Lawyers and Spies

Causes for Concern

Amanda didn't know exactly what she was looking at because the file on her computer was a closed case of embezzlement that Elena had worked on four years ago. The secretary to the governor was convicted of embezzling fifty millionaire dollars state fund along with other vaccine budget diverted to his pseudo company, A & T World.
Something deep in Amanda's mind kept telling her it was an acronym for Apexian and Teremok, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions. So she called Elijah to meet her at a bar for drinks.
Seated in the bar, enjoying the musky scent of alcohol and the mild chatter from the people that occupied the bar, Amanda waited for Elijah. She reached for her phone inside her purse and dialed Rylee's number. It rang a few times before it transferred to the answering machine.
"Hey, Rylee. How are you holding up? I....uh...just wanted to check on you and let you know I am here if you need me." She said with a small sigh. "Just one call away." A beep sound alerted her that the call recording duration was over. She slipped her phone into her bag, looked down at her watch, and her eyes flickered to the bar entrance.
Amanda was seated at a two-person table away from the bartender area. Her chosen space was closer to the wall's end by the window. Her eyes drifted from the entrance to the window, and she stared at the night.

Few persons returning from work or god knows where. A group of teenagers, laughing and strolling by, caught her attention. Her teenage life had been one hell of a ride. She lost both her parents and was raised by a grandmother who later died of breast cancer.
Amanda was left with a greedy uncle who didn't care about her. That was the reason she had started dancing for money. She shook her head. "What a fucked up life I am living?" She murmured.
"Come on, how bad can it be?" A masculine voice chipped in. Amanda looked up to see Elijah settling on the chair opposite her. She chuckled, trying to hide any expression that would give away her true emotions.
"Peace of mind is a luxury we do not have," Amanda explained.
Elijah stretches his hand on the table, opening his palm for Amanda to place her hand in his. She hesitated for a few seconds before placing her hand in his. "We all have each other, and I believe soon it will be all over." He said with a reassuring smile.
"Seems you are making progress on the organ harvester case."
Elijah chuckled, and then he left out a shaky laugh. "Honestly, there have been no victims since Friday, and Ralph's sketch has no match." He explained. "In fact, the captain is beginning to think the sketch might be wrong because he assumes Ralph must have been under some gas...." He trailed off, scratching his head. Amanda just nodded with a look that said, 'I am not surprised.'
"I know you said it, but even I will keep an eye out...I think he is laying low because he knows we are unto him. soon he struck again, and we will be ready." He said.
Amanda said nothing. She had nothing to say but hope her friend was safe from whoever the maniac was. She reached into her bag and pulled out a folder just when a waiter came to take their orders.
"A bottle of beer," Elijah said. He and the waiter turned to Amanda, who only asked for water.
She slid the folder toward Elijah and said, "Have a look...this is the hunch Jean-luc sent me. It is an embezzlement case. Victor's secretary was arrested."
"Do you think he was set up?' Elijah asked, flipping through the pages. He paused on a particular page. "A & T world...." he murmured. "I can bet my life it stands for Apexian and Teremok."
"You don't need to, Elijah. I thought so too."
Elijah narrowed his eyes at the black man, "Charlie Perry." He murmured. And then his eyes flickered to Amanda; we need to visit him.
"When are you free?" Amanda asked. "I have court on Friday." She added, taking a sip from her water.
Elijah pursed his lips, thinking, and Amanda assumed he was mentally sorting through his schedules. "How about Thursday? We can pay him a visit at the correction center."
Amanda cocke her head to the side with a sarcastic snicker. Correction center, indeed. "You mean prison."
"Yeah, prison. Still wanna go?"
Amanda pressed her lips into a tight line as a smile threatened to creep into her facial expression. "You talking to a lawyer."
"My bad," He chuckled, causing her to smile at him. "The lawyer and her detective." He raised his beer towards her. Amanda clinked her water glass with his beer bottle, and they both burst into a small fit of chuckles.
*****

Philip sat quietly as Ralph and a client went on and on about how they wanted to sue the pacemaker company for using nickel in their devices. He couldn't help but reminisce how his table used to be filled with young newbie lawyers.
How he purposefully acted harshly to push them to be the best of themselves. He could see the evidence in Ralph.
But the emptiness of his board table sent painful stabs to his heart. His right-hand man Elliot was dead. Fell down the top floor railing of his home to the ground after trying to shoot them. He still couldn't believe Elliot wanted to coerce him into signing his inheritance.
There was Rylee, who couldn't handle the chaos all around them. She had broken her leg twice just in the course of two months. He couldn't blame her for leaving.
And Becky, the woman he had some maternal connection with, was killed in his father's office as payback for convincing White and his release from jail. Amanda, too, was gone, the beautiful damsel he had walked into at the elevator.
He was left with Ralph and a handful of employees who were only present because they were loyal to him and his father.

Sage had actually come through because, at the last board meeting, the partners had voted he remained the CEO, but they had given him an ultimatum – that he restored ox corp to its former glory in six months.
"Mr. Oz and I will need to see a medical biochemist to further back one stance," Ralph said to the client. She nodded and replied, "You call me when you do."
"Sure." Ralph rose to his feet, and the lady did the same. Philip stood up and shook hands with the lady. "Thank you very much, Mr. Oz." she nodded, and Ralph headed for the door.
"We must win this sue. Ten percent of a hundred and fifty million is what oz corp needs right now." Philip said, straightening out his pants as he slid from his sleek leather chair.
Ralph rushed after him. "I also think we need to work on gaining more ground on our social media."
Philip placed a hand on Ralph's shoulder. He knew the young man only wanted to help his boss. "That too...in fact, focus more on the average American."
"Why?" Ralph asked. "Is it because of her?" he gestured to the door at the woman who had just left Philip's office.
Philip shook his head.
"Oz Corp has been majorly handling cases of the elite."
"Trust me, I know. But it seems the elite are not but trouble makers and secret cult members." He stopped in front of his desk, turning to face Ralph, who had stopped walking.
Philip crossed his arms and explained his point further, "We are not excluding the elite class. Let them come if they want to. But right now, they don't even trust us after what happened, so we are sticking with the class who had always dreamed of being represented by us." He paused, walking around his desk and plopping down on his chair. "Which is why we must help this poor woman secure her money from this reckless company."

The door suddenly swung open, and Sage marched in. She was wearing a knee-length floral dress with a three-inch heel slipper. Her hair was let down, and with each step, the wave false curl will bouch behind her. "Philip!" she exclaimed.
Ralph shot Philip a questioning look. He shook his head at the young man because he didn't know what Sage was doing here. He hoped she didn't think he would let her win him over because she told her wicked fucking murderer father to back off.
Jezz, he cringed mentally. Just thinking of having to see Victor's face because he was having a kid with his illegitimate daughter. But Sage said he wanted nothing to do with her.
He paused, thinking. And yet he owed her.
Philip shook his head mentally. One thing was certain. He couldn't trust Sage.
"Are we expecting you?" Ralph asked.
Sage halted in front of Ralph; she sneered at him and replied. "And who asked you to speak?"
"Sage!" Philip warned.
She turned to him with a pout.
Philip rolled his eyes and continued. "That is Ralpheal, he is a senior lawyer here, and he is my assistant. You must treat him with respect." He stated in a stern tone.
He then turned to Ralph. "Excuse us...and please don't forget to call – "
"I will," Ralph chipped in before Philip could finish his statements.
Sage eyed Ralph from head to toe, and then she shook her head, smirking. Philip noticed the disdain etched on her face, so she asked when Ralph was gone. "Why were you looking at him like that?"
She sat in the chair opposite Philip's desk. "He is suspicious of me."
Shrugging, Philip retorted, "Who wouldn't."
Sage shook her head in disagreement and said, "No, this one is Amanda-inspired."
"Leave her name outside of your mouth." He warned. "Why are you here?"
Sage rose to her feet, dragging her dress down so her cleavage was well on display. She placed her bag on the chair and walked around to Philip. "What are you doing, Sage?" Philip asked.

Sage didn't listen to his protest but went ahead to slide on his desk. She dragged herself to the center, spreading her legs so Philip was now positioned in between.
"First, I came to see my baby daddy." She giggled while Philip shook his head, mouthing inaudible complaints.
She spread her leg further. "And I figured you could use a lady at the front desk since you are short on staff, and I desperately need a job."
"Why don't you ask your governor's father?" Philip snapped. "I am sure he can get you a job at the snap of his fingers."
Sage sighed, looking down at her intertwined fingers. "The deal was him disowning me if he stopped bothering Oz Corp," she said. "I would never contact or ask him anything again if he did this for me."
Could this be true? Philip asked himself as he watched her. No, no pity for the woman who ruined his relationship with Amanda. And the daughter of the man that killed his father. "I see...well, I will have to think about it." Philip said.
"I'd like that, thank you," Sage said.
Philip nodded, keeping his eyes away from her. He glanced in her direction, and she was still staring down at him with I want your eyes. "Okay, Sage, I think we are done here."
"I am not wearing any panties," Sage announced.
Philip's eyes widened. What the fuck did he just hear her say. "I'm sorry what–Sage, you have to leave. This is an office." He said.
"It was never a problem before," Sage said as she painstakingly dragged her dress up, revealing her slender thighs.
Philip's eyes flicker toward her bare skin. It was enticing, but Amanda's looked like a lickable chocolate ice cream on a popsicle. He couldn't fall into Sage's temptation. No, he must hold on, Philip told himself. "That was before. Now it is different."
"Because of Amanda, lately, she seems to be in everyone's mind and business."
Philip paused, narrowing his eyes at her. Why was she so concerned about Amanda? He yanked her dress down. "May I ask why you assume so much for Amanda?"
"It is no assumption." She challenged.
"Yeah, right. Accusing Ralph's suspicion of you being Amanda inspired was not an assumption?"
She shrugged and replied, "They live together, so what do you expect." She huffed, annoyed at Philips' rejection though she promised herself not to give up. "One day, you will come to your senses." She said, picking up her bag.
"Let me know your decision about the job."

Nevr going to happen, Philip said mentally but gave Sage a tight-lipped smile. He watched her walk out of his office, but her visit only added to his list of reasons not to be with her.
He never told Sage about Ralph moving in with Amanda, and he knew no one in his clique would. How Sage managed to get this information troubled his mind. And he seemed to remember that Sage was at Oz Corp the day Becky died. He was at Sage's place the day he was drugged and his father died.
But Sage had never once gone to the police to back his statements about being with him. And now she confesses to being the daughter of a man who wanted nothing but to see the end of his father and himself.
Philip glanced in the direction of the door again, and he knew Sage was not to be trusted. He bit his lips hard as despair filled his spirit that his seed was growing inside her.