Beside her, the ping of a notification on her phone sounded, and she rifled through her bag to retrieve it. Anything to stall the undeserving accolades coming her way.
It was Anaru.
Good morning. I was on my way to another job and drove past the old school. It made me think of you. Did you sleep okay?
The corners of her lips tugged up and the tension she’d been feeling slowly dissipated. He’d been thinking of her.
Better than I have in a long time. How about you? On your way to another job? That must’ve been an early start.
The life of a builder I’m afraid. Early starts and late finishes. But it’s worth it to see the final product. You must get that too with your work.
Kate huffed out a mirthless laugh. Defending people like Monroe was far from rewarding.
Unfortunately, no. Quite the opposite in fact. I help people get away with the horrible things they’ve done.
But there must be some innocent folk in there. People you’ve really helped.
She tried to remember the last time she legitimately believed her client’s innocence. It had been far too few and much too long in between cases. That was never what she’d set out to do originally. She’d wanted to be the next RBG, working her way to the Supreme Court, but somewhere along the way she’d got lost; taken a wrong turn.
Maybe one or two. Nothing like what you do. It must be so nice to have a hand in creating something spectacular every day. Making something out of nothing.
You make me sound far more interesting than I am. It’s not all new builds and designs. I still have to crawl around under floors and in stinking hot roof spaces to lay insulation.
I suppose you’re right. Every job has its ups and downs, and those on the outside never fully see it for what it is.
That was deep.
Lol I suppose it was. Don’t mind me. I’m psyching myself up to receive adulations for something I feel is entirely unwarranted.
I don’t believe anything you receive commendations for could be unwarranted. You must have done something impressive.
If by impressive you mean won a case that let a dangerous man back on the streets, then sure. I did that.
Kate closed her eyes, knowing she would have to live with that for the rest of her life. If Monroe offended again, that would be on her.
You were just doing your job, Kate. If it wasn’t you defending him, it would’ve been someone else. Don’t beat yourself up about it.
Except it wasn’t anyone else, it was me. And at the risk of sounding completely arrogant and self-centred; no one else could’ve pulled it off. It was the unwinnable case.
That just proves how good you are at what you do.
What if I don’t want to be good at that anymore?
By the end of the day, Kate was exhausted. She shut off her computer and pulled the door closed behind her, ready to leave. The nagging sensation she was neglecting something kept tugging at her chest, but she refused to give in. For once, she was going to forget about work for the weekend. The Watson case could wait until Monday, and Jarod had taken care of some of the smaller jobs that needed doing. So she was free to enjoy her weekend. Something she hadn’t done in an eternity.
She had no plans, only the promise to herself that she would do some soul searching and work out what she really wanted out of life, because right now, her conscience was struggling with her life choices.
Kate had gone into law as an idealistic student wanting to change the world and follow in the greats’ footsteps. She wanted to make a difference in the world, and in a way, she had. But what she’d done by giving Monroe Wilson the defence he paid for, would ultimately lead to another woman’s demise. She knew as soon as he’d wrapped his sweaty arm around her that she’d made a mistake. That she was now part of the ongoing story of his deplorable behaviour, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Pulling into her drive, she was surprised to see a black van sitting in wait. Her mind instantly conjured images of Monroe Wilson hiding in the back, ready to grab her as she walked past. Her pulse quickened. Should she reverse out and drive as far away as possible? Call the cops? Or was this just her overactive imagination making something out of nothing?
It was too late to turn back. Whoever was in the van would’ve seen her already. So, she stopped the car, pulling the keys from the ignition. She took her time placing several between her fingers. If she was going down, she was going down with a fight.
With a shaky breath, she stepped out of the car. Her chin jutted out, she walked as stoically as she could muster towards the van. When she was almost level with the door, it swung open, and she held her keyed-up hand out in front of her.
“Whoa!” Anaru held his hands up, palms out. “It’s just me.”
Kate huffed out a breath, letting her hand fall to her side. “You scared me half to death! A little notice would’ve been nice.” A nervous laugh fell from her lips. “What are you doing here?”