Private Lives. Karen Young

the judge asked.

      Ryan gave a short, charmingly sheepish grin. “Not yet, Your Honor. Sorry about that.” He turned again to Gina. “How do you propose to support Jesse, Ms. D’Angelo?”

      “I’m a qualified paralegal. I should be able to get a job at one of the major law firms in the city.”

      “But do you have a job now?”

      “No.”

      “Why is that?”

      “I was only…I left Leggett, Jones and Brunson only a month ago. They paid me three-month’s severance and—”

      “If you’re so good at your job, why were you terminated?”

      Gina glanced warily at Austin. “I wasn’t terminated. I resigned.”

      “Why, Ms. D’Angelo?”

      “Austin…suggested it.” She turned again to the judge. “I know it makes me sound sort of irresponsible, Your Honor, but Austin made it intolerable for me. He—”

      “Direct your answers to counsel, Ms. D’Angelo,” the judge repeated with some exasperation. “Don’t make me repeat myself again.”

      Gina’s shoulders fell as she turned back, gazing not at Ryan, but at her hands. “He was going to accuse me of irregularities in the handling of some of his clients’ matters. He specializes in estate law. He handles millions of dollars in other peoples’ assets. It would be easy to manipulate funds here and there.”

      “What exactly are you accusing my client of?”

      “Nothing, no. Only the threat of doing it. If I didn’t leave peacefully.” Gina pressed trembling fingers to her mouth. “In his position, it’s easy to move money around from one client’s portfolio to another without actually—”

      “Come on, Ms. D’Angelo. What you’re accusing my client of is a serious charge. In fact, some might call it slander.”

      “It isn’t slander if it’s true.” Gina’s tone rose with her agitation. “Do you think I’d walk out of a job where I’d worked for almost nine years if I didn’t have a compelling reason? Knowing Austin wanted to dump me and I’d be without a place to live? Knowing there’d be no way I could support Jesse? I don’t think so, Mr. Paxton,” she added bitterly.

      “But you do have a place to live,” Paxton argued. “Your best friend and Jesse’s godmother, Elizabeth Walker, has been only too eager to take you in. No, I think you orchestrated this whole scam, the abrupt resignation at LJ and B, the allegations of abuse and irregularities with the firm’s most valued clients, the threat of legal action against my client…all toward one end. You want a hefty financial settlement. You want a lot of money in return for walking out of his life.”

      “No, I—”

      “No more questions, Your Honor.” Ryan turned on his heel and strode to the table. Dropping into a chair, he didn’t look at Gina again, nor did he glance at his client. Instead, he flipped the folder shut, leaned back with his hand spread flat on the folder as if to guard the contents and gazed moodily out a window. If his goal had been to destroy Gina, Elizabeth thought, studying the set look of his features, he’d succeeded. But he didn’t look like a man who was pleased with his success.

      “You may step down, Ms. D’Angelo,” the judge said. And as Gina rose unsteadily, Maude Kennedy stood up.

      “I have one more question, if Your Honor would allow it?” She raised pencil-thin eyebrows in question. The judge nodded and motioned Gina back into the chair.

      “How much money are you requesting from Austin Leggett, Gina?”

      “Two thousand dollars a month,” Gina replied. “And for child support only, nothing more. Jesse will stay in the school where she’s presently enrolled in kindergarten. One thousand will pay her tuition and the other will be placed in trust for her to go to college.”

      Maude Kennedy looked at the judge. “That’s all, Your Honor. Thank you.”

      “Step down, Ms. D’Angelo,” the judge ordered. As Gina rose and left the witness box, he studied a paper in an open folder in front of him. “You want to call your first character witness, Ms. Kennedy?”

      Still standing, Maude said, “There is only one witness, Your Honor. We have a deposition in lieu of testimony from the second witness, Louis Christian. He is presently at Elizabeth Walker’s residence taking care of Jesse. As you’ll see once you’ve read the deposition, Mr. Christian is not a blood relation to Jesse, but he could very well be her grandfather. He sees her daily. They’re very close.”

      “Then call the witness who has shown up, counselor,” the judge replied. He removed his glasses and rubbed both eyes with thumb and forefinger as if his patience was at an end. Her face carefully blank, Maude nodded to the bailiff.

      “Elizabeth Walker,” the bailiff intoned.

      Elizabeth was already on her feet. She approached the gate in the bar separating spectators in the courtroom from the players and slipped through it, made her way past the two lawyers’ tables to the witness box and turned to take an oath to tell the truth. She was nervous. None of her experience in courtrooms had been pleasant, but this wasn’t about her, she told herself, taking her seat gingerly. It was about Jesse. Gina. Their future.

      Maude seemed to sense her apprehension and gave her a reassuring smile as she asked her address and occupation. Then, “How long have you known Gina D’Angelo?”

      “Since we were both five years old.”

      “You’re not related?” Maude asked, knowing the answer.

      Elizabeth smiled faintly. “Not by blood, no. But we sometimes feel as if we’re related. Sisters almost.” She took a small breath. “We were both wards of the state when we were orphaned at age five. As luck would have it, we were in the same foster homes off and on during our teenage years.”

      “That explains your willingness to share your home with Gina now.”

      “In a way, I guess. Actually, we’re no different from biological sisters who see a lot of each other,” Elizabeth said, feeling more at ease. Maybe this would be more positive than she had thought. “We live in the same city, we share holidays, lunch, we shop together, we share gossip and clothes. I was at Gina’s bedside when Jesse was born. In fact, I was her birthing coach. So now that she’s in difficulty, it’s very natural to have her move in with me until she’s on her feet again.”

      “Why wasn’t Mr. Leggett Gina’s birthing coach?”

      “He said he didn’t have time.”

      “Where was he when Jesse was born?”

      “In Europe. On one of the many excursions he took without Gina,” she added dryly.

      “How would you characterize Gina? In a few words.”

      “She’s loving, smart, honest, impulsive, funny. Jesse adores her. She’s everything a sister and best friend should be. My life would not be nearly as rich without Gina.”

      “Thank you, Elizabeth.”

      The moment she feared was upon her. She tried to blank the apprehension from her mind. And the utterly irrelevant thoughts she’d had about Ryan Paxton as he’d questioned Gina. It was her turn now and Jesse’s life was in the balance.

      Ryan was speaking as he got up from his chair. “You’ve been very supportive to Gina for many years, haven’t you, Ms. Walker?”

      “What do you mean?”

      “You’ve bailed her out of trouble countless times.”

      “She’s never been in serious trouble.”

      “Did you co-sign for her to get a credit card when she couldn’t get one on her own?”

      “Yes,