Every Little Bit Helps

Sunrise...I was up already and out of the shower..I had shaved and brushed my teeth and gotten dressed...It was a new day and there was work to be done if my wife and her niece were going to be successful...

To my surprise...my wife,Olivia was up and dressed... She sat up ,drinking a tumbler of coffee and looking out the window of our house... as the sun rose....

She was excited about getting back into court today...

 She saw me walking around and she smiled...

"I have a cup of coffee for you...I knew you'd be stirring soon.." she said.

''Wow...You're already dressed...It's just 7:00 am...What are you doing up so early?" I asked...

"I couldn't sleep..." she said as she took a sip of coffee...She passed me my tumbler..

"You're only a few days into this trial...Relax...I'm going to get you something good...I hope you don't mind if I take Shortcake with me?" I asked..

Olivia sighed....

"No, you can take her...I can handle the preliminary hearing today....I was sitting here sifting through some briefs and depositions..."she said.

I put my arms around her...

''Relax...I have a plan." I said.

"You're such a sweet mannn..but honey bunny ,those people aren't going to talk to you.."said Olivia..

"Of course not...Not in those offices...but people will say a lot over a corned beef special and some chips and a hot roast beef sandwich.." I said.

Olivia  handed me the company credit card out of her purse...

Olivia looked at me...

"That a new cologne you're wearing???...I like it...It smells very fresh?" she said..

"As a matter of fact ,it is..Glad you like it."I said.

She smiled salaciously...

"Yesssss..I really do..." she said...

''Oh yeah...Why don't you uh come over here and show me how much you like it..I said looking her salaciously and smiling.

''I'd like to.."she said softly...

"Well, we can work that out..."I said...

I looked at the clock...It was 7:45...I pulled her to me and kissed her passionately...I tried to devour her lips...I couldn't get enough of her sometimes....

Olivia giggled and softly and slowly eased out of my embrace..

"Chill out Honey Bunny, I don't want to get started with that....Not this morning...I've got to stay focused..." she said smiling..

"I am focused......on you!"I said..

 "I know....When are you not focused on me?....." she said in between  more kisses.

"Good Question...Want me to get a new hobby?"I asked smiling...

"Don't you dare.."she said laughing and kissing me a little bit more..

The doorbell rang...

 ''Ummmmm, looks like we aren't the only ones up early.." I said.  It was Beverly...

"Hey guys...I had a feeling you would be up and dressed..Can we go somewhere and eat first? I'm starving Donnie Ray." she said.

''We are all going to eat...Come on...Let's head over to Sam Mother's Diner."said Olivia..

II-

Beverly and I drove to the Legislative Office Building....She used her court officers badge to get us both in....To our surprise...Neither Edward "Teddy" Cruser or Alice Singeltary was in the office...

This was good..I didn't want to speak to either of them....Or for them to know we were here if possible..

''Donnie Ray...Auntay may be right...there is a good chance that none of these people will talk to us.."said Beverly...

''And there is a chance they will...We have to try Shortcake..It's times like this...I wish I was still a cop."I said.

We had a list of twenty people ...All Legislative Aides like Gail....Most were just like her...young law students trying to supplement their tuition income...Some were budding politicians....Being a detective all those years taught me how to read people...

Having Beverly with me and her being identified as an attorney made it easier...We told them that it wouldn't look good for them to be talking to us here...I told them that I knew a great little deli and that if they met us there...Their lunch was free....on me...

People in philly sure love their hoagies and cheese-steaks....Much like in New Orleans we love our Po-Boys...

I ordered 10 Cheese steaks and Ten Hoagies, Plus Bev and my lunch and then we all sat and talked..All of us common folk..

All of the aides to my surprise was more than eager to talk...They had heard about Gail and what she had refused to do and they all felt she got a raw deal...Without a doubt...all of them said she had been an exemplary employee...

I recorded our conversations and Beverly got them to sign depositions...Saying that she was a good worker...I didn't want to jeapordize any of their jobs by asking them anything specific about any affair or the allegations that she had refused to take part in a cover up...No..I had what I needed in these conversations and these depositions...

I knew that my wife could take just this little bit and use it...

At any rate it was more than even she bargained for..

III-

 After lunch...Beverly and I vainly attempted to talk to some of the higher ups..Other Legislators...we got the exact opposite reaction...Most,but not all refused to talk to us....In fact ,more than one threatened us with legal action....

Just as we were leaving, we heard a familiar voice from the past...

"Bev!! Beverly West is that you?" came the voice..

''Girl, you are so popular...Being with you is like being with Beyonce.." I said.

''Yeah,I'm beginning to get tired of it." she said...

The voice belonged to a guy named Patrick...Patrick Gibbons... We had worked a case a year ago in which we represented one of Olivia's friends...A lawyer at a Brokerage firm accused of Insider Trading...He had been her personal assistant.....He had been one of the conspirators that had set her up...He just missed going to jail..He instead had been fired....Now here he was working here in the State Legislature...

"Patrick Gibbons...Wow...You certainly land on your feet don't you?" said Beverly....

''Well, you know me...Heh ,Heh, heh"he laughed...

"I do.." said Beverly..

"I know why you guys are here...You're representing Gail aren't you?" he said.

"Yeah...we are getting ready to leave." She said.

"Wouldn't you uh like to have her performance reviews? It might help your aunts case...Prove that they were lying when they said she was bounced because of her work...I happen to know she was a stellar employee, got great employee reviews...This is the slam dunk your auntie would need" he said...

"Yeah right..Like anybody here is going to give us those..."said Beverly...

He looked at me...

"I can get them for you...I have access.."he said.

''Really? We would be real grateful if you could do that."said Beverly.

"How grateful?" asked Patrick....I knew where this was going..

"NOT THAT GRATEFUL...Come on Donnie Ray let's go."said Beverly.

''Wait...Wait...Hear me out...Mr. Donnie Ray right?" he said to me.

"Yeah.."I said.

''Could I uh  just have a word with Beverly in private?" he said.

I looked at Beverly...Then I looked at him...

"Just a word?" I asked..

"Because if you lay a finger on her...I'll break you in half."I said sternly..

"Nah..Nahh...I wouldn't do that...I just want a word with her in private.."he said.

I looked at Beverly ,she shrugged her shoulders...

"It's okay D.R." she said..

They walked into an office...

"Heh,heh, heh." he laughed...He was eyeing Bev's cleavage..

"Damn girl, you still sexy as hell."he said..

"What do you want Patrick?...I'm not going to sleep with you, date you or even kiss you." she said..

"You aint got to do all that...I jut want a little peak at the goodies..Is all...I've missed them."he said slyly...

"Pervert!"laughed Beverly...

He slyly  put his arms around her...With one hand he slyly opened her blouse, eyeing her black floral lace bra....

"Yesssssssssssss.."he moaned...

She removed his hand and buttoned her blouse back up...His other hand slid down her back and softly rubbed her hips...She slowly removed them and backed away from him for the second time..She could see that he was becoming very aroused...

"Okayyyy...I think I'd better go.." she laughed...

"No...it's cool Bev..."he said and he went in a file drawer and pulled out Gail Langford's employee files...Including her performance reviews...

He made a complete Xerox copy of the entire file...Then placed her file back in the file cabinet...Beverly slipped her copy in her briefcase...

"Here..This should help you..Every Little Bit Helps."he said..

"It will."she said smiling.

She smiled at Patrick and hugged him.

 "Thank you Patrick."she said smiling...

"Thank YOU!  You made my day." he said.

"I made your year." she said smiling..

''Yes you did.."he said smiling..

"You uh might want to stay in here awhile until you uh calm down." she said..

He smiled sheepishly...

"Yeah, you're right...Nice seeing you again Bev." he said as she waved and walked out..

As we walked out ..I said to her...

"You alright Shortcake?" I said.

"I'm fine." she said.

"He give you her performance files..?" I asked..

"Better,I have a complete copy of her entire employee file!!" she said.

''WOW..We did exceedingly better than I expected...I'm glad I bought you along Shortcake.." I said....

"Oh I know you are."she said and laughed and playfully hugged me..

IV-

"WHAT? This is amazing!" said Olivia, as she looked at the depositions,listened to some of the tapes and saw the employee file....

''This is far better than I'd hoped.." she said.

''Your amazing niece is responsible for that employee file..She uh charmed the pants off of some guy and he gave us a copy..."

"Freshie." joked Olivia...

"Every little bit helps...It was Patrick Gibbons...Remember him? The guy that worked at your friend's brokerage firm Auntay." said Beverly...

''I remember him...He was so horny for you..that if you would have said panties..He'd of come all over himself."said Olivia.

''Today...I just flashed the bra...and he copied the whole file without a problem..."laughed Beverly.

"Wow...That's all? Guys are so easy."laughed Olivia...

I just laughed....

For the right woman...Yes we were, I thought to myself..

Josie walked in the office just then....

"Somebody delivered this to the door...It's got no stamp on it...No return address....It's just made out to "Mrs. Olivia Bennett-Alexander and Ms. Beverly West." said Josie...

It had a zip drive in it, which we placed in a laptop on the desk...The zip drive contained still photos that looked as if they had been taken through a window....But it wasn't hard enough to ascertain who the four photos were pictures of..

It was State Legislators, Edward "Teddy" Cruser and Alice Singeltary... There was a note with the Zip Drive that was signed -''A Little Birdy"

 Olivia and I both said-

"Oh My God....!!!" at the same time..

"Auntay...we have enough to win our case.."said Beverly....

"Yes we do...What a good day this was..."said Olivia..

"I wonder who our benefactor is? Whoever he or she is...We should thank them...." I said...

V-

 While in The Marriot Hotel in downtown Philadelphia-

"Look your father wouldn't take my calls because he is over seeing some trial...It turns out..One of my friends is a lawyer on that trial...You remember her..the girl that came down to interview for the job you wound up taking...at the Immigration department...Yeah Beverly....She is a nice girl, you'l never guess who her aunt is...Olivia Bennett-Alexander...Yes...That's who she is in private practice with...She made a good move...Anyway..they're trying a case in your father's court...I gave em a little help that may end this little trial of there's right away so that I can talk to your father...

"Why am I so insistant?? How can you ask me a thing like that....I want his blessing...If he just talks to me, hears me out..He'll see that I want only the best for you..He'll know that I will take care of you until the end...However long we have.."

''Don't say that...Don't say that....I'm certain he's a reasonable man..Just give me a chance...I can be very persuasive....I got you didn't I? Now Don't worry...It's gonna be alright...I'll call you tomorrow..
Love you.."

Justin Theorix put his phone on the bed...

He poured himself a stiff drink...

Tears rolled down his face.....He drank until he passed out on the bed!

VI- 

 A heavy rain poured down outside...It had been overcast every other week....Josie had long since gone home...Beverly and Nelson were downstairs on her floor....They said they were going to watch a movie...but I'm pretty sure they were making a movie... The X rated kind..

Olivia and I were upstairs on our floor...

I watched her as she peered out of the rainy window....

I put my arms around her and hugged her gently....

''Dumb question time babes...You tired?" I asked.

She rubbed my arms and leaned her head into my chest...

"I'm exhausted....but I'm happy.." she said..

"Oh about everything we found today?" I said.

"Yeah, but that's only part of it...I used to have so many of these kinds of cases...Where I was faced with a hostile judge, where it looked like everything was stacked against me and I used to come home and collapse on my bed and just cry....Elwood wasn't around...He was off screwing some bimbo and when he was around ,he wasn't interested in my day...I was doing what I wanted..being an Attorney,but I wasn't enjoying it...It was just a job Donnie Ray....Until you and Bev came along..My favorite niece and you,my sweet ,sweet mannnn....Now it's fun...Now no matter how sucky a case is...win or lose..I always feel happy at the end of the day...I know I have back up...People who care, who have my back." she said and kissed me passionately...

"For what it's worth...You and shortcake enrich my life too." I said ,while continuing to kiss her in the window as the rain continued pouring. I guess every little bit helps!

TO BE CONTINUED-