Page 44 of Lost Room Lawyer
“I’m really sorry, but I can’t promise that Viktoria won’t talk about literature. What I do know for sure is that she hasn’t made the connection to Leo; otherwise, she would have told me. I’m absolutely certain of that. And no matter what that Luciano has done, I’ll act as if I haven’t read the book.”
I laughed and stepped away from him. “I guess I won’t be able to avoid that dinner.”
“Neither will I. Leo has suggested something like this before, and I managed to brush him off at the time. But if Viktoria takes it on, there will be no avoiding it now.”
“Okay … Looks like we have no other choice.”
It was a strange feeling I had inside: I felt much more confident when Hector was with me.
It will all work out.
13
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Hector
“And that’s why I need your signature here, here, and here,” I said finally, handing Juri the pen.
I wasn’t really surprised that he refused to take it. My detailed explanation of how things would proceed in his case had clearly overwhelmed him. He nervously fiddled with his lip piercing and kept bouncing his leg.
I had anticipated he might panic, so I arranged the meeting at my city apartment. He had sworn never to step foot in my office again following our last lunch. Since he spent nearly all his free time with Luca and had grown accustomed to this apartment as almost a second home after his extended stay, I thought it was a good choice. Besides, Luca was also there, enjoying his coffee—though I sometimes wondered if he ever drank anything else.
The situation felt strange. It was the first time we were all sitting together at a table. Three months had passed since Juri and I had been having sex two rooms over in my office. At that time, he wasn’t yet with Luca, and Luca was far from understanding that he saw more in Juri than just his muse—something for which I could be thankful to the universe.
As Juri sat here, nervously combing his fingers through his black hair and staring at the papers in front of him, Luca sipped his coffee and placed the cup back on the table with such calmness that it even eased my doubts about whether what we were doing was right.
“Juri?” I asked gently, since the pen was still lying beside his glass.
“Yeah, I … uh …”
I was taken aback by how tense he was. From what I had known of him as a callboy, he was someone who always had everything under control. Now, he was clearly on unfamiliar ground and felt uncomfortable.
Luca brushed a platinum-blond strand from his forehead and placed his arm around Juri’s shoulder. “You don’t need to be afraid.”
“That’s easy for you to say …” Juri wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and rose to his feet. “These bastards are still out there! I live just around the corner from this Thomas. It’s only a matter of time before we run into each other.”
Luca also stood up and gently placed his hand on Juri’s back. “Calm down.”
“Luca is right,” I said, leaning back in my chair and crossing one leg over the other. “Panicking now doesn’t help. That’s exactly what those three want. But the evidence is clear. All you need to do is be patient and prepare for the hearing.”
“Hearing?” Juri’s face drained of color, making him look paler than before. “I thought we had settled that.”
“Juri,” Luca said soothingly. “It’s okay.”
Juri’s bewilderment was obvious as he blinked his eyes in confusion. “What’s okay?” He then turned his head to me. “You didn’t …? Luca too? He has nothing to do with this!”
“Noé and Alex have already agreed to testify,” I said.
“And I will too,” Luca added.
“Also, I called Flo,” I continued.
“Flo?” Luca asked. “Do we know him?”
“He’s a callboy,” Juri answered, crossing his arms as he glared at me. “Why?”
“I sent him the photos of Thomas and the two others. He’s never had the pleasure of meeting them, but he promised he’d look into it a bit.”
