I awoke to the familiar sounds of birds chirping... a slight breeze on my face... and a dead weight on my arm. I don't know how the birds can be so happy when they wake up so early, even if they do get the worm. Which begs the question, when did the worms get up? You'd think they'd be smart and stay in bed. They'd live longer.

  The breeze on my face meant that I had forgotten to close my bedroom window... again. You might think that was a stupid thing to do; but, I'm glad for many reasons to be living in a really nice neighbourhood. One of the main reasons is privacy, and of course another is hardly any crime. Don't get me wrong. There's still crime, it's just of a higher class than you'd normally see.

  There's no gangs of street punks, no drug pushers, and no prostitutes... operating openly. We still have those things, it was just conducted at a far more discreet level and not rubbed in your face when you walk down the street... that is unless you liked that, then they would flaunt it at your request.

  I live in a comfortable ranch style home with moderate furnishings. Nothing extravagant mind you; because unlike most of the people in my area, I know the value of a dollar. Why would I waste thousands of dollars on a painting, when I can get one from the guy selling them at the bazaar downtown for 20 dollars, and actually like the thing? Right. I wouldn't.

  I twisted my body a little, and the dead weight on my arm didn't budge. I reach over with my spare hand, since the hand on the trapped arm was pretty much immobilized, and I scratch behind the ear of my pup. Well, I guess when they reach a year and a half old and well over a hundred pounds they're not much of a pup anymore. No matter how big this one gets though, he'll always be my little puppy. He looks as much like a wolf as you could imagine, and sometimes I think he might be one for real. I don't think I'll ever know for sure.

  You see, I found the poor little guy during one of my very rare and brief vacations. While I was driving in the Mojave Desert, I spotted this tiny bump on the side of the road. For some reason I felt that I just had to stop and see what that bump was, then I let my curiosity get the better of me and I did stop. That bump turned out to be an almost completely starved little pup. He was all skin and bones and his fur was matted and torn in places; but, I didn't see any blood, which I had hoped was a good sign.

  I could imagine myself strangling the wretched soul that was driving the vehicle that must have hit him. My heart went out to the pup as I picked up his small and frail form. I held him close to me and cried because he whimpered when I touched him. I had to get him to the car and that meant moving him. I couldn't tell if he had any internal injuries, so I placed him as gently as I could in my open suitcase on the back seat.

  I got him settled in a nest of soft clothing and transferred the bag to the passenger seat, because I wanted to keep as close an eye on him as I could manage while still driving safely. I rushed to the nearest town and got him in to see a local vet. The vet said that besides the severe dehydration and a lot of bumps and bruises, with some love and attention the pup would make a full recovery in time. Since I thought he looked like he'd been dragged through hell and back... I called him Cerberus... and now he's mine.

  My alarm went off at the preset time, and without me jostling him or trying to push him off of me, Cerberus got up and off the bed. He turned and sat with as much panache as a dancer doing a pirouette and looked at me quizzically. His soft golden eyes caught me like a spell. It always amazed me when he did that. It was almost like he was finally giving me permission to get up now that the alarm went off.

  I smiled at him, reached over and ruffled the fur on his head in a silent thank you, and rolled off the bed. I had to get ready for work. I stripped off my sleep clothes... pyjama bottoms and a tank top... hey, they're really comfortable... and I hopped in the shower. I let the water rinse over me to wash away last night's warmth. It was nice and breezy last night; but, just laying still for that amount of time lets perspiration build up in certain areas.

  I scrubbed and rinsed and shampooed my hair, even though it didn't really need it since I had washed it last night before heading to bed. I didn't want any extra tangles today. I got out of the shower fresh and clean and ready to tackle the world, but first I had to tackle... my reflection.

  Despite what anyone else says to me, I'm not fussy on what I see there. A mass of hair that some people would generously call dirty blonde. I would just call it very light brown with a few highlights. It's down to just past my shoulders, a good length no matter what time of year it is. I see some women with hair longer than that and they always complain that it's too hard to manage or time consuming to maintain. A quick wash and shampoo with mine and I'm done.

  I tied my hair up into a tight bun with some bobby pins, exposing my neck and getting the hair out of the way. My hair has some natural curls and I could take extra time with curlers and possibly a curling iron and make it really curly. I do that occasionally when I want to dress up because it really accentuates my face. I'll freely admit that there's a time and a place for that... just not today. Today I have work to do.

  My name is Jessica Scott and I am a lawyer. I know, I know. Most people think lawyers are scum, vile, cruel, and have no conscience. Ambulance chasers. Well, let me get one thing straight with you... most of them are right. On the other hand, there are certain exceptions, and I am one of them.

  Even though the money can be great sometimes, I don't do it for the money... I do it for the satisfaction. To finally get an innocent person acquitted of a crime they didn't commit, or to stop a corporation from abusing the rights of their workers, it's the best feeling in the world. I didn't start out this way, however.

  I did my time in the district attorney's office prosecuting criminals because I thought that as long as the law was on my side I could do no wrong. I was completely wrong about that, though. I got tired of the defense attorney getting their clients off on technicalities... one even got dismissed because the arresting officer had written the criminal's time of arrest being 'at around midnight' when in fact it had been at 12:45. It was sloppy paperwork and the criminal got to go free.

  The biggest mistake that I made that had changed what I wanted to do with my life, was when I sent a man to prison for murder. The evidence gathered was all conclusive and pointed directly to him. It was a cut and dry case. Simple, right? Wrong. The investigating police officer had withheld a crucial piece of evidence; another fingerprint, which turned out to be his partner. While the police officer's involvement was being discovered, the man I had sent to jail had had an 'accident'. He died.

  Since he was a criminal in prison it was all swept under the rug and covered up so that no one could be officially implicated in the wrongful death suit that soon followed. He should have been alive and free, and he wasn't because of me. I did my job to the best of my ability and he had paid the ultimate price for it.

  Now, I take the cases that I want and not what's assigned to me. I work at the Phillips Wyatt & Associates Law Firm, located in the McGruber Building. The firm rents the top three floors for both offices and conference rooms. There's quite a few other lawyers here, too. Some of them are independent contractors like me and others are a part of the main structure and are given assignments.

  Of course, there's not much chance for me to advance in the company, since I'm only technically an employee and not an actual member of it, and that's fine with me. I love my job and I'm good at it. Some even say that I'm very good at it. Others sometimes call me a stone cold heartless... well, you know. I'm hard and merciless in the courtroom because I have to be. It's the only way to survive, and that's what I am. A survivor.

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  I pulled a conservative pants suit from my closet and a set of blue lacy bra and underwear from the top drawer of my dresser. I wasn't planning on having anyone see them, and no one has (or will) for a while; but, I still like to feel like a woman under the disguise of a man that I wear to court. They make me feel pretty. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?

  I don't really have self esteem issues... except for my chest. I think they are a little too big for comfort. My ex-boyfriend said that they were perfect and I could believe that as much as the moon is made out of cheese. What is it with men and their fixation with breasts? They're just a piece of my body. Of course, I don't think any man would be stupid enough to say that they weren't perfect to my face, probably because they wouldn't live too much longer after the words left their mouths.

  I got dressed in record time and headed down to the kitchen while I carried my suit coat. I hung it on the kitchen chair and turned to see my ex-boyfriend Paul sitting at the counter and eating my pop tarts. At least he wasn't drinking my chocolate milk.

  “What are you doing here?” I said in a slightly raised voice.

  “Eating.”

  “Get out.”

  “Hey, come on Jess. I'm trying to be civil here. I just want to talk.”

  He looked petulant and I was starting to get angry.

  “My name is Jessica. Not Jess. Not Jessie. Jessica. You always say it wrong because you know I hate it when you do. Get. Out.”

  With a pleading tone in his voice he said, “Jessie... Jessica. Look, I'm sorry okay? I want to work this out with you.”

  “What part of 'get out' did you not understand? I don't want to work things out with you. It's over! It's been over since you slept with that... person... my so-called friend... two months ago.”

  I took a deep breath, raised my voice some more, and continued.

  “I wouldn't have even found out about it if she hadn't called me afterwards to ask why you and I had broken up! Do you know how that felt? I was shocked! You screwed this relationship up, you idiot! It wasn't my fault! It was all you!”

  It was then that I realized it was true. It wasn't my fault. I was a good girlfriend. I was loving and attentive and practically bent over backwards to make him happy. I stood still for a moment in silence as I thought about it, then I got my mind back onto the track that it was on. I couldn't believe that he would dredge all this up now, right when I was about to go to work. I didn't have time to go through all of this again. Not today, and as far as I'm concerned, not ever.

  Paul tried to plead with me. “I made a mistake, Jess... Jessica. I've been trying to apologize for months! I don't love her. I love you. It was just a fling and it didn't mean anything!”

  He reached out and tried to grab my arm, I think to pull me in for an embrace, and I reacted like he was going to attack me. I jerked out of his reach, grabbed his wrist, twisted him around to face the counter and jammed his arm behind his back. He made a nice 'oomph' sound when his stomach hit the counter's edge and I leaned in close and whispered into his ear.

  “Have you told her that? She must have enjoyed hearing it as much as I just did.” I said. “If you can hurt someone that you love by cheating on them, what would you do behind the back of someone you don't?”

  I was invading his personal space and hadn't intended to, so I let him go. He turned back to me and stood up. He stayed there with a blank expression on his face and didn't respond. How could he answer that without making things worse? Well, he couldn't. I let him stew with that information for another moment while I calmed down, and then I spoke.

  “Give me the spare key. It won't be there tomorrow. I never want to see you again. If I find out you've been in my house after today, I'll have you arrested for stalking. I'll even prosecute you pro-bono for the state.”

  Paul didn't move from where he stood, and I heard a low guttural growl sweep past me. I turned my head and saw Cerberus in the hallway. He stood stiff and straight while he glared at Paul. He must have been there the whole time. It must have startled Paul and shook him out of whatever thoughts he'd been thinking, because I turned my head to face Paul again and saw him as he reached into his pocket and put the key on the counter.

  “Now get out.” I said, without a hint of tone in my voice.

  I reached my hand down and out a bit, away from my body to the side, and Cerberus was there waiting to be touched. I caressed his fur and let it run between my fingers and watched Paul as he walked out of the kitchen and out of my sight. A moment later I heard my front door close and I let out a sigh of relief. I knelt down to the floor and hugged my puppy around the neck and whispered to him.

  I told him that he had been a good boy to let me handle that all by myself. I rubbed his ears and belly and thanked him because he was watching out for me, and I cried a little bit. Even though it had been months since it had happened, it still hurt. Cerberus would be there for me, because he will always be my puppy.

  I cleaned myself up in the bathroom sink. Thankfully, I hadn't had a chance to put on my makeup before Paul showed up, so it didn't take long to wipe the tears away. It's too bad the memories couldn't be wiped away just as easily. I artfully applied my makeup and donned my suit coat as I passed through the kitchen. I didn't have time to eat breakfast now, so I'll have to grab some fast food on the way to the office. I was about to leave when Cerberus nudged my leg with his head. I stopped and bent down and hugged him again.

  “Don't worry, I'm fine. I'll be home as soon as I can. We'll have a treat tonight, okay?”

  Cerberus whined a bit. He accepted that I had to go; but, that didn't mean he had to like it. He lifted a paw and placed it on my shoulder and caught me with the beauty of his golden eyes again. I laughed.

  “How about I take the afternoon off, then? Would that make you happy?”

  He let out a soft bark and dropped his paw. I stood up, opened the front door, and we both went outside. I took a deep cleansing breath in through my nose and held it for a minute, then blew it out through my mouth. I held the door open and asked Cerberus if he wanted to stay out today. He shook his head and went back into the house and I shut the door and locked it.

  I thought about getting the locks changed just in case Paul had a duplicate key made. That might seem a bit paranoid, it's just that you never know what guys will do after a breakup sometimes. Even if they were the ones who caused it in the first place, they almost always feel that they've been wronged.

  I hopped into my trusty car and drove to work. The ride was surprisingly uneventful. Considering how my morning had progressed, I thought that there would be a big pile up on the expressway or that the traffic would be backed up for hours. Despite how the day started, everything went fine. I got to work on time and even got a good spot in the parking garage. Usually, I had to hunt around to get one that was even remotely close to the elevator. I parked and got out and only had a short walk to go. The day was definitely looking up.

  I arrived on the seventh floor, or more accurately the bottom floor of the three floors that the firm rents from the McGruber Building. The building looked small from the outside and was absolutely huge on the inside. I don't know how the city planners let the McGruber Corporation claim this much land in the middle of the city; but, I wasn't about to complain.

  I've got the smallest office on the floor and it's luxurious. It has an outer office and a waiting area with a desk for my very own secretary slash personal assistant. The outer office is decorated in a soft pastel color with various plants located around the room in strategic areas. That's what the florist said when she put them there, and they've been there ever since.

  I barely got in through the door and Alice was up from her desk and handing me my messages.

  “Hi, boss. Here's the messages from this morning and from the answering service overnight. I put them in priority order with the most important on the top.”

  “Thanks, Alice.”

  “No problem. Your coffee is on your desk.”

  “I don't know what I'd do without you.”

  “Everything... and all by yourself, I'd bet.”

  We both laughed because we both knew she was right.

  I passed her desk and entered my office, then I dropped the notes on my desk blotter and they spread out a bit. They were not only in priority order, they were color coded as well. I smiled because she had the most important one in bright red. It was from the warehouse security firm involved in my court case today. I called them without even looking at the other messages. I spoke to the voice on the phone, stating that I was returning their call, and they forwarded me to the head office. They had what I had asked for, and wondered if I wanted to pick it up. I said that I'd be there as soon as I could and hung up.

  I glanced at the other notes and they were on orange, yellow and blue paper, which meant I could ignore them for now. I swung out of my chair and grabbed my briefcase. It already contained everything I needed for today. I told Alice I'd be running a quick errand and that she didn't have to worry that I wouldn't make it to the court building on time.

  Today was going to be a great day.