Page 8 of By Invitation Only
Booker continued. “Mrs. Vogel was also told that there are drugs in the home.”
That wasn’t true either.
“And who has told these accusations to your client, Mr. Jameson?”
“Mrs. Vogel’s friend who lives in the same complex as Ms. Alexander.”
“Ms. Winters?” the judge looked to me.
I stood. “Yes, good morning, Your Honor.” I looked to Booker for a brief second before turning my attention back to Judge Walters. “Mr. Jameson’s client has no personal knowledge of what goes on behind my client’s door. It’s only speculation and hearsay. My client is a single mother due to Mrs. Vogel’s son being incarcerated, and she is doing her best as a young, single mother. There are no drugs in the home, and when Ms. Alexander needs to go out, she hires her neighbor’s sixteen-year-old daughter to watch Carly.”
“Your Honor,” Booker cut in, and I started to get agitated. This was typical Booker. He knew this case was shit. There was no proof of anything he accused my client of, and to be honest, I had no idea why he would take the case in the first place. “My client requests a drug test be ordered as well as a psych eval for Ms. Alexander.”
I shook my head at the ridiculous request. “Your Honor, Mr. Jameson’s requests are preposterous. My client is of sane mind, and Carly’s a solid B student. Given what Carly has endured with her father going to jail, Ms. Alexander is doing a fantastic job raising her.”
“Mr. Vogel is in prison for selling drugs, Your Honor,” Booker retorted.
“My client had nothing to do with his dealings and was never charged,” I countered.
“I’m going to stop you both right there,” Judge Walters stated, holding his hand up. “Ms. Winters is correct, Mr. Jameson. Your motion is based solely on speculation and hearsay. I’ll dismiss this case without prejudice, Mr. Jameson, and if you’d like to file another motion with more proof, we can revisit this matter. As for now, you simply don’t have enough proof.”
Booker’s client groaned, and I tried to hide my smile. Booker always assumed he’d get what he wanted, but in this case, he hadn’t. My client hugged me to thank me, and then turned to leave. As I exited the courtroom, Booker started walking next to me.
“You know what this means right?”
I turned and looked up at him as we kept walking. “You’re going to file another motion?”
“Yes, but also my client wants to get CPS involved.”
“You think Child Protective Services will find anything?”
He grinned. “Doesn’t matter if they do. Just means I get to see your lovely face more.”
I stopped walking. Booker didn’t.
Was he flirting with me?
I made it back to the office a little before noon. As I walked through the double glass doors of C&P, I waved to the receptionist. Maria was around Lorelei’s age, had long black hair, spoke with a Hispanic accent, and was living the fantasy we all dreamed about—the perfect marriage with two perfect kids. Maria waved back, and I continued down the hall toward my office.
“How was your weekend?” Lorelei asked as I stopped at her desk for my phone messages.
I shrugged. “Uneventful.”
“You should have taken me up on my offer from last week. The lake was awesome.”
“Lore,” I smiled, “my idea of fun doesn’t involve not showering for two days.”
“Technically, it was one day, and you just wash off in the lake.”
I shivered. “Gross.”
“So, how many chicks did Sam bang this weekend?” She leaned toward me as though she was waiting for the latest gossip.
Lorelei knew all about Sam. She’d seen him, she’d lusted over him herself, and she’d once heard him fucking. She quickly left to go home after, and I knew we’d both used our trusty vibrators thinking about what we’d heard. Now, the thought made me want to punch him in the face.
I shrugged. “Just one on Friday night.”
“Sounds like he’s slowing down.” She smirked.
