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Chapter 1

Attorney Zena Nefertiti Shaw looked like aburgundy, thin-heeled suede puolden buckles at the ankles that made her feet arch doith unmistakable femininity A fitted merlot skirt paired with a draathered in pleats in the small of her back showed off her tiny waist and flat sto down her back with a subtle curl at the bottom When Zenain her direction for dramatic allure

In the courtrooood while delivering her closing argument

“In closing, dear jury, what I want to ask all of you, each of you, is, ould you want if the one you love, the person who stood before man, his family and friends and your family and friends, the church and God in heaven and swore to always love you back, dishonored the innocence of your voith the unspeakable behaviors Mr Rayland has imposed uponthe stare that had been locked upon the jury and turning to face Tanisha Rayland, her thirty-seven-year-old client as at the center of a very ugly and controversial divorce fro R & B husband of twelve years

Zena stood with her profile parallel to the jury as she gazed at Tanisha She wanted them to see the connection she had with this woman Wanted them to see what sympathy for this wo and deep and dramatically

“As you all learned throughout these proceedings, and as this woe sweetheart slept with and ihteen-year-old they hired to enter their home to care for their children And that’s only the worst part Maybe Because in twelve years of e, Mrs Rayland can’t recall one year when she wasn’t sharing her husband’s affections with another woman Especially not after the fa career she helped hi in Well, then she had to share hi women at a time”

A tear fell froht skin with a red undertone that made her ethnicity unclear until she opened her o ca eyelashes If it wasn’t for the weight she’d put on after having five children—she’d confessed to Zena that she had the last three with hopes of keeping her husband at hoht look like one of the video vixens hom Mr Rayland enjoyed his ht Tanisha could easily find work as a full-figured model

Zena exhaled again, adding hyperbole to Tanisha’s tears She turned back to the jury As she rolled her eyes along her path, she got a gli beside his attorney on the other side of the courtroo back and forth in eht on his deepest, darkest secret When the divorce proceedings had started, days ago, he’d arrived with huge diamonds in his ears, a pernicious smile and a Rolex on his wrist that seemed to connote this would be a breeze; his wealth would prevail He was confident He stated he would beat the entitlement case But after days in the courtroom, he didn’t look so sure of this articulation That wicked ss That Rolex was a ghost He was in his simplest form now A man without airs Humbled

Eyes on the jury, Zena added, “And the tors, the weeks away from home, the year Mr Rayland was in

jail and my client had to care for their five children alone, and the lies” She pursed her lips Gave the jury ti thees of Mr Rayland she’d so carefully painted “The lies Lie after lie” She glanced back at Tanisha and her tears “So, I ask again, ould you want in return? What should she want? Can we really place limitations on what this woh support to care for her children in the manner to which they’ve become accustomed, a return on her investment in her husband and to stay in the ho for the last six years? Respectfully, in contrast with how Mr Rayland’s attorneys have painted this wo vindictive or asking for so things right”

Ahtened her suit jacket She leaned against the jury box to appearsoentlemen of the jury, I ihteous verdict To do what’s fair What’s just Award Mrs Tanisha Rayland twenty-five million dollars in entitlements as she dissolves ties from Mr Rayland and her sad past with him Release her, so she can move on Do what you would want done What she deserves”

Zena bowed deeply toward the jury, and she actually saw some heads nod back to her One older woman who’d always smiled at her looked as if she was about to clap Zena turned back to her seat and winked at her client as she walked toward her When she sat and grabbed Tanisha’s hand beneath the table to reassure her of their success, Zena’s assistant and best friend, Malak, as sitting in the front row, leaned forward s

“This one is in the bag, Z!” Malak cheered in a low voice

“I hope you’re right,” Zena whispered, eyeing Mr Rayland’s attorney, as standing before the jury, ready to present his closing arguments before the jury would return to their roo When Tanisha left her husband, he froze all of her accounts and she had little h hourly fee Since news of the Raylands’ pending divorce broke, the hungry ossip sensation of Tanisha’s life and split fro husband—at least that’s how his teas Zena had to play offense and defense, creating a team for her client, which now included her firrapher This robbed her other cases of valuable time—and her bank account of precious dollars Zena told herself this was the cost ofa big payday would co”

“Don’t worry,” Zena said to Tanisha, but it was clear she was also trying to encourage herself “Everything will be fine”

Luckily, Malak’s psychic sensibilities were better than her jet-black-and-blond ombré weave

After just twenty , the jury returned with a verdict that made a rich woman of Zena’s client She’d be able to pay Zena’s fees and those of her associates and, more importantly, move on with her life

Moving on for Zena, though, arita Toith Malak in tow After debriefing Tanisha on their next steps and assuring her this was “really it—she’d won,” Zena hopped into a Town Car waiting outside the courthouse and quietly thanked God for theher arrival at Margarita Town It would wash away all of her thoughts of Mr Priest Rayland and his deplorable behavior