Nothing to Lose (18 page)

“It's . . . um . . .” Billie twisted around to see what was impeding her downward movement.

She was touched by what she saw. It was a pair of pink boxing gloves. She picked them up and showed them to Michael.

“What are these for?” she asked. “New and pretty boxing gloves.”

Michael grinned proudly. “A gift for a next date. You and I are going boxing.”

“When?” she asked, placing the gloves out of the way.

He pulled her back to him and said, “Next week, we box. Tonight, we burn calories another way.”

He quickly led her to his bedroom and got back to the business at hand. Billie found her body sent into spasms of desire and pleasure as he masterfully stroked, massaged, rubbed, and caressed her every inch. A storm set off inside her as he manipulated her body for his pleasure. Every whisper, kiss, rub, and touch sent her deeper into sexual bliss.

She responded with demands of her own. She was ravenous and he fed her everything she wanted, and more. She wanted to be taken, to have an intense, erotic experience; he delivered tenfold. After his lips left scalding kisses over her entire body, he thrilled her with his mouth until she exploded in sweet abandon.

The intensity reached a level of mania when he finally entered her. She melted at the sweet pain and pleasure as he moved in and out of her. His face was buried in her neck, and he was kissing her madly. Their bodies moved together like a current in the water, in unison, sharing immense ecstasy.

As his control began to slip, Billie felt the hysteria in both of them building up. Their bodies were frantic; their groans and moans got louder and louder until they exploded in each other's arms.

 

When Sherise and Justin sat down in Jacob Swift's DuPont Circle–area office, their hands entwined in each other's, they knew they weren't going to get good news. After all, they were there for an update on Elena's claim, hoping that it would get refused as not being sufficient.

“The firm wants to give her money,” Jacob said, sitting behind his desk.

“What?” Justin shot forward in his chair, in complete shock.

“No,” Sherise said. “They can't do that. She just filed. There's a grievance process that the firm has to follow. I read it in Justin's papers. What kind of bullshit is this?”

Jacob was shaking his head. “This is ridiculous, I know. I've never heard of a firm doing this, except—”

“Except when?” Justin asked.

“When the firm has just emerged from some serious legal issues and can't afford any more so soon after.”

“Legal issues?” Justin asked.

Jacob nodded. “She's saying that if she isn't happy with the firm's response, she's going to the EEOC to see if she qualifies for a lawsuit.”

Sherise was shaking her head. She couldn't believe what she was hearing about the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. “What are they talking about, legal issues?”

“They just don't want a show,” Jacob said. “They don't want this to spread in the firm and especially outside of it.”

Justin turned to Sherise. “Last year, there was a sexual harassment issue on the legal side of the firm. I told you about it. A partner was having an affair with one of his associates.”

“But that never went public,” Sherise said. “Didn't they handle that in-house?”

“Yes,” Jacob said, “but if this goes public, last year's mess will certainly come out. She already plans to use it as evidence of a sexually hostile environment.”

“That bitch,” Sherise mumbled under her breath.

“And there was also an incident last year.” Jacob looked down at the papers in front of him. “She didn't bring this up—so for now, she doesn't know about it. But if the court requires the firm to give reasons for all disciplinary actions in the last year, the firm said they would have to disclose an inappropriate sexual relationship with a client. They'd like to keep that secret as well.”

“Oh, for fuck sake,” Sherise said.

She knew right away what he was talking about: Billie and her pro bono client, Ricky. She looked at Justin, who also knew. Of course she hadn't told him, but he'd heard the rumors at the firm. After Billie resigned, Justin put two and two together on his own.

“There are a lot of vulnerabilities here,” Jacob said. “They are justifiably nervous, but I think they're moving too soon.”

“When do I get a formal hearing?” Justin asked.

Justin told Sherise he'd been given only a few minutes to deny the claims to his boss and the heads of the firm before they asked him to take a leave of absence. He chose then not to say another word until he had Jacob with him.

“I'm setting that up for Monday,” Jacob said. “If they're not happy, they'll be more likely to give her money so she doesn't make a fuss.”

“Is Justin going to have to sue the firm to keep his job?” Sherise asked.

“I don't want to do that,” Justin said. “I don't want it to come to that. I've put too much into the relationships there.”

“Look what good it's done you,” she postured. “The second some bitch accuses you of something, they turn on you.”

“They're just afraid because of all the stuff we just talked about,” Justin assured her. “When I go in on Monday—”

“I want to come,” Sherise said.

“You need to,” Jacob said. “You can't sit in on the conversation, but you need to come to show your support and that you believe him.”

Justin squeezed Sherise's hand more tightly and she smiled at him.

“They want to avoid a mess,” Jacob said. “Even if she'd likely get turned down for a suit.”

“But that's my reputation on the line,” Justin said.

“We need more time,” Sherise said. “We have to convince them of that. We have to fight her. We'll hire a private investigator to dig up all her dirt. I'll ask around and find out—”

“I've taken care of that,” Jacob interrupted. “We're looking into her past, but we have to be careful. We can't make it seem like we're trying to make the truth look like a lie through distraction. And we certainly can't have what looks like a jealous wife pursuing her.”

“Not jealous,” Sherise insisted. “Pissed off, pregnant, and ready to scorch the earth to protect her husband and everything he's worked for.”

Sherise looked over at Justin and could see how proud he was of her. He hadn't looked at her that way in . . . She couldn't even remember when. Yes, this was a disaster, but Sherise was better than any obstacle that had come her way. She would conquer this problem, and their marriage and their lives would be better for it.

Jacob's cell phone rang and he quickly picked it up. “It's the firm. Let me take this. I'll be right back.”

“Tell them to wait,” Justin demanded as Jacob hurriedly rushed out of the office.

Once alone, Justin turned to Sherise.

“You know,” he said, “if we do get them to wait and she goes public, it will reach Northman's people. You have to tell them.”

“I'm not worried about them,” Sherise said. “If they make a stink about it, I'll handle it.”

“You could quit, if it's too much for you.” He reached over and pressed his hand on her belly. “That's all I care about.”

Sherise placed her hand over his. “If that's the only thing that can protect you, I'll do that. I'll do anything. Justin, I'll walk through fire for you . . . for our family.”

Considering all the battles she was facing, Sherise was afraid she'd have to do just that.

T
he second Billie entered the conference room, where the others were waiting, she made eye contact with Porter. Everyone was sitting down, waiting for her and Gil, who had walked in with her. She almost laughed out loud at how quickly Porter's expression changed from when he greeted Gil to when he greeted her. She was kind and polite, despite his grumbling niceties. Yes, he was still pissed off from her putting him in his place last week, but he had no idea what was coming.

Despite what she'd told Michael, Billie had spent quite some time trying to figure out how to make Porter pay for ruining her evening with Michael. She hadn't lied to Michael—she was never going to bring Porter up around him again, ever—but there was no way Porter would get away with what he'd done.

The meeting started off on a bad foot, considering Gil called it in response to the firm's work. He felt it was weak and too brief. It didn't touch on some of the points Gil clearly shared with the partner regarding his wishes, and it didn't rely enough on the case they'd discussed, which they'd agreed was the best case to cite in this particular court district.

Billie hadn't said a word yet. She was waiting her turn. She ignored Porter's searing eyes and kept focused on Gil, nodding in agreement with his points to show her support. By the time he was finished, everyone was already uncomfortable—everyone except Billie.

“Gil,” the partner spoke up first after Gil finished. “Let me respond first by saying—”

“Wait.” Gil held up his hand. “I was going to ask Billie if she had anything to add first. I believe in getting it all out.”

Everyone turned to her. Billie looked down at her notes as if she wasn't sure what to say, even though she absolutely was. She was going to attack an argument that she knew to be Porter's, because it was a case that he litigated.

“I can't think . . . ,” she started, before pulling out a piece of paper. “Oh yes, I do have something. There was a reference to
Gregson
versus
Peyton
in terms of alternative clauses in the contract revision that would remove vertical question. I was confused. You're arguing Gregson's point, but that's a losing point.”

While Billie looked up at Anthony he turned to look at Porter.

“The district court found in favor of Gregson,” Porter said through gritted teeth. “Point payment revision is a strong argument, and the defendant—”

“Yes,” Billie interrupted, “but the appeals court overturned it, saying that there was nothing in place to guarantee that revision wouldn't just be excluded in an addendum. I really don't think we need to be arguing points that have been overturned. That's just not good law.”

“It's fine,” Porter said. “The ruling was based on a lack of a binding addendum, which doesn't exist in this case.”

“Still,” Billie said, trying to sound uncertain enough of her own words that she didn't come across as biting, “I'm concerned that—”

“Still nothing,” Porter spat out. “The appeals court clearly stated that if a binding addendum had been in place, which is the situation in this case, it would've agreed with the lower court.”

Billie nodded quickly, seeming to want to appease Porter, knowing that it would only make him angrier. “I know, but let's face it—judges look at the highest-court ruling and see that as the final vindication. The appeals court addressed this particular aspect of the case in its ruling in favor of Peyton, and—”

“That's ridiculous,” Porter scoffed. “I clearly state in the brief that—”

“Porter.” Anthony's tone admonished him sharply.

Everyone in the room froze in response as an awkward moment of silence settled in. Porter turned to his phone, pretending to be more interested in something that was on there than anything happening in the room.

“I'm sorry.” Billie was working hard to conceal her delight. “I didn't mean to—”

“It's all right,” Anthony assured her. “You were right. Porter just gets passionate about his cases. Look, Gil, we've taken copious notes. I think we're finally on the same page here.”

“My comments,” Gil said, “are all on the brief in track changes. It should have been e-mailed to all of you.”

“I can commit to working on this nonstop,” the partner said. “You and I need to set up a conference call tomorrow to go into further detail over the changes, but I'm certain we can handle this.”

“I know you can,” Gil said confidently. “This is a first draft. We've all had them. I just want to make clear the direction we'd prefer before we go into further drafts.”

Porter was up and out of the room in a flash, before the others had even left their seats. Billie acted unaware as she focused on giving Evelyn some instructions for closing out the presentation.

After everyone from the firm had left, Gil walked over to her.

“What was that about?” he asked. “Porter?”

Billie shrugged. “I have no idea. I thought it was a professional and civil conversation, but—”

“You were perfectly professional,” Gil said. “He was way out of line. Not only are you a client, but you had a perfectly valid point.”

“He certainly didn't think so,” Billie said.

“I don't think it was about your point at all,” Gil said. “Maybe it's too difficult for him to work for you. I overestimated his professionalism.”

“His expertise in this area is unquestioned,” Billie said. “Which is what made the mistake all the more curious.”

“He might be off his game,” Gil said, nodding as if he'd figured it out. “We can't afford that. I'll have to do something about it.”

Billie watched as Gil walked out of the office, deep in thought. She was getting very good at this and liking it. She thought for a second that might not be a good thing, but then she dismissed it from her mind. This was a long time coming.

 

The Sweeney home was located in one of the toniest neighborhoods of Bethesda, Maryland. It was newly designed and almost eleven thousand square feet. The Georgia-stone-and-wood-style house had five bedrooms, an Olympic-sized pool, a media room, a mini-gym, and a kitchen that was the size of most one-bedroom apartments.

Erica felt somewhat guilty for accepting the driven car that Jonah had sent for her. It seemed wrong to her at first. However, once she realized how far the place was from any Metro stop, and considering she was dressed semiformal, it was really the best solution. So she accepted, wondering all the way there how nice she was going to have to be to Jonah in order to show her appreciation.

Once she arrived at the home, after picking her mouth off the floor at the sight of all its tasteful art and expensive furnishings, Erica's first thought was how happy she was to see other people dressed in semiformal wear. For some reason, despite knowing the dress code, she imagined herself walking into a home filled with women in formal gowns; they'd take one look at her and ask her to get them a drink.

However, any insecurity she had about her looks immediately disappeared the second Alex showed up in the foyer. Erica couldn't describe it perfectly, but the way he looked at her, although brief, made her feel beautiful. He looked for just a second as if his breath was taken away, stopping in the archway to take her in. He gathered himself, smiling and heading toward her.

“You look amazing,” he said, reaching her.

“You think so?” she asked. “You've been in the main room. Will I fit in?”

“No,” he said. “You'll stand out, but in the best kind of way.”

“Stop it.”

“Seriously, though,” he said, reaching out and placing his hand on her shoulder. “You wear way too much clothing most days.”

Erica tried to hide how flattered she was and how aware she was of his touch. “You think I should be showing more skin in the workplace?”

He laughed. “Not exactly, just less . . . Let me stop while I'm ahead. You look great.”

“Thank you,” she said gratefully.

Their eyes met and Erica knew this was trouble. What was she doing? Was she trying to make this a thing? Was this what Alex was trying to do, or was she misreading his kindness?

“I can't believe the way my mom acted the other day,” Alex said, breaking the silence.

“I thought she was great,” Erica said.

“Exactly,” he said. “Whenever she gets the hint that I like someone, she immediately assumes she's no-good. You're a tramp until proven a nun.”

“She wants you to be with a nun?” Erica asked, trying hard to ignore that he basically just admitted to liking her.

“She's old-school Catholic,” Alex said, “so, pretty much, yeah.”

“I'm not her girl then,” Erica announced.

“That's just it,” he said. “She liked you right away. She talked about you a lot after meeting you. She wanted to know all about you.”

“What did you tell her?”

“That you're all right, but you have an attitude problem.” He laughed.

“Erica!”

They both turned to see Malcolm striding toward them, with Jonah right behind. Erica felt that familiar dread as she looked at Jonah, hoping to convey her anger at his refusal to abide by their deal, but Jonah wasn't focused on her. He was looking at Alex and he wasn't happy.

“Hi, Malcolm,” she said as soon as he reached them.

Alex stepped over and stood beside Erica. “Hey, Malcolm.”

Malcolm looked at him with a confused frown on his face. “I know you, right?”

“Alex Gonzales,” he said, annoyed. “We met at headquarters last week. We talked . . . twice.”

“Oh yeah.” Malcolm adjusted his glasses and laughed. “Hi, Alex. Um . . . Erica, how are you?”

“Fine,” she said, feeling more uncomfortable now that Jonah was there.

How did he have a way of making her feel guilty? She wasn't doing anything wrong.

“Alex,” Jonah's voice was curt, sounding as if he was about to give a military order. “Can you please make sure that the raffle tables are being manned? Someone mentioned they weren't earlier.”

“I . . .” Seeming to figure out what was going on, Alex didn't seem at all happy. But he knew there was nothing he could do about it. If Jonah wanted him gone, he was gone. “Yeah, I guess.”

He turned to Erica. “I'll see you in a bit.”

“Count on it.” Erica felt horrible for him, because of how uncomfortable he suddenly seemed.

She detected a hint of jealousy in his eyes when he looked at Malcolm one last time before heading off. That was silly. They weren't the closest of friends, but he should have known enough of her by now to know that a bow tie–wearing, entitled trust fund baby wasn't her type at all.

“Malcolm,” Jonah said, his tone suddenly light and warm, “why don't you get Erica a drink and show her around your house?”

“Sounds great,” Malcolm said, turning to Erica. “Do you want to start upstairs or downstairs?”

“Wherever you think is best,” she said, trying to sound as polite as possible, even though she wanted to strangle Jonah.

After all, it wasn't Malcolm's fault. He was just being a nice guy, so Erica was going to try her best to be a nice girl. She would bide her time. Jonah would have to get busier as the evening progressed and she would fall down the priority list. Then she could focus on what she really wanted, which was hanging out with Alex.

 

When Sherise showed up for work on Monday morning, she noticed something was wrong right away. She was getting stares from everyone. That wasn't unusual. She always got stares from men and women when she walked into a room. Only these stares lasted a little too long and were directed right at her face, not at her body, her clothes, or her shoes.

It was clear to her now. The firm had acquiesced to their request to hold off on giving Elena money, which gave them a chance to fight her accusations. However, once this information got back to Elena's lawyers, it was only a matter of time. They were supposed to give them until Wednesday, but Sherise knew that was bullshit.

“Sherise?” LaKeisha met her in the hallway near her office. The uncomfortable look on her face wasn't a good sign. “Can you come with me to Northman's office?”

“Fine,” Sherise said, not bothering to pretend she didn't know what this was about.

Once inside Northman's office, after everyone else had left the adjacent area, both Sherise and LaKeisha sat across from him at his desk. Northman explained to her that news of her husband being at the center of a scandal at one of D.C.'s top lobbying firms had reached the campaign. From back when he was a senator, Northman had remained a close friend with the head of the practice at the firm.

As soon as she had to a chance to speak and explain her side, Northman stopped her in her tracks.

“Honestly, Sherise.” He sighed, seeming exhausted just from this conversation. “I'm sure you'll say he's innocent, and I'm inclined to believe you. Most of these harassment claims are bullshit. I would think the best move would be for you to take a leave of absence until you can get this accusation thrown out of court, but . . .”

Sherise noticed him glance at LaKeisha. When she turned to her, Sherise could tell that LaKeisha was embarrassed about something that had nothing to do with her.

“Honestly,” Northman continued, “with all the mistakes being made around here, I can't afford to lose you too.”

Sherise's curiosity was piqued. “What's going on?”

“Jonathan was arrested two nights ago,” LaKeisha said.