Voir Dire (N.H.)

twenty-four

The second Kelsey saw the email from Mr. Alan Michaels she knew they were in trouble. There was no subject, but somehow without even opening it, Kelsey knew exactly what it was going to contain.

The contents were simple.

Miss Benton,

If you know what's good for him, you'll meet with me tomorrow at 10 am sharp. I trust you''ll keep this meeting to yourself. I would hate for another party to become involved and complicate our resolution.

Sincerely,

Alan Michaels 

There was one attachment. But Kelsey didn't need to click the image to know what they'd been caught doing. Suddenly, she wished she hadn't been craving ice cream yesterday after all.

"What's wrong love?" Niall asked, as Kelsey quickly exited out of the message. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Nothing," Kelsey said, trying her best to form a fake smile and grabbing his hand again. "Now tell me more about this set design."

Niall began rambling on. About lights, guitars, set lists and which songs he was most excited to play live. But all Kelsey could think about was the email sitting in her inbox. 

Her mind began to race with all the things that this could mean. What exactly could his label do? Niall had warned her once before that the music industry could be a brutal environment. She knew that there were consequences to every action, consequences that could ruin careers if certain rules or agreements weren't followed. 

Kelsey wanted to believe that she wasn't scared of these people. She wasn't in a contract with them, and therefore, she had no obligation to even entertain the idea of meeting with them. She owed them nothing. And she certainly did have to play by their rules. 

She thought about showing the message to Niall. But each time she went to bring it up, something stopped her. She knew what that something was.

Niall would take the fall. He would risk the loss of his music, his tour, his livelihood, all for Kelsey. Kelsey knew it. But she wasn't going to allow that to happen. She wouldn't allow him to sacrifice what he had worked so hard on, the career that he so loved- for her. 

"Kels," Niall nudged her his elbow at Kelsey, whose gaze was fixated on the corner of the room. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing," Kelsey replied quickly, snapping her gaze back to Niall and shooting him a smile. "Just tired." She rested her head on Niall's shoulder. 

"You sure you're okay?" Niall asked again. Kelsey had been acting off over the past few hours, and he couldn't figure out why. She wasn't the best at hiding her racing thoughts. 

Kelsey turned, placing her hands on either side of Niall's cheeks and staring into his icy blue eyes. "Niall, I'm great. I've got the LSAT score of my dreams and an incredible man who I love more than anything and who loves me. What more could I need?"

"I love you," Niall replied, planting a kiss on Kelsey's lips.

"It's just been a long week for me. A good week but a long one," Kelsey mused as she snuggled deep into Niall's arms. She inhaled deeply, basking in musky, cool scent of Niall's cologne. She didn't want to think about what their relationship might look like if she attended the meeting tomorrow. Or what it might look like if she didn't. 

When Kelsey got back to her apartment later that evening, she poured herself the biggest glass of wine she could find. Kelsey knew Niall had found it odd that she was leaving his house so early in the evening, but she brushed it off as needing some rest. She couldn't bear to tell him the truth: that every minute she sat in his apartment her anxiety about just what would happen at the meeting tomorrow was growing exponentially.