Page 68 of The Love of Priest

"You got my word." He placed his right hand on his heart. The elevator door glided open behind him, revealing his head of security, Cyro. "Mr. Justice, we're ready for you," his deep voice bellowed.

Priest nodded before entering the elevator alongside him. Jazzy sent him a final wave goodbye just as the doors were shutting. Leaning against the steel wall of the elevator, Priest kept his eyes glued to the doors that would be revealing him to the lobby soon.

Once the doors parted from each other, Cyro took his position standing before Priest, leading him into the engulfing crowd of invasive reporters. Unlike anyone else who didn’t enjoy the attention or cameras, Priest kept his head held high, his front cover-worthy smile gracing his face. He was New York's very ownposter boy.

Ignoring the various questions from different reporters, Priest thanked Cyro for successfully getting him into his car at the center of the extensive line of darkly tinted SUVs. "Need me to ride with you, Mr. Justice?" Cyro asked before he shut the door. Priest politely declined his offer before thanking him.

Enclosed in the back seat of the SUV by himself, Priest took in a deep breath. Although he was getting chauffeured around, the partition separating him and the driver gave him the illusion of being alone, and that was all he needed at the moment: some time for himself. Usually, J'Ru and his mother would be riding right beside him. However, he couldn't bear to listen to his mother's voice and J'Ru's sneer remarks to her here and there.

Silence filled the vehicle as he busied himself with his phone. With a light smile on his face, he opted to call Britain. She didn't let the call ring for long before her soothing voice answered. "Hey. Is everything okay?" she asked with a hint of concern lacing her voice.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just was calling to say thank you again."

"Stop thanking me," she insisted, a smile audible in her voice. Britain thought he was great in so many ways, and he believed the same about her."It's all in a day's work of beingGioia." Chuckles filtered out of them in unison.

"What are you getting into today?" Priest asked her since he was in desperate need of taking his mind off things.

Britain sighed as she plopped down on her couch. "Keeping my eyes on you."

In the background, Priest could hear the news broadcasting from the television. He was being talked about, and the anchor was giving a full detailed review of all the trial dates prior to this one. The media was making the most out of this specific court date simply because it was the first one after Tony and the entire safe house got lit up by the dummies Priest had taken care of. Priest knew he was going to be under the eye of scrutiny and placed in the hot seat since everyone wanted to know how the fuck he orchestrated the move so quickly— if he even had, of course. Priest stood firm on the fact that he was innocent until proven guilty. Right now, he was looking real fucking innocent. Evidence was getting tossed out and extracted out of the prosecutor’s case left and right. His attorney, Abraham, was a beast, and that eased Priest’s mind a bit, but not so much that he felt like he was going to get a slap on the wrist and an apology afterward.

Priest let out a laugh. Britain had still managed to be hands-on without going against his orders of not showing up. "They're live at the courthouse?" Priest asked.

Britain nodded as if he could see her. "They're waiting for your grand entrance, Mr. Justice." Although he was entering the court just to be slandered by the prosecution, he always caused chaos with his entrances. He looked the sharpest, and his smile was always the brightest. Many women fawned over him while men were left to question how he happened to be so fucking relaxed when his fate was in the hands of the court.

Glancing out of the dark tinted window, Priest noticed he had arrived. The car eased into a smooth stop right in front of the courthouse that was littered with news reporters. "Show time." He smirked in an arrogant manner as Cyro made his way around to open the door for him. Priest exited his SUV while staying on the phone with Britain.

From her couch at home, she watched as the camera zoomed in on him while he ran his free hand down his well put together suit. "You look handsome," Britain complimented as a smile graced her face at the sight of Priest grinning for the slew of cameras as they attempted to bombard him to no avail. They didn't get the chance to do so because his security detail was tight and worked together as a force. A well-dressed J'Ru and Sylvia sauntered behind him with sunglasses shading their eyes to protect them from the cameras.

"I wore your favorite." Priest smirked at the camera as he spoke into the phone to Britain.

She bit down on her bottom lip gently as she eyed the television screen showcasing his expensive ensemble. "Giorgio Armani," she gawked in complete awe at the sight of him.

Priest licked his lips slowly before sending a quick wink to the camera. Britain knew the wink was for her own fulfillment as she grinned stupidly at the screen. "You're dangerous," Britain told him with a shake of her head.

The news caught Priest in the action of laughing at what was said over his private phone call. "It's not fun if it's not dangerous," he jested.

"I can definitely agree with that." Britain nodded as her eyes followed Priest's every move on the television screen.

With a smirk in his face, Priest continued straight toward the courthouse, ignoring the screeching reporters who wanted an inside scoop from the number one source himself. "I'll prove more of my point later, if I'm allowed to see you, of course."

Britain scoffed jokingly as if he were stupid to even question whether he was free to come over. "I'll leave the door unlocked."

"Don't. I know where the spare key is." He chuckled before his tongue swiped over his soft lips. Priest was continuing his conversation despite the cameras and multiple microphones being shoved into his grill.

"Feel free to use it whenever." Britain smirked.

Priest nodded. "I will." He smiled. "I gotta give the people what they want. I'll see you later. Cool?"

Britain released a chortle that came with a swarm of butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. "Cool," she agreed before they both said their goodbyes to one another and ended the call.

Britain continued to watch how effortless it was for Priest to charm the crowd. He stood tall, head held high with that contagious smile gracing his handsome face. He was a debonair man in every aspect, and no one could deny it, whether they thought he was guilty or not. Britain furrowed her brows at the sight of Priest standing tall on the stone steps in front of the courthouse. This was the first time he'd done such a thing, so everyone was at the edge of their seats waiting to see what he was going to announce to the world.

"Priest, how have you been dealing with the new allegations that State Prosecutor Hernandez is trying hard to hold you accountable for?" one reporter shouted.

Priest let a smirk prance across his face. The media had been following every step of the trial. They had grown accustomed to his smug yet open demeanor. "His efforts are still being considered as trying. They have no impact on me or my team for that matter," Priest spoke into the bundle of microphones that were pushed before him as the reporters all squeezed in to catch a notable quote from him. "What I will shed light on, though, is how diligently the State of New York has been working on such a tedious case. However, it saddens me to see that they are focusing their attention on the wrong situation and the wrong figure in the community." His diction was so elusive yet so precise. Everyone felt compelled to listen to what he was saying.

Figuring that he had said and done enough to satisfy the people, Priest thanked the reporters for their time before resuming his journey into the courthouse. As J'Ru stood right beside him, they slapped hands with each other, celebrating the fact that Priest knowingly just stirred up the media with just a few words.

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