Earthbound Angels Part 1

by Sweet

  His first mission was a man whose name was Dennis Harmon. The first time he met him was the time Dennis had saved him from a muggers. But he had been beaten so much that he lost consciousness, only to learn upon waking up in the hospital that Dennis himself had been accused of the one that had beaten and tried to steal from him. Oh, and did he need to be reminded how painful it was to be mugged?

  It was ironic, that the beings he’d been accusing for a long time of being worthless of the Father Time’s love, proved themselves to be worthy just by being themselves – reckless, ignorant, and weak. Oh, how much they had thought him about humility. Angels and humans had the capacity to believe they were “better” than certain other people. It’s the attitude, and not the person, and someone with a superior attitude would always find something – even the most ridiculous reasons – to insult another and then feel superior.

  Did that mean that angels were just incredibly insecure? That would have been Dreama’s answer, had she known about angels. Had she known about me, he thought.

  As he reflected on the past, he gradually moved forward and landed in the present.

  Chapter Six

  THIS BROUGHT THE beautiful image of Dreama Addison to his mind. With her perfect light blonde, shoulder length hair and sexy aquamarine eyes, she drew him in more and more all the time. Even though he had known her for a while, he had never been able to get as close to her as he wanted because of some inescapable complications.

  The first one was that she was the younger daughter of the senior partner in the Law Firm where he worked. The second was that Raven, the older and favorite daughter, had made it quite obvious as soon as she could manage that she wanted him for herself. And Raven could be very ruthless when she wanted something. Just a whiff that Simon was actually interested in Dreama could set manipulated events that would make life uncomfortable for the younger woman. That was the reason why, on social gatherings when both of them were there, he avoided being near Dreama for too long, in case Raven noticed that he was interested in being more than a friend to her younger sister.

  Yes, truly. Raven could be such a pain in the ass.

  Simon was still very much lost in thought, figuring out how he was going to find time being with Dreama without Raven there, when the phone on his desk buzzed.

  Hitting a button on it, he said, “Yes, Rosalyn?”

  “Simon, Ms. Addison is here to see you,” Rosalyn said over the message system.

  “Wonderful, Rosalyn! Send her in!”

  Simon jumped up from behind his desk with a decided spring in his step as he hurried to the door. Whipping it open to greet her, he had to adjust the disappointed look on his face when he saw who it was.

  “Ah, Raven,” he said.

  “Well, yes, Simon,” the woman said to him. “Who did you think it was?”

  “I knew it was you,” he lied as he allowed her to hug him.

  “Oh, did you think my lovely sister just dropped by?” Raven said archly.

  “No, I knew it wasn’t Dreama.”

  Even as Simon lied to Raven, he did his best to hide that fact. But he had a feeling that he wasn’t fooling her in the least.

  So Raven had heard that Dreama had been dropping by recently. There was no doubt that she was here today to find out how he liked being visited by her sister.

  He did think Dreama would be here today, had actually thought this was true when Rosalyn said a Miss Addison was outside his office door. Since Dreama started assisting Holli in her wedding preparations, the younger woman would sometimes be near enough the office that she would drop by to visit her father, peeking into his office a few times, too, before she would leave for a restaurant or for the castle to meet Holli.

  Raven tilted her beautiful head to the side a bit, her long black hair swinging. Her dark eyes flashed at him in disbelief, but she kept her thoughts to herself. Instead, she laid a well-manicured hand on his arm. “I thought we could have lunch together, if you don’t have any plans,” she said.

  “Um, sure, I’d like that,” he said. “Let me just tell Rosalyn that I’m leaving.”

  Turning his back to grab his suit jacket gave him a chance to regain his composure. He didn’t want to be so transparent, especially to Raven, but it was becoming harder all the time to deny how he felt about her sister Dreama.

  Dammit, he had to get a grip. If he didn’t, everyone would know how he felt and that just wasn’t something that could happen.

  At least not yet.

  So for now, he turned around and smiled at Raven as they strolled out of the office.

  * * *

  OVER LUNCH, RAVEN kept up a running stream of chatting.

  She was really quite good at that, which came in handy when Simon wasn’t in the mood to talk. He had a lot on his mind that he barely tasted his steak sandwich and cheese fries. There were times that he simply didn’t want to eat healthy and this was one of them.

  Raven had lifted a carefully arched eyebrow at him when he ordered his food but wisely remained silent and ordered her own shrimp salad and mineral water.

  Finally, she stopped talking and sipped her water.

  “Simon, you haven’t been listening to a word I’ve said,” she said icily.

  “Sure I have, Raven,” Simon protested. “I’ve just got a new case that’s kind of preying on my mind right now. I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel that I’m not paying enough attention to you. Please, go ahead with what you were saying.”

  “Oh, never mind,” Raven said, waving her hand dismissively. “It’s not important, anyway. What I wanted to ask you about is Erick’s wedding. You’re his Best Man, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, I sure am,” Simon answered, smiling, even as he began to feel like he needed to take care about what he would say next. If Holli and Dreama had hit it off from the first, Holli and Raven did not. Upon knowing about Dreama’s humble background, Raven had acted snobbish, and had petulantly declared that she wasn’t someone worthy of a billionaire like Erick to a select few. Noone had to tell Holli about this, because she already was sensitive enough to know. But when Erick noticed, the look on his face was enough to tell that Raven would never be in any if his lists. Not even of his least favorites.

  “Well, I thought I would help you out and go as your date, since I know you don’t want to be hounded by all of those single women that are sure to be there. Just let me know when you have all the details on the date and time so I can have a new outfit to wear.”

  Chapter Seven

  SIMON STARED AT Raven for a few moments more before he was sure she actually said what she had said.

  And then he would have wanted to laugh, but he instead put what remained of his tasty sandwich down on his plate.

  There was no way Raven was going to be his date to the wedding.

  How long was this nasty business going to last? If he only knew what Dreama actually felt about him, things would have been different.

  Raven had always felt herself to be in competition with her younger sister. There had been some issues in the beginning when Simon and Dreama had first met. Raven had been jealous that he and Dreama had hit it off and it had been a bit of a problem.

  In fact, Simon hadn’t seen Dreama very often at first because of the way Raven reacted – and because something always “happened” that would eliminate either one of them in any event when they could have been together. When he learned that Raven had been manipulating arrangements so that schedules would not permit he and her sister would not be in one place at the same time, especially when the event had something to do with the firm, he knew he only had opportunities to act freely with Dreama anywhere wherein Raven would definitely not be there, like events arranged by other people and other friends.

  He definitely didn’t understand what was going on in Raven’s head. Of course, there hadn’t actually been anyone in his life for her to be jealous of until he had met Dreama. On the other hand, he had never given her cause to think anything else between them could b
e more than… well, friends. Although, come to think of it, they weren’t really friends. Raven was a lawyer, too, and she was actually intelligent and smart. They had discussed cases many times. But they hadn’t really been personally close. She might talk about personal happenings in her life, but he never did unless it had something to do with the firm.

  He had dated his share of women, but no one had hit him like Dreama and he had never even taken her out on a date. He definitely had never dated Raven. But… there were those instances when they were together in one place and she would call it a date when she talked to other people. He only had heard about this recently, when colleagues had begun kidding him about dating the senior partner’s daughter.

  But he already had plans for pursuing Dreama by that time that he took care not to aggravate Raven until he was sure about how he stood with her younger sister.

  He had been hoping to make his move on Erick and Hollianne’s wedding. Dreama would be there, and he could ask her out. It would be the perfect way to spend some time with her so that she might consider actually going out on a date with him.

  Dreama was going to be Holli’s maid of honor, a fact that did not escape Raven’s notice. Raven wasn’t even included in anything that would put her remotely in the “in circle” that included Erick and his would be wife. Not even her father’s association with Simon, who was known to be one of Erick’s close friends, had earned her invitations to parties in the castle. She was surely hoping she would be invited in the wedding, at least, and was making sure she would be there with Simon for people to see, giving her an edge over Dreama. Simon already knew her enough to know how she would think about things like this.

  Hollianne hadn’t hit it off so well with Raven due to Raven’s inherent competitive nature. Not to mention that Raven had been a bit snarky to Hollianne, which was a serious mistake because that was the only reason why she had never been invited to the castle ever. Hollianne Talbot-soon-to-be-Angell took nothing from people. It may have been due to the things that she had gone through in her life that made her intolerant. Whatever it was, Holli had refused to be faced with Raven’s insulting nature, so she would avoid her as much as she could. She certainly would not be insulted in her own territory.

  Simon didn’t blame Holli for not liking Raven. It wasn’t as if Raven made any great effort to be liked.

  But the fact that Dreama and Holli had become like close sisters seemed to irritate Raven more. She was jealous. When she used to be the one people prefer to be the apple of their eyes, now Dreama was having her own place in the spotlight.

  Simon knew things about Raven that she probably didn’t realize herself. Not everything really was her fault.

  Raven had been “trained” in competitive situations since she was old enough to walk and talk. Her mother had thrown her into one beauty pageant after another until Raven had become old enough to refuse.

  The really sad thing was that once Raven started to put her foot down about not entering pageants any longer, her mother lost interest in her. It was almost as if Raven had been a doll that she could play dress up with over the years.

  So Raven went from being the center of her mother’s world to being an afterthought. That couldn’t have had a positive effect on her.

  Chapter Eight

  WHEN DREAMA CAME along, things got worse for Raven.

  Since Raven was the one entering all the pageants, Dreama never had to deal with any of that. Not only was she very young, she was intelligent in a quiet way, and had started to make her own way by being very good in her academics. Her father adored her and her mother seemed to find time for her that didn’t involve a purpose of some sort. Dreama looked quite a lot like her mother, with her light blonde hair and aquamarine eyes. Truthfully, her name was perfect because she did look a lot like a dream woman. She had always looked like that.

  But Dreama’s appearance belied the type of young woman that she really was. In spite of the fact that she looked angelic and almost waifish, Dreama was actually a very strong young woman. When she was asked to enter a contest her mother wanted her to enter, she refused, reasoning her way intelligently out of it that made her mother proud of her instead of hateful that Dreama refused to obey. The people that dared to challenge her had found out quite quickly just how strong she was.

  Her strong personality pushed her into situations that should have made other people cower. She was so unselfish she would put herself in the way to protect other people who could not protect themselves. She was something of a rebel and a champion of the underdog. That was one of the many qualities that made her such a wonderful psychiatrist.

  Her intelligence and quick wit made her very memorable, too. Once someone met, they never forgot her.

  Simon certainly had not. He thought about her all the time. Did he want to cause more problems between the two sisters? They already had such a rocky relationship that something like this would be more than a drop in the proverbial bucket. Dreama had really never shown him the slightest romantic interest. For all he knew, she had a boyfriend tucked away somewhere.

  But that didn’t seem possible unless she was hiding him from everyone. He could not imagine why she would. She was not the kind of person who would hide the person she loved from anyone, regardless if other people would love him or not.

  So he perked up. He knew that Dreama would still be available. But he was also sure he wasn’t the only one attracted to her, so he really had to make his move as soon as he could.

  “Well?” Raven’s voice intruded on his thoughts. “Will you let me know what the dress code will be?”

  “Um yeah,” he finally replied. He did not find this harmful. A lot of people would be waiting to know the dress code, invited or not. “I’ll see what I can find out and let you know.”

  “Excellent!” she exclaimed. “Now, would you like to tell me what’s got you so lost in thought? You’ve barely said two words the whole time we’ve been here.”

  “Oh, it’s just this new client I met with today. Nothing unusual.”

  “Is it anything you would like to bounce off me?”

  “Not really,” Simon replied, erring in the side of caution. He should best avoid even the usual talks he used to have with Raven. In fact, he should avoid her altogether.

  Did this mean he would have to continue with his plan to put up a firm of his own? Erick had introduced the idea a long time ago, but he was more focused then about clients and not about building up a reputation for himself, enough for opening up a successful law firm. He did not realize that taking care of his clients also earned him the reputation he needed that people would notice when he started business on his own.

  It wasn’t a bad idea. He realized that once Raven found out he was interested in Dreama, she would be more than determined in hounding him, whether his pursuit of Dreama would be successful or not. He certainly didn’t need that. He knew she would never be anything more in his eyes than a colleague.

  “You know how I get when I’m first getting into a new case,” he heard himself saying.

  “Well, if you change your mind,” Raven said. “I’m happy to listen.”

  “I appreciate that,” he said. And if only Raven wasn’t a big complication, he really would.

  Raven was actually one of the top attorneys in the Moon Bay area and she had a legal mind like a steel trap. If he had actually needed any help with a case, she would have been the one to go to.

  But she didn’t know about Simon’s special ability to help those clients that were truly innocent. This talent of his was also why he never accepted clients that he knew were guilty of the crimes they were accused of. Being in practice by himself made this possible. He knew that guilty people deserved a defense, but they wouldn’t be getting it from him. He already had his mission in life and it was to protect the innocent. There were plenty of other attorneys around that didn’t care if their clients were guilty or innocent.

  Simon was finally able to end the lunch so that he could
get back to the office. He would have to figure out a way to get out of taking Raven to Erick and Hollianne’s wedding.

  As far as he knew, she hadn’t been on the guest list because of the way she behaved to Hollianne.

  They would shoot him on sight if he dared to bring her to their wedding.

  Chapter Nine

  AS IT TURNED out, Hollianne provided the way out of his dilemma.

  She called him soon after he had returned to his office with a question about the wedding present she was getting for Erick. During the conversation, he mentioned that Raven had invited herself to be his date for their wedding.

  “No,” Hollianne said firmly. “I will not have that woman at my wedding. In fact, you know what? Tell her that you can’t escort her to the wedding because the wedding party is matched up with each other. Now, that means that you, as the Best Man, will be paired with my Maid-of-Honor, which is Dreama. If you don’t feel that you can tell her, I certainly have no issues with letting her know another way.”

  Simon was relieved, though he was now feeling a bit bad for disrupting Raven’s plans. “Raven’s not going to take this very well. But I completely understand why you feel the way you do. This is your wedding, and after the way she’s acted toward you, if you don’t want her there, I won’t be the reason for her to turn up.”

  Sighing, Simon disconnected the call. On one hand, he was relieved that he wouldn’t have to take responsibility for Raven not being allowed to attend the wedding.

  On the other hand, however, he would be the one to tell her that he couldn’t take her as his date. Since Raven had asked him specifically about the dress code, she would be back for the answer as soon as she possibly could. He knew her to be that way. So he could tell her about the dress code, but would keep quiet about the invitations. She would soon find out she wasn’t invited to the wedding soon, anyway.