L*ck Me If You Can-Chapter 138

Her expression was more serious than ever. Looking at Elle’s face, completely void of any smile, Koi opened his mouth.

“It’s okay.”

He soon added,

“I believe in Ash.”

Ashley’s face, smiling brightly at him, still floated vividly in front of his eyes. So did the devastated expression when he turned away. That look still pained Koi’s heart. He lowered his head and pretended to sip his wine, trying hard to hide the tears that threatened to come.

A person’s nature doesn’t change. So it would be fine. Despite all the articles and rumors about lawyer Ashley Miller, Koi believed in him.

He was still the same Ashley Miller, unchanged.

Ariel, seeing him like that, didn’t say anything more.

*

“It was really great seeing you.”

Ariel said as they exchanged a warm hug. After embracing her, Koi shook hands with Garrett.

“Thanks for inviting me. It was good meeting you, Garrett.”

“Come visit again sometime.”

“Keep in touch, often.”

Nodding at Garrett and Ariel’s words, Koi exchanged one last round of goodbyes and turned away. His figure, somehow not fitting the familiar nighttime street, left Ariel feeling a bit awkward as she stood there. Only after Koi turned the corner at the end of the street and disappeared completely did Ariel finally turn back and head into the building.

“The person he’s looking for... is their name Ash?”

Garrett, holding Ariel’s shoulders as they walked down the hallway, pressed the elevator button and asked. Ariel gave a short nod and replied.

“Yeah, Ashley Miller.”

At that exact moment, the elevator dinged, echoing through the empty hallway like a sound effect. Garrett widened his eyes and looked down at Ariel. She, still facing forward, continued.

“Yeah. That Ashley Miller. The lawyer.”

And with that, she stepped into the open elevator doors, leaving the frozen Garrett behind. He scrambled in after her, still looking stunned, and opened his mouth.

“No way, seriously? That Ashley Miller?”

Garrett repeated the same line several times, but nothing changed. After pressing the floor button, Ariel stepped back and muttered indifferently.

“Koi will find out soon enough... just how much of a bastard he’s become.”

*

“Jess, coffee. Triple shot.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

As she passed by her desk, the secretary quickly stood up at the command. She didn’t forget the brownie packed with the chocolate she liked. Only after taking a sip of the freshly prepared coffee and biting into the brownie did the lawyer let out a long sigh and sink deep into her chair. Only when she visibly seemed to relax her sharp nerves did the secretary speak up.

“You seem especially tired today, ma’am.”

“Don’t even ask.”

She waved one hand dismissively.

“They came pretty well-prepared. Oh, and get me the trial documents from the Billy Austin case. I think they’ll be useful.”

“Understood.”

As he was about to leave, he suddenly paused. The lawyer glanced at him questioningly, and the secretary gave an awkward smile.

“Well... there’s no way they’ll win, right? I mean, the damages seem pretty clear...”

At his cautious question, the lawyer’s face hardened. The secretary quickly forced a laugh and backtracked.

“Ah, no, I just meant... they’re holding out better than expected. I doubt they think they’ll win against Morgan Pharmaceuticals anyway...”

“Miller.”

“Pardon?”

The lawyer’s one-word reply made the secretary flinch. She glared at him and said,

“The one they’re up against isn’t Morgan. It’s the Miller law firm. Do you think someone who doesn’t even earn a thousand dollars a week could beat us?”

“Well... it’s a group of people...”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The secretary carefully corrected her, and the lawyer let out an irritated sigh.

“So what, it makes a difference if they group together?”

The secretary avoided her gaze and looked down.

“...No.”

“Get your head straight, ‘sweet’ Will.”

The lawyer snapped coldly.

“We just do our jobs. If you wanted to fight for the weak and powerless, you should’ve gone to work under a human rights attorney, not joined Miller.”

“I’m sorry.”

He apologized quickly, but she didn’t stop.

“If your resolve starts to falter, just remember this—our boss is Ashley Dominique Miller. He doesn’t tolerate failure under any circumstances.”

“Of course. He is a ‘Dominique’ Miller, after all.”

The secretary reluctantly agreed, and the lawyer ended firmly.

“Don’t forget. We serve a monster worse than his father.”

Then she tore off another piece of brownie and tossed it into her mouth with pride. The secretary had no choice but to flee the office as if escaping.

And before the weekend arrived, yet another article was spread across the media, announcing the Miller law firm’s victory once again.

*

“They lost, just like I thought.”

At the grumbling words of the boss, Koi paused his work and looked over. The boss, having just checked something on his phone, shoved it into his back pocket. As he picked up his hammer again and went back to work, he caught Koi’s gaze and let out an awkward cough.

“Those people who sued over the drug’s side effects. They lost, just like that. As soon as the news broke that Morgan Pharmaceuticals had hired Miller, everyone probably expected it. Miller, those bastards. One day, God’s definitely going to punish them.”

Koi, about to return to work, stopped at the name he couldn’t ignore.

“...Miller?”

“Yeah. Oh, right—you’re from the West Coast, huh?”

Another worker, who’d been watching blankly, just shrugged and returned to his task. The boss lined up the plywood according to pre-cut measurements and kept talking.

“They’ll make even the devil walk free if the money’s right. Even this case—people suffering side effects from the drug all got together and filed a lawsuit, but somehow Miller twisted the logic and made them lose. Those folks staked their lives on that case. They’re all bankrupt now—how are they supposed to live? Fuckers. They’ll get what’s coming to them.”

“Uh...”

Koi blinked in confusion at the continuing curses and carefully spoke.

“Well... isn’t there a chance the side effects weren’t real...”

At that, the boss immediately scowled.

“Koi, this is America. Money can do anything here. And folks like us can’t even afford a consultation with Miller. Their base retainer is millions of dollars, you know? How the hell are we supposed to win against them? No way. Not a chance.”

Shaking his head again, the boss forcefully hammered the edge of the board into place. Koi watched him for a moment, then turned back and focused on connecting the water pipes.

It had been about a month since he’d gotten hired at this small company that specialized in interior work and repairs. Calling it a “company” was a stretch, but the boss was a good man, and the two or three coworkers he had weren’t bad either. Life was even tougher than he’d expected, with high prices and rent, but Koi was used to going without. He had no complaints. He’d expected this. It wasn’t a bad start.

What he hadn’t expected was Ashley Miller’s reputation.

Stories about him came from all directions, and the conclusion was always the same.

A demon of the legal world.

Every time people talked about him, it was with curses on their lips. Ashley Miller was the target of hatred, with everyone eager to speak ill of him. It made sense—his name was always involved in major lawsuits against big ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) corporations. And he always won. No matter the means. People around here said if you’re up against Miller, just give up.

Even so, Koi still couldn’t believe it.

The Ashley Miller in his memory wasn’t that kind of man. The image of Ashley smiling brightly at him remained vivid in his mind. More than ten years had passed—plenty of time for anyone to change. But a person’s essence doesn’t change. Ashley Miller wouldn’t have changed.

Once again, Koi repeated that belief to himself as he connected the kitchen’s water pipe.

Whatever the truth was, he would decide only after meeting him in person.