GET READY WITH ME

THE WORLD KNOWS

"Judith, he's going to be here any, please go easy on him. He's a public figure you know, and he can fire you as well." Jimmy advised.

"I don't think he's foolish enough to risk firing me and looking for a new attorney as capable as I am in a short span of time. If he wanted to fire me, he would've done that yesterday, but he couldn't because Lyon already let him know that I'm the only one who clean his s**t!" Judith snapped.

Before Jimmy could reply, there came a knock on the door and Marie entered, "Mr Calloway's here ma'am." She ushered him in. Judith watched him enter and didn't rise to greet him. Damn, he was too fine for her to be mad at. Today, he wore a long black leather jacket on a black shirt and he had opened the first two buttons exposing his bare protruding chest. She had always had a thing for men on low cut but his braids seemed to enhance his beauty. "Such a fine man with a nasty attitude, ugh!" She thought to herself.

"Good morning, Mr Calloway." Jimmy shook hands with him, interrupting her thoughts.

"Good morning, Mr Hillier, Ms Walton." He turned to Judith.

"Mr Calloway," she returned his greeting, "Please take your seat.

He took his seat and noticed her skim through some pages of a file. The file looked familiar, like the one she read out what those people said about him yesterday. He just hoped she wasn't going to continue in that regards.

"Mr Calloway, we had a rough path yesterday, so I would like for you to please cooperate with me. We can't be at loggerheads and win this case." She said.

"You said it that things will have to go your way as my attorney and since I'm willing to clear my name by all means, then.." He shrugged

"Very well then. So, I looked further into your strife with your stepmother and I realised it's more of a family feud. Mr Calloway, tell us about your stepmother and why you think she planted Ashley's death on you."

"When my father got married to her, they realised they couldn't conceive any children because she had multiple fibroids in her womb that needed to be taken out with her womb. After the surgery, she was devastated as she couldn't bear children. Few months after, my maternal uncle brought me from Columbia at the age of twelve to meet with my father. My father never knew I existed until my mother died due to cancer of the lungs; it was my mother's dying wish that I should know who my father was. My father was very happy that he had a son. Apparently, he bore me before he got married and never even knew. According to him, he had been in Columbia few years before his marriage to my stepmother and he dated my mother. But because of his calibre, his parents - my grandparents - wouldn't let him get married to some Columbian woman. That was when I met Mrs Calloway - the legal wife of my father. As expected, she was a thorn in my flesh, but I never let her get to me; I have a Columbian blood in me. Not quite long, my father set me as the heir to the Calloway's Dynasty and she had pulled lots of strings to get me away from that position. That was the reason I started up my company with my partner just so I could be a man of my own without my father's old money. My grandparents made her adopt a son thinking it was going to change my father's mind and make him - her son - become the heir, but all plans proved abortive up until now." He explained.

"What was Ashley doing in your office at the time?" Jimmy asked.

"When Ashley came to my office, she brought in a a folder containing a signed contract - my signed contract - to a partnering company. I realised it wasn't with me when I got there even though I was so sure I put it in my briefcase. I looked everywhere for it and was willing to take a flight back to get it, up but just then I found it in the hands of my stepmother's assistant. I figured she was up to something dangerous but not sure exactly what it was; I guess the world knows what it is now." He said.

"Did you ask how it got into her hands?" Judith asked.

"Oh, yes I did. She claimed her boss gave her the files to give me." He explained.

"After then, did you have any encounter or interactions with Ms Ashley." Judith asked.

"No, because I called my father and sternly told him to tell his wife to stay clear off my path up until the very day of her death." He said.

"Tell us all about that day, Mr Calloway." Judith suggested.

"I had just arrived New York to celebrate my father's 65th birthday. An elaborate party was organised for him which is not my kind of parties, but it was my father who was the celebrant and now I'm wishing I didn't go for the party. Anyway, my stepmother said she planted for the party to be celebrated in-house which meant all guests will be in the house. I had always hated things like these because of my privacy, but then again, it was my father's party not mine. Two hours into the party, I was in my father's study - that was my only getaway from all the madness I had ever encountered since the first day I step my feet into that house. When it was time for my father to get called as the celebrant, I went back to my room to pull off my gloves as the fireplace made me quite warm. I left and when the party was almost over, I headed to my room to avoid the unnecessary communications with people I didn't want to talk to. As soon as I got into my room, there was Ashley's body on my bed with blood spilled all over my walls, mirror and curtains. I called the housekeeper, she panicked and before I could call 911, all living beings were already in my room. I called 911, they picked up her body and then a couple of us got called to the station for some questioning and then, my stepmother told some of the officers that i was a prime suspect. An autopsy was run on her and it was said that she was stabbed multiple times leading to the blood spills everywhere and the blood stains on my gloves didn't help matters at all." Mr Calloway explained.

"You've got yourself in a tight corner, Mr Calloway, but I'll do all I can to get you out of this mess." Judith assured.

"You have to, Ms Walton, I can't let my stepmother get away with this." He said.

"Mr Calloway, respectfully, this isn't about your stepmother here, it's about you. You're the prime suspect in this case and all evidences are pointing fingers at you. We need to get you out of this mess, then you can deal with your family feud altogether." Judith explained.

"She killed Ashley and planted it on me." He said.

"And why would you think that?"

"I don't know, maybe the girl was tired of being her puppet. I may not be so close to her, but one thing I'm certain of is that she uses people and does strives to get whatever she wants whichever way works for her."

"How about we stick to what we know and are sure of?" Jimmy suggested.

"And let her get away with everything? I don't think so."

Judith and Jimmy exchanged glances.

"Look, I'm not the bad guy here, she is. You believe me, don't you?" He noticed their silence, "I didn't kill Ashley, do you believe me, Ms Walton?" He asked, raising concern.

"Mr Calloway, I really do not care if you did or not, I'll be working with your statement and Jimmy here will get us whatever evidence needed to get you to stay out of jail." She replied.

"But how can you win this case if you do not believe my story. I'm the victim here and my stepmother is the villain." He said, raising his voice.

"To be very honest Mr Calloway, I'm your attorney, not your therapist. I do not work by what I think because sometimes what I think is always wrong, so instead, I let the evidences take over and work with my head." Judith said.

The room was filled with silence again. Mr Calloway stared deeply into Judith's eyes, breathing heavily as though he could pierce her eyes with his.

"What do you think about me, Ms Walton?" He asked, still maintaining eye contact with her.

Judith unflinchingly answered, "Mr Calloway, I said this before, what I think doesn't matter-", before she could finish her words, she was interrupted.

"What do you think about me?" He asked.

Jimmy, who had been a spectator of the tension between the two tried to speak but was hushed by Judith as she raised her palm to stop him from intervening.

"Since you need to know what I think so badly about you, I think you're someone who's more concerned about a meaningless strife than his freedom. And only one who's selfish would do such. Have I answered your question Mr Calloway?" She asked.

"My trial is in two months, make sure to keep me out of prison." He rose and left.

He pressed the button on the side of elevator and got in. As he made his way to the ground floor, he reminisced back on what Judith had said. She knew nothing about him and she called him selfish.

He picked up his phone and dialed a number, "Lyon... Do I really need this lawyer? Can't I get another one?... What do you mean you can't?... Nothing is impossible and no one is irreplaceable especially as money is involved... She's f*****g judgemental and I do not have much patience for such persons... It had better work out, Lyon." He hung up.

His driver held the door to his car open for him.

"Richard, take me to the orphanage." He ordered.