Chapter 9
The trial
"Huntley," Harvey said, looking at him, giving him the chance to speak.
"Miss Paulsen, how did you find out he was cheating on you?" Stephen asked, approaching Donna.
"I finished work for the day, and I went to his house to surprise him. It was our three-year-anniversary... I guess he didn't remember." She lowered her voice.
"So you saw them having sex?" He went straight to the point.
"Yes," Donna answered with a lump in her throat.
"And how did you feel when you saw them?"
"Disgusted, lonely, sad..."
"Angry?" the lawyer asked. She knew he was trying to imply something.
"Yes."
"It was your anniversary, and you were trying to surprise him while he was cheating on you. You saw him loving another woman, in the same room that he used to love you. Having sex in the same bed he used to tell you you were the most important person in his life. You felt so disposable and angry that you wanted revenge," Stephen said, looking at the jury.
Donna was trying to breathe calmly, to ignore the fact that he was describing all the emotions she felt years ago.
"Objection, your Honor. He's testifying!" Mike said, standing up and looking at opposing council.
"Sustained," Harvey intervened looking at Stephen.
"She took an opportunity that will make him look bad and lose his job... maybe go to jail... if that's not payback, I don't know that it is. No further questions, your Honor." Stephen concluded and sat down.
"I didn't do it as payback! I did it because it was the right thing to do," Donna yelled at him.
"I said no further questions, your Honor," Stephen replied, looking at Donna sternly.
After that distasteful interrogation, the bell rang, indicating the end of class. As everyone left the room, Stephen waited for Donna to finish putting her stuff in her bag. All other students were gone and only the two of them and Harvey, who was sorting out the desks, were left.
"We are good, right?" Stephen asked, approaching her. Donna didn't say a thing and was looking at the floor instead. "I mean... We talked yesterday... I don't want this to be a thing."
"It isn't. We are fine," Donna replied with a fake smile.
"You know I can tell when you lie."
"I said we are fine. And now stop bothering me. I'm in a hurry," she said, walking to the door.
"Hysterical," Stephen murmured once she left.
"I don't think you should talk like that about one of your partners," Harvey reprimanded him. He couldn't say more than that, she was just his student, after all. Stephen looked at him and then left.
...
Once they arrived home, Rachel and Mike focused on the case while Donna was texting with Harvey. He sent her a message to check on her before she even made it home.
"It's fine. I'm not gonna lie... my emotions scrambled when I heard him, but he was just talking about the case. And even if he wasn't, I did nothing wrong. He did that. He should be ashamed, not me." ~ Donna
"I agree. He was the one who didn't see how lucky he was to have you. He will regret it for the rest of his life, trust me." ~ Harvey
The smile and blush that took over her face, made her feel like a high school girl who was talking to her crush for the first time.
"Donna! Are you even listening?" Mike seemed upset. And how could he not? She wasn't listening to a thing he was saying. Instead, she was too busy talking to Harvey.
"I'm sorry... I was distracted. What were you saying?"
"This is important, Donna. It's teamwork," Rachel intervened, looking at her friend.
"I know. I promise I'm 100% here now." Was she though?
"I was saying, I think we should put Donna on the stand and make her talk about the information she found," Rachel proposed.
"Maybe we should appeal to the jury's emotions," Mike said.
"Why don't we focus on prepping the witness? I don't think he's going to ask me questions again... at least, not tomorrow."
"She's right. He will try to discredit Rachel and make the information she has invalid. We have to find everything he has against her, so we will be prepared to answer," Mike replied, looking at both of them.
...
After days of prepping witnesses, clients, and searching for information, it was time for closing arguments. Both lawyers had to make a conclusion that turns the judge's verdict in their favor.
The clock marked two-to-eleven on Monday morning and all the students were waiting outside the classroom, ready to take their seats as soon as the doors opened. Everyone was nervous. They spent all night preparing Mike's speech. Every night was like that lately. Donna was glad about it because it helped her to not think about her emotions. She hadn't talked to Harvey since that last text message; she needed to focus on what was really important right now. Just a few smiles, hellos, and goodbyes between getting inside the class and going home.
She didn't have the time to talk to Stephen either. Maybe she should apologize to him for taking what he said personally and reacting so defensively. She was just full of emotions.
The bell rang and they had to get inside. Donna, Mike, and Rachel took their places and waited for Harvey to begin the class.
"We are here today to listen to both lawyers' conclusions of the case. The jury will vote and at the end of the day, we will have a verdict. Mike, you can begin," Harvey said once they were all sitting.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury. We presented all the evidence you need to believe my client is telling the truth. Yes, she was hurt, but she didn't do it out of spite. She was being honest with herself and with the company. On the other hand, we have a selfish man who only cares about money and power. He used the excuse of cheating to cover up his mistake. He's a dishonest man. He lied, he manipulated things, and he is shady. He did something illegal, let's not let this man go free without consequences. If he did this once, he can do it again. Only this time, it could be to your family company," he said looking at a young man, "to the person you love most... he can do it to you. All your efforts for building your dream business could be in vain if he isn't being held accountable now. This is in your hands. Your own future and the future of many families is in your hands. Help us make a better world. Thank you." Mike sat down and looked at both of his colleagues with a smile.
"That was a lovely story... too bad it's not true. She did it because her life is so insignificant that she has to depend on him. She couldn't create a life on your own. We can even think she was with him to destroy him. She was nothing unless they were together. She was just another associate of the company. He promoted her, he made her feel good. Then he started looking for affection somewhere else, and she knew all that she was given would fall apart. That was when she decided to create fake information. We cannot let her do this to someone else. She doesn't care about how much it costs people to build things on their own... if she wants it, she takes it," Stephen looked at Donna with disgust. "You have the power to make the right call," he said, approaching the jury. "Don't let her do this again."
Harvey stood up and addressed the class. "I congratulate all of you. You did an amazing job. We will be back in a few hours for the ruling."
...
"Even if we don't win, I wanted to say that I loved working with you," Donna said once they were out.
"Me too," Rachel and Mike said in unison.
"What do you say if we go somewhere to get lunch?" Rachel proposed.
"Great idea... my nerves are killing me," Donna replied. They went to the same bar she told Stephen she didn't want to try again and with the mock trial in the back of her mind, she can now see clearly that she made the right choice letting him go.
...
While they were eating, she texted Marcus to tell him everything went well and that they are waiting for the results.
"I'm proud of you! I hope you win!" ~ Marcus
"I hope that too. What about you? You had an exam today, right?" ~ Donna
"I got 90% ;)" ~ Marcus
"You little genius! Congrats. ~ Donna
"Who are you texting with?" Rachel asked Donna curious about the smile on her friend's face. "Don't tell me, I guess I know who it is." She winks at Donna.
"Who?" Mike asked. "Come one! Don't leave me out of this," he insisted.
"Nobody." Donna put her phone away. "It was just Marcus."
...
Harvey called his students back to the class and five minutes later, everyone was back in their seats, nervous like hell.
"First of all, I want to repeat that everyone was great. But one group offered a more convincing argument, determining the outcome of the case... and that group was…"
A/N: thank you all for reading. Love your reviews.