Feminine Wiles....

In Judge Juanita Corley's courtroom, Defense Attorneys and Prosecuting Attorneys have shook in their shoes..Such was this woman's fierce reputation....

But now the tables were turned...She was sitting across from my wife and her attorney, Olivia Bennett-Alexander   at our office, and it was her turn to shake..

"Juanita...We are not in court and maybe we are not friends...but I am your attorney and if you want me to represent you...You need to be completely straight with me and not jerk me around...If you can't...I can give you the name of several attorneys who might represent you.." said Olivia...

In the three years I had known her...I had rarely ever seen her angry...And especially not this angry...It was a sight to see...

Her niece and assisting attorney ,Beverly West whispered to me...

"Auntay was mad at me like that when I was a teenager...and had messed up in school..She hasn't been that mad since..." she said..

"I can't imagine her ever being that mad at you..."I said.

"You didn't know me as a teenager..." laughed Beverly..

We had found out that Judge Juanita Corley was in fact married to State Supreme Court Judge, Calvin Corley...

Juanita Corley was demure...She measured her words carefully..

"Yes...I'm married...but seperated...I've been seperated from him for ten years...He lives with some young trollip..I haven't heard or seen him in years....I-I-I guess I just forgot." she said.

"You forgot you were married?" said Olivia sternly...

"When you sleep in a bed alone and cold for ten years..When you go for years without sex..When you eat TV dinners alone at night for that long...You do tend to forget a legal technicality...You have a husband Mrs. Bennett-Alexander...You have arms around you every night....I see the way he looks at you sometimes....Like he wants to grab you and rip your clothes off...He watches every move you make....That is a blessing...Be thankful Mrs. Bennett-Alexander...I'd gladly trade places with you..Never lose that..You'll always have a smile on your face..You won't have the reputation I have of making grown men cry...I wasn't always like this...Believe it or not...I was once just like you and your niece..." she said.

Olivia's entire mood changed...She suddenly became soft and understanding......

"Oh....I didn't know..." said Olivia...

"No, you didn't know...I was a young attorney, just like you...On the way up...I worked for the same firm that you wound up working for Mrs. Bennett-Alexander...They wouldn't make me a partner...Just like they wouldn't make you one...I've watched you for years...I've always admired you...You remind me a lot of myself or who I once was...I went back into the public sector...I was an Assistant District Attorney for years....Then I met Calvin...Judge Calvin Corley...He chased me for a good two years and I kept turning him away...I knew what kind of guy he was...but against my better judgement, I gave in....He was insatiable...Wanted sex everyday, every night and everywhere....Showered me with flowers, took me out to nice dinners, nice weekend trips, et al...And before I knew it...We were getting married..." She said...

She reached in her pocketbook and showed us a photo taken of her several years ago...My eyes almost popped out of my head...I couldn't believe this was the super serious, hair always worn in a bun, never cracking a smile Judge Juanita Corley...You think you know someone...

"Believe it or not..That was me.....He had me take photos like that all the time..I was like his Black pin up girl...He was a freak...I wouldn't be surprised if these photos wind up on the internet one day...I took these photos for him...I did anything he asked back then..."

"It was heaven for about three years...Then he became less attentive,distant...especially when I became a Judge also...Then I found emails, texts, from women, found naked photos of him on dating sites...I ignored this for another three years and then I hired a private investigator...Kevin Morris...You may have heard of him...He found out that my husband had another apartment downtown and had another woman living there....That's the trollip he's with now..." she said.

"Why didn't you divorce him then?" asked Olivia...

"You obviously don't know a lot about Calvin Corley...In addition to being the State Supreme Court Judge, he is also a partner in a very powerful investment firm...The Harris Group...He has a lot of high powered attorneys at his disposal...I didn't get the house, any cars, nada!...I was younger then, afraid of his perceived power and affluence..He took everything else and I didn't get a cent..He's worth millions...And he has a huge ego...He'd defy you just to get back at me.."she said.

"I'm drawing up Divorce papers for you right now...We'll deliver them to him...All he has to do is sign...I'll explain to him that you aren't asking for anything..It's time to end this..If he wants a fight..He'll get one...I'm not afraid of him."said Olivia..

"You don't understand....He'll eat you alive...He won't sign that...Just to be contrary."said Juanita..

Beverly looked at me..

"She's actually afraid of somebody.....Who knew?  " she whispered..

"Yeah...." I said.

"And D.R., you do have to stop looking at Auntay like that...I know it must feel good to you, but people notice." said Beverly...

I gave her the side eye...She and I both cracked up laughing...

Olivia looked at Judge Corley...

"Leave him to me..." she said.

"God...You remind me of me...Only with a good husband and much happier.." said Judge Corley looking at me salaciously and smiling...

II-

Judge Calvin Corley was not hard to find...He was in court hearing a case....He was a tall,athletically built and well dressed man with just a hint of gray hair...Like his wife, he suffered fools lightly...He had both the defense attorney, a man and the prosecutor...a woman nearly in tears...Even the defendant was shaking...He was a bear..I stood and watched  just in case things got rough for Livy and Bev..

Olivia and Beverly stood in the back of his courtoom and waited patiently for the court to adjourn...They smiled and then waved at the Judge....

He stopped in his tracks when he saw the both of them...A broad smile came across his face...He almost ran to them...Grinning like a cheshire cat...Completely different from the bear we had just witnessed in open court.

"Ladies! Ladies...Ladies...Ladies!!!How are you ladies doing? Heh-Heh-Heh!   Yessss...Can I help you? I hope I can...Heh, Heh, Heh..." he said.

"We certainly hope you can." said Olivia..."I'm Attorney Olivia Bennett-Alexander and this is my niece, Attorney Beverly West..." said Olivia ,smiling..."You look so much better in person than on the news."she added.

The Judge was practically drooling ,looking at the both of them...

"My..My..My....An Aunt and a niece eh?  I take it you two ladies need a recomendation from me huh? Well you got it!!!!!" he said.

"Actually your honor...We represent your wife, Juanita Corley...And these are divorce papers...She's ready to move on...She'd like for you to sign them." said Beverly, smiling and batting her eyes...

The Judge was laughing and smiling and grinning...and surprisingly opened his briefcase and pulled out a pen and began signing away...He barely read the papers..Turning from Beverly to Olivia and back and forth...barely reading what he was signing....

"You are in such great shape Judge...Do you work out?" asked Olivia..

"Why yes I do..." he said chuckling..

He signed all of the copies...and then passed them to Olivia...

"There...You know...I thought Juanita and I were already divorced...I went to Tiajuana
about two years ago and got what I thought was a divorce....I've even re-married..."he said surprisingly still grinning and checking my wife and her niece out...Both were wearing tight, curve hugging mini skirts and stilletto heels..

"You have?" asked Olivia..

"I have...I'm really surprised Juanita didn't ask for a divorce a lot sooner...And I'm equally surprised she didn't try to get my money...What do you know? All this time,I was still married to Juanita...Hahahahaha." He said.

"Yes...So you'll have to marry your current wife,uh...again..." said Olivia..

He gave Olivia the side eye....

"Imagine that?" he said...

Olivia smiled...He looked at her...

"How is Juanita??She seeing a new guy?" he asked.

"No.Not that we know of" said Beverly..

He seemed surprised...He seemed to remember a vision of his soon to be ex-wife in his mind...

"Hmmmm....I saw her briefly last year...She's still a good looking woman...I'm surprised one of these snake eyed lawyers aren't trying to plant their shoes under her bed...It wasn't a bad bed to have your shoes under...and I ought to know.." he said looking skeptical....He then looked at Olivia....

"You're married aren't you?" he said smiling leeringly at her..

"Yes I am.." she said....He then looked at Beverly....

"But she isn't?" he asked, chuckling..

"I'm engaged!" Beverly lied...

He smiled...

"Engagements can be broken..." he said smiling....

"Aren't you married Judge? Or at least involved with someone?" asked Olivia...Still smiling....

He smiled sheepishly....

"Heh,Heh,Heh.....Welll, according to you,I'm not...You're a sharp attorney Mrs. Bennett-Alexander...I hope to see you in my courtroom one day...Heh-Heh-Heh....You too Ms. West...Heh-Heh-Heh.." he laughed and walked away, still chuckling..

I was standing on the side looking at the entire thing....

"Well that went well." I said...

''Better than I thought...I was prepared for a fight." said Olivia..

"In that dress? What man was going to fight with you?" I laughed..

"Glad you like it...Now I'm going to get out of it and take these heels off." said Olivia..

Beverly laughed...

"Me too Auntay.."

III-

Judge Juanita Corley looked like you could have knocked her over with a feather when she saw the signed divorce papers on Olivia's desk two days later...

"WHAT?" she said.

"You are a free woman Judge Corley!!!..Your divorce is final!!!...We got it signed off at the courthouse yesterday." said Beverly....

"You mean...There was no fight, no resistance?" she asked.

"None at all..In fact...We found the Judge to be quite accomodating and charming..We didn't have a fight at all...I couldn't believe how agreeable he was and right after a big trial too in open court." said Olivia..

Judge Corley looked at the divorce papers again ....

"That's his signature..I can't believe this.." she said.

I cleared my throat and laughed...Judge Corley looked at me and gave me the side eye..

"Let me guess...Tight skirts, Stilletto Heels...Smiling and batting the eyes right?" she said staring sternly at both Olivia and Beverly....

"I'm not saying anything your honor."I laughed...

"You don't have to....I know my ex-husband...Young pretty women are his weakness..You caught him off guard...You used your feminine wiles..."she said sternly..  The room was silent for a long pregnant pause....

Then surprisingly...Judge Corley smiled broadly and  busted out laughing...She hugged Beverly and smiled sweetly at Olivia...

"You got the job done girls!!!...A woman has to use what she's got to get what she needs.." she said, smiling approvingly...

I'm glad I wasn't drinking anything because I would have spit it out...I was stunned...

"Thank You Your Honor." said Beverly....

"To hell with that Your Honor stuff...It's Juanita, unless you're in my courtroom..I'm in your debt....Forget what I said before about us not being friends...You two are my girls for life...You're worth every penny I'm going to pay you." she said laughing and hugging them both...

Josie walked in  the office just then..

"What's going on here?" she asked....

''A celebration of sorts.." I said smiling...

But we were far from out of the woods... Her divorce was finalized...There was still the matter of reigning Herbert Drinkwater in..But that was for another day...Today we were celebrating a victory of sorts...

(TO BE CONTINUED)