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“Overruled,” the judge said, and my head whipped around to face the judge before I could stop it. What?
“Thank you, Your Honor.” Mrs. Levine smiled.
This was absolutely insane.
“Your lack of self-control led you to hang around her, flirt with her that night…” she continued.
“Objection, speculation.” Jared stood again.
“Sustained,” the judge responded, and it almost looked as if Mrs. Levine bit her tongue in shock. She smoothed down the front of her jacket and skirt, whispering something to herself before looking back up.
“You planted yourself in her path so that you could be around her, didn’t you, Mr. Sharpe?” she asked. I could almost hear the sensors going off in her brain, recalibrating.
“I was asked to keep an eye on her, and I enjoyed spending time with her, yes,” I said.
“You made her think it was her idea to sleep with you, didn’t you, Mr. Sharpe?” she said, and I let out a long sigh that bounced off the mic like a heavy wind during a storm.
“I didn’t make Tiffany Levine do anything. I enjoyed her company, and we both wanted to be with each other. We were both equally responsible for what happened between us that night,” I responded.
“Mr. Sharpe, is it safe to assume that you were the first one she slept with out of the three of you,” she asked.
“Yes,” I said, clearing my throat.
“And is it true that before you, Tiffany had never engaged in sexual…” Mrs. Levine’s voice grew louder, but Jared’s voice made hers sound like a squeak amongst roars.
“Objection. Speculation,” he responded.
“Sustained,” the judge said. She leaned back in her chair with her fingers at her temple, watching this whole shit show.
“Mr. Sharpe…” Mrs. Levine started, but no other words followed. She seemed to think long and hard about what she would say next but couldn’t seem to frame her sentences correctly. Even she looked dumbfounded when she whispered, “I have no further questions, Your Honor.”
The judge didn’t even ask her to repeat or speak louder. “Thank you, Mrs. Levine. Redirect?”
Tiffany jumped up from her seat and rushed over to the podium. Her body was rigid, and her face was stiff as if she were using all her strength to contain herself and not combust before us all.
“Mr. Sharpe, you said that Chris asked you to keep an eye on me that night and along with your attraction for me, that’s the reason you were hanging around me that night. Not as the opposition implied, to stalk me but to do what your friend asked of you. Is that right?” Tiffany asked.
“Yes.” I nodded.
“Would Christopher Levine be able to confirm that?” she asked.
“Yes. Although he was wasted that night, so I’m not sure he remembered what he said. But Chris was very concerned for you. He always was. So, I’m sure he’d be able to confirm that,” I admitted.
“Thank you, Mr. Sharpe. Your Honor, we’d like to subpoena Christopher Levine, Mr. Sharpe and Mr. Crawford’s former best friend, to testify as a character witness,” she said.
“Okay. Let’s reconvene at eight tomorrow morning.” The judge nodded.
Releasing a breath, I stood and straightened my suit out before leaving the stand. Whew. My heart was hammering. It was now up to Chris to not let his biases keep him from speaking on what really happened. Fuck, I was beginning to lose confidence in the truth.
“Are you okay?” Tiffany asked when I returned to our table.
“Are you?” I asked.
“I still can’t believe this is happening,” she said, opening her arms and allowing me to walk into them.
Letting the scent of her hair wash over me, I closed my eyes and held her closer, taking a single solid moment to pretend that it was just her and me standing in this room. That the world wasn’t spinning, and we would be all right.
Chapter 27
