Date: Sun, 25 May 2008 16:05:04 -0700 (PDT)
From: Steven Saunders <mafukkinsoljah@yahoo.com>
Subject: Boxy Grove 3

	Dammit!

	I was gonna get fired this time and I knew it. I was late coming
back from lunch because of that damn boy. I knew I shouldn't have gone over
there. His breath stank, the sex was terrible, and I just knew that I was
covered in his cheap ass Jourdache cologne.

	He was gonna kill me this time.

	My phone vibrated with an incoming text message. I hesitated to
look at it. Maybe if I didn't look at it and pretended to have not noticed
it, I wouldn't get in as much trouble. Maybe. I was only a few blocks
away. I would be there in five minutes. Five minutes. He might not even
notice.

	And then I saw the car accident in front of me. It was blocking tha
hell out of traffic. It was officially over for me. I sat in the long line
of cars waiting for the jam to be cleared and almost cried. I was going to
get fired. My phone vibrated again reminding me that I hadn't checked the
text message. Slowly I reached for it as if it were going to explode when I
opened it.

	<If you don't get your ass back here in ten minutes with that
affidavit you're fired! I'm not bullshitting with you! Ten minutes!>

	*Oh damn!* I thought. I responded: <There's been an accident and
its blocking all of Main St.> I hit send and prayed for the best of the
worst.

	His response came almost instantly: <Then park and run yo ass
here. Now!>

	I did as I was told. I never argued with him. Never.

	I was out of breath when I got to the courthouse two minutes
later. He was standing outside the courtroom doors in his ever famous pose
that aroused and intimidated me. Left hand in his pocket and cracking the
knuckles in his right hand with his thumb. Oh yeah, I was attracted to my
boss. Very much so. I handed him the manila folder and he calmly took it
from me. The fact that he was calm scared me more than everything. He
opened it up and raised one eyebrow as he looked it over. "Fine. Let's go"
he said.

	We walked into the courtroom and I sat down on the side of the
defense as he went to his desk. The judge was just coming in.

	"All rise." The bailiff said. "The Honorable Judge Judith Light
presiding."

	"All parties present?" Judge Light asked.

	"Assistant District Attorney Hamilton Williams present" the
prosecutor said.

	"Kourdell Brooks for the defense, Your Honor." My boss said. The
judge looked up from her paperwork and smiled. She took off her
glasses. "And how are you, Mr. Brooks?"

	"Doing well, Your Honor." He said.

	She shook her head. "I trust you'll make things interesting for us
today?"

	"I'll do my best, Your Honor."

	"Let's get on to business then. ADA Williams, you have the floor."

	Williams threw a smirk in our direction. He and Kourdell were arch
rivals in the courtroom. Williams lost to Kourdell every time they faced
each other and on top of that, Williams hated gay men.

	Oh yeah, my boss is gay. Did I mention that I was seriously
attracted to him?

	Williams went on this entire speech about how he would prove that
our client was guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt and how DNA evidence
placed him at the scene of the crime. He spoke for five minutes and then
sat down. It was Kourdell's turn and this was the beautiful part. I started
to pack my things. We were about to leave.

	"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, my client is innocent. I will
prove this to you in less than ten minutes and you all can go back to
enjoying your beautiful Monday morning." He returned to his side of the
courtroom.

	"I object, Your Honor." Williams said. "Statements like that are
misleading to the jury and therefore not acceptable in court. He's
predisposing the jury to a verdict of Not Guilty."

	The judge looked at him. "Can you explain yourself, Mr. Brooks?"

	He smiled. "Of course, Your Honor." He opened the folder I just
brought him. "I have here a signed affidavit from the crime lab technician
working the case that the fingerprints found at the crime scene did not
belong to my client. A mistake was made. The fingerprints belong to my
client's brother. The file containing a comparison of the fingerprints is
also here as a visual aid to Your Honor." I almost laughed out loud. It was
over.

	"Objection!" yelled Williams. "I don't have this information."

	"It was forwarded to your office in a timely manner. It is not the
fault of the Court nor the defense that your office assistants do not work
as diligently as mine do." Kourdell raised his eyebrow and pointed at
me. It made me feel damn important.

	Judge Light looked at the file in front of her and laughed. "You
always keep things interesting, Mr. Brooks." She shook her head. "In light
of these circumstances I have no choice but to dismiss the case. We're done
here." She banged her gavel. We were in court for six and a half minutes.
Williams glared at us as we left. I smiled.

	Kourdell and I were stopped by a media frenzy waiting outside. They
all wanted a statement. He refused to give one. He was so modest. I loved
it about him. A few people put microphones in my face and asked me how it
felt to work behind the most successful defense attorney in the city. I
wanted to tell them how it was extremely motivating. I wanted to say that
I'm proud to work for the hottest, openly gay lawyer in the city. I didn't,
though. I mirrored Kourdell's response of "No Comment."

	Kourdell ruined my warm, fuzzy feeling when we got in the Cadillac
waiting to drive us away. He stared at me.

	"Who was he?" he asked.

	"I don't follow you sir." I said.

	"Don't bullshit me, Will. What was his goddamn name? Who were you
fucking that made you late with my paperwork?"

	Oh shit. I should've known this was coming. "Uh, his name was Jay"

	Kourdell shook his head. "Well, you fuck him on your own time. I
swear to God. You smell like drug store cologne. We're going to the
office. Go clean up in the bathroom and change clothes. I know you still
have that other outfit in your desk. We're going out." I made no
objections. I never did. Never.