“Adam Roth, co-counsel for the Commonwealth. Your Honor, Mr. Sachs knows that’s not a conflict any more due to the fact that Ms. Adler and I are presently intimate.”

“You don’t have an adversarial relationship with her,” Jacob said, turning to Adam.

“And you don’t have any relationship with her,” Adam shot back.

“Is there anyone who hasn’t had an intimate relationship with Ms. Adler?” my mother asked, sarcastically.

“Yes. You,” I answered angrily.

“Order!” Judge Channing sputtered, banging his gavel. “This is a court of law, not The Jerry Springer Show! Now, Mr. Sachs, if you want this case removed over the Commonwealth’s objection, you’ll need to file a written motion and brief it. We’ll set a date for argument. Ms. Steinberg, you can join in the motion if you choose. The defendant has waived the conflict of interest with regard to Ms. Steinberg being Ms. Adler’s mother. There is no other conflict.” He gave Jacob a reproving look. “Court is in recess. Five minutes!” With that, he banged his gavel again and stormed off the bench.

“Hi mom,” I said with a sunny smile.

“What do you know,” she said with a smirk. “Maybe you’re actually my kid after all.” She turned and went to go talk to her client.

“What the f**k was that?” Adam demanded, stalking over and glaring at Jacob.

“What?” Jacob said defensively. “I wanted to make sure that everything was out in the open and that nobody objected since, you know, she and I are on opposite sides in this? Why did you feel the need to point out that you’re sleeping with her when the two of you are on the same side?”

“To make it clear that there’s no romantic connection between you. Why did you feel the need to point out the fact that you were banging her four years ago?” Adam retorted.

“Will the two of you stop it?!” I demanded.

“Lily, honey, are you okay?” Jess called over from the defense side of the court, where I noted that Braden had joined Mark. They were both looking rather amused.

“Yeah, I’m good Jess, thanks. I’ll tell you about it later,” I said with a smile.

“Adam Roth? Is that really you?” my mother chimed in. “Are you the one responsible for getting her to actually use her law degree? If so, my husband and I owe you a debt of gratitude.”

“Where is dad?” I asked, ignoring her sarcasm.

“In Florida.”

“Why aren’t you in Florida too?”

“I got bored,” she answered simply. “Didn’t you two used to fight all the time?”

“We’re getting along better,” Adam answered. “You’re not going to be handling any more cases are you?” he whispered to me suspiciously.

“Not yet, but if I’m going to be working for the DA’s office, I expect to handle some.”

“Well, maybe you’ll have a trial,” Jacob said with a sarcastic smile.

“You think I can’t try a case? And why is that exactly?” I asked furiously.

“Uh oh. You’re in trouble now.” Adam laughed, obviously delighted that he wasn’t on the receiving end of my wrath for a change.

“Because you don’t have any experience trying cases,” Jacob replied, intentionally letting his eyes drop to my body. I knew he was pushing my buttons on purpose, but it was working.

“Actually that’s not true,” my mother decided to contribute. “Lily won several acquittals in the Criminal Defense Clinic at Penn. She also captained a winning moot court team.”

“This isn’t moot court, Judith,” Jacob replied. “I can’t believe I didn’t know you were her mother, by the way.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t know that you slept with my daughter.”

“Wait, has he slept with the mother too?” some guy called out from the crowd of people waiting for cases.

“NO!” Jacob, my mom and I answered in unison just as Judge Channing came back out of chambers.

After getting a date to argue our motion my mother left without a backward glance, and Jacob left with a glance at my tits. Maybe he wasn’t just pushing my buttons after all. My challenging him seemed to be firing up his libido. I probably wasn’t the only girl in Philly who would be getting some ‘phenomenal sexing’ that night from a tall, dark, and handsome prosecutor.

Chapter Twenty-Three

When the morning court session was over, Adam, Braden and I grabbed some take-out and then headed for the DA’s office. I didn’t have an office of my own, so I just sat on the other side of Adam’s desk for the time being.

“Well, that was different,” Braden said. “You guys are going to O’Malley’s tonight, right? I’m sure that Jessica has filled Gabrielle in by now, and she’ll want a debriefing.”

“I’m okay with going there for a while,” I answered, looking up at Adam. “We shouldn’t stay late, though. We have a lot to do this weekend.”

“I don’t want to stay late. We have a lot to do tonight,” Adam said, giving me a sexy smile that filled my stomach with butterflies and made me squeeze my thighs together.

“When word gets around that you said Sachs was unprepared for court, there’ll probably be a few people wanting to buy you drinks,” Braden noted.

“Try to stay off Mark’s lap this time please,” Adam added.

“Very funny,” I said, feeling my cheeks heat up.

“Actually, Sachs will probably be there,” Braden went on. “He’s been there a lot lately.”

“Well, he missed out last Friday,” Adam pointed out and I felt my face heat up even more. I think that Adam was literally the only guy who could make me blush.

There was a knock on the door and someone came to escort me to meet the attorneys who would be teaching me how to be a prosecutor. I started cleaning up my lunch.

“Don’t worry about that,” Adam said, grabbing my hand. “Go get your training. You’re going to need all the help you can get if you want to beat your Mr. Zealous Representation and Mommie Dearest.”

I spent the afternoon meeting with the trainers, who were exceptionally pleased with how quickly I learned. At the end of the day, they sent me to set up my own office, loaded down with copies of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code, the Vehicle Code and the Sentencing Guidelines. I met my office mate, Olivia, who was new herself, having recently moved to Philadelphia from Pittsburgh. She seemed kind of serious at first, but I realized quickly that she had a wicked sense of humor, and I liked her immediately. At six, we called it a day and Adam and Braden and I headed off to O’Malley’s.

When we arrived at the pub, I saw that the place was already hopping. Friday night it typically filled up with lawyers. I saw Gabrielle Jessica, Cameron and Mark sitting at a table together, and I started to walk toward them, but Adam caught my arm.

“You, Ms. Adler, are a prosecutor,” he reminded me. “Come and meet your colleagues before you run off to the defense side.”

“The defense side? What is this, a courtroom?”

“People usually start out the evening sitting with their colleagues here. For example, there are a bunch of federal prosecutors directly behind you, including Mr. Zealous Representation himself. I don’t believe he’s noticed you yet, though, as he’s busy being felt up under the table by a blonde,” Adam said snidely. What was he getting on his high horse about?

“Felt up under a table by a blonde. Now, why does that sound so familiar?” I asked, sarcastically. He gave me a genuinely clueless look. “The night at K2? The blonde resting her hand affectionately in your lap?” Suddenly, understanding dawned.

“You saw that?” he asked, having the grace to look embarrassed.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said, gazing off toward Gab and Jess. I really shouldn’t have brought it up, but I thought he had sounded a bit sanctimonious for a guy who had done the same thing a couple of weeks ago.

“Yes, it does matter. I swear, Lily, I really wasn’t interested. I wasn’t even paying attention.” He sounded upset.

“Adam, it’s okay,” I said, feeling kind of bad about mentioning it, which was completely ridiculous. I had no reason to feel bad. He had known I was going to be there that night, and he had let some blonde feel him up.

I turned and looked idly over in the direction where he had indicated the feds were sitting. Sure enough, there was another buxom blonde who looked like she probably did have her hand at least on Jacob’s leg. What shocked me, though, wasn’t that, but rather the lusty look that I recognized in his eyes, and the fact that he wasn’t looking at her, but at me.

All of this happened, literally in about two or three seconds, and luckily, Adam was still distracted by guilt, which was likely yet another new emotional experience for him. I didn’t have time to contemplate the fact that Jacob was looking at me the same way he had in law school just before he nailed me to the mattress, because at that moment, Adam apparently decided that the middle of a crowded bar was the perfect place to suddenly discover his romantic side. He pulled me into his arms, gave me a soft, lingering kiss and then whispered in my ear.

“Soul meets soul on lovers’ lips.”

“Did you just quote Shelley?” I asked, bewildered. “In a bar? While Fat Bottom Girls is playing in the background?” One minute we’re talking about some club chick rubbing his crotch and the next he’s reciting poetry? Jesus, I felt like I was in the middle of a David Lynch movie. Had everyone gone f**king insane?

“Yes, and I’m sorry, Lily. I knew you would probably be there that night, and I should have never let that chick touch me.”

“Adam, is that you?” I asked, in shock. Maybe the real Adam had been kidnapped by aliens and they had sent this one in his place.

Jacob, who had left at the end of our fling without a backward glance, was now looking at me like he was having second thoughts, and Adam was quoting love poems and apologizing for having been a player. I must be emitting some powerful pheromones. Life was becoming so surreal these days, I noted to myself with a sigh, as he led me by the hand over to the prosecutors’ table.

“Gentlemen, I present your newest colleague, Lily Adler,” Braden, who had already joined his co-workers, announced with a smile. “Also known as the woman who finally made Adam behave.”

“Hi Lily!” six guys said at the same time, all of them giving me huge smiles. I smiled back and waved. This is what I was known for – being the woman who brought down Adam Roth. What a proud moment this was. It didn’t help much that they had probably all seen me drunk off my ass the week before.

Adam pulled a chair up next to another and urged me to sit down close beside him. When I did, he took my hand and, you guessed it, placed it lovingly in his lap. I gave him a ‘you have to be kidding me’ look. As if on cue, my phone rang. I answered and was immediately verbally assaulted by an irate g*y man.

“How could you leave me alone with the Jane Gang?”

“Hello, Bruce. How are you?”

“Where are you?” he demanded.

“I’m fine, thanks. I’m at O’Malley’s.”

“I’ll be right there.” He hung up and I sighed. When was the phenomenal sexing?

I redirected my attention to Adam, who was proudly relating the account of how Jacob snidely asked me who would try the case, and how I had asked him the same thing. The other prosecutors at our table were looking at Adam with something akin to worship. What exactly had he done? Then it occurred to me, he was doing me. Just then Bruce stalked in, looking like someone had just stolen his tricycle. Where had he called from, the men’s room?

“You left me in a high crime area with nothing but a Brownie troupe to defend me?”

“A high crime area? Bruce, it’s a law library.”

“You were chased by a maniac! And now I’m stuck in that unsafe work environment with a couple of Martha Stewart clones. I’m so depressed!”

“Judge Channing’s looking for a new law clerk,” Adam offered.

“Really?” Bruce said, suddenly sounding perky.

“Yeah, Braden and I could probably put in a good word for you.”

“That would be wonderful!” He turned to me, smiled and without moving his lips, mumbled, “Make sure you give him some really good oral tonight, Lil.” I almost decked him.

“Why don’t you sit down and join us, Bruce?” Adam invited enthusiastically. Bruce had just made a friend for life. I looked up and saw Gab and Jess waving me over.

“Why don’t you fill Bruce in a little more about the job? I’m going over to say ‘hi’ to the girls, okay?” I said to Adam.

“Okay.” He smiled. Why wouldn’t he smile? His friends idolized him, and Bruce was offering him my sexual favors. All was good in his universe. I got up and crossed enemy lines.

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Well, well,” Gab said with a grin as I approached. “I heard you took on not only your mom, but Jacob too. I knew you could handle him in the bedroom, but I didn’t know you could take him in a courtroom.”

“Gabrielle,” I said through gritted teeth, glancing significantly at Mark and Cam.

“It’s okay, honey,” Jess chimed in. “Everyone who was in courtroom seven today knows that you and Mr. Sachs used to tear up the sheets together.”

“They also know that you and Adam are tearing them up now,” Mark added helpfully.