Read Don't Tempt Me Online

Authors: Amity Maree

Don't Tempt Me (4 page)

"Jenna, it's not too late to cancel this nonsense with Mrs. Pratt," Will said to her at breakfast on the morning the hearing was to start.

"I have no intention of cancelling. I'm going to put her on the witness stand and make her admit what she did!"

"What if she has a heart attack?"

"She's too mean to die," Jenna told him once again, refusing to feel any pity whatsoever for the elderly woman.

"Very well, have it your way, young lady, but don't say I didn't give you every chance to stop this nonsense." He got up to leave for work, but Jenna took her time. She was going straight to the Courthouse, but the hearing wasn't to start until ten o'clock. Judge Monica Wilson had children to get off to school in the mornings and didn't open her Court until a bit later than some of the other Judges, including Will who liked to start promptly at eight.

Jenna went over all her evidence once again, including the pictures of the damage to her garden, and the statements from various nurseries claiming the damage to be vandalism and not disease or her own negligence. She also had three affidavits from other neighbors telling what a witch the 'sweet little old lady' was. Jenna was confident she would win her case without breaking a sweat.

She arrived early and took her place at the plaintiff's table, and was a bit shocked when Judge Wilson took her seat on the bench and there was still no sign of Mrs. Pratt. Judge Wilson was a bit perturbed, but before she could say anything the door to the large courtroom opened and Mrs. Pratt came in, using her walker and looking frail and confused. She had an attorney with her, and Jenna was shocked to learn that her own husband was defending Mrs. Pratt!

 

Chapter Three

Jenna was shocked... and extremely hurt... when she saw that her own husband was defending Mrs. Pratt! She flashed him a dirty look, and she saw the determination in his dark eyes. He clearly thought she was trying to bully a helpless elderly woman, and he was planning to stop her. Mrs. Pratt smirked at her behind Will's back and Jenna collected her emotions. She was going to give the woman exactly what she deserved.

"Ms. Fields, it is my understanding that you are representing yourself in this matter?"

"Yes, Your Honor, I am," Jenna said in a firm tone of voice.

"I must confess that I am surprised, and concerned, that you are representing the defendant in this case, Mr. Cole," the Judge said in her soft voice.

"Mrs. Pratt is on a fixed income and I felt it best to step in and offer assistance in the hope this can be settled amicably..."

"Ms. Fields, is this going to present a problem? Would you like to seek representation for yourself?" Monica offered.

"There won't be a problem, Your Honor, but thank you for your consideration. The facts will speak for themselves," Jenna said with confidence.

"Very well, you may proceed, Ms. Fields," Judge Wilson was resigned to what she felt would be a very unpleasant and uncomfortable morning. Jenna presented her case, offering statements from the local nurseries, and affidavits from present and former neighbors.

Will couldn't believe that Jenna went to such extremes to battle the elderly Mrs. Pratt, and he couldn't help but wonder if she coached the neighbors in what to write for their legal statements. Judge Wilson broached the subject herself, and Will was shocked to learn that Jenna wasn't even involved in interviewing the others. He was beginning to wonder if his wife was justified after all... but then he looked at Mrs. Pratt and just shook his head in disbelief. There had to be some mistake, some confusion somewhere, because there was simply no way the sweet elderly woman would do any of those things!

When Jenna rested her case and sat down and he was given the floor, he called on Mrs. Pratt to testify in her defense. It took several minutes to get her on the witness stand and sworn in, and then Will asked her questions, and Mrs. Pratt's voice was feeble as she replied, and then she looked at the Judge and said, "I don't know why William's new wife dislikes me so much... I've tried to be a good neighbor and nice to her, but she doesn't like me at all! She threatened me!" she said in a loud whisper to the Judge.

Jenna stood up to answer that accusation, but before she could speak there was loud clapping from the back of the courtroom. "Bravo! Bravo, Mother! Another great performance!"

Judge Wilson rapped her gavel. "What do you mean by coming into my Court and behaving like this?" she asked the man standing just inside the door. "Who are you and what do you have to do with this proceeding?"

"Attorney Jonathan Pratt, Your Honor. I'm sorry to disrupt your Court, but Mrs. Pratt is my Mother, and I'm here to make sure justice is done."

"You get out of here, Jonathan!" Mrs. Pratt shook her cane at him, startling everyone except Jonathan and Jenna, who was merely curious as to what he had to say in his Mother's defense.

"Sorry, Mother. It's time to stop you before you actually kill someone. You promised the last time that you would behave, and here we go again."

"I don't know what you mean!" Mrs. Pratt's voice was no longer feeble, and when Jenna looked at Will she could see he was totally shocked.

"Your Honor, may I approach the bench?" Jonathan Pratt asked with respect. Judge Monica Wilson nodded. "Mother is on medication, which she has obviously stopped taking again. In the past, she has sabotaged co-workers, and neighbors... and worst of all, my wife. She's baked cakes and cookies and pies, and laced them with ex-lax or other drugs to cause pain. She puts on an innocent little old lady act... and just for the record, she doesn't need that cane any more than I do. She carries it to threaten little children, or anyone else she doesn't like, and to gain sympathy. I'd hoped that she'd learned her lesson about staying on her meds, but it's more than obvious she hasn't. I've filed a motion with the Courts to have her declared incompetent so that I can hospitalize her and keep her comfortable for the rest of her natural life, and also protect innocent people from her. I went by her place before coming here today, and she has several poisons in her house and in her garage, and I fear that she will do more than kill Mrs. Cole's garden if given the chance."

"You always were a liar, Jonathan! How much did that bitch pay you to lie for her?" Mrs. Pratt demanded! "She's ruined the entire neighborhood, you know. William is too good for someone like her!"

"My wife is not a bitch, Mrs. Pratt!" Will was on his feet instantly, anger staining his cheeks.

"You never should have married her, William!" the woman told him, shaking her cane. "She's not pretty, and she has a loud mouth!"

"That is enough, Mrs. Pratt. In view of the evidence and Mr. Pratt's testimony, this Court rules for the Plaintiff, and orders restitution and punitive damages..."

"Excuse me, Your Honor. Punitive damages are waived by the Plaintiff provided Mrs. Pratt is given the care she obviously needs," Jenna spoke up. She just wanted it over...

"Very well, Counselor. Good luck with your Mother, Mr. Pratt. Court is dismissed." Everyone stood and Monica practically ran from the room.

"I'm sorry about Mother, Mrs. Cole. When your husband contacted me, I was out of town and didn't get the message until the wee hours this morning. I drove all night to get here in time to deal with her. She won't bother you again," he said firmly.

"Thank you for coming," Jenna said politely. The man nodded and walked over to take his mother's arm, in spite of the fact she tried to hit him with her cane.

"Jenna," Will said softly. "I..."

"Don't, Will. I don't want to discuss this here." She picked up her things and left the courtroom. She'd won her case and should be happy, but instead, she wondered if her marriage would ever be the same again...

* * *

"Jenna, we have to talk about this," Will said from the doorway of her home office. He was frustrated. Jenna didn't answer the telephone or her cell phone all day long, and when he got home, she was holed up in her office, working.

"I'm working, Will. I have Court tomorrow morning."

"So do I, but we are going to talk."

"Sorry, I'm not in the mood. Please shut the door when you leave."

He took a step toward her, but her cell phone rang and after looking to see who was calling, she answered, "Yes, Jeff? What did you find out?" She turned her chair so her back was to Will, and he cautioned himself to be patient. When he realized the conversation was going to take some time, he left her office and shut the door. He would catch her at bedtime. But he didn't. She sneaked off to bed and was sound asleep... without so much as a goodnight for him! She woke early and left before he was out of bed, too.

Will tried to catch her during recess, but she put him off. "My mind is on my case, Will. This is not a good time."

"Okay, Jenna. But we will talk tonight... or else!" he added when she looked at him defiantly.

"I have some say in that, William Cole," she retorted.

"Don't tempt me, Jenna. This is not the time or place for your stubbornness."

"You are the one who is bothering me, Will. I have less than five minutes before I'm due back in court. I need this time to focus on what I am doing."

"What you need is a damned good spanking," he told her, and then left the room as her client was brought in.

Jenna looked after him and then squared her shoulders. She wasn't going to let William Cole get to her. He's the one who fucked up, not her!

* * *

"I heard you won your case today. Congratulations," Will said as he came outside to find Jenna working in her garden. "Judge Trenton was impressed that your cross examination brought out the truth and exonerated your client. He said you were tenacious."

"I believed my client when he said he was innocent," she answered with a shrug. "I'm really mad at you, William Cole." She didn't look up, but continued to work in the ground, trying her best to stay calm.

"If it helps any, I'm really mad at me, too," he said softly. "I'm not usually fooled so easily," he admitted. "Mrs. Pratt always seemed so fragile."

"She is a cobra!" Jenna said unkindly.

"Yes, she is. I'm sorry for not believing you and supporting you, Jenna," he said contritely.

"You didn't need to believe me... or support me, Will!" she looked up finally and her blue eyes were flashing with temper in spite of the tears filling them. "But, you didn't need to take her fucking side and defend her against me, Buster! I am supposed to be your wife!"

"I didn't want to defend her so much as keep you from doing something you would regret, sweetheart," he explained. "You are such a strong lawyer and, it was such a personal matter. I truly didn't think her capable of those things, and frankly, I had no idea the other neighbors had problems with her, too." He looked at her and said humbly, "I was wrong, honey, and I am sorry. Please forgive me for being stupid."

"You could have at least warned me that you were defending her, Will," Jenna stated, still smarting. "I felt humiliated when you walked into the courtroom with her on your arm."

"I didn't mean it that way, Jenna," he said sincerely. "I hoped you would drop the suit, and then I just wanted to be there to pick you up when the Judge scolded you for bringing an eighty-five year old woman to court over killing tomato plants," his face was red. "I thought I would be helping the situation, sweetheart." He shook his head. "I was wrong to handle it the way I did, but it wasn't done maliciously. Please forgive me?" he asked.

Jenna nodded and got to her feet and put her arms around him. "I hate being angry with you," she admitted.

"I hate your being angry with me, too," he chuckled, holding her close. "I love you, Mrs. Cole."

"I love you, too, Mr. Cole," she kissed him.

"I want you to take note that I am letting a particular word go unnoticed and also the 'buster'," he pointed out, patting her bottom meaningfully.

"Duly noted," she smiled.

"If you feel like dressing up, I'll take you out to dinner somewhere extravagant and horribly expensive and give you a nice make-up present," he promised. He had a beautiful necklace to give her... and thought it would be nice to give it to her over a romantic candlelight dinner.

"I'd rather have dinner right here at home and go to bed early tonight, Will," she replied, but her blue eyes were twinkling. "We can go upstairs and I'll shower and we can have our make-up present before dinner...? Better yet, we can shower together..." she bumped her butt against his, and Will laughed out loud.

"That sounds like a plan, Mrs. Cole."

He did give her the necklace, but it was much later...

* * *

Jenna reached up to hold the delicate heart shaped diamond and gold necklace between her fingers as she waited. She wasn't crazy about jewelry, like some women, but she loved this piece because Will gave it to her to show her how much he truly loved her. He knew how much he'd hurt her by defending Mrs. Pratt, and it was his way to make amends. Jenna wore it often, especially when she was stressed... like now.

Her firm sent her here to defend one of their client's young associates. After reading over the file several times, Jenna was convinced that she should walk away... but how could she? The door finally opened and a young woman came inside. "Ms. Fields...? I'm Nadine Warner. Thank you for coming."

"Please come in and sit down, Nadine. I'd like to hear what you have to say about all of this," she tapped the folder lying on the large conference room table.

"Haven't you read the file yet?" the young woman asked, her eyes assessing Jenna.

"Yes, I have, but I want to hear everything from your side, beginning until now. Don't leave out anything, and tell me the absolute truth, whatever it is. I can't help you if you aren't honest with me."

Nadine nodded curtly and started talking, stating fact after fact, and keeping her emotions under complete control. By the time she finished speaking, she had tears in her eyes. "I didn't do anything wrong, Ms. Fields, but someone is trying to make it appear I did."

"Do you have any ideas about who that might be?" Jenna asked.

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