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“I don’t mean to throw Juliette under the bus here, but goddamn this woman, I told you she’s frustrating. She doesn’t think before she does something and doesn’t realize the risk she’s putting herself in.” I shake my head. “Fucking pisses me off.”
Jimmy laughs, shaking his head. “I told you, man.”
“What?”
“I told you not to get involved with her. You have feelings, don’t you?”
“Oh, come on.” I brush off his comment. “You think I can’t be upset that my client, who I’m supposed to protect, is putting her and her daughter’s life in danger behind my back?”
“I think that’s a very normal thing to be upset about, but that reaction wasn’t you being upset, it was you being worried . . . because you care. And before you try to deny it, remember that I was in your exact same shoes before when I was hired to protect Blaire.”
I can feel tension building in my chest—tension because I know he’s right and I haven’t even had the chance to flesh it out myself or talk to Juliette about it. “Look, man, I didn’t come here for some psychobabble bullshit. I wanted to ask if you think we can find out who this asshole is.”
He reaches for the photos again, looking at them. “Let’s get a copy of these to Luka and Harvey. We can ask our informants and contacts on the street.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
“What’s the plan once you find out?”
“I want to kill him, but first I want to find out who he’s working for—see if we can get him to flip. My guess is he’s one of Delmore’s goons, in which case they’ll be forced to settle with Juliette’s firm and get her victims what they deserve.”
“Let’s stick with that plan. Don’t go killing him first.” He laughs.
“No promises,” I mutter as I stand up and head for the door.
“Hey,” Jimmy says, stopping me right before I exit, “don’t worry about this thing with Juliette. If you guys feel it, go for it. I know Sierra really fucked you over, buddy, but we both know Juliette is nothing like her. It was 10 years ago. I think it’s time you let it go and maybe let someone in.”
I stand there for a moment, thinking about it. I know he’s right about the fact that Juliette is nothing like Sierra, but the idea of opening up and letting someone in knowing full well it might not work out is still terrifying to me.
“Maybe,” I say as I give him a nod. “Maybe.”
17
JULIETTE
“What are you thinking?” Brett asks, looking at me over the file he’s holding.
“I’m thinking I’ve gone through this employee list a hundred times and nobody is willing to testify against Delmore.” I toss the paper I’m reading onto the conference table. “And now I’m going to have to tell the victims that this is most likely going to end up in court, where they’ll not only have to testify, but they’ll be grilled and torn apart by the defense.”
“Let’s not jump to that conclusion just yet. I mean, they have the same evidence we do, so they must know a judge wouldn’t rule in their favor.”
“Oh, of course they know that. That’s not what they’re banking on.” I stand up and start to pace in front of the large windows, rubbing my temples. “This is my prediction: I think Delmore knows that if we go to trial, a judge will absolutely rule in our favor. Nowadays, nobody wants to see a corporation getting away with this shit. However, I think they’re banking on one situation with two possible outcomes. First, they know that if we go to trial, that means we’ll have to tell our victims this means years of litigation and hours and hours of testimony and interrogation, where their lives will be put under the spotlight and ripped to shreds. My guess is Delmore will then go to some of the victims and start offering them a buyout—offer to bribe them with something like $1 million each—in turn, saving themselves hundreds of millions in a settlement because we’ll end up dropping the case at the request of the victims.”
“And the other outcome?”
“Delmore thinks they have the upper hand because we don’t want to be tied up in court for years with a class-action suit based on a contingency fee, so they’ll come in and offer us a much higher settlement but still lowball us. They know we want $350 million, so they’ll come in with $100 million.”
“You ever wonder why you got into law?” Brett asks with a chuckle.
“Only every other day.” I smile. I love my job, but it’s not for the faint of heart. Everyone thinks that lawyers are soulless money-hungry assholes because someare, like the firm representing Delmore, but for those of us who really do want to help, it’s soul-crushing at times. “But it’s still the only job I’ve ever wanted to do.”
“At least once a month, Nathan tries to convince me to come work at his design firm, usually after I’ve had a full-blown meltdown and stressed him out.”
“And do you consider it?”
He shakes his head. “No. Like you, I feel like this is what I’m meant to do.”
“You want to grab a glass of wine after work with me? I’m meeting Blaire at my house if you want to come home with me.”
