The distinctive tick of the large oak grandfather clock was the only sound heard, as the two lawyers sat in wonderment. Their boss had just called them into his office, presented his proposal, and left them alone to make their decisions.
"What do you think, Stewart?"
Stewart looked at the pretty blonde who had asked the question and tried to play it tough. "Doesn't look like we have much choice, now. We blew it, plain and simple."
"I still don't know...maybe...."
"What, after this case, you wanna look for another job?"
"No, it's not that, it's just...."
"Look Alexandra, I'm not that happy about it either, and I know, I know," Stewart said, reading her face. "I know I'm a guy, and it's a little different. But it's only once, and we get to go home after that, and, most important, we keep our jobs."
"But, I don't know...I'll...I mean, we'll be the laughing stock of the...."
"We already are!" Stewart interrupted. "We already are."
The room fell deathly silent, except for the clock. The ticking seemed to hypnotize Alexandra. Her mind raced back in time, nearly a year. It was another Christmas season.
She had a good paying job as a defense attorney, with a large, well-known firm, located high in a skyscraper. She had so many reasons besides the holidays to be excited. She had just celebrated her first wedding anniversary. She had finally moved out of the big city, into a large home with a white picket fence. She was looking forward to starting a family. She seemingly had it all going for her, when she got the call she had been waiting for.
Her first murder defense.
Her client was Heather Bracey, the wife of a wealthy real-estate developer, who had turned up dead. The evidence was thin and circumstantial, but Heather was arrested and charged with his murder.
Alexandra was happy that her boss, Ben Davis, had finally called her number. She had been working at the firm for 10 years and was starting to think that the old boys system might be more than just her imagination.
Of course, she still had to work on the case with Stewart Hart, a handsome lawyer, known for his smooth style. They worked night and day, much to the chagrin of her new husband. Their first success was getting Heather freed on bail. Their second was getting a predominantly female jury. Then the case finally came to trial.
In the much publicized case, everything was going well for the defense...that is, until a surprise witness turned up at the last moment, a woman who said she heard Heather threaten to kill her husband, "one of these days, for his life insurance money." It was questionable, but it seemed to swing the jury. The guilty verdict blared from news reports for days. That verdict meant life without parole for Heather and a black eye for the firm.
"Well, I'm signing the damn thing," Stewart cried out, startling Alexandra back to reality. "There, now I need a drink. Care to follow?"
"Huh?" She blinked. "Aren't we supposed...."
"I don't know," Stewart snapped. "Fuck if I know anything anymore...other than there's a bottle of bourbon out there with my name on it."
The sound of the slamming door jarred Alexandra's already frayed nerves. It also reminded her of her client, locked away behind bars.
"Just think of what she's going through. Isn't that what Mr. Davis said?" Alexandra sighed, as she signed her name to the papers that her boss had drawn up. She almost laughed at the pen's red ink. It was like she'd just signed in her own blood. She knew there was no going back, now.
She rose from her seat just as her boss opened the door. "All signed?" he asked. Alexandra couldn't even look him in the eye. She just nodded in passing. "Good. Then I guess we'll see you Friday night." Alexandra cringed at just how literal his comment was.
She fled to the parking lot, hopped in her new car, and then drove and drove. She didn't even know where to go. She thought about joining Stewart for some drinks. But she knew how that would look. She could go home to her husband. But he would just have sex on his mind, and that's the last thing she wanted right now. She finally found herself at her favorite aunt's house, some two hours away from where she'd started.
Alexandra was an orphan and an only child. Aunt Mildred was all she had in the way of family and had seemingly always been there for her. Mildred also put her through law school. She sat in the car almost afraid to move, but she just had to tell someone, and mostly she needed someone to tell her it was going to be alright.
Alexandra finally got the courage to ring the doorbell. Her aunt was happy to see her, but not surprised, because she had been following the case on TV. After some small talk, Mildred asked the crucial question: "How'd things go with your boss?"
Alexandra, through a flood of tears, went on to burble a rambling blow-by-blow account of that meeting.
"Here, now, it's not that bad," her aunt said, wiping some tears with a hankie. "I mean, I'm not sure I heard you right."
"I know...I-I still...c-can't believe it." Alexandra sniffled.
"So, let's see if I got this straight," her aunt said, handing over the hankie. "First your boss tells you that he's angry with your courtroom performance, and he scolds you for missing that witness. He goes on to say that you should experience just a small taste of what your client will endure in her trip to prison, and then maybe next time you won't be so careless. He says he should fire both of you, but he will give you one more shot, if you...."
"Yep," Alexandra said, nodding her head, and then she blew her nose.
"Oh my!"
"And it's all in writing. I already signed it," Alexandra moaned.
"Oh, my dear!"
"Yeah, I'm going to have to do it now...I guess."
"H-have you ever..." her aunt mumbled, looking for the words.
"What, been Strip-Searched?" Alexandra gasped, and then just shook her head.
"Ok, ah, I knew that, but did you ever see someone else?"
"Nope," Alexandra groaned. "I can only imagine."
"Not for long."
"Auntie!"
Both women enjoyed a nervous giggle, before Aunt Mildred scratched her head. "You said you wouldn't know who was strip-searching you. I don't get it."
"Well, that's where the firm's Christmas party comes into play," Alexandra said. She stood up and started to nervously pace the floor. "It's like a costume party, too. We all dress up in Christmas-like costumes, so...."
"Oh, so the guy will be wearing a costume?"
"Yep. A Santa costume."
"A Santa costume!" her aunt said with a laugh. "Funny -- A Strip-searchin' Santa."
"Oh, funny, Ha-Ha."
"No..., I believe that's 'Ho-HO.'"
"Auntie!"
"I'm just trying to lighten you up a bit. Geez, it's not the end of the world. It's just a little nudity. It's not like you're old or overweight or anything."
"It's not that, Auntie. I didn't tell the worst part.... The guys I work with...my fellow lawyers...well, they get to, ah, watch, too," Alexandra stammered.
"What?"
"Yeah, the way my boss put it...it's like I'm their naked Christmas present."
"But, how?"
"Though this glass window in one of the conference rooms...worst part is I won't be able to see them, but they'll .... Oh, I don't want to even think about it."
"Ok, if you can't see 'em, then just pretend they're not there."