Ruin Me (Savage Bosses)

Chapter 31

CHAPTER 31

K ent

Douglas’ district attorney, DA Kemp, stared across the table at me. His smug smirk rankled my every nerve.

Detectives Salinas and Glass who sat on either side of him wore similar expressions.

“Now that you’ve been arraigned and denied bail, would you like to issue a confession?” Kemp folded his hands over a folio, his eagerness to put me away clear for everyone to see.

Kemp’s story made Douglas’ news last year. He came from a low-income background. Despite his hard work, the upperclass circles he found himself in ostracized him and relished every opportunity to remind him he didn’t belong. As his success grew, his grudge against the upperclass ballooned and he openly went after people with wealth like mine.

His bias didn’t exclude me although I wasn’t born into wealth. My struggles to make Luxe Locations into what it was today didn’t factor into his vendetta, although we both fought for our success. For Kemp, he went after anyone with a checkbook larger than his, and unfortunately he had me in his sights. I’m sure Glass and Salinas stoked his inferiority complex with their own as they’d been hostile to me since the first victim showed up dead.

I glanced around the court house meeting room as I reminded myself not to give Kemp anything. “You’ve made a big mistake. The real murderer is still on the streets but you’re wasting resources on a flimsy conspiracy theory that won’t hold up in court.”

“Oh? Am I missing something in your bio? Nothing here says when you passed the bar.” Kemp opened his file. “No, all I have are seven murder victims and you on the hook for them.”

Quarren rested his hand on my shoulder, a reminder not to let my anger get the best of me. “Kemp, your case is a mountain of circumstantial evidence I can debunk in my sleep. If you take this to trial, know my client won’t be the one the jury judges. It will be you and the police department for your targeted and continuous abuse of power and vindictive harassment against my client. You’re on record for targeting men of means because you don’t think they deserve their wealth. Once I wipe the court with your snotty noses and win, I’ll sue you and the city of Douglas for gross negligence and emotional distress. But you have the opportunity right now to correct your mistake before you dig yourself a hole so deep you wind up on another continent. Drop the charges and let my client go.”

During Quarren’s comeback, Kemps face grew redder and redder. Steam emitted from his quivering nostrils.

I sat back and folded my arms, satisfied with Quarren’s approach. He understood when to attack and when to play nice. I was done with the Mr. Congeniality role after spending three sleepless nights away from Madison.

Although she visited me every day, she was keeping something from me. When I saw her next, I wouldn’t allow her to hide the truth from me.

“Quarren, you can try putting me on trial, but a jury of Luxe’s peers aren’t the billionaires. They’re working class to middle class men and women who’ll look at your client as an over privileged individual who thinks the world should stop for him. I’ll get his employees on the stand to paint him as a ruthless, exploitative employer who thinks women don’t deserve to live.”

I clenched my teeth, certain he’d find a few. After all, there was that god awful website where employees shit on me for being a demanding boss.

“And I’ll counter with the good he’s done in the community and other workers who love working for him. Trust me, Kemp, I and my client will come out looking better than you.” Quarren opened his briefcase. “And on that note, here’s my motion to dismiss.” He handed kemp a brief and shut his case. “We’ll see you in court.”

I followed Quarren out of the meeting room and stopped short at Madison’s anxious face.