For Abdul Salame it was the best part of the day. The vision would carry him through the rest of the morning and on into the afternoon as it did every day that he saw her. The middle aged worker at the newsstand located outside the huge skyscraper downtown had made a game of it. Guess what the beautiful blonde lawyer was wearing. He was able to win his little internal game more often than not and why not, after watching her for over five years he knew every outfit she owned. She usually got to work early, around 7am which was fine with Abdul. That meant there was no one else around to interfere with his voyeuristic fun.
"Hello Abdul." The young blonde announced with a smile as she approached the newsstand.
"Oh good morning Lis. The Times as usual?" The Sudanese immigrant handed her the paper and took her dollar. He smiled to himself as he had lost his game. He had guessed the summer weight blue pinstripe but she had surprised him with the stone colored outfit. It was the first time he had guessed wrong in a number of days.
"That's it. Now you're starting the citizenship process right." The blonde was looking down into her large bag as she spoke dropping the change into the purse inside.
"Yes. Yes. That's right." The man was too enthralled with the touch of his customer's hand from giving her the change to pay attention.
"Remember I've okayed it with the boss. We are going to handle this for you free of charge so come and see me soon alright?" She reminded him.
The black man could only smile in response he was so smitten. With that Lis Rome turned and pranced up the steps of the downtown office building. Abdul watched the performance as she climbed the 50 steps. She was like any of the other people going to work in the city, although, as Abdul would attest too, she did it looking better than just about anyone else. Ms. Rome's hair stuck out in a crowd as did her athletic 5"-8" frame resplendent in the stone colored business suit. The tailor who fitted Lis for all her suits knew what she was doing. The material showed off all the important body parts, her swaying hips and small but pert cleavage. Yet the summer suit wasn't so tight that it was obscene. After all Ms. Rome was an ambitious lawyer at Collins, Kelly & Witt not some tarty secretary out looking for a breadwinning husband as much as collecting a paycheck. The statuesque blonde had a career and if things kept going well a future partnership at the firm which was located on floors 19 through 22 in the building. Still the beautiful attorney knew that looks counted so she dressed the part.
As she moved through the lobby to the bank of elevators Lis got her share of stares. The suit skirt was short and the black high heel pumps showed off her long legs. The calf and thigh muscles bulged behind tan skin that was smooth and polished from a recent leg waxing. She said hello to Anna at the reception desk. The pretty middle aged woman with the Mediterranean features had been with the firm for 15 years and was exceptional at keeping the unwanted salesman and stockbrokers away from the 55 lawyers employed there.
Lis' office was large but only because none of the lawyers above her grade really wanted it. While many of the other offices were smaller they had a panoramic view of the city and the river below. Additionally their assistants were located right outside in the large bullpen made up of paralegals and secretaries. Meanwhile Lis' office was down a corridor, windowless and in a remote corner. Many jokingly called it the playpen. Lis didn't mind it. She had more privacy than anyone in the office.
This Monday morning would be no different than most others. Lis was only 33 years old but she was one of the better litigators in the firm. She seemed to be at her best with white collar criminal defense work and litigating civil cases. She was great in the courtroom, a rare talent that the partners saw as future greatness in the legal profession. Lis was at her desk finishing up the settlement paperwork on a corporate client's embezzlement case when Judd Witt knocked on her open door.
"Good morning how's our litigating superstar today?" The firm patriarch inquired with his usual broad smile. Judd Witt was the last of the founding members of Collins, Kelly & Witt. He brought in many of the best clients that accounted for a great deal of the revenue at the firm. Over the past couple of years when one of his clients went to court more often than not he called on Lis.
"I don't know. I haven't seen Roger yet this morning." Lis responded and smiled up at her mentor.
"Ha! I could have sworn you passed him in the rankings last week!" Atty. Witt loved a good sense of humor. Lis had referred to Roger Gordon the current top dog in the litigation department.
"Not in this lifetime. So how was your weekend?" Lis returned as Judd closed the door to her office bringing a folder with him.
"Very boring but I do like not having to come in here so often. You and a few others have taken up much of the slack and I appreciate it." Judd sometimes got a little sentimental with Lis. He felt that close to her.
"Just doing my job." Lis replied trying to cut short the soft moment.
"And today is a work day and I have some more for you!" The managing partner bellowed in his famous tenor voice.
"Good. With the Keltic litigation done I could do with another case." Lis informed him.
"This one is a little tricky to say the least. He's not one of our usual clients. Xavier Washington was one of Briger's deals." Judd explained.
"Oh God not another one!" Lis smiled and shook her head.
Sam Briger had been one of the more flamboyant partners in the history of Collins, Kelly & Witt. While he brought in some huge Wall Street clients, Briger had engaged some very eclectic clients as well. Clients that had ran with him in his very crazy lifestyle.
"I am afraid that this one may be the wildest yet. Xavier Washington, or X as he is called, has done some big deals through the firm but ..., well ... there's no other way to say it. He's a pimp. He runs probably the most exclusive escort service in the city." The elder lawyer stated with a look that somehow combined sheepish with disdain.
"Oh great, I can't wait to dig into this one." Lis just didn't need this one a Monday.
"It's not what you think. You wouldn't even know what he did if you saw him. He actually runs a sizable real estate business as well. He had a run in with one of his tenants and they pressed charges against him. He's actually in the right on this one." Judd explained.
"So you want me to work out a deal for him on this one?" Lis asked.
"Oh I would have turned this over to one of our lesser colleagues if that's what this was all about. X told me that he wants to keep his record clean. You see he has this funny notion about being an innocent man despite his profession. I told him that he would have to pay our full hourly rate. Good luck." Judd Witt handed the folder over the desk to Lis.
"Judd I know you try to avoid having too high brow a reputation here and that's fine with me. If you don't mind me asking why are we working with a guy like this?" Lis inquired.
"Oh I don't mind answering that one. As I said X not only runs a very high class escort service, he owns a great deal of property in this city. He's quite a good businessman. The fees for his real estate transactions have been significant and of course he was one of Briger's boys. Always a laugh a minute with Sammy." The senior partner smiled and then turned and left the office.
