Court is dismissed for the day, and I gather up the notes I will need to work on tonight. Matt Gaines makes his way over to me and lowers his voice. "So, Kylie, your boyfriend seems to be stealing our thunder. The press is more interested in him than us, and we're actually the stars of this show."
He snorts and nods toward the back of the gallery where reporters are interviewing Alex. I wonder how he knows about Alex and I, but then remember pictures of us dancing splashed all over the entertainment section of the paper.
I look over my shoulder then back at Matt and shrug. "Hopefully, they'll be so enthralled with him they won't care how we're dressed or who is doing our hair."
"True, although I have been considering a new hairdo." He runs his hand through his nearly nonexistent short hair. Matt hasn't changed his hairstyle in the fifteen years I've known him.
"Right, something long and flowing...and possibly blond."
"Yeah, right." Matt turns back to his table.
I walk toward the court bailiff, an older man, overweight with a fierce dislike for criminal defense attorneys, except for one—me.
"Carl, can I ask for a big favor?"
He beams at me. "What do you need, Kylie?"
I flash my best smile. "A way out." I point to the press, and Carl laughs.
"Sure, Kylie. I'll take you out through the garage in the basement."
"You're the best, Carl. They really should give you a raise." I quickly text Jake to let him know where to meet us.
“From your lips to God’s ears,” Carl mutters.
I catch Alex's eye and motion him over. Carl opens the low gate and allows Alex access to the inner attorney sanctum of the courtroom.
Shooing the remaining press out, Carl locks the door and turns back to me. "All set, Kylie?"
"Yep." I gather my things, follow Carl to the door next to the judge's bench, and into the hallway that runs behind the courtrooms. At the end is an elevator, accessible by the bailiffs only, used to take alleged criminals who are in custody back and forth from the holding cells in the basement to the courtrooms.
As we descend, I introduce Alex and Carl. Alex is amazingly adept at conversing with anyone. He has the unique ability to ascertain a common interest and exploit it in conversation. The two men have a fascinating yet brief conversation on the type of gun Carl uses, and I discover Alex is fairly knowledgeable about firearms.
Jake is waiting in the garage, and Carl ambles over to the driver's side as the window goes down.
Carl reaches his hand through the window. "Jake, how the hell are you?"
"Good, Carl. How long have you been working here?" Jake asks.
"Too long. Need to retire from this shit."
"I hear ya, man. Time to turn in the badge and enjoy life," Jake offers.
Carl looks at the Mercedes SUV and then back at Jake. "Yeah, unfortunately, I doubt I could sail under the same lucky star you did when you left the force."
Jake chuckles. "Give Lucille my love, and we'll catch up later."
Alex and I climb into the backseat.
Jake puts the window up and glances back at Alex. "Where to, Mr. Stone?"
"Where would you like to eat tonight, Kylie?" Alex asks, taking hold of my hand.
"Sorry, babe, but I have to get back to the office and do some more prep for tomorrow. Lisa is bringing Chinese back for us, so I'll just have that."
"You can't take an hour to have dinner with me?" Alex is almost whining with an edge of irritation.
I lean over and kiss his cheek. "Not tonight, Alex. I need to go over my notes and my cross-examination questions for tomorrow. If I go now, I'll get done sooner. Then, maybe we can have dessert later."
He softens a little bit, but is still tense.
I offer a further concession. "Tomorrow night will be better for me, babe. Can we do it then?"
He sighs. "Sure." Then, he kisses me as Jake pulls up in front of the office. "Thomas will be here shortly, and he'll stick around until you're ready to come home."
"Thanks, babe." I kiss him and then add quietly, "You know, I really liked having you there today."
He smiles. "I really liked being there. You're the only attorney I want getting me out of a first-degree murder charge."
I chuckle. "How about you endeavor not to get yourself into that situation?" I give him another quick peck on the lips, and head into the building.
At eleven forty-five, I enter the bedroom closet and quietly change into my pajamas without waking Alex, who is fast asleep in bed. I crawl in, snuggle against his back, and kiss his neck.
He stirs and halfheartedly looks at me over his shoulder. "What time is it?"
"It's late, babe. Go back to sleep."
He sighs heavily but grabs my hand and pulls me closer as he drifts off to sleep again.