The Flavor Of Love (4 page)

Indeed Keigo understood all too well. This is why he kept his nose clean, and didn’t bring any added attention to his personal life than necessary. He took this job to live an easier and quieter lifestyle. He didn’t do interviews or skits on other shows. He came in, did his job, allowed marketing to create this mysterious persona of him and went about his business.

“
Tell me, why should I be concerned about your career? You obviously haven’t been. Look at your actions in my courtroom today.”

“
Well, if you feel that way,” she pouted prettily. “Then you might as well throw me in jail right now, but make sure if the media gets a hold of my mug shot, they get the picture with my good side and not one of a front face shot. No one looks good in those.” She held her arms out and put her wrists together. “Take me. I’m yours.”

Keigo winced as the tick in his left eye matched the dull throbbing in his stomach. The tinkling of the numerous bells around her dainty wrist tinkled with each movement.

“
Go back to your assigned stand and put your shoes on, Miss Jones. I’m going to make a ruling,” Keigo said, his voice dangerously soft.

“
Does this mean I’m not going to jail?” She asked.

The woman was clueless. “Now you owe me thirty-eight days Miss Jones, so you’re not helping your case. Do you want to make it forty-one and offer me your
ass
again?” He smirked.

Everyone laughed.

She rolled her eyes and dropped her crossed arms to place her hands on her hips. Her head bobbed on her long slender neck as she said, “Oh what the hell, I might as well go for broke since I’m going to rot in jail anyway, right?”

He watched her stomp over to the podium where she was suppose to be standing in the first place and snatch up her purse.

“
What are you up to?” Keigo asked.

“
I didn’t want to have to do this,” she fussed.

“
Phil, make sure she doesn’t have a weapon of some sort. I don’t trust her.”

The courtroom laughed.

“
She’s clean Judge. You know we check everyone out before they come in here,” Phil answered with a grin.

“
Even breath spray would be a dangerous weapon in that woman’s hand,” Keigo commented.

More laughter erupted and Keigo grinned. He saw all the other shows and they all seemed to have a comedic relief in the midst of seriousness. It never happened in his court. It was a refreshing change. People were actually finding him humorous. There’s a first time for everything he supposed.

“
What does she have there?” Tanesha asked loudly. “She can’t go bringing evidence into this case I don’t know about!”

“
What I have here on this camera proves that Tanesha was not dissatisfied with the food I prepared for her wedding.” She moved towards the bench and came up on her tiptoes before him to place the small video camera on his bench.

“
Will you please…
please
go back to your podium and for God’s sake, keep quiet Miss Jones,” Keigo moaned, placing a hand on his stomach.

He wasn’t surprised when she ignored him. Again.

“
Also, you should already have copies of the contracts. There are initials at the bottom of each contract page, her initials. Tanesha had no special specifications such as family members who are allergic or don’t eat nuts, seafood, pork, vegetarians, etc. As you can, see none of those boxes were checked off.”

Keigo grimaced and rubbed his stomach.

“
I apologize for giving you a hard time,” she whispered softly. He assumed it was for his ears only, but she forgot as long as they wore microphones, nothing was private. “It wasn’t my intention to bring you added stomach pains.”

His eyes locked on her face, pleasantly pleased by the genuine and sincere tone of her voice. She fluttered beautiful long dark eyelashes at him and gifted him with another one of her mesmerizing grins. Once more his body betrayed him and hardened.

“
Uh…uh, apology is accepted, Miss Jones.”

“
Now, sweetie, this is between me and you,” she said softly tweaking her forefinger for him to come closer.

His interest peeked. He stood, placed one hand over his microphone and nodded at hers to do the same. He leaned over his desk. “Now, what you say will remain between us.”

“
You know what Judge Handsome?”

The sweet seductiveness of her throaty voice caused all kinds of thoughts to run through his head. He was thankful for the fullness of his judicial robe. “What, Miss Jones?”

“
I think you’re gorgeous, especially when you’re not so serious. I just needed to say it.”

“
Thank you. Now can we finish this so we can call it a day and go home?” He asked in hushed tones.

A probing query came to her eyes and he suspected she had an ulterior motive for giving him honey sweet compliments.

“
Mmm, does this mean I’ve made my case? Are you going to dismiss the twenty days of service?”

He was right.

Keigo released a disappointed sigh, “Forty-one days, Miss Jones, and the answer is no.”

Keigo tried not to smile at her pretty pout but he couldn’t help it.

She narrowed her brown eyes on him and said, “What if I offer you a deal? What if I give you fifteen days of my chef service? Free of charge, of course.”

“
Of course,” Keigo repeated. “No, thank you.”

“
Twenty days and I promise to heal your bad tummy?” She continued to bargain.

“
Thirty days and you got a deal.”

“
Deal!” She beamed and held out her hand.

Keigo ignored the offer of a handshake. “My word is enough, Miss Jones. Now return to your proper place and we will wrap this up.”

She let her hand drop and her right eyebrow arched at him. “Say, ‘pleas’” and apologize to me for making this entire process more difficult than it had to be. As you can see the case is cut and dry. There’s a contract; she signed it. There’s video evidence of her at the wedding with her arm wrapped around my shoulder thanking me and telling everyone how wonderful everything was.”

“
Oh, for goodness sakes!” Keigo groaned in frustration, rubbing at his stomach and temple. He didn’t care if this was “good TV” as Marco put it. He wasn’t an entertainer. He was a District Court Judge and he was tired of her running his courtroom.

As if she hadn’t caused enough disruption for one day, she was actually waiting for him to apologize. His eyebrows shot up almost to his hairline. The irritating minx had the nerve to wink at him and flash those silly dimples. Dimples like that shouldn’t be on a grown woman!

“
Miss Jones, I swear you are crazy lady,” he muttered.

“
Oh,
now
you can see she’s a nut!” Tanesha yelled at him. “You couldn’t just take my word for it. I’m thirty minutes late for my appointment because--”

“
Do you want to end up in the same predicament that she is in, Mrs. Lewin? If not, continue to keep your mouth shut,” Keigo stood and pointed gavel at Etta. “As for you! I realize as long as you are in here, I will not be allowed to do my job,” he stated in a low menacing voice. “Bailiff, take Miss Jones to a holding cell. Maybe a few minutes alone in her own company will do her some good.”

“
What? Wait, I’m sorry, okay. You don’t have to apologize! Look, I really can’t go to jail. I don’t like confined spaces. I--”

“
You’re still talking? Phil. Enjoy the jail cell, Miss Jones,” Keigo stated while the Bailiff grabbed Etta by the upper arm and reached for his handcuffs. “No!” He stopped him by raising a hand. “I don’t think those are necessary, but if you happen to have a muzzle I’m sure everyone would appreciate it.”

The audience laughed.

“
Oh you…you bully!” Etta called out. “You know what? You may be cute, but you’re an ass for putting a woman in jail!”

“
Calm down and walk this way, Miss Jones.” The bailiff tugged at her until they were out the side door. The door closed but he could still hear her ranting.

Keigo squared his shoulders. His grin grew wider. Softly a chuckle escaped his lips and he murmured, “Boy, I pity the man that has to wake up next to that mouth every morning.”

The audience laughed.

He smirked. He could be amusing, sometimes.

The smug grin left his face. A brief picture of him waking up next to Etta seized his thoughts. Keigo could imagine the heaviness of her eyes gazing over at him; the fullness of her lips, moist and begging to be kissed, moaning his name.

He pushed aside the thoughts. The pain in his stomach must be causing a numbing in his brain for thinking such a crazy thought. She wasn’t even his type. Whatever that was. It had been three years since he had been with any woman. He didn’t know if he was ready yet to get back in the dating world.

Once Phil returned to the courtroom with his customary stern and practiced exterior then quietly returned to his place to play the tape on the monitors.

“
Enough, I’m ready to rule,” he turned his attention to the courtroom and announced. “In light of this tape and contracts that you did indeed place your initials on each paper approving of the menu, I hereby declare this case dismissed!” Loudly he slammed down the gavel and moved to step down from the bench.

“
Hey! Wait a damned minute!” Tanesha bellowed. “What about my money! She is a crazy ass woman!”

“
I won’t disagree with that, but it obviously has nothing to do with her ability as a chef, Mrs. Lewin. You made that fact clear in the wedding video.

“
So she just walks away from everything, just like that?” Tanesha Lewin stated.

“
No, unfortunately Miss Jones owes my court a fine and thirty days for her disruption,” Keigo stated. “If I had been allowed the opportunity to do my job, I was ready to dismiss the case on the contract and recommendation letters submitted by guests that had attended the wedding.”

“
Court is dismissed,” Phil announced.

While the others completed the day’s production wrap and interviews with the plaintiff and audience members, Keigo made a quick exit to his chambers and slammed the door shut behind him. He wasn’t in the mood to sign autographs and chat with fans. Of course, his producers would have something to say about it but after today, he was about to tell them where to shove the entire show.

For a while now, he had been wondering if this was what he wanted to do anymore. There was a time when all he wanted was to someday sit on the Supreme Court. He was considered a boy genius graduating from Harvard Law School at the tender age of eighteen. His father had mapped out his entire life and when he died his dream had become his own. That was until the accident changed his entire life and limited his options.

With a soft curse, he shrugged out of his robe and hung it up on the assigned hook to let Nan, his personal assistant, know it needed to go to the drycleaners. Don’t do this.
Don’t dredge up the past. Just let it go
, he told himself.

Dropping down tiredly into a black leather chair behind the oversized cherry wood desk, he leaned back and lifted his feet to rest on his desk with one ankle crossed over the other. His hand dropped onto his stomach, rubbing the dull ache. The pain was a gentle reminder that he wasn’t following the doctor’s advice by cutting back. He didn’t know how much more cutting back he could do. His illustrious judicial career had turned into a joke for late night comedians. The only recourse was to retire from the field of law altogether. He wasn’t sure it was something he was prepared to do. He’d already lost everything else he gave a damn about.

“
Can that crazy woman really cure my stomach woes?”

CHAPTER 2

Keigo was ready to hit something or
someone
, Marco in particular after listening to his praise of Etta Jones' cuteness and vibrant personality. He continued his boisterous regaling of the show and had the nerve to tell him that he and Etta had superb chemistry.

“
Thank God it's a reality show or I would be supposing you're suggesting we make her a permanent part of the show,” Keigo sighed.

“
Wouldn't it be great? We can have her predict the result of the trial at the start of the show and have the audience vote if they agree or disagree. We can--”

“
She's not that type of psychic, Marco,” he interrupted.

“
Huh?”

“
From what I understand, Etta has an uncanny ability to know what you want to eat before you do. The last place she worked didn't have menus. She would send out the meals without anyone ever placing an order. My understanding is that it was highly successful.”

“
I can’t believe that would fly. People actually paid for that? I usually don’t go to certain restaurants until I know what I want,” Marco reasoned.

“
It’s California; everything flies out here,” Keigo snorted on a laugh. “It’s completely
baka
, foolish, and I don’t see how anyone can believe that psychics are real.”

“
Oh really? Then why are you allowing her to cook for you? She
is
going to be yours for thirty days, right? I suppose you can find out first hand if it’s real or fodder,” Marco teased.