Chapter 7

Mark was sitting in the courtroom on Wednesday when Marci made her entrance. He wouldn’t say she was now drop-dead gorgeous but there certainly was a change in her appearance. The men and some of the women were looking at this young professional-looking lady walking into the courtroom wearing a light gray business suit that showed she had a nice ass. The three-inch high heel shoes she was wearing showed she had nice legs. Her makeup was impeccable complementing her brown hair that she was wearing down. If Mark was a betting man he would put money on that Marci went one step further and was wearing a push-up bra as her breasts seemed larger than he remembered them to be.

Marci gave the appearance of being very professional and successful. She seemed to radiate confidence in that she knew what was happening and she wasn’t going to take any prisoners in trying this case.

He just sat back and enjoyed seeing the reaction of the people in the courtroom. Most of the men on the jury were giving her a good-looking over. Mark saw that they listened to every word she spoke and their body language would indicate they agreed with her. Mark had a strong hunch that it would be a favorable verdict as it appeared she had won the jury over to her side judging by the body language he was seeing.

At lunch, with Marci, he could see he was somewhat the envy of a few men there because of who he was having lunch with. He didn’t want to give her a big head so he only talked about the trial and not her looks.

Just as they were finishing their meal Marci said, “Well, aren’t you going to say anything about how I look?”

“What can I say? You are one good-looking chick who gives the appearance of knowing exactly what you are doing. I can see that every man in this room would love to be sitting here with you. Even some of the women I can see are also checking you out. That being said, don’t let it go to your head as there is still work to do in the courtroom.”

Back in the courtroom, there was more testimony before the court was adjourned for the day. Marci, he could see by her actions she had become more confident in what she was doing in trying this case.

All indications were that the case would go to the jury the following day and it did. After both sides gave their closing arguments the judge instructed the jury and had them retire to come up with a verdict. Marci who again looked good in a darker gray suit suggested they go to her office.

“I don’t think it is going to take the jury long to come up with a verdict. Why don’t we just go to the lower level and have a cup of coffee?” said Mark.

It turned out that Mark was right. Forty-five minutes later Marci received a text message saying a verdict had been reached. She became ecstatic and when back in the courtroom the verdict was announced as a not-guilty. She turned to Mark and with a big smile on her face gave him a fist pump. It was assumed that the jury accepted Marci’s argument that the plaintiff was not injured because of the minor car damage and he exaggerated being injured. That the plaintiff continued to golf would further indicate that he wasn’t injured.

As they were walking out of the courthouse Marci asked, “What are your plans for the rest of the day?”

“I am checked out of the hotel so I will hit the road for the three-hour drive back to Austin.”

“I am hoping I can talk you out of doing that and we can go out to dinner which will be my treat. We do need first to stop by the office first as I want to tell them of the verdict.”

Mark was in no rush to go back home. With the interesting looks he was getting from Marci he agreed to her suggestion.

At the office, there were people there who asked her how it went and were surprised when she told them of the not guilty verdict on a clear liability case.

Walking into Lawrence William’s office she introduced Mark to her uncle.

Shaking Mark’s hand he asked Mark to call him Larry. He also asked Mark to introduce him to this young lady who he doesn’t recognize. That caused all three of them to laugh and Marci blushed a little. Marci told him of the verdict which surprised him and he congratulated her.

Marci momentarily left Larry’s office to see if there were any messages she needed to respond to.

While she was gone Larry thanked Mark for what he had done to make this welcome change in Marci.

Mark and Marci went out to dinner at Caruso’s which was just around the corner from the office. They had a nice meal and an adult beverage. The conversation was interesting for many reasons. One tidbit she dropped was how hard she worked in law school to be number one in her class but she was beaten out by Gloria Mendez. Mark remarked that this Gloria must be something.

With the meal ended, Marci invited Mark to her condo which was a short walk away.

During the walk, Mark remarked that he has seen a change in her and thought she would progress to being a top-notch attorney. She certainly had the intelligence and now she had the appearance along with how to act in the courtroom to become that. He could see she appreciated hearing him saying that.

Inside her condo, she offered him a drink which he accepted but asked her to keep it light. Mark looked at several photos that were on a shelf. There was a photo of her that showed how she looked the first time he saw her. In accepting the drink she handed him he told her to save that photo to remind her of how she looked then compared to how she looks now.

Sitting on the couch, Marci said, “You say you are good at reading a person’s body language, so tell me, what is my body language saying?”

Mark put his drink down and gave her a look before he said, “You are wondering if I will try to put a move on you because if I do, you are not sure what you will do, and that makes you nervous.”