THREE YEARS AGO

"Ms. Pope, mind staying after class? I'd like to discuss something with you."

"Not a problem, Professor Grant."

Olivia took her seat at the front of the class where she always sat. Listening to Jerry Grant tell stories about his time on the bench and a few previous clients he had before he retired to become a law professor intrigued her. Her first step into a legal career and her professor was a retired judge with connections who took a shine to her wasn't what she had planned but it didn't hurt matters either. It's about who you know not what you know. Anything can be learned but you don't always get to meet the right people who can help you boost up.

"What can I do for you, sir?" Liv stayed seated and waited for the classroom door to close before speaking.

"I've got a friend who needs a researcher. Judge Richards. He asked if I knew anyone and as usual, you were the first to come to mind. Think you might be able to take it on?" Jerry stood leaning against his desk looking at her. Olivia was something extraordinary. She blew him away with everything she did. Whatever her mind was set on, she was giving it a million percent of her time.

"Internship or job?"

"Paid internship, it will count towards your degree. He is hoping for a long-term commitment though, not just the semester. What do you think?"

"I'll call him tomorrow and set up an interview."

"No need, I already told him you'd take the job. He can't wait to meet you."

Laughing, Liv threw her pencil at him and shook her head. "Then why make it sound like I have a choice?"

"Well, you sort of do. You could walk into his office and say no and make us both look bad, or you could just take the job and make a great resume."

"Fine, I will take the job."

"Great, you start on Monday. Now, how's your paper going?"

"Finished. Put the polish on it and everything."

"That's great," he smiled and stood up. "You can thank me any time for the job."

"Ha! Let me get through the first week and I'll decide if I need to thank you or kill you."

"Fair enough, I'll see you next week, Livia."

Whatever it was that Professor Grant had that made him see all the potential she had, Liv was beyond thankful for it. Between Jerry and another professor, Cyrus Beene, she didn't think she would ever have a problem in her classes or the legal world. They taught her well and to exceed any expectations anyone had of her. Cyrus was always a bit easier on her than Jerry was. Jerry had pushed her from day one to go beyond what she was turning in. "You are better than this" he'd tell her. "You can do so much better." Her first few assignments and essays she turned into him she thought were great but when Jerry ripped them up and shredded them, she knew she was going to have to work harder. Now, her hard work had paid off. Working for a DC judge while still in college was going to be hard but she was now determined to do it and do it better than anyone thought she could.

A week later Olivia waited for the rest of the class to leave. Looking at her planner she tried to find some notes in her binder.

"Are you killing me or thanking me? I haven't heard from you all week," Jerry asked her. Seeing her look up with a smirk on her face he couldn't decipher, he put his bag down on the desk beside her. "If you are going to kill me than it would only be fair that the seventy-two-year-old man get at least a minute head start to at least try to run away."

"Yeah, I guess it is fair. Too bad I don't plan on killing you. It would have been fun to see you try to run."

"Then it went well?"

"James Richards is the best. He makes sure that I study first…"

"He doesn't know you at all," Jerry laughed.

"I've done so much more than research this week. On a couple of cases I sat in on, he asked my opinion. No one asks my opinion. Jerry, I'm so glad you recommended me for the job! I don't know how to thank you."

"Easy, have dinner with me."

Olivia sat back in her seat staring at him. "There are policies against that."

"Screw the policy. Let's have dinner and you can tell me all about your new job."

"Jerry, the policy is in place for a reason. I don't want people thinking you are giving me special treatment."

"I give you special treatment all the time. What's the difference now? Besides, you need to eat something. Cyrus has already told me about your eating habits. Popcorn and wine is not a meal. Though it is a good dessert."

"Compromise?"

"When have you ever compromised?"

"Now, and it's the last time I will."

"I'm listening."

"Come over for dinner tomorrow night. I'll make dinner and I'll tell you all about my new job. I don't want others to see us having a meal together and get the wrong idea."

"You aren't making popcorn and wine, right?"

"I'll make chicken parmesan. And there'll be wine. One glass of red wine a night helps me relax, so there will be wine involved."

"Alright, tomorrow, seven?"

"See you then."

After going shopping to get things for dinner and a few others to make it at least look as though she ate other things at home, Olivia started making dinner just after six. This meal was an easy fix for her as she'd made it so many times for herself.

"You're on time," Olivia smiled when she opened the door letting Jerry in exactly at seven.

"You're always on time for my classes, now I get to show you how punctual I can be."

Taking his jacket, Liv hung it up and led him to the dining room. "Wine's on the table if you'd like to pour, food will be out in a minute."

Jerry sat down at the table pouring them each a glass as Liv dished out plates and brought them to the table.

"Tell me all about work. Richards isn't working you too hard, is he?"

"He's given me a lot of things to do. Each different from the last. But I love it. There's always something he needs done and his deadlines are weeks out so it's giving me plenty of time to find whatever he needs. And he's overly sweet. He's polite to a fault. I think I could work for him for a long time," Liv told him while they ate.

"That's great, Livia. Just don't let him take away your plans to graduate and go to law school."

"I haven't decided if I want to go to law school yet. I like where I am now."

"That's now. You will be a fantastic lawyer. You argue enough with me. Sadly, I don't have the power to hold you in contempt anymore. Though if I did there are times that I would love to hold you there. Your mouth can run away from you sometimes."

"This coming from Jerry Grant? The man who tells me to shut up when I tell him he's wrong and prove to him why he's wrong?"

"One time! This is one of those times I'd hold you in contempt," he laughed and finished his food. "That was really good. Thank you for dinner, Livia."

"Thank you for getting me the job, I couldn't have done it myself."

"Anytime, I'm glad I can help. Let me ask you something. If you aren't going to be a lawyer, what are you going to do?"

"Legal assistant works. It's what I do now, and I like it."

"But…"

"You aren't going to talk me out of it. Not now, at least. I'm satisfied with my life the way it is. If I want to change something later, I will. But right now, I'm good."

Standing up, Liv reached over to take his plate making him grab her wrist. "You cooked; I'll clean up."

"You're a guest. I've got this. But you're more than welcome to turn on the tv or something."

Olivia took both their place settings into the kitchen sink. After a moment, Jerry walked in holding their glasses refilled with the wine. "No sense in letting the bottle go to waste." Handing her the glass, Jerry stepped up behind her, pinning her between him and the sink. "Do you know how beautiful you are?"

Feeling how close he was to her made her shake. He'd never stood this close to her in the two years she'd known him. Hearing his question only made her concerned.

"You are so funny," she tried to laugh it off as she put her glass aside.

"I'm serious, Livia. You are so beautiful." Pulling her hair back, Jerry bent down behind her and kissed her cheek.

"Jerry, what are you doing?"

"Giving you what you want." His hands up to her shoulders lightly massaging them.

Growing more concerned, Olivia put her hands over his to make him stop. "What I want? I wanted to thank you. That's why I made you dinner."

Feeling his head beside hers, he started kissing the left side of her neck. "Mhm, thank you for dinner. It was delicious." Releasing his hands from under hers, he let them slide up her jean covered hips just under her shirt, feeling the skin of her stomach.

"Stop it, this isn't what I was talking about to thank you."

"I really am too old for this hard-to-get plaything, Livia." His hands started going up further under her shirt.

"I'm not playing anything. Stop it, Jerry, I'm serious. Get your hands off me." Trying to get away from him, Liv kept pushing at his arms to make him release her, but he was too strong for her. "Jerry, don't touch me." Her voice stern to make him stop but he wouldn't. Feeling his fingers start to move into the cup of her bra made her furious. Within a second her rage finally took over. Grabbing his right hand that was in her bra, she pulled it out and manipulated his arm behind his back to a pressure point. "I said DO NOT TOUCH ME."

"Damn it, Olivia, you're going to break my arm," he screamed in pain.

"You're right, I am." She pulled his arm tighter making him bend at the waist to try to get her grip to release him. "Do not ever touch me again, am I making myself clear?"

"Yes, yes, fuck let me go," he begged. Applying a little more pressure, he yelled again. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I got it!"

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure. I won't touch you."

Letting him go, Liv stepped back a few feet from him. "I think you should go."

"Livia," he started but saw her raise her hand to silence him.

"Go. I'll see you in class next week."

Jerry wanted to explain himself but the look on her face told him she was not going to listen to anything he had to say to her, at least right now. Rubbing his arm, Jerry walked out to the hallway and grabbed his coat before turning around to her. "Livia, I'm sorry," he tried once more before he walked out.

During the week, she received a few texts from him but ignored them. Going on with her week as usual, she made it to her next class with Jerry. Through the week she calmed down thinking about what happened and after class she would ask him.

Once the last student left, Jerry stayed in his seat at his desk and looked up seeing she was still there.

"I just want to know what the hell you were thinking," she said, her voice low as if she were in pain thinking about it.

"I misread you. I thought you asking me to come over for dinner was for something else. I understand now that I was wrong."

"You're damn right you were wrong. You think because I asked you to come to dinner, I wanted to sleep with you? I was thanking you for getting me a job with a judge! That's all that was."

"I know that now. But I thought that everything was leading up to that. You stay after class, you call me, you text me, you drop by my office. Olivia, I don't know what I was thinking. I'm seventy-two. In my day, that meant something more than a professional relationship."

"After everything that I've been through, that you've seen me go through, you really think I want to change that? I thought we were friends, Professor."

Shit she called me professor. Getting up, Jerry moved to the seat beside her making sure not to touch her. "We are friends, Livia. I had a brief lapse in judgment. But I swear it will never happen again. Can you forgive me?"

Olivia looked over at him and nodded. "How's your arm?"

"Little sore but nothing I can't handle. Are we okay then?"

"Yeah, we're okay. But if you ever try to do something like that again I swear I will break it."