by Luke Steel
She will, too, I have no doubt. It’s my job to understand people, what they’re capable of. I can see it in her. My Kari can do anything.
I roll over onto my side and tuck her into me, studying her. “That’s why you didn’t really care about the money we found, isn’t it. It’s the book you’ve wanted all along.”
Kari smiles and rolls her eyes. “Ok, maybe I did have a plan. A very little, tiny plan.”
“You’ll have to make this case in court now. Danny has a new lawyer. She’s good.”
“Well, Danny can afford one.”
“Word on the street is I’m pretty good, too.”
“Nope,” she says, flopping over onto a pillow. “I fired you.”
I poke her back. “You’re not serious.”
“If you represent me, you can get in a lot of trouble, can’t you? Because of us?”
I don’t answer. I know when not to speak rather than incriminate myself. Kari hugs the pillow tighter.
“It’s my mess. I want to get out of it myself.”
“Hey. You’re not by yourself. You have me.”
She holds a lazy hand up to the ceiling and pretends to examine her nails.
“I do, don’t I.” When she turns back she bats her lashes.
Squeals of laughter escape her as I dive under the covers and tickle attack the inside of her thigh. And then moans when I recalibrate and center my attack to between her legs. No preliminary teasing. No games. One second we’re tussling, and the next I’m burrowing straight between her thighs, holding her down and open to me while I drive her clit. Her laughter turns to raw moans and I only stop long enough to shove the blankets off us so I can look up the length of her body and see her face while I make her come.
She tries once, twice to tempt me up and away from what I’m doing. The dirtiest, filthiest invitations to fuck her, to let her suck me, how badly she wants to taste me again. Hard to resist except for the fact that I know I’m going to have her all of those ways and more. Right now, I’m more interested in the pussy, warm and wet against my lips, and the way Kari grabs the hair at the back of my head and holds my mouth to her. All her suggestions and attempts to change my mind fall silent when I start to flick her clit with my tongue in exactly the way I know she loves.
I look up and I can see her nipples are pink and full, hard as pebbles. I swirl the flat of my tongue along her pussy lips, before I lock in on that sensitive nub. Kari tries to close her thighs around my head but I keep her trapped and still for my tongue and whatever else I want to do to her until her body shudders and jerks as she comes again.
I don’t give her even a second to recover. Her legs are still limp and open to me when I shove up onto my forearms and bury my cock deep in her. She shrieks and clings to me, her hips bucking under mine, and I can feel her nails claw my back, curling up and around me like a cat while I pump into her. She takes everything and gives it back, just as out of control and primitive as me.
When it finally breaks, I’m not even ready for it. I’ve never felt so completely out of control in my life, and my body seizes hard even as the pleasure crashes over and through me. And Kari’s there for all of it, whispering an equal measure of love and swear words at me as we both come down.
Chapter Seven
Courtrooms are intimidating under any circumstances. Not generally places you want to spend any time, no matter what you see on TV. Both parties in the Michaels v. Michaels suit agreed to a summary judgment, which should mean the judge will dispose of the case in one day. Kari won’t let me represent her. That doesn’t mean I’m not in the court today and offering moral (and legal) support, but I hate that she’s up at the table alone. Lawyers shudder for a reason when they see people represent themselves.
I know Judge Flemming. No red flags in her courtroom, nothing to make me worry over much. A woman judge doesn’t make her necessarily more amenable to female litigants, but in her case I at least know she doesn’t share the tendency of some court officers to try to put them in their place.
Kari’s original strategy was a good one: ask for too much so that any retreat is seen as reasonable and fair. She knew she was never going to get half the business; what she wanted was the book. The problem is that she can’t fool the court as to the value if she’s asking for it and they ask her why. She has to get Danny to admit its value for the business, and thus prove her joint interest in the business entirely, or he has to say it’s not valuable at all and just let her have it. Two extremes, and an uncertain outcome.
And nothing I can do for her because she’s too stubborn to let me help. And she won’t let her father use what he knows either—that’s the condition for allowing him back in. She wouldn’t even listen when we tried to tell her the amount. Said it was too close to hurting me if Danny raised a stink about who found it, and we all know he would.
Stubbornness and pride. I love this woman, but damnit, I want to kill her.
It doesn’t help that she’s right.
The only concession she made for today was she allowed Leo to be there. I get the feeling there is a defrosting of tension between them—she knows what he tried to do for her. And so here he sits right next to me in the courtroom gallery. Even though she agreed he could come, I was worried that seeing him here after all this time would shake her, or she’d kick him out. But she just looked at the pair of us and shook her head. And then she kissed us both on the cheek—two for me because damn right—and then put her game face on and marched to her table to face the judge.
“All rise.”
Kari looks over her shoulder at the both of us a final time as the courtroom comes to order. We’re right behind her, the closest she would let us sit for the hearing. From this vantage I can still see over to Danny’s table, whispering a non-stop stream of instructions into his new lawyer’s ear. Having been on the other end of that endless man-whining, I don’t miss it.
“In the matter of Daniel Michaels v. Karissa Stanzione Michaels, the honorable Judge Audrey Flemming presiding. Are the parties and counsel present?”
“We are, your honor.” Danny’s attorney is cool in her reply.
“Yes, your honor.” Kari’s voice doesn’t shake or break.
And here we go.
She’s getting creamed. The judge is not letting up.
“Ms. Michaels, let me try to understand. You’re saying that you helped build the business materially, yet you can provide no evidence for this work. And during your marriage, your husband’s name and likeness were on the signage, part of the advertising. He is, in effect, the face of the business. Isn’t that correct?”
“Yes, your honor. I have affidavits from Prince Charming Bakery employees who can vouch for my work over the years, however.”
“But not the accounts or other material investment, is that correct?
“Correct.” Kari is struggling, I can tell. She’s doing as well as she can, but this is exactly what I was afraid of for her.
Leo, sitting next to me, is a rock like his daughter, though little things give away his frustration. For instance, every time Danny or his lawyer speaks, Leo cracks his knuckles. One time he even stretched his neck.
“Well, though there were prospective locations where the company would see growth, there are little to no communal assets in the case of the bakeries. Therefore, the litigants will not split the business, and its ownership will remain with Mr. Michaels. So ordered.”
“Kari knew that was coming,” I whisper to Leo. He nods bleakly.
“Your honor?” I hold my breath as Kari calls out to the judge. This is it.
“There is one item in the Prince Charming Bakery holdings that I brought into the marriage. If it please the court, I would like to request it back.”
She hasn’t named it yet, but already this seems to have gotten Danny’s attention. He’s whispering to his attorney.
“It’s a Prince Charming Bakery holding, Ms. Michaels?”
“No, your honor. It’s a family heirloom. My fa
mily. My mother’s.”
Danny’s counsel objects. “Your honor, Mr. Michaels is aware of the item that Ms. Michaels is about to request. We object to this.”
“Why would Mr. Michaels object to his wife retrieving a family heirloom?”
“The heirloom is a recipe book. Recipes that Prince Charming Bakeries uses in their product lines. To release this book to Ms. Michaels would be like releasing trade secrets and formulas to the public.”
“Let me get this straight,“ Judge Fleming says, adjusting her glasses on her nose. “Mr. Michaels, if the recipe book was originally Ms. Michael’s family possession, how did you come to use it in your business?”
“She was my wife, your honor. We only use original family recipes at our bakery.”
“But these were your wife’s family recipes?”
“She became my family when I married her.” Danny’s lawyer bristles visibly at her client’s tone. He’s been a good boy in court most of the day, but I figured he wouldn’t be able to tamp it down forever. He’s on thin ice.
“Well, from your testimony it seems to me that means she brought it into the marriage. Why shouldn’t this court grant her request that it be returned to her?”
Danny doesn’t see what he’s just walked into.
“Because, judge, if she gets the book back, she’s taking our most successful product lines with her. She’ll gut my business.”
The room screeches to a halt.
Bingo. I heard it. We all did. Including the judge.
In the silence, Danny blinks and looks around at everyone, clearly unaware of what he’s just done. He looks up to the bailiff, then to his lawyer, who has her elbows on the table, her head in her hands.
The judge leans forward. “Mr. Michaels, you told this court that your wife brought nothing of value into the marriage.”
“Damn right. She had nothing to her name but an old dusty book before I came along.”
“But your last statement clearly contradicts that claim. According to your testimony, it’s the recipes and baking formulas that are the true value of the business. Your wife expressed her willingness to give you everything that your capital purchased. The real estate holdings, even the business name. But despite all of that, you claim that returning the book would gut your business and therefore you’re rejecting this offer?”
Danny stops, finally realizing the importance of what he just admitted. He looks around as though for help, but no one in the gallery is speaking. We’re all just looking at Danny, waiting to see what the greaseball says next.
The judge seems to have heard enough. She turns to Danny’s lawyer. “Counselor, as it pleases the court, I am correcting the judgement for the fair distribution of the Prince Charming Bakeries. Ms. Michaels will be granted the return of her family heirloom. I further order that Ms. Michaels is entitled to the full 50% of the proceeds from the direct use of her family recipes.
“But your honor—“
“I am not finished. Mr. Michaels will still hold the title, ownership and assets that comprise the bakery chain, however, if he wishes to continue to use his wife’s family recipes, he must negotiate a licensing fee to her, a contract that she may accept or deny as she wishes. So ordered.”
Danny’s voice rings out loud in the gallery. “What the hell just happened?”
Everyone in the courtroom breaks out into laughter. Everyone except me.
There’s some commotion at the back of the room. A petite woman, blonde, is trying to enter the courtroom. The bailiff is trying to reason with her. She keeps pointing to Danny at the front of the courtroom.
Danny and his attorney are arguing quietly, his lawyer holding her hand up. He looks fit to be tied.
I lean over to get her attention. “Kari, ask for a break.”
Kari’s eyes go wide, and she looks from me to the judge and back again.
“Why?”
“It’s ok, trust me. Ask for a break so we can regroup. I know what I’m doing.”
Kari just scored a huge and unexpected win in the courtroom, but I have a hunch about this.
The woman who was arguing with the bailiff is pretty, no doubt about it … just about anyone’s idea of a perfect side-piece. Blonde hair, hot air balloon breasts. Less elegant than Kari, i.e. much more Danny’s speed. How could he have let go of a treasure like Kari? The world is a confusing place as far as I’m concerned. I’m not sorry.
I point Leo in the direction of the woman. The old bloodhound is on her scent immediately. He lumbers over to talk to her, points at Kari and me at the front of the gallery, and then hooks his thumb in Danny’s direction. The woman immediately launches a blue streak of chatter and in just two minutes, Leo motions us over.
The woman identifies herself as Kim. Danny’s longtime mistress, it seems. I can’t help but look over at Kari when Kim delivers that bit of news, but Kari sighs and smiles, resigned by now. “Danny’s had quite a few Kims over the years,” she says. Which is not news to me, but seems to upset Miss Kim even more.
“Well, I just found out he’s cheating on me with his new lawyer friend. He was supposed to be divorcing his wife for me! And I want him to know I know all about his extra bank accounts and what he’s been doing with the books at the bakery. I know everything. Nobody cheats on me!” Lots of snapping fingers and head swivels from Miss Kim. She doesn’t seem to appreciate the irony of getting upset over her boyfriend’s infidelity as she stands in front of her boyfriend’s wife, but that’s neither here nor there.
Leo rocks back on his heels and whistles a single note. I know what he’s thinking: this is the backdoor we need to use the information we found about Danny’s accounts. I’m no longer violating privilege, and no conflict for Leo, Kari’s father, having been the one to discover the goods. Thanks to Kim, Danny boy is baked.
It’s the work of another minute for me to explain to Kari what she needs to do. She listens to everything, and then she walks over to Danny’s attorney while we ask the bailiff to be taken to a meeting room.
“What are you doing here?” Danny’s all bravado when he walks into the room and sees all of us, with Kim, standing there waiting for him.
“You know.” Kim seethes. “Don’t even try it.”
We lay it out. The affair. The accounts. The hidden assets. Danny’s attorney looks like she’s about to be sick—Danny just lied to the court about hidden assets, which is a big fat no-no as far as the law is concerned. And now, thanks to Kim and Danny’s swinging dick, we have him dead to rights. His lawyer’s going to look like an idiot for not properly deposing her client (as I would have had I been the one to represent him) and Kari is going to get everything she’s owed. Probably more. Judges tend to get angry when you lie to them and commit fraud, and they typically award all the pilfered goods to the defrauded spouse. If it’s also true that Danny’s sleeping with his lawyer, she’s got a little egg on her face, too.
Leo and I know exactly how much Danny socked away. Kari’s about to come into some serious money.
I’m thrilled. Leo’s thrilled. But Kari looks a little lost. Even sick. We all fall silent as she turns to Danny.
“I don’t want the bakery. I don’t want the money you stole. It’s tainted, like you, and dollars to donuts some government officials are probably going to come sniffing a few months after this is over. I don’t want any of it.” Kari stands tall and looks Danny Michaels square in the eye.
“You almost destroyed my life. The least you can do is get the hell out of it. Give me back what’s mine and then go to hell.”
“Whatever, you stupid cow. This is bullshit. I’ll make your life hell, just you wait.”
I hear a wheezing growl and a short shriek from Kari as Leo starts to charge at Danny. Kari moves to stop him, but there’s no need. I got to Danny first.
I’m done. Without warning, I shove Danny up against the courthouse wall. It’s the second time I’ve had him pinned by the neck, and I’m really enjoying the feeling. “Let me explain this to you
. The whole court just heard you admit what the Stanzione family gave to the bakery. They’re about to give her half. Of everything. But I know you and I know you’ll just make her life miserable. So here’s your deal. In exchange for not dragging poor Kim into court today so they hear it and you lose it all entirely, you’re going to take Kari’s offer and leave her alone. Forever. And you’ll leave her businesses alone. Forever. And when I marry Kari, you won’t be able to hold that over her head or mine anymore either. So you’re going to leave us alone. Forever.” I hear Kari gasp at that last bit, and I’ve got goosebumps. I don’t know where that came from, but I’m not taking it back.
I grin at Danny like the shark attorney that I am and then I shake him again. “Deviate from any part of that plan, and next time you’ll be in court with me. And I won’t be this generous. I’ll have your fucking scalp on my office wall. Do you understand?”
Danny is silent, grinding his teeth. A tense minute later, he nods. When I let him go he shakes me off and spits on the ground before he walks away without a glance. Not at Kari, Leo, or me. Not even his little girlfriend.
We send word to the bailiff that the parties have asked to convene and the Judge grants a continuance. An hour later we iron out the details with Kim and Danny’s lawyer, and then Leo, Kari and I are standing in the courthouse hallway, finally alone.
Kari still looks shocked and a little shaken. I reach for her and she burrows into my side. I can feel her shaking, but I know this is good. She’s finally free.
Leo and I share a look over her head. He adjusts his hat, then pinches his nose as though he’s about to sneeze. I think the old man is trying not to cry.
Kari looks up and over at her father. A minute later, he pulls her into a hug and she squeezes her eyes shut tight, hugging him back.
