by Lexy Timms
Laughing nervously Crystal said, “I will, but no worries anyways…I’m not looking to hook up with one of my bosses.”
Dana smiled. “I’m sure you’re not…but you’re exactly what Eric goes for…young, beautiful, fresh. He also always gets what he wants, so you’re best bet is to stay away from him completely.” Crystal laughed again. It was slightly ridiculous that a man in his position elicited this type of warning from his own staff to his new staff.
Dana gave them a much better tour than Tanya had. She introduced them to people and explained the hierarchy to them. Eric has four legal assistants, a personal assistant and a secretary. The ADA’s have either two or three legal assistant’s. Eric generally takes the larger cases and the more political ones, but when he can’t for whatever reason, he gives them to John whose conviction record is almost as good as Eric’s.
After the tour Joe and Crystal gathered their things and made their way by cab to the courthouse. Crystal’s stomach had butterflies of anticipation. She’d seen more than one trial since she began law school, but this would be the first one she got to be in on the inner workings of. They got there just before eight forty five and took their seats behind the State’s table. John turned and smiled at them. There was a middle aged woman on his right and a young man on his left. All three had their heads together. After they’d been there for five minutes or so Crystal looked over and saw Debbie and another classmate of theirs, Rich come in and take their seats with the defense. The bailiff called court to order at exactly nine a.m. and called all to rise for the judge. Once the preliminaries were out of the way the defense attorney, Wayne, took his place in front of the jury box. Debbie was right, he is hot.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I’d like to thank you all for your service in advance. This trial may be lengthy and you’ll be sacrificing a lot to be here. For that, my client and I are grateful. My client, Anthony “Tony” Ricci has just turned eighteen years old yesterday. A year and a half ago when he was only sixteen years old…the day before his cousin’s wedding, Tony was asleep on his uncle’s couch. He was jarred awake by the sounds of someone kicking down the front door. He did what any kid would do when presented with three men dressed in black and carrying automatic rifles pushed their way in the front door…he hid. When it was over, his parents were dead and two sets of aunts and uncles were dead as well. This was a boy…a traumatized child…who was then taken to the police station and questioned for nearly twelve hours straight…..” He went on and on for over an hour. He said the State had no real evidence and that he’d be able to dispute any “evidence” they thought they had. He mentioned the other children and said they all had as much to benefit from the deaths as Tony did. He insinuated the bride to be and her fiancé had a beef with her parents over money. He ended by telling the jury they should “Do the right thing” after they hear the evidence and “Decide if the state has proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Crystal watched him closely. He was charismatic without appearing overly full of himself. She could see the women jurors being affected by his good looks and the men leaning in to listen to him as he talked about the male members of the Ricci family, how they all started out as blue collar workers and worked their way up…and how close they had all been. She looked at John to see if he looked worried. Either he wasn’t, or he had a great poker face. When it was his turn he stood up, buttoned his jacket and gave an opening statement that was short and sweet. He told the jury that Tony was not a child, either then or now and they needed to keep that in mind. Then, he went on to list out the evidence and testimony they would hear. Crystal was especially interested in the testimony of the criminal psychologist, Mary Walters. Mary was one of her mother’s colleagues as well. It would be really interesting to hear her perspective. Crystal left court that day excited once again about the internship and her future. She was also happy that it was only five p.m. and she’d be able to meet her friends at Nita’s tonight.
*****
Crystal and Joe shared a cab to Nita’s. Art, Jeff, Callie and Rebecca were already there. They sat down with their friends and ordered their drinks. A few minutes later they were joined by Debbie and a few others of their classmates and fellow interns. Debbie was the one, as usual, to bring up the subject they were all most interested in, “So Art, tell us about Mr. Yummy Steel.”
Art and Jeff both laughed and Jeff said, “So why do you want Art’s opinion? You want the one of us who is going to tell you how hot he is, right?”
“Of course,” she said. Looking back at Art she said, “Spill, how hot is he?”
“He’s super-hot,” Art said. “But, not my type at all. He’s controlling and bossy and I’d be willing to bet that carries over into his personal life.”
“Is it really interesting working with him?” Crystal asked.
“Oh Crystal please stop being so…academic,” Debbie said. Crystal laughed and Debbie went on, “We want the dirt. Is everything they say about him true?”
“We’ve only seen the professional side of him,” Jeff said. “But, the people in his office do talk…”
“Wait!” Rebecca had obviously had more than one drink already. “Let me get a refill. Don’t say anything until I get back.” She got up and Jeff went on as if she hadn’t said anything.
“His legal assistants’ are all male like us,” he said, indicating him and Art. “His secretary however is very female and very hot.”
“She looks like Cleopatra,” Art said.
“What’s her name?” Joe asked.
“Marla Henser. She’s got this long, straight black hair that looks like silk and these deep green eyes…damn, she’s hot,” Jeff said.
“She’s hot,” Art said, “But she’s meaner than a snake.”
Jeff laughed. “True story. She’s really protective of her boss. She doesn’t let anyone near him without grilling them about what they want and if he’s expecting them and if it can wait….He’s the only one she doesn’t snap at. He snaps at her as much as he does everyone else, but she doesn’t seem afraid of him…she just does what he tells her to do.”
“You think he’s doing her?” Debbie asked with a grin.
“Hard to say,” Jeff said. “They definitely have a “different” relationship.”
“What about his personal assistant? She’s a woman too right?” Joe asked. “Is he doing her?”
Art and Jeff laughed. “Hopefully not, she’s his little sister.”
“His sister?” Crystal asked. “How do they get along?” Crystal wasn’t sure why but the more she heard about this guy, the more he fascinated her. Rich and gorgeous…he could have been anything he wanted to be. What made him want to be the D.A.? And his sister was obviously as rich as he was…and working as his personal assistant. Was that as weird as it sounded to her? Was there a reason they were drawn to the law and to this side of it? Eric could have made his own personal fortune as a defense attorney like the ones that Debbie was interning for. Instead he chose to run for District Attorney…maybe it was political aspirations he had.
“Okay…as okay as anyone seems to get along with the boss. She seems to be the only one who is allowed to tell him what to do. Well, she tries to boss him around. He doesn’t really listen to her, but he doesn’t bite her head off either. She’s a typical little sister. She goads him about things and they bicker back and forth like kids sometimes. I guess even when you’re grown, sibling rivalry stays with you.” Crystal had no siblings, so she wouldn’t really know about that.
“Anyways, if we’re allowed to put the personal stuff aside?” Jeff said, looking at Debbie. She grinned and he and Art both went on about how much they were actually learning and how brilliant the guy really was.
“Honestly, I haven’t asked him one question that he hasn’t been able to answer just off the top of his head,” Art said.
“Does he answer them without yelling at you or making you feel stupid for asking?” Crystal asked. That’s one major thing she lo
ved about working with John. He would never try to make her feel stupid or belittle her.
“For the most part,” Art said. “He gets a lot of phone calls and somedays I’m not sure who it is calling or texting him, but he won’t answer it and it puts him in a really bad mood.”
Crystal found herself even more curious about him than she’d ever been before. She wondered when or if she’d ever get to meet this guy.
“What about David Townsend?” Art asked Callie. “What is he like? Has he hit on you?”
Callie laughed. “He’s a really nice-looking guy…but he’s like forty! He hasn’t hit on me but even if he did, I don’t like them as old as my dad.”
“What about the King you all lust after?” Jeff asked. “He’s forty-one.”
Debbie laughed and said, “He’s like a fine wine…he got better with age.”
Art rolled his eyes, “Like you would know.”
“I can promise you I won’t ever pass up the chance to get to know.” Crystal smiled at her friend. She didn’t doubt that Debbie was serious. She wondered if she would grasp at the chance if she got it. She pictured him again. He would definitely be a hard one to say no to.
Chapter 6
2 Months Later
“Crystal can you come to my office, please?” John was calling her on the intercom. She wrinkled her nose at the case file on her desk. She was happy to sit it aside for a few minutes it was giving her a headache. John asked her to help with the closing arguments. She’d been sitting in on the trial for a month. As soon as the Ricci kid was convicted, they’d started working this one. This guy is a serial rapist and he gives Crystal the serious creeps. He has the darkest eyes she’s ever seen and when he looks right at her, she would swear he had no soul at all. The Ricci kid at least had the decency to look remorseful…but that may have only been because he was looking at life in prison. This guy…he seems to think he’s going to skate. Crystal knew how important the closing was and as touched as she was with John’s faith in her, she was anxious about getting it just right.
She was happy to see that Tanya was out as she made her way through the assistants’ office and knocked on John’s door. After two months, Tanya’s attitude hadn’t gotten any warmer towards her.
“Come in!” She pushed open the door and found him sitting at his desk. He looked pale and drawn to her. She worried that he works too much. She had grown really fond of him over the past two months. He was like a grandfather to her.
“Hi John.”
“Hey Crystal, sit down please. How is the closing coming?”
She sighed. “It’s coming…I’ll get it to you early so you can change whatever you need to.”
He waved a hand at her like she was being silly. “Mary Walters called me a while ago. She wanted me to say hello to you. She asked me how you were doing and I told her you were becoming indispensable to me. She said you must be just like your mom.” Crystal got a warm feeling from his kind words. Since she’d begun working with John and she’d seen the type of people they were putting away she had more respect for her mother than she ever had before. She listened to Mary’s testimony in this case and the Ricci one and thought about her having to spend all of that time alone with a madman…especially the current one with no soul. She’d never realized how scary her mother’s job was or how important. It made her feel bad that she hadn’t been more supportive of her when she’d been alive.
“That’s nice. I’ve learned a lot about my mom since I started working here.”
“She was the backbone of our cases a lot of times. Her opinion was valued by us, the judges and often even the defense.”
“I wish I had gotten a chance to see her in action,” Crystal said. “I feel bad that I didn’t give her more support. I never knew what she was going through.”
He smiled at her softly. “You were a kid, Crystal. It’s not your job to understand everything your parents go through until you’re an adult. I actually called you here today to talk to you about a personal matter. I have to take some more time off starting next week…”
“Oh…how long will you be gone?” When Crystal first started John had taken that one week off, but since then he’d been working overtime. It seemed like he was trying to close all of his open cases and now she knew why…he was going to be gone again.
“I’ll be gone for two months this time. I wish I didn’t have to do this to you at the end of your internship…but it can’t be avoided.” Crystal was suddenly worried about him. He hadn’t looked healthy to her lately. What if he was sick? She almost asked him, but decided if he wanted to tell her, he would have. She’d have to keep abreast of the office gossip and see what the rumor mill told her. Oftentimes they knew a lot more than they were supposed to.
“My internship has been amazing,” she told him, honestly. “I’ve got to watch you win a big conviction in the Ricci case and help you work on this one that I just know you’re going to win too. I’ve learned something new every day that I’ve been here and you’ve made me feel welcome and appreciated. I couldn’t have hand-picked a better mentor. I’ll miss you though.”
He smiled. “Thank you, Crystal. I feel the same, and I’ll miss you too. I’ll be back though and we’ll keep in touch even after your internship. I have a feeling this city has not heard the last of your name.”
*****
After her talk with John, Crystal went back to her desk and the closing. She’d just got it to the point of feeling like it was almost perfect when there was a knock on her door. It was Cindy.
“Hey Crystal. We’re headed to Nita’s, are you interested?” Cindy had really come out of her shell over the past two months. Working with Barbara had been really good for her. She even looked more confident.
“You know what? I just finished for the day and a drink sounds great.” She gathered her things and she and Cindy stopped by Joe’s office. John had him working on prep for one of Kevin’s cases because Kevin was swamped even with his interns and needed more help. “Hey, we’re going to Nita’s. Would you like to join us?”
Poor Joe looked exhausted. He smiled wearily and said, “I’d love to, but I probably have another two solid hours of work here. You guys have fun.”
“Do you want me to stay and help you?” Crystal asked. She was exhausted herself, but she really wouldn’t mind.
“No, thank you. You go have fun. I’m fine.” Crystal felt bad leaving him, but she was once again impressed with Joe’s work ethic. She and Cindy and Rebecca shared a cab to Nita’s. The others were already there. Art and Jeff were drinking to the end of a huge case they’d been working on with Eric.
“Here is to Mr. Eric Steel…one bad ass prosecutor!” Jeff raised his glass and Art clinked it and they drank. “You guys should have seen him. The defense kept saying that the State wasn’t proving their case so Steel just kept coming back at them with something else. His detectives looked like they were about to drop, but he just kept sending them back out until he got what he needed. If I ever get arrested, I hope like hell that it’s not in his jurisdiction,” Jeff said with a smile on his face.
“I might get arrested just so I can see him,” Callie said. “I still haven’t caught a glimpse of him in the halls. I think he’s a ghost.”
Crystal, Cindy and Rebecca all drank to that. None of the young women had seen him. Crystal wondered how much that had to do with how busy he was and how much it had to do with the rest of the staff trying to keep them away. Just then on the television over the bar, they heard Eric’s voice. Everyone got quiet and watched as the reporter asked him,
“Mr. Steel, how did it feel to get the win on this one?”
“This case has been a thorn in my side for two months,” Eric said. Crystal couldn’t help but notice how handsome he looked. He had on a dark blue suit that made his eyes pop and his dark hair looked like he’d been dragging his fingers through it. It was sexy and it made her want to drag her fingers through it as well. She chastised herself for the thought and concentr
ated on what he was saying. “Michael Pratt is a rapist and a murderer and I for one will sleep better knowing that he will never see the light of day again.”
“Mr. Steel, are you going to push to re-instate the death penalty?” The death penalty was always a hot topic in New York. Eric has been very vocal about his support of bringing it back.
“Absolutely. Our victims are sentenced to death by one man or one woman…it’s only fair that the jury that convicted the perpetrator has the same choice.”
“Mr. Steel…”
“I’m afraid that’s all I have time for today,” he told her as he walked away followed by his entourage. Art and Jeff clapped when they saw the backs of their suits on the television.
“You’re famous!” Crystal told them with a laugh.
“One of these days,” Art said. “He’s young now but by the time I’m his age he’ll be old and I’ll slip right in there to that position.”
“Sure you will,” Jeff said. “You know I’m the more charismatic one. What do you think, Crystal?”
Crystal laughed. “Oh no! I’m not getting in on that one. But let’s say that all interns might be off limits with the two of you in office.” They laughed.
“So you still haven’t met the grand master? I thought working with John you of all the rest of them would at least catch a glimpse.” Art asked her.
“Nope, but John is so buried in his own cases. I’ve been in court with him almost every day and the days that I’m not, I’m buried in research. I haven’t even run into him in the hallway.”
“That’s probably a good thing,” Art said.
“Why is that?” Crystal asked him.
“I’m not sure you’d be strong enough to resist his magnetism,” he said with a laugh.
Crystal rolled her eyes at him and the subject was changed to their final exams. She stayed long enough for one more drink before realizing that she was so exhausted she could barely hold her eyes open. She said good night to everyone and took a cab home. When she got there, Debbie was already in bed asleep. Crystal took a shower and then lay in bed for a while worrying about John and wondering about Eric Steel. John worked himself ragged, so that could explain the pale complexion and how tired he always looked…but that was before he’d told her he was taking two months personal time. What else could he need that kind of time off for? She could definitely see John being too proud to tell anyone that he was sick if that was the case. She tried telling herself that worrying about it wouldn’t change anything but that didn’t work, so she tried a different tactic. She called up that image of Eric Steel off of the news. She felt a tingle deep in her core when she pictured him. It wasn’t just that he was good-looking, although he was good-looking enough that might have been enough. It was the combination of the good looks and the brilliant mind that did it for her. Plus, there was something about him that was also sort of…edgy. She could hear it in his voice when he dealt with the reporters. He wasn’t going to take any crap from anyone and nothing they said could intimidate him either. He was more than comfortable in his own skin…he owned it.
