The assistant looked over her shoulder, grabbed her bag from her drawer and followed Lois into the elevator. As the girls’ elevator lowered, Palmer came out in search of his assistant and found the room empty.
***
Lois gave herself a spa day, beginning with a manicure/pedicure and a new hairstyle. She had the woman cut some shorter layers around her face, giving her red hair a bit of a wilder look. The effect was sassy and brought out her cheekbones in a very flattering way.
On impulse, she ventured into a department store downtown and headed for the designer department. A saleswoman approached her. “Good after, Miss. May I assist you today?”
“Thank you, yes.” Lois put on her best impression of a high class rich girl, trying to make her tone haughty and a bit bored, as if she had every idea what she was doing. “I’m looking for a variety of outfits. I’ll need some cocktail party dresses, something snazzy for clubbing and perhaps a few simpler dresses for luncheons.”
“Very well, Miss. If you’ll have a seat right here,” she indicated a powder blue, upholstery Queen Anne chair, “I’ll bring some things to show you.”
Lois nodded, feeling like royalty as she took her seat. A girl appeared and offered her a flute of champagne, which Lois accepted and sipped lightly.
The saleswoman appeared a few minutes later with a variety of outfits on padded hangers. She showed them to Lois, who eventually chose a few and was then escorted to a dressing room. An hour later she left the store, smiling and satisfied at her accomplishments. The store would be delivering the clothing to her new apartment. I feel like the old show “Mary Tyler Moore,” she thought.
When she approached her apartment, she could see that the delivery trucks were gone. She went up in the elevator and the minute she walked in her apartment, her mouth dropped open.
It was completely furnished now and everything was staged perfectly; she could feel herself melt at the images before her. There was a fire burning and over the fireplace hung two complementing oil paintings; their colors a myriad of muted blues with a swash of cranberry here and there.
The fireplace was flanked with matching ivory velour sofas. A tasteful multitude of throw pillows in shades of blue and cranberry echoed the paintings and a massive white marble coffee table shared by both sofas was covered with interesting art pieces, books, and had cranberry wool throws tucked into its lower shelves. Sweet tears of appreciation wet her cheeks as she continued on her tour.
The master bedroom could only be described as French country. A four-post, king-sized bed dominated the room and was dressed in burnished pastel shades that complemented her coloring perfectly. Matching bedside tables held lamps and a colorful array of boxes that could hold anything from candy to secrets yet to be discovered. A pair of high-back chairs split the window wall and the table that separated them held another lamp and had plenty of space leftover for a tray or a board game. A fire burned here as well and the light from the flames brought the colors of the room alive.
The room-size closet was filled with an extensive wardrobe in her size. She smiled, having just made her own purchases. She felt like she was in a fairy tale.
The second bedroom was more masculine in taste, tailored and modern with deep browns and blacks against a cream background and crimson throw pillows on a small loveseat.
She hurried down to the kitchen which was entirely white and stainless; ultra modern. Its pantry and refrigerators were completely stocked with mouth-watering foods, some of which were already prepared so she wouldn’t have to cook for several days. The dining area graduated the starker, clean look of the kitchen to the cozier shades of the living room.
That was when she saw the balcony. The designer had transformed it into a mini-resort, adding colorful pool furniture that echoed the colors of the living room, and massive potted plants that masked the noise and hub bub below the skyline. Lois was absolutely enchanted.
The sound of her cell phone ringing interrupted her thoughts. Reluctantly, she turned away from the balcony and went back inside in search of her bag.
“Hello?”
Jet’s voice was at the other end. “So? How are the new digs?”
“Jet!” According to the rules, she really wasn’t supposed to talk to clients off the clock, but what Palmer didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt him.
“Hey there, Jezzi, girl. So? All settled in?”
“It’s gorgeous. I’m flying high.”
His voice turned mischievous. “Can I have my own key?” “You know you’ll have to get that from Palmer,” she chided him gently, smiling in spite of herself, twirling her hair around one finger.
“Damn! Well, okay, I’ve got a gig coming up so we’ll be seeing each other soon, you hear?”
“Looking forward to it.”
Lois hung up and felt her heart racing. How could any girl get so lucky? She had gone from being the lonely, illegitimate daughter of a disgraced attorney to arm candy for one of the most sought-after bachelors on the LA scene. She couldn’t ask for much more than that.
She flipped off the light and headed upstairs to bed. It had been a long, adventurous, Christmas-like day, and she was exhausted. Lois showered, luxuriating in the powerful spray of her new shower for much longer than necessary, before finally getting out and drying off with an impossibly soft towel. Moving to the bedroom, she slid on one of the new silk nighties she found in the dresser drawer. It made her feel sexy. She climbed into bed with her iPad and was searching legal sites to begin her research when her cell rang. She checked the time; it was almost midnight.
It was Palmer’s number on the face. “Hello?” she answered tentatively.
“You gotta come get me, now.” His voice sounded ragged.
She frowned. “What’s wrong? Where are you?
“Don’t ask questions, just come get me! 34th and Vine, I’ll be watching for you. Don’t talk to anyone and don’t do something stupid like speed and get a ticket. Just come now!” The line went dead and Lois felt a surge of panic as she wondered what kind of trouble Palmer was in. He was always so calm and in charge.
She threw back her blankets and rushed to change. Whipping her nightgown off over her head, she pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, not even bothering with underwear. She flung her phone into her purse and grabbed a pair of sandals on her way out the door, putting them on in the elevator.
Fifteen minutes later she was at the corner of 34th and Vine, her car idling against the curb as she nervously checked all directions for Palmer. There was a nearby alley and this was where he finally emerged, his hair on end and his clothing torn. He opened the passenger door and slid into the seat.
“Go!” he urged and she hit the gas.
“What on earth…?”
“Just get out of here. Take me home with you. I’ll tell you later. Hurry!”
She drove away, navigating through downtown traffic, her gaze bouncing constantly between the road and Palmer. He was lying with his head back against the seat, a sheen of perspiration on his forehead, and his chest still heaving from exertion. After a minute she started to say something to him but he stopped her with a wave of his hand. “Just get me to the apartment.”
She drove the limit all the way back to the apartment, swallowing all of her questions. When they arrived, she got out and then went to help Palmer. He actually leaned on her a bit as she opened his car door. They took the elevator up and as soon as she opened the apartment door, he stopped, looking around to get his bearings. She anticipated his request and pointed in the direction of the bathroom. Palmer nodded and wasted no time getting there, his long strides carrying him across the apartment quickly.
Lois went upstairs and combed through the clothes in the closet, trying to find something she could give him to wear. She met him downstairs and it was apparent he’d been in the shower. His hair was wet and tousled and there was a thick towel knotted around his waist. “Here,” she held out a white terry robe. “It’s too big for me so it might come c
lose to fitting you, but it’s all I have.”
“Thanks,” he murmured and headed back to the bath to put it on.
Lois went into the kitchen and found two mugs in the cupboard. She tapped on the Keurig and found coffee and sugar packets stored just overhead. Sure enough there was cream in the refrigerator and she met Palmer in the living room, bearing a tray with the coffee and some sandwiches she’d thrown together.
He appeared shaken and she urged him to eat. He shook his head at first, but eventually took a bite and when it seemed to settle firmly, he finished the rest of the sandwich and held the mug of coffee between quivering hands.
“Now, are you going to tell me what happened?” She didn’t want to press, but she felt compelled to get to the bottom of what was going on.
After a deep gulp of the hot liquid, he finally started talking. “I got a call from Tyler,” he began. At her questioning look he blurted, “Our brother, you ninny… well at least mine. He’s your stepbrother, too, I suppose.”
She nodded, ignoring his insult and urging him to continue. “And…?”
“He runs a dating site, you know. A fairly successful one, at that.”
Lois nodded again. “I’d heard something about that, but not having ever met him, I really don’t know much about him.”
“So, he calls me and says he’s got this hot woman online and he thinks she’s exactly my type. She lives here in town and he wants me to get on the site and meet her. So, I think, what the hell, and log on. I hook up with her and we agree to meet the Casablanca, the nightclub.” He stopped and took another deep gulp of his coffee.
Lois leaned toward him. “Go on.”
“Anyway, we meet and she’s a knockout, but there’s something about her I can’t put my finger on. Something phony and too-too much. We go to the back room and there are some games going on. The—Jesus I can’t believe I’m talking to you about this—the kind that involve handcuffs and chains?” He looked at her face to make sure she caught on.
“Yeah I get it. I’m not exactly an innocent little girl Palmer. Tell me what happened.”
He took a deep breath. “Okay, so she and I start kissing and she’s beginning to tie me up and I figure she’s some kind of exhibitionist and yeah, I’m up for a little kinky for a change. So… one thing leads to another and she’s got me totally bound when she starts stripping. Only this is when it hits me. It wasn’t a she, she was a he.”
Lois clapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh, Jesus, Palmer. You couldn’t tell?”
“Not at all, I swear, except like I said, there was something phony and I wrote it off to her being a little bit of a bad girl. So, there I am, and this she/he is coming at me. Well, I go crazy and start shouting for help. I’m trying to get loose and then this woman walks in. She holds up a camera and snaps pictures. Turns out it was that damned Riley woman!”
“Oh, shit,” Lois exclaimed. “The one that went after Jet and who we got fired?”
“One and the same.” Palmer nodded and took another gulp of coffee.
“So, what did you do?”
“Well, obviously I totally lost it. I was screaming and fighting but once Riley got her pictures, the she/he released me and I ran back into the club proper, trying to find the Riley bitch. She was gone, though, so I went out the back door and into the alley to look for her. Not a trace. I finally went back inside, intending to confront he she/he, but no such luck. That’s when I called you.”
“I don’t understand. How did Tyler find this particular person? Does he commonly call you to alert you to women online?”
“Of course, not. Never. That’s why I fell for it. Don’t you see? It was a setup. That Riley bitch got to me through my own brother!”
Lois sat back abruptly at his words, aghast. “Oh, my god. Is that what he’s like? Tyler?”
Palmer gave an indifferent wave of his hand. “Oh, he can be a real ass when he wants to. We’ve always been competitive. My guess is she identified that and talked him into it as a huge practical joke he could boast about to his friends. He probably doesn’t have a clue who she was or that there would be photos involved. He just saw an opportunity to humiliate me by having my date turn out to be a man.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“I believe what I have to believe to keep myself from killing him,” he said. “Now, if you don’t mind, I happen to know there’s a guestroom and that it is more than likely unoccupied.” He stood up, moving towards the stairs.
Lois followed him up, and as he walked down the upstairs hall to the guest bedroom she called after him. “Goodnight, Palmer. I’m sure you can fix this all in the morning. Get some rest.”
Palmer turned to look at her wryly. “What I’m sure of is that I won’t know what to fix until it hits in the morning. It may be a bigger fire than I’m able to handle.”
She gave him what she hoped was an encouraging smile. “Let’s hope not.”
***
Palmer had dark shadows beneath his eyes the next morning when he plodded into the kitchen and headed toward the coffee maker. Lois could tell he hadn’t slept much.
“How can I help?” she asked without preamble.
“Funny, but I’ve been lying awake most of the night wondering that same thing,” he answered wryly, adding cream to his cup. The normally perfectly groomed Palmer looked quite out of sorts.
“And…?”
“Remember what I asked you to do, about getting in with the legal crowd?”
“Of course. I was reading about it last night when you called.”
“Okay, keep up the good work, but I’d like you to focus on the local attorneys who might have some scandal in their lives. You know… a hidden girlfriend, some tax issues, a little bit of questionable behavior…”
“How am I supposed to find those?”
He shrugged. “You’ll figure that out.”
“What’s the game plan?” Lois cocked her head in doubt. “After all, I sort of need to know what this is leading up to.”
“Let’s just say that there are more ways to get the law on your side than paying for legal advice.”
Lois nodded slowly, catching on. “I’m on it. Need a ride somewhere?”
“First, I’d like you to take my keys and stop by my house to get me some decent clothes. If you would, put what I wore last night in a dumpster somewhere first. I’m going to lay back down for a few minutes and catnap until you get back. Then, you can drive me to the club from last night and we’ll see if my car is still there, or if it’s been towed.”
“Got it. Hand me your clothes, please?”
Lois noticed that he had livened up a bit. Palmer seemed to be at his best when given a purpose. She gave him a quick hug of confidence befre she headed out.
***
Palmer’s car was sitting where he’d left it, but there was a yellow boot on the wheel. “Better take me by the police station before they tow it. I’ll gladly pay the fine but they better not scratch the finish.”
Lois nodded and when they completed that task, a parking official stopped by briefly and removed the boot. “A night of restraints,” Palmer commented dryly. He waved as he drove off and Lois headed home to do some research. It didn’t take her long to find the “in” she was looking for.
“Hello,” she told the maître di. “I’d like to apply for the position of waitress here at the club?” She smiled, leaning forward so she spilled out of the bra and very low cut shirt she was wearing. The Lawyer’s Club was exclusive to those belonging to the bar association of California, and members must apply. Not everyone was accepted.
“I see.” He smiled, his eyes traveling downward. “Would you have a seat over there while I speak to the club manager?”
“Of course,” she simpered a bit and took a seat on a wingback chair near the door. When the manager entered, he was treated to a hiked skirt, a full bosom and—as Lois pretended to drop a subscription card from the magazine she was reading—a wide-legged view as she bent
to retrieve it. She was not wearing panties.
A half hour later, she left The Lawyer’s Club with a black, flared mini skirt, translucent white blouse, and ruffled white apron over her arm. There was a decided smile of satisfaction on her face.
***
Lois, or “Jezzi” as she was known at The Lawyer’s Club, felt a finger trail up in the inside of her thigh as she bent to serve a steaming filet mignon to a gentleman with impeccably trimmed sideburns and moustache in an expensive dark gray suit. She turned slowly, a wickedly enticing smile on her face.
The culprit was Judge Peter Wickley, a highly-respected member of the bench whose reputation placed him as strict, critical, and not easily persuaded to award second chances. Right now, Judge Wickley’s index finger was firmly looped around the narrow fabric of Lois’s black thong, prominently displayed beneath the abbreviated skirt that became little more than a belt when she bent over.
“Judge Wickley,” she chided him, shaking her finger slightly. “You know you shouldn’t be doing that.” She smiled and whirled slowly, bending to whisper her phone number into his ear and allowing him an open view of her full breasts. He breathed in the scent of her perfume, mixed with the slightly musky odor of her breasts and suddenly displayed a rare, enlarged bulge in the crotch of his very expensive suit.
With a smug smile of inner satisfaction, he quickly typed her number into his phone. He winked at her and turned back to his meal. Not quite finished with him yet, Lois barely inched her tongue outside her painted lips and waggled it from side to side suggestively. He paled dramatically and she thought he’d faint.
On her way back to the kitchen, John Dudley motioned to her. She smiled and smoothly made her way between tables, the view of her bottom available for display to anyone who dropped a napkin and bent to pick it up.
“Yes, Mr. Dudley? Is there something I can get you?” she coyly asked him. His face was flushed and there was a line of perspiration on his upper brow. He motioned to indicate he wished to whisper in her ear and when she bent, she felt something paper slide between her breasts. She straightened and his eyes were wide, seeking her approval. She could tell that was probably the first time he’d ever done anything like that before. She nodded and held her finger up to her lips to indicate she would keep it in strictest confidence.
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