Alex McCord stood on the steps of the courthouse contemplating what was turning out to be a beautiful day. Dark clouds formed earlier threatening to drench the city in one of its frequently occurring summer thunderstorms, but now the clouds were gone without an inkling of rain and the sun was high in the sky.
He rolled his broad shoulders as he divested himself of the tension caused by weeks of long hours behind a desk. With the closing arguments in the Lexell International case finished he could afford to take it easy for a while. The idea was a novel one as Alex was always a hard worker with leisure activities often taking a backseat to the business of his impressive law practice.
The complexities of the case and the culture of secrecy presented challenges that required more than the usual time and effort for trial preparation. Lexell was a global concern whose assets and influence would have intimidated a less formidable attorney. However, Alex was used to the pressure, but more than that, he was brilliant and supremely confident in his abilities.
The charges against the conglomerate were serious. The pharmaceutical division executives knowingly withheld crucial data from the FDA in order to get approval for a promising cancer treatment, Solenaz 12. While beneficial for the short term, the drug caused other forms of cancers in animal test subjects.
The chief scientist, Dr. James Benson, went public after failing to convince the board to delay introducing the drug until further development could be done. For his trouble his lab was locked down, the data confiscated and he was shown the door under the watchful eye of the company's security team. However, as a safeguard he copied all of the data, including inter-company memos and emails prior to making his concerns known.
The pre-trial work up and investigation was exhaustive with many of the Lexell's employees unwilling to talk and risk the same fate as Benson who was Alex's client. Now the jury deliberations were underway.
*
After court Alex went back to his office to attend to a few minor issues before heading home. His secretary was gone for the day and with no pressing cases he looked forward to having a quiet evening.
His cell phone beeped as he was leaving. Checking the caller ID he saw that it was Francine.
"Hi, Frannie, how are things going?" he greeted.
"Horribly," she answered clearly frustrated. "The new shipment came in late and I'm going to be stuck going over the inventory for some time. I know we didn't make any plans for tonight, but I was hoping that I could come over later."
Francine Winestein was a buyer for Marcus Mann, a high end department store. She loved her job, but some days it took up more time than she wanted. Both she and Alex had demanding jobs, but tried to make a concerted effort to spend time together. She loved being the woman in his life, but hoped to be his wife one day. She had big plans, but just right now her work was playing havoc with them.
"You wouldn't enjoy my company tonight," Alex responded wearily. "I just finished the Lexell case and I'm beat. My plans for the evening entail nothing more than going home and becoming a couch potato. I need to decompress."
"I understand," she said soothingly, "but it's just that we haven't been able to spend much time together the past few weeks. I miss you."
"Maybe we can do something tomorrow night," Alex suggested feeling a bit guilty for neglecting her lately. "I could call you during the day to firm up the details."
"Well, if that's all I can have," she sighed somewhat peeved that he didn't say he'd miss her too. However, being a smart woman she made sure to keep any annoyance out of her voice.
"All right, then; I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye now," Alex said and disconnected the call before she could reply.
Francine was left frowning at her phone, miffed. She was used to men running after her and didn't like the fact that Alex was the one calling the shots in their relationship. Admittedly, he was good to her, but she was always the one waiting on him. Although she made some decisions on how they spent their time together, being together was contingent on him being available.
She and Alex met two years earlier at a charity event where a mutual acquaintance introduced them. There was an instant rapport and after their first date they became exclusive. Within a few weeks Francine knew that she was in love with Alex, but kept her feelings to herself. She believed that the proper order of things dictated that the man should reveal his feelings first. Although Alex had never uttered the word love, she harbored the belief he was indeed in love with her.
Alex was a good looking man with blue eyes and a glorious mane of thick black hair. He was faithful, affectionate and considerate. In fact, he hadn't as much as looked at another woman since they started dating. But with a man like Alex there were always opportunities. It didn't escape Francine's notice that many of the women in their social circle had an eye on him.
In bed Alex was a thorough, generous and inventive lover. When they made love Francine had all of his attention and she felt like the sexiest woman in the world. Even if she weren't in love with him, for the sex alone she would consider herself a lucky woman. Above all else, Francine desperately wanted to be Alex's wife. That thought had been firmly set in her mind even before his brother, Jason, became engaged to her sister a few weeks ago. But with their engagement, she became more fixated with becoming the next Mrs. McCord.
Putting her phone away, she sighed and ran her fingers through her long blonde hair in frustration before getting on with the business of checking the new arrivals. *
Jade Harris arrived home from a long day at work. It was seven o'clock and Briana, her five year old daughter, was asleep in the back seat of the car. She'd gotten stuck at work typing a letter for her boss, attorney Baron Rollins. What pissed her off was that he'd called her into his office for dictation at five twenty, ten minutes before she was to leave for the day. Of course, he wanted it typed and on his desk before she left, not that he stayed around.
This was a frequent game that he played with her.
It's been six months since Rollins made a pass at Jade which she tactfully rejected. From that time on it became his goal to make things as difficult for her as possible. His first inclination was to fire her, but he had no legitimate reason and, as a respected attorney, it would ruin his business to be embroiled in a sexual harassment lawsuit.
Although her job paid well, Jade was keeping an eye open for other opportunities. There was a need for more balance in her life. She was so tired most evenings that she couldn't give Briana her full attention, which made her feel guilty. With only one parent, she thought her little girl deserved more.
Shaking off those thoughts, she tried not to roust Briana as she unstrapped and lifted her out of the car seat. Juggling her purse and her child Jade opened the door to her apartment and flipped the light switch on.
She threw her purse and keys on the sofa and carried Briana to her bedroom. The table lamp was on a timer and it glowed softly as Jade entered. The room was warm and cozy with the walls painted yellow and filled with Disney princess and fairy decals. The white canopy bed and the matching dresser were a birthday gift from her grandparents which completed the child's fantasy of being a princess herself.
Since Briana had already eaten, Jade took off her clothes and shoes and slipped her into a white gown; a bath could wait until morning. She said a simple prayer and kissed her daughter on the forehead.
After taking a shower, she changed into a baggy pair of shorts and a tee shirt; what she called her sexy evening garb. Truth to tell, it had been a long time since she'd thought of herself as sexy. Besides the fact that life was too hectic for such fanciful thoughts, there wasn't a man around to even notice.
Jade made herself a chicken sandwich and sat down at the kitchen table where she'd left the newspaper that morning. She hadn't found anything in the Want Ads that had much potential. She decided to tackle the comics to see if she could at least lighten her mood. But as always, her thoughts wandered back to her situation.
She was twenty six years old, but sometimes she felt like she was forty. Her world consisted of work and home with her daughter who was the center of her life. She didn't have a social life and would have given it up if she could have more time with Briana. Although she made an effort in the evenings she often failed to be of much use.
Her mother was a godsend because she could leave Briana with her instead of putting her in daycare after pre-school. While Jade didn't have anything against daycare per se, she felt it was infinitely better to leave her daughter with a trusted family member.
Despite the hardships, Jade knew she was luckier than many single mothers. She didn't need to depend on anyone financially and she could afford a decent apartment in a safe part of town. She would have liked to have someone in her life, but she didn't have the time or energy. Still sometimes it was pretty lonely.
Briana's father, Jackson, barely took an interest in his child and didn't provide any financial support. He was thirty years old and still lived with his mother. That sounded like a cliché, but she knew there were many men, white and black, who refused to grow up. Thankfully, he wasn't on drugs or an alcoholic.
When Jackson did see Briana, he would make promises that he never kept. Jade never criticized him in their daughter's presence, but she didn't make excuses either. She knew that a lot of kids were in the same boat, even worse, but she felt guilty because she chose that man. He was a mistake, but her child was a blessing. She didn't hate Jackson, but she resent him for ignoring his parental responsibilities.
*
