The Home Court Advantage (9 page)

“Yes sir,” she answered. I strongly suspected that she would have rather been back at the bar that she was probably at until last call the night before. Either that or her perfume was called Eau d’ beer.

“You understand that you have a right to a trial and you’re waiving that right?” Judge Channing was looking at her suspiciously. He probably smelled the barroom too.

“Yes judge.”

“Mr. Pierce, please recite the facts of the case.”

“Your Honor, in the afternoon hours of May twenty-fifth in the County of Philadelphia, police responded to reports of a vehicle being operated in an erratic matter. Officer Luke McClusky got behind the vehicle, a white Hyundai Accent operated by the Defendant, Lucy Stemple, in his patrol unit, activated his lights and siren and motioned for the driver to pull over. In response, Ms. Stemple instead increased her speed and began veering in and out of traffic. Officer McClusky called for assistance and two other patrol units responded. After a chase lasting approximately ten minutes Ms. Stemple pulled into the parking lot of a liquor store and exited the vehicle as if she intended to enter the establishment. When officers ordered her to freeze and put her hands on her vehicle, she responded, and I quote, ‘just give me a second to grab some Jack Daniels, baby.’ At the time she was wearing cowboy boots.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Judge Channing broke in irritably.

“That’s all she was wearing, Your Honor,” Braden replied and the judge rolled his eyes.

“Ms. Ginsberg?” He glared at me and he sounded like he thought that I’d put her up to it! Jesus. I was doing my job here, you know? So much hostility.

“Your Honor, my client has been going through a difficult divorce. On the day in question she had just received word that her estranged husband would be getting remarried. She was feeling very emotional and not thinking clearly. She’s employed as a waitress at Denny’s and this is her first offense. She’s willing to seek drug and alcohol counseling.”

“Do you have anything to say, Ms. Stemple?” the judge asked.

“That asshole took the best years of my life!” she slurred. “And now he’s marrying some little slut he met at his gym! You know, I may be thirty-eight but I still look good! I’m the same size I was in high school and my tits hardly sag! Ask that cop!” Well, at least she was dressed. I hoped she hadn’t driven there.

“About the case, Ms. Stemple,” I prodded, glancing at the judge nervously.

“Oh, sorry. It probably won’t ever happen again.”

“Well, I certainly
hope
not!” Judge Channing retorted, looking at her dubiously. “Is there an agreement?”

“Defendant served twenty-four hours, Your Honor. The Commonwealth will agree to a sentence of time served plus six months probation, mandatory drug and alcohol counseling and random urinalysis.”

“That’s your understanding Ms. Ginsberg?”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“Ms. Stemple, I accept your plea of guilty and I hereby sentence you to serve twenty-four hours with credit for time served, six months probation, and you’ll need to complete drug and alcohol counseling with random urinalysis. Fines and costs. Off the record.” The stenographer stopped typing. “No more driving drunk. That’s not safe. Or naked. That’s not hygienic.”

“Yes judge,” she answered with a big smile.

“Court’s in recess. Ten minutes.” He banged his gavel and left without a backward glance. I grabbed the court order and went over to the defense table to wait for the comments. Braden decided to go first this time. At least he didn’t let our relationship stand in the way of teasing me.

“Yee haw!” he said with a laugh, leaning up against the prosecution table and looking far sexier than anyone had a right to.

“And I thought you dressed funny,” Adam added with a smile, leaning back in his chair and looking highly amused. Despite the seriousness and stress of the criminal justice system, there were plenty of moments for levity and this was clearly one. I wasn’t going to deny it.

“Just ignore them, honey,” Jess said patting me on the back as I sat down next to her at the defense table. Jess never let it get to her. I admired her for that.

“I loved how she wanted to go buy her Jack first before they arrested her,” Braden continued, obviously on a roll.

“It
probably
won’t happen again!” Adam laughed. “She’s not quite sure, but probably.”

“Hey, that asshole took the best years of her life.
Obviously
the answer was to drive to the liquor store naked,” I noted dryly.

“She’s right, though,” Jess noted. “Her tits really don’t sag. She must not have any kids, thank God. What did he mean, that’s not
hygienic
?” She laughed.

“Who knows? I wish he wouldn’t look at me like I helped her plan it. It’s not like I was riding shotgun with her,” I added.

“He’s just ready to retire, Gab,” she consoled. “Ignore him, too.”

“So, Gabrielle, when you were in law school dreaming about providing the poor with access to justice, is this what you had in mind?” Adam asked. “Representing naked drunk drivers, eighty-five-year-old potheads, people who use their underwear as a shopping cart…”

“Yeah, okay. Maybe I should go back to the office and tell them that I’d like to represent a better class of criminals. It’s not like Cam’s private clients are wandering into the public defender’s office for financial planning advice.”

“Where’s he been anyway?” Adam asked.

“With Mark,” Jess answered. “His courtroom partner took a spot in child advocacy and so Cam’s been filling in this week.”

“No kidding!” Braden said. “He’s turning into a regular little public defender!”

“He’ll
need
to go out by the end of week,” Jess said.

“You know, if we’re all going out together Friday night and we’re spending Saturday night at your parents’ place, Mark and I aren’t going to
unwind
this weekend,” Adam said significantly to Braden. It wasn’t too hard to figure out what he meant by “unwind.”

“So, go out beforehand to
unwind
,” Braden answered. “You’re not looking for a long-term relationship.” Jess got up and ran out to the ladies room then and a deputy called Adam over so Braden and I were left alone.

“What a great lifestyle, working in a quick blowjob before going out with friends,” I joked, rolling my eyes. “Didn’t Norman Rockwell paint that once?”

“Personally, I would much rather
unwind
with you. Speaking of, I think I would like to see you in an outfit like that,” he said. He was giving me the hot Braden sex look right here in the courtroom which made me feel rather flirty.

“Cowboy boots? Wouldn’t you prefer my high heels?” By the way his eyes got even darker and his smile even cockier I could see that he most certainly would. Hmm. I think Braden had a thing for high heels. He wasn’t just a boob man after all.

“How high?” His voice sounded a little husky.

“I have a couple of pairs that are six inches. I’m not a material person but I do have a weakness for pretty shoes and clothes.” His eyes dropped to my body and traveled down. I saw him swallow and start to breathe a little faster. He tore his gaze away and raked his fingers through his hair. He did that when he was stressed, especially when he was stressed because he wanted me but couldn’t have me at the moment.

“I’m not thinking about it. I’m
not
thinking about it. I am absolutely not thinking about what you would look like in just a pair of six inch heels.” His eyes returned to my body. “Okay, I’m thinking about it. Oh shit, Gabrielle. They don’t have cold showers here, baby.”

“You started it,” I reminded him. “Picture the cute little black dress I’m going to wear for you on Friday instead. That will take your mind off of it.”

“What does it look like?” He looked back to me and I could see he was torn between wanting me to describe something really sexy and something that looked like a nun’s habit.

“Well, it’s got like a halter top and it comes down in a V. It wraps around me so if you just untied it, it would come off. It comes to about two inches above my knees. It’s padded and more structured on top, so I don’t have to wear a bra under it. The material is jersey knit, which is smooth and stretchy so I was thinking about maybe not wearing anything under it on the bottom either. I hate panty lines. Did I mention that the heels are Louboutins by the way? They buckle at the ankle and I’m so tall when I wear them. We could probably have sex against the wall without you even picking me up or bending your knees!”

“You’re being very naughty, Gabrielle,” he said in a quiet seductive voice. “Remember what happened last time you were naughty.” He took a step forward toward me and I swore that I could feel the heat coming from him. “Do I have to put you over my knee, my bad girl?”

“Now you’re being a tease.” I was breathing quickly and I could feel that I was flushed. The judge came back out of his chambers and ascended the bench. Jesus! We still had legal argument to do!

Commonwealth v. Chapman

Braden and I were engaged in another fierce battle over a Motion to Suppress Evidence and the judge was giving us both a lot of leeway so we were really going at it.

“Your Honor, the case law provides that flight, in and of itself, does not provide probable cause to search!” I argued. Braden and I were circling each other again as we argued. We always looked like prize fighters in the ring.

“But it wasn’t just the flight in this case, Your Honor! There was a totality of the circumstances,” Braden shot back. He was coming at me full force on this one but I wasn’t going down. There was a bigger issue here. There were times that I did get to fight the good fight and today I felt like I really was defending the Constitution so I wasn’t giving in.

“What circumstances? That it was night in a poor neighborhood?”

“That it was dark in a high crime neighborhood!” Braden believed in his position too, though, and I respected him for it. Things were rarely simple in law. There were always two sides.

“If you allow that argument, it will mean that anyone who can’t afford to live in a good neighborhood could be searched at night!” I argued passionately.

“If they run from the police!” he countered fiercely. “And then not because they’re poor but because there is greater likelihood that a crime has taken place! Should we assign just as many patrol officers to low crime neighborhoods as high crime neighborhoods so that we equalize everything?” He was a smart and strong opponent and when he brought it he brought it hard.

“Okay!” Judge Channing finally stopped us. “I have your briefs and I’ve heard your arguments. I’ll let you know when I’ve made my ruling. That’s all that we have on the docket today. We’re adjourned.” He banged his gavel and left the bench. Braden and I looked at each other and it was clear that we were both very worked up. The combination of flirting and arguing had excited both of us. A lot.

“I have an office meeting that I have to be at in thirty minutes,” he said, looking at his watch and sounding kind of edgy.

“I’m supposed to interview a witness in half an hour,” I said, looking at him a little desperately. I was mentally calculating how long it would take me to get back to my office if we visited the negotiation room first.

“What is it with us, Gabrielle? This can’t be normal,” he said, looking flushed. “If it were, they would put beds in those interview rooms. Oh fuck. I just pictured you in bed.”

“I think we just have an exceptional amount of sexual attraction and chemistry between us. It’s got to be biological, like pheromones or something,” I answered, feeling pretty warm myself. “I’ve met a lot of attractive lawyers before but I’ve never pictured them naked while they were cross-examining a witness.”

“Yeah, well, you’re the only lawyer who’s ever made me fantasize about demanding sexual favors in exchange for a plea bargain. Do you know how many erotic dreams I’ve had about nailing you in the jury room while court was in session?” he asked with a tense laugh.

“Yeah, I’m not really sure how I made all those months without breaking any laws. I remember I had this dream once that you were sitting up on the bench presiding as judge over a case and I was down on my knees …”

“Stop! Please! Baby, I’m begging you. I can’t take anymore. I’m approaching stage three here!” He plowed his fingers through his hair and started striding back and forth at an almost frantic pace. I had a feeling he was trying to redistribute the blood flow in his lower regions.

“We’ll be home in four hours,” I said. I tried not to think about what kind of condition I would be in by then, though. I had a feeling that I might be knocking him down again.

“Four hours. That’s what? Two hundred and forty minutes. Just to let you know, at two hundred and forty-one I’m going to need those panties off, baby.”

“I’ll take them off before I leave. It’ll save us a few seconds. I don’t think we have to go all the way to the bedroom either.”

“Hell, no. I’m going to nail you right there inside the front door.”

“I’m good with that,” I said with a nod.

“Sounds like we have a plan. Good working with you, counselor,” he said decisively. We packed up our briefcases and off to respective offices.