Her stomach churned. Now that it was so close, it was almost worse. The possibility that she wouldn’t make it could become a reality in a few more weeks. And she’d seen firsthand how that had hurt Kevin. And she was afraid. She’d also be devastated. Like Kevin. She felt even worse that her sympathy for his behavior had evaporated. It was seven years of work up for judgment. Her mom was still chatting. Audrey focused on what her mom was saying to drown out her fear. Her mom was offering to fly back to be with her on the night of the decision.

“No, Mom, that’s okay. Jake will be here, and I’ll see you soon enough in Paris.”

They talked a few minutes longer, and then Audrey said, “I’d better go. I have to work.”

Chapter Fifty-Two

Chapter Fifty-Two

T he imposing cherry wood bench of the judge dominated the courtroom. Audrey organized her documents on the defense team’s table. She placed her legal pad to the right of her cross-examination notes and checked once more that her exhibits were in the proper order. Opposing counsel, seated at the table next to theirs, was doing the same. Anderson, the partner on the case, was conferring with Betty behind her. She looked up at the clock that was on the side wall and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. A few minutes remained before their case was called.

The judge’s seat was still empty. The American flag hung off to the side of the bench behind the desk of the stenographer. On the other side was the witness box, also in a deep cherry wood. On either side of the bench were two wooden doors, one leading to the clerk’s chambers. To her right was the jury box. Hushed conversations filled the room. Anderson and Betty opened the wooden spindled gate in the wooden balustrade—also known as the bar—that separated the front of the court from spectators. They joined her at the table, and Betty gave her a reassuring nod. The large ornate wooden door behind the judge’s bench opened, and the judge entered with a swish of his black robes.

The clerk called the court into session: “Hear ye, hear ye, the District Court for the Southern District is in session—the Honorable Judge Kim presiding. All having business before this honorable court draw near, give attention, and you shall be heard. You may be seated.”

Adrenaline coursed through Audrey’s body. She was up. Betty had requested that Audrey do the cross-examination of the plaintiff—not Anderson, as would normally happen.

The plaintiff, Fred Smith, sat in the witness stand next to the judge. He was a heavy-set man wearing horn-rimmed glasses and a sharp suit. Arms crossed, his pose reminded Audrey of a bull. She’d met him before, at his deposition. He hadn’t been friendly.