Business And Pleasure

3

My eyes flicked open and I stared up at the ceiling. I smiled at the memory of a few hours earlier and grinned widely when I thought of how exhausted we were by the time we went to sleep. Aurel was snoring loudly by my side and I groaned, getting out of bed and putting on his push-ins. His bedside clock read 4 am and it was time for me to get ready for work. It was still dark outside.

After a quick shower, I made breakfast for Aurel and put it in the microwave while I ate some cereal. I wasn't in the mood for heavy food. The bedroom door opened and Aurel came into the open plan kitchen whose other half served as the living room.

"Morning, babe," he said as he scratched the stubble growing on his jaw, taking a seat at the island as I put his food before him.

I nodded with a smile. "I left some clothes here the last time, right? My place is too far away and I can't afford to go there right now otherwise I'll be late. I don't have my car."

He nodded and began eating his food as I leaned against the island, watching him. "Jojo, what plans do you have today?"

"Um...I have a new case I'm handling so I have to give it my all. I'll be working on the case today. A very unsavory client."

He looked up from his food. "You're always working. I want to take you out for dinner in the evening and..." he licked his lips. "We can get naughty later."

I grinned, putting down the bowl of cereal. "I'll clear up my schedule so that I'll be off work at around 6pm. That OK?"

He nodded and went back to his food. "The Marie Res sound OK with you?" he asked.

"So you want me to dress up?" I teased him. "Or should I just wear a coat and nothing underneath like in the movies?"

He paused. "Don't tease me. You know the consequences."

"I don't," I said with a mischievous smile and he groaned. "So...you haven't answered me. Do you want me to dress up or coat and birthday suit?"

"Stop," he growled and I saw the glint in his eyes. "If you do this, we both know that you're gonna be late. Because we want the best for you, go and put on your work clothes and leave already."

I pouted. "So you're kicking me out? Fine." I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth then put on my clothes, getting ready for work. I decided to go with minimum makeup today and a matte red lipstick finish. You could never go wrong with red. I later said goodbye to Aurel and left to catch a cab.

The offices were empty except for the janitor and the security guard when I got there. It was 5:30 in the morning and work only started at eight so there was no surprise there. I greeted them with a cheerful smile and headed straight to my office.

The office smelled like furniture spray and an earthy air freshener. I sat down at my desk and started with Bassey's case. As I went through it, I got exhausted. Many co-workers had already begun the day's work. Why did I even take this case? It was a personal case that I had an attachment to. The defendant was my ex-lover's wife and I was building a case against him. The man that had had an affair with me.

Edward Arlington. Typical rich white boy name. He was a man in his early thirties and I had just turned 28 when I met him a few months prior to meeting Aurel. He was born into his money and he flaunted it. However, what attracted me to him was not the money but his character. Other than flaunting his wealth, he wasn't your average entitled and egotistic ass. He was humble whenever he was around people like me and by like me I mean people who weren't looking at him as if he was their next money machine. A surprise feat considering that that was a direct contrast to how his lifestyle was.