Erecting a façade of her typical cool demeanour, Shanice tuned back into what was being said around her. She squashed all the questions swimming around in her mind when Massimo turned and asked the judge if he could approach the bench.
Glad the table in front of her hid most of her practically bare legs, the fact slammed home that her life and reputation were in the hands of someone she didn't really know. But would she look a gift horse in the mouth? Not bloody likely.
The next thing she knew, it was over.
"You are free to go, Ms Brown. All charges have been dismissed and I don't want to see you in my courtroom for anything else. Not even a parking ticket."
The knots she hadn't even realized were lodged in the pit of her stomach suddenly loosened. Shanice held her breath to suppress the sound of relief trying to push itself up and out of her throat. Given her recent, er, adventure, surely the sound would have been something between a hilarious crow and a relieved yet semi-horrified snicker. Neither of which were wanted at the moment.
The one-size-fits-all jailhouse orange flip flops flapped noisily against the smooth tile as she, Massimo and an accompanying officer headed toward the room where she would be processed and released.
"Wow," she sighed tiredly. "I'm beyond relieved this is over. Thank you, Massimo....what's your last name again?"
The young lawyer who'd represented her case raised an arrogant brow, then grinned with an all-male "well, what did you expect?" expression. That grin made her want to smack him in the back of the neck.
"It's Buzzeo. Massimo Buzzeo." And proceeded to look her up and down like she was today's special at the local diner. "I'm in the South American imports division, a couple of floors up from your offices."
She scowled for all she was worth, annoyed that the skin on her arms tingled at his perusal. And how did he know where her office suite was in a twenty-six-floor building, anyway? Instead of asking him what she really wanted to know, she simply said, "I'm sure I've seen you somewhere other than Expedex, right?"
