Chapter 23
Chapter 0023
+25 BONUS
I drove as quickly as I could to the police station. I had called Dylan before I left the office, and the plan was that he would meet me there, I was glad for that. had never bailed anyone out of jail before. I wasn’t even sure where to go or who to talk to.
I parked my car outside the station and walked around, looking for the entrance. I know policemen and stations were supposed to be a safe place, but I sure felt nervous and a little bit like I looked suspicious, walking around this dark, downtown building.
“Hey!” I heard a man’s voice behind me. I jumped and turned around, throwing my arms up in surrender. The man laughed.
“You must be Hazel,” he said. “You are exactly the way Logan described you.”
I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not. “Well. I’m not quite sure how to take that.” I said. Then, as his words sunk in, “Logan’s told you about me?”
“Oh yeah. It’s not often he gets an assistant that really impresses him,” he smiled and stuck out his hand to me. “Dylan, in case you hadn’t figured that out yet.”
Haughed and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you. And yes…I’m Hazel.”
“The entrance is this way,” he said, pointing to his left. “I take it you’ve never had to do this sort of thing before?”
I shook my head no. “And I never would have guessed my first time would be bailing my boss out.” (1 “Well that’s Logan for you, full of surprises”
You’re telling me.
We reached the door and Dylan held it open for me. “Let me handle this,” he said. “I assume you have Logan’s emergency credit card?”
“Have you bailed him out before?” I said, pulling the card from my purse and handing it to him..
“No. Not out of jail anyway. But I have used the old emergency credit card a time or two on his behalf.” Dylan took the card and went to the front desk. I sat in the waiting area. After several minutes of negotiating, Dylan joined me. He handed me the card back. “They’re bringing him out now.”
Dylan and I sat and waited in an uncomfortable silence, I tried to think of some small talk to fill the void,”
So…
“So…” Dylan said at the same time. We laughed.
“Ladies first,” he said.
“How long have you been Logan’s lawyer?” I asked.
“Hmm,” he thought a moment. “I guess since I first officially became a lawyer. That was…gosh, seven years ago now?” His face dropped. “Damn I’m getting old.”
Just then, a policeman led Logan out to us. His hair was disheveled and there were some marks on him. Were those scratches? Had he been in a fight?
“Woah,” I said, I had never seen him looking so undone. I looked over at Dylan, who gave me a grimace.
“Hey bud,” Dylan said with a smile. “Looking good.”
Logan gave him the middle finger. “Can you drive? To your office.” He asked Dylan.
“Yeah man, no problem,” Dylan said, leading all of us out the door.
“Hazel, come with us, Logan said to me. “We’ll come back for your car.“1
There’s the demanding Logan I know, I thought. “Yes sir.”
Dylan unlocked his car doors when we got close. Logan got into the back right passenger seat.
“What am I, your chauffeur?” Dylan asked him.
“Just get in and drive,” Logan said, rubbing his eyes.
“Someone has to open the door for the lady,” Dylan said, opening the other back door and gesturing for
me to enter. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.
I gave him an impressed look. “What a gentleman!” I said, getting into the car.
He shut the door and got into the driver’s seat. “I am,” he chuckled. “Careful, I hate to make you fall for me like all the others have.”
“I’ll try to control myself,” I laughed.
“Come on man,” Logan said. “She’s a secretary, a professional. Don’t tease her.”
I blushed, somewhat embarrassed. Logan was right, I was here for a job. I shouldn’t have been so informal with his lawyer.
“Oh, lighten up, Hatfield,” Dylan said, brushing him off. “You’ve known me since we were in diapers. I’m not one of your stuffy, boring company board members that you have to act so stiff around,”
Oh! So Dylan was more than just Logan’s lawyer. Looking back on our brief interaction, I was surprised I didn’t pick up on that sooner.
“I was mostly trying to protect her from the scumbag that you are,” Logan said, a small smile forming on the corners of his mouth. “All those years of knowing you, I haven’t seen you commit to any girl ever.” He looked over at me. “Dylan here is just your run–of–the–mill playboy. That’s the warning he should give out to the girls that get into cars with him.”
“Duly noted,” I said with a nod. I smiled. It was nice to see Logan banter with someone. I wasn’t sure he had any sense of humor before this interaction.
The car filled with an uncomfortable, awkward silence after that. I was curious about what happened to Logan, but I wasn’t the one that had known him since we were kids in diapers. It certainly was not my place to ask him.
But I was hoping Dylan would.
A couple more minutes and Dylan couldn’t take the suspense anymore. “Okay dude, are you gonna tell us what happened to you or what?”
“…no, it doesn’t matter.”
“Look, as your lawyer and possibly only friend… Dylan started. Logan reached up and punched him in the ribs. “Ow! I’m just saying, I need to know what happened to you, for…legal reasons. Also in case I need to beat anyone up.” He looked at me in the rearview mirror. “That’s off the record, by the way.”
I pretended to zip my lips shut and threw the invisible key.
“You’re right Hatfield,” Dylan said. “She is a great secretary. Now. Spill.”
Logan groaned. “I took my wife a gift at the studio, where I knew she was working today. When I got there, I found her leaning against the wall outside and another man was standing over her. It looked like he was harassing her, so I went up to the guy and pushed him away from her. He started coming at me, ready to fight. Next thing I know, I’m on the ground with this guy and the cops are running up to break it up. Then they threw me in the backseat of their patrol car.”
“The cops told me you had been brought in for harassing an actress,” Dylan said.
“What?” Logan said. “I didn’t even get a chance to talk to her. I was trying to protect her!”
Dylan laughed. Logan grew silent, his face darkening.
“Don’t worry man, I can make this go away,” Dylan said, seeing how much this was affecting his friend.
“Can you also get my wife to actually speak to me?” Logan slumped back into his seat, visibly hurt and frustrated.
“Man, I didn’t even know you were married.”