THOUGHTS OF YOU
Chapter 1
Most employees would be happy when their boss is away on business.
ADA Connie Rubirosa thought she would feel that way, too. Her boss, EADA Mike Cutter, would be leaving to lead a symposium on "Criminal Law: the Law of Unintended Consequences" at Boston University. His absence would give Connie more freedom in juggling all the different cases she had pending working in the DA's office.
It was mere hours before Mike was to leave. The DA's office, was abuzz with a workload of cases. Office workers and law clerks walked back and forth, filing, answering phones and looking up facts for cases. In the distance there was the whirring sound of a fax machine.
Connie's desk, though neat and tidy, had a stack of files that needed to be dealt with. She had arraignment court this morning and motions to file as well as subpoenas in the afternoon.
Connie sighed and looked up from her files to give her eyes a rest. Her desk was situated outside Mike's glass enclosed office. She could see him in his office, pacing up and down, revising his lecture. He wore a pressed dark blue shirt, which matched the color of his eyes, tucked neatly into dark dress pants. He didn't have court today so he had loosened his tie. She liked when he appeared more casual. As he paced, he would toss an old baseball back and forth between his hands as he walked. He would be in motion and then stop every now and then when a new idea struck him. Then he would enter something in his blackberry and continue pacing. He never stopped thinking or moving. Always a bundle of energy, she thought.
Not that she had a lot of extra time to just observe him, she thought. Along with her other work, she also remembered that she had scheduled a deposition in the late afternoon for a witness. Connie knew she would be so busy she wouldn't even have time to think about her boss.
As she was busy reading a file to prep a witness on a case, someone plopped another file on her desk. Of course, it was Mike. He swung around and sat at the chair situated to the side of her desk, like so many times before when he wanted to discuss a point with her. It always seemed so natural for him to sit next to her like this instead of the formality of his large office.
"Another case, Mike?" Connie inquired, lifting an eyebrow in surprised, "I don't suppose you've noticed how swamped I am already?" He reached over and tapped the file with his finger.
"A new case came across my desk this morning." He leaned in a little more, "I'd like you to be first chair on this case."
Connie felt shocked and pleased at the same time. "You think I'm ready?"
"Are you kidding?" Mike responded, "Did you forget how you kicked my butt on the Dressner case?" That had been two months ago. Due to a Legal Aids strike, Connie and Mike had been placed on opposite sides of a case, with Connie representing the defense. For most of the case she had been winning the case. The Judge's rulings seemed to favor her. The Judge had even one time berated Mike for the police mishandling of evidence.
Connie had thought everything was going her way until later in the case the judge also berated Connie for misrepresenting herself in order to obtain evidence. As Mike and Connie stood in the hallway alone after being scolded by the judge, Mike made a subtle comment to her as he casually looked around, "…looks. like. the. paddle. spanks both ways…" At the time Connie had been so angry for losing her motion, but now when she looked back on it, she smiled at Mike's wry sense of humor.
She realized she was smiling just thinking about it now and quickly recovered into serious mode as Mike explained the logistics of the case.
"I know you'll do great, Connie," he said reassuringly. To her disappointment, he slowly got up to leave.
It was time for him to leave for JFK, "uh…if you need advice…or something…."
The last part had been awkwardly stated, as if he didn't know what else to say. Mike shoved his hands in his pockets. Connie knew he harbored a crush on her. It was pretty obvious. The way he looked at her. Especially when she wasn't looking. Or sometimes the things he would say off-handedly.
One time she had told him someone had stated in an e-mail that she was the "total package" and he had muttered half to himself (sitting in this same chair next to her desk) that he had "completely agreed" and then he looked thoroughly embarrassed by the comment. She just ignored it, although she was secretly pleased.
These moments were rare, however, because most of the time Mike Cutter was known as a tenacious prosecutor who would bulldoze through a case in order to win a conviction. No one had even seen this softer side of him.
However, despite the crush, he had always kept things on a professional level. Just like she was always professional with him. He was her boss, after all. There was nothing personal between them, she insisted to herself.
Mike and Connie exchanged goodbyes and then she watched him as he walked away. She felt a twinge…or maybe a small ache... She shook her head. I need to get back to the cases, she thought, although still wondering what that feeling was and why.