"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" Sharon asked pointedly, walking into her daughter's kitchen fully dressed in a smart pin-striped pant suit. She grabbed the pot of coffee off of the percolator and poured herself a travel mug's worth.
"Aren't you supposed to be treating me like an adult?" Angela batted her eyelashes at her mother.
Sharon leant down and kissed the top of her daughter's head. "Good morning, Angel."
"Morning, ma." Angela smiled and stretched out, her feet still clad snugly in the slippers Clay and Willie Ray had given her for Christmas. "I have a deposition at nine so I'm going straight from here."
"Did you talk to Gavin? Has Brenda called him?"
Angela shrugged, "I don't know. I don't go around all day talking about your negligent girlfriend."
"Be nice." Sharon frowned.
"Why? Because she's being so nice to you?"
"Because our relationship is none of your business and she's never done anything wrong to you." Sharon sipped her coffee.
"Look… you're my hero, you know that, right? You're the strongest, most ethical, purest hearted person I know and I hope I'm half as awesome as you are but… sometimes… in relationships you…" Angela paused to consider her phrasing carefully, "you put yourself second. You let yourself get walked all over and I just feel like you need to be reminded that you matter, too."
"I appreciate your concern, but you don't have to worry about me. I'm a big girl and I'm fully capable of fighting my own battles." Sharon glanced at the clock, "I have to go to work."
"We'll talk about this later?"
"Maybe."
"Hey Gavin, hold on," Angela called from her office.
Gavin leaned against her office doorframe. "Did Brenda Leigh Johnson call you yet?"
"Yes, I have an appointment with her in half an hour. Why?"
"I wasn't going to tell you how I know her… but I'm going to level with you… she's my mother's partner and her defense means a lot to my mother so I just want you to know how important this is." Angela sat forward in her chair, "so I'd like to sit in on the meeting."
"If she's your mother's partner why isn't she mentioned in the suit?" He asked with furrowed brow, sipping from his coffee mug.
Angela cocked her head to the side in confusion for a moment before it dawned on her. "No, no, no. Not LAPD partner, partner partner…" she watched his face for a moment before elaborating again, "lovers?"
"Oh man." Gavin scoffed, "your mother just went from, like, a perfect ten to a ten to the power of ten."
Angela rolled her eyes, "I should never have told you that. What was I thinking…?"
"Oh man…" Gavin grinned, "is your mother going to come with her to this meeting?"
"No, she's disallowed from the office because last time she was here she alphabetized my filing cabinet."
"You don't alphabetize your filing cabinet?"
"I have a system! I don't have to explain myself to you or my mother." Angela grumbled.
"So, do you need to take a look at the case file?" Gavin offered it up to her but Angela shook her head.
"Trust me, I've heard all about it."
"Okay, meeting's in my office in," he looked at his watch, "twenty minutes."
Brenda was surprised to see Angela sitting in the office when she entered. Angela was stunned to see a man follow Brenda in. Fritz shook hands with Gavin, oblivious to the looks of apprehension that passed between the two women.
Brenda sat down and avoided looking at Angela. Fritz had spent the night with her and, though it was purely platonic, she couldn't look at Sharon's mini-me without feeling some amount of shame and guilt.
"Agent Howard is also listed on the lawsuit so he asked if he could sit in on the meeting." Brenda said as she sat down on the couch, eyes trained on Gavin.
Angela sat back in her chair, arms folded across her chest, lips pursed. She was not pleased with Fritz's presence; she knew their history. While Gavin talked and Brenda deflected, Angela found herself trying not to glare at Brenda and Fritz.
"My retainer is $25,000." Gavin announced. Angela was drawn back into the conversation, the mention of money tended to do that.
Brenda guffawed, "twenty… five… thousand… dollars?"
"Or we could work out some sort of barter system…" Gavin suggested, trying to sound nonchalant.
Angela stared at him in disbelief and smacked him in the shoulder. This action startled everyone and turned all gazes to Angela. "Brenda, $25,000 is the firm's standard retainer fee for unnamed partners."
"What do you cost?"
"Well, I cost less because I'm not a partner but I do property law."
"Ms. Johnson, I assure you that my background as a former city attorney qualifies me head and shoulders above my esteemed colleagues to handle your case." Gavin tried to assuage her.
"I… I will think about it." She stood and snatched up the bottle of water from the coffee table. "Fritz, are you coming?"
Gavin and Angela watched the two retreat. After the door clicked shut behind them Gavin said, innocently, "you know, 80% of couples don't survive litigation regardless of the outcome. It's very straining on a relationship… If your mother ever wants someone to talk to… a shoulder to cry on…"
He turned to catch Angela's glare. "I don't know what it is with you and your obscene love for my mother but… just forget it. Go get yourself a copy of National Geographic, make a list of all of the places you will never go and add to the bottom of that list Sharon Raydor."
"You know you're kind of sexy when you're snarky." Gavin grinned.
"And Angela Raydor." She added as she excused herself from the office.
Gavin laughed and opened himself a bottle of water. He did enjoy pushing Angela's buttons, he considered her a good friend and the fact that she had a hot mom? That was just icing on the cake.
"Fritz, I think you should get your own lawyer… or, at least, come at different times."
"You're gonna tackle the $25,000 fee? Do you even need him? What's wrong with the city attorney?"
Brenda groaned and rubbed her eyes with frustration and indecision. "Captain Raydor said I should get my own attorney."
"Yeah, well, sometimes I wonder if Sharon Raydor lives in the same world as the rest of us." Fritz scoffed, "shelling out 25K is really right for you? Are you sure she has your best interests at heart?"
"Stop it! Just stop it! Lord in heaven, you and Will are like vultures sometimes!" Brenda snapped, stepping into the elevator. "I have enough doubts of my own about this whole mess without y'all jumping all over Sharon at every possible turn."
"All I'm saying is that if this all goes to hell you're the only one who's going to be up shit creek. Well, you, me and the rest of your team, but not Raydor. How can she be the one who knows what's right?"
Brenda rubbed her temple and started pressing the lobby button repeatedly until the doors closed and left Fritz behind. "Oh Lord…"
Brenda just dropped the linguine noodles into the boiling water and secured the lid when the door opened. She blinked in surprise and broke out into a grin. "Sharon, you're here!" She pulled off her apron and approached, but stopped short. "Or I've finally snapped and I'm having a really vivid hallucination…"
Sharon laughed, "oh, come here," she pulled Brenda into her arms.
Brenda smiled contentedly and laid her head against Sharon's. She let her eyes slip shut and inhaled deeply, the sweet scents of Sharon flooding her senses. "I'm so glad you're here." She murmured against the older woman's lips.
"I miss you so much," Sharon whispered, her fingertips coming up to gently trace Brenda's cheekbones. "It is so hard trying to stay away…"
"Everyone's trying to tell me that you left me," Brenda admitted, feeling her eyes fill with tears.
Sharon pulled back and looked at Brenda with sympathy. "And by 'everyone' I assume you mean Chief Pope and Agent Howard?" Brenda nodded a little, Sharon smiled, "not my biggest fans, are they?"
Brenda laughed and shook her head, "not really." Brenda slipped her hands into Sharon's hair, relishing the feeling of the luxurious locks against her fingers. "I love you so much, it's so hard to stay away from you… but I've been very good."
"You're a better man than I, Johnson," Sharon's hands slipped down to Brenda's ass and dragged their hips together. Brenda moaned and let her head fall back, Sharon's lips descended on the creamy expanse of neck that Brenda just exposed to her.
Brenda gripped fistfuls of Sharon's hair, "oh god, I think I'm just gonna come…"
"You're a cheap date," Sharon purred, tightening her grip on the blonde's ass and grinding against her. Brenda whimpered. Sharon pulled up on Brenda's skirt and pushed her thigh between Brenda's legs. Brenda wrapped her arm around Sharon, holding her in a vice like grip.
"God, you're on fire…" Sharon husked in Brenda's ear, rocking against her center with deliberately slow ministrations of her thigh.
Brenda shamelessly rocked her hips against Sharon's leg. If she hadn't wanted to get her slacks all wet she shouldn't have started pushing her thigh so deliciously into her most sensitive spot…
Sharon nibbled the shell of Brenda's ear, "are you going to come for me?" She whispered seductively.
"Oh, Sharon… god… yes…" Brenda gasped. She fisted Sharon's blazer as she felt her muscles starting to clench. "God, don't stop…" She buried her face in the nape of Sharon's neck, squeezing her eyes shut and moaning as she ground against Sharon's leg. Finally she cried out as her orgasm rocked into her.
Brenda's legs turned to jello as the waves of pleasure crashed over her. Sharon maneuvered them over to the kitchen table and sat Brenda down in the nearest chair. When Brenda regained her composure enough to open her eyes she saw Sharon sinking to her knees in front of her. "Oh, Sharon…"
Sharon grinned up at Brenda, her eyes were darkened with lust and she pulled Brenda's ass closer to the edge of the chair. Brenda's cell phone started to ring and she yelped out her frustration.
"Do you need to get that?" Sharon quirked an eyebrow at her, placing light kisses to Brenda's knee.
Brenda felt her whole body quiver. "No… well… yes… oh, for heaven's sake!" Brenda cried and put the phone to her ear. "Yes? What is it?"
"The contractor was telling the truth, Chief, he never applied for a permit for anything at the King place." Sanchez explained.
Sharon's fingers tickled the underside of Brenda's knee. She bit back a giggle snort and yanked her knee away from Sharon, managing to slam it into the underside of the table. "Hang on just a minute, Detective." Brenda said in a tight voice. She laid the phone against her chest and bit her lip in pain. "You see what you do to me?" She hissed at Sharon.
Sharon was biting back a laugh, trying her damnedest to look apologetic.
"Uh, Chief?" Sanchez questioned.
Brenda put the phone back to her ear, "yes, sorry… I-I'm here. Look, if the contractor never pulled a permit for the retaining wall, how did the inspector know to come by and have it dug up?" Brenda asked, amazed at her ability to string that sentence together in light of recent events. "Mr. Romano said something about a complaint, didn't he?"
The lid from the pot clanged to the floor and boiling linguine erupted from the water. "Oh no! No, no, no!" Brenda cried and leapt up from the table.
"Chief… are you okay?"
"Oh… I'm fine… I'm fine…"
"Do you want us to find the city inspector for you?"
"Oh, yes, please." Brenda whimpered as she attempted to sponge noodles from the wall. She ended the conversation with Sanchez and dropped her phone to the counter.
"This is why I don't let you cook without supervision." Sharon pressed herself against Brenda's back and reached up to take the sponge away from her. "This is a dish sponge… and the noodles can be dealt with tomorrow…"
"Dear god, I'm so glad you're here," Brenda purred as Sharon drew her into her arms again.
Sharon let herself into Angela's back door quietly at six the next morning. As she was easing the door back into jam she heard a throat clear behind her. She turned slowly to see Angela sitting at the kitchen table and she had a flashback to catching Angela sneaking in after breaking curfew during high school.
"And where were you all night?"
Sharon laughed, "Angie, I'm 59, I think I'm past the point of explaining myself."
"You're living in my house, mom! You didn't call, you didn't answer your phone, you didn't come home, I was worried sick!"
"I'm sorry about that." Sharon acquiesced, "I didn't see that you called until late and I didn't want to wake you."
"Where did you sleep?"
Sharon bit her lip.
"That look either means you made a bad decision, like cheating on Brenda, and you feel guilty. Or you made a really bad decision by sleeping with Brenda while you still have an open investigation against her and you feel guilty because you know I'm going to give you a hard time about it."
"First of all, darling, it's not an 'investigation,' it's a transparency audit…"
"The two of you are both completely transparent. You're a 59-year-old woman and you're sneaking around and getting in at all hours."
"You're always yelling at me for micromanaging you-"
"Look, all I'm saying is that if the prosecuting attorney gets wind of the fact that you slept together before you submitted your report your findings will be suspect. You don't have to be a lawyer to know that what you did was pretty monumentally stupid. What happened to your principles?"
"If I know me at all, there's a getting laid clause in my principles."
"I'm glad you think this is funny."
"Angel," Sharon started in a soft, mothering tone, sitting at the table with her. "I filed my official change of address with my boss for the duration of the audit, I haven't returned any of her phone calls any times other than during normal business hours. I have done everything completely by the book. Is it such a crime that I wanted to spend the night with the woman I love?"
"I don't know. All I can say is that I hope your inability to keep it in your pants doesn't get Brenda sent to prison." Angela punctuated her point with eyes narrowed and getting up and walking out.
Sharon pursed her lips and sneered at Angela's back.