Intrigue

I was up early today, the alarm went off at quarter to five. Thank god Brent wasn't leaving until afternoon time. Madi was sound asleep. I threw on a jogging suit and left the house. I had dress clothes in work if necessary and I fully planned on spending the entire day preparing for the jury selection slated to begin tomorrow.

Mike came into the office no less than ten minutes after me. "Here you go baby girl. You look like you need it too" he said, handing me a large coffee.

"If you didn't like boys I'd fall in love with you Mike." He snickered at my comment.

"Don't let your big hockey player hear you say that dear. He might kill me this time." I just laughed.

"Aw Mike, his bark is definitely worse than his bite. He was all cuddled up apologizing to me." Mike gave me a long stare.

"Don't let him use you Alexa. Make sure he really loves you and not just the idea of you being Madison's mom."

His observation caught me off guard. I wondered silently if he was giving off that vibe to people. I adored him, but I wasn't going to be used. I vowed in my mind to pay more attention and make sure it wasn't happening.

We worked straight through until 11:00. A knock on my office door interrupted my thought process. Mike was in his office going over notes so I was rather annoyed at being bothered. "Come in, make it quick." I looked up and Brent was standing in the doorway.

"Hi love, sorry to bother you. Just wanted to say goodbye." I stood up and he threw his arms around me, pulling me close. "I know you are really busy, so I won't stay. I got you something after I dropped Madison off." He handed me a small box. I opened it and smiled. It was a beautiful set of diamond earrings.

"You better stop spoiling me Brent. I love them." I gave him a long kiss and he headed for the door.

"You gonna be up late? I'll call you after the game tonight." I nodded and blew him a kiss.

I worked for a while longer, me stomach growling and me fighting the urge to take a break. Mike barged in at one o'clock,

"Come on baby doll, lunch time. Everyone needs a break at some point." I got up and groaned, but headed towards the door, waving to Alan, who was coming in through the lobby.

"How are my two star attorneys, ready for tomorrow?" he asked.

"Getting there boss" I answered smiling. We walked down the street to the deli, comparing observations on our morning of research.

"Honestly, I think the defense is going to try every angle to get enough middle-aged, white collar males on the jury." Mike said, sipping the cup of coffee he had.

I agreed with him. A prominent business man was facing a murder in the first degree charge for killing the man his wife was cheating on him with. We were facing an uphill battle, trying to prove it was pre-meditated. Alan had originally asked me to not go after the death penalty, but I changed his mind. I really felt confident I could get a jury to agree. I just needed the perfect jury.

"Well the most we can hope for is only a few. Women would definitely help. Along with minorities who aren't going to sympathizes with the rich bastard. We have our work cut out for us, that is for sure."

Mike grinned. "We got this." We paid the bill and headed back towards the office.

I gave up and called it a day at six o'clock. I had already called home and they were fine, but I still felt obligated to leave and take care of Madison. After all, I had taken her as my own. She was my responsibility. I got home quickly and dinner was on the table.

I thanked his parents profusely. I was so sick of take-out it was insane. "Thank you so much Suzanne. This is awesome. I hardly ever get a chance to cook anymore. I think I am driving poor Brent insane." The food was great.

I played with Madi for a while after I ate and my parents and I watched his game. He was so adorable, it almost made me squeal in delight when he gave a post-game interview after scoring the game-winning goal. I put Madi to bed after I showed her Daddy on TV and came back downstairs to sit with his parents.

"So are you ready for tomorrow?" Gary asked.

"As much as I can be I guess. I really want to nail this guy. He killed a guy who never even knew she was married. He was a single dad with three kids at home. I can't even imagine being a single parent." He mom looked at me and smiled.

"Brent is definitely lucky to have you. You are becoming such a good mom. Just remember there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You guys will get a little break at the end of the season with that little vacation. We will take Madi. You two deserve it." I thanked them and excused myself to bed.

Brent called me and I said good night. I had a huge day ahead of me and fell asleep easily.

Notes

Like Mike being protective of her ?