ignored the hint. He sat forward abruptly. “Why do you hate this guy so much?”
“Representative Thompkins? Oh, how about because he was having an affair with his intern for starters. Did you want me to continue?”
“He’s a creep, sure. But I think something else is bothering you.” Luke stood up and placed his hands on my desk, leaning forward. “What is it?”
I really didn’t want to go down this road with Luke. Not tonight. “You read his file. You should know exactly why I don’t like our client.”
“I know why I don’t like him. I want to know why you don’t like him.” Luke didn’t seem ready to back down anytime soon.
“He hits his wife.” I closed the file on my desk and stood up. “He’s a wife beater. And a cheater.”
Luke flinched, and straightened his posture abruptly. My words had rattled him. “There’s nothing in his file about him being abusive.”
“It’s not spelled out in his file. But that doesn’t make it any less true.” I explained to Luke that I had done my own research once we had agreed to take Representative Thompkins on as our client. The medical records for his wife had been plentiful, and completely consistent with having an abusive husband.
“You’re sure about this?” Luke’s jaw clenched and unclenched fitfully.
“I’m sure.”
“Why are you so sure?” Luke held up a hand to stop the bitter tirade I was about to unleash. “Look, I believe you. But if he is an abusive prick, there’s no way we are keeping him as a client. I won’t help someone like that. So when I tear up our agreement, I need to know we’re right about this.”
I took a deep breath, wondering if what I was about to confess to Luke would be better left unsaid. People looked at you differently when you told them you had been on the receiving end of a Representative Thompkins. “I know because I’ve made excuses for jerks like him.”
Luke stiffened, as if he could sense what I was about to say.
“A lot has changed in the last two years. I’m not the woman you remember.” It had taken me six months to be able to walk down the street without looking over my shoulder. I stepped around the desk and moved closer to Luke, wanting him to feel what I felt.
“Who? Who did that to you?” Luke looked like he was ready to hit someone.
“Neil. I date him for eight months. He seemed fine. Normal. Then one night, he didn’t like the way a bartender looked at me.” I felt no emotion as I recalled the event. It still didn’t feel real to me. “He hit me so hard he broke my jaw.”
“Shit,” Luke breathed through his clenched jaw.
“I was too weak and pathetic to stand up to him. At the hospital, I lied and said that I fell and smacked my face against a table. The police were never notified and when I was released from the hospital, I never spoke of the incident again. A few months later, I ran into him again at a restaurant near my apartment and decided that I had to leave D.C. That’s when I moved back to Chicago.
“For the last few weeks, I’ve been helping out at this shelter that’s helps women fleeing abuse, so I know what a battered wife looks like. I know how they act, and how they try to hide it. I’ve watched footage of the Representative’s wife and I’ve seen her medical files. He beats the shit out of her. And apparently he also cheats on her. So yeah, I hate him.”
I had never seen anger like I saw in Luke’s eyes right then. “I’ll kill him.”
“The Congressman?”
“Neil. If I ever see him, if he ever comes around you again, I will kill him.” Luke’s hands were clenched into tight fists.
I had promised myself I would stay away from Luke. We would work together, and that would be it. Nothing else. But we were both worked up now, and I didn’t want to see that anger in Luke’s eyes anymore. I let my hands rest on his fists until he relaxed them, and then I slipped my hands inside. “Don’t say that, Luke. Don’t be like him.
“Representative Thompkins? Oh, how about because he was having an affair with his intern for starters. Did you want me to continue?”
“He’s a creep, sure. But I think something else is bothering you.” Luke stood up and placed his hands on my desk, leaning forward. “What is it?”
I really didn’t want to go down this road with Luke. Not tonight. “You read his file. You should know exactly why I don’t like our client.”
“I know why I don’t like him. I want to know why you don’t like him.” Luke didn’t seem ready to back down anytime soon.
“He hits his wife.” I closed the file on my desk and stood up. “He’s a wife beater. And a cheater.”
Luke flinched, and straightened his posture abruptly. My words had rattled him. “There’s nothing in his file about him being abusive.”
“It’s not spelled out in his file. But that doesn’t make it any less true.” I explained to Luke that I had done my own research once we had agreed to take Representative Thompkins on as our client. The medical records for his wife had been plentiful, and completely consistent with having an abusive husband.
“You’re sure about this?” Luke’s jaw clenched and unclenched fitfully.
“I’m sure.”
“Why are you so sure?” Luke held up a hand to stop the bitter tirade I was about to unleash. “Look, I believe you. But if he is an abusive prick, there’s no way we are keeping him as a client. I won’t help someone like that. So when I tear up our agreement, I need to know we’re right about this.”
I took a deep breath, wondering if what I was about to confess to Luke would be better left unsaid. People looked at you differently when you told them you had been on the receiving end of a Representative Thompkins. “I know because I’ve made excuses for jerks like him.”
Luke stiffened, as if he could sense what I was about to say.
“A lot has changed in the last two years. I’m not the woman you remember.” It had taken me six months to be able to walk down the street without looking over my shoulder. I stepped around the desk and moved closer to Luke, wanting him to feel what I felt.
“Who? Who did that to you?” Luke looked like he was ready to hit someone.
“Neil. I date him for eight months. He seemed fine. Normal. Then one night, he didn’t like the way a bartender looked at me.” I felt no emotion as I recalled the event. It still didn’t feel real to me. “He hit me so hard he broke my jaw.”
“Shit,” Luke breathed through his clenched jaw.
“I was too weak and pathetic to stand up to him. At the hospital, I lied and said that I fell and smacked my face against a table. The police were never notified and when I was released from the hospital, I never spoke of the incident again. A few months later, I ran into him again at a restaurant near my apartment and decided that I had to leave D.C. That’s when I moved back to Chicago.
“For the last few weeks, I’ve been helping out at this shelter that’s helps women fleeing abuse, so I know what a battered wife looks like. I know how they act, and how they try to hide it. I’ve watched footage of the Representative’s wife and I’ve seen her medical files. He beats the shit out of her. And apparently he also cheats on her. So yeah, I hate him.”
I had never seen anger like I saw in Luke’s eyes right then. “I’ll kill him.”
“The Congressman?”
“Neil. If I ever see him, if he ever comes around you again, I will kill him.” Luke’s hands were clenched into tight fists.
I had promised myself I would stay away from Luke. We would work together, and that would be it. Nothing else. But we were both worked up now, and I didn’t want to see that anger in Luke’s eyes anymore. I let my hands rest on his fists until he relaxed them, and then I slipped my hands inside. “Don’t say that, Luke. Don’t be like him.
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