Riding the Corporate Ladder (Indigo) (23 page)

* * *

At work Deena stepped confidently into her office wearing a brown pants suit with her favorite pearl necklace. She liked the outfit a lot because the jacket had a lovely leopard print collar. She looked great, but she didn’t think she’d have enough energy to get through the day. To compound matters, Deena’s secretary gave her startling news as soon as she approached her desk.

“Miss Newman, what are you doing here?”

“I work here,” Deena said sarcastically. “Or did I get fired? Nothing would surprise me at this point.”

“You’re due in court at eight o’clock,” Karen reminded her. “For Rilla’s preliminary…”

“Aw, hell,” Deena moaned. She’d forgotten that her first Blood Money client, a rapper named Raul “Rilla” Canales, was scheduled to start the fight for his freedom this morning.

Deena checked her watch and saw that it was 7:15. She could make it to the courthouse, with time to spare, but she didn’t like to be caught off-guard. She wondered if she was slipping. This wasn’t like her at all. She did a quick about-face and told Karen thanks on her way out of the door.

* * *

At the courthouse Deena met her client for the first time, and she was not impressed. Raul wore a suit with a tie, but you could see in his eyes that he was a bad apple. Deena thought about what her mother said about defending murderers, but her mom wasn’t the one paying her bills. Blood Money Records was her cash cow for the time being, so all of Deena’s loyalty was with them.

After conferring with her client, Deena met with the prosecutor in the hallway and told him Raul was certainly not interested in a plea bargain.

“All of your witnesses are criminals,” she said. “And they all belong to a rival faction. The woman who called 911 described a totally different car, and even your so-called victim won’t take the stand and say Mr. Canales shot him. We can drag this on for as long as you want, Brent. But you’re the one who’s going to look foolish when I finally get an acquittal.”

The prosecutor frowned and then put his hands in his pockets and smiled. “Okay, Miss Newman. But you know you’re only buying him time. We still have another dope case in the wings. And that one’s rock solid. You shouldn’t have signed on with Blood Money; they’re going to mess up your sparkling record. They’re all scum, and I will personally see to it that each and every one of them gets a football number.”

He was referring to a number of years in prison; most likely the large numbers tight ends and linebackers had on their jerseys.

“Well, when you’re ready to try those cases, I’ll see you in court, counselor,” Deena said.

“Have a nice day, Miss Newman,” the prosecutor said and then turned and walked away.

Deena found her client and gave him the good news.

“So…so I don’t have to go to court?” Rilla asked.

“No,” Deena said. “They dropped the charges.”

“Aw, shit! Thanks, lady! You the bomb!”

“You should know the prosecutor isn’t giving up on you,” Deena warned him. “He says he has another dope case coming up. He said he won’t stop until you get a football number.”

“What that mean?”

“Thirty to forty years,” Deena explained.

“But I got off today?” Rilla asked.

Deena nodded. “Yes. You’re a free man.”

“Shit, then that’s all that matters!”

“Indeed,” Deena said.

The rapper took off in one direction, and Deena headed the other way with only moderate joy for today’s victory. Rilla was a true knucklehead. He was already convicted of attempted murder a few years ago when he and his friend attacked and stabbed a college student. He got that sentence overturned, and today he got another attempted murder charge dropped.

He was lucky to have a record label that could afford competent attorneys, but his luck would surely run out one day. Deena hoped she’d move on to a better position by then so Rilla’s unavoidable conviction wouldn’t hurt her career.

* * *

When she got back to the office, Deena felt fresh and invigorated, but the rest of the morning was uncharacteristically slow. By ten o’clock she began to fall asleep at her desk. She took a caffeine pill and managed to wake up by eleven, but there was little excitement at the firm.

Deena had too much free time on her hands, and her idle mind was truly the devil’s workshop. She kept replaying the events of last night in her head, wondering what she could have done differently. She thought about what Yesenia said, and her friend’s words of wisdom began to sound more and more reasonable.

All of this thinking, combined with the fact that she was operating on very little sleep, led Deena to a decision she probably wouldn’t have made when a certain computer nerd called her at eleven-thirty.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Deena! How’s it going? This is Ron.”

“Ron? Oh, Ron. Hi. What’s going on?”

“Well, I was just re-facing a computer here at work—this guy’s been downloading porn all day—and I immediately thought of you. How’s everything? Your computer’s working fine?”

“Yes,” Deena said with a grin. “It is. Thanks a lot.”

“I’ve been thinking about what you said,” he went on, “about how I come on too strong. You know, sometimes you don’t know you’re doing something unless someone is bold enough to tell you.”

Deena nodded. “I know how that can be.”

“I want you to know that I’ve really made an effort to correct myself,” he said. “And if you’ll change your mind about going out with me, I guarantee you’ll see a brand new Ron!”

Deena laughed.

“What’s funny?”

“You said that exact same thing the last time we talked.”

“Well, this must be confirmation,” he said. “So what do ya say, Deena? Let me take you out to lunch sometime.”

“Okay.”

“If you wan—you, huh?”

She chuckled. “I said Okay, Ron. I would love to go out to lunch with you.”

“Are you serious?”

“Dude, you’ve got to work on your self-esteem.”

“No, no. I’m fine. I’m fine. I just never thought you’d go out with me again.”

“Why’d you keep asking if you felt that way?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I guess ’cause I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t at least try.”

“Well, your persistence has paid off. Where do you want to take me?”

“Anywhere.”

“When do you want to go?”

“Right now, today, whenever. I’ll quit if they won’t let me go.”

He was funny. Deena needed that. “I’m free this afternoon,” she said.

“I can be at your office in an hour.”

“Call me from the lobby,” she suggested. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”

“Okay. And thanks, Deena. I really appreciate this. I won’t let you down.”

“Don’t be so eager to please me,” she said. “You need to be more sure of yourself, Ronald. You’re a good catch. You have to be more confident.”

“Got it.”

Deena had a pleased grin on her face when she hung up the phone. She had trained a few men in her lifetime, but never one who was so eager and pleasant and open to correction. She didn’t think he could turn his personality around 180 degrees, but Ronald was an exceptionally smart guy. Anything’s possible if you set your heart and mind to it.

* * *

He called again at a quarter after twelve, and Deena took the elevator down to meet him. Ronald wore black slacks with a beige button-down today. His shoes were square-toed and stylish. He was clean-shaven and well groomed. Overall, he looked great, but the best surprise came not from his appearance, but from his actions. He presented her with a single rose enclosed in a plastic tube and then reached to shake her hand.

“You look very pretty this afternoon.”

“Thank you,” Deena said. She shook his hand and waited. And waited. But that was it; just one compliment.

He turned and they headed for the main doors. “I’ve got my car right out here. Or would you like to take your car and meet me there?”

“I don’t even know where we’re going.” Deena said.

“We’re going to The Two Dragons,” he replied. Not I would like or Would you like?, but We’re going.

Deena took note of his take-charge attitude and was tentatively impressed. “I’ll ride with you.”

* * *

Ronald drove a 2010 Buick Lucerne. It was forest green with leather seats, wood grain on the console, and a clean interior. Deena felt comfortable when she sat down, and Ron kept her that way throughout their date. He asked how her day was going, but otherwise didn’t talk much on the way to the restaurant.

He had Babyface’s Tender Lover album in his CD changer. Deena hadn’t heard some of those classics in fifteen years. She leaned back and rocked her head to “Whip Appeal”, and “Sunshine” and “Where Will you Go?” When they got to the restaurant, she almost didn’t want to get out.

“I like your car,” she told him. “I love your music.”

“Thanks.”

He got out and went around to open Deena’s door for her. She thought he would fall back into sucking up with that move, but he didn’t. Ronald really was a quick study. He didn’t ogle her like he hadn’t had sex in ten years and he didn’t tell her she was pretty again the whole time they were together. He did pull her chair out for her once inside, but that was a touch of class Deena didn’t mind at all.

They dined on shredded pork, chicken teriyaki, and tuna sashimi. And because this was a buffet, they also sampled salmon roe, pork cutlets, and teriyaki eel. Deena ate well, and their time together was pleasant, but midway through the meal she thought something was missing.

“I know what it is,” she said out of nowhere.

“What’s that?” Ron took a sip of his tea and watched her eagerly.

“You haven’t made me laugh all day,” Deena said.

He smiled. “I thought you said my jokes were corny.”

“Sometimes they are,” she admitted. “But no joke at all isn’t cool, either. You’ve got a good sense of humor, Ron. I don’t want you to change that part about you.”

“All right.”

She waited. “Okay…”

He grinned. “You want me to tell you a joke now?”

“Sure,” she said. “Make me laugh, funny man.”

“Alright.” He put his fork down. “I’ve always got a few laughs up my sleeve.” He rubbed his chin, and his eyes lit up. “Okay, so a farmer goes out and buys himself a new rooster…”

Deena’s eyes narrowed. She didn’t know how to respond to that opening. She gave him a guarded, “Okay…”

Ron chuckled. “It’s not what you think. Or maybe it is. Anyway, as soon as he brings him home, the young rooster runs out and screws all 120 of the farmer’s hens…”

Deena laughed. She already liked how this was going. “That’s some rooster.”

“Yeah, he was quite special,” Ron agreed. “Anyway, the farmer is very impressed. He keeps an eye on the rooster, and at lunchtime the rooster screws all of the hens again.”

“Wow,” Deena said. “All 120?”

“That’s right,” Ron said. “This rooster had a lot of stamina. But as you can imagine, the farmer isn’t just impressed anymore. He gets a little worried.”

“You think?” Deena said.

Ron grinned at her. “So the next morning, the farmer goes out and sees the rooster is at it again. Only this time he’s not only screwing the hens, but he’s also screwing the turkeys and ducks and even a couple of cows.”

Deena burst into laughter. “That’s incredible!”

“I know,” Ron said, “but later on that day the farmer goes outside and finds his new rooster lying motionless in the middle of the field. His eyes are closed, and there are vultures circling above him.”

“Oh no,” Deena said.

“The farmer rushes to him,” Ron continued, “and he looks down at the limp rooster and says, ‘Serves you right, you horny bastard!’ But the rooster opens one eye and points up at the vultures with his wing and says, ‘Shhh! They’re about to land.’ ”

“That’s awesome!” Deena said. Her laugher was priceless. She put a hand to her mouth to make sure she didn’t spit any food out. “You’re a funny man!”

“You liked that joke?” Ron asked.

“I did,” Deena said. “It was a good one. And you told it well.”

“Thanks,” Ron said. He leaned back, and his chest swelled with pride.

* * *

They got back to the office thirty minutes later, but Deena didn’t immediately get out of the car when Ron pulled up to the curb. She turned to face him, and he watched her quizzically.

“Hey,” she said. “Do you want to have dinner with me this Sunday; at my mom’s house?”

He couldn’t believe it. “You want me to meet your mom?”

Deena hadn’t thought about it exactly like that. She was mainly thinking about her sister, but…“Yeah. I guess so.”

He beamed. “I would love to meet your mother, Deena.”

She leaned in and gave him a soft peck on the lips. “All right. I’ll call you later.”