I didn’t follow that familiar man; instead, I remained seated on the bench. I waited for a few minutes until the glass door opened again and people streamed out. Some wore solemn expressions while others were smiling-the different parties from inside the courtroom.
It took a while for the crowd to disperse. I had already seen the defendant escorted by police towards the exit, still in handcuffs, indicating the verdict had favored the plaintiff. That familiar man might have been on the defendant’s side.
I shrugged and stood up, walking towards the glass door and peeking inside. There was only the woman I had followed earlier in the room.
She must have sensed my gaze because she looked over at me. I gave her a fake smile and stood upright when our eyes met. The woman scoffed, “It’s you again,” she said disdainfully.
“Yeah… did you see Alibata Briones?” I asked.
Ignoring her scoff, I stepped into the courtroom. It felt cold inside, and as I took a few steps forward, I noticed the entire courtroom was large and surrounded by thick glass, giving it a stagnant air.
“He’s having lunch,” the woman replied after a moment.
I nodded. “Where?”
She rolled her eyes at me. I raised an eyebrow at her reaction and crossed my arms. Although I didn’t appreciate her attitude, I didn’t have time to argue-it was petty.
“Wendel and Tiara,” she said, picking up three envelopes. She walked towards the glass door in my direction.
I turned around and left before she could do anything else. I sighed when I was back outside the courtroom; it felt suffocating inside that enclosed space.
I heard the glass door open behind me, but I didn’t bother turning to look at the woman. I wasn’t sure what she had tried to convey earlier, but I figured I could find the place using GPS.
I searched for the words the woman had mentioned on my map. I smiled when a first-class restaurant appeared not far from the building. I put my phone back in my pocket and walked towards the exit.
I hadn’t seen Dad exit through the glass door earlier, so maybe he’d used a different exit to avoid the crowd-something he often did. Sometimes I wondered if my aversion to attention came from him.
Outside the building, I spotted Robert. I hopped into the taxi and instructed him to drive to the location marked on my phone. I handed him my phone for navigation.
Before long, the taxi pulled up in front of a restaurant building. I got out and looked at the medium-sized building before stepping inside. The guard didn’t stop me.
Inside, there were many people, but I noticed a man sitting in a corner with his back to me. However, I recognized the other man sitting with him; his profile was familiar-it was Dad. I swallowed nervously.
Taking a step forward, I headed towards Dad’s table. “Dad,” I called when I stood in front of him.
He looked up, his brow furrowed. He seemed surprised but quickly masked it. I glanced at the man sitting with him-it was the same man I had shared a table with in the cafeteria earlier and who I had seen walking away displeased from the courtroom. It seemed like too much of a coincidence. Had he followed me here?
“Azora,” Dad said, breaking my thoughts. “You have class today.”
I focused back on Dad. “We need to talk, Dad.”
The seriousness in my voice made Dad silent for a moment, then he gestured for me to sit down. “We’ll talk later. Have a seat and dine with us.”
I complied and sat down. I glanced at the man again; he was staring at me. I quickly looked away, pretending not to notice.
“Azora, this is Adam Lamech. He’s a prosecutor,” Dad introduced.
I looked at Adam again, unsurprised to find him still staring at me. I had looked at him too, but not for as long as he had stared at me. “Nice to meet you,” I said, offering my hand for a handshake.
Adam accepted my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. I fought the urge to gasp and withdrew my hand quickly. I hadn’t expected that.
“We met at her university,” Adam explained to Dad, a slight smile on his lips. “It’s a shame I didn’t recognize her sooner. She’s beautiful, Mr. Briones.”
My cheeks burned with embarrassment. This man had a way with words to praise anyone he pleased. I secretly rolled my eyes.
“She gets her looks from her late mother. If you want to marry my daughter, Adam, you’ll need to win more cases,” Dad joked.
Both men chuckled heartily, leaving me speechless at Dad’s comment. I furrowed my brow in annoyance and sneered at the two men who began discussing an upcoming case involving a former military convict.
Before long, the food arrived at the table, but neither of the men seemed interested in it. I helped the waiter set the dishes on the table; there were quite a few, making me wonder if they had ordered all of this food.
I never realized these two men had such appetites.