Read Online Legally Yours by Manda Collins - Free Book Online Page A

see Matt
until lunchtime, when he came into the break room with Clay.
    “I think he's telling the truth,” Clay said,
pouring himself a cup of coffee. “John Winston hasn't deviated from
his first statement about Lyon's behavior that morning.”
    “But that's what makes me think he's lying.”
Matt sat down opposite the small table, where Julie was eating her
lunch and working on the crossword puzzle. “Jules, what do you
think? You've read all the documents for the Lyon's case.”
    Aware that Clay was there, Julie flinched at
his use of her nickname, but put down her pen. “Well, his story
does seem a bit rehearsed, but it's been corroborated by everyone
else involved in the case. Even if he is lying there's nothing we
can do about it if he won't recant his testimony.”
    “But that's my point,” Matt, said, warming to
his argument. “If we can get Winston to deviate even a little bit
from his story, we can prove that he's been coached by Lyon's
attorneys. And I definitely wouldn't put it past Bill Preston to
feed his witness a story. That guy is a snake.”
    “Since I'm the one who's gonna be
cross-examining him then I'm the one who has to decide,” Clay
snapped. “And what Julie thinks is beside the point. She can't make
a legal determination. She's not a lawyer.”
    Even though she'd heard it plenty of times
from the other attorneys, coming from Clay, who couldn’t argue his
way out of a potato sack, the dismissal was particularly
infuriating.
    “Come on, man,” Matt said. “That's not fair.
She's all but got her law degree. And besides that she's a damn
smart woman. She has a right to her opinion.”
    “Look, Matt, you don't have to defend her to
me. I've worked with Julie since I got out of law school. I’m not
denying she’s smart. But she's never stood up in court and
cross-examined a witness. And you know that what happens in the
courtroom can make or break a case.”
    Julie stood up.
    “Since you two seem to be able to talk about
me without my input, I’ll just take off now.”
    “But,” she said, turning to Matt, “for what
it’s worth, he's right, I haven't faced a witness in the courtroom,
so I'm not the best person to ask about stuff like this. I'm best
at examining the evidence and organizing it so that he's got what
he needs when it comes time to go to court.”
    Unable to look either of the men in the eye,
she took her dish to the sink and rinsed it out.
    “We'll talk about this later,” Clay said,
looking at his watch. “I've got a conference call in fifteen
minutes.”
    With Clay gone, Julie could feel Matt's eyes
like a laser on her back.
    “What was that?” he demanded, coming up
behind her, touching her lightly above her hip.
    She stepped away from his touch.
    “What was what?”
    “That 'I'm not a lawyer' bullshit?”
    She turned, and found him disconcertingly
close. “I'm not a lawyer—sometimes I feel the need to remind my
bosses of that fact. Especially when they themselves don’t know
what they’re talking about and start asking me to make legal
judgments. Judgments that might get them into serious trouble.”
    “Give me a break, Julie,” Matt said, his tone
harsh. “The only person getting into trouble here is you for
refusing to acknowledge your own worth. If I didn't know better,
I'd say you were afraid.”
    His words stung.
    Mostly because they were true.
    “So what if I am afraid,” she snapped. “I
don't want to get sued for practicing law without a license. There
is a reason why I haven't gone back to finish my degree. Maybe it's
because I don't want the responsibility of actually putting myself
on the line for the case. Maybe it's because I like working behind
the scenes.”
    “Yeah, just what I said. You're afraid.
Afraid of putting yourself out there and trying a case on your
own.”
    “This coming from a corporate lawyer?” she
huffed. “Tell me, Matt, what part of playing puppet master to local
counsel all over the country appeals to you? The