by Dee Dawning
"Ten Million?" I laughed. "You sure know how to kill a good mood. Then make it sound like I hit the lottery."
Chapter Eleven – Lake Gregory
Danny suggested we leave for Lake Gregory Friday evening instead of Saturday morning. Driving straight through, when we reached the lake we visited the Mexican restaurant I'd liked so much. It was late summer—cicada season—and as I opened the door their song was quite loud. "I hope the cicadas don't keep me awake tonight."
Danny laughed. "By the time I get done with you, nothing will keep you awake."
I flushed, but puckered my lips. "Ooh." I giggled "My super-stud is going to wear poor little old me out."
Danny grinned. "That's right, and the sooner we eat dinner and get to the cabin, the sooner I can don my red cape and start wearing you out."
I laughed and raised my brow. "We better get going then."
After a scrumptious dinner and a pitcher of frozen margaritas, we visited a grocery store for wine and supplies.
As we pulled up to the cabin, darkness was beginning to fall. I reached into the back seat for my overnight bag, slung it over my shoulder and grabbed the bag from the grocery store.
Danny opened the trunk, and grabbed his own small suitcase. Danny's free hand took mine and we headed for the porch and the front door. Like last week, after unlocking the door and setting his suitcase down, he picked me up and carried me to the master bedroom, where he set me down on the bed.
"Here let me have that." He took the grocery bag from me. "What kind of wine would you like?"
"Red."
"He nodded."I'll be right back."
As soon as he left, I grabbed my overnight bag and ran into the bathroom.
I pulled out the attire I'd brought to set the mood and hurriedly slipped it on.
I heard Danny through the bathroom door. "I'm back. What're you doing?"
"I'm changing. Why don't you get undressed? I'll be out in a minute."
"What're you changing into?"
"You'll see. Just get undressed."
A glance in the mirror shocked me. I turned and studied myself from every angle. My lacy black corset fell short of covering my nipples and my pussy. Lacy topped, black nylons, held up by a black garter belt, accented my fairly good legs. Blood red crotchless panties, matched my blood red four inch heels, completing my naughty, risqué outfit.
This was not the Lila Landers, I knew, but Cami assured me that Danny would love it. Mistress Lila was ready for prime time. The question was, was Danny, her love slave, ready for Mistress Lila. "Are you undressed," I yelled through the door.
"Yeah, what's keeping you?"
Feeling almost devilish, I grabbed my satchel and stepped through the door.
Danny lay on the bed propped against the headboard. When he saw me his eyes grew large. "Look at you."
I reached in my bag and drew out a pair of leather hand cuffs. "Are you ready to be my love slave?"
Danny roared. "Where did you get this stuff?"
"I borrowed it from Cami. She brought it when she gave me my phone."
Danny shrugged. "If that's what you want baby. Please be gentle."
I laughed.
I cuffed Danny ankles and wrists to the four posts of the bed and then slipped the blindfold over his eyes. "I'll be right back."
"Where are you going?"
"I saw a couple items in the kitchen I want to use."
He chuckled. "Just stay away from the knives."
"Ha, ha. Wouldn't I love having Lamar at my mercy like this!"
"Really, you would bobbit him?"
"Nah—but it's a fun fantasy. Let's not talk about morbid subjects. Think of us and sex!"
I rummaged through the kitchen cabinets for the things I wanted, placing them on a tray.
Suddenly, I heard voices outside. "Is that Danny's car?"
"I think so."
Jesus! Could it be Danny's parents.
"He must be here then."
I left the tray and crept toward the bedroom.
"One way to find out."
Oh, my God. If they saw me like this, I'd never be able to look them in the face again.
"Wait. What if he has a girl in there?"
Danny! Oh my God, what if they saw him, naked and spread eagle on their bed?
"Then we meet her. There's another bedroom we can use."
I flew in the bedroom, slammed the door, and fumbled with his handcuffs. "Baby, I think your parents are here."
He jiggled around trying to sit up. "Oh Shit! Lock the door first. Then get this crap off me.
I pushed the slide lock in place a second before someone tried to open the door.
A woman's voice asked, "Danny, are you in there?"
I took off Danny's blindfold as he answered her, "Yes, Mom. And I have a special friend with me. We'll be out in a minute to greet you."
"Oh. Your dad and I thought that might be the case. Take your time."
I unhooked his right wrist-cuff from the bed and he whispered, "Give me the key and I'll undo the rest. You need to change your clothes."
I gave him the key and started for the bathroom.
"Baby?"
I turned.
"Sorry. We'll do this some other time. I promise."
I nodded, went into the bathroom and dressed in the clothes I came in.
Ten minutes later, holding my hand, Danny slid the lock back and opened the door. I couldn't have been more nervous if I was going to my execution.
I stepped into the hall with Danny. My hand shook.
"Calm down baby. They aren't cannibals."
I took a deep breath as we stepped into the family room. Meeting Danny's parents would be hard as hell if I was white, but I wasn't. I was black. Mostly black anyway.
They looked up. Their eyes reflected their surprise, but only for a moment. "There they are." I sized Danny's father up as he rose. He looked to be about six foot, like Danny, but with brown hair and brown eyes.
Danny's mother rose too. "I remember you--the swimmer." She walked over to greet me. "Was your name Liza?"
That was better than I could do. I couldn't remember either of their names. I sized her up too. She was my height, a bit heavier with wavy blonde hair and very blue eyes—Danny's eyes.
I smiled. "Close, I'm Lila."
Danny's father eased over as Danny's mother said, "That's right," and embraced me. "I'm Barbara, but everyone calls me Babs and this is Danny's father, Gerald, whom everyone calls Jerry."
Jerry, grasped both of my shoulders. "My son has great taste." He too pulled me in for a long hug. When he pulled away, he queried Babs. "Isn't she pretty?"
"Very." She took my hand. "I'm sorry we intruded on you." She turned to Jerry. "Perhaps we should leave, so the love birds can be alone."
"No. I won't have it!" I surprised myself at the force of my entreaty. "Obviously, we are here without your permission. We should leave."
"Please don't, unless you are uncomfortable with us being here. Danny said you were a special friend and I for one would like to get to know you."
Jerry pumped his chest out. "Me too. You stay where you are. Babs and I will be fine in the second bedroom."
I'm afraid we didn't get any sex for the weekend. I just couldn't have sex, knowing Danny parents were in the other bedroom. Nevertheless, I wouldn't trade that weekend for two weekends of hot sex.
I got to know, my potential in-laws, and I liked what I saw. They were nicer to me than Lamar's parents ever were. Not that they were bad. They weren't, but I never felt as welcome as Jerry and Babs made me feel.
If only my own mother and father could be that accepting of Danny.
Chapter Twelve – Monday
I fished my ringing cell phone from my slacks. "Hello."
"Dan. It's Lamar."
"Hi Lamar, what can I do for you?"
"Did you find out about the ten million yet?"
"No, but it was only Friday when you asked me. I presented it and I'm waiti
ng to hear back."
"Good. It's off the table. I want you to know, I consulted with another lawyer."
"Oh, really. Anyone I know?"
"Maybe. His name is Herbert Effington. You may have seen his ads between the local and national news on channel eleven."
"Of course. And what did the esteemed Mr. Effington have to say?"
"He said your viewpoint of the case is a little conservative and we needed to think outside the box."
I'm being fired? "Outside the box, huh!"
"Yes. He feels confident he could make the original settlement proposal fly."
"Fly? Where to? You personally offered Lila two and a half million and a thousand per week alimony."
"Yes, but that wasn't in writing. He feels confident the judge would see the generosity of the original proposal and force Lila to accept it. He's resubmitting the original settlement agreement to Lila's Attorney today."
"Does that mean he's taking over for me?"
"Yes, but just for this case. You'll still be my lawyer for everything else. I feel like your long term friendship with Lila may be shading your judgment here."
No sooner had I hung up from Lamar than my phone rang again. "Hello?"
"Your client has lost his mind."
"Hi Letta, I know—Herbert Effington."
"He's the joke of LA. The only case he ever won was when his client's opponent fell over dead in the courtroom. Effington is clueless and Doctor Patterson is defenseless. He's like the emperor standing naked, wearing imaginary clothes, in the intersection of Hollywood and Vine. Are you off the case?"
"Yes."
"Good, I didn't want to hurt you. It's going to be bloody and painful—very painful."
I gulped. "What are you going to do?"
"What would you do?"
"I'd submit my response immediately, citing the settlement proposal as woefully inadequate and ask for discovery as soon as possible."
"Bingo! I just had my response couriered to the judge and sent a copy to Herbert Effington, esq. by email."
"Does this mean I no longer have to sneak around with Lila?"
"What do you think?"
"No, we need to keep up appearances for a couple more months, and then gradually reveal our relationship."
"Give that man a kewpie doll."
* * * *
When I found out what'd happened and that the judge had set discovery for the following week, I asked Letta if we could have another meeting. And this time, not in a restaurant. Begrudgingly, she agreed to meet me at my condo the following Monday at one p.m., and I insisted Danny be there as well.
We had returned from a weekend at a friend of Danny's timeshare on Balboa Island the night before and Danny had spent the night. Phone sex was great, as a filler, but it palled compared to the real thing. Since Danny was already there when I woke, we took a sex filled shower together, after which I fixed breakfast. Then we went back to bed for more sex, another sex filled shower, and finally lunch.
Letta arrived on time and while Danny and Letta got comfortable in the living room, I served coffee cake and fresh coffee.
I joined Danny on the couch while Letta sat on the matching love seat.
"Letta, I know and appreciate what you are trying to do. The idea of getting a hundred million dollars worth of Progressive Technology stock, which I could sell or hold for even more potential value, is mind boggling."
I paused and sipped my coffee. "It's very tempting, but frankly it scares me. My father says a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. I really want nothing to do with Lamar, including owning stock in his company. I cringe at the thought that I was married to such a shallow person for seven years."
I slid closer to Danny and took his hand. "Letta, I'm in love with this man." I raised his hand up and smiled at him. He smiled back and kissed the back of my hand. I continued, "And I want to start my new life married to him with as few complications as possible."
Letta, who'd just taken a bite of her cake, swallowed and washed it down with a sip of her coffee. "What is it you want then?"
"Cash and liquid assets. As much as you can squeeze out of the asshole."
Danny spoke, "Before he hired Effington, he wanted me to see if you'd accept ten million."
"I'm bitter, but not greedy. If he can come up with that amount in cash and liquid assets, I'd be satisfied with that for our sham of a marriage. I'm sorry Letta. I know you were looking for a bigger payday."
She waved my concern away. "Ah, don't worry about it, if we can get ten million, I'd be tickled with a million. After all, it's been less than a month." She winked. "My first million took two years to make."
"It's settled then."
Letta nodded and rose. "It is." She edged over and hugged me, and then Danny. "It looks like I have my work cut out for me, trying to get Lamar to raise his old quarter of a million dollar offer back to ten million."
After walking Letta to the door, Danny decided it was time to leave, too, but not before setting up a date Wednesday night to experiment with cyber sex.
Chapter Thirteen – Discovery
Following Herbert Effington's astute recommendation, Lamar refused to budge on his original settlement proposal. So it was off to discovery in the chambers of Judge Diane Clemons that Friday.
We arrived first, followed by Lamar and his lapdog, Herbert Effington.
Letta stood and introduced herself to Lamar and Effington, then turned to me. "And this is my client, Lila Patterson."
Effington offered his hand. "Mrs. Patterson, it's a pleasure."
As I rose to shake his hand, he scanned me slowly, as if he wondered what Lamar found so objectionable about me. Obviously, he hadn't figured out it was a business decision. Shaking his hand, I dipped my head and uttered, "Likewise, I'm sure."
I didn't like him. His handshake was weak and damp, and he was smarmy like my husband. We all sat down. There were six glasses at the table and a couple pitchers of ice water. Lamar poured his glass, as did Letta who also filled mine.
When the judge entered, what appeared to be a court reporter accompanied her. Judge Clemons was a middle aged, attractive woman with blue eyes and brunette hair. She gave me a quick glance and a subtle smile, as she sat.
For a second, I wondered if I should feel fortunate because the judge was a woman.
She looked at each of us. "I see we're all here."
Everyone nodded.
"For the record, please state your name and position here today."
Herbert Effington rose and spoke first. "I would like to make a motion."
The judge looked annoyed. "We are not in court. What is it you that want?"
"I suggest you recluse yourself due to an unfortunate, but obvious conflict of interest."
The judge's brow furrowed. "What conflict of interest?" She glanced at her notes. "Mr….Effington, is it?"
He nodded. "You are a woman and thus would exhibit a degree of partiality toward the defendant—a woman."
Even Lamar joined us, staring incredulously at Effington.
The judge sat bouncing the eraser end of her wooden pencil off her pad. "Let me get this straight. Are you saying I would be partial to the female defendant, but a male judge would be impartial to the male plaintiff?"
Judge Clemons paused to take a sip of water, which the court reporter had poured. "In all due respect that is insulting and utter nonsense. I'll give you one minute to withdraw your absurd request."
"Or what?"
Before answering, the Judge scanned her notes and documents. "I see the petition was originally filed by Daniel Westbrook. Where is he?"
Effington answered, "He was replaced, by me, due to incompetence."
I held back a snicker when the Judge rolled her eyes, but Letta didn't hold anything back. "Your Honor, this is ridiculous. Can we move on?"
Lamar leaned over and whispered in his attorney's ear.
When he'd finished, Herbert smiled at the Judge. "Correction. I replaced Mr. Westbro
ok because my client felt that, being a longtime friend of the defendant, his heart wasn't in handling this particular case."
Lamar whispered in his ear again.
Lamar's Attorney looked up. "And for the sake of expediency, I will wave my motion."
"Fine. I'll return to my original request. Name and position?"
After everyone gave their name and position, the Judge asked, "Have both attorneys tried to come to terms on a settlement?"
Letta spoke, "We have your honor. We are looking at a present net worth of twelve million dollars and a future net worth of almost two hundred sixty-three million dollars. Yet, even though we agreed to settle for the ten million dollars he offered through the former attorney, Mr. Westbrook, the plaintiff has steadfastly refused to increase their nonsensical offer of two hundred-fifty thousand dollars."
Judge Clemons stared at Lamar. "Is that right, Dr. Patterson? Did you offer ten million through your former attorney?"
"No, your honor."
She frowned and turned to Letta, who preempted her question. "I can get him on the phone if you like."
The Judge set her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her fist. "Please do."
