“We’ll just have you answer these questions, Mrs. Mayer…” Paul started.
“But I already filled out the questionnaire. Why do I have answer them again?” The young blonde sat in a huff.
“Well, this is just preparation, Mrs. Mayer…”
“I don’t want to be called by that name anymore. I don’t want anything else to do with that old creep.”
“Yes, of course, Ms. Smith,” Evan spoke up, smoothing things over.
Teri Smith Mayer gave him a warm smile, which quickly faded when Paul started questioning her.
Norah tapped her pen against her legal pad, constantly watching the time, eager for this interview to be over. They were all seated in a conference room in a Phoenix hotel, clustered at one end of the long table, with Mrs. Mayer sitting apart from everyone else, flashing her legs at Evan and Paul. Mrs. Mayer’s lawyer, Sheila Hale, sat closest to the flashy young woman, on hand to whisper advice to her after each question was voiced. This was proving to be a slow and tedious process, and Norah was working overtime trying to hide her frustration.
Paul had warned her about prejudging witnesses, and Norah was trying her best not to pass judgement on the young estranged wife, but she just couldn’t help raising an eyebrow when she’d first laid eyes on Mrs. Mayer. The woman couldn’t have been a day over twenty-three, and she wore a short, tight dress, which seemed inappropriate for their meeting. Her petite tanned legs were exposed from mid-thigh down to her strappy-sandaled feet, and she hadn’t bothered to pull her dress down when she sat in the chair.
Norah sneered at Paul and Evan. They were obviously impressed by the woman’s curvy body, and her youth; they kept their eyes glued to her, even when Norah or Sheila Hale bothered to speak. Teri whined through the first five questions of the interview, making Sheila stop and explain the process to her for a third time. Norah suggested that they take a five-minute break, in order to give the girl a chance to throw her tantrum with Sheila. Everyone agreed on the suggestion, and Paul took the time to rush to the men’s room, while Evan stood in the corridor, stretching his legs, and checking his cell phone for messages.
“What’s with you now?” he asked without even looking up from his phone.
“What are you guys doing?” Norah looked around. “You’re supposed to be getting through the questions. You’re going too easy on her.”
“Are we?” he put his phone away.
“Yes. Instead of ogling her legs, you should be grilling her, and keeping her on her toes…”
“Man, you women can be ruthless when you get jealous…”
“I’m not jealous. She’s used to getting her way, and that’s not what this interview is about. We’re supposed to be gathering information, not kissing her ass.”
“Well, Ms. West, sometimes it has to be that way.”
“What are you talking about?”
“We’ll have to kiss her ass a little bit, just enough to get her to cooperate, and to answer the questions that we want her to answer. We can rip her apart during the trial. That’s when you can have your fun and expose her for being the gold digging tramp that she really is.”
Paul approached them, straightening his necktie. “Well, are we ready to resume?”
“Of course,” Evan smiled. “Ladies first,” he held the door open for Norah.
When they reentered the room, Sheila Hale was standing in front of the table, with a sly smile on her caramel colored face.
“My client isn’t prepared to continue this interview today,” she announced.
“What?” Norah asked.
“We’ll have to continue this on a future date,” Sheila explained, “because my client is feeling distraught.”
Norah started to say something, but Evan interrupted her, again, smoothing everything over.
“That’s quite understandable. I know that this has been a trying experience for you, Ms. Smith. We’ll reschedule this interview for a time and date that are more convenient for you.”
“Thank you,” her eyes quickly scanned Evan’s frame.
“I’ll set up the appointment with you, Ms. Hale,” Paul approached the shapely lawyer.
Norah shook her head in disbelief. This girl was turning out to be as much of an annoyance as her old husband. She watched as Paul consulted with the other lawyer on various dates, admiring the finely cut suit that Sheila wore, which accented her hourglass figure. She was tempted to ask the woman who her tailor was, but she was distracted when she felt Evan’s hand on her ass.
He was still talking to Teri, standing close to her, and asking her for a recommendation for a good restaurant. Norah smirked; knowing that all he had to do was to pick up a travel guide, or to ask the concierge, she realized that Evan was milking this opportunity to bowl the young girl over while her lawyer wasn’t watching. She also knew that this girl probably never ate in restaurants, remembering the tabloid headlines about her steamy affair with her personal chef.
Norah’s face turned red as Evan pinched her ass cheeks, steadily groping and rubbing as he talked to the young girl, making her laugh, and getting her to flirt back and forth with him. She knew that Evan had the girl when Teri made a comment about his cologne, and Norah cleared her throat when she noticed Sheila closing her briefcase and Paul moving toward them.
“We’ve made a date for Wednesday,” Paul filled them in. “That should give Sheila enough time to coach her through the questions. Then maybe we’ll be able to wrap this whole thing up in one day.”
“Hopefully…” Norah muttered under her breath.
---
The travel arrangements for this second trip to Phoenix had turned out much better than those of the previous trip. Paul and Evan were sharing a suite, while Norah had her own room, in a separate wing of the hotel. Norah had secretly grinned when she learned of the arrangement, knowing that it would cramp Evan’s style, having to share a room with Paul. She also grinned at the fact that her room was on the other side of the hotel from theirs. If Evan wanted to make a late night visit, he could do so without them being discovered.
After the meeting, she noticed that she had picked up one of his files by mistake, so she headed across the hotel to his room, to return it to him. Evan was there alone, in the middle of changing his clothes.
“I picked this up, somehow,” Norah admired his rippled abdomen as he slipped on a casual shirt.
“I put it in your briefcase, on purpose,” he explained, “to get you over here.”
“Well, what do you want?”
“I have a favor to ask you.”
“No.”
“I haven’t even asked the question, yet.”
“No.” Norah shook her head.
“You don’t even know what it is.”
“Knowing you, it’s probably something unethical.”
“Oh, come on, Norah. I hate it when you do that.”
“All right,” she relented. “I’m sorry. The answer’s still ‘no’.”
“Okay. I’ll make a deal with you. Anything you want; name your price.”
“Why can’t Paul do it?” she asked suspiciously.
“Paul can’t do it because he doesn’t have his own room…”
“Ah, I knew it was something like that. You’re not going to…you’re not thinking of bringing that girl up here, are you?” Norah had visions of Evan trying to seduce Teri.
“What? No! Do you think I’m crazy?”
“I don’t know. You do crazy things all the time.”
“Shit. I’d never do anything like that, Norah. I can’t believe you’d think that,” he sounded angry.
“Well, I’d better go…” Norah turned to leave.
