Watch and Learn

It was a rough traffic day in the city.....I was scooting in and out of traffic trying to get to my destination....The offices of Conner/McKlusky/Cozen and Pratt....

My name is Keith Jones...I'm an Attorney....I graduated from Law School a few months ago and passed the bar with ease....I'm one of four new attorneys who got the opportunity of a lifetime..A chance to be an Associate Attorney at this prestigious Law Firm...

To tell you the truth...I didn't know just where I was going to work....And it was nice I got this job....My rent on my apartment is two months behind... This job pays well....It's a blessing...And my boss, Attorney Yvette Jones is a fox...A stone fox....

I stopped at the coffee shop in the lobby of my building....It was just then I saw a vision of lovliness..Well for that matter, two visions of lovliness...

One was brown skinned... Had body going to bed....Long shoulder length hair and a tight black skirt that accentuated every curve...

The other was light skinned, equally lovely , with a nice rack on her....

They both had briefcases and from the way they carried themselves ,I could tell they were attorneys...

''Hello Ladies...I'm Attorney Keith Jones....And I'd like to buy you two a coffee....On me!" I said and then realized how goofy I must have sounded..

The brown skinned one said nothing...She smiled sweetly and showed me her cup of coffee....

"Oh My bad!" I said..

The light skinned one smiled too and showed me her cup of coffee....

''Are all of the attorneys here this friendly?" she asked jokingly...

"I wouldn't know....I'm kind of new..."I said..."You guys new too?" I asked.

''We don't work here...We are meeting a client here...My Aunt and I are second and third chairs in a big case on the 24th floor..." she said...

Just then the other three attorneys , who were new like me walked up...

My boy, Attorney, Khalil Ahmed....He just graduated from Law School like me and had just recently passed the bar...also....

Attorney Beatrice "Bee Bee" Evans, Also a recent law school grad...and her friend and fello recent law school grad...

Attorney Sofia Garcia...

Bee Bee looked at the Brown skinned girl and her mouth dropped...

"You...You...You...You're Beverly West aren't you?" she said...

My mouth dropped...I had been chit chatting ,flirting damn near with Attorney Beverly West..THE ATTORNEY BEVERLY WEST!!!!!

Beverly laughed...

"I am...." she said.. "My Aunt and I have a case on the 24th floor..." she said..

"OH MY GODD...That's our floor...!!!! Olivia Bennett-Alexander is HERE?? NOW???" gushed Sofia..

"I am..." came a honey sweet voice....She was Petite,cute, but sexy just the same...Unabashedly sexy.....Confident....Her voice caught you off guard, but she just possessed you once you were in her presence....

It was her...Olivia Bennett-Alexander....The legend...She and her niece had both been Public defenders once....They started their own firm and soon gained nationwide fame with some of the cases they took on...They were both our heroes...and role models...

''And this is your husband...Donnie Ray Alexander....Investigator Extrodinaire..." said Khalil....

"I wouldn't say I was all that..." said a well dressed ,brown skinned man....He was tall , athletically built and had on an expensive and well tailored suit and a nice fresh fragrance..

The four of us were stunned.....I looked at the light skinned girl with the long hair....

"And you're an attorney also?" I asked.

"I'm a para legal....I work for Liv and Bev....I'm Josie Boyd.." she said..

"I take it you guys are new here..."said Olivia..

'We are new period...We all graduated from PENN Law School this past May and we passed the bar in June....We were hand picked because of our high scores AND the fact that they need minority faces around her to take part in a paid mentoring program and work as associates here..."said Bee Bee, who was fine and outspoken....

''Wow, My Auntay and I went to PENN Law school too! But I'm sure you guys know that..."said Beverly...

We all laughed....

The elevator arrived...

''Well we've got a meeting on the 24th floor...It was certainly nice meeting you guys....And good luck in your careers."said Olivia.

"You guys are fortunate to have this opportunity,make the most of it.." said Beverly...

And then we all crowded into the elevator..

II-

To our surprise...Olivia, Beverly ,Josie and Donnie Ray got off on the same floor we did...And our foxy Mentor /Handler  Attorney Yvette Jones was waiting for all of us..

"Hi Liv, Beverly, Donnie Ray, Josie..You guys are early....Our client isn't here yet....I am so glad you guys agreed to do this...I need this win very bad..." said Yvette...

"No problem Vettie....I'm only too happy to be able to help you." said Olivia...

"Last time we were in this fly office it was to defend Butthead Elwood....Nice to be back..."said Beverly....

"I see you met my young charges....Huh?" she said ,looking at the four of us..

 ''That's Keith...The Pretty boy right there..." she said.

 "Sofia..."

 "Khalil..."

and Bee Bee....She reminds me of you Beverly, fiesty, outspoken.." said Yvette..

''We met them...Nice kids..." said Donnie Ray..

"They are going to be watching the proceeding today.....You're going to see a master at work today...
Mrs. Olivia Bennett-Alexander and her team, Niece Beverly West, Husband, Donnie Ray Alexander and Ms. Josie Boyd...They will be assisting me with my case this week.."said Yvette...''So watch and learn and take notes...We'll be back...We are going in my office to discuss some particulars.." said Yvette as they walked into her huge office...

We were in awe....

''Silly...I bet you were flirting with Beverly and didn't realize who you were talking to..."said Bee Bee to me..

"I knew who she was.."I lied...

"You need to stop lying man...You didn't have a clue until Bee Bee said something.."said Khalil, laughing...

"Come on Salami..."I said jokingly.."You're supposed to be my wing man..." I said, laughing...

"Well at any rate...We are in for a treat today....I mean I dig our boss, Yvette...She's good...but we get to see some real pros....Liv and her niece Beverly..."said Sofia..

"I can't believe they're aunt and niece...They look like sisters..."I said.

"They're only nine years apart....Olivia has a much older brother....He's Beverly's father..."said Bee Bee...

"Don't mess with my roomie....She knows all things Olivia and Beverly..."laughed Sofia..

"Yeah she sounds like a groupie..."I joked..

"I want to BE Olivia and Beverly one day...I'm going to start my own firm too one day...Just like they did....Maybe my handsome husband will be an Attorney too or and investigator.."said Bee Bee dreamily....

"Oh My God...Listen to this.." said Khalil...

"By the way Keith.....Are there any units available in your complex....Our lease is up soon...?" asked Sofia..

"I'll ask my landlord...I can't wait to get paid...My rent is two months behind...If I don't pay it soon...I'll need to be looking for a new apartment.." I said..

III-

Yvette's client walked in....He was a gay man who was being sued by his former partner for alimony...To the tune on one million dollars...  I wanted to laugh, but this case was dead serious...

Yvette,Olivia, Beverly ,Donnie Ray and Josie sat on one side of the room with their client...


The plaintiff was there, but his attorney was late...

Yvette nodded toward us....

Bee Bee and Khalil immediately got all of them bottles of cold water and oranges...

A nice touch....

Yvette was older than me...but she was fine...Just like I liked my women, dark skinned , built and sexy as hell...I couldn't take my eyes off of her...I hadn't gotten the nerve to ask her out yet....

Khalil had warned against it...

"Man, she's the boss...That wouldn't look right..." he said..

''She's not the boss...Four White men who we have never met are the boss..We are all Attorneys here..She's just been tasked to watch the colored boy and the colored girl and the latina and the Arab
boy that's all."I retorted..

"She's got an office and we are in cubicles...It's a big difference..." said Khalil...

He may have been right...but Yvette Jones did something to me...She was an itch that I desperately wanted to scratch....

IV-

The opposing Attorney H.Stanley Stanlison arrived late and was kind of arrogant about it... He had been a Judge once who had presided over a case of Olivia and Beverly's and wasn't too happy about seeing them again now that he was in private practice..

I had a feeling no love was lost....

He stated in no uncertain terms that he wanted one million dollars and that there was nothing negotiable...He claimed that he had a witness with him that could prove Yvette's clients infidelity...

Yvette argued ...

"And you are basing your argument on that and that alone...?Come on Mr. Stanlison..."she said.

H.Stanley Stanlison,like I said had been a Judge as well as a one time ADA...He was in private practice now..but he argued as if he were still an ADA and this was a criminal preceding..He was very condescending toward Yvette ,who held her own...

Olivia and Beverly were the consumate professionals , arguing eloquently thier points , which seemed to anger H.Stanley Stanlison....He had presided over a case, a case where the ADA was one of his protoge's....And from what I heard THE ADA not only lost, but wound up being suing his mentor, THE JUDGE, H.STANLEY STANLISON...He had had an affair with the man's wife...Olivia and Beverly represented the other ADA and won a huge settlement..Stanlison had no love for them...

He produced a  zip drive...

it was a video tape of Yvette's client and another man kissing and having sex..

I groaned...

"Do I have to see this?" I whispered to  Khalil...

He smiled..

"Oh Grow Up Keith...If that were me on their making out with some guy you'd be lovin it.." said Bee Bee...

"If that were you I'd be lovin it..but it's not!" I said..

for a minute Bee Bee looked like she was blushing...

Sofia smiled...

Meanwhile...Beverly stood up...

"It was time dated and it's after the fact....After they broke up so it's not cheating..."said Beverly...

Stanlison produced a Witness...A short balding white man , a banker who claimed he saw the two men together two week before in his bank...

"You saw the two of them together in your bank?" asked Yvette...

"I did..He opened a deposit ....A cash deposit..." said the man....

"With you?" asked Yvette...

"No, with another teller, but I noticed it.." he said..

Cool as Ice, Donnie Ray whispered something in Olivia's ear...She smiled..

''Sir...Why did you notice my client?  Surely other clients open accounts at your bank....Everyday...Why did you notice my client and this other man?" asked Olivia..

"'Well I-I-I just happened to notice them that's all.." he said..

Josie passed Beverly some files..

Beverly showed Olivia...They leafed through them and Beverly stood up..

She passed the banker some glossies...

"You recognize any of these guys?" she asked..

He looked at all of them....

"No I can't say that I do..." he said..

''All five of those people opened accounts in your bank on that same day and these two were opened by you yourself..You don't remember them?" asked Olivia, who had a tablet with a video of him opening the two accounts..

'Well I can't remember everybody.." he said..

"BUT YOU REMEMBER OUR CLIENT? " said Yvette..

"Oooooh she got him!!" said Sofia...

''Didn't she now?"said Bee Bee.."

The two girls high fived each other...

My eyes were on Yvette, she really looked sexy...

"First off you recorded our client without his knowledge...We could sue for invasion of privacy...This man's testimony isn't credible at all....We don't intend to pay a red cent...." said Olivia..

"I can take this to court..."said H.Stanley Stanlison...

"You could do that, but it would be a big gamble if that's all you have for evidence...But it's on you..." said Beverly...

He thought for a minute..He whispered something to his client...His client shook his head in frustration and slammed his hand on the table...Then they both got up..

"We withdraw our demands!" said H.Stanley Stanlison..obviously frustrated...The two men walked out of the office with the tails between their legs...

The client hugged Yvette Jones..

"Thank you soo much...No way I wanted to give him a red cent after the way he treated me...And thank you too Olivia and Beverly...You and your team was stellar..." he said..

"YES!  THEY WERE!" said Yvette...

"Tell Mr. McClusky he has my account...and my company's account...Thank you guys so much. " he said.

After he left...The four of us clapped and cheered...

Yvette smiled..

"You guys learn anything today?" she asked.

"Have a Good Team....A good Investigator and para legal make a case.." said Sofia..

''Yes...Excellent.."said Yvette..

"Know Every aspect of the laws pretaining to said case.." I said..

"Yes Keith...That's right!" she said and smiled a sexy smile..

''Always come prepared..Preparation is everything.."Said Khalil..

"That's right...but you will have some cases where a curveball may be thrown...know how to recover..."said Yvette..

"If you feel you're in over your head...put a good team behind you...Maybe a more experienced Attorney...Not saying that that is what you did...I'm just saying...A good Investigator ,like Sofia said and a paralegal if you can get one.."said Sofia...

"God, she reminds me of me...I like her.." said Beverly laughing...

"You're teaching them well Vettie....Just so you guys know...Yvette and I were in law school together..We graduated together and passed the bar around the same time.."said Olivia...

"Congratulations guys." said Josie...

''Well, our work is done here...Yvette...We hope to see you at Josie's tomorrow night...I'm playing.."I said.

"You're a musician too?" I asked..

"Yeah man, I play trumpet..." I said...

"Wowwwwwwwww man..." said Khalil....

"Liv, I can't thank you enough..." said Yvette...

"Just make partner girl..."said Olivia...

"See ya guys...Nice meeting you!" said Beverly....

We all waved....It had been an interesting day....

V-

That night after work, the four of us had drinks at Aqua Bar...

''What a day....Who figured on coming to work and meeting living legends huh? Olivia Bennett-Alexander and Beverly West and Donnie Ray Alexander ...WOW!" said Khalil..

"Hey that Josie wasn't bad either...And she's just a para-legal..." I said.

At the other end of the bar, Bee Bee and Sofia were talking...

 ''Wow ..I got to meet my idols today ,Olivia and Beverly...How cool is that huh?" asked Bee Bee...

"It was cool seeing them in action...Hey I talked to a guy named Clerow..He got us a nice apartment...In the same complex Keith Lives in...He said he'll show us Monday..."said Sofia..

"Oh that's great.." said Bee Bee..

"Great for you...You'll finally be close to him..."said Sofia..

"Please...I'm not thinking about him...Besides...I think he has a crush on Yvette...." said Bee Bee.

''She aint thinkin about him..She's way out of his league..." said Sofia..

"I wish he knew that..." said Bee Bee...

"Yo Cuz....There goes Ms. Jones..." said Khalil..

 "And here I go..."I said...

I sent a Citris Martini her way...

She looked at me and smiled..

I smiled...

Yeahhhhh, I had watched and learned a lot today....But right now...I was enjoying watching and learning about Yvette....