Free Hearsay by Taylor V. Donovan Page B

public hysteria will promptly ensue the moment the allegations are made public." Roman closed the folder and wrote a few notes down on his pad. "The usual time frame between the first accusation and arrest is three to six months. It's only been five weeks since Mr. Coleman was first questioned, but it won't be long before he gets charged."
    Derrick frowned. "Do you think DA Lovett has taken a personal interest in the case?"
    "Yes."
    "We need to be prepared for that."
    "We need to defeat the allegations before the case officially starts." Roman corrected him, and damn if the confidence in his voice didn't get Derrick half hard. "We will if we start off with a level playing field."
    Derrick almost sighed.
    It would be torture being around Roman. Only for a little while, though. If Derrick played his cards right, it wouldn't be long before they started having the wild monkey sex he'd been dreaming of for so long.
    "I need the names and contact information for the police investigator, the ACS representative, and the witness," Roman continued. "I'll also need a list of all the people that have worked at the Coleman Safe House in the past five years. Get me their employment status and last known addresses for those who are no longer employed. Have Mr. Coleman come tomorrow and make sure my assistant gets everything I asked for before five o'clock today."
    "I will."  
    "And I want you both in my conference room at ten o'clock, sharp."
    His conference room, his office, the elevator, the damn bathroom… It didn't matter where Roman wanted him. It could be a damn alley, and he'd be there naked and with a bucket of lube.
    Too bad his boss didn't mean it like that , though.
    "Yes, sir."
    Roman gathered his belongings and got up from his chair. Derrick followed suit and waited for him by the door, forcing his boss to stand closer than if Derrick had not stood in his way… so much closer that he could clearly see the black rim around his boss's pretty green eyes.
    Roman hesitated for a moment, but after taking a deep breath he extended his hand for Derrick to shake. "Good to see you again, Derrick."
    "You could've seen me whenever you wanted to," he told his boss with a trembling voice. "Certainly you knew that, right?"
    Roman glanced at their hands together and shook his head. His half-smile was sad, and his eyes shone with longing when he looked up. "Lack of wanting was never the issue."
    Derrick was struck speechless by Roman's whispered parting words.
    If he didn't figure out what the hell the deal was with his boss, Derrick would end up going bonkers by the end of the month.

Chapter Six

    Roman listened carefully to Tyler Coleman's account of the events that led to the accusations against him, making occasional notations on a notepad without looking away from him.
    Now that they had signed a retainer agreement, he was contractually bound to represent Mr. Coleman zealously and to the best of his ability. In turn, Mr. Coleman had the responsibility to be cooperative and truthful with him. Whether or not he would be remained to be seen. Roman always gave his new clients the benefit of the doubt, but after fifteen years of defending people charged with felony offenses, he knew better than to believe everything they said. Some people were excellent liars when their futures were on the line. They would say and do whatever they had to in order to stay out of jail. That was a game Roman wasn't willing to play. He refused to get blindsided by prosecutors in a courtroom and have the jury come back with a guilty verdict because he'd been a gullible fool.
    This was the reason his gaze had been glued to Tyler Coleman for the past forty minutes.
    Words were cheap, but nonverbal communication was worth its weight in gold. A person's body language revealed their real feelings and thoughts, and Roman relied heavily on his ability to read those signals during initial interviews. It was the best way of knowing if he was being misguided or flat out