The Ten Year Affair (6 page)

“Well, thank you Judge and you’re right. They aren’t going to be easy.
Take care.” Alex turned to make her way towards the courtroom and she saw him.
He was staring right at her looking irritated and fidgety. He was a handsome
sight. She loved him. But she would not let him ruin what had already begun to
be a wonderful day. She found her feet taking her straight over to greet him.

Alex was right when she thought Ian looked irritated. He was irritated.
He wanted to poke the eyes back into the heads of half the bar the way they
were drooling over Alex. Did they have to be so obvious? Couldn’t they be a
little more respectful? They were acting as if she were a prime piece of meat
at the local meat market. They acted like they’d never seen her in the
courthouse before. He understood what was going on. They knew. Word had finally
gotten around that Alex was no longer connected to Ian; that their
long-standing affair was over. He knew many of them were doing more than simply
admiring her. They were considering their chances and wondering how to approach
her. He was having a hard time suppressing his anger and jealousy and lo and
behold she was walking right towards him! Damn!

“Good morning Ian. You’re looking great. How’ve you been?”
That was good,
Alex thought.
She sounded just as though they’d never even shared a kiss
let alone ten glorious years of wild passion.

“I’ve been just fine Alex. You’re looking wonderful yourself.” She was
actually glowing. She was absolutely beautiful. Her suit hugged every gorgeous curve.
I am such a fool, Ian thought. How could I ever let this wonderful woman get
away from me? If only...

“You must be ready to sink your teeth into my colleague which would
explain how you look. I advised Jensen it wouldn’t be wise to underestimate you
in the courtroom.” Tom Jensen was Ian’s best friend and a fellow deputy prosecutor
who was going to have his hands full with Alex during this trial.

Alex could feel the eyes on them.
“They are all probably waiting for
me to fall at his feet and beg him to be my lover again,”
she thought.

“Thank you Ian. I am feeling pretty confident today but please don’t tell
me you’re here as co-counsel or something. That might put a little chink in my
confidence.”

“Not to worry Alex. I just stopped by to give Tom some moral support and
wish him luck. The same goes to you although I think you’ve got your work cut
out for you Alex. By all appearances Miller is guilty and you are going to have
a hell of a time proving otherwise.”

“Well, Ian. If you may ever be interested in switching sides you might
want to sit in on this trial and learn a little something from me. I need to
get going. See you around.”

Alex smiled and turned to leave offering a little wave to Peter who was
standing across the rotunda in conversation with his partner, Don Anderson. And
that was that. She had gotten through her first conversation with Ian in two
and a half months and had managed well. Sure her stomach was churning and her
palms were sweaty but she had not shown an ounce of nervousness for all those
eyes who had been observing. She had noticed the concern on Peter’s face as she
talked with Ian and was grateful for the smile of encouragement he had given
her when she waved.

The upcoming trial was important to the firm of Anderson & Grainger.
William Miller was a quiet, kind, elderly man who had watched his wife suffer
with cancer and took it upon himself to end her misery with an overdose. It was
up to Alex to make the jury see that what Mr. Miller had done was not murder.
It was time to take this case to trial and she was ready. She pushed Ian Foster
out of her thoughts and entered the courtroom.

After day three of the Miller trial Alex felt things were going their
way. She felt the jury was very sympathetic towards Mr. Miller and she hoped
they would see that Mr. Miller had suffered enough by watching his wife suffer
and living with the knowledge of what he had been forced to do to end her pain.
Alex was in her office revising her closing statement when Peter knocked at her
door and entered.

“Hey, beautiful. What are you working on?”

Alex looked up from her desk and smiled.

“God how her smile lights up my day,”
Peter thought.

“Hi. Just putting some finishing touches on my closing statement for
tomorrow. You’ve been watching the trial all week Peter. How do you think it’s
going? Do you think the jury wants to acquit Mr. Miller?”

“I’m not sure Alex. But I’m sure that you’ve done the absolute best for
Mr. Miller. You’ve been great. You just have to hope that the right twelve
people are sitting on that jury.”

“You’re right Peter. How this trial ends will be in large part based on
how well we did at picking that jury. I’m very nervous about tomorrow. Are you
going to wait out the jury verdict with me?”

“You bet hon. Let’s plan on dinner tomorrow night at Georgie’s across the
street from the courthouse so we’re close by if the verdict comes in quickly.
I’ll ask Don what his plans are. Maybe he’ll wait this one out with us.”

“Sounds good to me. Peter I want to thank you again for all you did to
help me get caught up so this case could go to trial on time. I’m aware of all
the extra work that you were burdened with because of my idiocy. I must admit I
was furious with you at first for speaking to my grandmother but I’m very glad
you did. Thank you.”

“Whew! I was a little worried about when you were finally going to ream
me out for interfering. I’m glad I was able to help. I can’t tell you how glad
I am to see you so well and on top of your game. I’m very proud of you Alex. So
proud I’d like to ask you a favor.”

Alex beamed at Peter. “Ask away Pete. I’m in no position to say no to you
about anything right now thanks to all you’ve done for me.”

“Precisely what I hoped you’d say. I need a date for the county bar
association party two weeks from this Saturday and there is no one I’d rather
take than you. Please tell me you can go.”

“Let me look.” Alex pulled up her calendar on her computer. “I have
nothing going on at all that Saturday Pete. What time is the party?”

“Cocktails start at seven, dinner’s at eight. Pick you up at 6:30?”

“I’ll be ready. Is it formal? I threw my invitation out since I hadn’t
planned on going alone.”

“It’s black tie formal. Go alone? Are you nuts Alex? Have you not figured
out yet that there are legions of us men ready to take you anywhere you want to
go? You never have to go anywhere alone Alex. Unless of course you choose to.”

“Legions, huh? Peter you are marvelous for a girl’s ego. Now get out of
here so I can finish this.”

“You have made me a very happy man Alex and I can’t wait to spread the
word that they are all too late; that you already said you would go with me.”

He grinned and bent to give her a sweet kiss on the lips.

“Don’t work too late Lex. You need your rest. Tomorrow will be a long
day.”

Peter walked out of her office and danced a quick jig once he’d turned
the corner at the end of the hall.

She said yes! Peter wanted to scream it from the rooftops. He was
determined to make Alex forget Ian Foster and make a life with him. This was
just the beginning.

Alex thought the trial had ended on a good note but she had no feeling
now about what way the jury would go. Her closing statement had been flawless
even though she had felt Ian’s eyes boring into her back the whole time. How she
had managed to pull it off with him there she didn’t know. She had actually
felt more calm and confident because of his presence. That she couldn’t
explain. She was on her way over to Georgie’s to meet Peter and Don for dinner
and to wait out the verdict. She had not had much of a chance to talk to them
since the trial had ended and she was anxious to hear how they thought things
had gone today. She was lost in thought when she bumped into Ian as he too was
entering Georgie’s.

“Hey, sweetheart. Be glad it was me you ran into and not that lamppost.
You were obviously deep in thought. Worrying about your verdict, huh?”

“I’m sorry Ian. I tend to be very clumsy when I’m worried and yes, the
verdict has me terribly worried. Although I hate to admit that to anyone on the
prosecutor’s staff.”

“I know exactly how clumsy you can be when you’re worried. I remember the
night of the prom how worried you were about us making love and you...” Ian saw
Alex’s face flush red and decided he’d better drop the reminiscing. “Never
mind. Going in?” He opened the door and Alex entered. She had to have been
blind not to notice the look of disappointment on Peter’s face as he saw Ian
follow behind her.
“He thinks we’re together. Damn it!”
Alex cursed
under her breath. She would need to set him straight fast so she would not have
to endure another one of his anti-Ian lectures.

“Ian why don’t you come over to say hello to Peter and Don before you
join the opposition over there.” The prosecutor’s office had the same idea and
was awaiting the verdict at Georgie’s as well. Alex waved hello to her opposing
counsel Tom Jensen and the current county prosecutor, John Marshall.

As they approached Peter and Don Peter rose to pull out a chair for her
and possessively gave her a tender kiss on the lips. Ian scowled. “Look who I
bumped into at the door,” Alex said. “Part of the enemy camp.”

“Hello gentleman. Hope all is well at Anderson & Grainger. I thought
I’d say hello before I join the rest of my office. What I saw of Alex’s
performance impressed me greatly. I know she’s made it very difficult for the
jury to find a guilty verdict. I want you gentleman to know that the
prosecutor’s office confers daily over how the hell we can steal her away from
you two.”

Don laughed and slapped Ian on the back. “It’ll never happen my boy.
We’re not stupid enough to let her go very easily. Isn’t that right Peter?”

“Hello Ian, good to see you. Don’s right it will
never
happen.
She’s too important to us. Too important to me.” Peter grabbed Alex’s hand and
brought it to his mouth for a kiss. Alex was shocked at his display and was
angry that Peter was trying to make Ian think there was something going on
between them. She would talk to Peter about that later but right now she thought,
“Hey, what’s the harm?”
She laughed and smiled at Peter and turned to
see Ian’s scowl. Was he jealous? He looked as though he wanted to rip Peter
apart.
“No, Alex stop this!”
she screamed to herself. He doesn’t care
about you! He doesn’t love you! He could care less if anything is going on
between you and Peter.

“I think it would be next to impossible for me to leave such an adoring
fan club as these two nuts,” Alex laughed. “It was good to see you again Ian.
I’ll be seeing you in a few weeks. You are head counsel for the Jacobs murder trial
aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am. Nice seeing you gentlemen, Alexandra. I better go join my
troops before they think I’ve switched sides.”

“Another Ian Foster encounter handled superbly,”
Alex thought. It
did seem to get easier each time although her pulse still raced and she longed
for his touch. When he had grabbed her earlier to stop her from falling flat on
her face she had shivered from his touch. Had he noticed? Only Ian Foster had
the power to bring her to her knees with just a simple touch or look. She
longed to be close to him. To feel his skin next to hers. To have her legs
entwined with his and his mouth on her...stop it! She awoke from her thoughts
to find that she had been staring at Ian and he had been staring right back.
Okay, Alexandra. Staring at Ian would most certainly give him the wrong idea.
Time to forget he was there.

Ian couldn’t take his gaze off of her. His skin still burned from her
touch when he’d grabbed her to prevent her fall. He didn’t think he’d imagined
her shiver at his touch. Her smell was intoxicating. He wanted to bury his face
in her soft, yellow curls and taste the moist skin at her neck. She laughed and
smiled at Peter. He’d missed that laugh. He’d always had so much fun just being
with her. The best times they’d had had been snuggling up on the couch on a
Sunday afternoon watching old movies, chomping on popcorn and just being
together. He remembered several times spending a Sunday with Alex and leaving
her apartment on a Sunday evening when they had not even made love that day yet
he’d never felt better in his life. She was driving him crazy with that laugh!
What the hell was so funny over there?
He
wanted to be at that table
with her, not Peter. But the choice had been his and he’d made it. If he stayed
involved with Alex they’d become the model yuppie family and he’d be stuck as a
County Prosecutor for the rest of his life. Not quite what he’d dreamed of
his whole life.

Alex got lost in conversation with Peter and Don but she knew Ian’s gaze
had hardly left her. What was he thinking? Was he thinking he wanted to be with
her as she was wishing she could be with him? Why had Ian never understood that
she would never stand in the way of his career aspirations? If only they’d
really talked about why he was so scared of commitment maybe they’d still be
together now.

After two nerve wrecking hours at Georgie’s they received word that the
jury had reached a verdict. So quickly? What could this mean? As they all
traipsed back to the courthouse Alex’s nerves began to show.

“Easy champ. Easy,” Ian whispered in her ear as they entered the
courtroom. “You’ve done a great job. Remember that if you lose. You couldn’t
have done any better for him baby.”

Baby. She loved it when he used that endearment. He used it often when
they...he use to use it often when they made love. Why the hell was he here?
She was glad he was.

When the not guilty verdict was read Alex found it hard to move. She
turned to Mr. Miller and hugged him hard as he wept. She rubbed his back and
tried to comfort him. His son and daughter came forward and thanked her and she
hugged them hard as well. She was so relieved that she had been able to help
this family. She hoped that now that the trial was over the Miller family could
relax and be happy again. They needed to put Mrs. Miller’s death behind them
and move on with their lives.