said.
“I’m sorry about your friend.”
“Thanks.” Her tone was mournful. She looked at Galiema. “Sorry for going AWOL. But John’s representing the guy who raped my friend, and it’s messing with my head.”
Galiema looked stunned. “Oh,” she said.
“I’ll be more focused now,” Katie added. Then she produced a DVD from her bag. “Now that I have this.”
“What is that?” Galiema asked.
“I think he made a tape of her. I’m going to take it to the DA’s office on Monday, see if they can use it in their case against him.”
Galiema raised an eyebrow. “You know anything stolen will be considered inadmissible.”
Katie just shrugged. “That’s for them to decide, not us.”
I could tell that Galiema was filled with pride for the way Katie had handled the Brent situation, and she seemed even more impressed by what Katie was doing now.
“Katie,” she said. “I’m going to represent your friend. Pro bono.”
Katie’s mouth dropped open. “Why? That would be going behind John’s back.”
Galiema wiggled her eyebrows. “I know. That’s half the point. I told you I hate rich, entitled boys. John’s nephew will walk free unless someone intervenes. Well, that someone is going to be me.”
Katie looked visibly moved. “I thought you were pissed at me for ruining your weekend.”
Galiema laughed and took the DVD as she stood. “I’m sixty years old, Katie. I never had a family. I gave my life to my job. What does someone like me need weekends for?”
With a wink, she left, and Katie and I were alone once again.
Immediately, the silence swelled around us. Neither Katie nor I had any idea how to behave now. Last time we were alone we’d given in to our passions. Now we were sitting on either side of a formal, varnished table in a large, corporately decorated meeting room. There was even a bowl of mints in the middle of the table. The environment couldn’t have been more different than the last steamy time we’d been together.
I could feel a burning desire seeping into my groin. I couldn’t help the way Katie made me feel, and I didn’t want to. I wanted to lay her gently across the table and make love to her. I wanted to penetrate her like I hadn’t gotten the chance to do before. And I knew she wanted it too, deep down, but there was too much going on in her head to let herself act on it.
“I really am sorry about your friend,” I said. “After what happened to Catherine, I can empathize.”
Katie looked at me. Her bottom lip was trembling. “What did happen to Catherine?”
I shuffled awkwardly. It hurt to dredge this stuff up, and it scared me how close to the brink it could take me. I never wanted to feel like I had that night with Shantelle again, and opening my wounds now was hard. But I also wanted to deepen my connection with Katie. And I trusted her, even if she was a lawyer.
“Catherine was a brilliant woman,” I said. “Complex. She was incredibly intelligent, a university professor. No one understood why we were together, or what she saw in me. Everyone assumes that if you do sports for a living then it’s because you don’t have a mind in your head. Her family hated me. Anyone who would leave England, leave Oxford University to play basketball in America, of all places, wasn’t worthy of their daughter’s love. But Catherine picked me over them, and the guilt ate her up over the years. They cut all contact. She couldn’t cope. I tried to be everything to her, you know? I tried to fill that void with holidays and penthouses and clothes. But it wasn’t enough. I didn’t know that she was being medicated. She’d gone to a different doctor and not claimed it on the insurance. It was prescription drugs that killed her, not cocaine like they printed in the newspaper. Anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, a sleeping aid, and a stimulant to counter the effect of the sleeping pills, a whole goddamn cocktail. She hid it from me for so long. I’d be away for
“I’m sorry about your friend.”
“Thanks.” Her tone was mournful. She looked at Galiema. “Sorry for going AWOL. But John’s representing the guy who raped my friend, and it’s messing with my head.”
Galiema looked stunned. “Oh,” she said.
“I’ll be more focused now,” Katie added. Then she produced a DVD from her bag. “Now that I have this.”
“What is that?” Galiema asked.
“I think he made a tape of her. I’m going to take it to the DA’s office on Monday, see if they can use it in their case against him.”
Galiema raised an eyebrow. “You know anything stolen will be considered inadmissible.”
Katie just shrugged. “That’s for them to decide, not us.”
I could tell that Galiema was filled with pride for the way Katie had handled the Brent situation, and she seemed even more impressed by what Katie was doing now.
“Katie,” she said. “I’m going to represent your friend. Pro bono.”
Katie’s mouth dropped open. “Why? That would be going behind John’s back.”
Galiema wiggled her eyebrows. “I know. That’s half the point. I told you I hate rich, entitled boys. John’s nephew will walk free unless someone intervenes. Well, that someone is going to be me.”
Katie looked visibly moved. “I thought you were pissed at me for ruining your weekend.”
Galiema laughed and took the DVD as she stood. “I’m sixty years old, Katie. I never had a family. I gave my life to my job. What does someone like me need weekends for?”
With a wink, she left, and Katie and I were alone once again.
Immediately, the silence swelled around us. Neither Katie nor I had any idea how to behave now. Last time we were alone we’d given in to our passions. Now we were sitting on either side of a formal, varnished table in a large, corporately decorated meeting room. There was even a bowl of mints in the middle of the table. The environment couldn’t have been more different than the last steamy time we’d been together.
I could feel a burning desire seeping into my groin. I couldn’t help the way Katie made me feel, and I didn’t want to. I wanted to lay her gently across the table and make love to her. I wanted to penetrate her like I hadn’t gotten the chance to do before. And I knew she wanted it too, deep down, but there was too much going on in her head to let herself act on it.
“I really am sorry about your friend,” I said. “After what happened to Catherine, I can empathize.”
Katie looked at me. Her bottom lip was trembling. “What did happen to Catherine?”
I shuffled awkwardly. It hurt to dredge this stuff up, and it scared me how close to the brink it could take me. I never wanted to feel like I had that night with Shantelle again, and opening my wounds now was hard. But I also wanted to deepen my connection with Katie. And I trusted her, even if she was a lawyer.
“Catherine was a brilliant woman,” I said. “Complex. She was incredibly intelligent, a university professor. No one understood why we were together, or what she saw in me. Everyone assumes that if you do sports for a living then it’s because you don’t have a mind in your head. Her family hated me. Anyone who would leave England, leave Oxford University to play basketball in America, of all places, wasn’t worthy of their daughter’s love. But Catherine picked me over them, and the guilt ate her up over the years. They cut all contact. She couldn’t cope. I tried to be everything to her, you know? I tried to fill that void with holidays and penthouses and clothes. But it wasn’t enough. I didn’t know that she was being medicated. She’d gone to a different doctor and not claimed it on the insurance. It was prescription drugs that killed her, not cocaine like they printed in the newspaper. Anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, a sleeping aid, and a stimulant to counter the effect of the sleeping pills, a whole goddamn cocktail. She hid it from me for so long. I’d be away for
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