Prove It

“Listen,” the lawyer said as he poured a cup of Earl Gray tea for me, “I know that we haven’t had the best relationship in the past, but I believe I’m the man who can get you out of this little stitch of yours.” I quirked my brow and replied, “Little stitch?” I wouldn’t necessarily call the predicament I’ve gotten myself into “little”. But that’s a story for another time. 

Looking him up and down, I examined the man in front of me who I thought I once knew. Charles Mayweather is his name. Though difficult to see due to the stupid fedora on his head that he believed made him look so charming, his grey eyes peered into mine expectantly. My nose scrunched at the scent coming from the cigarette that was hanging out of his mouth. I hated his smoking addiction then and I still hate it now. Some things never change.

He began shuffling a deck of cards, “What?” I couldn’t take it anymore. The smoke had begun clouding up my lungs as I almost coughed one up. “Oh come on, Lainey. They aren’t that bad.” Once I had finally cleared my throat, I managed to choke out, “Easy for you to say,” another cough, “you smoke a pack of those every day.” Though meant to be an insult, he tipped his head covered in smooth black hair forward and laughed. I crossed my arms in front of my chest, flustered. 

“Get to the point, Charlie.” His leg began to bob up and down. With a smirk, Charlie said, “Back to informalities now, are we?” “Nope, I’m just trying to avoid calling you ‘lawyer’ as you love to refer to yourself as.” I mentioned earlier that I’d gotten myself into a “stitch” per Charlie’s words. Though I would never call it that myself. 

My court appearance was to be scheduled in less than a week and I haven’t been able to find a lawyer that will take on the job yet. I can’t blame them, my case is pretty clear cut. But Charlie believed he could weasel me out of this. “Listen, darling, we both know you’re guilty as sin, but I’ve got a friend on the inside who can rig this whole thing for your benefit.” For a man known for his integrity, he could be a snake when something was in the way of what he wanted. And what he wanted was me.

We’d been in a relationship for two years before breaking it off. I caught him cheating on me with a girl who was uglier than a pig and dumped him on the spot. She may have looked like a pig, but his personality is uglier than one. The fool thought he could convince anyone with his wit to bend to his will, but I had more stubbornness than he was used to. I’m not the type of girl who gives in because of a little confrontation. “And how do you plan on pulling this off?” I asked.

Charlie placed the deck of cards he’d been shuffling through onto the shiny, dark wooden desk that sat next to us. I glanced at the golden name stand that read “Esq. Mayweather”. Just because he was official, doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t have to try to convince me to spend more than ten minutes in this room with him. I could hardly stand it as it is. I deliberately chose the plush leather chair across the room from him when I first came in, not caring about the closer seating options or his feelings.

“This friend of mine owes me a little favor for drugging some cops in San Francisco. It’s a long story with a lot of boring details that would surely bore you to tears, if I haven’t done that already.” I retorted with, “You have, but go on.” He may have been the man that I once loved and spoke sweetly to, but those days are long gone. He let another girl claim him that had no right to and I resented him for it. I promised myself never to trust any man with a fedora again for the rest of my life.

His leg ceased its annoying bobbing. Charlie looked me straight in the eye with a suddenly passionate gaze, and said, “Forget about anything I’ve ever done that is making you hate me so intensely right now. Trust me, I would hate me too. I have studied at the most distinguished universities for over half of my life to uphold this position as a lawyer and I will gain back your trust no matter what it takes. Harvard, Yale, Oxford, you name it. I have more degrees than anyone you will ever come in contact with.” 

I picked up the once warm cup of tea that had been sitting on the intricate miniature table next to me. “And more girls than anyone I’ll ever come in contact with,” I muttered under my breath. Charlie leaned back, frustratedly running a finger through his neatly combed curls. He hunched forward once again, and said, “You let me defend you in this case and I won’t charge you a dime. Heaven knows you can’t afford another lawyer who will make you pay full price... All I ask in return is that you stop pushing me away. Give me another chance to prove that I can be yours and only yours, Lainey.”

I took another slow, dreadfully slow sip of my tea, savoring every flavor of the black liquid as he savored every detail of my being. “Then prove it.” His grey eyes danced. A fire had been lit inside of him that he would not let anyone extinguish. A fire for me, that is. Standing up, he said with that sly tone of his that was back too soon, “So you’re giving me another chance, darling?” “Only if you stop calling me ‘darling’”.

Charlie watched as I picked up the kettle closest to me, poured it into an empty tea cup, and slid it across the floor. The liquid sloshed when it hit his professional looking (and most likely cleaned this morning) shoes. He picked up the cup, swiveled around the contents, and took a sip. Looking up, he said with a grin, “You’ve got yourself a deal…” and continued under his breath like I had before, “...darling.”