Voir Dire (N.H.)

Prologue

"Miss Benton, thank you for meeting me," Kelsey looked up to see the snide smile of the bald man as he entered the room, her attention drawn to the manilla envelope held firmly in his right hand. He took a step closer to the long glass table which nearly took up the entire contents of the room and pushed those seated at it near the full pane glass windows giving way to the Los Angeles landscape outside and the bustling streets of traffic below.

Though sunlight streamed in freely, Kelsey couldn't help but feel like it was one of the darkest places she'd ever been, as if the fear of what was to come floated off the trimmed navy blue suit of Mr. Michaels and filled the air.

"You say that as if I had a choice," Kelsey responded coldly, staring directly into the dark eyes of Mr. Michaels. He didn't flinch, pulling back the black leather chair directly across from Kelsey to take a seat.

"Why Miss Benton, you always have a choice," his lips pressed together and pulled towards one side, as a look of satisfaction filled his face. "But you don't always make the right one."

Internally Kelsey's heart was beating a million times a minute, pounding on her ribs as if it was trying to escape from a cage. To an outside observer, however, Kelsey looked calm and collected, her hands clasped firmly on the table in front of her and her lips gently touching in a solemn line. Letting him know he was getting to her would only makes things worse.

"Shall we get started then?"

Kelsey nodded her head slowly, searching Mr. Michaels face for any sign of what was coming next.

"Miss Benton, I'd like to show you something," he slid the manilla envelope across the table towards Kelsey, then with one hand motioned. "If you'll do the honors."

Kelsey took a large swallow, then cautiously undid the clasp holding together the envelope and reached in to pull out its contents.

She let out a small gasp when she saw what was inside. She skimmed the page once, then again, before glancing up to see the look of delight upon Mr. Michaels face.

"What is it?" Mr. Michaels asked, although he was already fully aware of the letters marking the pages in Kelsey's hands. Those pages were some of his best work, if he could say so himself, and he had done a lot of great work in his lifetime.

Kelsey took a deep breath. "It's an acceptance letter, from Stanford law for the fall." She looked down at the papers again then up at Mr. Michaels, "Why do you have this?"

Mr. Michaels smile grew wider, this was going precisely as he had planned. "Well as you know Miss Benton, I am a man of many connections. Many powerful ones at that."

Kelsey raised an eyebrow, knowing full well that this gift, if she could even call it that, did not come without a price. There was always a price, the question wasn't what that price was, but how high.

"And what do you want?" Kelsey asked the man sitting before her. He let out a loud chuckle.

"Oh Miss Benton, it's not what I want, it's what you want," his voice filled with amusement. "You see Miss Benton as easily as I made this letter appear, I can make it disappear. A phone call here, a phone call there, and Kelsey Benton can become a name blacklisted from every single law school in the world. But you wouldn't want that now would you Miss Benton? After all it's been your dream to go to law school for years."

Kelsey felt a bitter taste rise from the back of her throat, lingering with the premonition of what words would leave Mr. Michaels' mouth next. What deal would be set on the table before her.

"Or you could keep that acceptance letter. In a few short months, you could find yourself strolling the lawns of Stanford University, sitting in on lectures from some of the greatest minds of our time, living the dream you've had for so many years." Mr. Michaels looked Kelsey straight in the eyes, his darkness traveling into the depths of her soul.

"You see Miss Benton, you have a choice, and in my opinion it's quite an easy one. Door number one: you agree not to see him, you go to Stanford, you become a lawyer, you live your life happily ever after. Door number two, you choose not to accept my more than generous offer, and you suddenly find that you will never be able to pursue that law degree that you so desire."

Mr. Michaels held out a hand to halt Kelsey's response. "But not so fast, Miss Benton, you might say, 'But Mr. Michaels if I choose door number two I'll still have him, I won't need law school to be happy', but my dear let's be honest with one another, we know that in a few more months, he'll find someone new to be enamored with, and you my dear will be old news."

Kelsey inhaled sharply. A choice? There was no choice here, Mr. Michaels has been sure of that. "Where do I sign?"

Mr. Michaels smiled holding up his pen.