This is a long one-shot. There's also a bunch of legal proceedings and I do not claim to be an expert about court proceedings and law and all that but I did research, used law vocab, and did my best to portray what a trial would be like as if it would air on Degrassi (if Degrassi was 2 hours long).
If the summary wasn't obvious, here's the summary again: Vengeance is sweet but will it be enough for Clare Edwards? The day has come for Asher Shostak's trial and Clare will have to relive every moment once again and testify for the prosecution. Will she be strong enough?
So again, this is a ONE-SHOT. I doubt you'd want more of this massive one-shot.
Thanks for reading. I'd ask you to review but I'm sure you all would just be tired out from reading this entire thing. :P
Vengeance is sweet, a common phrase that Clare's heard many times. When she hears the phrase she thinks of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban when Severus Snape says the three words to Sirius Black. Now she understands its meaning, even without having gotten her vengeance yet.
She didn't realize how long it took for vengeance to come and for justice to be served. But today, after months and months of waiting and legalities, she feels strong.
Even though she wasn't at court yet and Asher wasn't found guilty yet, Clare knew that no matter what the verdict was, no one would find Asher Shostak to be wonderful anymore. This is a good thing about society, or bad depending on the case. Once you do something wrong and the public knows, it sticks to you like a moth to a flame. For example, Kristen Stewart's cheating scandal. Chris Brown's assault. Britney Spears and her shaved head. When people hear 'Asher Shostak' they will hear 'was charged with sexual harassment' along with it. He won't be looked at the same. Ever. Who will be able to find him as respectable as before? Who can find him credible? Who can hear his name without having doubts of 'well…did he or didn't he?'
And that is only the first part of why vengeance is sweet.
The next part comes with the verdict, which Clare would hear after having to sit through hours of reliving the horrific days.
The past few months was filled with Clare finishing her Grade 11 year and talking to her lawyer about what she would have to do in court, talking about who can testify on her behalf, and also working with Jennifer and her lawyer. They were a team and Clare knew that there was strength in numbers. With her, Jennifer, and the two lawyers that Toronto can offer, she felt confident.
The lawyers also had to prepare for what the defense would bring up, like the #StuffClareSays fiasco on Twitter. Luckily, Adam and Connor had agreed to testify on her behalf that it was a joke and not proof at all that Clare was infatuated with Asher.
When Clare was told about everything that the defense lawyer could possibly bring up, she knew that Asher had nothing to back up his claim that he hadn't sexually harassed her. The biggest problem was to prove him guilty of sexual harassment of two minors. They managed to obtain video evidence of the city hall parking lot the day Asher shoved her out of the car and also of Clare running out of the meeting room. That was the most solid evidence Clare had.
It was better than the nothing she believed she had at first, which prevented her from speaking up the first time.
On the way to the courthouse, Clare held her mother's hand the entire way. Coming with her were her step-dad, Jake, and her mom. She wished to have Eli with her but he had a mandatory orientation session for university the same time as the trial.
The family walked into a waiting room first after meeting the court registrar, greeting their lawyers and Jennifer and her own family. They conversed silently until they were called to enter the courtroom. Once inside the courtroom, Clare sat beside Jennifer at the prosecution table, cut off from the comfort of her family. While she waited for the trial to begin, she snuck looks behind her and found Alli there as well, supporting her.
A few minutes before 10 o'clock, Asher Shostak walked into the court room. Dressed in a crisp, new suit and his hair grown out longer than the last time Clare saw him, Asher came into the room looking pensive. Clare was told earlier that Asher will try his hardest to play the victim card in this situation, that he's been put through all of this for no reason. His hair was to make him look young, his face was to garner sympathy.
But Clare didn't try to fake how she felt or what she was. She was young, obvious by her slight baby face and height. She felt angry at her harasser so she showed it by slightly glaring at him, although he didn't look her way. She spent weeks keeping her situation inside, almost falling off the edge of sanity, all because of this man. She was done keeping it inside because now, in just a few minutes, it was all going to begin.
The judge came into the room a little while after 10 o'clock after the jury had filed in and everyone sat back down at her motion. Clare's hands started sweating at that point and her heart started to race. Jennifer reached over for her hand which Clare noticed was also wavering. Together, with their hands clasped, they were strong.
"Asher Shostak, you have been charged with two counts of sexual harassment of a minor, one of which is still a minor, another a legal adult but was a minor when the crime was committed. How do you plead?"
"Not guilty, your honor," Asher replied with a shakiness in his voice. Clare had to fight her death glare.
"Very well, let's start. The prosecution may make their opening arguments."
Clare's lawyer, Mr. Davis, stood up from the table and adjusted his suit jacket before facing the jury. "We are here today to prove this man's," he pointed to Asher. "Asher Shostak's predatory actions towards two young women."
"Object your honor, his use of the word predatory is inflammatory," Asher's lawyer said with a raised pen.
"By definition, a predator is one that victimizes, plunders, or destroys, especially for one's own gain," Mr. Davis replied. "Asher Shostak victimized two young women for his own sexual gain therefore the term predator is accurate to use."
"Overruled," the judge directs to Asher's lawyer and turns to Mr. Davis. "Proceed."
With a slight victorious smile, Mr. Davis continues. "Asher Shostak is a renowned journalist, a war correspondent, and an asset to the Toronto Interpreter to maintain its fame as one of Canada's most read newspapers. The two young women who accuse Mr. Shostak of sexual harassment are named Clare Edwards and Jennifer Medina, who were sixteen and seventeen, respectably, at the time Mr. Shostak made inappropriate advances on them. One may argue that Mr. Shostak has more to lose in this situation; his job, his reputation. But what about what Ms. Edwards and Ms. Medina had to lose? Their sense of security, their comfort, the possibility of their careers coming to a halt before it even begun. Common effects of victims of sexual harassment are psychological stress, loss of trust of loved ones, and being objectified. Those are just a few. Those are what Ms. Edwards and Ms. Medina endured after their mentor Asher Shostak did to them. And yet, Asher Shostak's career was pristine until now. The public needs to know that Asher Shostak, while he is a talented journalist, is not a respectable man. He is a man who has accepted multiple interns to work for him, all of which have been female, and has singled them out as targets for harassment. So while you listen to each side of the story, the witnesses to prove the stories either right or wrong, and watch the evidence of Asher's harassment in action, keep in mind."
Mr. Davis turned his head to his table, making Clare and Jennifer sit up straighter. "Those two young women," he said to the jury. "Do not have to sacrifice their comfort in a work environment just because one man can make or break their future career and Asher Shostak has ruined their comfort while they worked for him. Thank you."
The lawyer walked back to his table and sat down, releasing one huge, relieved sigh and smiling comfortingly at Clare and Jennifer. The judge took a few moments before saying, "Defense, your opening argument."
Asher's lawyer, a woman, stood up and started. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury," the lawyer began, taking her time to walk over near the jury. "Firstly, there are two sides of every story, as Mr. Davis has nicely pointed out to you in his long speech. I urge you to keep that in mind. On one side we have two young women, two women whose aspirations in life have been to become just like Asher Shostak, a successful journalist. One of them waited two years after receiving a very respectable recommendation letter to speak up while the other spoke up after being fired from her co-op position."
Clare has to bite her tongue to resist shouting. "I went to Asher's boss and spoke up and then got fired! But the woman didn't believe me!"
"So if these two young women had been psychologically scarred by what happened to them, why not speak up right away? Why wait two years or two weeks? Stories have a hard time retaining the truth as time passes on. Secondly, what does Asher Shostak have to gain from two young women who have nothing to offer other than fact checking and transcript write ups?"
"Objection," Jennifer's lawyer, Mr. Clarke piped up. "That was an inflammatory, rhetorical question."
"Sustained," the judge nods in agreement. Asher's lawyer held her hands up in defense and Clare wanted to scoff at this lawyer's cockiness. She was the perfect lawyer for Asher Shostak.
"Thirdly, Mr. Shostak claimed that Ms. Edwards, the younger of the two women, harassed him during her time as intern. Now isn't it strange that Ms. Edwards is here claiming the same thing on Mr. Shostak? After being fired for harassing her boss, she retaliates by accusing Mr. Shostak of sexual harassment on her."
Clare notices the lawyer looking at her at the corner of her eye.
"Asher Shostak is a talented journalist," she continued. "Even our prosecution agrees to that. So would a talented journalist put his career on the line by doing what these two women accuse him of? Why would he? It's simple. He didn't." The lawyer walked back to her table and sat down without another word.
"Okay, now that we have heard from both the prosecution and defense, we will now have our witnesses on the stand. Prosecution, you may call your first witness."
Mr. Davis calls Asher's boss, Mrs. Grace Van Westerling, to the stand. After promising to tell the truth with her hand on the bible, Mrs. Van Westerling sits.
"Please say your name for the court records and your relation to the accused," Mr. Davis says.
"Grace Van Westerling," she answers. "I am his supervisor at the Toronto Interpreter."
"How long has Mr. Shostak worked at the paper?"
"Ten years now."
"And have there been any instances like this in those ten years?"
"Such as?"
"Well," Mr. Davis says, pacing slowly. "Were there any instances in which Asher Shostak's actions in the workplace have caused another to feel uncomfortable and caused them to report him or quit on the basis of his actions?"
"We had one intern quit, five years ago, before her internship was over," Grace admits. "She cited discomfort in the workplace as the reason but didn't specify."
"And it was Mr. Shostak's intern?"
"Yes."
"Tell me, Mrs. Van Westerling, how does the intern selection occur?"
"We have two senior writers who take on interns once a year," she begins. "Asher is one of them, another is Christopher Blanchard. They get to decide their intern from the applications we receive from high schools in Toronto."
"So Asher handpicked Clare Edwards and Jennifer Medina?"
"Yes. After they pick their interns we screen their applications and offer them the internship."
"Has Asher offered the internship to any males?"
"Every time he's picked an intern, it's been a female."
"What about Mr. Blanchard?"
"He's had about the same number of males and females as interns."
"Okay," Mr. Davis nods. "Now onto Ms. Edwards and Ms. Medina. Did you work with them at all during their time at the paper?"
"I did not, they worked with Asher the entire time," she said.
"So you wouldn't be able to judge their character accurately?"
"I would say not."
"Did you ever talk to them?"
Clare caught Mrs. Van Westerling's eye and she could feel her face burning. "It was the usual greeting during the day. Hi, how are you. But I did speak to Clare."
"About?"
"She came to me to report Asher harassing her," she said. "But at that point, Asher had already filed a report to PR about Clare's obsession of him going too far. The evidence that Asher had cited were in the forms of text messages, voicemails, and tweets on her personal Twitter."
"And what did you do?"
"I had no choice but to fire Clare."
"Why not fire Asher?"
"Because there was proof against Clare, which showed her obsession of Asher, and Clare offered no evidence to prove her own claim."
"Okay," Mr. Davis nodded. He turned to one of the tables of the room and turned on a projector. "We obtained Ms. Edwards text messages to Mr. Shostak via her cell phone provider. These are what they said."
"Sorry I am running late," he read. "From Ms. Edwards to Mr. Shostak, the first text. I have the coffee, I will be right there. From Ms. Edwards to Mr. Shostak, the second text."
Mr. Davis continued reading the harmless text messages from Clare to Asher, and just a few from Asher to Clare. None of them were anything on the verge of inappropriate.
"So, jury, you can decide what these texts mean," Mr. Davis after he finished the text slides. "But for now, we will continue. Did you actually see anything inappropriate going on?"
"I did not see anything," she replied. "I just saw Clare in his office a lot."
"Don't you think that as his intern, she'd be around him often?"
"Yes."
Clare loved this. Her lawyer was able to sneakily corner Asher's boss, making the hole she dug going deeper and deeper. "Mrs. Van Westerling, from our documents here, it says that Clare had completed her co-op position earlier than expected." Mr. Davis said. "Weeks before her co-op was supposed to be over. And you signed the document yourself?"
"I did," she confirmed.
"So you signed her co-op papers on the basis of her being accused of harassment," Mr. Davis states. "You still allowed her to leave although she committed a crime in the workplace? Harassment of any kind is a crime."
"I…I did."
"And why is that?"
"We needed to move past the problem," Mrs. Van Westerling said. "And the only way we could was if Clare left the Interpreter. If Clare wasn't working there, there would be no problem."
"No problem for who?" Mr. Davis asked, stepping closer. "For Ms. Edwards or for the reputation of the paper and Mr. Shostak?"
Grace Van Westerling opened and closed her mouth multiple times, unable to reply. "No more questions," Mr. Davis told the judge and walked back to his seat.
The defense asked Mrs. Van Westerling questions but none of them kept Clare's attention. They had nothing to do with her, since Mr. Davis had already handled that part. Most of the defense's questions for Mrs. Van Westerling were about Asher and his character. But since Clare believed that Asher and his character were both terrible, she didn't really want to hear the defense wanting to prove him otherwise.
"Next witness," the judge called.
The defense called one of Asher's co-workers. Clare couldn't remember the name but she saw the two working together a few times. Clare listened as the defense asked the man about Asher (he's always been a good guy), asked about any weird things he's seen about Asher (never seen anything out of the ordinary), ever witnessed any harassment (never, not once in the Interpreter), Asher's demeanor outside of the workplace (relaxed, doesn't like to drink, talked about his divorce), did he talk to her or Jennifer (no I didn't), was there any instances that caused him to question Asher (Clare Edwards yelled at him after she got fired, claiming he sexually harassed her, and she left on her accord) and that was it.
The witness was pretty much useless to the prosecution so Mr. Davis let the witness go without asking him a question. Afterwards, Mr. Davis asked for Adam to go to the witness stand.
Clare made eye contact with Adam from their seats and Clare nodded to him slightly, telling him to be strong.
After Adam stated his name, Mr. Davis began. "So Mr. Torres, how long have you known Ms. Edwards?"
"Since Grade 10, almost two years now," Adam answered. Clare smiled. He didn't show any nerves at all.
"Describe her for us."
"She's compassionate," Adam began. "She was one of the few to help me through a tough time in my life and she's always been there for me. She's hard working, to the point where it's a little annoying."
There was a small rumble of laughter that occurred in the court room. Even Clare found herself chuckling slightly.
"Elaborate on that," Mr. Davis said.
"Well, around the time Clare started working for Asher, we had to work together on a geography project. Me, her, and Connor Delaurier. Clare was telling us to go deeper into the project and Connor and I believed that it was drifting from the point of the project. She mentioned Asher when she was talking about taking the project to the next level and when Connor and I didn't agree with her about how to approach the project, she said she'd do it herself."
"So how did the Stuff Clare Says hashtag on Twitter begin?"
"From what happened about the project," Adam replied. "Connor and I found it so ridiculous that she was taking the project, and herself, so seriously. I mean, she's always been really serious but it got to the point where it was…funny? Yeah, I guess that's what you could say. We wanted to tease her about her actions and how ridiculous she sounds sometimes."
"So are these tweets what Mrs. Van Westerling was referring to, the evidence against Clare?"
"I guess they are but I don't see how they would be helpful at all. They're from me and my friends teasing her, nothing serious," Adam shrugged.
"So none of these tweets stem from Clare being infatuated with Asher Shostak?"
"Obsessed about his advice, sure, but not infatuation. She was never infatuated with him, she admired his job and his work. She valued his opinion so much that she wanted to use his opinion even if our project didn't warrant it."
"So, to make this clear, Clare never talked about being in love with Asher?"
Adam made a sour face. "Never. I already have to hear about Clare and her boyfriend, who's another one of my best friends. If I had to hear about Clare talking about loving some older guy I would've thrown up."
"Thank you for the visual Mr. Torres," Mr. Davis smiled at him. He walked back to his seat while Asher's lawyer approached.
"You mentioned Clare being obsessed," the lawyer began. "Please elaborate."
"I said she was obsessed with his advice," Adam corrected her.
"What advice?"
"Well I can't remember her exact words but I think she said something about finding the narrative in the work and digging deeper into the story. And that any of our work should be our best."
"And she became obsessed with what Asher said?"
"About how to do better on her school work? Yes."
Asher's lawyer continued to ask Adam but it was obvious to how her questions lost their steam that they couldn't prove that the Stuff Clare Says tweets had anything to do with liking Asher more than a mentor.
When Connor was called to the stand, Mr. Davis pulled up a specific tweet on his profile. "'Why settle for that when we can do so much better? Hashtag Asher says hashtag stuff Clare says.' Can you please explain what your tweet meant?"
"Well Clare, Adam Torres, and I were supposed to work on a project together but Clare was talking about doing something that wasn't outlined in the instructions of the project," Connor started. Clare was concerned. She knew that Connor wasn't good at talking to huge crowds, especially filled of people he didn't know, but he had agreed to be a witness for her and she was grateful for it. But Clare watched his eyes moving back and forth, never maintaining eye contact with anyone.
"She mentioned Asher when she was talking about doing more for the project and Adam and I thought that Clare was being a little full of herself then so we took her words and put them on Twitter. The name Stuff Clare Says was Adam's idea but for this one I just made the point that Clare was repeating what Asher said."
"A little full of herself? How so?"
Connor shrugged. "Like she could do the project without help. And we realized that Clare says a lot of things that can be seen as dramatic or funny, which is what made Stuff Clare Says last a little while. It didn't start because of anything other than, well, Clare needing to realize that she says a lot of funny things."
"So you're saying that Stuff Clare Says is about Clare, not Asher?"
"Yes," Connor nodded.
Asher's lawyer passed on asking Connor any questions and Clare smiled to herself, thinking that it was a sign of defeat. And then the thought occurred to her.
Mr. Davis was doing a great job proving that Clare wasn't in love with Asher but they needed to prove that Asher was guilty, not that Clare was innocent.
"We will take a ten minute break, court will resume at 12:40," the judge announced. The quiet murmurs filled the room quickly and Clare turned to Jennifer, realizing that their hands hadn't left each other's the entire time.
"How are you guys?" Mr. Davis asked them.
"Good," Jennifer answered genuinely.
"Clare?" Mr. Davis asked, noticing her concerned face.
"We're proving that I wasn't infatuated with Asher, I'm pretty sure that's evident now," she said slowly. "But we haven't proved that Asher harassed us."
"We'll get there, I promise," he said to her. "The most important part is next. Asher will testify, you two will, and we have our footage. Even if the footage is only of you Clare, reasonable doubt would prove that it happened to Jennifer too. Don't worry, just relax okay?"
Clare nodded and smiled half-heartedly. She turned her head to her family and Alli, who waved to her happily. When Jake gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up, she couldn't help but smile at her brother. Turning back around, she caught Asher staring at her. Their eyes locked for seconds and during those few seconds, Clare could only hear the pounding of her heart. His gaze held no emotion and Clare couldn't react quickly enough to glare. So once Asher finally turned away, Clare had to press a hand to her heart to control it.
Once court reconvened, Asher's lawyer called him to the stand. Clare watched him sit down and adjust his suit. "State your full name," the lawyer told him.
"Asher William Shostak."
"Your age."
"35."
"Your marital status."
"Divorced."
"And your occupation."
"Journalist for the Toronto Interpreter."
"Okay," the lawyer smiled. "Onto the questions. Mr. Shostak, it was said earlier that you hired only female interns. Please explain."
"I get a lot of applications in a year," he began. "I go through all of them, one by one, deliberately picking out what I like to see in applicants and what I don't. I go through the piles several times, getting rid of many every time I go through the pile. And at the end, I pick whoever I see fit for the internship position. If a female is more qualified than a male, I don't see why I should pick the male."
"So it isn't based on sex?"
"Absolutely not," he shook his head adamantly. "I base my selection on skills and the application."
"When did you first meet Ms. Jennifer Medina?"
Jennifer sat up straighter, Clare noticed, so she reached for her hand again. "In 2010, she was my intern for the winter, into spring."
"And how would you describe her work ethic?"
"She was efficient, never had a problem with her work quality, she was polite. I gave her a recommendation letter for her to use at whatever paper she wanted to work for," Asher replied.
"How long did she work for you?"
"Three months, which is how long her internship was contractually supposed to last."
"Did she ever make advances towards you?"
Asher made eye-contact with Jennifer, obvious by the way Clare's hand was starting to hurt by how tightly Jennifer started to grip it. "No," he answered. "She didn't."
"Did you make any advances towards her?"
"No, I was happily married at that point."
"Objection, that statement is irrelevant to the case," Mr. Clarke said, his seat creaking behind him as he stood up from his chair.
"Sustained," the judge nodded. "Please rephrase your answer."
"No, I did not make any advances towards her," Asher said.
"And she took your glowing recommendation letter with no problem?"
"She did."
"That's all, your honor," Asher's lawyer said to the judge. Mr. Clarke stood up this time instead of Mr. Davis and walked over to Asher's place.
"Mr. Shostak, would you say that you have a career that is well-known?" he asked Asher.
"I would say so," Asher agreed.
"So would you say that having a connection to you would influence an aspiring journalist's career?"
"It has before, yes."
"Has your influence ever negatively affected one of your intern's careers?"
"If it has then I wouldn't know."
Mr. Clarke clasped his hands together. "So have you kept in contact with all of your past interns?"
"Most," Asher answered. "Not all."
"What has become of the interns you've kept in contact with?"
"Most of them work at famous papers around North America, one's at New York Times, another at Los Angeles Times."
"But not all of your interns have been successful?"
"I would be lucky if they all were but I can't expect all of my protégés to end up just like me."
And there it was, Asher's cockiness. Clare pursed her lips to the side and allowed herself to glare across the room.
"So Ms. Ashford has already asked you about Ms. Medina, but how about Ms. Edwards? When did she start working for you?"
"January," Asher answered. "Of this year."
"And she was fired when?"
"Late January, maybe February."
"Her co-op was set to last 3 months but she had been fired earlier. Why was she fired?"
"Because of her unwarranted, unprovoked sexual advances towards me," Asher answered. "After realizing that her obsession over me was going too far, I decided to take matters into my own hands and file a report about Clare's actions. Ms. Van Westerling ended up firing her. Clare was upset about it, obviously, and she made a scene at the office where she yelled at me in front of all of my co-workers."
"Clare Edwards was released of her co-op early after you reported her about sexual advances and she was angry at you," Mr. Clarke recapped. "Why would she yell at you?"
"I can only assume that she was angry that I exposed her of her inappropriate actions."
"An assumption, not a fact," Mr. Clarke said pointedly. "Moving on. You gave Ms. Edwards her first opportunity at a published article, right?"
"Yes, I agreed to help her write a piece about her school's controversial play," Asher said.
"So you two worked together?"
"We did."
"When?"
"I can't recall the date exactly."
"What do you remember about when you wrote the article together?"
"It was…late at night," he began. By the way his demeanor changed he knew that the facts were going to sound bad. "I began editing the article she sent me via email, which was flowery at best, and she showed up upset about the article. I promised we could edit it together. We did manage to finish editing the article and I complimented her, saying that for a newbie she wasn't bad. And she kissed me. I pulled away quickly and she ran out."
"Are you sure about that Mr. Shostak?"
"Positive."
"Well," Mr. Clarke went to the laptop and projector. "We obtained camera footage of that night."
"You what?" Asher asked, hands going to the railing in front of him.
"Let's start shall we?" Mr. Clarke pressed play. "So here is Ms. Edwards, walking into the office as Mr. Shostak is on the computer….now we have the two of them looking at the computer screen together, taking turns typing on the keyboard…this lasts for a little while so let's fast forward. Ah, here we go. I don't need to narrate this anymore. The audio and video will speak for itself."
"We all have to pay our dues."
"I just want this so bad."
Clare watches as Asher's arm goes to the back of her chair, something she didn't notice. She doesn't see her face from this angle, only Asher's, but she knows how she looked at that moment. Unknowing, still innocent.
"There is nothing wrong with knowing what you want."
"If I've learned anything tonight it's that I've still got a lot to learn."
"Well I'm happy to teach when the student is as eager as you are."
"I am very, very eager."
Clare shuts her eyes to avoid seeing it happen all over again but according from the quiet gasps in the room, they were all taken back at what they saw. But even though Clare shut her eyes, she still remembered. Asher reaching for her cheek with his hand and leaning to kiss her. The sound of his arm banging against the table when she pulled away quickly. Looking at him in shock before feeling the room. From the video, Clare could hear her footsteps as she ran.
When Clare opened one eye, she saw the video still playing. Asher was standing in the office, hands over his face. Mr. Clarke then paused the video.
"There you have it," he said. "No more questions."
Asher was frozen in his seat at the witness stand and had to be taken back to his seat by the aid of the bailiff.
"Next witness," the judge ordered.
"We would like to call Ms. Jennifer Medina to the stand."
Clare listened to Jennifer, with her strong, unwavering voice, recount her experience with Asher. It was close to the end of her internship and she had just submitted her review report about the internship to Asher. Asking that she stayed while he read it, she stayed in the office until she was finished. He started complimenting her, more personally than professionally, and then he grabbed her and kissed her. She admitted to not pulling away but not reciprocating the kiss either. She knew it was wrong but she couldn't risk her career by exposing her mentor. So she kept it a secret and Asher had only done it once, making her believe that it wasn't that bad. But she knew she was wrong now, for keeping it a secret.
Clare had to admire Jennifer's strength. She didn't sound emotional or break down crying or anything. She told her story, the true story, which was probably what made it easier. There were no lies to tell, no lies to get tongue tied on.
Before she knew it, Clare was being called to the stand by the defense. She couldn't even feel her legs moving. Suddenly she was promising to tell the truth with her right hand on the bible and then sitting down.
"Please state your name," Ms. Ashford, now Clare knew her name, told her.
"Clare Edwards," she said. Surprisingly, her voice was strong.
"How old are you?"
"Seventeen."
"Your relation to the defendant?"
"He was my mentor."
"And you admired him?"
"I did," Clare admitted with difficulty. But she couldn't lie. "His career is what I want in the future."
"His career? Not his life?"
"I don't know his life," Clare replied. "I know his career."
"Tell me, when you were quoted with saying that you loved Asher—"
"Objection, that statement assumes facts not in evidence, there is no tweet from any of Ms. Edwards' friends who participated in the Twitter situation and she was never recorded or witnessed saying those words," Mr. Davis said in the angriest voice Clare had ever heard come from him.
"Sustained," the judge nodded.
Ms. Ashford put on a fake smile. "Asher claims you were in love with him. Is that true?"
Clare wanted to scoff. She wanted to unleash her anger on this woman trying to prove the man who caused her pain, innocent. This woman who looked so smug, thinking she was victorious already. But in this situation, kindness was the best weapon.
"Ms. Ashford, why would I love someone decades older than me when I have the most supportive and loving boyfriend? You made the point earlier about Asher putting his career on the line for sexually harassing me and Jennifer, saying that he simply wouldn't do that. So from your logic, why would I put my relationship on the line for a man I didn't know outside of work?"
Clare narrowed her eyes at the lawyer in front of her and smirked victoriously when Ms. Ashford couldn't find a response quickly.
"Where is your boyfriend today Ms. Edwards? Is he here?"
Clare did actually scoff this time. "I don't see why that's relevant to the situation present."
"I agree with our witness," the judge told Mr. Ashford.
"Moving on then." Ms. Ashford's patience was getting tested now. "Ms. Edwards, when was the last time you were with doing internship related work with Mr. Shostak?"
"We went to a press conference at city hall."
"When? Before or after the alleged harassment?"
Alleged? She still calls it alleged after surveillance videos? "After," she answered, knowing this put a dent in her story.
"After? So after Mr. Shostak allegedly harassed you, you still went to work with him?"
"I went to work the next day to talk to him about what happened that night, which you all saw from the video," Clare pointed out. "I told him it was inappropriate, that he was my boss, and he apologized to me saying that his wife was asking for a divorce and he was under stress. Because my parents went through a messy divorce, I had sympathy for him. I know first-hand that a divorce can destroy a person, make them do stupid things. When I saw that my parents were on the verge of divorce, I dressed completely different trying to get them to focus on me rather than their marriage. So I thought that was it, that Asher kissed me because he was confused and upset. He asked me to go with him to the press conference at City Hall and I couldn't exactly refuse."
"Why not?" Ms. Ashford pressed on.
"When your mentor asks you to see an important conference first hard, you don't skip it, especially since I was supposed to learn from him. My internship wasn't over," Clare reminded her. "So I did get into a car with him. But he tried to come onto me again. He showed me the article we wrote and he tried to touch me. He tried locking me in the car and then threatened to ruin my career before shoving me out and driving away, leaving me stranded there."
"But you still got into the car with the man who you accuse of kissing you?"
"Asked and answered!" Mr. Clarke pounded his hand on the table angrily.
"Sustained."
"I would find it hard to face the man who took advantage of me," Ms. Ashford made that point.
"Well it wasn't you, was it?" Clare spitefully replied. "He knew exactly how to brainwash me. First he kisses me, then he apologizes by inciting a sympathy. Then he invites me to a place where I can experience something for my future career. Then he distracts me by showing me my article and he tries to take advantage of me again. You know what I think that is? Those actions are from a man who knows exactly how to get into a young woman's skin."
"I'm finished with questions," Ms. Ashford announced. She walked back to her seat and started looking at her files as if they were the most interesting thing in the world.
"Mr. Clarke, Mr. Davis, proceed," the judge said.
This time it was Mr. Davis and Clare was relieved. He would bring them to victory now. The jury can't decide not guilty after her testimony and Jennifer's also. They can't decide not guilty with the surveillance footage of Asher kissing her. They can't.
"Ms. Edwards," he said softly. "How did you get home from City Hall that day?"
"I took the bus," she answered. "Luckily I had my pass."
"Very lucky, yes," he agreed. Mr. Davis then walked over to the laptop and projector, pulling up a media file. "We obtained surveillance footage from city hall, on February 1st," he said, pausing the video before it could play. "What Ms. Edwards said was correct, their last teaching moment was at a press conference at city hall on February 1st. What you are about to see is Ms. Edwards and Mr. Shostak arriving at city hall at 11 A.M."
The video began playing and Asher's red car pulled up to the parking spot, doing a flawless backing up into the spot. The two of them left the car and Clare was obviously excited to be attending the press conference judging by the smile on her face.
"Normal, right?" Mr. Davis asked once they were off screen. "Ms. Edwards, a budding young intern, takes this opportunity to attend her first press conference. Now we will fast forward to the two of them walking back to the car."
The recording took a while to fastforward but finally, Clare and Asher appeared on screen again. Much like last time, Mr. Davis let the video speak for itself but this time, there was no audio.
Clare saw herself practically jumping up and down from the excitement of the press conference and they disappeared into the car. At this angle of the video, the only thing in the car they could see clearly was Clare's blue jacket. It seemed like ages that they were in the car but it was only a couple of minutes. But Clare finally saw her getting the car door opened, her body getting slightly shoved, and the car speeding away with its passenger side still open. Video Clare was clutching to the car she fell onto and she started crying. Finally, she looked through her bag and walked away off screen.
Mr. Davis closed the laptop and looked towards the silent jury. After a second, he turned back to Clare. "No more questions."
.
It took several hours for the jury to deliberate. During those hours, Clare's family took her out to a late lunch where they tried to talk about anything but the trial. But Clare didn't feel like talking. She didn't think about the trial either. She was drained.
By the time the court reconvened it was 5 o'clock. The room seemed a little hotter this time around. Everyone was on pins and needles waiting for the verdict, none more so than Clare and Jennifer. Their hands found each other automatically when they sat down together.
"Whatever happens," Jennifer whispered to Clare. "Thank you for everything."
"Thank you," Clare told her sincerely. "I would've done something stupid if I hadn't found you."
"You wouldn't have, I know it," Jennifer said. "You're going to have a great future, Clare. Don't let this stop you for anything."
"Same to you," Clare managed to say before the jury started filing in. The final juror remained standing.
"Well, this has been one long trial," the judge began. "I learned a few things today. Sometimes society forgets the image of a young woman. I think that famous celebrities are to blame for that. Those who show no respect for themselves and their body. And today I have learned that that picture that society has about young women is completely distorted. I witnessed two young women, unafraid to tell their story of harassment. I don't get many cases such as this one and I think it's because so many victims of harassment are afraid to report it. I commend the both of you for joining together. I will now read the jury's verdict."
The standing verdict handed an envelope to the bailiff who in turn gave it to the judge. The judge opened the envelope and Clare felt the time stand still.
Now this was it.
Is vengeance still sweet?
Will it still be sweet?
Being honest with herself, Clare knew it wouldn't feel sweet right away if Asher was found not guilty. Everyone would call her the girl who cried wolf, the child who pointed her finger and lost.
It wouldn't feel sweet.
At least not right away. Or maybe not ever.
"The jury finds the defendant, Asher Shostak, guilty of one count of sexual harassment of a minor and not guilty of one count of sexual harassment of a minor. The jury sentences the defendant to one year in federal prison."
.
One year.
Guilty and not guilty.
Guilty for her count, not guilty for Jennifer's.
And gone for only one year.
Clare was in shock.
"Come on Clare, we have to go." She didn't realize that she had managed to get to the courthouse's exit doors. But Jake was right beside her, helping her walk.
By the time they exited the courtroom, the sun was already setting. She had spent her entire day reliving the days only to be rid of Asher for one year. She hadn't succeeded, not in getting rid of Asher for a long period of time, certainly not enough for Jennifer's rightful revenge.
"Clare!"
Clare was walking down the huge amount of stairs when she heard someone calling her name. Looking up through blurred, wet eyes, Clare found the figure who called her. Standing at the bottom of the staircase was the familiar, dark haired, green eyed, loving boyfriend of hers. He looked disheveled, as if he ran a marathon, but he was still smiling his beautiful smile.
She practically ran to him, not caring that she probably would fall in the stairs if she wasn't careful. But she ran as fast as she could and ran into his open arms, holding him tightly around the neck. Clare was able to let out her first relieved exhale right there, in Eli's arms as he slightly lifted her off her feet, his arms secured tightly around her.
Clare knew that she was strong on her own in the courtroom. She was strong by herself as she defended herself against the female lawyer's accusations of her. She was strong as she watched the footage of her harassment. She was strong today.
But she didn't have to be strong all of the time. Her strength faltered as she walked out of the courtroom and as she held Eli to her, she knew Eli was her strength at this moment. She was strong then, he can be strong for her right now.
This is what she wanted. Not getting revenge, not feeling vengeful. She wanted to feel secure and safe and loved. So, at this moment, it didn't matter that Asher had gotten off with one year for what he did to her. Because this is where she felt right. This is where she wanted to be, always.
Sometimes vengeance isn't always sweet.
But at least having someone to give you strength when you need it is.