The Law of Attraction (19 page)

Daniel expected Alisha to object to the barb, but when she didn't, he continued. “During your time together, did Mr. Massey engage in activities similar to those for which he is now charged?”

“No, but he talked about doing it all the time. He considers himself an aspiring actor and he was always planning ways to get noticed. He told me he used to streak during college and he enjoyed the attention. He's very proud of his body.”

Slagle's gavel pounding followed a loud whistle from the crowd.

“Did he support any kind of social causes during the time you knew him?”

“No. He didn't support much of anything, including himself. I did that.”

Still no objection from Alisha, and Daniel found that strange. She didn't even level one “hearsay” objection. He felt reasonably sure he'd established Massey's penchant for being a publicity hog and a bum. Now he could follow up with that during closing arguments. “Thank you, Ms. Novak. No further questions.”

“Any questions for this witness, Ms. Hart?” Slagle asked.

“Definitely, Your Honor.”

Daniel turned and headed back to his seat while Alisha headed to the stand. She didn't even offer a cursory glance in his direction. She looked damned determined, though, and about as angry as the witness.

“Ms. Novak, when you were with Mr. Massey, was he ever violent?” “No.” “Did he ever deny having any desire to support any causes?” “No, he didn't deny it, but—”

“When you parted ways, did you leave him or did he leave you?”

“He walked out without even saying goodbye. And the jerk took my collection of classical CDs and my toreador outfit that my father gave me.”

“Your Honor,” Alisha said. “Could you instruct the witness to keep commentary at a minimum?”

“Just stick to the yes and no answers, Ms. Novak,” Slagle said.

Alisha studied the ground before bringing her attention back to the witness. “Ms. Novak, how long ago did Mr. Massey leave you?”

“Four months ago.”

“Then would it be accurate to assume you're still angry with him?”

“Objection,” Daniel said.

Alisha shot him an acid glare. “I have to question Ms. Novak's motivation for coming forward at this late date.”

“I'll allow it.”

“Yes, I'm angry,” Carol said. “Wouldn't you be?”

“My state of mind is not in question here,” Alisha said calmly.

Maybe not, but Daniel could imagine what she was thinking—that her revelations last night had something to do with this and that he'd betrayed her.

“One more question, Ms. Novak,” she said. “Do you see your presence here today as doing your civic duty or is this a good way to get revenge?”

Daniel shot out of his chair. “Your Honor—”

“Sustained,” Slagle said.

“Nothing further,” Alisha said as she pinned Daniel with an angry look. “And as they say, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” Before he could offer another objection, she added, “Withdrawn.”

She strode back to the table and met his gaze. This time
Daniel didn't see anger, he saw unmistakable hurt before she reclaimed her seat. He planned to explain as soon as he had the opportunity. He prayed it wasn't too late.

“H
ow do you think we did?”

Alisha noted insecurity in Les Massey's voice for the first time since she'd had the misfortune of meeting him. “I don't know, but we'll find out when the jury comes back with the verdict.”

And she predicted that would be soon. Other than that, she didn't dare make any predictions. She'd done her best during closing arguments to undo any damage imposed by the state's surprise witness. She'd stressed that regardless of Mr. Massey's motivation, the prosecution had failed to prove without a doubt that he'd assaulted an elderly woman or that he'd exposed himself to a degree that warranted a conviction. As far as the disorderly conduct was concerned, that still remained up in the air. But if they did find him guilty on those counts, that was little more than a fine and limited jail time, if any.

Daniel, on the other hand, had proved he was a master at his job. He'd painted Les to be a liar supreme and sufficiently attacked his character, all he'd been able to do. If the jury had taken that bait, then Les might be in jail longer than he'd anticipated. And Alisha honestly didn't care. Didn't care if her client was sentenced to a long confinement. She only cared about the biting betrayal brought about by a man she'd thought she could trust. A man she loved. A man who was all about winning, regardless of the consequences.

The conference room door opened and Joe stepped inside. “The jury's back already.”

Alisha checked her watch. Only two hours' worth of deliberations. That could be good. Or bad. “All right. Let's go.”

She walked down the hall between Joe and Les, all the while hating that she had to see Daniel again. Hating that after this fiasco ended, she wouldn't see him except in this setting, if then.

After they reentered the courtroom and took their places, Alisha concentrated on the jury as they filed in to keep from looking at Daniel. She was afraid she might not be able to hide her heartache. Maybe even afraid she might cry, because that's what she wanted to do at the moment—have a nice, irrational, emotional outburst. Later she just might do that. Right now she had to remain composed when the judge instructed Les to stand.

“Has the jury reached a verdict?” Slagle said.

“We have, Your Honor,” the foreman replied and handed off the paper that held Les Massey's fate.

Slagle looked it over, then handed it back to be returned to the foreman. “On the count of indecent exposure, how do you find?”

“Not guilty.”

Several excited murmurs came from behind Alisha. Even after the jilted girlfriend's appearance, support among Massey's girls still hadn't diminished. Smitten fools, every
one of them. But who was she to talk? She should get up right now and take her place among them—behind the prosecutor.

“On the count of assault, how do you find?”

“Not guilty.”

This time Les said, “Oh, yeah,” prompting Alisha to give him a quelling look.

“On three counts of disorderly conduct, how do you find?”

“Guilty.”

Not exactly a clean sweep, Alisha decided, but it could have been so much worse. She risked a glance at Daniel and saw no satisfaction in his expression, witnessed no high fives exchanged between him and his assistants. But come to think of it, he hadn't really won. Neither of them had, both in terms of the case and their relationship.

“Order,” Slagle shouted to silence the unruly crowd. Alisha's temples pounded in time with every bang of his gavel. “I'm ready to dispose of this case, so I'm going to go ahead and sentence Mr. Massey.”

Alisha was more than ready to get the hell out of there. More than ready to return to her office and lock herself in. More than ready to get as far away from Daniel Fortune as she possibly could, at least in a physical sense.

“Mr. Massey,” Slagle said. “You are hereby sentenced to pay fifteen hundred dollars, and any jail time will be counted for time already served.”

The Masses for Massey sent up a resounding cheer until Slagle's nasty scowl silenced them. “However,” he continued, “I'm thinking you should do a little community service, so I'm sentencing you to thirty hours at the zoo, cleaning up poop.”

Les leaned over and said to Alisha, “Can he do that?”

She replied, “He's doing it, isn't he?”

“Uh, Judge,” Les said. “Can I ask a question?”

Alisha didn't have the strength to intervene. The judge could handle him.

“Yes, young man?” Slagle said.

“After I get through with my community service, will it be okay if I leave the state or will I be on parole or something?”

Slagle chuckled. “No parole, and I'm thinking a few of San Antonio's good citizens will be glad to chip in for your bus fare.”

Les looked totally perplexed. “No kidding?”

“Yes, he's kidding,” Alisha said, almost adding
you moron
to the comment.

“Court's adjourned,” Slagle said. “Everyone's free to go, and that includes you, Mr. Massey.”

Alisha gathered her things, but before she could get away from her client he said, “You know, I guess that's not too bad, but I was kind of counting on not guilty on everything.”

She shoved her notes into her briefcase. “Consider yourself lucky that the jury had enough sense to weigh the facts in light of your lies.”

“Maybe I should appeal it.”

Oh, good grief. “Maybe you should just forget about the whole thing and go on with your life.” Exactly what Alisha intended to do—forget about Daniel and what could have been. Get on with her life without him.

“Okay, I can do that.” Les gave her a suggestive grin. “I can probably scrounge up enough money to buy you dinner. I can get a discount at the pizza place where I used to work.”

Lovely. Alisha gripped her case and presented a fake smile. “Mr. Massey, from this point forward I am no longer your attorney, nor am I a prospective girlfriend. As far as I'm concerned, I never want to see you again. And if by chance the day should come when you decide to pull one of your half-naked stunts again, you better hope I'm not wielding anything heavier than a loaf of bread.”

Alisha strode out of the courtroom to find the press gathered round the vestibule, awaiting comments. She only wanted to slip out before anyone discovered her presence. With that in mind, she took a right and headed down a back hallway toward the side exit in order to escape without detection.

She cursed the fact that she'd had to park so far away, at the back of the lot, thanks to the trial's notoriety. After she heard a noisy commotion coming from behind her, she turned and walked backward a few steps, expecting to catch a glimpse of the A.D.A. Instead she saw a throng of females converging on Les Massey as he displayed the victory sign like a practiced politician. He'd come out of the ordeal relatively unscathed, with basically a slap on the wrist. She wished she could say the same for herself.

On the heels of her need to hurry away, Alisha turned and practically sprinted through the lot. Her steps slowed as she caught sight of a tall figure leaning back against her sedan, shoulders straight, arms folded across his chest. Even before she could register all the details—the immaculate brown hair, the intense green eyes—she knew it was Daniel by his confident stance alone. Her heart took a dive, then took to beating in a crazy cadence. She reminded herself she was still angry with him, that she still hurt like the devil every time she considered how far she had fallen for him—and how far he had gone to win.

Since he was blocking the driver's door, Alisha had no choice but to speak to him, if only to request that he get out of her way.

“We need to talk.”

She barked out a laugh. “Why? So you can gloat over your victory?”

“So I can explain.”

“There's nothing to explain. You did what you had to do.” She fumbled with her briefcase and withdrew her keys, immediately dropping them on the pavement. With lightning speed Daniel retrieved them and depressed the remote, unlocking the car.

“Get in,” he said, hanging on to her keys as he rounded the hood and opened the passenger door.

Alisha slid into the driver's seat, resigned to the fact that
he would persist until she heard him out. She would give him a few minutes before she told him goodbye for good.

The car filled with the scent of his cologne, and she gripped the steering wheel to keep from reaching for him. She craved him like a love addict craved a fix, knowing that if she fell off the wagon, she would keep coming back for more.

“What happened back there in court had to happen,” he said. “I had no choice.”

She continued to stare straight ahead. “I know. You used my stupid mistake to make Fortune's Last Stand. Silly me to think that you wouldn't use me.”

“Is that really what you believe? That I used you?”

“Yes. I told you about the ex-girlfriend and you tracked her down. If I'd kept my mouth shut, Massey probably would have been cleared on all counts.”

“You honestly distrust me that much?”

“Why should I trust you? This is a recurring nightmare with me. First Troy, now you. I've been played the fool twice—three times if you count Les—but never again.” And this time it hurt worse than it ever had with Troy. But she hadn't been in love with him.

“Alisha, look at me.”

She didn't want to do that, didn't want to see the face she had taken to memory, the face she'd wanted to see every day for the rest of her life. But his touch on her arm acted like a magnet, drawing her gaze to his somber expression.

“I want you to listen to me, and listen carefully,” he said. “First of all, I'm not Moreau, and deep down you know that. Second, we both knew the rules and the risks going into this thing.”

Damn him. “Don't patronize me, Counselor. Of course I knew the rules. And I broke them. But so did you. You don't have to remind me.”

“But obviously I have to remind you of something even more important. I've never told one living soul what I told you
last night. This morning I told you something I've never told any woman I've been involved with. I meant every word I said. Right now you're too damn angry to handle anything else I have to say, so I'm going to give you some time to think about it before we talk again.”

She fought with everything in her to hold back the threatening tears. “I don't see any reason to talk again. I just can't keep repeating the same mistakes, Daniel. Trust is everything to me, and I'm not sure I can trust anything you've said to this point.”

“We're not a mistake, Alisha.” He tugged her hand from the wheel and rested it in his, then pressed the keys into her palm. “If you let this sham of a case ruin what we have together, then we both lose.”

Long after Daniel left the car, Alisha sat with her forehead resting against the wheel, unwelcome tears rolling down her face and dropping onto her best black skirt. She couldn't stand the thought of facing Joe. Or facing anyone, for that matter. Her emotions were too out of whack to put on a happy face and pretend that everything was rosy and right. In light of that, she took out her cell phone and dialed the office.

“Hey, Joe,” she said, biting back a rogue sob. “Cancel my afternoon, okay?”

“Come on, Hart. You have to come in. Julie's here and she wants to congratulate you.”

“Congratulate me?”

“Well, yeah. You basically won.”

If you let this sham of a case ruin what we have together, then we both lose….

“Tell Julie thanks, Joe, but I'm completely worn out. I want to soak in a hot bath and watch some pointless reality show.” And have a good cry while she faced the reality of having Daniel gone from her life. “I'll see you in the morning.”

Alisha hung up and started the car, wishing home was a little closer. More than that, she wished she'd never handed over her heart to Daniel Fortune.

 

When Alisha failed to answer the phone or his messages for the past twenty-four hours, Daniel decided to pay her a visit. He grabbed up his cell phone and dialed her number, reached the damn answering machine again. “Alisha, it's me. I know you're in there because I can see you, and I have to—”

She picked up the phone and barked, “What do you mean you can see me?”

Finally. “Because the curtain's partially parted. I'm parked outside your apartment. I want to come in.”

“It's late and I'm tired.”

“So am I. Tired of not being with you.”

Her sigh filtered into his ear, calling up memories of other sighs that weren't weary. “You're not going to leave, are you?”

“Nope. Not until you let me in. No negotiating, no settling. I'll sit here all night if I have to. You don't want me wearing the same clothes into work tomorrow morning, do you?” His attempt at levity fell flat. He didn't find any humor in this situation either.

After a slight pause she said, “Okay. I'll give you a few minutes, but that's it. I need to go to bed.”

He halted the offer to join her. He needed her to know this wasn't about sex, although he still wanted her as badly as he had from the beginning. “I'm on my way.”

Daniel tossed the cell phone aside, opting to leave it behind because he wanted no interruptions. He only wanted her back, and that might be expecting too much.

After slipping his keys into the pocket that also contained the possible key to their future, he left the car in a rush. Before he could even knock, the door flew open to Alisha standing there wearing a peach-colored silk wraparound robe and a stern expression. “You have five minutes,” she said, moving aside to allow him entry.

He stepped into the small living room, immediately noticing it was clean but not without clutter. The place suited her
spirited personality, from the abstract paintings on the wall to the eclectic collection of DVDs.