Reasonable Doubt 3 Read online

  She didn’t say much of anything else as we moved from block to block, only blushing each time I looked at her.

  “Here,” I said, stopping her as we approached our first destination.

  “Broadway?” She looked up at the grand marquis.

  “You mentioned you haven’t had the chance to come here yet,” I said. “I used to come here all the time when I lived here…”

  “All the time?”

  “At least once a week.” I held the door open for her. “Twice when this particular play was performed.” I ran my fingers across the words, Death of a Salesman, before handing our tickets to the usher.

  She smiled as he led us to the private balcony, as he offered us complimentary wine since we were so early.

  “I would’ve never taken you for the drama type,” she said, taking a sip from her glass. “You’ve never mentioned that to me before.”

  “I actually almost went to theater school instead of law school.”

  “What made you change your mind?”

  “A law degree attracts a higher percentage of pussy.”

  “What?!” She rolled her eyes, laughing. “I’m being serious.”

  “I received a bigger scholarship for law school.” I resisted the urge to pull her into my lap. “Best decision I ever made.”

  She opened her mouth to respond, but the lights began to dim and she leaned closer to me, whispering, “I would’ve liked to see you as an actor…I think you would’ve been really good at it.”

  I felt her placing her hand on my thigh. “I don’t think I would’ve wanted to see you play anything serious though. I think I would prefer—”

  “Are you going to talk through this entire play, Aubrey?” I cut her off, ignoring the tell-tale look on her face—the one of severe longing, needing.

  “Am I not allowed to make comments?” She sounded offended. “Am I not allowed to do that until after dinner either? If that’s the case, why even take me out? Why would you even—”

  “I’ve seen this play a million times…” I pressed my finger against her lips as the lead actor stepped onto the stage. “And although I want you to experience it too, if you would rather me entertain you in a different way, just tell me.”

  “What?”

  “Would this balcony make it onto your list of approved places?” I asked. “If I fucked you here, would that still count as me being a gentleman?”

  Her eyes widened and she quickly moved her hand away from my lap. “I was just teasing you, Andrew…”

  “I’m aware.” I kissed her neck. “And I’ve told you on numerous occasions that I don’t appreciate that, whether you’re mad at me or not…”

  She sucked in a breath as I slid my thumb underneath her panties.

  “I’ll stop asking questions,” she said. “I’ll watch the play…”

  As she turned her face toward the stage, I moved out of my seat and kneeled in front of her.

  “Andrew?” She whispered harshly as I spread her thighs apart. “What are you doing?”

  “Making sure you enjoy the show.”

  I didn’t give her a chance to respond. I quickly ripped off her panties, and buried my head in between her legs, running my tongue against her bare pussy—enjoying a taste I’d missed for months. I sucked her clit between my lips, shutting my eyes as it swelled in my mouth.

  “Andrew….” She moaned as she squeezed her legs around my neck, grabbing onto my hair and begging me to slow down.

  I couldn’t. She tasted too fucking good.

  I forced my tongue deeper inside of her, claiming every part, marking what was mine.

  Her hips began to rise off the seat, and I pushed them down—punishing her with stronger strokes, slipping my fingers inside of her and commanding her to stay still.

  “I can’t…” She thrust her hips up again. “I can’t…”

  A loud applause arose from the theater below us, echoing off the walls as the first scene ended.

  I sucked her clit harder, darting my tongue against it repeatedly until she couldn’t help but scream my name across the theater.

  Shaking, she grabbed my shoulders, gripping me harder than ever as she came into my mouth.

  I held her thighs as she continued to shake, as tremor after tremor ran through her body.

  As she came back down, I caressed her legs and kissed the inside of her thighs.

  Grabbing her ripped panties off the floor, I wiped her clean. Then I stuffed them into my pocket before taking my seat again.

  “Is something wrong sir?” An usher stepped into our balcony. “I heard a disturbance.”

  “A disturbance?” I looked at Aubrey then back at him. “No, I don’t think there was one here.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked concerned. “What about you, Miss? Are you okay?”

  “Yes sir.” Aubrey nodded, attempting to look as normal as possible. “I’m more than fine.”

  He walked away, and within seconds, she seemingly transformed into the Aubrey I remembered from months ago, the one that was incapable of not asking questions.

  Not that I minded, though.

  By the first intermission she’d asked all that was possible about the play and leaned against me, whispering, “This is perfect, Andrew…Thank you.” And then she didn’t speak again until the show ended two hours later.

  “The lead was amazing,” she said as the curtains closed. “I really felt all of his emotions in that last scene…”

  “Me too.” I helped her into her coat. “Do you have a curfew? Any time that I need to get you back home?”

  “I’m twenty two years old.”

  “I’m well aware.” I rolled my eyes. “I found that out the hard way, thank you. I meant, do you have a few more hours to spend with me or do you have to get up early?”

  “Not until the afternoon…”

  “Good.” I led her out of the theater and signaled to the town-car driver across the street. “I want to take you somewhere else. Can I?”

  “I would love that…”

  I helped her into the town car and after I slid inside, she moved into my lap—pressing her lips against mine, whispering thanks once again.

  Holding her close, I gave her a brief tour of my past as we drove through the city—grateful that the driver avoided driving by my former firm.

  I showed her my favorite restaurants, my favorite places to relax, and a few places I would like to take her to before I left.

  “We’ve arrived at the Waldorf Astoria, Mr. Hamilton.” The driver looked at us through the rearview mirror. “Will this be the final stop for the night?”

  “Yes,” I said, noticing Aubrey narrowing her eyes at me.

  “I thought you said—”

  “Relax…” I kissed her forehead. “This is where I’ve been living since I flew here.”

  “Oh…”

  I took her hand and walked her through the lobby and onto the elevator that led to the roof.

  Opening the doors, I noticed everything was set up exactly as I asked: A lone white clothed table sat in front of a dancing fire, soft lights hung in waves across the trellis, and through the falling snow, the words “I’m sorry” twinkled against the building directly across from us.

  “This is so beautiful, Andrew…” she said, looking around. “When did you change your mind about dinner?”

  “I didn’t.” I pulled out her chair and uncovered the platter of chocolate and vanilla covered strawberries. “It’s dessert.”

  “Did you think of all this yourself?”

  “I did.” I sat next to her and put my arms around her shoulders.

  “You know,” she said, “typically on a date the two people sit across from each other.”

  “Did you miss the memo about me making sure that I wouldn’t treat you like any other date?”

  “Not at all.” Her mouth was on mine within seconds and my hands found their way into her hair.

  Pulling her forward, I bit her lips and looked into her eyes.r />
  She was silently telling me to take things further, rubbing her hand against my cock.

  “Stop touching me, Aubrey,” I whispered, warning her. “I’m not going to be able to be a gentleman anymore if you don’t stop…” I stood up and walked to the door, giving myself some space. “I’m trying to prove to you that I can get through a date without fucking you…”

  She followed me, smiling. “I’m pretty sure you already failed at that…” She threaded her fingers through my hair and hastily unbuttoned my shirt.

  I wedged my knee between her legs and slid a hand across her thighs, sighing as I felt how wet she was.

  “Aubrey…” I groaned as she reached into my pocket and pulled out a condom. “I can wait…”

  “I can’t.” She freed my cock from my pants and rolled the condom onto me without letting my lips go.

  I secured my arms around her waist and lifting her up, carrying her over to the rooftop’s railing. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed your pussy.” I kissed her lips. “And your mouth.”

  “Is that all you miss?” Her hands went around my neck.

  “If it was, then we wouldn’t be here right now.” I slowly slid inside of her, filling her inch by inch, staring into her eyes as I remembered just how good she fucking felt.

  Without saying another word, I slid my hands down to her sides and moved her up and down—groaning as her pussy gripped me tighter and tighter with every stroke.

  Her lips found their way to mine, and neither of us let go—grinding into each other as a second light snow fell over us.

  Her nails dug into my back as she came close to coming, her teeth trapped my bottom lip to prevent herself from screaming out.

  “Don’t let go yet, Aubrey…” My cock was throbbing inside of her. “Wait…”

  She shook her head, fighting it, but she held on for a few more seconds—looking into my eyes.

  “I missed you so much,” I whispered. “So fucking much…”

  Falling forward into my chest, she came with me—biting my skin as her legs went limp around my waist.

  Both of us were breathing heavily, staring at each other as we once did months ago, and we remained entwined.

  I kissed her lips, repeating how much I missed her, and she smiled—softly telling me to pull out of her.

  “Would you like to stay the night?” I asked, picking up my jacket and holding it out for her. “You can tell me more about that case you’re so intrigued with lately.”

  “The Henderson & Hart one?” she asked. “You really haven’t heard anything about it?”

  “No, but if you spend the night we can google it together.”

  “I don’t think so.” Her voice was suddenly flat. “I need to go.” She adjusted her dress and walked over to the table, picking up her purse. ‘

  “Is something wrong?”

  She didn’t answer. She pulled out her phone to check the time and sighed.

  “Aubrey, what are you doing?”

  “Forcing myself to see that you’re still the same and you’ll never change.” She looked hurt. “Your idea of the truth is, and will always be, duplicitous. That’s all.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Thank you for a wonderful night…I’ll always remember this and cherish it, just so you know.”

  “I’m really starting to wonder if you are, indeed, bipolar…”

  “Why didn’t you tell me that your name was Liam Henderson tonight?” She shook her head, and I inhaled a sharp breath.

  “I gave you every opportunity to,” she said, looking hurt. “I practically begged you to tell me, but you opened up about everything except for that.”

  I hesitated. “I was going to tell you everything later tonight, in bed.”

  “Sure you were.” She scoffed. “Is there any reason why you didn’t even tell me this when I said you were once my favorite lawyer in my interview?”

  “Once?”

  She nodded. “Yes. Once. The essays I used to read by Liam all stressed complete and utter honesty. I guess that all changed once he became Andrew.”

  “Aubrey, don’t…” I stepped forward and she took a step back. “I was honestly going to ask you to come to the final hearing.”

  “Can I use your town car to get home or do I need to call a cab?”

  “Stop this. Now.”

  “Cab it is.” She shrugged. “I wish you the best of luck with your testimony. And I hope you treat the next girl you find nicely from the beginning so she won’t have to love and leave you alone in the end.”

  “Give me a chance to talk, Aubrey…”

  “We have nothing more to discuss.” She opened the door. “Please do not follow me, Andrew. You can’t trust me and I can’t trust you, so I don’t want anything to do with this anymore and I need you to finally respect that.”

  I opened my mouth to respond, but she spoke first.

  “Goodbye Andrew, Liam,” she said, “whatever the hell your name is.”

  “Aubrey…”

  The door slammed shut and I knew it was pointless to go after her in that moment.

  She was gone.

  Swear (v.):

  To declare under oath that one will tell the truth.

  Andrew

  “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?” The judge said to me a few mornings later.

  I said nothing, the sudden departure of Aubrey still fresh on my mind.

  “Mr. Hamilton, I asked you a question.” The judge chided.

  “I apologize,” I said. “I do swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help me God.”

  “We may proceed.”

  The defense lawyer stood up and cleared his throat. “Mr. Hamilton, your legal name was formerly Liam Henderson, correct?”

  “Correct.”

  “Could you please tell the court how you know my client, Kevin Hart?”

  “We were once partners at Henderson & Hart.”

  “Partners and best friends, correct?”

  I looked over at an expressionless Kevin. He was dressed in a grey suit, still incapable of wearing a matching tie.

  “Yes,” I said to the lawyer. “Once upon a time.”

  “Is it true that you got into an altercation with him at a bar six and a half years ago?”

  “Define altercation.”

  He picked up a sheet of paper. “Did you walk into a bar and punch him? Leaving him with a broken jaw and a fractured ribcage?”

  “He was fucking my wife.”

  The jurors gasped and the judge banged his gavel.

  “Mr. Hamilton…” The judge spoke sternly. “That type of language is not allowed in my courtroom. Please answer the question.”

  “Yes,” I said. “Yes, I did injure Mr. Hart…Severely.”

  “Similarly to how you injured your own wife?”

  “Objection!” The prosecutor stood up. “Relevance, Your Honor?”

  “Sustained.”

  “Fine.” The defense lawyer held up his hands in surrender. “Is it true that you blame Mr. Hart for the downfall of your former firm?”

  “Clearly the Department of Justice does since he’s the one on trial today.”

  “Mr. Hamilton…”

  “Yes.” I clenched my jaw. “Yes, I blame him for the demise of our former firm.”

  “Is it true that you also blame him for the unfortunate death of your daughter?”

  “Your Honor!” The prosecutor shot me a look of sympathy. “Relevance?”

  “Overruled…Answer the question, Mr. Hamilton.”

  I looked away from Kevin and balled my fists. “Yes.”

  “Your daughter died amidst the weeks leading up to the complete collapse of your firm, and within those weeks you managed to severely beat your partner, batter your wife—”

  “I didn’t batter my fucking wife. She made that shit up. Have you done any fucking research?”

  The judge banged his ga
vel, but I continued talking.

  “I’m not sure what low level community college was dumb enough to issue you a law degree, but the case between me and my wife was thrown out years ago because she lied about numerous things to a grand jury. And seeing as though she was sent to prison and I was cleared of all charges, you can accept that as a fucking fact. So, before you ask me another bullshit question and try to damage my character, remember that your client’s livelihood is at stake during this trial. Not mine.”

  The judge let out a deep sigh, but he didn’t say anything further. He just motioned for the defense to continue.

  “During your partnership, is it true that your wife was in charge of all the firm’s monetary dealings?”

  “Ex-wife. And yes.”

  “And you never thought to double check where she was allocating most of the funds?”

  “I had a degree in law, not accounting.”

  “So, you never thought it was slightly suspicious that your new firm was bringing in seven figures monthly?”

  “No.” I sighed, thinking back to those days, those clients. Everyone we dealt with had far more than I would earn in my lifetime and I thought nothing about the monthly profits Ava reported; I trusted her.

  “Is it fair to say that the demise of your firm could be due to your wife’s handling of funding?”

  I gritted my teeth. “Yes.”

  “Interesting.” He picked up a sheet of paper and asked the judge if he could approach me. “Could you read this to the court please?”

  “I’d rather not,” I said.

  “You’d rather not?” He laughed. “Mr. Hamilton, as a lawyer yourself, surely you know that you will be held in contempt for refusing to read requested evidence.”

  “Read it, Mr. Hamilton.” The judge demanded.

  “You’re a fucking liar, Ava.” I read my old words. “You’ve fucked so many people behind my back that I’ve lost count. As far as I’m concerned, you deserve to rot behind bars. Maybe then your overworked pussy will get a much needed break.”

  A juror covered her mouth in shock, but I continued reading.

  “Thank you for telling me that my cock was never up to par, that after all those years of marriage you were never satisfied…Since you and Kevin have not only managed to take away my firm, but have also ruined the one thing that made my life worth living, accept this letter as a goodbye.” I looked up at the defense.