Just Be True To Me

“That’s not gonna help you lie better.” Mia made her way to the jury box. “We’ve already established that Mr. Ross hasn’t violated Mr. Knight’s trust. You listened to him read that there were two accounts with the same name, but one just so happened to be under the name of his dead uncle. The only thing left to do is ask why. Why Mr. Ross, does that account exist? And what are you doing with the money you’ve been funneling into it.”

The crowed anxiously awaited his answer. He fidgeted as if ants were crawling on him. The fabric of his shirt dug into the lenses, leaving its mark. A large streak of sweat stretched across his arm after he wiped his forehead.

“Take you time in answering. We aren’t in a rush.”

***

Tamara and Milton were waiting for her after the courtroom cleared. Tamara knocked the wind out of her as her shoulder slammed into her chest. Milton congratulated her with a couple of pats on the back and a stiff handshake.

“You killed that sh*t girl.” The curse word caught the attention of the people walking past them. “Don’t act like you don’t say the same thing at home.”

“Stop it.”

“What? I’m tired of people thinking they’re better just because they don’t do the same things outside. That’s why I’m rooting so hard for you to win,” she said to Clifford. “Everybody hides money. Especially where I’m from. They hide it in the mattress and the ceilings and the walls. They hide it in the floors.”

“We get it.” Mia pulled her to the side. Not having gotten the chance to update her on the trip, she decided to take advantage of her good mood.

“How was the trip? I been dying to hear about it.”

As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t contain her excitement. “It’s was great. Everybody was nice. His nephews love me. His granddad is kinda of prejudiced, but I think that’s just is age. Other than that I had a really good time.”

Tamara pulled her into a hug. “I’m so happy for you.” From their current positions, she was able to see the people coming in and out of the door. Her mouth dropped open, her arms tightening.

“I know you love me, but you’re gonna crush me.”

“So, sorry.”

Noticing the change in her demeanor, Mia asked what was wrong, following the trajectory of her gaze, seeing that she was staring at a red-haired woman. The longer she looked, the more she recognized the woman, or rather, the more familiar she seemed. “You know her?”

“That was the woman.”

“What woman?”

Tamara said, “That’s the woman I saw with Clifford. When I was following—” She pulled her further into the corner. “That’s the woman.”

“I heard you the first two times you said it.”

“You’re not mad.” She peeked over Mia’s shoulder, doing her best to spy covertly. “What is she doing here?”

Clifford appeared, practically tearing Tamara’s arms away as he explained that he and Mia needed to leave. He ushered her toward the rear of the building away from the building press crowd. His Tesla was waiting, the driver getting out as if the whole escape plot had been planned in advance. He was in such a rush that he didn’t close her door before jogging to his side.

Only after he threw his tie in the back did she notice the bags. “Planning on going somewhere?”

He didn’t answer, instead pressing the accelerator, causing them to speed out of the parking lot. Reaching the highway, he let the windows down and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt.

“You’re not going to say anything.”

“The press is getting out of control. Staying in a hotel is safer than staying in the city.”

His vague answer only fed her curiosity. “What happened?”

“Someone threatened me. I’m having some people take care of it,” he said. He placed his hand on her leg. “Everything’s fine. I just didn’t want to take any chances.”

Mia had been around him long enough to know when he was hiding something. Far too fidgety and evasive in his answers, he turned the radio up so that combined with the wind, she wouldn’t be able to hear his answers and he wouldn’t be able to hear her questions.

He looked at her after she turned the radio down. “Did you see that woman right before we left?”

“There were a lot of women. You’re going to have to be more specific, babe.”

“The woman with the red hair. Real pretty. She came in after the we were finished.”

His grip tightening around the steering wheel. He switched hands, holding it with his left hand as he ran the fingers of his right through his hair. All were indications that he knew exactly who she was talking about. In spite of this, he lied, claiming not to have seen her, going further by denying that he knew who she was.

She made a mental note of the lies. “Can we stop by my house?”

“Not if we don’t have to.”

“We have to. I forgot my charger. And I need to get my toiletries.”

***

Clifford made sure she wasn’t coming back out of the house when he pulled out his phone. It rang twice before a deep voice answered. “What the fu*k is she doing here?”

“The prosecution put her on the witness list. She’s supposed to testify first thing Monday morning.”

The horn honked after he punched it. He held the phone in his lap while checking the door and windows. “Find out where she’s staying. Get her whatever she needs. And be discreet about it.” Hanging up the call, he fought his anger, doing his best from punching a hole through the roof. His chest heaved as he considered the worst possible scenarios, which took his mind to his conversation with Jeremy.

All his effort to control the outcome was for naught. If he told her who the woman was, she would have called him out about lying about not knowing her. Allowing his mother to testify without telling Mia about her would be lying by omission, not to mention a blindside that could potential lead to them losing the trial, and more important;y, their break up. He was stuck between an impossible situation and a less than impossible situation.

She came back before he had a chance to make up his mind.