"No," I answered right away.
"Come on,” he said. "At least let me apologize. I feel bad about misreading things."
"Look," I said in a sharp tone. "You need to forget about what happened last night. I don't want to talk about it. We have a lot of work to do. Let's try and focus. Okay?"
I felt him watching me as I turned my attention back to the files before me.
"Blair," he said. "If we can't talk about it now, why don't we get together later after work."
"No," I said.
The office door opened and Mr. Mahoney returned.
"Sorry to interrupt," he said. "I left my report for the board meeting."
He gathered what he needed and left the office once more. I turned back to my work. Aiden sighed and did the same, giving up on the possibility of reaching me.
I kept my cold front up for the rest of the day and he didn’t press the issue again. Despite the awkwardness, once we got into the work we got a great deal finished. It seemed that our attention towards one another had transferred into a strange competition.
Through our annoyance with each other we spent the day actively trying to outdo the other. By the end of the day we had built a strong case, despite our differences. Our first appearance in court wasn’t for another couple of weeks from then, but I had begun to feel confident in our case. I made an offhand statement that if we had to make our opening statements the next day that I would be ready.
"No kidding," Aiden said. "I feel that way too. A strong opening and a strong closing are going to win this case. We have the first part. I'm starting to dream about the case as much as we have been working."
"I know exactly what you mean,” I said.
“I’ve been dreaming about something else too,” he quipped, leaning back in his chair and placing his hands on the back of his head.
Then, he winked at me.
I rolled my eyes.
A grin spread across his face.
“Well, you’ll just have to keep dreaming about it then,” I told him.
“We’ll see about that.”
Jesus.
I didn’t have time for him to come on to me.
This case was too important.
The following day we arrived to find that we would be heading over to the prison with the partners to meet Mr. Shaw. The partners had said that they would need us to only stay for the first part as they had some preparation to do with the client, but that he was also curious to meet the newest members of his defense team. We would be returning around lunch time, and after our break we could start back into the case as we saw fit.
"Do you want to ride over together?" Aiden asked while the partners gathered their documents.
"I'd like to, but I have to run some errands over the lunch break. I won't be coming straight back here right away."
This statement was patently untrue, but I didn’t want to be in close proximity with Aiden, especially since we were meeting the client. Though I did believe that his invitation didn’t have any ulterior motives, it was my own sense of focus that I didn’t want compromised.
“Well why don’t I run errands with you then?” he asked, moving closer to me.
“They are kind of personal things,” I lied.
“Riiight,” he said, obviously not believing a word I said.
“Yup,” I responded, looking away from his eyes since I knew if I did I would grin he would really know it was all a bunch of lies. “I’ll see you at the prison.”
I quickly moved away from him knowing I would finally give in to his requests to ride together if I didn’t.
The partners gave us directions to the prison where Shaw was in holding until the trial and we headed out.
About twenty minutes later we arrived, having driven in a caravan formation most of the way. The city had given way to a windy two lane road, which came upon a large gated entrance. I had driven past this before but never expected that I would set foot inside. Seeing the imposing entrance made my stomach flip flop.
We all met in the lobby upon the instructions of the partners, leaving our valuables in the car. A guard arrived to escort us to the intake station and we each took our turn walking through the large metal detector. Once on the other side we reconvened.
The officer motioned for us to follow him and we journeyed down a long winding hallway, not unlike the road we had just traveled. When we arrived at the room, he opened the door and let us enter. Darius Shaw already sat at the only table present. I could see his wrists and ankles shackled beneath the surface. He wore the orange jumpsuit typical of an inmate. Despite the circumstances, he smiled when we entered.
"Good morning, Darius.” Mr. Mahoney asked as we all took our seats, "Are you in good spirits?"
"I'm ready to get this over with,” he said. His voice sounded soft and meek, different than I would have expected.
Truth be told I hadn't known what to expect. He glanced in the direction of me and Aiden. Mahoney introduced us.
"Darius," he said. "These are the newest members of your council. Aiden Player and Blair Michaels."
"How do you do, Mr. Player. Miss Michaels,” he nodded towards us, unable to shake our hands.
"Please call me Blair," I insisted despite the look I got from Aiden.
Even if we were to only have minimal contact during the trial, I still wanted this man to feel comfortable with me. He held himself in such a way that reflected an old world charm.
I wanted to respect that.
"What we are going to discuss," Mahoney said, pausing for a brief moment. "Is some of the questions that we believe the prosecution may bring to us. Do you feel prepared to do that?"
"Of course," Darius said.
Mahoney turned towards me and Aiden. "Of course if the two of you have any questions for the client, now is the time to ask. After today you will most likely not see him until the court date. Please feel free to take part."
I could sense next to me Aiden's posture shifting uncomfortably in the hard plastic chairs. I gave him a questioning look, but he avoided my eyes. I felt as if I had hundreds of questions for Mr. Shaw, but I opted to wait and watch, seeing how Mahoney and Ms. Klein handled the information in front of the client.
Mentally I took notes as we went along watching the demeanor of the client. He listened intently, his eyes focusing carefully when something was shown to him. He always answered in quiet polite tones, calling everyone 'sir' and 'ma'am'.
By the end of the morning I had a new respect for what we were doing. I had already understood that our job was important, but seeing his face, hearing his voice, made me realize just how important our work would be. This man's life was at stake. I felt more determined than ever to build a solid defense on his behalf.
That’s exactly why I had to stay away from Aiden.
I couldn’t let him break down my barriers.
I needed to concentrate on the case.
Having to tell myself that over and over told me right there he was already in my head.
We finished a few hours later. Shaw was escorted out first, walking in shuffling steps with a guard on either side of him. Watching him try to move with shackles on made me cringe inside. Under any other circumstances I would never have placed him as a suspect.
At last the guards returned to escort us back out to the lobby. Once more we submitted to the metal detectors, stepping through one at a time without incident.