All right, all you lawyers, students of the law, or just plain nitpickers, listen up. I don't know shit about law, I drive a forklift for a living.
The part of writing fiction I love is just that, it's fiction. I don't know if Alabama even has a three strike law, but for the sake of this story it does. Read it as what it is, escapism.
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The little girl was squirming on her lap, making it pretty hard to put her hair up in the French braid she loved so much. She had never seen a five year old with so much hair.
"Crystal Anne! Stop, right this minute, or we're going to be late for church. What in the world is wrong with you?"
"Granny, cousin Billy said you was a Yankee, That's not so, is it?"
"First of all young lady It's were, not was. Here comes Gramps, why don't you ask him."
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Gwen noticed her standing in the doorway of her office, An odd expression on her face.
She was her husband's oldest friend, moving from Birmingham to Boston with him when he relocated. Gwen had never really liked her. Her name was Crystal Ann Montgomery, but everybody called her 'Dixie'. Short, stacked, a redhead with green eyes. Between her killer good looks and soft Southern drawl, she had the males at the firm completely whipped, even the married ones. All she had to do was suggest something and it became policy.
She flirted shamelessly, but was never improper. She never dated in house, but was seen on the arm of many eligible men over the years. Oddly, she had never settled down.
"Something I can help you with, Crystal Anne?"
She would be damned if she ever called her by her nickname.
"I been hearin' things, sugar, bad things. Thought I might drop by, see if there was anything to it."
Her green eyes were frosty, no friendliness at all in them.
Her comment made Gwen angry.
"What you hear and don't hear is none of my business. Now, I'm sure you have better things to do."
Crystal refused to be baited.
"Sorry sugar[she pronounced it 'shugah', her accent became more pronounced when she was pissed], when you married Hardy you became my business. Honestly, I've never liked you and don't give a rats ass what happens to you. I tried my best to talk him out of marrying you.
But love is blind, and in his case stupid, and he did it anyway. Now you've fucked over him, and for his sake I'm giving you fair warning."
She paused to clarify her thoughts.
"He's not the man he led you to believe. You actually know very little about him. He didn't tell you because he was ashamed of part of it and afraid the other parts would scare you away."
"I tell you this for your own good. He's an Old Testament kind of guy, and is a firm believer in the 'eye for an eye' school of thought. When he finds out what you've done, you better not be anywhere close to him or it could end up very badly for you. Just so we're clear here, I'm not telling you this to protect you, but him."
By now Gwen was angry. First she didn't know what she was talking about, and second her life was none of her business.
Dripping sarcasm, she spoke.
"Well, Miss Montgomery, let me thank you for your concern, however scant it appears to be. But Hardy and I are just fine, despite what you hear.
Now, I'm sure you have work to do."
If she thought that would make her scurry away she was badly mistaken.
"Oh, don't worry about me, sugar. I'm on lunch. If you're just fine with your husband, why did Allen post 'BLOND ON BLOND IS BACK!' on his corporate Facebook? I'm leaving now, I just wanted to have this talk to see if I could save Hardy some pain."
"But you're either in denial or just don't care.
I've said my piece, but I will leave you with this."
"Like I said, I did it for Hardy, not you. You need to remember, he's not one of those Ivy League Yankee boys you're used to. There won't be any counseling or exploration of feelings. He'll go straight to your ass."
"Parting shot here, what you may not know is the one thing Hardy hates above anything else is a cheater. And when he kicks you to the curb, I'm gonna be there to try and catch him on the rebound."
"I've loved him since I was fourteen years old, and I'd die before I'd cheat on him. I intend to be on him quicker than a hen on a June bug."
"Ya'll have a nice day, sugar."
With that she sauntered out the door, turning the head of every man in the hallway.
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Gwen sat in shock, before accessing his Facebook account.
There it was, for every one to see.
"Man, the trip to Paris was a huge success. The negotiations went very well, and more importantly,
BLOND ON BLOND IS BACK! Things can't get much better."
Blond on blond was his pet name for them when they were intimate. He was something of a poser, and grew his hair long to give him what he mentally called his 'rebel' look. He said with both having long, beautiful locks[his description, not hers]made them a beautiful couple. Her Dad and most of the senior staff thought he looked girlish, but he was damn good at his job so they left him alone.
She reached for the phone, dialing his extension. He recognized her number.
"Hi, babes. What's up?"
"Allan, are you insane? What's with the 'blond on blond' crack on your Facebook? Are you trying to get me divorced, or both of us fired? If Dad gets wind of this you'll be fired in a heartbeat, and it won't go well for me either. I don't think he would fire his only child, but who knows."
She was practically screaming at him by the end.
"Hold on there, babe. Your Dad would never fire you, you're the second best contract lawyer he's got, right behind me. Everything will be cool, just stay calm."
Not assured, she tried to reason with him.
"Look, Paris was a mistake. If I hadn't been drunk and let you talk me into that line of coke it would never had happen. We DO NOT want my husband to find out."
Allan was not perturbed. He wanted everyone to find out, he wanted Gwen back. He almost had her until her Dad brought that hick up from Alabama.
"You sure didn't think it was a mistake when you were screaming my name. Joe Redneck doesn't scare me, remember I"m a third degree black belt. I won't go looking for him, but if he pushes he'll get more than his feelings hurt."
"Damn Allan, have the drugs scrambled your brains? Don't sell him short, he did two tours in Iraq. He's kinda used to killing people. Now, keep your mouth shut, understand?"
He had no intention of keeping his mouth shut, but he wanted to keep her calm so he agreed.
When she hung up he reclined back into his chair, smiling. He almost had her once, and this time he was going to hold on to her. He knew her weaknesses and intended to exploit them.
She was beautiful, fairly intelligent, but more importantly, she was the only child and sole heir to her fathers' estate when he passes, not to mention the massive trust fund her grandmother had left her. All told it ran into three to four hundred million, give or take. Yes, life was going to be very good to him in the near future. Smiling, he lifted the phone.
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Gwen sat at her desk, fuming. How had she let herself get drawn into this mess? She hoped Allen would honor his word. Looking at the picture on her desk, she thought back to her courtship.
She had chased him, relentlessly. His Southern charm, rugged good looks, and animal magnetism drew every woman to him like a moth to a flame. He didn't appear to notice it, and treated every one of them with respect, but his habit of looking them directly into their eyes like they were the only woman on earth worthy of his gaze unnerved and aroused them. One once described his look as controlled, but with something primal and dangerous lurking just below the surface.
"Who is that?" She asked her paralegal one day, watching him walk down the hall.
Lisa laughed. "Down, girl! That's Hardy Wilkes, the new lawyer your father brought up from the Birmingham office. He handles all the pro bono work now. He's pretty, but he's a loner. I don't think he's gay, but he doesn't seem to have much interest in women. I gave him a run, and he basically ignored all the signals."
Gwen brought him up at her regular Sunday lunch with her Dad.
"I hear you brought a lawyer up from the Alabama office. Is he any good?"
She often wondered why he kept the Birmingham office open. Her great grandfather had opened the office as a favor to a steel baron who he represented. It was a good move, and eventually they had almost all the old steel magnates as clients.
But the steel business was almost completely gone now. The office was just a courtesy to the few surviving tycoons. But still, it was profitable and seemed to have a place in her Dads' heart.
Her Dad laughed.
"Leave it to you to notice when a handsome man joins the firm. His name is Hardy Wilkes. He grew up in a small county up north of Birmingham. Went to college on the GI bill. We fund a scholarship at his college and I met him there.
He'll fool you with that Good Ol' Boy charm and then destroy you before you realize there's a brilliant mind under that exterior. I saw him eat up a practicing lawyer at a mock trial when he was in his second year. I recruited him on the spot. When he got his license he went to work for me. He doesn't seem to be motivated by money, so I let him run the pro bono section in Birmingham.
He was fairly selective, only taking cases where he thought they were innocent, and has a 93% success rate."
He looked at her speculatively. She had a habit of falling in love inopportunely. She had been engaged twice, and both times they fell through when she cheated.
"Leave him alone, Gwen. You have no idea how he thinks. He has no experience with your world, and I don't think he would fit. Plus, I don't think you could control him, and I know how important that is to you."
"Daddy! Really, do you think I pursue every man I think attractive?"
He just sat back and smiled.
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