Dangerous Truths (Patreon)

“You’re not happy,” Julia said. “I can tell just by looking at you that you’re not happy.”

They were in Julia’s office, Julia behind a desk. Katie was seated in front of it, feeling like an employee called to the boss’s office—not that she’d ever have the kind of salaried job where the boss had an office.

Things had gotten so crazy after the shooting. Mickey was dead, Adam was dead, and the police were turning it all into some kind of conspiracy that she was at the center of. Thank God for Julia, taking her case pro bono.

“Should I be happy?” Katie asked, not truly able to keep the miserableness from her voice.

“The pretrial’s going well,” Julia reported. “The judge isn’t allowing the prosecution much. There was all sorts of circumstantial evidence they wanted to use. It wouldn’t have held up, but I’m betting they wanted the jury to think that where there’s smoke, there’s fire… now we don’t have to worry about that.”

“I know, I know, that’s great—but it’s so insane that I’m really on trial. Mickey broke in, he and Adam shot each other, I don’t understand…”

“Hey, there is no understanding it,” Julia told her. “People are dead and the DA needs a scapegoat. He’d look bad at his job if all this shit went unpunished. They’d rather you be a criminal mastermind than just a victim… look at you, Katie, wearing your best clothes every time you see me, still. Do those shoes even fit you?”

“They mostly do,” Katie moaned. “They were on sale…”

“Take them off,” Julia said, pushing back from her desk to take her own off. “One good thing about taking a case pro bono is that it’s not like you can fire me.”

“No, I definitely can’t,” Katie agreed, feeling a little uncomfortable, but also knowing she wouldn’t put Julia at ease unless she went along with this.

She stooped over and unbuckled her pumps, then stepped out of him… resisting the urge to sigh now that her stockinged feet were unencumbered.

“Good,” Julia said. “Now let’s have a little something to drink.”

“Now?” Katie asked. “I thought you wanted to go over my case.”

Julia took a bottle of gin out of a desk drawer. “Your case is that you need to start practicing self-care. No more stressing, no more lying awake at night, and no more being too depressed to wash your hair. You literally need to look good for the jury.”

She poured into two glasses, also from the open drawer.

“How good do they expect a grieving widow to look?” Katie asked.

“The truth of the matter is, you need to be sad, but you have to look good doing it. Sex sells. A juror wanting to bang you might be the difference between a guilty verdict and an acquittal.”

“Jesus,” Katie moaned, and took the glass when Julia shoved it at her. “I had no idea trials were such a stage show.”

“They are, but let me worry about that. You actually are innocent, so all you have to do is clean yourself up, tell the truth, and listen to what I tell you to do. Why don’t you take your jacket off? You look a little warm.”

“Look a little—” Katie blushed. “Geez, Julia, if you were a man, I’d think you were hitting on me.”

“Thinking is the problem,” Julia told her. “If we were in the courtroom, there could’ve been a window of opportunity that just closed.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“A tiny gesture can make a big difference. If, at the right time, you dried your eyes or squeezed my hand or needed me to rub your back a little, that could go a long way towards making you look more sympathetic in the jury’s eyes. Now take your jacket off. Don’t think, just listen to what I say.”

“Alright,” Katie agreed haltingly, shrugging off her jacket and setting it in her lap.

She felt a little naked. Her blouse was sleeveless, V-necked, showing off a ribbon of the bra that held her luscious breasts. She wondered if Julia was gay. If she was, then what she was doing was certainly flirting. But if she wasn’t, then of course it wasn’t.

“Now what have you done for fun lately? Relaxation?” Julia asked.

“I… I don’t know… I’ve tried to keep busy… sometimes tried to keep my mind off everything that happened. I am grateful that I don’t have to wait for the trial in prison, but I really don’t know what to do with myself.”

“A spa might be in order,” Julia said. “I’ll try to find one we can get you to at a discount. And I want you to have dinner with me.”

“Are you… are you hitting on me?” Katie asked.

Julia sidestepped the question. “I need you to look your best for the jury, I told you. Not having to worry about cooking, having a full meal, that’ll do wonders for the bags under your eyes.”

Katie was sure Julia was hitting on her now. Or sure she was going crazy.

Was she interested? Maybe she was. Things with Adam hadn’t been good before he died. It’d been a long time since someone had taken the interest in her that Julia seemingly had now. It felt like if she accepted Julia’s invitation, she was agreeing to making love to her too… but she couldn’t bring herself to say no. And every minute that passed, the urge to say yes increased.

“Katie, as your lawyer, I’m going to need your absolute trust,” Julia said after Katie spent a few moments in indecisive silence. “I’m spending a lot of billable hours on your case, hours I know you can’t pay for. Isn’t listening to me the least you could do to repay me?”

“Alright, I’ll have dinner with you,” Katie said.

Julia smiled brightly. “That’s excellent. Come over to the Britter Hotel at seven, there’s a cocktail lounge I swear by, and wear something nice. I mean, nice. Looking pretty will do wonders for you. Black underwear too.”

“Black underwear?” Katie gasped.

Julia pouted. “Katie, you’re not going back on your word, are you? Remember, you agreed to trust me. Don’t worry about why I’m asking you to do something; just do it. Alright?”

“Alright… okay… I guess it’s not a big deal.”

“It is to me.” Julia reached out and rubbed Katie’s shoulder. “You’re going to get through this, Kate. And crazy as it sounds, it’s because right now, you’re getting into the habit of listening to me. Doing as I say. Now I want you to go home, wash up, and get ready for our evening together. Take your time—I’ll masturbate a little before you get there.”

“What!?” Katie squeaked.

Julia really smiled now. “It’s just a joke, Katie. Relax. We’re going on this date so you won’t take things so seriously, remember?”

“Yeah, I suppose,” Katie said, still feeling off-balance. “I’ll just—” She tried to summon up a carefree smile. “—leave you to masturbate.”

“You don’t want to watch?” Julia asked, ushering Katie to the door with a hand at the small of her back. She giggled at how Katie blanched. “You really are wound up tight. Maybe make it a long shower when you wash up… if you get my drift.” She patted Katie on the ass. “Go on. Get. My other clients aren’t as good pals as you are, but they do pay the bills.”

“Yeah, okay,” Katie said, stepping out of Julia’s office, feeling awash in things to do.

She didn’t let herself think about all that had happened; it was too confusing. She just put her shoes and jacket back on, looking around as she did, hoping no one would pass by and wonder why she’d been so underdressed in Julia’s office.

She would have to buy some black underwear on the way home. Some nice black underwear. It was crazy, but maybe she needed some crazy, good-crazy, instead of the brutal, inescapable nightmarishness of all that had happened.

And if Julia found her attractive, even wanted to tease her a little, well, she could take that.

Katie had certainly been through worse.