“Sounds like you hit the jackpot, Pumpkin.”
“I know, I vote we hang out with Lavita again next time her job as a function,” she said laughing.
“What about you, Frieda? How’d you do?”
“Well, Marc turned out to be more cute than smart, so he was deleted. Let me see, Randy was ok, but he said he was a CNA?”
“Randy? The white guy? You really went to talk to him?”
“Yeah, girl, I figured what the hell, he was on Jose’s ok list. Maybe I‘ll find one that‘s not afraid to come over to the dark side,” she said with a laugh.
“What’s wrong with being a CNA?” Pumpkin asked.
“Nothing, but you know how men are when you make more money than they do? I’m not trying to go through all that.”
They all nodded thoughtfully.
“You guys are putting a lot of stock in what this Jose guy is saying. We don’t even know him. What if he turns out to be crazy? He could be leading you to more crazy men like himself,” Cairo said finishing her drink.
“Ok, look, Cairo, we’re not going to let your paranoia spill over onto us, ok? Lavita said. “I know Jose from work and I like him.”
“Everybody doesn’t show their true colors at work, you know.”
“You didn’t talk to any of those men that Jose pointed out. All he said was they were single, dating and not scumbags. That was good enough for me to at least check them out,” Pumpkin said defensively.
“I don’t get any bad vibes off him, Cairo and you know I’m really good about that kind of stuff,” Frieda said. “Besides, Lavita says he’s cool and we do know her. What more do you want?”
“Damn, Cairo, she’s right. Lighten up,” Pumpkin added.
“You could have at least let him try to chip away at that wall you got going on, Cairo,” Lavita said. “Relax.”
“Ok, ok, I’m sorry.”
“Looks like the memory of Jimmy is coming back to haunt her,” Frieda mumbled.
She waved her hand. “No, no, it’s been two years since he was on the scene. I’m totally over that fool. The two faced son of a --”
“Oh yeah, you sound over it,” Frieda laughed interrupting her.
“On that note, I think we should call it a night,” Lavita announced. “You guys ready? I have to be right back in here in the morning.”
Lavita slammed down her empty glass and headed for the coat check. Pumpkin downed the rest of her drink and followed her.
“I’ve reached my quota. I’m cool.”
“Fine, come on, Cairo.” Frieda pulled her out the chair and they followed their friends.
Chapter 2
At the law offices of Berkley, Townsend and Franklin, Cairo was reading up on her latest divorce case. Although she has done well at winning most of the divorce cases she was handed, after doing them for the last year she was glad her ‘divorce run’ was over and she looked forward to taking on more diverse cases.
“Cairo,” a voice said over the phone’s speaker.
“Yes, Keisha.”
“Mr. Franklin would like to see you.”
“Really, send him in.”
Moments later Mr. Franklin walked through the door. “Cairo, how are you?”
She stood and greeted him with a smile. “I’m fine, Mr. Franklin. What can I do for you?”
He sat in the chair opposite her and motioned for her to sit. “Well, as you may have heard, Rogers and his wife are due any day now to have their baby so he has gone on leave to stay home and help for a while.”
“Yes, Mr. Franklin, I heard Bernard was going on paternity leave this week.”
“Yes, it would seem that today’s husbands are like that. Back in my day the wife stayed home with the children while we worked to get away from all of that and now the husbands want to stay home with the wife and children. Times have truly changed,” he said shaking his head.
“Yes, so it would seem.” She wanted to add, and it’s about time, to that sentence but she swallowed that part.
“Anyway, Cairo, the reason I’m here is to ask if you would mind taking on two of his cases. I know you are finally done with your divorce run, but if you would be so kind, I would greatly appreciate it.”
She tried not to sigh out loud and keep her voice neutral. “Are they both divorces?”
“Not really. One is a divorce, but the other is a counter sue from a divorce that was finalized 6 months ago.” He handed her the files.
“I’m sure I can fit these in, Mr. Franklin.”
He stood and smiled. “I knew I could count on you, Cairo. You are moving along very well within this firm. We need more young good lawyers like you around.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“I’ll be in my office if you have any questions on either case.”
She watched him leave and sat heavily in her chair. “Just when I was starting to like my job again...”
“Cairo!”
“Yes, Keisha.”
“You have a phone call from Kimberly Davies’ assistant.”
“Kimberly Davies? Really?”
“That’s what she said!”
“Put it through.”
“You got it!”
She picked it up on the first ring. “Yes, this is Cairo Ivory.”
“Good morning, Ms. Ivory. This is Pamela, Kimberly Davies assistant. This is a courtesy call to announce her arrival to your office this morning.”
“Kimberly Davies is on her way to see me?”
“Yes, ma’am. Have a good day.”
Cairo hung up the phone stunned and leaned back in her chair. “What would a high powered lawyer like Kimberly Davies want with me?”
But before she could ponder the question further the doors to her office flew opened.
“Please don’t get up. I’ll seat myself.”
Cairo sat up watching as the tall, slender, beautiful woman sashayed into her office with her coat swinging dramatically as she sat in the chair opposite her desk. Keisha rushed into her doorway behind her.
“Cairo, I’m sorry she just--”
She put a hand up to stop her and smiled. “It’s ok, Keisha.”
“Yes, Keisha, just close the doors on your way out,” the woman said with a dismissive wave over her shoulder.
Keisha glared at her as she pulled the doors closed.
“Surely my assistant has called you by now. I’m Kimberly Davies.”
Cairo shook her extended hand. “Yes, she did, but you need no introduction, Ms. Davies, any good lawyer knows who you are.”
“Yes, I know, but I hear you’re not just a good lawyer, you’re a great lawyer. I hear you’ve won 96% of all the cases that have come your way in the last year. You may call me Kimberly.”
“Thank you, Kimberly. I must say I am curious to know why you know so much about me. I came to this firm after you had left here.”
“I always get to know something about the people I plan on working with, Cairo. May I call you Cairo? It‘s such a pretty name.”
“Yes, of course, but I don’t understand. Working with me?”
“Well yes, Cairo. My lawyer was Bernard Rogers, but he’s off having a baby or something and when I heard another lawyer was getting my case I asked for you.”
“Oh, forgive me, Kimberley, but my boss just gave me those files. I haven’t had time to look them over yet, so I know nothing about your case.”
“That’s fine. I’ll fill you in real quick. Get your paper and pen ready.”
Cairo tried to keep her expression neutral as she pulled out her pad and pen, she could already tell this woman would be difficult to work for.
“I was married for too many years, right after high school, in fact. We were on hiatus for two years before I finally got my divorce.”
“Hiatus?”
“Yes, Cairo. You do know what hiatus is, don’t you? It’s when you take--”
“Yes, I know what it means. I guess I should have voiced my whole question. I just didn’t know it w
as possible to take a hiatus from ones marriage.”
“The purpose of our hiatus was so that I could move on.”
Her confusion showed on her face. “Ok, let’s take this from the top. Exactly how long were you married?”
“It was 14 years when the divorce was finalized.”
“That’s a long time. Did you consider counseling to mend any differences you were having?”
“No, it was over for a long time before that. The hiatus was so he could move out and I could move on unhindered.”
“But to dissolve a marriage of that many years, don’t you think you should have exhausted all other options first, before divorcing? Divorce should be the last stop not the first.”
“Cairo, the divorce is already final, so that question is irrelevant, but I’ll give you some background anyway. This was a marriage of convenience not love. I got what I wanted, he got what he wanted and now it’s over.”
“Well, it does sound like you and your husband have come to terms with the divorce. I’ll get to your file as soon as I can, but since you’re here let me get some information from you that may or may not be in your file.”
“That‘s fine.”
She looked over her black wire frames at her. “You don’t remember when it was final?”
“Oh, six months, two weeks and three days,” she said without even thinking about it.
She looked up at her again, but said nothing as she wrote down her answer. “If your divorce is final why are we going back to court?”
“Shit, hell if I know.”
“Are you saying you have a clue why you’ve been summoned back into court?”
“Well, if I had to guess I’d say it’s because of the rings.”
“What rings?”
“My ex had these rings that his mother gave him. They were his grandmother’s rings and she apparently had them since she was a kid. It was the only thing he asked for in the divorce. I got everything else.”
“So, where are the rings?”
“I kept them.”
“You kept them? The only thing he asked for out of all the things you accumulated over 14 years of marriage and you kept them?”
“Well, I didn’t think he’d care. He gave me everything else, why the big deal with the rings?”
“Well, if they belonged to his grandmother since she was a child I can only imagine that her mother gave them to her or a close family member, either way that would make them an heirloom and very important to his family. Besides it doesn’t matter he asked for them and you kept them.”
“He didn’t document that.”
“Excuse me?”
“He didn’t ask for them as part of the marital assets. He just said he’d give me what I wanted if I gave him the rings back.”
“So, he asked for them verbally, but didn’t write it down as part of what he wanted out of the divorce?”
“That’s correct.”
“But he asked--”
“Well, I got everything else, so I kept the rings too,” she said interrupting her. “Need I remind you that possession is 9/10 of the law, Cairo?” she added.
Cairo sat up and took a cleansing breath, tapping the desk with her pen. “No reminder is needed, Ms. Davies. I know the laws of this state. I feel I should tell you that I don’t operate under cloak and dagger. I like everything out in the open with all the cards on the table. I’ll ask whatever I feel I need to ask and I’d appreciate it if you’d answer to the best of your knowledge and refrain from telling me how to do my job.”
“Ok, ok, relax, Cairo. No need to get all huffy, and please, call me Kimberly. We work together now.”
“Maybe I should just go over the file and see what’s happened previously and then I’ll set up a date where we can talk and get this handled.”
“That’s fine, whatever you want, but I must tell you, those rings are very expensive and they look very nice with one of my favorite dresses, so I won’t be giving them up without a fight. I received all marital assets and that included the rings and I don‘t give away what‘s mine. I asked for you because of your win ratio and I plan on winning.”
Cairo bit back a comment. “Understood.”
“I have another meeting in half an hour,” she said going toward the door. “I hope to be hearing from you soon.”
She put her pen down and pushed up her glasses. “Of course,” she extended her hand to her, but she wrapped her coat around her, flung open the French doors to Cairo’s office once again and sashayed out of them.
Cairo sat heavily in her chair. She took of her glasses and rubbed her eyes.
“Cairo!”
“Yes, Keisha, what is it?”
“While you were in your meeting with Miss High and Mighty, your friend Lavita called three times. You’re late for your lunch date with them.”
“Shit! What time is it?”
“Just after one o’clock. You were supposed to be there at 12:30.”
“Shit! Call them back and tell them I’m on my way.” She hit the speaker button on the phone and went to grab her jacket.
Chapter 3
Pumpkin, Frieda and Lavita were at Acapulco Joe’s waiting for their friend.
“So what about that guy?” Frieda asked in a low voice and nodded toward the door. A man came through the door moving their way, but paused to talk to a few people.
“I got this one, it’s easy,” Pumpkin said and sipped on her drink.
They watched his every move as he walked across the floor and past their table to his chosen table than Frieda and Lavita turned to her.
“Confirmed. They’re briefs, definitely briefs.”
“Briefs? Really? I thought guys gave those up when they stopped wearing tight jeans and rolling cigarettes up in their short sleeve shirts,” Lavita said laughing.
“Yeah, do guys even wear tightie whities anymore?” Frieda asked.
“Not the guys I know. They said it’s too tight on their package and constricts them too much,” Pumpkin answered laughing and they laughed with her.
“OK, ooo, what about that guy,” Frieda asked and pointed to the door. “Now see, that’s the type of man you want find out for yourself what kind of draws he‘s wearing.”
“Damn that man is fine,” Lavita agreed.
“You ain’t never lied,” Pumpkin replied.
Their eyes followed the tall, dark handsome man as move with panther like grace through the restaurant. His black suit fit his wide physique perfectly. Nothing off the rack could fit his large muscular body like that, moving with him, unable to hide the raw power coming off of him. The girls were stunned into silence as they leaned over to watch him around the small wall that obstructed their view of him going to the bar.
Cairo walked up to their table and sat down. “What are we looking at?”
“Look how smooth he walks,” Pumpkin said.
Lavita nodded. “Look, he’s unbuttoning his jacket. Big hands...”
“Big everything,” Frieda added.
“Mmm, hmm,” everyone agreed.
“Nice booty, too,” Pumpkin said.
“Yeah, no way he’d put that nice booty in a pair of tightie whities. That would be wrong on so many levels,” Cairo said.
Her friends turned to her, noticing her for the first time.
“When did you get here?”
“Well, I just--”
Shh,” they said and tuned their attention back to the man at the bar. A woman had approached him. He kissed her as she sat next on the stool next to him. They straightened up with a huff
“Figures,” Pumpkin said. “Well, at least we had some eye candy for a minute.”
The waitress appeared with their food.
“We waited as long as we could, Cairo, but we had to go ahead and order,” Lavita said. “What took you so long?”
“Can I get you something?” the waitress asked.
“Yes, bring me a chicken enchilada and a Dr. Pepper.” The waitress nodded and left. “Well, I go
t an unscheduled visit from Kimberly Davies.”
“Whoa! Kimberly Davies?” Frieda asked excitedly spilling salsa from her mouth.
“Who’s Kimberly Davies?” Lavita asked.
“You don’t know who Kimberly Davies is? You’ve never heard of her?”
“No, Pumpkin, if I did I wouldn’t have asked.”
“She’s lawyer and a damn good one, too,” Frieda supplied.
“Now that’s an understatement, Frieda, if I‘ve ever heard one. Kimberly Davies is a corporate lawyer. More like a corporate shark, a pirate even. They hire her for the legalities of a merger between two companies and by the time she’s done it’s a hostile take over. She used to work at the firm Cairo‘s at, but she works at Masters, Smith and Hopkins now. I heard she‘s up for partner, too,” Pumpkin replied.
“How come you know all that?” Frieda asked.
She smiled. “Remember when I used to kick it with Bryon? He works at Masters, Smith and Hopkins. He still calls me from time to time with info.”
“We talk more about her at our little firm than we do about our own cases,” Frieda said with a laugh.
“You know they call her K-Hab the Pirate. Like A-Hab the pirate.” She laughed and Frieda laughed with her.
“So she’s that good, huh? Well, what did ole K-Hab want with you, Cairo?” Lavita asked.
“Well, apparently she requested me when Bernard left on leave and couldn’t continue to be her lawyer. Her ex-husband is taking her back to court for some rings he gave her during the marriage that she wasn’t entitled to after the divorce.”
Pumpkin and Frieda both dropped their forks. Pumpkin found her voice first.
“What? She was married?”
“That’s what she said.”
“That has to be the most well kept secret in the city. She’s even kept it from herself,” Frieda said.
The Sun Rose over Cairo Page 2