Borrow My Seat novel · Chapter 14 of 24

Chapter 14: The Witness

"Twenty-three women," I said.

Lane's smile stayed where it was, but his eyes moved.

"Your mother told them at lunch yesterday, with her own mouth."

"She was upset."

"I have it on my phone, with the chandelier."

I turned to the clerk's window, where a line of strangers still pretended not to listen.

"Nine o'clock tomorrow, Ahlgren Studio, sixth floor," I said to Lane. "Bring your lawyer and your mother. I'll play it for all of you."

He didn't ask where the studio was.

He already knew.

At 8:59 the next morning, Marjorie walked into the conference room in a navy suit and the same pearl studs.

She carried a leather folder against her chest.

A man from the Brookfield firm came in behind her, silver-haired and polite, and Lane came last, shaved and calm.

Tobias sat at the head of the table with his sleeves rolled.

The finance partner sat at his right, with his arms folded and a legal pad in front of him.

I sat across from the Raskins with my phone face down.

"Thank you for meeting," the lawyer said.

"Mrs. Raskin has prepared a statement."

"She was distressed at a luncheon on Tuesday, and she said things she does not stand behind."

Marjorie opened her folder.

"Ingrid asked me to be her witness, dear," she said. "She told me she wanted the marriage kept private."

"Why would I want that?"

"Because of your first job. You said a husband made employers nervous."

I looked at Lane.

He studied the table with the face of a man listening to a sad song.

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