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
Aphrodite had been expecting them to be riding in the pick-up truck that she had seen Devon using the time that she had dinner with him at Maggi D's. She wasn't disappointed in this vehicle, though she wasn't familiar with the make or model. It certainly appeared more befitting of a corporate president than a well-worn work truck."What's the 'B' stand for?" Alex asked.Devon had just taken his seat behind the wheel and answered, "It stands for 'Bentley'. This is a Bentley Continental GTC. Do you know much about cars?""Nope," was Alex's reply as he leaned over to smell the leather upholstery.Aphrodite knew that one didn't need to be an automobile aficionado to recognize that this was a very beautiful and luxurious car. The exterior bronze color was accentuated even further by the reflection of the sun as it was lowering in the western sky. The engine hummed powerfully under the hood, and she could sense that the car was yearning for the freedom of an open road where it could demonst
Humming to herself she moves around her bedroom with practiced ease, gathering up the things for her bath. Sweet smelling steam billows from the tub, in the master bath, as it is filled with water and a fair amount of bubbles.Setting the things she would need on the edge of the tub, she loosens the belt at the waist of her sea foam green silk dressing gown. Smiling to herself as the silk caresses her bare flesh, skimming over her shoulders and down her arms, she lets it pool on the floor at her feet.Lifting her right foot from the floor, she tests the temperature of the water with her toes before easing her foot into the tub. Stepping in fully she slowly lowers her lush body into the lilac scented water. The bubbles surrounding her, gently kiss against her skin as some pop filling the air with the heady scent. With a smile born of satisfaction and relaxation spreading across what some may think of as rather plain-featured face. The easing of tension causing such a difference in her
Devon returned to his seat only seconds before their meal arrived. As Anna was placing the large serving dishes in the center of the table, Devon slid a card across the table to Aphrodite."Gabo asked me to give you his card with his personal cell phone number," Devon explained. "He would like the opportunity to discuss the two of you getting to know one another better."Aphrodite left the card sitting on the table and said, "Let me guess, he wanted to speak with you to learn what our relationship was. What did you tell him?""What should I have told him?"Aphrodite laughed and shook her head. Why wasn't she surprised by Devon's response? He seemed to never miss an opportunity to toy with her in some fashion, and damn if she didn't find it an endearing trait of his. She had found most men were so intimidated by her that they would act like either timid boys or boastful buffoons. With Devon Justice, she saw a confident and self-assured man; one admired and respected by everyone who kne
"Okay," he said. "The 'when' will be tomorrow morning at 8:30 in the morning. The 'where' will be my house. I don't know what the weather has to do with anything, but we can check the forecast and dress accordingly before heading to church."Fighting to suppress her grin, Aphrodite kept a smile off her lips as she replied, "Mr. Justice. While most people admire a small ass, no one likes a smart ass.""Well, I'll take your word for that," Devon teased. "Because you likely know everything there is to know about having an admired ass."Aphrodite might have been shocked by Devon's comment, but she didn't want him to have the satisfaction of seeing it. "After what we just went through in court, you can't believe that what you said to me was appropriate."Devon countered with a smile, "After what we just went through in court, I know that what I believe is irrelevant. What matters is whether or not you believe it was an appropriate comment for me to make."Pursing her lips as she pondered a