Intrigue

I woke up and tried to focus on the clock. I was a little startled when I saw it read four o'clock in the morning. I must have fell asleep last night while working. I went into the bedroom sleepily. The sight of Brent and Madison was absolutely adorable. She was sound asleep on his chest and he was sleeping peacefully. I crawled into bed next to them and set my phone alarm for 6 o'clock. I needed to get some work done today, especially because Brent had a game tonight. His mom and dad I hoped were going to watch Madi this morning while he was at the rink. I couldn’t really afford to lose any more time at the office this week.

My phone alarm went off and I quickly shut it off. I looked over and Madison was staring contently at me wide awake. I took her from Brent and took her into her room to get changed. I dressed her for the day and packed a diaper bag in case he needed to go out.

I went into the kitchen, made coffee and turned on the radio while I started to cook breakfast. Usually I just grabbed something on the way in, but I figured I’d give him a little time to sleep before leaving. Besides, Madi was so cute I hated to part with her. She was sitting in her high chair watching me cook French toast. I had the music on and I was dancing around when I realized Brent was in the doorway watching. “Well aren’t we chipper this morning?” he commented with a smirk.

“Hahaha, I got a really good night of sleep sweetheart.” I said sticking my tongue at him.

“Your parents are watching her this morning right?” He nodded. “Ok, I gotta go. I just got a message I have to cover a hearing at ten o'clock and I haven’t even seen the case yet.” I put his food on a plate, grabbed my coffee, kissed him and Madi and ran upstairs to get dressed.

I got into work fairly early still, it was before eight o'clock. I went straight to Alan’s office. “Hey Alan, do you have the file for the ten o'clock motion?” I asked.

“Yep, here it is. It’s fairly straight forward. The Defense filed a Motion to Dismiss the case based on lack of evidence. You shouldn’t have any problem. I am sending one of our new attorneys with you. His name is Michael. He is fresh out of law school. Just passed the bar last month. He seems pretty smart, just needs some observation under his belt."

“Umm ok Alan, I didn’t get any observation under my belt.” I said and smiled at him.

“I seen you in action, enough said. Better get reading dear. Oh and Alex, can you see if Brent can get me tickets to the Chicago/Minnesota game at the end of the month. I tried but they are sold out and my grandson is begging me for them. Also, we need to meet later on this week on Ava’s case too. Ok, get out of here. I’ll send Mike in once he arrives.”

I flew back to my office and flipped through the case. It was a child endangerment charge where the mother had left her eight year old and five year home alone while she ran to the store. There was a fire in the building while she was gone and both children had ended up with smoke inhalation and in the hospital. It did seem fairly routine. We had three witness including a Chicago fire fighter who stated the children were alone in the apartment when the fire broke out. The mother showed up after the fire department. I read the witness statements and drank my coffee. A knock on my door took me by surprise. I forgot I was supposed to be waiting for the new attorney. “Come in” I yelled, slipping my heels back on. The radio was currently blasting a song by Pink. I turned it down as he entered. He was about 26 years old, dark hair and green eyes. He was really attractive, not that it mattered much to me, I was really happy with Brent. I felt like I finally had a family again.

“Hey, I’m Mike, you are Alexa, right.” He said extending his hand.

“That’s me. Well if you want you can flip through this. I reviewed it already. It is the only case on the docket today. It is fairly straightforward.”

My phone started to ring and I picked it up. “Hey baby, question for you. How much formula is she supposed to get each time she eats. She keeps crying and I think she is hungry?” I smiled, he sounded so confused.

“She drank eight ounces at six o'clock, she can drink another eight ounces when she is ready. You can give her cereal and fruit though and cut down on the amount of formula you will give her. Not sure if she is allergic to anything yet so let me know what fruit you give her and do not give her anything besides that one kind.”

He groaned in the phone. “Shoot, just dropped the powder formula. We miss you Mommy. Good luck at court. Madi and I are going to meet you afterwards, can you do lunch with me? Practice got moved to 2 pm.“

I laughed at him. “Sure, I’m bringing a co-worker though. We will meet you outside the courtroom right around eleven or so.” I hung up and Mike was looking curiously at me.

“So you have a baby? He asked.

“Well sort of, it’s actually my fiancée’s daughter. He just got custody of her and it has been a crazy few weeks.“

I looked up at him and he looked nervous. “So you ready for your first court appearance?

“I guess. Kind of anxious.” He said and I laughed.

“Don’t be. It will come naturally.” We left for the courthouse.

The case was called almost immediately. I argued the Motion and won. It wasn’t difficult but my co-worker seemed impressed. “Wow, that was great. You are pretty confident. How long have you been handling criminal cases?”

When I let him know it had only been about eight weeks or so he looked stunned. “Ok, so you have to help me kill it like that.” I just laughed.

“Come on, lunchtime. Brent should be outside in a few.”

Brent walked up a few moments later with Madi in a stroller. I introduced him to Mike and they seemed to hit it off. Mike and him talked hockey as I played with Madison who looked adorable in a pink bear snowsuit. We walked across the street to the diner and ordered lunch.

“Tell your mom and dad I’ll leave at four o'clock that way I’m home early enough for them to grab something to eat and go to the game.”

He looked up at me surprised, “You aren’t coming?”

Mike excused himself from the table. “Of course I am, just I don’t really want to be early because I don’t know how long she will last, plus I have a million things to do. “

He got up and threw his arms around me. “I love you Alex.”

Mike came back and we said goodbye and left to go back to the office.

Mike and I spent the rest of the afternoon sprawled out going over all of my trial notes. The first one started in one week and I was determined to be prepared for it. Jury Selection would begin on Tuesday and it was a murder charge, bound to create tons of press. He was a huge help and we got a ton accomplished by 4 pm.

“So where are you from?” I asked.

“New Jersey, actually South Jersey.” He answered and I laughed.

“Ok, what part?”

He just smiled, “born and raised in Voorhees. Brent told me you are from Philly. I thought you had an accent.” I just laughed it off.

“I don’t have an accent. So do you want to go to the game tonight? My in laws are going, but we still should have fun.”

He shook his head, “sounds good, I just got into town last week so I haven’t really met anyone.”

We left the office and headed towards my apartment. Once inside, I introduced him to Brent’s parents, his mom had given me a weird look but I didn’t care. Jon had gotten Madison her Daddy’s jersey. It was so tiny, it was adorable.

We ended up eating dinner close to the arena. Once we were finished we entered the United Center and went down to the ice where the guys were practicing. Brent gave me a huge smile when he seen her shirt. He placed his glove up on the glass and I pressed Madi’s hand on the opposite side.

Mike cracked up. “Ok you are too cute, I may actually throw up.” I laughed it off and waved goodbye to Kaner who was currently making faces through the glass at Madi.

“Come on, let’s go get in our seats before they start.”

Notes

:)