There was no way I would have let Lucas go chasing after some damsel in distress.
That’s the risk you take when you walk out of the house wearing only a trench coat.
“Well did he come back?” I asked.
“Yea, eventually he came back. He was upset but I told him I felt uncomfortable and I
referred him to the contract.” Jenna answered.
“What did he say?”
“Nothing really, I mean the rest of the night was ruined and he has been giving me the
cold shoulder ever since.”
“Why is that?”
“I don’t know. I decided to give him a little space so he could cool off. But when I tried
to talk to him some hours later, he said he didn’t really want to talk about it. The most he said
was that he understood why I felt that way, however, I should have handled it better.”
“He has some nerve. How else would you handle it?”
“I have no idea.”
Secretly, I agreed with Lucas. Her temper sometimes got the best of her. The tantrum
she threw was beyond me. Nevertheless, from the way Jenna describe it I could see how she
freaked out the way she did. Lucas should have known better.
“I’m sorry it did not work out as planned.”
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“No need to apologize. I made the decision to go through with this, not you. All I ask is
for you to keep this to yourself. The embarrassment alone would kill me.”
“I promise Jenna this will not go any further.”
“Thanks.”
“Jenna, I know you do not like unsolicited advice but give Lucas some time he’ll come
around.”
“I hope so. I really love that man. I thought I could do whatever it takes to keep him.
But the replay of Adalena on Lucas keeps playing in my head over and over again. It made me
feel foolish that I even thought to do such a thing.”
Part of me felt bad for Jenna. I sort of pushed her and encouraged her to engage into this
debacle. After a moment of complete silence, Jenna spoke up.
“Heather, I am going to let you go. I have a lot of things on my mind that I need to figure
out.”
“Alright, I understand. Jenna you know if you need anything or you need someone to
talk to don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and call.”
“I won’t. Talk to you later.”
“Bye.”
Although, the phone call ended, my concern for Jenna just begun. And from what she
told me about her encounter and how Lucas reacted, I knew moving forward that the end of her
love story would not include a happily ever after.
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Dallas
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Chapter Eight
“just between friends”
Heather left me with a lot of unanswered questions. The time to figure out those answers
was at a later date. We had to get back into the courtroom.
“Heather, you know we are going to have to continue this conversation later.”
“Yea, I know.”
Heather’s solemn responds left me with the impression that she felt like she betrayed
Jenna’s trust. And I truly understand why she kept that information bottled up. If the
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prosecuting attorney would have found out that Jenna knew the victim prior to that night, there
would have been no chance in hell for her to get out.
“Don’t worry Heather. You didn’t do anything wrong.” I tried to reassure her.
Heather stilled remained grimace and I could tell that my reassure did not work. I
grabbed Heather’s hand to comforter her and we made our way back through the courtroom
doors. We walked back to our seats. I began to become a little uneasy about the information
Heather gave me. I was struggling with the idea to tell Victoria. On one hand, keeping the
information away from Victoria may be best. However, if the prosecuting attorney learns about
this information this would absolutely hurt Jenna’s case. It might be in Jenna’s best interest to
have her lawyer prepared just in case this information gets into the wrong hands.
“I wonder what’s taking so long.” Heather asked.
Heather looked at me as if I knew the answer. I turned to look around the room to see if I
could spot Victoria and ask her what the hold was up. My search was unsuccessful. With the
courtroom in recess, I could further discuss my feelings with Heather regarding what she told
me.
“I’m not sure what’s going on. I was trying to look for Victoria to see if she knows. But
she’s not in the courtroom.”
“I hope this does not take much longer. We have already been here over two hours. I’m
supposed to be meeting up with Ryan this afternoon and this is cutting it close.”
“So, are you guys getting serious?”
“I would say so.”
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“I would have never thought that you would be settling down with one guy. Aren’t you
going to miss the jetting setting, the variety, and all the adventures?”
“No, I will share those moments with him. Don’t get me wrong Dallas he comes will
equip to handle my adventures side. And I am not just speaking in terms of monetary assets.”
Heather chuckled.
It was great to see her mood change. It was even more amazing to know that Ryan had
such an effect on her. I never thought any man could tame Heather. She was like a female
version of a wild stallion.
“I’m happy for you. I just have one question.”
“What is that?”
“When I first met him, he was a little rude to us ladies. Was he not having a good day?
Or is he usually an ass?”
“I wouldn’t say that he is an ass. He is just more of a private person. I was actually
speaking to Kyler about organizing a dinner party so that everyone could meet him. We can all
bring our significant others.”
“When and where is it going to be?”
“I am thinking about hosting it at my loft in the next couple of days.”
“That sounds fun.”
“Are you going to bring a plus one or are you coming solo?”
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“I’m not sure. I have to see if I feel like being bothered.”
“Are you currently dating someone?”
“No not really. But there is this nice-looking guy at the Bureau who seems to be
interested in me. Maybe I’ll bring him and throw him to the wolves.”
“I am an expert on that. That is why I didn’t want to bring Ryan around until I knew that
he was worth saving if you ladies tried to run him off. I am just glad that the tables will be
turning soon.” Heather smirked at me.
“What is that spouse to mean?” I asked.
“It means that it will be your turn to receive the scrutiny that I was getting. I will be out
the way and you love life will be on display.”
“Why is that?”
“Well, you see I was dating so many guys that you ladies were concerned and that
allowed for you Ms. Dallas to slip underneath the radar.
“I don’t get it?”
“Let me clarify this, now that I am not on the market, your dating life… or the lack
thereof will be brought to the attention of everyone.” Heather laughed. “Don’t think no one
noticed that you still remain single.”
“Whatever. I have a career that I am focusing on. Men will come in due time.”
“Yikes! You don’t like how that feels do you?” Heather jokingly questioned.
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“I not worried about it. I will be able to handle whatever you ladies throw at me.”
“I hope so.”
Soon as Heather and I finished our conversation we seen Victoria walked back into the
courtroom.
“Hey Heather, I think that we should tell Victoria about the girl.”
“No!” Heather was horrified. “Dallas, I promised her. I told you that in confidence and
me talking to Victoria is the last person I want to talk to at this moment.”
“What’s going on between you to?”
“I really can’t deal.” Heather remained coy.
“Well, Heather if we don’t tell Victoria, this may come back and hurt Jenna’s case in the
future.”
“But Dallas I just can’t. Do you not know how hard it was for me to tell you? I will not
feel comfortable telling someone else. I have already broken her trust.”
“Heather if it makes you feel better, I will talk to Victoria myself. At the end of the day
Jenna is the priority.”
“Fine then,” Heather said sternly.
I excused myself from the conversation with Heather. I wanted to talk to Victoria while
the information she gave me was fresh in my mind. I also wanted to see how much longer this
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recess was going to last. I walked towards Victoria. I was unsure to how she was going to
receive the message.
“Victoria,” she reluctantly turned around.
“Yes,” the evidence of disdain in her tone was overwhelming.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“We’re in recess,” she answered curtly.
“I can see that. I want to know why.”
I tried to hold back my contrite, but Victoria always managed to get underneath my skin
with her holier than thou attitude.
“From what the clerk said the judge had an emergency that couldn’t wait.”
“Oh wow, it must be some major emergency for him to call such an unexpected recess.
“Yes, it must be,” she answered nonchalantly.
During the awkwardness of our conversation, Victoria’s phone rang. She looked at the
caller id.
“Dallas, give me a second I have to take this.”
Victoria didn’t wait for me to answer. This was just another example of her utter
rudeness. But again, I let it slide. Right now the most important thing was for me to look out
for Jenna’s best interest.
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Although Victoria stepped away, her conversation was still in earshot. I could overhear
Victoria sweetly talking to what seemed to be a male’s voice. I had to pry. Heather was just
calling me out on my dating life, but it was Victoria who kept her dating life a secret. Victoria
hung up her phone.
“Who was that?” The prying began.
“No one,” she quickly responded. “Dallas please excuse me. I need to go talk to my
client.”
“Victoria, we need to talk.”
“And we will, I just need to handle something with my client first.”
Before I could even respond to Victoria questionable answer, she dismissed herself from
our conversation trying to leave unscathed. This did not come as a surprise. Although she was
so secretive about her dating life, she was very much involved in everyone else.
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Chapter Nine
“wait, wait, wait”
Victoria was actually the reason for me getting involved with this mess in the first place.
During our trip to Beverly Hills, Jenna opened up to us. She felt like Lucas was cheating. And
as good ole Victoria does best, she felt the need to push the issue instead of diffusing it. Getting
everyone fired up, she insisted that I follow Lucas. Then at the last minute she recanted her
statement. But by that time, I already decided to do it.
After gathering some vital information from Jenna, I began my investigation. I started
with the most obvious places. I staked out Lucas’s office, his most frequent restaurants, and
after hour watering holes.
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For the first few days nothing tuned up. But by the fifth or sixth day something sparked
my attention. From my car, I watched Lucas leave his office building around five o’clock. I was
parked adjacent to the gym building which gave me a direct visual of the large picture window
that looked over the street. As usual he walked across the street to the gym carrying his duffel
bag.
Lucas’s workout routine lasted between an hour and an hour and thirty minutes. I was
able to learn his routine and calculated this time frame by joining the gym. He completed the
majority of his work out in the weight room where he worked out his upper and lower body,
followed by him finishing in the sauna, after taking a dip in the pool. The only place I couldn’t
keep my eyes on him was in the locker room and I hope that it wouldn’t have come to that.
From my position in the car I could see Lucas through the gym’s large picture window
talking to a brunette standing by the elliptical machines. The conversation was very hands on. It
appeared as if the two were very familiar with each other. Not too worried, I grabbed my
binoculars to take a closer look. I noticed that she was very petite. Her body type looked as if
she was molded and made in the gym. I took a couple of snapshots of Lucas and the unidentified
female just in case I needed them as a reference.
After a few more laughs and flirtatious touching they both went their separate ways. I
made nothing else about the situation and waited for Lucas to leave the gym. About an hour
later I spotted Lucas leaving the gym. His pace was very hurried as if he was trying to get
somewhere quickly.
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Leaving the gym, Lucas was wearing a blue blazer accompanied by a nice pair of blue
jeans. This was unusual for his after-gym attire. He usually left the gym in a Nike track suit. I
began to wonder if he was meeting up with someone.
I reviewed his schedule which was given to me by Jenna. There was nothing scheduled
passed his workout time. I decided to follow him. As we drove through the streets of D.C., I
tried to maintain my distance all while making sure that I did not lose his tail. This was hard due
to the D.C. traffic and red-light enforcement photos. Nonetheless, with a little quick wit
maneuvering, I managed to keep my cover. Eventually we turned down Pennsylvania Avenue
and stopped at the Four Seasons. This did not sit well with me. I picked up the phone and called
Jenna.
“Hey Dallas,” Jenna picked up the phone after the third ring.
“Hi Jenna,” I answered.
“What’s going on?”
“I was just calling to confirm something on Lucas’s schedule.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Did Lucas have any late meetings today?”
“As a matter of fact, he did. He just called me and said that he had a conference to go to
after work.”
“Where is this conference?”
“It’s at the Four Seasons. Why is there something thing wrong?”
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“No, I am trying to tie up any and all loose ends.”
“Did you need anything else?”
“No, but if I do, I will give you a call.”
“Okay,” Jenna sounded a little worried.
After hanging up the phone with Jenna, I wanted to verify the information that Lucas
gave her. I decided to follow Lucas into the hotel. I waited for him to park his white Escalade in
the parking garage before exiting my car. Once I seen the coast was clear I made my way into
the hotel. I located the front desk.
“Hello, is there a conference here for the Lucas and Logan law firm?’
“Ma’am let me check.”
Before the front desk clerk could locate the information, I saw Victoria out of the corner
of my eye. She was getting off the hotel’s elevator.
“Victoria,” I called to her.
She began to suspiciously look around. Her behavior appeared to be abnormal. I called
for her attention again. This time I was able to make eye contact with her. She was unable to
avoid me so she began to walk in my direction.
“Hey Dallas, what brings you here?”
“That’s funny, because I was going to ask you the same question.”
“Oh really, and why’s that?
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Before I could answer the front desk, clerk interrupted our conversation.
“Ma’am the Lucas and Logan conference is in Ballroom C.”
“Thanks.”
I turned my attention back to Victoria. We walked away from the front desk in the
direction of the conference room. I was hoping that she was not paying attention to the
information I requested. I wanted to keep my investigation under wraps from the other girls. I
felt that it was not my place to fill the others in with the status of Lucas’s investigation.
“Well Dallas I guess she answered that for you.”
Victoria seemed to be relieved. However, Victoria’s body language made me even more
suspicious.
“Now that you have your answer, I want to know, why are you here?”
“Jenna needed me to take care of something.” I fumbled with my answer.
“What, are you following Lucas?”
“That’s a question that you should take up with Jenna. I’m not at liberty to say. But
while we are asking questions, I see that you were getting off the elevator just a few minutes ago.
Hot date or something?”
“Dallas sweetie, you know how I am about my personal life.” Victoria revealed a sly
smile. “Unlike Heather, I do not like to flaunt my male conquest around until I know it is a sure
thing.”
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My face began to twist up. I was fed up with Victoria. I was ready to lay into her. I
wanted to tell her that she was busted and how she was an awful friend. However, Victoria’s
ability to elude my questioning was trump by a peripheral view of a brunette girl with a familiar
body type. A sense of relief and disappointment took over me.
“Victoria, I have to excuse myself.”
“Well okay then. But we should continue this conversation later.”
“Take it up with Jenna,” I called to her as I turn in the direction of the brunette girl.”
“Well call me later anyway.”
“I sure will.”
Victoria was a true lawyer she pushed and pushed until she got her answer. But there
was no possible chance for her to pull anything out of me. I continued my pursuit of the brunette
girl. I was actually happy to see her. Yet I knew that seeing her could only lead to Jenna’s
heartbreak. On the bright side, at least the heartbreak and anger would be with someone outside
of our inner circle.
I finally became in earshot of Ms. Brunette. She was standing in line at the front desk
check-in. I could overhear her speaking to the same front desk clerk who assisted me.
“Good evening Mrs. Lucas.”
“Hi Lynn,” Ms. Brunette responded.
Wait, wait, wait. What’s going on? Did I hear that correctly? Mrs. Lucas? I move in
closer to gather more information.
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“Did Mr. Lucas arrive yet?” Ms. Brunette continued.
‘Yes, ma’am he has arrived. At the moment, he is in the conference room. Oh, he did
say that he had something special in the room waiting for you.” Lynn smiled.
Ms. Brunette and Lynn were very friendly. This led me to believe that this was a usual
meeting place for her and Lucas.
“Well thank you for the heads up. If you see Mr. Lucas, once he gets out the conference,
tell him I have a little surprise for him.
The two ladies looked at each other and started giggling like two little schoolgirls on the
playground.
“Mrs. Lucas here’s your room key. I know you guys always want your usual room, but
since your husband is one of our V.I.P guest we have upgraded your room to the Presidential
Suite.”
She handed Ms. Brunette two hotel keys.
“It is room 1046A. You are going to fall in love with it.”
“Thank you Lynn. Oh, can you keep one key and give it to Mr. Lucas just in case I
decide to step out.”
“Not a problem. Enjoy your stay at the Four Seasons.”
Ms. Brunette smiled and turned in the direction of the elevators. This was my time to
make a move. As soon as Ms. Brunette pushed the up button for the elevator the doors opened.
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“Excuse me,” I called out. “Hold the elevator.”
Ms. Brunette complied with my request. In my haste, I purposely bumped into her
causing her to drop her purse, her room keys, and other items she was holding.
“I am so sorry.”
I began to help her pick up her things.
“Mistakes happen.” She said pleasantly.
I quickly spotted the hotel key on the floor. I picked it up without her noticing and put it
in my pocket. Once everything was off the floor we got prepared to go to our designated floor.
We both reached out to push the one hundredth floor.
“Oh, I am sorry.” She said. “There we go bumping into each other again.” She said
kindly.
“I know.” I retreated to the back of the elevator to allow Ms. Brunette to take the lead.
“Celebrating anything special tonight?” I tried to make small talk.
“Yes, I guess you can say that.”
“What are you celebrating?”
“It is my husband’s and my anniversary.”
“Oh, how nice.”
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There was a moment of silence between us. It was filled by the soft playing of jazz in the
background. Finally, we reached our designated floor. Ms. Brunette stepped off the elevator
first. She turned around before heading towards her room.
“Well it was nice meeting you.”
“Nice meeting you to.”
Ms. Brunette turned back around and walked towards her room. I stepped off the
elevator and headed in the opposite direction. I positioned myself to where I was out-of-sight
but able to see the elevators.
As expected, Ms. Brunette walked back to the elevators scanning the floor. Presumably,
she was looking for her hotel room key that I lifted from her. She pushed the down button and
waited for the elevator to return. After what seemed like an eternity the elevator reached the
floor. The minute she got on the elevator and the doors closed I made my way to her room.
There was a limited amount of time before Ms. Brunette or even Lucas returned.
I quickly located the room. Briefly looking around making sure I was cleared I entered
the room. As mentioned by the front desk clerk, the room was beautiful, and the view was
magnificent. I began to search for a few places to install a hidden camera. I placed one by the
TV which provided an overall view of the main room and I strategically place one in the
bedroom.
On my way out the room I heard the door lock click. What the hell. I looked for a
second exit with no luck. This is a Presidential Suite. I mean seriously there is not a double
door. The next best thing was for me to hide. I found a secondary closet in the hallway. I
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opened the closet doors inside was a garment bag from Nieman Marcus. It must have been the
gift that Lynn, the front desk clerk, spoke of. I hid behind the bag and scooted as close as
possible to the corner of the closet. Hopefully, I was not heard.
The things we do for friends. My heart was now pounding. If I were caught, how would I
explain me being in this closet hiding behind a garment bag? There goes my career, my pension,
and possibly my freedom. I shook those thoughts out my head. I needed to stay focus. I
prepared for my exit. I listened for the position of whoever was outside of the closet. To my
surprise, it was a male’s voice.
“Jenna this may take longer than what I expected… There’s a possibility that I may be
here overnight… I know we had plans, but I didn’t think I would have been here this long…
But babe it’s the nature of the job… I promise to make it up to you… Yes, I remember that
bracelet at Tiffany’s… I love you to… Talk to you later. Bye.”
“Baby, why does she always have to ruin our fun?”
The female voice must have been Ms. Brunette.
“Adalena she’s my wife. She’s going to call.” Lucas answered.
“I know, but I just want to make believe that it if only you and me.” Adalena playfully
whined.
“Right now, it’s just you and me. I just have to appease her until I am able to move some
money around.”
“And then you will file for a divorce?”
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“That’s the plan. But let’s not talk about that right now. I don’t want you to worry about
the details. Leave it to me to take care of that. All you need to do right now is take care of me.”
“And I will.” Adalena answered.
“Baby you probably already know this so don’t pretend you are surprise.”
“What is it?” She asked with a smile on her face.
“I want you to go over to that closet and grab your surprise. I have this dinner
reservation scheduled for eight.”
“All baby. You are so sweet.”
I began to hear footsteps coming towards the closet. My breathing became heavy and my
heart started pounding again. I tried to anticipate my next move. Am I a FBI agent with over 5
years on the force or a rookie? At least when I was hiding from criminals, I could shoot my way
out. In this case, I did not have that option. I needed to relax. All of a sudden, the footsteps
stop. I sighed in relief. I caught myself, hoping that I was not heard.
“Baby,” Adalena called out.
“Yes.”
“I was hoping that we could stay in. It has been sometime since I seen you last. I just
want us to have some alone time.”
“Are you sure?” He asked.
“Yea, let’s go to the bar then come back and call for room service.”
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“Okay, but what about the gift in the closet?”
“I’ll look at it when we come back from the bar. My friends were telling me about this
drink that they order here. They said that it made sex just that more amazing. So, I figure that
there is no point of changing if my next move is to come out of these clothes. So, are you ready
to go Mr. Lucas?”
“Let’s go,” he answered.”
My breathing turned back to normal. I heard the door open and close leaving me alone in
the closet again. I opened the closet door and walked towards the room door. I grabbed the
handle. As I was turning the knob, the door was pushed open without my force. I took cover
behind the backside of the door.
“Honey, I forgot to get my purse.”
“Babe you know you don’t need it.”
“I know. But babe I may want to buy your drinks.”
“Yea, I’ll look forward to that day.”
Lucas and Adalena both laughed.
“You’re right. But you’ll never know.”
Adalena walked toward the back room, grabbed her purse off the bed, and walked out the
suite shutting the door behind her. Why didn’t I wait ten minutes before I left the closet? That
was a rookie mistake. It was the standard investigative process to wait ten minutes. People
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always had the tendency of leaving something behind. This time I waited the allotted ten
minutes and left the room. This time the coast was clear.
Ugh! I left my cameras. I hurried back into the room grabbed the hidden cameras and
bolted out the room. I promised myself that I would never do this again.
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Chapter Ten
“what happens in the dark”
After the banter with Victoria, I went back to sit with Heather.
“What did she say?” Heather inquired.
“She said that the judge had an emergency, so he needed to take a quick recess.”
“You would think that if it was going to take this long, he would have rescheduled for
another time.”
“I agree. This is taking too long.”
While we waited, I felt the need to ask Heather some questions about Victoria. I wanted
to see if I was the only on having issues with her.
“Heather.”
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“Yes.”
“Let me ask you a serious question.”
Heather looked at me as if she was confused. She had no idea where this conversation
was going.
“Sure,” her tone was wrapped with sarcasm.
“No seriously.” I want to ask you a question and I want you to answer honestly.”
“I said sure. But I promise if I can’t be honest with you, I just won’t tell you. So, what is
it?”
I wasn’t sure how to take her responds. However, I felt that if she was able to share with
me Jenna’s story, sharing with me about Victoria should be a piece of cake. I decided to relax
my intensity. Sometimes, I had a tendency of coming on a little too strong and I really wanted
Heather to open up to me.
“It’s about Victoria?”
Heather adjusted her seated position. She was intrigued by the topic of conversation.
“What about Victoria?”
“I believe that Victoria has been acting pretty strange lately.”
“What do you mean?”
Heather’s intrigued turned back into confusion. I was not even sure if I wanted to
continue the conversation especially since we were all in such a tight knitted circle.
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Wait a minute. Hold that thought.” Heather jumped out of her seat. Her confusion
turned into rage in thirty seconds.
“What’s wrong?” I asked frantically.
She didn’t answer me. She politely moved me out the way and headed towards the
courtroom door. I looked over my shoulder and as the courtroom doors opened, I could see
Victoria talking to a tall athletic guy. He looked very familiar. After taking everything in, I got
up out my seat and followed Heather. By the time I caught up with her, Heather and Victoria
were already in middle of a heated conversation.
“Hey what’s going on?” I tried to intercede.
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
Heather was angry and I was still unsure to what was happening between Victoria and
her. However, my wondering only lasted a few seconds. Heather began to make it clear why
she was so upset.
“Ryan what are you doing here?”
Oh, so that’s Ryan. I knew he looked familiar. So why is Heather flipping out? I thought
to myself. He’s only talking to Victoria. I directed my attention back to the situation at hand.
Ryan was still struggling with what to say.
“I-I-I,” he stammered unable to find the words to complete or even begin his train of
thought. Ryan looked as stunned as she did. Before he could formulate his stuttered induced
sentence, Heather butted in. This time her anger was directed at Victoria.
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“What’s going on between you two?”
“Excuse me.” Victoria was stunned.
“Victoria, you heard me.”
“Heather, I don’t know what’s your problem is, but we are not going to have this
discussion her.”
“I just want to know, why are you talking to him?”
“Heather, are you serious?” Victoria appeared to be prolonging her answer.
“Yes. I am.” Heather was not backing down. “You guys just seem to be so chummy. I
saw you to talking while I was in the courtroom.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Victoria asked.
“What’s wrong with that?” Heather repeated mockingly. “The last time you two were in
the room with each other it wasn’t pleasant, and you barely knew each other. So, I want to know
what changed.” She turned back to Ryan.
“Why are you here?”
“I’m here because…”
“He’s here to handle a civil dispute.” Victoria answered for him.
“Why do you know this?” Heather asked suspiciously.
“He just happened to see me in the hall and had a few questions to ask about his case.”
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This time Victoria was quick with an answer.
“When did you start giving out free legal advice?” Heather sneered.
“I was just doing him a favor on your behalf.”
“Heather, babe, I just found out that one of my past business partners is suing me. I was
just looking into maybe hiring a lawyer. That’s all.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you had to be in court?”
“I forgot that I had to go.” Ryan answered this time without hesitance. “Why are you so
worked up about me being here?”
“Understand why I’m mad. Anyone associated with Victoria is either a criminal or is
facing someone type of criminal charges. Honey, I thought you were in some kind of trouble.”
“Oh no Heather, everything is fine. Besides, you know I wouldn’t keep anything from
you.”
“I know Ryan. I just wanted to be sure. You know how much honesty means to me. I
do not want to be taken by surprise.”
“Heather, don’t you think that you are overreacting just a little bit.” Victoria responded
to her outburst.
“Maybe, I am. I just find it to be weird that you two were engaged in a friendly
conversation. I mean the first time he met all of you it was nothing close to pleasant. Now it
looks as if you two have known each other for years.”
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“What are you trying to say?” Victoria looked appalled.
“I am not saying anything?” Heather shot back.
“Baby just relax. You are reading too much into this.” Ryan tried to calm Heather down.
Heather looked at me as if to gage where I stood. I myself was still confused to why they
were arguing in the first place.
“Heather, think we should go.”
“No seriously Dallas, am I overacting?”
I just looked at Heather. I didn’t know what to say and she didn’t wait for my responds.
She continued.
“I think there is something going on between those two.”
“Heather, what makes you say that?”
“It was something that happened the other night.”
“What was it?”
“Ryan received a late-night phone call. I checked his phone and I thought I seen
Victoria’s number listed on his call log.”
“So, you’re not for sure?”
“No, I am not one-hundred percent sure. I am not even seventy percent sure. I just have
this gut feeling.”
178
“Heather, that’s a huge accusation if you’re not sure.”
“I know. That’s why I thought I let it go. But seeing them together today made all those
feelings come rushing back. That’s why I flipped out.”
Heather and I continued to talk about her feelings towards Victoria. We never got a
chance to even discuss my gripes. But what happens in the dark always come to light.
From what I could conclude, Victoria was always in the center of almost every
controversy. And with that last outburst, Heather involuntarily answered my earlier question.
179
Jenna
180
Chapter Eleven
“reality check... please”
My nerves were shot. I tried to be as calm as possible. However, I felt more secure
behind bars in Wyatt’s arms then out here waiting for some judge to decide my fate. Wyatt…
My thoughts always returned back to him. It was unfortunate that I found a man who provided
me with the attention I needed and deserve behind bars. But it has been said, you find love in
strange places. Love… Did I just refer to what Wyatt and I have as love? I must have jail fever
or something. Before I could reconcile my thoughts, Victoria stopped me in mid-deliberation.
“Jenna we are in recess. I need to step out for a second. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay.”
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Once Victoria left, thoughts of Wyatt returned. Was I really in love with another man?
Or was the sole purpose of this relationship of convenience a necessary evil to provide me with a
false sense of comfort. Reality check... Please? These thoughts began to cloud my mind. Jenna
you have to pull it together. Honestly, I didn’t have time to entertain thoughts of him. Time was
drawing nearer. Soon enough, the next chapter of my life will reveal itself.
The one thing I could not shake out of my head was DaVita’s words. After speaking to
DaVita, I wasn’t sure about how Victoria was handling my case. DaVita’s words began to make
me question Victoria’s every move. We haven’t seemed close since that night I found out about
Lucas and his betrayal. And speaking about Lucas… Where in the hell is he!
I turned around anticipating a visual of his whereabouts. Nothing, he was nowhere to be
found. Why was I surprised? He barely called. He hasn’t visited or even wrote. Just the
thought of Lucas not being by my side made me sick. After all I have done for him. It was his
fault for me being in this situation. He stepped out on me. He betrayed me. It was not the other
way.
I heard the courtroom doors open. I looked behind me hoping to see Lucas. To my
disappointment, it was Heather and Dallas coming back into the courtroom. Heather appeared to
be frazzled. She looked over in my direction. Heather and I haven’t really had a chance to really
sit down and chat since the hotel incident. We haven’t seen each other since the whole Dallas
reveal.
The way I viewed our relationship had also changed. This was mainly due to how things
unraveled with the threesome she set up. I didn’t blame her for what happened. Although a part
of me knew that if she didn’t push me to do it, I would have eventually backed out. Nevertheless,
182
I needed to put my feelings aside and work things out with Heather. As far as Lucas was
concerned, I was still working on forgiving him.
There were a lot of things that he done that I have to get over. To add to my
embarrassment, Dallas found out that it was that Adalena bitch that he was seeing behind my
back. I am the one who brought her into our marriage under specific condition. For him to
betray me! Where was the respect! Did this man have any boundaries?
But after that night I had a feeling that the repercussions of that threesome would not be
over. And I was right. I tried to overlook it, but the late-night calls continued, the leaving at
ridiculous times of the night was often, and the dropped calls didn’t stop.
Forgiving Lucas was one thing, letting him go was a totally different issue. Yet I had no
control over his actions. He left me in the dark. I was locked up going on two years and I could
count on one hand how many times he contacted me. Letting him go without letting him know
how I feel was out the question.
I continued to struggle with Lucas actions. That was cut short once I seen Heather
walking towards me. I guess this conversation with Heather was going to happen sooner than
what I thought. However, I was still happy to see that she made the first move. I turned around
to address her.
“I never meant for our relationship to turn out like this.”
Those were the first words I could think of and the first words out my mouth. I couldn’t
help it. I missed Heather so much. I felt like I was talking to an ex-lover or something.
183
“I’m so relieved to hear that. I missed you to.” Heather’s frazzled looked was followed
by tears. “Jenna I am so sorry that you are going through this. I feel like it’s my fault.” She
grabbed the banister that separated me from my freedom and moved in closer. “If only I didn’t
introduce you to the idea of a threesome. Or if I never insisted that you follow through with it
none of this would have happen.”
“Heather it’s not your fault.” I was still trying to convince myself that this was true. “He
was an awful husband. It wasn’t your fault that my husband decided to have an affair with
another woman. If it was not this girl, it would have been another one. Who knows, she may not
be the only one.”
“I know we didn’t really get a chance to talk about it…”
I could tell that Heather was becoming more at easy. And I knew where she was going
with this. But I wasn’t sure if I was ready to talk about it. She didn’t give me a chance to
express myself either way before she continued.
“I cannot believe that the dead girl was Adalena.” Heather whispered.
I was shocked. I didn’t know how to respond. I couldn’t believe that she asked me that
question in open court. I thought she was going to ask me about Lucas or the threesome.
Besides, legally I didn’t know if I could even answer her question.
“I know she’s dead but the nerve of that girl nerve ceased to amaze me. I’m not saying
she deserved what happened to her but there are consequences for messing with someone’s
husband.”
184
“Heather! A girl is dead.” I was more shocked at what she said than before. “You sound
like you believe that I killed her?” I said in a stern whisper.
“No, no, I don’t believe you did it. I was just saying that people are responsible for their
actions. I was not trying to be mean.”
I didn’t know whether or not to believe her or any of my friends. They all were very
supportive. Yet, if I was in their shoes, I don’t know if I would have believed me. The evidence
was overwhelmingly in favor of the prosecution. But I still appreciated and needed all the
support that I could get.
“Jenna there is something else that I wanted to talk to you about.” Heather paused and
took a deep breath. “It’s about the threesome.
“What about the threesome?” My face twisted. I knew this was coming.
“You know how you told me to keep it between the two of us…”
“Yea,” slowly exited my lips.
“Well before I tell you this, I want you to understand that I kept this to myself for almost
two years now. Jenna this began to weigh heavily on me once I found out that she was the dead
girl.”
“Heather, are you telling me that you told someone?”
I knew she was carrying a heavy burden, but I didn’t expect her to tell the only thing I
told her to keep to herself.
“Yea… But Jenna it was only today.”
185
“What do you mean only today?”
“I only told someone today.”
“Who did you tell?”
“Dallas.” Heather lowered her head in shame.
“Dallas?”
“Yes. Dallas and I were sitting down talking about your case and I got caught up in the
emotion of it all.”
“What do you mean?”
“You and I haven’t talked in so long and just seeing you brought me into tears. Dallas
sense something was wrong. It was like she pulled it out of me.” Heather lifted her head up and
looked me in the eyes. “Jenna, just telling this to Dallas removed the weight of knowing
Adalena from my shoulders.
Heather looked genuinely sorry. Still I was not sure how I felt about her telling Dallas.
Dallas had the tendency of being judgmental, but I guess after being convicted of murder I
shouldn’t be concern with what other thoughts. Worrying about my reputation should be the last
thing on my mind.
“Dallas,” saying her name again was just an attempt to digest the information. “What did
she say?”
“She was kind of stunned.”
186
“Stunned about which part?”
“All of it. But I think that she was more surprised that you actually participated in a
threesome.” Heather let out a slight chuckle.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because look at us. We are supposed to be so close, yet we keep so many secrets from
each other.
I had to give it to her. Heather was right. There were so many secrets kept between us
that it was hard to remember who was told what.
“Jenna I also feel like I need to tell you that I miss you and hope that it is okay for me to
come and visit you.’
“Heather, hopefully you will be visiting me at home. I don’t plan to be here much
longer.”
“That will be great. I look forward to it.”
Heather didn’t sound too hopeful. But I ignored her lack of confidence in my appeal
chances.
“Jenna, I want us to get back to normal. I want you feel like you can confide in me again.
I miss our friendship.”
“Heather,” I hesitated. I’m not too sure if we could ever go back to what we had. I
mean, the last time I opened up to you I ended up catching a murder case.”
187
Heather was horrified by my comment. She left out a nervous laugh.
“Well maybe we can start with baby steps.” She looked disappointed.
“Heather, I’m just playing. I welcome a relationship with you.”
Heather was relived. Our conversation continued. We carried on for twenty minutes
before the bailiff interrupted us.
“Lucas if the judge is not out in the next thirty minutes, I am going to have to put you in
the courthouse holding cell.”
“Yes sir.”
Heather gave me a strange look.
“Yes sir? Jenna, I never thought I would hear you utter those words unless you were in
an uncompromising position.” Heather smiled she was already back to her old ways.
“It’s something you quickly learn when you become an inmate.”
My statement also was accompanied by a smile. Heather did have a point. Saying “yes
sir” to Wyatt came very easy to me, especially when he puts me in uncompromising positions. A
part of me was looking forward to going back to my cell. He was the only thing I had to look
forward to. Wyatt was the only thing that no one could take away from me. Not DaVita, a
judge, a jury, or another woman. He was mine. Wyatt made the existence of Lucas irrelevant.
That might have been partially due to Lucas making a decision to be irrelevant.
Nevertheless, this made my choice quite simple. Lucas was no longer mine. He
belonged to someone else. But I still did not want to let him go. All the signs point to us ending
188
our marriage. A marriage that was practically over since the time I thought having a threesome
would improve our love life. What the hell was I thinking?
“Did someone bend you over?”
Heather’s question took me by surprise. I did not expect her to get so graphic in court.
“Why are you smiling?” Heather inquired.
“I didn’t know I was.”
“Jenna you began to smile as soon as I mention compromising positions. So what have
you been doing behind bars? Or maybe I should say who have you been doing? You have to tell
me. What is his or her name?”
“Her?” I was astonished.
“Jenna. Well, you are in prison. I’m just saying your selection is very limited.”
“I can assure you. It is definitely not a girl.”
“So, what is his name?”
Heather was trying her best to pull information out of me.
“I’m not really sure if I want to discuss this right now.”
“There is someone. I knew it! Does Lucas know?”
I gave Heather a stern look. Sometimes she gets so carried away with her topics of
discussion. And quite frankly, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to share Wyatt with anyone.
189
“Okay Heather just slow down. You’re asking me too many questions too soon.”
“I know. I know. I’m sorry.” She backed down.
“It’s fine.” I kept giving Heather a bone and taking it away. I needed to stop. I really
wanted to rebuild my relationship with her.
“Besides, Heather you can’t keep your mouth close.” I added light heartedly.
“Okay, I’ll give you that one.”
“Since we are sharing… Please tell me what was the outburst between you and Victoria?
You guy seem to be really at each other’s throat.”
“I don’t know really. I just think that Victoria has been acting a little strange in my
opinion.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know if it is my own jealousy playing tricks on me, but I could have sworn I seen
Victoria’s number in Ryan’s phone. And then I caught them having a friendly conversation.”
“What’s wrong with her talking to Ryan? Well before you answer that question. Who is
Ryan?”
“Ryan is what you would call my new beau.”
“You have given a man a title?”
“Yes, I have.”
190
“I guess I have been locked up for a while. I never thought I would see the day when
some man would cage such an exotic bird.”
“It just took the right man and that’s why I didn’t feel comfortable with Victoria talking
to him.”
“I don’t understand?”
“According to Ryan he does not know her and the first time they met it was a disaster. It
just seemed strange.”
I could see that Heather was getting aggravated with every word, so I gently yet
aggressively changed the subject.
“His name is Wyatt.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“The guy’s name is Wyatt.” I repeated.
“Are you talking about the one who bends you into compromising positions?”
Heather took the bait.
“Yes,” I said shameless.
“But how…? When? Where?”
“You are never ending with the questions.” I said jokingly. “You know they do have
men in prison. There called guards.”
“You’re sleeping with a prison guard?!”
191
“Heather! Ssh! I don’t think the people in the back of the courtroom could hear you.” I
whispered.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Heather was always seated in the apology section. She lowered he
voice. “You know he could lose his job.”
“I know.”
“You know it makes it more exciting!”
“I know!”
Heather and my whispered excitement was the most fun I had in months, outside of my
secret love affair with Wyatt of course.
“So, this Wyatt is he hot?”
“He’s beyond hot. He is 6’4 with midnight blue ocean-like eyes with a body like a Greek
god.”
“That sounds delectable. And who says nothing good comes out of prisons.” Heather
and I both laughed. “So, is it serious?”
“I don’t know. It’s probably as serious as a prison relationship could be. But for all I
know he could be dallying other inmates.”
“Yea, that is possible. But tell me, how is the sex? Is it amazing?”
192
I paused. Was I really ready to share Wyatt with another person? The last time I share a
man it didn’t end well. But there was something about conversations with Heather that made me
want to open up to her.
“More amazing than anything I ever had before. Just the thought of Wyatt makes me
want to reject my appeal and go back to prison. At least there, I would have him on a consistent
regiment.”
“Wow, he must be some kind of wonderful.”
Heather’s quote of Joss Stone nailed the description of Wyatt. That man was some kind
of wonderful. He made me create a fairytale of a life in my head. A fairytale that I hope would
never end. As the Wyatt conversation was brought to a close, I started noticed people coming
back into the courtroom.
“Court must be about to start. Let me go back to my seat.” Heather stood up. “I’m
going to hurry up and go. I really don’t feel like being around your lawyer right now.”
“Heather, you be nice now.” I playfully scolded.
Heather smirked.
“Jenna good luck, I hope the judge rules in your favor.” She paused. “Maybe not, there
is Wyatt.”
“Heather! I loudly whispered.”
We looked at each other and laughed. Heather’s brief visit was just what I needed.
Although seeing her leave was a hard pill to swallow. The absence of Heather’s presence left me
193
only to think about my case. In a few more minutes, my fate would be decided. I only wanted to
hear the judge say that I was free to go. Anything outside of that I wouldn’t be able to handle. I
heard the doors swing open. Hoping to see my husband again, I turned around and was
disappointed. Instead it was Victoria coming back into the courtroom.
194
Victoria
195
Chapter Twelve
“is all fair in love and war”
I watched Dallas pull Heather back into the courtroom. I eyed Ryan, waiting for Heather
to be out of earshot. Once the courtroom doors closed, I let Ryan have it.
"Didn’t I tell you to make yourself invisible?" I aggressively whispered.
"Toria it almost time for my case to begin." Ryan responded defensively.
"Don't you think I know that? I have it handled."
"What do you mean you handled it?"
I cut my eyes at Ryan. I hated to be questioned by clients in regard to my expertise. To
prove a point, I answered him anyway.
196
"I know the judge's clerk. I told him to push us back to the end of the docket. That will
give us more time. But hopefully it gets postponed until tomorrow."
"Do you think it will be postponed?"
"The clerk said he will keep me posted."
"Okay good." Ryan was relieved.
"Now get out of here before Heather comes back."
This time Ryan followed my instructions without question. I turned around and headed
towards the courtroom. I know I was going to hear it from the girls. Heather especially, her last
interaction with me, in regard to Ryan, was over the top. I pulled open the door and immediately
met the face of Dallas. I tried to push past her with no avail.
"Dallas, I don’t was to talk about it."
Dallas put her hand on my chest. I grabbed her wrist and glared at her. I could not
believe she had the audacity to touch me.
"We need to talk."
"Talk about what?" I couldn't help but sound annoyed. "Dallas, I had already explained
myself to Heather. I certainly don’t feel a need to explain myself to you." I knew my statement
was harsh, but I couldn’t help myself. She and I were always sniping at each other. It was the
basis of our relationship.
"Victoria, just give me a minute. This has nothing to do with Heather."
197
As Dallas was talking, I realized that her hand was still on my chest and I was still
holding on to her wrist very tightly. I relaxed my grip as she changed the subject. I was not sure
as to how Dallas and I always managed to be at odds, but I could see it in her eyes that she really
needed to talk.
"What is it?" I tried to soften my tone. This was nearly impossible given the fact that I
was still upset with Heather's prior antics.
"It's about Jenna."
"What about Jenna?" Dallas had my full attention now.
"She knew the mistress."
"Excuses me?" I wasn’t exactly sure what I was hearing from Dallas. But what I did
hear was beyond belief. "Dallas what are you saying?"
"Heather told me that Jenna knew the mistress."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am one-hundred percent sure. Heather told me this elaborate story about how she
set up this threesome for Lucas and Jenna."
"You got to be kidding me."
"I'm serious. She knew the victim's name and everything."
"I can’t believe this."
"Trust me. The story she told was absolutely true."
198
"Oh my god," I grumbled.
"I am sorry that I was the messenger that brought you the bad news. Nonetheless, I
thought you needed to know."
Dallas turned away and walked back into the courtroom.
I was fired up. What was Jenna thinking? I cannot believe she didn’t tell me that she
knew the girl. This girl must really love life in prison.
I couldn’t believe what Dallas just laid in my lap. I needed to get some fresh air. I
walked down the corridor towards the courthouse steps. As soon as I exited the building, the
afternoon air provided me with the clarity I needed. The sun's rays gently fell on my skin
warming me. This caused a smile to form on my face. Is all fair in love and war? I thought to
myself. Remarkably, even I did not have the answer to that.
This was not the first time Dallas brought bad news to the table. I could remember when
Dallas revealed to us that Lucas had a mistress. Jenna and I went shopping that day. We
decided to patron all of our favorite boutiques in Tyson's Corner. Jenna received a call as soon
as we walked in to Bottega Veneta.
"Hello... Hi Dallas... You did... I'm fine... No let’s go ahead and meet. I'll contact the
girls... Yes, I'm sure. Thank a lot. Talk to you later... Bye."
Jenna hung up the phone. Her face fallen solemn. Her eyes began to water. She turned
to me and I embraced her instantly.
"Jenna, who is was that?" I asked voice filled with concern.
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