Indicted (Bad Judgment #1) Read Free Page B

to look after. After mymother died, all I cared about was trying to pay our rent on time, getting perfect grades, making sure my father went to work, and feeding my little brothers. In other words, I was Not Fun.
    With Alexa, I don’t think she cared that I was Not Fun. I turned back to my puffy reflection in the mirror and finished with my lip gloss. She was prettier than me by a mile and I was sure she knew it; but I was almost certain that I was smarter than her. And the breaking news was, apparently it bothered her. A lot.
    I slammed my lip gloss tube back together and smacked my lips. I was going to prove myself on this case. I was going to single-handedly save Broden Walker from federal prison and I was going to enjoy watching Alexa’s pretty face turn an ugly, envious green, maybe for the first time in her life.
    I stalked around my office and tried to calm down, tried to plan my day even though my head was fuzzy from exhaustion. Tammy stuck her head back in. “Mandy’s here,” she said. “And she looks excited.”
    Mandy rushed in. “They’re here ,” she said. “And he’s with them. In David’s office.” She blurted the words out breathlessly, her cheeks red and blotchy. She looked tired and rumpled, too; at least I was in good company.
    “Do we get to meet him?” I asked. My voice came out all squeaky and wrong.
    “Not sure,” she said, and flopped down into one of the chairs across from my desk. She looked at me helplessly, her color still high. “I don’t even know what I’d say to him.”
    “Well, he’s our client, so we’re gonna have to be cool,” I said, even though my own heartbeat had picked up and my hands had started to sweat at the prospect of seeing Walker in person.
    He’s going to be formally charged with racketeering, conspiracy, and fraud, I thought, forcing myself back down to earth. That’s not hot. Still, this case was the most exciting thing that had happened to me in a long time. Maybe after it was done, I’d look into moving from corporate law to something a little more racy, like divorce or entertainment. Or a maybe I just needed to get a super-hot new boyfriend and finally dump Mike the Spike.
    Right now I just needed to calm down and act like a professional.
    “Wanna do a walk-by?” I asked Mandy. Curiosity was going to get the better of me, no matter what. “Just to check?”
    “Let’s go,” she said, standing up immediately and straightening her skirt.
    “In the spirit of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer, should we stop and get Alexa?” The words were still leaving my mouth as I saw Alexa herself sail past my door and down the hall, in the general direction of David Proctor’s office, without a backwards glance.
    “Never mind. I think she got the memo,” I said, pulling Mandy after me. “Alexa,” I hissed, catching up to her. I kept my voice low so the whole office wouldn’t hear me plotting. “Going somewhere?”
    “Oh, hey,” she said, distractedly looking back at us over her shoulder.
    “Do you have a meeting?” I asked, my heart suddenly sinking. I wondered if David Proctor had already made his choice about which associate he wanted for the case. Usually there was one full-time associate assigned to each case to work with one partner. Other associates might be pulled in to work on document review or for research as needed, like the three of us were last night. But usually it was one partner, one associate. I looked over at Alexa and my stomach twisted. Me, I thought. Let it be me!
    “I wish I had a meeting,” she said, and I exhaled in relief as she slowed down until she was even with us. “I just want to see him! I can’t help it,” she said, quickly scanning the hallways. “I admit it. I’m having a stalker moment.”
    “You’re not alone,” Mandy whispered. “We’re on the same mission.”
    “Duh. Nicole was even putting on lip gloss earlier. And since there isn’t a Giant Nerd Convention in the conference