What The Heart Wants

“That’s a sexy sound you got.” He winked. “I gotta have you wake up with me more often. That is definitely for you. Milk is in the fridge and sugar is in that container. Breakfast will be ready in just a second.”

While Paula appreciated the humor, she knew there was heavier conversation waiting behind it. So, she made her coffee. Jackson put a plate in front of her that looked like it came out of a magazine. Paula was impressed.

“This looks amazing,” she exclaimed as the coffee washed away her raspy tone.

“Thank you, I hope you like it.” Jackson sat down to eat with her at the table. “What about last night?”

“Huh?” Paula looked up from her plate with a mouth full of food.

“What do you want to do about last night? Last night was crazy and amazing. I want to give an actual relationship a try,” Jackson admitted. He knew a good woman when he saw one. She was hard working with dreams and aspirations. He’d be crazy not to at least give it a shot.

“That’s a lot,” Paula said as she stopped eating. “I wouldn’t us mind dating exclusively while we got to know each other and then we can decide if a relationship would be best. Besides, you have to stop stealing cars in order for us to work. I can’t date you knowing that I have a target painted on my back just because I’m associated with you. I become a weak spot for you.”

Jackson could sense her trying to control the situation, but he was uncontrollable. She did have a point about him going legit. It was necessary for them to have any kind of relationship. He sighed as he picked through his breakfast heavy in thought.

“How about this?” He paused trying to choose his words carefully. “How about you get me off this indictment with minimal jail time and I’ll go straight for you? If you don’t get me off, then I understand and I have to accept the consequences of my actions which will mean losing you anyway. If you do pull this off, I’ll walk away from it all.”

It sounded like a deal Paula could agree to so she did. They finished up breakfast before she made Jackson drive her home to change. She had a lot to get done if he was going to uphold his end of the deal. Her first meeting was to the District Attorney. Luckily for him, they were friends of sorts.

Paula was shown into the office of Andrew Crenshaw with a bubbly smile on her face.

“Don’t give me that face, Maxwell,” he pretended to yell at her. “You only want to see me when you need a favor!”

“I know, I know, Drew, and I’m sorry about that. But I really need your help on this one.” She handed him Jackson’s case.

The DA, or Drew as she so affectionately called him, flipped through the paperwork with a frown on his face. He tossed the folder back across his desk to her. “What do you think I can about that? And what will I get out of this other than another loss under my belt?”

Paula hated politicking but knew that it was a part of her job. “Okay, I will openly nominate and support you under your bid for Attorney General and I will have my firm back you too.”

“You can’t do that,” he laughed. “I know Clementine. That old battleaxbattleaxe refuses to endorse anyone.”

“I know that, but you don’t know Percy. Priscilla Polk, a.k.a. Percy, owes me big and I’d hate to use my only favor from the name partner in my firm on you, but I will if you work with me on this deal.”

Drew rolled his eyes and grabbed the folder to flip through it again. “So, what did you have in mind for Mr. Davis?”

“How about no jail time, a year of probation, and a thousand hours of community service to whatever organization you want?” she proposed.

Drew laughed loudly  at her proposal. “You’re kidding me right? I’d be laughed out of this office. Why do I have to go so lenient on this guy? Please don’t tell me you’re involved with a criminal, Paula. That would be so disappointing.”

“I’m not!” she vehemently denied even though she was lying. “What do you propose?”

“A year of jail time, two thousand hours of community service, and three years of probation.” Drew adjusted his tie waiting to see what Paula would come up with to combat that deal.

“Okay, here’s my final offer.” Paula leaned in so her cleavage was a tad exposed drawing Drew’s eyes to exactly where she wanted them to be. “One month of jail time, fifteen hundred hours of community service, and two years of probation with the service hours to be served at any organization of your choosing with the option to move him around if necessary.”

Drew sat silently stroking his chin. “You got a deal, counselor.”

The two shook hands, and Paula dashed out of his office before he could ask her to stay or to go out for lunch. She couldn’t wait to tell Jackson the good news. All the way to her car, Paula couldn’t stop smiling. She’d kept her end of the bargain, now it was time for Jackson to keep his, but her calls kept going to voicemail. Paula began to wonder if she should worry, but his number flashing across her screen calmed her rising fears quickly.

“Sorry, I missed your call,” he told her in a solemn tone. “I still have some business I have to take care of.”

“That’s okay because I did it!” she exclaimed full of excitement and energy.

“You did what?” Jackson asked.

“How do you feel about thirty days in lockup?” she quizzed.

Jackson wasn’t in the mood to play games, but he went along since she was so chipper. “It depends on where, honestly. But I can do thirty days easy. Why, what’s going on?”

“Okay, I just left the DA’s office with a deal. Now the judge can toss it and still make you do whatever time they deem necessary, but that rarely happens. So, he signed off on thirty days of lockup, fifteen hundred hours of community service, and two years of probation.”

“Wow, how did you get him to swing that?” He was more curious about her methods of persuasion than the actual results.

“It’s fine,” Paula assured him, sensing his uneasiness about how she procured the agreement. “My firm just has to back him when he’s ready to run for Attorney General. It’s no biggie.”

“So, that’s it?” he wondered. “You didn’t date this guy at any point or anything like that?”

“I mean we were friends in college and work in the same district now. We only see each other when our cases happen to cross paths, but it’s nothing, Jackson.” Paula tried diminishing the meeting as much as possible, but Jackson wasn’t trying to hear it.

“You know you were over there a while. How do I know you ain’t do the same thing to him that you did to me last night?” His mind was racing as jealousy raged thru him.

“Jackson, you’re jumping to conclusions,” Paula shouted as tears welled up in her eyes. “I care about you! I worked this out for you! I did this all in a matter of days for you and you dare accuse me of being a wh*re? F*ck you, Jackson!”