"Dude Viv is basically throwing it at you" Zach says in a light though excited voice as he surprises me as I sit in my office.
"Married man dog" I calmly reply.
"Yes! Married men we are, we deserve a little fun!"
"Swingers. That's it, you two are swingers. It's no way that you can't be, you literally cheat every week"
"Well it's more like an open relationship. You know, I do as I please and she better not cheat or she has to go. Simple"
"She gon' kill you one day or at least leave you if she's smart"
"Well she ain't smart and she loves the money, so I'm going to go make some more before I go on this lunch date with Heather." He said in a coniving manner. "Oh, and the only reason Vivian wants you instead of me is because you're black and people say we have it easy"
You're an idiot" I say bursting in laughter. The truth of the matter is, Zach has always just been a plain looking white boy so he doesn't really stand out, but he has money. His father is filthy rich from investing money he won in the lottery a long time ago. Zach never really had to work for anything and still doesn't, but he's cool with me.
After going through some papers of my latest case, I get a phone call from my client, Jarvis Ellis, they call him Quick on the streets.
"Mr Ellis, how are you today sir, how can I help you?" I say in my best professional voice.
"You know man just making sure I'm staying outta jail" he said sounding unsure of my ability.
"You're going to get my best effort and I have a good track record so I'm going to need you to just trust me"
"Man I wouldn't shoot no lil nigga. I swear, I got a lil nigga myself man. I wasn't even in that car" he begins to protest.
"Mr. Ellis, at this point, all of that doesn't matter. The evidence against you at the moment is minimal at best. We have a really good chance at beating this thing"
He laughs. "Man you don't talk like no nigga. I just wanted to call to see where you at with all this, you know I got my boys out here on the block a little longer now tryna pay you. A lot of people would be upset if I go to prison after all this work." The tone changed to almost threatening.
"Everything will be fine Mr. Ellis. I'll be in contact" I hurry to get off the phone.
As I walk to the elevator to leave for lunch, Viv walks up right behind me.
"So what are you in the mood for Mr. Ely" she said excitedly as she spoke over my shoulders on her tiptoes.
"Guess we'll just wing it" I say without turning around as we walk onto the elevator.
"Lance, I am so impressed with the work you've been doing here. So young yet you're accomplishing so much. You're an impressive young man to say the least"
"Thanks Viv that means a lot coming from you." Despite being white, Viv wasn't spoon fed on her way to being a lawyer like Zach and the fact that she is a woman didn't make the road any easier. She's a few years older than me and has been her a bit longer, so I respect her a lot.
"Well I like to try to stay on top" she said provocatively.
I look to respond but I was kind of stuck, plus we've reached the ground floor so I just begin to walk.
"I know a place right across the street we can sit and eat" I tell her.
"That's fine with me." She quickly responds.
As we wait at the crosswalk, I can pretty much feel her eyes burning a hole through my soul and, as soon as I look at her to stir up some pointless conversation, she strikes.
"Lance are you seeing anyone?"
Damn, I think to myself. I feel like I can tell her but that's my rule, don't tell anyone about my family unless my back is up against the wall. "You know I stay so busy." I say puzzled.
"Well I know I love a man that can stay busy" she says as the light turns red and we are able to walk.
"How's your case coming along?" She's asks bringing me to a more comfortable conversation.
"It's cool, it's just that..." I pause.
"What"
"He did it. I know he did it. He shot that kid. They just don't have enough evidence. Like what if that was my son?"
"Good thing you're so consumed in work and you don't have a family yet right?"
At first I'm confused and it probably shows but I gather myself as I open the door for her at the restaurant. "Yeah, right!" I say, looking down at my left hand.
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