Page 99 of I Wish I Would've Chosen You

Thanks for hiring this “fancy” attorney, granddad. I’ll take my chances on a different one.

Brett suddenly enters the room before I can fire him. He sits across the table from me while another suit sits at his side.

“So…I’m feeling generous today and I’m offering a plea deal,” he says. “Eight years, with only half to serve in prison and your client with register on the sex offender registry.”

“Okay.” Mr. Carter nods. “I guess we’ll have to consider that deal.”

I look over at him. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

“Mr. Donovan or Peterson, whatever, just needs to allocute for his crimes in open court and we can bypass the stressful drama of a trial.” Brett smiles. “Let me know what day this week you want him picked up for booking. I’m willing to let him get his affairs in order before he goes away.”

“Well, before we do that,” Mr. Carter says, “I think we should do apracticeallocution to make sure we’re all on the same page here.”

“Mr. Carter, you’re fired if you think I’m going to plead guilty,” I say.

“Let your lawyer do the talking, Mr. Donovan.” Brett clicks his pen. “He’s the best in the country for a reason. What do you have in mind for the points we need to make, Mr. Carter?”

“You’re upset because my client slept with your now ex-girlfriend.”

“No, that’s not—”

“And you can’t stop wondering about how if any time she was with you, she might’ve been thinking about him.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re pissed and want to punish my client for having a bigger dick and leaving memories she just can’t forget.”

Brett narrows his eyes.

“Onto the legal shit, though…” He clears his throat. “Vendettas are unconstitutional, and this case is a waste of our time since the student in question was at the age of consent at the time, but I’m sure once the court hears about all the media harassment you’ve done over the past few weeks, they’ll take your side in this.”

He shrugs. “Not to mention the fact that this is an abuse of your position and millions of taxpayer dollars, but hey, thank you for thatamazingoffer that any judge in his right mind will reject.Do we still need have a deal?”

The suit at Brett’s side rips up the papers and stands to his feet.

“We’ll drop the charges within twenty four hours,” he says.

“You’ll do it withinonehour,” Mr. Carter says. “One second past that and I’ll be filing a charge against Mr. Brett here. Oh, and in exchange for me not discussing Mr. Brett’s transgressions with the media who are conveniently outside, I expect to be reimbursed for my five-star hotel room. I’m staying in the presidential suite at the Waldorf for the rest of the week.”

“Are you threatening us, Mr. Carter?”

“Of course not.” He smiles. “I’m telling you exactly what’s going to happen if you don’t meet my demands. My tone is very friendly.”

Brett rolls his eyes and stands, following the suit out of the room.

I stare at him, unsure of what the hell to say.

“You’re welcome,” Mr. Carter says, holding out a business card. “If you need anything else, feel free to call my secretary.”

“You mean, callyou, correct?”

“No, I try to stay out of the office as much as possible. I hate being around lawyers.”

Right…“See you around, Mr. Carter.”

“I hope not.” He leaves without another word and I take out my phone to call Genevieve.

She doesn’t answer and I check her texts.

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