In Absentia （adj.） – Olivia
IN ABSENTIA (ADJ.):
REFERRING TO A LEGAL PROCEEDING, TRIAL, HEARING, OR SENTENCING CONDUCTED WHILE THE DEFENDANT OR ACCUSED PERSON IS NOT PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN THE COURTROOM.
OLIVIA
One Week Later
Judge Asshole
Mara is coming into work early this morning.
After you drop me off at the court today, you’ll need to pick up her favorite coffee at Whimstery Café.
Can’t I just stop there after I pick you up?
Did I say that was an option?
Today’s top arraignment belonged to a woman who snapped on her boss—she literally snapped his neck—and I couldn’t wait to hear what her defense had to say.
If they successfully argued that she was criminally insane and Judge Ashton granted her bail until trial, I was going to use everything she did for a future blueprint.
And I was going to use it SOON.
I made it to the courthouse with Mara’s coffee with five seconds to spare before clock-in.
“Good morning, Miss Spencer!” She smiled at me as I walked into the office.
“Good morning.”
“Heads up on today’s arraignments,” she said. “Judge Ashton is going to be working out of the anteroom for most of the day, so you won’t see him much outside of court.”
“Thank you so much, God.”
“Huh?”
“I said, Oh, that’s such a shock.”
“It really is.” She frowned. “I prefer seeing him as much as possible so I can soak up all his legal wisdom, you know?”
You can’t possibly be this big of a fan…
“Here you go.” I held out her special coffee. “Hope you enjoy it.”
“What is it?”
“Your triple foam cappuccino with extra vanilla and toffee crunch,” I said. “Judge Ashton said it’s your favorite thing to drink.”
“It was until it made me sick last month.” She shook her head. “He knows I don’t drink that anymore. Plus, I prefer to get my coffee from the café here, remember?”
WHAT THE FUCK?
“Thank you so much for letting me know.” I tried not to show any emotion. “I’ll see if any other early bird wants it.”
“Can you also run these down to the library?” She pointed at a huge stack of dockets. “Preferably before lunch?”
“Will do.” I carried her unwanted coffee away, ready to take it down to the interns, but I stopped myself.
I was exhausted as hell, extremely unappreciated, and I had the feeling this man was only going to suck every ounce of energy from me until I collapsed.
My pulse quickened and all I saw was red. I suddenly felt the same way I did when I “allegedly” ruined his cars.
Walk away, Liv. Walk away.
I shoved every sane thought aside.
Before I knew it, I was walking straight to his office and locking myself inside.
I carried the unnecessary coffee behind his desk. Then I uncapped it and flipped it over—right above his chair, letting every single drop soak his designer-level cushion.
When the last drop fell, I quickly slipped out and threw away the evidence.
I highlighted another strange fact in the Grant Jenkins case and scribbled a note. I also made a mental note to look into why he was so obsessed with it later.
I don’t get it…
“The FUCK!” His shout brought the entire office to a halt. “Who the hell did this?”
Every staff member froze and exchanged glances. One by one, they slowly made their way toward the exit.
I held back a laugh and worked on my research.
“Miss Spencer?” He called. “Can you come to my office, please?”
“Right away, sir.” I hid my smile as I approached.
When I saw him still sitting in the chair, knowing his ass was soaking wet, I had to bite my cheek so I wouldn’t laugh.
“Close the door behind you, please,” he ordered.
“Okay.” I obliged, and he lowered his voice.
“So…” He let out a long breath. “Apparently, someone decided to waste an entire bucket of coffee in my seat, and I don’t have an extra outfit with me today.”
“Oh, no.” I tried to sound like I gave a fuck. “I can’t believe that happened. Someone must have spilled it by mistake and ran off.”
“Is that what you saw?”
“No, I’m just making an assumption.”
“Who came in here while I was away today?”
“I didn’t see anyone at all, Your Honor.”
“I told you not to call me that unless we’re in court.” He narrowed his eyes. “Who came in here today, Miss Spencer?”
“I didn’t see anyone.” I gave him my best blank stare.
“Your desk is literally steps from my door,” he said. “You had to have seen something.”
“I’ve been busy running errands and going back and forth to the library. How could I possibly see everything?”
He clenched his jaw, looking like he was seconds away from losing his shit.
I braced myself for his next reaction, but instead he stood to his feet and unbuckled his pants.
He slowly slid them off and to the floor, exposing a pair of dark gray briefs.
“I’ll um—” My cheeks began to burn. “I’ll leave while you change.”
“I’d rather you didn’t.”
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to see you without clothes on,” I said. “I’m sure you wouldn’t want me undressing in front of you.”
“That’s absolutely untrue.” He loosened his tie and unfastened his cufflinks. Then he slowly undid his buttons one by one.
He was now wearing nothing but an undershirt and briefs, and I couldn’t look away if I wanted to.
I could see his huge cockprint as he flexed his hips. Then I caught the definition of his six-pack abs through the fabric; he was making me watch him on purpose.
He placed his pants and shirt on his desk, pushing them toward me.
“Since you didn’t see anything earlier, we can pretend like you didn’t see any of this, too.” He looked at his watch. “Tell the dry cleaners I need those things back within an hour and a half so I can make it to my next court session.”
I nodded, my eyes stealing one last look at his cockprint.
Dammit.
“Would you like me to add my briefs to the laundry as well?” He gently tugged on the band. “I can do that if you like.”
I quickly grabbed his clothes and left his office, shutting the door behind me.