Soul Mate (The Mating Series) (17 page)

What else I would do if the board closed Mary House? My degree was in counseling, but my position at Mary House
defined me. Mary Lazarus gave me the opportunity when so many other places didn’t. When I graduated from college, I had a degree, but no real experience. It made it impossible to find a job. Mary took me under her wing just like she had so many other women. Together we worked to make the facility what it was.

When I started, Mary House
floundered in the grass roots stage and didn’t have any backing. Mary and I pushed to make the program successful. We went to politicians, judges and prosecutors plugging Mary House. We threw fund raisers and applied for grants. We campaigned a lot in the early days. Currently, Mary House was a respected rehabilitation center. It held a board of directors and government funding. I considered how Mary’s death would affect the program, its residents, and even my position.

Life as I knew it was over all because
of a sadistic bastard. It made me mad. Mom said that I took it as a personal attack. “Naturally I’m taking it personal,” I said. “I’m the only one being affected by this maniac!” I sifted through a pile of paper.

“Really?” Mom asked. “What about the women who have lost their lives? What about that little girl who lost her mommy?” Mom scolded. “What about the women you care about at Mary House? What about Jimmy
? It’s just like you to have a pity party for yourself without consideration of all of the people who have fared much worse than you in all of this.”

“Don’t lecture me
Mom!” I barked, buried in paper. “Of course, I consider the others, but it just seems like…” I stopped. I lived, not incarcerated, or homeless…yet. I stuffed papers in a garbage bag. I refused to admit I was wrong.

“That’s what I thought
,” Mom said. “I don’t deny you’ve went through a lot, but you have a chance to change your circumstances the others don’t. You need to keep that in mind the next time you start feeling sorry for yourself.” Mom took the wind out of my sail of anger. I felt like an ass.

My phone rang
.
Thank God, saved by the bell
. Mom had more lecturing, but she had to wait.

“Hello
,” I said.

“Hey, it’s Cho.
I’m in Indy,” He said. “I’ve arranged a consultation with Jimmy at the jail and I’ve asked if my
paralegal
could attend to assist.”

“Your paralegal?”
He brought his paralegal?

“I mean you.” Cho exhaled in irritation.  “They won’t let you visit if t
hey know you’re Jimmy’s girlfriend. Today, you’re my paralegal. I need you to dress professional and act the part, alright?”

That was going to be hard since my closet
stood bare and my clothes heaped in a wrinkled pile. I usually bought permanent press clothes, but even they couldn’t resist wrinkles. I didn’t own an iron either. “Do you have a suggestion? How does a paralegal dress?”

“Conservative
,” he answered.

“Cho, I don’t think I can pull this off.”

“You don’t know how to dress conservative?” he asked. Cho had a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“It’s not that.” I hesitated. “My apartment was broken into last night and my place is wrecked.
I’m not sure what state my clothes are in.”

“What?” Cho
huffed. “You were robbed?”

“Nothing was taken.”

“We need to talk, but after we see Jimmy.”

“Shouldn’t we talk before?” I asked. “So much has happened
since I spoke to you last.”

“Probably, but they set the meeting time in a
n hour. I don’t have time. Can you meet me at the Jail?” he asked.

I started to say yes, but then
remembered my car at Mary House. “No,” I replied. “I don’t have a car.”

“You don’t own a car?” Cho asked, annoyed.
The man thought I was incompetent.

“No, I left it at Mary House last night.”

“Why?” He questioned. I felt like I was in the principal’s office explaining why my dog ate my homework. Cho intimidated me.

“It’s a long story and one I don’t have time to tell.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Cho snapped. “I’ll pick you up. Where do you live?”

“I live about fifteen minutes south of the Jail.”

“What’s your address so I can GPS it?” He had a lot on his mind, but I didn’t like his attitude. I gave Cho my address. “Be outside waiting.” He ordered.

“Yes, sir!” I snapped
, after I hung up. I darted to my room and sifted through the clothes thrown all over. I found a plain blue pant suit. It was my court outfit. I wore it whenever I had to appear in court to testify against defendants. The suit looked nice despite its age. It was a polyester blend and not too wrinkled. I hung the suit in the bathroom. I hoped the shower steam would work out the wrinkles. It worked, the suit looked good.

I quickly toweled my hair, combed it
, and pulled it up in a barrette. I dabbed a little concealer under my eyes to hide the dark circles. I decided to put on some makeup too. I didn’t want Jimmy to see me looking pale and pathetic. I checked the clock. I finished with ten minutes to spare. I threw on some black flats and headed out the door.

The door delayed me. I
fumbled to shut and lock it. I fought with the door and lock so long that I was down two minutes. I walked out of my building to find Cho, or at least I hoped it was him, behind the wheel of black town car. He looked at his watch and shook his head exasperated. I hadn’t properly met the man and already was on his bad side.

“Sorry.” I said
, hopping into the car. “I had trouble locking my door.”

“Whatever
,” Cho said. “Let’s roll.” Cho looked like an older version of Jimmy. The likeness was uncanny, except his hair was cropped short in a conservative professional look. He weighed more than Jimmy with a little bit of a gut. Cho’s eyes were dark brown and piercing. He occasionally made sidelong glances at me. I fiddled with my purse nervously. Aware of his effect on me, Cho appeared to enjoy it.

“So you’re the girl fucking up my brother’s life.” Cho said
, eyeing me.
What?
I shifted nervously. “I mean, you’re Cassie.”

“I usually look better, but…”

“You look fine,” he said. “Well, under the circumstances.” He added. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“
All good I hope,” I said and cringed at the cliché.

“Not always.” Cho smirked. “You frustrate the hell out of my
little brother.”

“I do?”

“For years, all Jimmy talked about is how he’d like to hook up and can’t,” Cho said. “He finally gets the balls to act, and all this shit happens.” He shook his head. “I want Jimmy to be happy, but you and him…” Cho stopped, but I understood his meaning. I was not the one for Jimmy. I forced the relationship, now Jimmy was being punished. I had no reply. I remained quiet on the drive to the jail.

We arrived at the Marion County Jail with just a few minutes to spare. “Now, stay quiet and follow my lead.” Cho instructed. A heavy woman sat behind the front desk. “
I’m Cho Kim. I have an appointment with my client Jimmy Kim.” He announced with authority.

“Hold on
,” the woman said, not looking up. She scribbled on something we couldn’t see. “Identification?” she asked. Cho handed her his driver’s license. “What about her?” she asked, still not looking up. I handed her my driver’s license.

“Ms. Williams is a paralegal with Huber and Associates. They will be local counsel on this case
,” Cho said.

“Are you family to the prisoner?”
the woman asked.

“No
,” Cho lied. “You can check. I filed my appearance.”

“You have the same last name.”
Oh shit, we’re busted.
I could feel my face flush. Cho eyed me.

“It’s a common name
,” Cho lied.

“Kim is a common name?”
the woman questioned.

“Not in the states, but in
Korea Kim is as common as Smith or Jones.” Sweat poured off me. Terrible at lying, I hoped the woman didn’t question me. I would sing like a bird. Apprehensive, I shifted from foot to foot. Cho sidled close to me. He put his arm around me. His hand on my back, his fingers dug in, squeezing. I stopped fidgeting and stiffened, eyes forward.
What the hell!
I felt like an unruly child. Cho’s hand remained my back as a reminder. He never broke eye contact with the woman. “I speak Korean. I have to translate for Ms. Williams,” he said. The woman looked at us. Between the woman and Cho, I almost peed myself like a nervous puppy.

“Very well
,” the woman said. She handed us two visitor badges. The woman pointed to a green door in the back. “Go through that door,” she said. “There’s a man on the other side who will direct you to the room you’ll be in.”

I immediately broke from Cho’s grip.
He caught my shoulder, stopping me, and leaned into my ear. “Listen to me, this room will be monitored. Don’t do or say anything.”

I blinked.
“What do you mean?”

Cho pointed in my face.
“Don’t act like you know Jimmy and don’t touch him,” he said. “I did this for Jimmy not you.”
Who in the hell did he think he was?
I gave Cho the stink eye. He cut in front of me and proceeded through the door, letting it close in my face.

The
guard on the other side thoroughly patted Cho and went through his briefcase. When the man patted me, he lingered on my legs. It made me uncomfortable. Cho cleared his throat and eyed the man. The guard looked at him. Cho tensed protectively. The guard removed his hand from my thigh. It made me feel a little better about Cho.

The guard
led us into a windowless green room. “No touching the prisoner, no giving him anything, and if you need assistance just push the button under this table. I’ll be outside,” the guard said. He closed the door with a loud bang. I jumped.

Cho and I
stared at each other, wordless. It seemed like an eternity. Jimmy’s brother didn’t like me. He appraised me with his cold eyes. The man thought I was an idiot, and screwing up his brother’s life. The feeling was mutual. I thought Cho was a class A jerk. I didn’t aim to cause Jimmy harm. Cho had no reason to dislike me.

A door on the other side of the room opened. Jimmy entered
flanked by two guards. I examined Jimmy. He wore the typical orange jumpsuit. His ankles and wrists cuffed. He struggled to keep up with the guards.

In the dimly lit room,
I couldn’t see Jimmy’s face clearly until the guards pushed him into the chair. His hair hung over his eyes. Jimmy jerked his head to free his face of hair. His right eye appeared swollen shut and blackish-blue. Jimmy had been beaten. I opened my mouth to speak. Cho caught my leg. He pinched my thigh and locked those angry dark eyes on me, reminding me not to speak. I gasped, startled.

Cho
fired words in Korean. Jimmy nodded a couple times and replied in short bursts of Korean. Jimmy kept his eyes on me while he spoke. He tried to convey a message by body language, but I didn’t understand. The sick feeling in my gut returned. It pained me to see him. My eyes watered. I busied myself pretending to take notes. I couldn’t look at Jimmy or I would burst into sobs.

The conversation
turned heated. I looked up from my scribbles. Something angered Jimmy. He raised his voice in irritation. Cho put his hands up to calm Jimmy. “Sh!” Cho said in English. “They’ll think you need to be subdued.” Jimmy stopped his argument. “They’ll come in and taze you. Do you want
her
to see that?”

Jimmy stared at me for a long time. “No.” he
murmured.

T
he guard called from the far door. “Time’s up!”

“Take care of her
Cho,” Jimmy said. Jimmy attempted to smile at me. The corner of his mouth quivered.
I’m okay,
he mouthed as the guards positioned beside him, yanking him from the chair. They pulled him from the table.

Jimmy
stopped and turned. “Ms. Williams,” he said. “Tell my girlfriend I love her very much.” He winked and was wrenched out the door.

Mouth gaped,
I wanted to tell Jimmy that I loved him too, but Cho stopped me with a warning glare. His eyes scared the hell out of me.

Leaving,
I didn’t say a word to Cho or even look at him. “Do you want to get something to eat?” He acted like nothing happened. I couldn’t forget.

“I’m not hungry
,” I said.
I hate you
!

“Look, I’
m starved and I want to go over everything with you,” Cho said. “Suit yourself, but I’m stopping to eat anyway.”

I folded my arms and blew a hair out of my face. “Do I have a choice?
”

“
No,” he said, “but you can pick the restaurant.” I directed Cho to a small diner on Madison Avenue. He kept quiet until his food arrived. When he took a bite of burger, his face softened. He rolled his eyes in pleasure.