her ear almost immediately, “Hey, hot stuff. How’s the sexiest lawyer in the Big Apple today?”

“I have no idea how she’s doing. Who is she, anyway?” Dani asked lightly. “I’m sure you’ve already slept with her.”

A chuckle caressed her ear and tickled its way down her spine. “Decided to change your mind and accept my ever-so-generous plea deal?”

“Sorry, no. I presented it to my client yesterday and he turned it down. And before you throw a hissy fit, I spoke with him again this morning to try to talk him out of his decision. He’s absolutely sure of what he’s doing and categorically refuses to take a deal. I’ll send along an email to that effect for your files as soon as I get back to my office.”

“In the first place, I don’t throw hissy fits. In the second place, has your client lost his mind?”

She sighed, unwilling to debate Cam on the state of her client’s mind. It was an argument she would lose. Aloud, she said, “Mr. Koronov continues to insist that the case proceed to trial.”

She left out the part where Alex had told her to tank the case. Cam was already confident enough without knowing she was under orders to intentionally hand him a win against her.

She added, “There is something I’d like to talk with you about, though. Not related to the Koronov case. Well, not directly, at any rate. Is there a time we could get together?” She added reluctantly, “I’d prefer not to discuss it in either of our offices.”

That got her a long silence from the other end of the line.

“You busy after work today?” he asked evenly enough. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to have jumped to the conclusion that she was attempting to proposition him.

“Uhh, no. I guess not.”

“Perfect. Ma Foulle. Seven o’clock. I’ll take care of the reservation.”

She blinked, startled. Ma Foulle was one of the hottest restaurants in the city. Reservations were impossible to get. And Captain Ego thought he could snap his fingers and pull off a reservation?

This she had to see. Rather, she had to see the egg on his face at seven o’clock tonight when they had to walk down the street and grab a hot dog from a street vendor, instead.

“Okay, sure. I’ll see you there,” she replied.

“I’ll look forward to it,” he said warmly enough to make her toes curl into knots of delight.

She ended the call and stared at the oak tree in shock.

Holy cow. She was having dinner with Cam Townsend.

Her gaze narrowed. Leon Whitney would be so proud of her. She should probably make a production of telling a bunch of people around the office about it this afternoon so word would get back to Raspy Voice that she was being a good little tramp.

Indeed, when she got back to the office, she gushed to the most gossipy legal secretary she knew about how excited she was to have dinner with the hot ADA she’d bumped into at the cocktail party a few nights ago. For good measure, she also dithered to another notoriously talkative paralegal about what to wear to a fancy French restaurant like Ma Foulle.

There. That should do it.

She spent a most of the afternoon in a divorce negotiation between a long-time WMP client and his fifth wife. Thankfully, whoever’d written the pre-nup had crossed all the T’s and dotted all the I’s and there was very little room for the soon to be ex-Mrs. Worthington to squeeze more alimony out of Mr. Worthington.

By the time she got out of there, the whole secretarial pool was abuzz over her date tonight with Cameron Townsend at Ma Foulle. Yep. Raspy Voice was bound to hear about it soon.

He would be so pleased she was leaning into her role of corporate slut.

Which gave her an idea. She ducked out of work a bit early and headed a few blocks over to a high-end department store. She’d had precious little extra cash when she graduated law school to spend on clothing, and every penny had gone to buying conservative suits appropriate to courtrooms, all of which were decidedly not slutty.

She had some shopping to do. And it was going on her corporate expense account, by God. She would love to see how the firm’s accountant justified a naughty lingerie purchase as a business expense when she turned in the voucher.

The lingerie expedition expanded into a sexy little black dress, sheer silk hose, tall fuck-me heels—with a matching purse, of course—and a collection of the skankiest bras and thongs the department store had to offer.

It was stunning how entirely satisfying revenge shopping could be. No wonder wives did it when they caught their husbands cheating on them!

By the time her spree ended, she didn’t have time to run back to her loft to change and make it back downtown to Ma Foulle by seven. Not to mention the sky looked threatening and cabs were at a premium with rain an imminent possibility.

No way was she attempting to walk the half-dozen blocks from the store to Ma Foulle in those heels. If she managed not to break her ankle, which was a big if, she would have painful blisters all over her feet well before she got there.

Not to mention there was no way she was going to walk down any New York street in that sexy, skimpy dress without a coat to cover it. She had no desire to fight off the propositions and rude comments that would fly at her.

Besides, how was he going to get a table for them on less than one day’s notice when the waiting list to get in measured in months?

But when she stepped into the elegant space and asked the maitre d’ if there was a reservation for two in the name of Townsend for seven o’clock, the guy didn’t even have to look down at the list on his podium before saying, “Of course. Mr. Townsend is a very special friend of the restaurant. Shall I seat you now, Miss Wellford?”

Huh. Cam had given the restaurant her name, too? That was thoughtful of him.

“Actually, I need to change my clothes. Is there somewhere I might do that?”

“Of course. The ladies’ room is quite spacious. I’ll have my associate, Lorelei, show you where it is.”

A lovely young woman with a heavy French accent led her to a restroom larger and nicer than Dani’s living room—by a lot. After assuring the girl that she didn’t need any help, Dani stepped into a stall, closed the door, which went to the floor and the ceiling, and quickly changed into her naughty lingerie and sexy dress.

It had been a miracle to find a slinky black dress that hit her figure just right. The combination of large breasts and a small waist often made clothing too tight up top or too loose below. She’d never had a pair of silk stockings and relished their sleek smoothness on her legs. She attached the garters—also a first for her—and stepped into the Louboutin’s she’d coveted for so long. Even if WMP’s accountant refused to pay for them, they’d been worth the splurge.

She touched up her make-up with the emergency mascara she kept in her purse and the stick of expensive red lipstick she’d bought at the department store.

Her hair was hopelessly out of control. August heat, New York humidity, and her naturally curly hair were a dreadful combination. She twisted her hair up into a French twist and secured it with a beautiful gold swirl clip she’d picked up today, as well.

The hairdo was rather more elegant than the vibe she was going for, and she was afraid it classed up her outfit too much. But there was no help for it. It was the twist or hair that looked as if she’d stuck her finger in a light socket.

She took a look at herself in the full-length mirror leaning against the back wall and was startled at her appearance. Gone was the college co-ed she’d been until recently, and in her place was this grown up, sophisticated woman. She might have been aiming for slutty, but she’d accidentally landed on classy but sexy.

Which she was secretly relieved about, now that she’d seen how fancy a place this was. Why would Cam take her here on a first date…if that’s what he thought this was? It seemed more like a place one took a long-time girlfriend to propose or an anniversary place after years of happy marriage.

She was vividly aware that the high slit in the side of the dress, if hitched up an inch or two extra, let the top of her stocking and a teensy glimpse of garter strap show. Every male who entered the bar seemed to zero in on the top of that slit like a heat-seeking missile. Or was she just being paranoid?

It was a fight to stop herself from standing up and pulling down her dress to cover more of her leg. She had nice legs, dang it. It was okay to show one off from time to time. Particularly in a dark, romantic restaurant like this.

She sipped at a glass of spectacular white wine and did her best to ignore the steady stream of men finding excuses to brush against the back of her stool. At least they were being subtle about it and not pawing at her directly.

Sheesh. If Cam reacted half as strongly as most of the men here, this was going to be a very interesting legal consultation.