Finding Maggie (Remade)

Win Some, Lose Some

Maggie got up with her alarm clock, groaning as she mustered up the strength to make it to the bathroom. After getting showered and dressed, she went in search of Jessie who was asleep on the sofa and still wearing the same clothes from the night before. Maggie didn't have the heart to wake her friend so she reheated the pot of coffee she had made earlier, jotted down a note for Jessie, and tacked it up on the fridge.

At five after eight, Maggie bolted into the court room, panting from the run she had just made from outside. "I'm so sorry, Your Honor. Traffic was backed up on the bridge," Maggie huffed as she set her briefcase down on the desk so she could work at getting her lilac colored suit back in order. The cab driver had done his best to get her to court on time but the results from the bumpy, tumultuous drive had left her looking rather disheveled. The judge muttered something under his breath with a casual wave of his hand and gave her a few moments to catch her breath.

Maggie hated being late but there was nothing she could do about it and she refused to let her upset nerves get the best of her. The courtroom was her kingdom, the one and only place where she felt completely in control. She had practically grown up in a courtroom and she knew she was one of the best lawyers in New York City, probably even in the top ten along the east coast. She had enough awards to prove it too but the only award she really craved was the win when the gavel came down.

Beatrice Landry, her client, sat perfectly still in the seat beside her. Her back was tight, her shoulders tense. Maggie took her seat, satisfied her clothes were once more in order, and gave her client a reassuring smile. "Relax," she whispered.

"That's easy for you to say," Beatrice quipped back, crossing her arms against her breasts. Breasts that her soon-to-be ex-husband had gladly paid top dollar for barely two years prior. "I just want to get this over with."

A few hours later, just after one in the afternoon, Judge Saxton recessed everyone for lunch. "We'll reconvene at two thirty," he ordered, banging the gavel down and exiting the court room. Maggie carefully packed up her briefcase and turned to leave the court room. With an hour and a half for lunch, she knew exactly where she wanted to grab a bite to eat. Just as she made it past the first set of gates that divided the court from the general public seating, a slight movement to her left caught her eye.

"Oh Jesus, Mikhail! You scared me." Maggie's hand went up to her heart which was suddenly beating rather fast.

"You shouldn't take the Lord's name in vain, Margret."

Maggie looked around the room to find the two of them completely alone. "Wait, how did you get in here? This is a closed court." She wasn't frightened of Mikhail but much like the previous night, the butterflies in her stomach seemed to take flight the moment his voice curled around to her ears.

"I enjoyed watching you. May I ask why you haven't used the information I wrote down for you last night?"

"I don't make a habit of using work that's not my own." Maggie noticed that he hadn't answered her question of how he had managed to get into the courtroom but it wasn't the top of her concerns. "It just didn't feel right. Besides, I haven't had the chance to corroborate any of it," she added, suddenly feeling like she was back in school answering to her teacher, "things like that take time and you gave me a lot to go through."

"Do you honestly believe I would waste my time giving you false information?" he asked with a raised brow.

"I would have no way of knowing, would I?" she quipped back. "I take you you know the Landry's?"

"Still, you presented yourself amazingly well," he replied, refusing to answer her question. Standing to his full height from the pew, Mikhail was sporting a tan three piece suit with a red silk shirt underneath.