by D J Parker
“Well no one is around.”
I know. But, it was weird calling my former law professor and mentor by her first name. Besides the fact that she was old enough to be my mother, calling Governor Banks by her first name sounded disrespectful. I could hear Nana Jo’s voice in the background, warning me not to get ahead of myself. Just because I was an adult did not mean I could call my elders by their first name. So I did what I always did when Governor Banks insisted that I call her by her first name, I nodded and smiled.
“Please sit. Is red wine okay?”
“Yes, it is,” I said, claiming the chair across from her.
She pulled the bottle out of the stainless steel ice bucket, uncorked it, and filled our glasses with wine.
“So tell me, how was your first week?” Governor Banks swirled the wine glass and inhaled the aroma that was released before sinking into her chair. I don’t know what inhaling the aroma did for her, but in the twelve years that I’ve known her, she never drunk wine without swirling first.
“My first week was a breeze in comparison to my first week interning at the White House when you were attorney general.”
“You all thought I was just hard in the classroom.” Governor Banks chuckled. “What did I ask you when you interviewed with me?”
“You asked, am I ready to broken down and built up?”
“And you said?”
The corners of my lips rose into a wide smile. “I want to be a force, so if you have to break me down, than I’m ready.”
“And what did I tell you?”
“You said that I could handle anything because I was already a force.”
“You are a force to be reckoned with,” Governor Banks reminded me.
And this was why she was my hero.
“You’re the governor of New York and before than, represented the whole country. I only hope that I could accomplish a fraction of what you have done as an attorney.”
“You’ve already done that and more.” She sat her wine glass next to her empty plate and leaned back into the chair. “Don’t dim your own light.”
“I have this position because of you.”
“People like you should’ve always had access to being in positions like the one you’re in,” she said, loosening the shear cheetah print scarf that she had tied around her neck.
“Still,” I shrugged. “I’m surprised that a senior ADA from his office wasn’t elected instead.”
“That’s because all of the senior ADAs resigned shortly after Scappa did,” she said nonchalantly.
“All of them resigned?” My eyes widened. “Why?”
Governor Bank’s eyes narrowed. I knew that look. It was the same look she had anytime there was more to the story. Usually, I’d fall back and not pry. Not this time.
“With all do respect Governor Banks, I rather know what I’m walking into. If this is the kind of place that I’m going to have to constantly be looking over my shoulder, let me know now.”
“You should always look over your shoulder,” she reminded me.
I nodded in agreement. “True. But, I rather have a head start on who my enemy is.”
She stared at me for a moment before leaning forward with her hands clasped in front of her. “What I’m about to tell you remains in this room.”
“Of course,” I assured her as I leaned forward.
“Michael Scappa, your predecessor, was fired.”
“I thought he resigned.”
She grabbed her wine glass as she leaned back into her chair “That’s just a way to maintain his dignity and to minimize the media speculating why he was terminated.”
“You fired him?”
“I did. Along with four of his senior ADAs.”
“Why?”
“Short version…corruption.” She took another sip before sitting the glass down. “Please don’t ask me to go into greater details than that. You’re in this position. I’m depending on you to make it right.”
“You’re asking me to clean up his mess.”
“Part of breaking down a system means cleaning someone else’s mess. You cleaned up a whole lot of mess in D.C. New York is no different. Only this time, there’s not a whole bunch of red tape you have to get past. However I can help, I will.”
I took in what she said, finding strength in each word. I saw my fair share of corruption while in D.C. “So, is everyone who was part of this scandal gone?”
“As far I know. Everyone who was linked to Scappa is gone. So you can start fresh and build up your team of executives.”
I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. “Well, I don’t know how I can ever thank you.”
“You can thank me by being that force that I knew you to be all those years ago. Don’t change who you are or what you stand for. This position is not easy. You’re going to make many hard decisions. But you’re fair. This city needs you. That’s all the thank you I need.” She unfolded the napkin draped over her plate and opened it over her legs. “Enough about work. How’s Keith? How come I didn’t see him at your appointment ceremony?”
I knew this question was coming. I managed to lie to my parents, but there was no lying to Governor Banks. She was a human lie detector.
“Keith and I are separated.” Each time I announced our separation out loud, my stomach would twist into painful knots. “And before you ask, I’m not ready to talk about it.”
“Fair enough. I’m here if you ever want to talk or if you need the number of best divorce attorney in town.”
“I’ll keep that in mine,” I said, grabbing the menu off of the table. “But what’s on my mind right now, is a big juicy ribeye steak.”
“I’m with you on that. Let’s order,” she said as she picked up her menu.
Reign
“Another late night?”
I looked over my shoulder at our office manager, Ms. Mabel. “Yeah. I swear there’s never enough time in the day to get everything done.”
“You don’t want to burn yourself out.” She pushed her coffee pod into the Keurig. “The work will still be here.”
I smiled at the older woman who’d worked under three district attorneys in the past twenty years. She was one of the main people who’d gone out of their way to make sure I was acclimated with everything in the office.
“You’re right,” I said, leaning against the counter in the staff lounge. “Hopefully after this month, I’ll be following a normal work schedule.
It had been two weeks since I took office, a week since I left Keith, a week since I decided to put myself first. Despite the uphill battle to change the climate of the criminal justice system in New York City, I welcomed the challenge. More than anything, I needed the distraction.
I knew that taking on this position would require loads of coffee, prayers for patience, and late nights at the office. Last night, I stayed here until close to midnight, and I was the first person at work the next day. Each day, I dedicated time toward learning about our current departments, the amount of cases that had been open for the past three years, and the history of plea deals. There were more assistant district attorneys in my office than there had been in D.C. Apart from a few senior assistant district attorneys, many of the prosecutors were fairly new attorneys who passed the bar a couple of years ago.
This office alone prosecuted roughly 80,000 cases a year, which was a 20% increase in the past decade. The aftermath of policies such as Stop and Frisk led to high numbers of arrests and subsequently more cases. Although reducing numbers had been my primary focus, my team of executives strongly believed that there were more units that needed to be created. Yesterday, my team of executives came up with three new projects they wanted to spearhead: Alternatives to Incarceration Bureau, Major Economic Crimes Bureau, and Forensic Accounting and Financial Investigations Bureau.
“I hope you’re practicing self-care.” Mabel’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. “I’ve seen some of the brightest stars burn out. Promise me you’ll be leaving at a decent h
our today.”
“Actually I’m leaving early today,” I said, following her out of the staff lounge.
“Good. You have any plans?”
“Today, I’m getting the keys to my apartment.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” I said as I entered my office.
I sat my cup of coffee on my desk and returned to the file I had been reading. Tommy Neglia, the biggest case this year, seemed to be an open and shut case. As the biggest drug bust in New York City, the police seized heroin, opiates, and cocaine from an apartment in east Harlem with an estimated street value of $800,000.
Tommy Neglia was considered a kingpin. Tommy Neglia, the leader of this drug enterprise, pleaded not guilty while his co-conspirators have already agreed to the plea deal of eight years. Neither of his co-defendants were willing to testify against him even though I offered a reduced sentence in exchange of their testimony. Their hesitation only reinforced my suspicions. There was more to Tommy Neglia than some drug kingpin. From the reports I’d gathered, he hadn’t been on the police radar, which led me to believe that he had someone on the payroll who looked the other way.
Tommy lawyered up, hiring the dream team, Andrew DeSilva and associates. They were already trying to bargain for a reduced sentence. Though his co-conspirators refused to cooperate, we had substantial evidence that could put him away for many years. Yesterday, his attorney requested bail. I challenged that if he was able to retain an attorney that charged $2,500 an hour, then he was a flight risk. Judge Frey, the sitting judge from Staten Island’s criminal courthouse agreed and denied his bail request. I was more than certain we would be taking this case to trial.
A knock at the door caused me to look up from the documents I had been reading. “Come in.”
“You have a package.” Bianca, my assistant, entered my office holding a box that was wrapped in gold. “Is it your birthday?”
“Not for another two months.” I took the box from her hand. “Thank you.”
When Bianca left my office, I stared at the box with a lackluster reaction. Keith had sent flowers to my job, and I’d had to remind him what “give me some space” meant. He clearly didn’t listen. As tempted as I was to mail this gift back to him unopened, I was curious about what he’d gotten me.
I tore through the beautifully decorated box, flipped the lid off, and froze.
I trembled as I lifted one of my gold Guiseppe Zanotti heels out of the box. Hold up! Where’s my other one? There was only one half of my favorite gold heels in the box. I looked in the box and found a Little Golden Book’s version of the Cinderella story inside. I placed my heel back into the box and pulled out the book. A piece of paper slipped out. I lifted the paper.
Will you have dinner with me?
I jumped when my desk phone rang, tossed the paper back into the box, and grabbed the phone. “Reign Johnson.”
“Hi, Reign.”
I froze. “Shoe thief?”
“Is that what you call me?” I could hear the smile in his voice.
“The name fits you.”
“There’re other things about me that fit in you.”
My lips broke into a smile. Even after all this time and many distractions later, this man managed to be the one consistent thought I couldn’t forget. Why couldn’t he be a distant memory? Every night he crept into my thoughts, holding me hostage. It was one thing to imagine the sex, but it was entirely something else to relive it. I could feel his every touch, his cologne wrapped around my body. Each night I fought the urge to rub my pussy. When I got tired of fighting it, I slipped my fingers between my wet folds. I promised myself that it would be the last time that I’d rub my clit to thoughts of him, which turned out to be a lie come the following night. Every night was a marathon as I chased the orgasm he gave me.
“The Cinderella story was a cute touch.” I leaned back into my chair. “She wasn’t my favorite princess, though.”
“I’ll work harder to get it right next time.”
“Or you could just ask.”
“What’s the fun in that?”
I stared at the box he sent to my office. “Why did you send only one shoe back?”
“I wanted you to come and get the other one.”
“So you’re using my shoe as bait.”
“Nothing else worked.”
“And you think this will?”
“That depends on your answer to my question. Will you have dinner with me?”
“Will you give me my shoe back if I do?”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get your shoe back tonight.”
I should’ve declined his dinner invitation. I should’ve counted my losses and tossed the box in the garbage. I should’ve told him not to call me again. I should’ve fought through the butterflies fluttering in my stomach. I should’ve whispered to my heart to stop skipping a beat every time he spoke.
So why did I say yes?
“Choose the restaurant,” he said, snapping me out of thought.
“Me?”
“I figured you’d feel more comfortable picking the location.”
“Are you always ahead of the game?” I asked, grabbing my cell phone from the wireless charger.
“Only when there’s something worth winning.”
I did not dare to ask what he’d be winning from me. A part of me had been curious. But the other side of me was afraid of his answer. It was strange how uncomfortable he made me feel. Yet, I found myself drawn to him even in my thoughts. I scrolled through my app of restaurants near the hotel I had been living out of since New Year’s Eve.
“Do you have any dietary restrictions?”
“I eat everything.”
I bet you do. I had to reel my imagination from going off the deep end, but it was easy when it came to him. I scrolled down the list and stopped at ABC123. I opened the link and checked out the reservations they had available.
“I made a seven o’clock reservation under my name at ABC123. I’ll see you there.”
Reign
I can’t believe I agreed to have dinner with him.
What was worse was I’d been so caught up in our conversation, I forgot to ask him his name. So far, he’s had the upper hand. He knew my name, where I worked, and my phone number. I, on the other hand, had my pride and his phone number that was stored away in my memory bank. I wish I could say he baited me to come here, but that wouldn’t be the truth. I was here because I was curious about the man who haunted me at night.
I pulled up alongside valet and hopped out of the car before I changed my mind. I almost didn’t make it. After leaving work earlier than anticipated, I picked up the keys to my new apartment and made my way back to my hotel around five o’clock. After going through the clothes that I packed from D.C., I realized that I had nothing to wear for this date.
Date?
This wasn’t a date, I had to remind myself for the umpteenth time. Either way, I found myself leaving my hotel and running down to Zara. Thankfully, I found a silky black plunge neck jumpsuit. I paired it with black heels that I had, along with my long duster coat. I ran my fingers over my three-day-old wand curls that I’d picked out. I wore light makeup and light accessories. I contemplated on leaving my wedding band, but I decided to keep it on. I may have been separated from Keith, but I was still married.
I glanced at my dashboard clock before stepping out of my car. I was fifteen minutes early. With each step, my heartbeat raced a little faster. I was too old to be this nervous about meeting a man I had no intention of seeing again after tonight.
Here goes nothing, I mumbled as I opened the door to the well-reviewed and seemingly popular restaurant.
“Good evening, you must be Reign.” A woman with bleach blond hair, ocean blue eyes, and high cheekbones greeted me.
“How’d you—yes, I’m Reign. I’m waiting on another party. He should be here in the next fifteen minutes.”
The pretty waitress smiled. “Your guest arrived and has been sea
ted.”
My eyebrows quirked with surprise. He was early.
After checking my coat, I followed the waitress to the grand room. Just like the pictures, the layout was gorgeous. Following a contemporary meets chic style, the restaurant played off the two styles with suede tufted chairs, abstract paintings, mixed metals, and the most beautiful chandelier.
I stopped short when my eyes fell on his blue gaze. Damn.
He stared at me for a moment before sliding his chair back to stand. For a moment, he looked taken aback and that made me feel self-conscious. But I pushed through the temporary moment of self-doubt and continued to walk towards the table until I was a few steps away from him. God, he was just as handsome as I remembered him—perhaps more so now than he’d been a few weeks ago. He still had that same arresting stare that could freeze time. Wearing a black turtleneck under a charcoal-gray blazer and black trousers, I was convinced that this man could wear a garbage bag and still take my breath away.
“Thank you,” I told the waitress while keeping my eyes on him.
“Reign.” He moved forward, shortening the steps that stood between us.
I smiled and extended my hand like this was some formal business meeting. “I wish I knew your name.”
“Nicolai.” He covered my whole hand with both of his.
It was hard to ignore the jolt that shot through my entire body. I inhaled and immediately got lost in his cologne. It matched the confident man that towered over me.
He led me to the table, still holding my hand. He pulled out the chair for me and only released my hand when I was seated.
“You look…” His eyes swept my face, hair, and the upper part of my body. “Beautiful.”
“Thank you.” I tore my eyes away from his penetrating gaze. “I’m surprise this place is not packed.”
“They’re closed for the night.”
“Really?” I raised an eyebrow. “Then why are we here?”
“I meant they’re closed to the public tonight.”
“Private dinner.”
“I wanted us to be able to hear each other.”