“I know what you said, but we had something special. You can’t tell me that the sex wasn’t good.”
Nash would admit it had been good at first. She was an attractive, sexy woman who had a wild, adventurous side. It was everything else about her that he couldn’t deal with. Her jealousy and accusing him of seeing other women was a huge turn-off. Until she came along, he hadn’t dated exclusively since Audrey. Two months into dating her and he remembered why. She constantly complained about him not spending enough time with her and she showed up at his place of business demanding his attention. That was enough to drive a sane man crazy. The last straw had been when she talked about them getting married and alluded to sending Tania to a boarding school. Now that’s never going to happen.
“Eve, you and I are over. Besides, if I remember correctly, we only were dating for four months, and eighty percent of that time was me dealing with your childish behavior and your insecurities.”
“I can change,” she said, her high-pitched whine grating on his nerves.
Even if she could, he wasn’t interested. He wasn’t looking for anything serious with any woman, especially someone like Eve.
“You might be able to change, but I’ve moved on, and I suggest you do the same.”
A beat passed before she spoke. “If you think you can use me until you’ve had enough and then kick me to the curb, you have another think coming. We’re not over until I say we’re over,” she screamed.
Nash cursed under his breath. “Eve.” When she didn’t respond, he called out to her again before he realized she had hung up. Damn. Please don’t tell me I have a psycho on my hands.
Chapter 3
The next morning, Tania Dupree sauntered into the small meeting room at the detention center. She wore a long-sleeved T-shirt and a pair of worn, fitted jeans, looking as if this was just another ordinary day. She hugged her uncle and then moved around him to get to Iris.
“Hi, Attorney Sinclair. It’s a pleasure to meet you, and thank you for coming.”
Iris shook her hand, pleased with Tania’s manners and assuredness. This young lady oozed poise and self-confidence, so unlike Iris when she was that age. Tall and thin, Tania, like most teenagers, suffered from a mild case of acne over her caramel complexion. She had an easygoing demeanor, but her hazel eyes assessed everything and took it in.
“I didn’t think you would come,” Tania said, “but I knew that if anyone could convince you, it would be my uncle.” She glanced at Nash, giving him a crooked grin.
Iris didn’t bother telling her that, though her uncle’s persistence played a small part, it was mainly Iris’s curiosity about Tania, and just maybe, her desire to see Nash again that was the deciding factor.
Iris gestured for her to have a seat on the opposite side of the table. “Tania, why don’t you explain to me why you were willing to spend the night in detention when you didn’t have to, and why you insisted on seeing me.”
“I’d like to hire you.”
Iris was a little taken aback by her take-charge attitude, and stole a glance at Nash, who didn’t appear surprised at all.
“Someone is trying to frame me. I have never done drugs and have no interest in starting now. And I definitely had no intent of selling or delivering marijuana like the officer accused. I know the State of Georgia has a low tolerance for people who have anything to do with drugs, and the penalties for possession of more than an ounce is a felony and can get you one to ten years. The amount of weed on me was less than an ounce, but it wasn’t mine and I need your help in proving it.”
Iris sat back, stunned but impressed. She glanced at Nash, who just shook his head and shrugged.
“That’s why I need you as my lawyer. I saw you on the talk show Atlanta Right Now a few months ago. You had a cool, dark gray pinstriped suit on, with a pair of fly gray shoes that had a strap around the ankle. I was like...” She stopped and shook her head. “Anyway, you mentioned that most of your clients are my age and I got the feeling that you really cared about them.”
“You’re right.” Iris smiled, amused by the young woman’s recap of her attire and pleased with her insight. “I care very much about my clients and do everything I can to prove their innocence.”
“Cool,” Tania said and grinned.
Iris pulled a file out of her briefcase and laid it on the table. “Since I’ll be representing you...” She let the rest of her statement hang out there for a moment, and didn’t miss the pleased look on Nash’s face. “Let’s talk about what you can expect when we go before the judge. Based on what you and your uncle told me, I assume you’re pleading not guilty.”
Tania nodded.
“Though you had a run-in with the law a few months ago, and caused all types of drama here yesterday—” Iris raised an eyebrow at Tania “―I think the judge will go easy on you.”
“Why won’t this go to trial? I want to prove that someone planted those drugs on me.”
Iris studied her for a moment. “Tania, do you know where the drugs came from? Do you know who might have planted them on you?”
Tania hesitated. “No, but I want to find out. I plan to start my own investigation into the matter once I’m out of here.”
“Hold up,” Nash said in that deep voice that made Iris want him to never stop talking. “I don’t know what’s going on in that head of yours, but don’t think about doing something crazy. I don’t want you confronting anyone, or worse, accusing someone. You’re in enough trouble as it is, and I’m not planning on going through this nonsense again. If you end up in jail, I’m going to insist they keep you.”
Iris explained the best-and worst-case scenarios to prepare Tania and Nash before they faced the judge. “The police officer you gave a hard time to yesterday referred the case to juvenile court. When we go in for the arraignment hearing, you’ll enter a plea agreement and the judge will probably place you on probation, recommend some type of counseling or have you perform community service. I will inform the judge that this is your first offense and request that the charges be dropped. Since they found less than an ounce of marijuana on you, this is considered a misdemeanor. Hopefully you’ll receive no more than probation and possibly a small fine.”
“I know twenty percent of the cases referred are usually dismissed or handled informally. What if this case has to go through formal proceedings? Will you still represent me if it goes to trial?”
Again, Iris just stared at her young client. “Are they teaching law in high school these days?”
A shy smile reached Tania’s lips. “Nah, I read a lot about women in law and I plan to be a defense attorney like you someday.”
Iris’s heart melted. “Wow, I don’t know what to say.”
“If you keep getting into trouble, you can forget it,” Nash said to Tania. “How are you going to get into law school if you’re sitting in a jail cell somewhere?”
Tania tilted her head. “Uncle Nash, I said I was sorry. This won’t happen again, so you don’t have to keep using the jail threat.”
An officer opened the door and stuck his head in. “Attorney Sinclair, the judge is ready to meet with you and your client.”
“Thank you,” Iris said and gathered her notes, placing them in her briefcase. She looked at Tania. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“After you.” Iris directed Tania to the door.
“Do you see what I have to go through?” Nash mumbled close to Iris’s ear,