Chapter 106
Monday morning, I awoke to an urgent text from Lily.
Video call me. Immediately.
I got out of bed and brushed my hair as quickly as possible but did not dress myself otherwise. I knew that Lily wouldn’t care how I looked, considering how early it was. Besides, whatever this was…I just wanted to get it over with.
My heart leapt into my throat as the phone rang. It seemed like an eternity before Lily finally answered.
“Hi, Crystal,” she said. She looked about as put-together as I did at that moment. “Thank you for calling me so quickly.”
“No problem.”
“You look like how I feel.”
We chuckled, but it was dry and half-hearted.
“Well, you know, it’s been a rough couple of days.”
“Yeah,” Lily said, her eyes looking away from mine. “I’d hate to make it any worse…”
I closed my eyes and let out a small breath.
“But you’re going to have to, aren’t you?”
“Murder, Crystal. You’re a suspect for murder.”
“Lily, you know me. I didn’t do it.”
“I know that, but it doesn’t matter. This still doesn’t look good—”
“For the company. Yeah, yeah, I get it.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose to try and fight back the tears.
“You’re firing me, aren’t you?” I asked.
“Don’t think of it as being fired, just yet,” Lily replied, finally meeting my eyes again. “Think of it more as being put on temporary unpaid leave until you can get this matter settled.”
“So, I’m fired unless proven innocent, huh?”
Lily laughed, but again, it was empty.
“If you really want to see it that way, sure.”
I rubbed my hand over my forehead, unsure of what else to say. The tension between us grew palpable, even with the phone screen and distance separating us.
“Lily,” I said cautiously, “do you really believe that I’m innocent?”
Lily did not respond for a moment. My heart sank.
“If you say that you didn’t do it,” she replied, “then I believe that you didn’t do it.”
I didn’t believe her for a second, but I forced a wavering smile.
“Thanks, Lily,” I said. “I can always count on you.”
“You know you can. I’ll let the others know about your…leave of absence, and we’ll alert your clients.”
“Sure. Anything else?”
“No. I’ll let you know if we run into any problems.”
“I’ll be here.”
Not like I have anywhere I can go, I thought bitterly.
Lily smiled sympathetically.
“All right, Crystal. Take care.”
“You, too.”
I hung up and groaned in frustration. Angry tears trickled down my cheeks, and I let them flow. I wanted to throw something or to yell, but I reined myself in.
I paced across my room. What was I going to do now? I had some money in my savings, but between groceries, utilities, rent, and other necessities, that would only last me so long—a month, maybe two if I really stretched it.
I could try to get another job, but no one would want to hire someone who was formerly in prison and was currently suspected for murder. I certainly wouldn’t want to hire someone with my rap sheet.
I had one other option, but I didn’t want to consider it. I didn’t want to take advantage of Andrew, especially now that we were dating. Still, it seemed that I had no choice but to ask him for help.
I took a deep breath and got myself dressed. It was time to go beg.
By the time I was finished getting dressed and eating breakfast, I figured that Andrew would be in his office, rather than the mansion. Besides, I would prefer to not risk the possibility of running into Lisa or especially Bob at the moment. I wasn’t sure I could control myself if I did.
Andrew’s secretary led me back to his office as soon as I introduced myself. Apparently, he must have left my name with her in case I came by at some point.
Anxious about meeting with Andrew, I paid little attention to the building around me as we walked to the elevator and then rode it up to the penthouse. I fidgeted with my phone, wondering if I should have texted him a warning that I was coming but figuring that it was too late to do anything about it now. As we exited the elevator, I nearly tripped, forcing me to take in my surroundings for the first time.
The building was sleek and modern, made mostly of steel and glass. Even the desks and chairs were made of steel with leather cushions. The floors had been crafted from white marble with a black fur rug running through the center of the hallway, which was exactly what I had tripped on.
Andrew’s secretary led me to the oak double doors at the end of the hallway. She knocked on the door. Upon hearing Andrew giving her permission to enter, she opened it.
“I have Crystal Blanchard here to see you,” she announced formally, cracking the door wide enough for Andrew to see me.
Andrew’s eyes widened—probably surprised to see me at his workplace for the first time—and motioned me inside.
“Come in, Crystal, come in,” he said. “Do you want anything? Water or coffee?”
I shook my head as I took a seat in front of his steel desk.
He turned to his secretary.
“That’ll be all. Thank you, Angie,” he said, shooing her away.
“Of course, Your Highness,” Angie said with a bow and a small smile on her face.
Andrew returned his attention to me.
“I don’t think you’ve ever been to my office before.” His brow furrowed. “What’s wrong?”
I shook my head, slightly amused.
“Always straight to the point, aren’t you?”
I sighed and put my face in my hands.
“Are you okay?” Andrew asked, wrapping his hand around my wrist.
“No, I’m not all right. I got fired…well, put on temporary leave from work today.”
I lifted my head. Andrew’s jaw clenched, but he did not otherwise physically react.
“No pay?”
“No pay.”
“If you need help, just ask. I will be happy to give anything you need. ”
My gaze drifted to my palms.
“Well, that’s kind of why I’m here. I can’t afford my rent, food and utilities without a job. ?” I said, my voice quiet. “You gave me a housekeeper job once before. I was wondering if, maybe, you could possibly…”
“Crystal, you know that I would love to, but none of our servants are on vacation right now, and I’m afraid that we don’t have any openings. How much do you need? I can just give you money. Isn’t it simpler?”
“I can’t take your money if I don’t work for you.”
A whimper escaped my lips. Andrew had been my last hope. I didn’t know what I was going to do now.
“Who’s going to handle Lisa’s wedding if you’re not going to be at Ever After Weddings?”
I looked up at him, surprised at his sudden change in subject. I shrugged.
“Terri, probably.”
Andrew scratched his chin.
“No, no, that won’t do. I’m afraid that I’m not comfortable with anyone but you handling the wedding.”
“You heard me, Andrew. I’m on leave—”
“I heard you. You’re not officially associated with Ever After Weddings right now. That doesn’t mean that I can’t hire you as an independent consultant.”
My eyes widened.
“Are you joking?”
Andrew shook his head.
“No, I’m not. I’d pay you out of my own pocket, same rate as Lily was paying you. I’d make sure that Lily knew that you were working on the wedding still so that there aren’t any crossed wires.”
I ran around the desk, hugged Andrew, and kissed him hard on the lips.
“Thank you, Andrew, thank you!” I held him so tightly that I thought I might never let him go. “How could I ever repay you?”
Andrew wrapped his arms around me and pulled me down into his lap.
“Oh, I think I know of a few ways,” he said with a mischievous tone in his voice.
He kissed me gently on the neck.
“Andrew!” I teased.
By 4 p.m., I was in a more optimistic mood than when I had woken up, which was a good thing since Andrew and I had a meeting with Mr. Chevalier to discuss my case. Walking hand-in-hand with Andrew, I felt more confident walking down the hall to Mr. Chevalier’s office than I had felt at any point since being arrested.
Andrew knocked on the door, and Mr. Chevalier called out for us to come in.
Mr. Chevalier’s office was surprisingly small for a top-notch criminal lawyer, featuring no windows and only two chairs besides his own. A water cooler took up one corner of the room, and a large bookshelf covered two of the other three. I grabbed a cup of water before sitting in one of the incredibly uncomfortable chairs.
“Good day, Your Highness, Ms. Blanchard,” Mr. Chevalier said. “Let’s get right down to business. Since you’re not going to take a plea deal, it would be best to try and negotiate with the prosecution to get the charges dropped ahead of the arraignment.”
I nodded, holding Andrew’s hand beneath Mr. Chevalier’s cedar desk.
“However, I must warn you that the odds of that happening are very slim.”
My grip on Andrew’s hand tightened, and he squeezed my hand back in reassurance.
“The evidence against you is very compelling—”
“But it’s faked!” I exclaimed.
Mr. Chevalier’s brow arched. He made a note on his legal pad.
“Well, that would be very useful, if we could prove it.” He looked at me. “Do you have any proof?”
“Not exactly…” I knew I had one thing, but I wasn’t sure if it would be a help or a hindrance. “I have Mr. Brown’s voluntarily recorded two-hour confession about what Bob did, but I don’t know if that will help or not.”
“Two hours?” He made more notes. “That is quite a long time for it to have been made under duress, but I don’t think that that will be enough to prove that you didn’t force him to do it.”
Mr. Chevalier turned to Andrew.
“Do we have use of your private investigators?”
Andrew nodded.
“Of course. Whatever it takes.”
Mr. Chevalier took more notes.
“Good. I think we’ll need them to prove that the evidence was faked, as well as any forensics connections you might have.”
“They’re all yours.”
Mr. Chevalier set his pen down and faced me, his hands folded in front of him.
“Ms. Blanchard, I’m not going to lie. I don’t know if we’re going to get you off of this. However, I know that you are innocent, and I’m going to do my best to prove it.”
I gave him a closed-lipped smile and nodded.
“Thank you, Mr. Chevalier. I’ll hold you to that.”
