ME: Hi readers, I'm gonna try somethin new. At the beginning of every nre chapter, make sure you read the author's note, which is me. I'm gonna name a song and ur gonna have to listen to it. And if you don't, well, that's just your loss. Today's song is….Tattoo. Not by Jordan Sparks (u hear ulrch4me!!!). It's by Alliance. So go to youtube, put it in, and listen before you read this chapter. Then, tell me if you liked it in the review ur gonna give me!!
Ok, here goes…
Chapter 3:
In the law offices of Ishiyama and Ishiyama, Yumi sat at a long oak table surrounded by books. She'd buried herself in the library all morning, determined to find an additional precedent for the brief she was refining on her latest assignment.
When her parents returned from their vacation to the Caribbean the following week, she'd have it perfected. Her mother was trying the case of Massachusetts vs. Holloway, and Yumi was doing research on it for her. But, she'd developed an emotional attachment to this particular case.
If she handled the paperwork, and the hours of research, she might earn a seat beside her mother in the courtroom. And maybe, just maybe, she'd be allowed to question a witness.
She wanted the intensity of the courtroom, the drama of judge and jury. She understood the value of research, the necessity of planning every move and every eventuality of a trial case.
Amanda Holloway had killed her husband. There was no question about the deed. But guilt, by law, was another matter. She'd been battered emotionally and miserably for 5 miserable years. 5 years of broken bones and a broken spirit, Yumi thought. It was easy to say she could've walked out, she should have run, and never looked back. In fact, Yumi sometimes caught herself thinking just that. But Amanda Holloway hadn't walked and hadn't run. In the end, she had snapped.
One night, after another beating, another rape, she had taken her husband's revolver and emptied the clip in him when he slept. The pity of it, Yumi thought coolly, was that she'd waited more than an hour after the rape. An hour equaled premeditation. The fact that John Holloway had been a cop with a file full of commendations also didn't help matters.
Some might think justice had been done that night, but the law say it differently. And Yumi was determined to use the law to keep Amanda Holloway out of prison.
(Next POV)
Ulrich really enjoyed watching her. Just now, she didn't resemble the woman who had sung in her underwear, or the coolly polite one who'd worn a simple sweater and discussed alarm systems with him. She'd tamed the waterfall of hair into a complicated braid that lay down the center of her back. She had gold drops at her ears and a slim gold watch on her wrist, along with the wink and flash of diamond tennis bracelet.
She wore a white silk blouse and a navy blue blazer over the back of her chair. The room smelled of leather, polished wood, and woman. Just now, he thought, Yumi Ishiyama looked utterly unapproachable. Unapproachable, Ulrich mused, unless a man had seen her hips wiggling about in a pair of silk boxers.
He leaned on the doorjamb. "You look like a lawyer."
Her head shot up. He admired the speed with which she recovered. Surprise was no more than a flash in those dark chocolate eyes before they disappeared. "I passed the bar last summer. I am a lawyer. Do you need one?"
"Not at the moment, but I'll keep you in mind." The fact was, he'd kept her in his mind for the better part of the week.
Windswept hair, that intriguing little scar, and those eyes combined to make him a man a woman couldn't help wondering about. Since she didn't want to wonder, she wanted him gone. "The offices are basically closed until the end of the month."
"So the receptionist told me downstairs. But I'm not here to hire you or your parents." He walked in- his movement making her think of a cat poised to spring (A/N: no he's not like Odd) and edged a hip on the table.
"Why are you here?"
"I had a job to look over in the neighborhood. I thought I'd let you know we'll start installing your system Saturday morning."
"That's fine. I'm sure my grandfather will be pleased."
"He's got the right idea, protecting what matters to him. He's proud of you and your cousins. It shines right out of him when he talks about you."
Yumi's eyes softened, and her body lost its defensive posture. "He's the most wonderful man in the world. And one of the most exasperating. If he could, he'd talk all of us into his castle in Hyannis."
"Boston can be a dangerous city for a pretty young girl," Ulrich said, in a deep burr that mimicked Daniel and made Yumi's lips twitch.
"Not bad. A little more volume and you'd have almost nailed him."
"And he's right, it can be. You're three single women living in a big house filled with expensive things, easily fenced merchandise. One of you is the daughter of a former president, and all of you granddaughters of one of the richest men in the country. And you're beautiful. All of that makes you potential targets."
"We're not fools, Mr. Stern."
"Ulrich."
"We're not fools," she repeated. "We don't walk into dark alleys, open the door to strangers or pick up men in bars."
"Well Slim, that's commendable."
Her shoulders were tightening again. "My grand-father is overreacting, but if installing the security system eases his mind, then that's what we'll do."
"But you don't think you need the security."
"I think my cousins and I are perfectly safe in our own home."
"Do you consider a man walk into your kitchen while you're dancing in your underwear safe?"
"You had a key- and I wasn't in my underwear."
"I'd have been inside just as easily without the key as with it. And what was it, if it wasn't your underwear?"
"Pajamas," she snapped.
"Oh, well, that's different." Ulrich grinned down at her, enjoying the temper in her dark eyes.
"Look, you install the damn system, we'll use the damn system. Now I've got-" She strained backward when he leaned down. "What are you doing?"
He drew in a slow breath. "Just getting the full impact. I like your perfume." And his eyes gleamed with amusement. "You're awfully jumpy all of a sudden."
"I don't like being crowded."
"Okay." He eased back, just a subtle movement of that body didn't give her quite the distance she would've liked. "How long are you going to be at this?" he asked, waving his hand at the stack of law books
"Until it's finished."
"Why don't I come back, around seven? We could get some dinner."
"No." She said it firmly, and shifted her chair to give an open book her attention.
"Are you involved?" ( I know, who talks like that????)
"Obviously."
"I don't mean with work, Slim. I mean with a man."
"That's none of your business."
"Could be. I like the way you look, the way you smell. I like the way you talk, the way you move. It would be interesting to find out if I like the way you….think," he ended, as she narrowed her eyes.
"Do you want to know what I'm thinking right now?"
He smiled, then grinned, then roared with laughter. "No. If you change your mind about the meal, you've got my number."
"Oh yea, I've certainly got your number."
He chuckled, started to rise, then saw the label on the folder nearly buried under a stack of books. "Holloway," he murmured, then looked back at Yumi. "The homicide?"
"Yes."
"I knew John Holloway."
"Did you?" She'd liked his laugh, nearly been charmed by it to reconsider dinner. Now, both her eyes and voice went frosty. "Do you number many spousal abusers among your friends?"
"I didn't say we were friends, I said I knew him. He used to be a cop. So did I."
This time, when he started to straighten, she put a hand over his. Her eyes were focused on his face now, calculating, considering. "Did you work with him?"
"No. We worked out of the same precinct for a few months a while back. I was transferred. He was a good cop."
"He was…" she closed her eyes. "Oh, that's typical. He kicked his wife around for years, but he was a good cop. Wear the blue and stick together."
"I'm not a cop anymore," Ulrich said "And I didn't know much about him off the job. He did the work, closed the cases. I wasn't interested in his personal life."
"I'm very interested in his personal life." She'd watched his face while he spoke. He didn't give away much, but she'd go with her hunches. "You didn't like him did you?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Just personal taste. He made me think of a loaded gun."
"You'd still have contacts on the force. Cops hate talking to lawyers, but-"
"Maybe because lawyers put scum back on the street before cops can clean up the stain." (ME: LOL, funny…)
She took a steadying breath. "Amanda Holloway isn't scum. She simply had the bad judgment to marry scum."
"That may be, but I can't help you." He rose, stepped back. "I'll be at the house between 8 and 9 on Saturday. As much as I'd like to see them again, I wouldn't wear the pajamas. You'll distract my crew."
OK, another chapter finished!!! Ummm, to all those reading this, right, I want you to add me, if u already didn't, to the story alert thingy in the box. Then it would be much easier for u to know when I update. Please and thank u!!!
Hope u guys like it, cuz I worked hard. Tomorrow is New Years Day!!! Whoopee!!! Oh, and don't forget to tell me what u thought about the song!!! Of course, I know already…it's was the bomb!! That's u guy's new fav. song!!