Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 138

Her expression was more serious than ever. Looking at Al’s humorless face, Koi spoke.

“It’s okay.”

He quickly added,

“I trust Ash.”

Ashley’s face, smiling brightly at him, was still vivid in his mind. And his devastated expression as he turned away. It still pained Koi’s heart, and he lowered his head, pretending to drink wine, trying to hide the tears welling up.

Human nature doesn’t change. So it would be okay. Despite all the articles and rumors about lawyer Ashley Miller, Koi believed.

That he was still the same Ashley Miller, unchanged.

Ariel looked at him and said nothing more.

“It was really nice meeting you.”

Ariel said, exchanging a warm hug. Koi hugged her back, then shook hands with Garrett.

“Thanks for having me. Nice to meet you, Garrett.”

“Come visit again.”

“Keep in touch, often.”

Koi nodded at Garrett and Ariel’s words, exchanged farewells once more, and turned away. Ariel stood there for a moment, feeling a little awkward at his back, which seemed out of place in the familiar night street. Only after Koi had turned the corner at the end of the street and completely disappeared did Ariel finally turn and enter the building.

“Is the person you’re looking for named Ash?”

Garrett asked, wrapping an arm around Ariel’s shoulder as they walked down the hallway and pressed the elevator button. Ariel nodded briefly and then spoke.

“Yes, Ashley Miller.”

Just then, the elevator’s arrival chime rang out like a sound effect in the empty hallway. Garrett’s eyes widened as he looked down at Ariel. Ariel, still looking straight ahead, said,

“That’s right, Ashley Miller. The lawyer.”

And she left the frozen Garrett behind, stepping into the open doors. Garrett, flustered, belatedly got into the elevator, still with a surprised expression, and spoke.

“No way, really? Ashley Miller?”

Garrett repeated the same words several times, but nothing changed. Ariel pressed the destination floor, stepped back, and muttered indifferently,

“Koi will find out too when he meets him, what a bastard he’s become.”

“Jess, coffee for me. Three shots.”

“Yes, Counselor.”

At the instruction given as she passed his desk, the secretary quickly got up to prepare coffee. She didn’t forget the brownie, rich with chocolate, that he liked. After taking a sip of the coffee the secretary quickly brought and putting the brownie in his mouth, the lawyer finally sighed and leaned back deeply in his chair. Only after confirming with her eyes that his sharp nerves had finally softened did the secretary speak.

“You look especially tired today, Counselor.”

“Don’t even start.”

She waved a hand.

“The other side prepared quite a lot. Oh, right, find the Billy Austin trial documents from last time. They might be useful.”

“Understood.”

He was about to leave immediately but paused. To the lawyer, who looked at him as if asking what was wrong, the secretary hesitated and gave an awkward laugh.

“Well, they won’t win, right? The victim’s cases seem clear…”

At the cautious question, the lawyer’s expression hardened. The secretary quickly smiled and stammered,

“Oh, no, it’s just that they’re holding up better than expected. I guess they don’t think they’ll win against Morgan Pharmaceuticals anyway…”

“Miller.”

“Yes?”

At the lawyer’s word, the secretary flinched. She looked at the secretary with piercing eyes and said,

“They’re not up against Morgan, they’re up against Miller Law Firm. How could people who earn less than a thousand dollars a week possibly beat us?”

“They’re ‘people,’ though.”

To the secretary who cautiously corrected her, the lawyer let out an annoyed sigh.

“So, what’s different if they team up?”

The secretary averted her gaze, looking down.

“…Nothing.”

“Snap out of it, ‘cute’ Will.”

The lawyer mercilessly spat at the secretary.

“We just do our job. If you wanted to fight for the powerless and weak, you should have worked under a human rights lawyer, not joined Miller.”

“I apologize.”

He quickly apologized, but she didn’t stop there.

“If you feel your focus slipping, remember this: our boss is ‘Ashley Dominique Miller.’ He tolerates no failure, under any circumstances.”

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

To the secretary who reluctantly agreed, the lawyer concluded firmly.

“Don’t forget, we serve a monster even worse than his father.”

And she demonstratively broke off a piece of brownie and threw it into her mouth. The secretary had no choice but to flee the room.

And before the weekend, another article announcing Miller Law Firm’s victory was spread through the media.

“Lost again, I knew it.”

At the grumbling words of the boss, Koi stopped what he was doing and turned to him. The boss, who had been looking at his phone for a moment, soon stuffed it into his back pocket. The boss, who was about to pick up his hammer and start working again, made eye contact with Koi, who was watching him, and awkwardly cleared his throat.

“Those people who sued over the new drug’s side effects, you see. They lost the lawsuit again. Everyone probably expected it as soon as the news came out that Morgan Pharmaceuticals had hired Miller as their law firm. Miller, those bastards. God will surely punish them someday.”

At the name he couldn’t just ignore, Koi, who was about to get back to work, paused.

“…Miller?”

“Yeah, oh, you said you came from the West Coast, right?”

Another employee, who had been looking on with a dazed expression, shrugged and continued his work. The boss continued speaking as he fitted the plywood to the pre-measured size.

“They’re the kind of guys who can make even a devil innocent if you pay them enough. In this trial alone, people who clearly suffered side effects from that drug gathered to sue, but they made them lose with some ridiculous sophistry. Those people staked their lives on this trial. They must all be bankrupt, how are they supposed to live now? Those bastards, they deserve divine punishment.”

“Uh…”

As the curses continued, Koi blinked in confusion and cautiously spoke.

“Excuse me, what about the possibility that those side effects weren’t real…?”

At that, the boss’s face immediately contorted.

“Koi, this is America. A country where money can do anything. And people like us can’t even get a consultation with Miller Law Firm. Their basic retainer fee is millions of dollars, do you know that? So can you win against those guys? No, you absolutely can’t.”

The boss shook his head again, then forcefully fitted the corner of the plywood. Koi watched him for a while, then turned his head back to focus on connecting the water pipes.

It had been about a month since he had been hired by a small company specializing in interior design and repairs, having gained some recognition for his skills. It was a small workshop, almost too small to be called a company, but the boss was a good person, and the couple of other employees were decent enough. Life was tougher than expected due to the enormous cost of living and rent, but scarcity was something he was all too familiar with. He had no particular complaints. It was what he had braced himself for, and it wasn’t a bad start.

What was different from his expectations, however, was Ashley Miller’s reputation. Stories about him circulated in many ways, but the conclusion was the same.

The devil of the legal world.

Everyone would inevitably spew curses when talking about him. Ashley Miller was an object of hatred, and they vied to badmouth him. It was no wonder, as Miller Law Firm’s name was always present in major lawsuits against large corporations. And he always won, by any means necessary. It was so common that people here would casually tell each other to just give up if Miller Law Firm was the opponent.

But despite all this, Koi still couldn’t believe it. The Ashley Miller etched in his memory was certainly not that kind of man. He could still vividly recall Ashley’s face, smiling brightly at him. Ten years had already passed, a time long enough for anyone to change. But the essence doesn’t change. Ashley Miller wouldn’t have changed. He repeated this to himself again as he connected the water pipe in the kitchen.

He would judge the truth only after meeting him directly.