Book 1 - Active Trust (7 page)

“Thank you, but I cannot be with
a married man. However, I do appreciate your offer.”

She quickly left The Governor’s
company in order to locate Chase among the crowd. They weren’t any
closer to finding out any answers, but her disgust for the host was
overcoming her.

She motioned to Chase to join
her and Alyssa followed suit. They got together and Michelle told
the twosome, “The Governor is a total creep. He tried hard to pick
me up! Wow, the nerve of that guy.”

Alyssa chimed in to say, “When
you were in the ladies’ room, he tried to do the same with me. He
asked me how much I charge. Ugh.”

Chase jokingly added, “Well,
aren’t I the odd man out? He didn’t even look in my direction.”

Michelle grasped her cell phone
and left a message for Donna McBride. Afterward, her phone rang and
she told The Governor’s wife that she had an update to share.

“Meet me around the corner from
the mansion at 9pm,” Michelle said to Donna.

She turned to look at her
cohorts and said, “You two can either stay and enjoy the
festivities, or you can leave…totally up to you.”

Michelle left the shindig with a
renewed purpose, but she still hadn’t figured out if Reese was
there, but at least she knew what she had to do. She hopped in her
car, fired up the engine and left for the rendezvous point.

She had plenty of time to
collect her thoughts as a long black car pulled up twenty minutes
following her own arrival. The rear window rolled down to reveal
Michelle’s client inside. That was her cue to get out of her own
car and into Mrs. McBride’s car.

She slid in, making sure that no
one noticed her moves. “You have an update, Ms. Mayor?”

“Yes. I am sorry, but I do.”

“Why are you sorry? He’s not
cheating with you, nor are you pregnant with his baby.”

“Well, here’s what I’ve got.
There were two pregnant women at the gala. One clung to the company
of his associate and the other was your sister-in-law, Elise. So
that was basically a bust. The bad news is that your husband hit on
both myself and my colleague, Alyssa.”

“What’s that you say? My
sister-in-law?”

“Yes, Elise. She looks like
she’s ready to give birth any moment.”

“Honey, I don’t have a
sister-in-law. My husband is an only child.”

“Oh, wow. Well that changes
everything, doesn’t it.”

Michelle’s statement was
matter-of-fact as she tried to calculate her client’s next move in
advance – like a chess game. “So, would you like to get divorce
proceedings started?”

“No, not yet.”

“Okay, but sometimes on these
types of matters, it’s best to move quickly in order to settle out
and move on with your lives. I know it will all play out in the
media, but you’ve got to do what’s best for you and your children –
despite who he is.”

Michelle’s speech fell on deaf
ears as Mrs. McBride’s gears were turning.

“We’re going to have to keep a
lid on this whole thing. I need you to send me an invoice for all
of the hours you and your wonderful team have put into this matter,
Ms. Mayor.”

“Certainly, ma’am.”

Michelle was uncertain of where
this was going, but it sounded as if her services were no longer
welcome.

“I will have my assistant send
over the invoice first thing tomorrow and we will file your case
documents away – in case you need them in the future.”

“Thank you for everything, Ms.
Mayor, you’ve been a delight.”

Michelle exited the vehicle and
made a mental note to have an invoice sent over for all of her
billable hours in addition to the private investigators’ fees. She
couldn’t fathom how an established, independently wealthy woman
such as Donna McBride could stay with a man like her husband. He
was scum as far as Michelle was concerned and she felt dirty when
he tried to hit on her.

She went home, showered and
snuggled up with some blankets in her giant bed. She clicked the
remote to find that Governor McBride was up for reelection in the
coming year. She thought to herself, ‘Is that why Mrs. McBride
didn’t want to leave him?’

Surely, if it was revealed that
The Governor fathered another baby with a hooker, it would look
poor to the public. Despite that, if the information was leaked to
the media, his opponent would have a field day and he would be
skewered and forced to resign. Being good at her job forced
Michelle to think of all of the moves in the chess match that her
case resembled.

The following day, Michelle
breezed into the office in order to take care of some paperwork.
Naturally, as a workaholic, Victoria also went into the giant
Briggs & Trice building to handle some paperwork for some new
incoming clients.

Work flew by and Michelle had
gotten all of the confidential McBride files put away in the
company vault so that no one without access would be able to read
the unfortunate events that occurred with The Governor.

Michelle departed the building
for the night, but Victoria stuck behind in order to do her once a
month trip up the elevator to the top floor. She was sure that no
one was around so that she could admire what would be her floor
soon enough. She was well on her way to fulfilling her desire to
become partner at Briggs & Trice.

She thumbed the elevator’s “up”
button and awaited its swift arrival. She waltzed in and hit the
top floor button and took a deep breath. It was her destiny to work
on the top floor of the most prestigious law firm in the city and
she’d earned the moment where she would feel at home next to the
partners of the firm. She nailed a huge client and had begun to
bring in a massive influx of new business in for the firm. It was
like she was queen of the top floor and she was merely awaiting her
coronation. She felt like she had come so far and only needed the
title to prove to her parents that law school wasn’t a waste of
time. The elevator door slid open and reality set in, she wasn’t
alone. Mack Briggs and Nathan Trice were there with another man
whose back was to her. He had salt and pepper hair and was wearing
an expensive fitted navy suit and slick black shoes.

Mr. Briggs looked to the
elevator and said, “Ms. Strauss, come on in.”

“I was just leaving,” she
started, but he waved her over and insisted upon it.

Mr. Trice said, “This is the
attorney I told you about, Mr. Steele. This is one of our very
best, Ms. Victoria Strauss. Ms. Strauss, this is Mr. John Steele,
our new addition to the firm.”

Mr. Trice’s words “one of our
very best” stung Victoria. How was she only “one of the best”. She
was the best, plain and simple and she and everyone else at the
firm knew it.

John looked at Victoria and
smiled, “Ms. Strauss, I’ve heard so much about you from these fine
gentlemen here. I was just hired on as an associate with the firm,
but they said that you and Michelle Mayor could show me the
ropes.”

“Certainly,” she offered, unsure
why anyone would want Michelle’s help. She handled domestic cases
and she was the firm’s pit bull without a doubt.

Mr. Briggs looked at the two of
them and said to his partner, “We were just leaving, but we will
leave you two to get to know each other.”

Victoria stayed back for a
moment with John and began grilling him on his qualifications along
with his area of expertise.

“What area of law do you
specialize in?”

“I’m what you’d call a Jack of
all trades. And you, Ms. Strauss?”

“I do corporate and commercial
law for Briggs & Trice. I’m on track to be made partner
soon.”

“Very impressive. I like a woman
who is ambitious.”

She smiled at his attention to
her ambitions.

“I bet you’re a whiskey
girl.”

“I do like a stiff drink now and
then.”

“Imagine my surprise. Would you
like to get a drink?”

“I never mix business with
pleasure.”

“But you’ve worked so hard to
get where you are and I’d love to see if you play as hard as you
work. No one will know. Hell, no one here knows who I am at the
moment aside from you.”

“Let’s go to Lissa’s, down the
street. It’s a hole in the wall with a pool table and a barmaid
that pours stiff drinks.”

He pressed the down button on
the elevator and they both awaited its arrival. He placed his hand
where he could hold the door open and allowed her entrance into the
elevator first.

“Ladies first.”

She walked in and he stared at
her butt as she moved past him. He slid next to her inside the car
and hit the bottom floor button and they were off.

She hadn’t come to work all of
this time for a date and it was against her personal rules to mix
business with pleasure. Despite her inner objections, she was drawn
to John Steele. She wasn’t sure if it was because of his steely
blue eyes, his radiantly handsome smile or his sun-kissed tan. He
was dapper and very well dressed and she had to learn more about
this handsome devil.

They walked from the large
B&T building down the block and entered into Lissa’s bar.
Victoria had gone there a few times in the past, but sized up the
local stock in men and opted to leave after one drink. She wasn’t
looking for love, but she had a date and it all seemed so
effortless to her.

Lissa’s was never that busy and
it had the atmosphere of the perfect dive bar. Victoria and John
drank the night away with his promise of “This will be our little
secret.”

She ordered up Jack and Coke
after Jack and Coke and shot pool with John. She bent down to align
her next shot and he gazed at her up and down longingly. The booze
had made her loosen up and she undone her top two buttons of her
blouse. She was always expected to be part of the city’s wealthy
community and was never to just let go , so she seized the
opportunity.

After both of them were good and
sauced, he pulled her into him and placed his hand gently on her
cheek. He leaned into her and placed his lips against hers and they
melted into each other.

“Do you wanna get out of
here?”

“Your place or mine?”

“Mine, I don’t live far.”

Her moral compass was out of the
window when faced with a devilishly handsome man in an expensive
suit with good manners. He was seductive and sweet and her sober
self might’ve objected to his cheesy pickup lines, but she had let
her guard down a little. John Steele is the perfect man, she’d told
herself. She wouldn’t necessarily kick him out of bed at all like
she’d done with all of the men before him.

Outside, he hailed a taxi and
they were off to Woodbury Street, wherever that was, she wasn’t
sure. She didn’t care where they were going, she was infatuated
with the sexy beast sitting next to her and she wanted to sex him
up. Keeping it a secret was beneficial for the both of them, but
she also enjoyed the thrill of sneaking around.

When they arrived at his place,
he fidgeted with the key for a moment, opened the door and slid his
hand to the side to hit the light switch. His place was immaculate
and well furnished. Victoria’s inner snob was pleased with such a
good catch who would be presentable to the family should this fling
actually go anywhere.

He pulled her into the breezeway
and began stripping her clothes off of her. He pressed his rock
hard body against hers and she rubbed his abs.

“Damn, you must work out.”

“Yes, I do,” he said as he
slipped his fingers up her skirt and between her legs. She was
between him and the wall, but the passion she felt was
electrifying. He moved her panties to the side and massaged her
moist middle with his fingers. Gently, he could feel her wetness
increase as he felt her nub harden a little. He kneeled down in
front of her and pushed her skirt up with both of his hands. He
glanced at her black lace panties and then pulled them off of her
body with his finger.

He parted her center with his
fingers and began massaging her wet center with his tongue. She
arched her back against the wall and let out a moan. He was
relentless in his pursuit of making her scream. He licked and
licked until she came with her hands running through his hair and
his head between her legs.

He picked her up, carried her to
the bedroom and laid her down on the bed. He removed her skirt and
undid her blouse the rest of the way. She sat up and as he removed
her blouse, she undid the button on his black pants. She could feel
his growth getting harder and she could tell it wished to be freed
from its pants prison. She slid his pants down and through his
boxers saw the size of his manhood. She pulled his boxers down to
where his pants were and allowed his beast to escape.

She took his manhood into her
mouth and he slid his hands onto her breasts, massaging her nipples
with his fingers. He was good and hard, so he pushed her back onto
the bed and grabbed her legs to be parallel with his body slamming
his rod into her moist wetness. He watched her eyes as she climaxed
into ecstasy once again. While penetrating her lady business with
his man pole, he watched her breasts as they bounced in rhythm with
his penetrations. After twenty minutes of pounding her senseless,
he came. He managed to get himself hard again after a brief break
and then he laid back as she mounted him. She rode his manhood for
a good twenty minutes before he came again and they were both
spent. He lied down next to her and they both passed out.

The next morning, Victoria woke
up covered up nicely in a big, warm bed. She thought for a moment
that this was the life she could get used to, but there were so
many factors involved that she let it slip from her mind’s eye.

She noticed that she was alone
in his giant bed. She quietly got dressed and made her way toward
the door.

“Slipping out?”

She was caught as she tried to
make her exit.