Today’s “trial” was about some idiot who defrauded his own company’s employees—leaving them without insurance and health care, and unfortunately, I was playing the accused.
Standing up from the defense table, Aubrey grabbed her notebook and took the floor. She and I hadn’t spoken since I kicked her out of my condo two weeks ago, but from what I could tell, she seemed unfazed.
She’d been smiling quite often, being extremely nice, and each time she delivered my coffee she did it with a smirk and an, “I really hope you enjoy this coffee, Mr. Hamilton.”
I’d been stopping at the coffee shop up the street ever since…
“Mr. Hamilton,” she said, smoothing her tight blue dress, “is it true that you previously cheated on your wife?”
“I’ve never cheated.”
“Stick to the character, Andrew.” Mr. Bach whispered from the judge’s seat.
I rolled my eyes. “Yes. There was a time when I cheated on my wife.”
“Why?”
“Objection!” One of the interns shouted. “Your Honor, do we really need to know the specifics about my client’s love life? This mock trial is about his involvement in a conspiracy.”
“If I may, Your Honor,” Aubrey spoke before the “judge” could say anything. “I think assessing how Mr. Hamilton behaved in his previous affairs is a good assessment of his character. If we were trying a client who abandoned his company due to incompetence, it wouldn’t be out of line for me to ask about his previous personal relationships—especially if our mock client is a high profile one.”
“Overruled.”
Aubrey smiled and looked at her notebook. “Do you have commitment problems, Mr. Hamilton?”
“How can I have a problem with something I don’t believe in?”
“So, you believe in engaging in one night stands for the rest of your life?”
“Your Honor…” The opposing intern stood up, but I raised my hand.
“No need,” I said, narrowing my eyes at Aubrey. “I’ll entertain Miss Everhart’s inappropriate line of questioning...I believe in living my life however the hell I want and dealing with women whenever I want to deal with them. I’m not sure how who I sleep with has anything to do with this mock conspiracy case, but since we’re discussing my sex life, you should know that I’m happy and satisfied. I have a date later tonight actually. Would you like me to report the details to you and the jury tomorrow?”
The interns in the jury box laughed as Aubrey’s smile faded. Even as she forced it again, I could see a hint of hurt in her eyes.
“So…” She took a deep breath. “Regarding the case—”
“So happy you’re finally getting on topic.”
The jurors laughed again.
“Do you believe in morals, Mr. Hamilton?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Do you think you possess them?”
“I think everyone does to a certain extent.”
“Permission to approach the witness?” She looked at Mr. Bach and he nodded.
“Mr. Hamilton, can you read the highlighted portion of this document please?” She placed a sheet of paper in front of me, and I noticed a small handwritten note at the very top of the page:
I fucking hate you and I wish I’d never met you.
“Yes,” I said, taking a pen out of my pocket. “It says that my company was unaware of insurance policy changes at the time.”
As she handed a copy of the document to the jury panel, I wrote a response to her note:
Sorry to see that you regret meeting me, as I don’t regret meeting you—only that I fucked you more than once.
She asked me to read another section to the court, and then she took the paper away—glaring at me once she read my words.
I tried to look away from her, to focus on something else, but the way she looked today prevented that from happening. Her hair wasn’t up in her signature bun—it was falling past her shoulders in long curls that grazed her breasts. And the dress she was wearing, a highly inappropriate one that hugged her thighs a little too tightly, rose up an inch every time she took a step.
“I have three more questions for Mr. Hamilton, Your Honor,” she said.
“There’s no limit, Miss Everhart.” He smiled.
“Right…” She stepped forward and looked into my eyes. “Mr. Hamilton, you and your company led your employees to believe that you cared about them, that you had their best interests at heart, and that you would literally communicate the actual changes you would make before termination. Are those promises not directly from your company’s brochure?”