Cara went back to the kitchen board and started chopping up the vegetables while Selena poured herself a glass of wine and said,” You should have seen Xavier when he was a baby. I mean, so healthy that people were shocked at the fact. The doctors were so happy with the way that he was growing and so was I.”“How many weeks was he old when Matilda left him with you?”“Three weeks. She never breastfed him when she was with us and I understand where she was coming from. It was almost like I got the same feeling when I got Ramon. We were told that we need to let Xavier know from very early that he was adopted. It was said that being truthful to your child was very healthy and we have always believed in that. But may I ask you a question?”“Yes of course.” Cara looked up as she stopped chopping the carrots.“How do you know Diego?”Cara did not know what she was supposed to say to her because that would mean divulging details which she did not know if she was comfortable in sharing. But sh
Aphrodite ignored the opposing counsel and their client, Devon Justice as she passed them on her way to the women's restroom. She had to decide whether to accept TJ's advice and let him take over the questioning or to be the professional that she knew she could be and win this case for their client. She couldn't afford to let her feelings over how Devon had treated her sister to affect her the way that they had yesterday.Entering the restroom, Aphrodite headed directly to the sinks. She had just dumped the remainder of her now cold coffee down the drain when she heard someone speaking from behind, "I tried to warn you..."When Aphrodite glanced up at the mirror, the calm expression on Corrine Justice's face was reflected back at her. "Warn me about what?" she asked.Corrine kept her eyes on Aphrodite's in the mirror and said, "That you were making some incorrect assumptions concerning your sister and Devon. Do you mind if I ask why you think that Devon was the one who ended their rel
Devon replied with a simple, "Good morning.""Mr. Justice," Aphrodite started, "I would like to deviate from the subject of your previous romantic dalliances with female employees of Coastline Multimedia that we were discussing yesterday. Is that okay with you?"Devon had to suppress a laugh, "Yes, Counselor. Whatever you want to ask me is fine.""Thank you. There have been a few witnesses who have alluded to your propensity to compliment people. I believe most of those witnesses attributed this to your desire to make people feel better about themselves. Would you say that those are fair representations of your character?"Shrugging, Devon said, "I believe they more accurately reflect those witnesses' perception of my character. I honestly hadn't given it any thought until recently. I suppose it was the way that I was raised. If I notice something about a person which I believe is a positive attribute for them, I try to take the opportunity to let them know that another human being ap
Selena de la Velga had considered staying with Cara until Xavier had arrived but then she figured that the girl probably needed some time to think about what had happened to regain her composure. There were times when she considered herself to be the mother hen to all the members of her family and she had seen the way Xavier had held the girl’s hands at the family lunch.She was a girl who had been raised and loved by the woman who had given her the most precious gift of her life, her first son and for that Selena would be eternally grateful to Matilda. Today she had seen fear in the girl’s eyes and for that she would make sure that Diego paid. No woman deserved to be treated the way that she had been today. She was getting in her car when the roar of the car engine sounded down the street and she knew that her son had arrived. She waited for him before he could rush inside.The car was parked and Xavier got out the back seat and said,” Mother! You are here outside why?”“Because I am
Aphrodite picked through the folders in front of her until she came to the one containing the deposition of Devon Justice's personal assistant. She had recalled that there had been nothing of apparent relevance to the case exposed, with Lana and TREY questioning the witness extensively about her knowledge of Devon Justice's behavior in the office, his relationships with female employees, and his management style. Closing the file, Aphrodite prepared to take notes of the pending testimony.Megan James wasted no time, "Miss, Lawton, you are the personal assistant to the president of Coastline Multimedia, Devon James, is that correct?""Yes, I have been Mr. Justice's PA for the past four years.""Thank you. Can you provide the court with a brief synopsis of your duties as Mr. Justice's personal assistant?Sierra smiled and replied, "With Mr. Justice, the focus of my role is heavily on the 'personal' aspect of the title. Except for me maintaining his calendar and coordinating his schedule
"Are you sure?" Corrine Justice asked."I'm absolutely positive," Aphrodite assured her. "We all need some answers and I need to stop acting purely on assumptions. Get me the information on which lab you want to conduct the test and I'll handle getting a swab from Alexander sent to them.""What's your cell phone number? I'll text you the information right now."Aphrodite grinned at the anxiousness in Corinne's response as she recited the number to her and watched her enter it. Moments later, a text notification was emitted by her own cell phone."I'll have my attorney dismiss the petition tomorrow," Corrine assured Aphrodite."Thank you. If you'll excuse me, I want to try and get a few minutes with my associates before they leave the courthouse."Aphrodite found TREY and Lana still standing at the plaintiff's table in the courtroom, chatting between themselves. Across the table from them stood Carlotta and Sandy with two deputies prepared to escort them from the room. Except for the h
Cara did not know how long she had been sobbing but she knew that Xavier had been holding her the entire time and for that she was grateful. Finally after quite some time she stopped crying and all that was remaining were the soft sniffles and she looked up at the man on whose lap she was sitting on the floor. He was in a three piece suit and still completely dressed and sitting on the floor with her on his lap and not an ounce of care in the world.“You should not have done that.”“Should not have done what, querida?”“Should not have pulled me in close and sat on the floor with me for this long. This was really not necessary.”“My apologies for making you uncomfortable. But I could not tolerate you closing off yourself from me and I did not know what to do. If you think that I would have let you stayed that way then you are mistaken, querida.”“I did not think that I could break down…” said Cara as she tried wiping off her tears with the back off her hand and Xavier pulled out his h
"But why aren't they in order?" Alex asked.Aphrodite shrugged and replied, "I suppose at some point it was determined that placing the numbers randomly around the board made it more challenging."She hadn't had to explain the standard dartboard to anyone before and Alex's questions made her realize that she knew very little about its origin and why it was designed the way that it was. Next, she expected him to ask her why it was round instead of square or some other shape. One of the greatest joys she always treasured about raising her nephew was trying to answer his myriad of questions about things that she had typically taken for granted. His behavior never challenged her, but his inquisitive mind often did.Watching Alex take a few practice throws at the electronic dart game, Aphrodite wasn't surprised to see him hitting the bullseye or close to it. He had always demonstrated superior hand-eye coordination and his competitive spirit would instinctively lure him to the highest-scor