Rookie Mistake: A Sports Romance Novel (The Beasts of Baseball Book 1) (35 page)

“Yeah, but that’s because she’s the one that got away.” My brother lifted his beer in the air. “To all the ones that—”

“Don’t start that. No one got away. I pushed her away.” I worked on my boots and walked toward the bedroom door. “Come on. Let’s go grab a bite to eat. I’d planned on eating dinner with her, but she didn’t make it through the first glass of wine.”

“What? You’re losing your touch for sure. I’ll show you how it’s all done.” Mark wagged his eyebrows as I turned to look over my shoulder. I awarded him with a ‘go to hell’ look for his cheeky comment.

“You’re not giving me tips on dating. You’ve been married since the beginning of time, and honestly, I’m not interested in talking about the girl. She’s just a part of my past that didn’t go anywhere. I need a lawyer, not a wife.” I grabbed my keys. “I’m driving.”

“Good. Your car is a hundred times better than my old piece of shit anyway.” He patted me on the back and finished his beer before walking to the front door. “So you’re not interested in anything but having her represent you against these charges?”

“No, I’m not. I’d love for her to take both cases or even one of them, but I’m likely headed to jail, Mark. We can pussyfoot around the conversation all we want, but I didn’t get where I am now by shrinking away from the truth. I can get out of the rape charges, but the insider trading is going to get pinned on me. I deserve it anyway.” I shrugged and moved out into the cool early evening.

“Stop talking like that. Lizzy will break the rules and take the case if we can’t find the right person, Zek. I’m not giving up on us beating this. You aren’t either.” He squeezed my shoulder tightly and gave me a look I’d seen a million times in my mom’s face as we were growing up.

“Stop trying to give me a pep talk and get your ugly ass in the car.” I pushed his hand off playfully and walked to the Porsche.

“Jealousy is not becoming.” He wagged his eyebrows and got into the car.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out, waiting for it to connect to the car’s speaker system as I got in. “Your wife’s on the phone.” I pressed the button. “Lizzy. Give me some good news.”

“I’m divorcing Mark and we can finally be together.” My sister-in-law sounded as cheeky as she truly was.

“Thank the Lord,” Marc responded loudly, dropping his head back dramatically. “Such a slave driver.”

I chuckled. “It’s not happening. I’m sure you being a lawyer and me being a criminal wouldn’t work at all. Besides, you like little scrawny men. That’s not at all—”

I didn’t even get it out before my brother leaned over in the seat and started wailing against me, the wrestling match soon to take place in the front seat of my car. I laughed loudly and started to give it back to him, letting all of my anxiety over everything bleed into the moment.

“Boys! Really. Jeez.” Lizzy’s level of aggravation must have warned Mark, because he pulled back and started to smooth down his hair.

“What, baby? I’d fight for you, and I’m not scrawny.” He glanced over at me and narrowed his eyes. “I got twenty pounds on you, at least.”

I rolled my eyes and pulled out of the driveway. “Lizzy. Tell me that Ms. Manning decided to take the cases.”

“I’m not sure. How did it go with her today? She seemed a little unsure of herself when we spoke. She did mention that you guys knew each other when you were kids.”

“We did. I’m not sure if she remembered that before seeing me though. I’m the one who pushed our past back up in the middle of the conversation. It was a long time ago, and we were nothing more than strangers passing in the night. I was good friends with her older brother, Clark Beeler. She might have had a silly crush on me, but nothing else.” I glanced over to Mark in time to see him mouth, “liar.”

I shrugged. “Did she debrief with you? Our meeting was cut a little short.”

“Yes, we spoke, but I think I’ll have to twist her arm a little, which I’m not too thrilled about. I guess if nothing else, I could talk to one of our partners about putting a senior attorney on your case. With any luck, they’ll choose me.” She sounded tired.

“You okay, baby?” My brother took over the conversation for a moment as concern brushed across his aging features.

“Yeah. Just ready for the weekend. We have a large caseload coming in from a chemical spill downtown earlier this morning.” She sighed. “I’ll talk with Alisa, but you should too, Zek. Something tells me that you have more pull than you think you do. She’s the perfect attorney for both cases. Let’s nudge her from both sides to take them.”

“Alright. Thanks for your help.”

I pulled into a small pub that Mark and I had been haunting for years and got out, leaving my brother in the car to finish the conversation with his wife. He would bring the keys in with him when he came, and knowing the bastard, he’d pocket them too. He’d been eying my Porsche since the day I picked it up.

Hell, it might be best to give it to him now, before they come to take everything away.

*

“I think the hardest part of this was Celia’s involvement.” I pursed my lips and tapped my fingertips on the table between us. “I just never saw that coming. She’s been one of Mom’s good friends for as long as I can remember, and she was my secretary since the day I opened the firm. Why would she wear a wire and bring the cops to my door?”

“Because either she was paid, or she really thought you raped the girl, Zek.” My brother nursed his beer as he watched me intently.

Was he questioning if I raped Melissa? Surely not.

“I didn’t rape her.” I lifted my eyebrow at him in challenge. “I fucked up, and I fucked her, but it was completely consensual.”

“I get that, but it might not be about the idea of you raping someone. Celia knew you better than that.” He sat back and dropped his hands into his lap.

“Then what?” My phone buzzed. Unknown number.

I let it be, not interested in talking with anyone other than my brother at the moment, and even he was starting to grate my nerves.

“The girl was twenty, bro. You’re thirty-six. That’s a huge age gap.” He shrugged. “That upsets people a lot sometimes. Maybe Celia just figured you took advantage of the girl because you were her boss, and you’re quite a bit older. If anyone should have known that sleeping together wasn’t a great idea… it was you.”

“I guess.” I picked up a chip from the basket sitting between us and chewed on it slowly, trying to think through my next steps. If Alisa wasn’t taking the rape case, then I needed to find someone sooner rather than later.

“We’re going to get through this. Just say an extra prayer that Alisa will take the case, or if not, we find another attorney that’s just as well suited for your shit.” He picked up a few chips and shoved them in his mouth before turning his head to follow a cute waitress as she walked to the back. “I think the worst part about going to jail would be the lack of opportunity for sex.”

“I think there’s probably plenty of opportunity.” I crossed my arms over my chest, not really wanting to broach the subject that my brother always moved toward. Sex was his go-to topic and had been since we were kids. How he had a wife and hadn’t cheated on her was a shock to me.

He chuckled. “That’s disturbing.”

The phone buzzed again, and I picked it up, lifting my hand to tell him to keep it down for a minute. “This is Zek.”

“Zek. It’s Clark Beeler. How are you, old friend?”

“Hey, buddy.” I slumped down in my chair and ignored Mark trying to play charades with me across the table. “How are you?”

“I’m good. I’m sure you know why I’m calling.” His tone was even, but I knew Clark well enough to know that he could go from cool and collected to a raging bull in a matter of minutes.

“Yep. I honestly hope that I didn’t upset her too much.” I turned and got out of the booth, heading for the front door. “I just needed to know if it was her. Sitting across the table and pretending to be strangers didn’t work.”

“I get that. What happened with you guys when we were kids? I thought she just had a passing crush, but it seemed like maybe I missed something.”

“It wasn’t much more than that. I respected you too much, and she was too young.” I pushed the door and walked out into the darkening evening, taking a deep breath of the fresh air around me. “I need her help, buddy. She’s the best at what she does, and I’m in a shit load of trouble.”

“I get that. I’m a little hesitant to encourage her though. I’m sure you understand.” He let out a long sigh.

“Just ask, Clark. We were friends our whole lives. Just ask.” I pressed my back to the wall behind me and lifted my eyes to the sky as the stars started to dot the skyline. How badly I wanted to experience life in a new and fresh way now that it was close to being snatched from me.

“Did you rape that girl? I know you didn’t, but I gotta hear it from you. I need to protect my sister from whatever is raging inside of her.” His voice was pinched, tight with stress.

I wasn’t even offended. I knew why he needed to ask me the question and didn’t blame him.

“No. I would never in a million years hurt a woman. I had sex with her, and it was rough because she bantered me into being rough. It was what she wanted. But I’d never hurt her, or anyone else. Not even after her false accusations. I feel sorry for the girl.” I pushed away from the wall. “Help me get Alisa on my side. I’ll keep away from her other than what’s required professionally for this shit.”

“Swear it on your great granddaddy’s grave.”

Warmth filtered through the phone as he joked with me like he did when we were kids. Everything was sworn on our great granddaddy’s graves. I almost felt sorry for the old guys… they had a lot stacked against them.

“I swear it. I just need help and someone I can trust.” I held my breath, knowing if he agreed to talk to her then she would come over to my side.

“Alright, buddy. Let’s get together soon and talk. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thanks, Clark.” I dropped the call and slid the phone into my back pocket before cupping my hands over my mouth and pacing along the sidewalk for a minute or more.

Somehow proving my innocence in the rape case had become more than just a need to clear up my name. It was about getting Alisa to remember who I was. Remember the kind of man I was. I could get Clark to convince her to agree to represent me, but it would be up to me to bring her to see me as I wanted to be seen.

It was an uphill battle, but one I wanted to fight.

“Now, just don’t lose yourself to her in the middle of it.”

Yeah right.

CHAPTER 3

e

Alisa

I
didn’t sleep much the night before, thanks to dreams of Zek fucking me the way he had Melissa. Where I wasn’t interested in being bruised and beaten up, the idea of having a lover who pressed his teeth to my flesh and worked me against a wall or two would be bliss.

I missed my ex-husband, but it was more a friendship that we once had that I missed more than anything. He wasn’t an aggressive lover, or really much of a masculine type guy, but he was fun and impossibly sweet. The relationship had formed when I was in college, and though Clark had warned me a million times about marrying a music major, I ignored him. We made things work as long as we could, but in the end we were just too different to sustain a fruitful relationship.

My job became my mistress, and he called me out on it. Maybe in some way, I wanted the divorce.

“Shut up,” I grumbled under my breath and walked into our large high-rise office downtown. I knew Lizzy would want to see me first thing this morning, and as much as I hated to admit it, I was almost sure I was going to take the rape case.

A text message popped up on my phone, but I waited to check it until I got snuggled into the elevator with a hundred other people who seemed to be running late too. It was from Clark.

Clark: Hey, Sis. Good to see you last night. I was thinking about it after you left and I can’t imagine Zek having done those things. I think if you’re capable of keeping your heart away from him, you could be the one to save him. He’s a good guy and was my best friend for years. Hell, probably still is when I think about it. Anyway, anything you can do to help, I’d appreciate it. BUT, I will still kill him if he even comes near you in any way but as a client. Hear me?

*

I chuckled and got off at my stop, texting my brother back ‘yes’ and dropping everything but my briefcase off in my oversized office. With all of the conference rooms on the floor, the offices seemed like a waste to me, but I was the new kid on the block. There was no reason to give my opinion unless someone asked for it.

I knocked on Lizzy’s door and waited until I heard a muffled ‘come in’ from her. Pushing the door open, I poked my head inside.

“Now an okay time?” She was alone in her office, seated at her desk as she typed on her keyboard.

“Yeah. Come on in. I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to lock down your plans for Mr. Kellington’s case, and to see which one we need to reassign.” She nodded toward the chair in front of her desk. “Please. Have a seat.”

I sat down and clasped my hands before laying them in my lap. “Has he actually been charged for the insider trading allegation, or is that still under investigation?”

Lizzy moved back from her computer and turned, putting her full attention on me. “It’s still under investigation. You don’t actually have to decide on that one today, but we do need to have you sit in on any meetings he might have with the SEC as legal counsel, if you’re willing. I’d hate for him to say the wrong thing and end up under their thumb for no reason.”

“So you don’t think he did it?” I studied her, looking for all the normal signs of someone trying to hide the full truth.

“No, I don’t, but you know as well as I do… we’re defense attorneys. It doesn’t matter if he did do it. We’re looking for the loophole to get him out of it.” She picked up a file and handed it to me. “Did you get to talk with him about the rape allegation?”

“A little bit. He says he’s innocent.” I took the file and slipped it into my briefcase sitting at my feet.