Yeah, so basically the title… I don't get to use my character Anna enough compared to my other ones (technically, she's not even mine, but whatever). I'm super chill about the plot as long as it's reality-based, since Anna is a reality-based character. If you want to join and have plot ideas, let me know! Here she is!
I'll Join! I'm thinking criminal x attorney? I'm cool with whatever though. Maybe my character could be a criminal and Anna can be his attorney. She can win his case and he gets out, and then we go from there. That good?
Oh, yay! Yes, that's perfect! And just for reference, how active are you usually?
I'm online pretty often, but I'll let you know when I wont be online for a while. Throught the week I'm on pretty much all day though. I'm working on my character right now, and I'll send a like to his page when I'm done. We can start whenever though
Sounds good to me! Whenever you send your character's link, I can post the starter :)
Okay! Almos done
Oh damn! He and Anna will have an interesting dynamic… And I'm going to pretend I totally wasn't working on the starter while waiting for you to post him lol
(And we're off!)
Anna strolled through the park on her way to work. She preferred to take the longer, scenic route to clear everything from her mind but the client's details.
The case she had been briefed on yesterday seemed to be a bit easier since her client had just appeared to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He fit the description of the perpetrator and had been taken into custody. However, that didn’t mean the win would simply be handed to her. Like most other things in her life, she had to work for it. She had to prove the misunderstanding and her client's innocence.
Her heels clicked as she strode through the park, passing by the fountain. She sighed and tucked her honey-colored hair behind her ear before crossing the street to the building her firm owned, opening the door, and heading to her office.
"Anna," Nathan called out to her as he heard her pass by his office.
She stopped and backtracked her steps for a moment. "Yes?"
"Your client is waiting in your office. I knew you'd be here soon, so I figured I'd just let him in for you."
Anna nodded her appreciation briefly. "Alright. Thank you, Nathan." She continued down the hall and pulled open the door to her office. "Hello, Mr. Barlow," she greeted, hanging her coat on the hanger briefly and smoothing her dress to take a seat behind her desk.
"Hello. Ms Clayton was it? How has your morning been ma'm?" He asked, eyeing her calmly. He seemed to be.. analyzing her? He shifted in the chair across from her and smiled warmly. Hopefully this would all be over soon. He was as guilty as a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar, but he couldn't let her know that. He didn't want to go to jail. Not again. He had been in and out of jail his whole life, and he was only 28. Ms.Clayton was beautiful though. So much so that he didn't realized he had been staring for far to long
“Yes,” Anna replied. “It’s been well, thank you.” She offered him a smile in return before dismissing pleasantries by looking down at the manilla file folder Nathan had left on her desk for her. Her eyes skimmed the page, looking at notes Nathan had highlighted or circled for her to pay attention to. “Right, so… It appears you've been arrested for suspicion of murder and theft."
Anna pursed her lips as she flipped through the papers. Apparently, Nathan had done some more work without her knowledge. Typical.
"And your trial will be in three days. We need to find evidence and have a plausible cause to prove your innocence before them… and after I receive the transcript from your interrogation with the detectives, it should be a bit easier. Your interrogation is a vital part of this process. Would you like me to be present?”
She looked back up at him and found him still staring at her. Her eyebrows arched slightly as if repeating her question.
He quickly averted his gaze, realizing she had noticed his staring. He became flustered slightly, and looked back at her "Yes please miss." He said quickly, and quietly. "It might be a little difficult to prove my innocence though." He said sheepishly. Mentally beating himself up, because he had no idea why he was telling her he was guilty. He would never see her again if he went to the slammer. And this time it was a felony. He would be a felon if convicted and found guilty. He looked down then back up at her and smiled like a dork
Anna nodded and made a note in the folder. “Not a problem,” she said, expecting him to agree. A defendant had to be a bit stupid to not want their representation present during the interrogation.
However, the woman wasn’t expecting his… sort-of confession. Her eyes widened a bit. “What do you mean by that, Mr. Barlow?” the attorney asked, though she had a feeling that she already knew.
He cursed himself, knowing this would happen "I might have sort have kinda stole that $10,000 on purpose." He slammed his head on her desk. and began crying "I don't want to be a felon! I don't want to go to jail. Please Ms.Clayton. Help me. Don't let me go to jail." He lost his whole composure in front of this completely new to him, strikingly gorgeous woman and now he was begging at her feet. What a pathetic excuse for a theif
Anna’s eyes widened at his confession, and she jumped when his head slammed on her desk. “Careful,” she murmured, reaching across her desk to guide his head upright again.
She took a breath to compose herself before replying to his pleas. “It’s alright,” she promised him, her voice measured and soothing as honey. “Calm down, please. Getting upset doesn’t solve anything. Let’s start with this: why did you steal the money in the first place?”
He started to calm down a little, and composed himself, wiping his tears and smiling at her. "We needed the money. My little sister and I live in a motel room and we don't have much. She goes to public school and I'm a college drop out. I thought that maybe if I stole the money, then we could run off and she could get a good life. She really deserves it." He smiled sadly. Thinking about his sister was the last thing he wanted. She didn't know about all of this, and he didn't want her to. She had done nothing but support him, even though shes only 15, and he wanted her to be happy.
Anna’s heart melted at the story of Cody’s younger sister. “Oh God,” she murmured. “I’m so sorry. You're so sweet to care for her, but there are other ways of acquiring money, you know." The remark was both serious and a bit joking.
"How old is she? And does she know… Is she aware of your… situation, currently?” she asked hesitantly. By situation, she meant the arrest and charges against him.
"I know. Thank you for that. She's 15, and she has no idea. I don't want her to because she keeps telling me to stop and she'll be so disappointed" He said sadly. "I just can't get a job. My criminal record is longer then the constitution and no body will hire me. this was what i thought the next best option was."
He looked up at her through foggy eyes. "Please. Make sure my sister is taken care of if I go to jail." Was all he said as he looked back down to the floor, which had suddenly became very interesting.
Anna tilted her head as she listened, but she straightened at the mention of not being able to find a job.
“That’s not right,” she quipped almost immediately after he finished speaking. “It shouldn’t be right. There are Equal Employment Opportunity offices that can help. And for God’s sake, there are laws that make it illegal to discriminate against ex-convicts.”
She realized for a moment how worked up the topic had gotten her, and she sat back in her chair with pursed lips. “Sorry,” she said with a quiet laugh. “I’m quite passionate about topics like these.”
He chuckled just a bit "It's alright. I'm glad someone is." He looked out the window. It seemed to be getting into the late afternoon. "wow, I've been here for quite a while. If you need, I can get out of your hair." He said. Starting to stand up. He walked over to the window and then back to her. He smiled, just like he had when she walked in the first time. "Nice to meet you Ms. Clayton"
“No, no,” Anna said quickly, standing up before she could stop herself and realize what she was doing.
“I’m terribly interested in your experience and the potential difference it could make. When the case is over… would you be willing to testify about your experiences? I’ve been trying to get interviews with several correctional facility directors and inmates for weeks now, and none of them are willing. It’s only if you’re willing, of course. We could go somewhere now and chat about it. Unless you need to get back for your sister.”
The woman left the possibility of leaving it open if he wanted to take it. She wouldn’t blame him if he did. It was a lot to give your personal sufferings to someone else and trust that they would make the right decisions knowing your truths.
Anna could only hope that during their brief amount of time together, she’d come off as trustworthy enough. She was desperate to make a change and positively impact those who had been wrongfully accused. Or those who had few other options available, like Cody Barlow.
"Of course. It's the least i can do considering all your doing for me" he said, knowing she's getting paid for this, but still knowing that she's a court appointed attorney. "My sister is out with friends tonight, and won't be back until the morning. We could chat now. " He said, wondering why she was so interested " I don't want to take up to much of your time though." Cody said dejectedly. He knew that Ms. Clayton had to be a very busy woman. " We can go to the cafe down the road if you'd like. Or wherever you want. It's not like I have any money anyway." He looked at her, awaiting response.
Anna’s lips lifted into a smile, a true smile, and she nodded. “Alright, that sounds wonderful!” She paced over swiftly to her coat and began to pull it back on, waving off his excuses easily.
“Nonsense. I have plenty of time for this. It’s been on my mind for years now. I’m just happy to put it into action! And don’t be concerned with money.”
She had her coat on and flipped her hair out from the collar. “Alright. I’m not sure which café you’d like to go to, so you lead.” Her eyes were alight and almost excited.
He smiled back "Okay!" He was execited. He hadn't been to this cafe in a while. Not since he was a kid actually. He already had his leather coat on and so he left the office. Walking past the rows of offices lining the walls, the front desk, and then to the elevator. He walked rather fast, so he waited for her before calling the elevator. When she caught up, he began talking about how good the cafe is. "They sell these really good cream cheese danishes, and they taste like heaven. There's also this strawberry cheesecake they sell, which have the perfect texture. and they sell columbian coffee at just the right temperature and .. " He rambled a bit about the food they had there as they walked. It was nice to have someone interested in what he was saying. even if he was talking about danishes
Anna hurried to keep after him in her high heels, but he was walking quite fast. She spared a glance at Nathan’s door as she passed by and saw it was closed. Good, she thought briefly before lifting her eyes to see Cody standing and waiting for her by the elevators. “I can’t exactly run in these shoes,” she said as she approached, but she fell silent to listen to him.
She couldn’t help but smile at his childish-like nature as he went on and on about the danishes and coffee. Her dark brown eyes almost seemed to lighten as he talked.