Wicked Lies

22. red dress

"Why are we taking a private flight when we could just take the train? It takes like three hours," I tell Jasper as we get comfortable on the leather seats. Lawrence rented a private jet to get to the gala in D.C., which is impressive but also very predictable coming from him.

"Please, don't mention that to Lawrence," he chuckles. "He'll send you to D.C. on a train."

Well, I'm not complaining. I had never been on a private jet before, but this is how Lawrence travels when he needs to be somewhere outside of New York. If I'm being honest, I wasn't expecting him to have me travel with them.

"He doesn't like it when people comment on how he chooses to spend his money," Jasper continues. "He hates when anyone tells him anything about how he should be living his life. That's probably why he's been avoiding marriage like it's the plague."

"I heard that," Lawrence says as he sits in front of us. "Let me give you a small piece of advice. Marriage is merely a contract, an affidavit if we're speaking legally. The way I see it, if you're in love with someone and you're both happy, why ruin it by signing a stupid paper? I mean, being in love is like being under the influence. You shouldn't be signing anything when you're in such a state of mind, anyway."

"Please," Jasper chuckles, "you haven't been in love not even once in your life."

"Oh, and you have?" Lawrence raises his brows and drinks his whiskey, a playful smirk peeking on his lips. "You were with Ivanna for what? Seven? Eight years? I never heard you talking about marriage. Either you were in love but agreed with my view on marriage being nothing but a contract, or you were never in love, to begin with."

Jasper clears his throat.

"About taking a private flight instead of the train," Lawrence says, turning to me, "I figured it's time for you to learn that it's all about status out there. We move around a very different circle than the average attorney in the rest of the country. Do you want a future at this level? You have to invest in your image, then."

Easy for him to say, I guess. When you're born not only into money but with all the privilege in the world, you're welcome at most tables whether you show up in a private jet or in a bike. Griffiths is a household name in the corporate law world, and they're already taking over other areas as well —that's why Christopher Williams' case is so important for the firm. Angela's Innocent Project might be their most ambitious project yet, even if it means working pro bono which Lawrence detests.

"Zia and I might've come up with a potential suspect in Melissa Hale's case," I say, breaking the silence.

"I'm listening."

"Arthur Hastings. He was Melissa's professor. Chris was in the same class. There were rumors about Hastings and Melissa having a secret affair."

"Go on." Lawrence leans forward.

"There is this other girl. Her name is Analisse Wright. I saw her a while ago with Professor Hastings at a bar. They were arguing and she stormed out. According to Williams, there were rumors about Melissa and Analisse fighting over Hastings."

"When did you speak to Williams?" Jasper asks.

"Zia and I went to see him yesterday."

"What do you know about this Hastings guy?" Lawrence asks.

"He's from Poland, and he went to school in the UK. He's been living here for a while now, though."

"Okay, so we have a possible secret boyfriend and a girl that was fighting Melissa because of him. We can easily discredit Susan. She's the only witness the DA has. I can call Arthur Hastings to testify, and we can talk to Analisse Wright before we decide if we can use her to our advantage. As soon as we're back in New York, I want you and Zia to look for her."