Off The Hook

It was a beautiful late summer Philadelphia night...We were all assembled at Millionaire Socialite Rollie Rollerson's country club for the "Innocence Project" Awards Banquet....

The "Innocence Project" is a nationwide group of activist Lawyers who have taken on the cases of many unjustly accused people.. Mostly those on death row, but not all..

My wife, Attorney Olivia Bennett-Alexander, though not a member has helped them out numerous times with seamingly impossible to win cases and triumped...Tonight I, Donnie Ray Alexander, the investigator for her law firm, Alexander and West and a lot of the people who are important in her life was gathered here to see her get honored....

Sitting across from me, was her beloved niece and partner in her successful law firm and a brilliant attorney herself,Beverly West and her boyfriend, Nelson East...

Sitting next to me was former ADA Soloman Foster, who himself was a client of my wife..not once..but twice...She helped him get paroled and re-establish his law license and she helped him again when he was falsely accused of sexual harrassment..He owed his career to her..

And then there was his lovely wife, Celeste Tate, a former Public defender and ADA, now in private practice...Olivia had won her a huge anti-defemation settlement against former shock TV host and Attorney "Have Mercy " Kersey...

Sitting next to Beverly and Nelson, was Olivia and Bev's cousin, who was also an Attorney..Ms. Kayla Bennett and her boyfriend, Attorney, Ryan St. James..

And rounding out our guest list was last, but certainly not least...a very important member of our team...Josie Boyd...our office manager and her boyfriend, Paris...

If you looked around..This place was packed..

Rollie Rollerson knew how to throw a party....Olivia had even represented him a time or too...

He walked around greeting everyone and laughing and talking with all of the guests....He was a natural for these types of events...

"If you guys need anything...Anything...Let these waiters and waitressess know.." he said.

The food was superb......if I must say myself...And there was all the Beer and Wine you could drink all night long...What was not to love...

Finally....Larry North, the moderator for the night took the podium....We hadn't seen him since we'd been out to San Diego months ago...

Beverly smirked...

"Oh Hell..." she laughed...

"Your old flame eh hon?" joked Nelson...

"Don't remind me." said Beverly...

''You dated Larry North Bev?" asked Kayla...

"I wouldn't call it that...but he uh apparently thought so....He never got over it." she laughed...

Larry North took a spoon and clanged it on the glass to get everyone's attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen...What can I say about this woman?  We have worked together since we both got out of Law School....We've both gone our seperate ways...She now has her own law firm and I of course am very active with the Innocence project......When I had two big problems....Two men ,two men who I believed to be innocent on death row....I called out to my friend...I called my friend on both occassions and on both occassions she didn't hesitate to come to my rescue and theirs (The audience laughed)....She has rescued many many others from cruel fates...Some of you are in this very room....Long story short....I am proud to say....This woman is my friend......and my sister...Attorney Olivia Bennett-Alexander....This years winner of our  "HOPE" award..." he said.

The audience roared  with applause as my wife walked up to receive her award.....She smiled...She looked around and she said.

"Thank you, Thank you so much...I am so honored to receive this award from you and humbled...But I don't  do good work by myself...I have a support system...People God put in my life... I would be remiss if I didn't thank some people who helped make this award happen... First of all, My girl, my best friend...my ace...my niece..Attorney Beverly West...I'm so proud of how you've grown and how you make my job soooo much easier and so much fun...Where would I be without you?" she said.

Beverly smiled and blushed as people applauded some more..

She then looked at me..

"Donnie Ray......You came into my life at just the right time......You told me you loved me and at first I didn't believe you...I had no idea how much you really did and how much you have enriched my life....Thank you baby....You're also the architect of my success....I love you baby..I couldn't do this without you." she said....Tears running down her face......

More applause........

"Last,but certainly not least....I have to thank the person who keeps the entire thing together...Thank You Josie...Ms. Josie Boyd...

My Office manager and sometimes, personal assistant...Love you baby...and thank all of you." she said..

The audience roared their approval...and gave Olivia a standing ovation. I hugged Olivia...but she kissed me passionately right there by the dinner table..

II-

As the night wore on...Larry North walked over by Beverly and offered her a drink...

"Drink Bev?" he said and smiled.

"Thanks Larry." she said.

"You look good tonight..."he said.

"Thank You Larry, you're looking pretty spiffy yourself in that Tux." she said returning the compliment..

He put his arm around her waist and whispered in her ear...

''So you uh like a man in a tux huh? I like that white dress you're wearing..It hugs every curve." he said.

She politely removed his arm...

" You do know my boyfriend is around here somewhere don't you?" said Beverly with a phony smile..

''Same old Bev....Smart mouthed.....Cold as a fish...See, that's why we didn't make it.." he said.

"That's not why we didn't make it Larry."said Beverly....and then she walked away..

He stood there with a blank expression on his face.

''Well why didn't you guys make it huh? Huh?" joked Olivia and Kayla who had overheard the entire thing and were teasing Beverly..

Larry laughed....

"I'm not going through this tonight...Congratulations Livy....Nice seeing you again Kayla...Glad you're back in Philly...Got to go..See ya around Bev." he said snarkily and walked away...

"He's a trip...He's just mad because..." said Beverly...

"Because what?" I asked..

"Nothin....Here comes Nelson..." she said.

"Hey babes...Where you been? Come here...You got to try these Bacon wrapped shrimps..." said Nelson....That uh Larry North's girlfriend introduced me to them they are great."said Nelson.

"HE has a girlfriend?" said Beverly...

"Yeah, I saw her...She's cute...She's an Attorney with the Innocence Project in San-Francisco...That's her over there, feeding him bacon wrapped shrimp." I said..

Larry was smiling as a cute young lady in a tight yellow skirt that hugged  her every curve fed him bacon wrapped shrimp....

"Well cousin, looks like he's over you..."said Kayla..

''Aren't you relieved baby ? No more groping and begging you for sex...and chasing after you...You're off the hook." said Olivia...

"At long last I'm off the hook..." said Beverly smiling weakly...

I whispered to Beverly...

"When you get a break, you will tell me the story won't you?" I asked, totally serious..

"Yes...When it's just the three of us...I'll tell you the whole story." said Beverly..

"I know some of it.." said Olivia ,who overheard me and Beverly talking...

"But for now...let's enjoy tonight." laughed Olivia..

"Here, here...Auntay."laughed Beverly, hugging her aunt...

Just then, Kayla's boyfriend..Ryan St. James walked over...

"Bev..Kayla...you have got to try these Bacon Wrapped Shrimps..That guy Larry North's girlfriend introduced me and Nelson to them...They are the bomb." he said.

All three women looked at Ryan and smiled...

I had to admit...I smiled myself..

III-

 The next morning....Olivia and I were up having coffee in the kitchen......

 "Great night last night babes...Where are you going to put that award?" I asked.

"I'll make some room on one of the shelves...For now,I just want to cherish it..." laughed Olivia hugging the award....

"You want some coffee?" she asked...

"How about some more of you?" I asked..looking at her salaciously...

"You didn't get enough last night?.........Of course you didn't." she sighed and then laughed...

"But I appreciate what I did get."I joked..

"Good to know..." she said and leaned over and kissed me softly...

I took her award and laid it on the kitchen table and took Olivia in my arms and kissed her passionately...

"Ummmmmmm sounds like you really do want some more."said Olivia...

"Yessss..." I said..

It was then the doorbell rang!...

"Ahhhhh the only thing that trumps another romp in the hay with you...A story from Shortcake...THE STORY!" I laughed as I let her in....''There she is...THIS MORNING'S ENTERTAINMENT!" I declared and hugged Beverly...

"Let me go...Let me go Donnie Ray." she giggled playfully fighting to get loose..."Auntay can I make some coffee?" she asked..

"Sure put some more on...Grab a cup and tell us all about it." laughed Olivia..

Beverly made the coffee and then sat at the table with us...I thought about a conversation I had had with her in Texas a year ago when I first met Larry North...

I don't think he gets it D.R... I've moved on..." she said.

"So you two did have a little somethin, somethin at one time?" I asked.

"Yeah...just a little light weight kind of thing...We dated for a couple of months...He took me to some nice places,I must say...but we didn't get serious....I didn't anyway...A couple of movies, a couple of nice dinners....A day spent in Atlantic City, A Day trip to Ocean City and a day trip to Baltimore.."she said.

"That was it?" I asked.

"Did I sleep with him? No D.R.....We might have kissed a little bit, fooled around in his car a little bit..but no sex..no intercourse if that's what you mean." she said.

''So what happened?" I asked.

"Nothing...I guess he got tired of waiting for me to put out...One day...I just didn't hear from him anymore..I figured he had moved on...I mean ,He's nine years older than me and I know there were older women around him, who probably were giving him what he wanted...Don't let his noble act fool you...I wasn't the only woman in his life...We both were pretty busy with our careers too on top of that,I was just getting started.....When I finally did catch up with him, he kind of blew me off, Made me feel like I was a child...I was just getting ready to uh warm up to him.Now all of a sudden ,he wants me again...Do you know he sent me more flowers this morning? Called me up last night, wanted to come over..He sounded drunk..I told him no.." she said.

"He kind of hurt you a little bit didn't he? That he didn't wait for you, that he wasn't patient?" I asked.

Beverly was quiet for a minute...Then she looked at me...Her eyes were just as expressive as her aunts...

 "You know me so well D.R. You haven't known me that long...Yeah you're right..He did hurt me a little bit...One day he was just gone...Not a word...Not nothing...He'll never know how close he was... But........That ship has sailed. I gave Nelson a hard time...but he was patient...Probably more patient than I would have been...but he was...That's what I love about Nelson...I was more than just a conquest to him." she said.

"I was a Detective Bev...It was my job to read people...Maybe I'm a little too good at it" I said...Feeling a little bad about uncovering her emotions like that...She wasn't a perp,she was someone I cared about... I pulled her to me and hugged her and kissed her forehead....

"It'll be alright Bev." I assured her.

''Auntay told me that you were the kindest, most sensitive guy she had ever met..She's right...I see why she loves you so much."said Bev....I smiled upon hearing that.

Which brought us to today.....Beverly sat across from both us and began her story.

"Well let's see..it was several years ago....you remember Auntay...We were all still working in the public defenders office..."said Beverly..

"Yes...I remember...Larry and I had just finished a big case...We had won an acquittal of a city council woman ...." said Olivia.

"Larry North had been bugging Auntay for weeks to put in a good word with me for him...Auntay told him...

"You're a grown man and aren't you a bit old for her?" she asked..

To which Larry said..

"I do have about eight or nine years on her don't I?" he said...

''Don't mess over my niece.."

"Olivia...Olivia...This is me...I'm your friend...I wouldn't hurt your niece.."he said.

"Make sure you don't."said Olivia.

And then..One Friday at the end of the day...I showed up...To meet with Auntay...Which was a set up?" said Beverly...

''It was not..We had just finished a trial..."laughed Olivia.

"Okayyyy...I admit it....I told him you were going to be there." said Olivia..

"Set up....This sounds better than my investigations." I laughed..

"He came up to me...He said..."Beverly....I love that name...It sounds fresh....warm, like spring....I've wanted to meet you for the longest time.." I looked at Auntay like..."Is this guy for real"? I didn't say that ,but I had a look on my face that said it." said Beverly...

''She sure did Donnie Ray...It was all I could do not to laugh myself.."said Olivia...

"He was a handsome man...I can't take that from him and he dressed well and smelled great....He dressed a lot more like a guy in private practice than he did a public defender...I asked him about that and he said that he was dressing for bigger things...I appreciated his ambition...So when he asked if he could take me out..I agreed..." said Beverly...

IV-

Beverly continued..

"He took me to a beautiful rooftop Bar and Grill and was the perfect gentleman...He talked about his ambitions, his plans...his life and I was impressed.....

We went to three more very nice dinners....We went dancing, went to a movie or two, Brunch, Breakfast,Lunch and a play in New York City...some day trips in Atlantic City and Baltimore...He was a very nice guy...I was slowly starting to fall for him..."said Beverly...

"When she talked about him Donnie Ray...I thought that pretty soon I was going to be getting an invitation to a wedding."said Olivia.

"Yeah...it sounded like he was the man Bev...I got to ask...Did you know Nelson at the time?" I asked..

"Not only did I know him...I had been out with him a couple of times...But I didn't take Nelson seriously back then...For one thing..He was still living with his mother...

She is a sweet woman and she loves me to death...but back then...I kind of thought of Nelson as a cornball and he seemed too complacent to me..He was happy with being a Public Defender and didn't seem to want to go any further in his career.. Larry North seemed to be going places...and so I was kind of leaning towards him more..."

Finally, Larry bought a fabulous bottle of wine over to my apartment unannounced one afternoon...

We downed that entire bottle...I was pretty drunk....And then Larry made his move...

Before I knew what had happened...he had my jeans down and had his hands down my panties and was kissing me passionately and grinding on me.....

"Larry no...wait...please.." I said...

"I can't wait..ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Beverly..I need you now...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.." he moaned.

He didn't know that I had been raped by William Crawley Jr. just the year before...Nobody knew except William Crawley Jr. and Me at the time...I was drunk...and I was having flashbacks....I felt like Larry had done the same thing...

Larry moaned....

"Larry please stop...I'm not ready....I'm not ready.....I'll explain...please not like this, not like this."I said and I started crying...

He stopped..

"What the hell is wrong with you ?  How old are you?? Don't act like a baby?" he snapped at me...

It was the first time he had ever raised his voice to me....I know he didn't know..He didn't understand my issues...but he pulled his pants up and I straightened my clothes up...

I looked at him...

"Larry, getting me drunk and trying to take advantage of me is not cool...I thought you were smoother than that." I said.

"Beverly, I done spent well over $5000.00 on you..Dinners,Lunches,Breakfasts,movies, dancin,drinkin, day trips..."he spat...

"Oh ..so I'm supposed to give you some because of that?" I said, now visibly angry...

"Well damn girl..we been goin out for awhile now..."he said..

"I know...I'm sorry Larry....Look, just give me time okay? Be patient with me..." I said.

"Are you? Are you a Lesbian?" he asked..

Now I was a little angry...

"Nooooo...Noooo.....of course not!!!" I said.

"I know you aint no virgin..."he said...

"No,I'm not..." I said..

"So what's the problem?" he said.

"Give me time Larry...I'll...I'll explain it to you...And I promise you...The wait will be worth it." I said and smiled.

He took his bottle of wine...What was left of it and got up and stormed out!!...I couldn't believe he was being so cold toward me...I had never seen this side of him.. " said Beverly..

"Baby did you ever seek any kind of help?" asked Olivia..

"Auntay...I had sex after I was assaulted by William Crawley Jr.  That wasn't it....It was the way Larry went about it...Getting me drunk or trying to and then trying to take my clothes off...I started having flashbacks of William Crawley Jr. I felt like I was being raped all over again...You know what is ironic?" said Beverly..

"What's that Shortcake?" I asked...

"Larry could have had me if he had just made a move without  plying me  with the wine...He could have made a move in his car ,anywhere and it would have been no problem...It was just the way he went about it...So unsmooth, so like a rapist."said Beverly...

"To answer your question Auntay....Yes..I did see a Therapist...She was very good...I started seeing her right after the rape occurred and I continued for two years...I was going to tell Larry everything..He never really gave me a chance...He acted like all he wanted from me was sex.." she said.

"I suspect that there is more to this story." said Olivia...

"Oh yeah."said Beverly...

(CONCLUSION NEXT)