Revoke（ v.） – Liam
REVOKE( V.):
TO ANNUL OR CANCEL AN ACT, PARTICULARLY A STATEMENT, DOCUMENT OR PROMISE, AS IF IT NO LONGER EXISTED.
LIAM
Two Hours Later
“Miss Tucker, I’m going to set your bail at five thousand dollars,” I said to the final defendant standing before me. “You are also banned from setting foot in any zoo, pet store, or park until your trial. Clear?”
The look in her eyes made it clear that she wouldn’t follow my instructions—that weeks from now she’d be right back here for unleashing dogs or kidnapping cats.
I gave a look to the undercover officer who’d be watching her and picked up my gavel.
“The court will take an hour recess before the evening arraignments.” I banged it against the wood, desperate for an escape that was far too delayed.
The bailiff escorted the remaining audience members from the room while I slipped into my chambers.
I hung my robe on the door and immediately headed outside to my car.
In all my years on the bench, I could count on one hand the number of defendants that I remembered after a day.
There were three, and that was only because they were high-profile celebrities.
The thousands of others faded into a faceless blur.
Until Olivia Spencer.
She was the only defendant who'd managed to argue with both the prosecutor and the judge in under five minutes. Instead of immediately shutting her down like I usually would, I was too distracted by how sexy she was…
“Excuse me, Judge Ashton?” a soft voice said from behind.
I looked over my shoulder to see the exact reason why I was taking a break.
Olivia Spencer was walking toward me, shielding herself beneath a small umbrella, her deep almond eyes as alluring as they were in my courtroom.
Her silk green blouse teased me all over again, giving me a glimpse of the swell of her breasts. Her dark blue jeans were still clinging to her curves in a way that was detrimental to my focus.
“Um…” She stopped right in front of me. “Can I please talk to you for a second?”
“As long as it’s not about your case.”
“What else could it possibly be about?” She crossed her arms. “Like what else do we have in common?”
I blinked.
“I left my purse at home, don’t have a way to get a metro card, and since you’re the reason for all my problems today—”
“No, you’re the reason for your problems today, Miss Spencer…”
“Fine. I’m guilty of being poor, Your Honor.” She threw up her hands in a mock surrender. “Is that a crime?”
“Not at all.”
“In that case, I would like to request a complimentary loan of twenty dollars,” she said. “I promise to pay you back when I get paid on Friday.”
“Excuse me?”
“I should actually ask for fifty-five dollars since that would technically cover the cost of an Uber, but I think a long bus ride home would allow me to clear my thoughts.”
I stared at her in disbelief.
My mind had to be playing a wicked game, twisting my inappropriate thoughts from earlier into a fake reality.
But then she held out her hand, and I felt raindrops landing on my skin.
“Miss Spencer…” I tried not to stare too hard at her lips. “You can’t ask the judge who just sentenced you for money.”
“Can I ask him to overturn his ruling, then?”
“No.”
“What if I lower my request to fifteen dollars?”
“I’ll be giving you something else if you don’t walk the hell away from me.”
“Is the ‘something else’ at least five dollars?”
“It’s a call to court security about harassment.”
“After sentencing me to things that are going to make my life even more of a living hell, I think a few dollars is the least you could do, Your Honor…” The way she said ‘Your Honor’ was laced with spite. “The very least.”
“Miss Spencer, I’m not going to ask you to walk away from me again…”
“I used to be an investigative reporter,” she said. “I’m sure you don’t have some skeletons in your closet, ones that you wouldn’t want someone like me digging up out of spite.”
“Are you threatening a judge, Miss Spencer?” I looked her up and down. “Because that’s a fucking felony...”
Her cheeks flushed red and she let out a small gasp.
“I wasn’t threatening you,” she said, stepping back. “I was just asking for a donation to the less fortunate.”
“I’m going to do you a favor, Miss Spencer.” I glanced down the alley. “I’ll pretend like this moment never happened the moment you walk away—without my donation.”
Her lips parted, and she looked like she was about to say something else, but she slowly walked away.
When she was halfway down the alley, I pulled out my phone and called the chief of security.
“Yes, Judge Ashton?” he answered on the first ring.
“There’s a brunette woman dressed in an olive shirt and jeans heading toward the east side of the courthouse,” I said. “Give her fifty-five dollars, and I’ll pay you back this evening.”
“Yes, sir.”