Free Forever a Hustler's Wife by Nikki Turner Page A

devour the courtroom?” he asked, almost in shock.
    “No,” she lied. She had indeed heard of him. Lawyers knew lawyers and especially black lawyers. There was a small fan club of female attorneys who kept the chatter going on about Marvin Sledge.
    “Well, basically, I know my stuff, and I know it well,” he started. “In the courtroom, pardon my comparison, if I took a dump in the middle of the floor, my shit wouldn’t stink…and that just about sums it up.”
    Yarni moved the phone away from her mouth so he couldn’t hear her laugh.
Hmm, a minute man,
she thought.
Didn’t take him long at all to get his off.
    “I hope I haven’t come on too strong, but you asked, and usually my work should speak for itself; but on the rare occasions I have to defend it, I suppose I can seem a bit sure of myself. But like I said, I know my stuff, and I know it well.”
    “As do I, Mr. Sledge. As do I.” She put him in check because the cockiness was coming through the phone, but after looking at the photo on his résumé, she knew she shouldn’t have been surprised.
    They continued to talk, and Yarni knew Marvin was full of bullshit, but she liked it because he was slick with it. She found his charisma and confidence in himself appealing, and she knew that he had the kind of game that would enable him to sell ice to an Eskimo. He had the ability to push the verdict he wanted over on a jury. She needed that on her team.
    “Well, Mr. Sledge, I’ve enjoyed speaking with you, but, in all fairness, I have a couple more candidates I need to interview before I make any final decisions,” Yarni said.
    “Understandable,” he agreed. “So I should look to hear back from you by—”
    “Soon,” Yarni cut him off.
    “Well then, I must say it has been my pleasure, and I look forward to working with you,” Marvin threw in.
    Yarni shook her head at his level of confidence as she saw Des enter her office and sit down in the leather chair in front of her desk. “Yes, Mr. Sledge, just as soon as I conduct these last interviews I’ll be making a decision, and I’ll give you a call back then,” Yarni said before she hung up the phone. She smiled. Her mind was definitely already made up. “You ready, baby?” She quickly called Joyce to check on the baby as she pitched the other résumés in the trash. She walked from behind the desk and into Des’s arms.

CHAPTER 6

    Get Money
    Y arni and Des barely noticed the food on the plates in front of them as they sat across from each other in the quiet restaurant, gazing into each other’s eyes. He had never seen his wife look more beautiful, and it took everything in him not to take her right there on the floor of the private room he had booked for their intimate night out together.
    She had been to see the doctor the day before for her six-week checkup, and he knew with all she had gone through bringing their daughter into the world, he had to take his time and make it like their first time, but better.
    After leaving the restaurant, and leaving behind barely eaten food, they headed toward the next private setting that awaited them for the night. Just as they reached suite 1064, Yarni’s cell phone rang. She answered it, and it was her sister, Bambi.
    “Oooh, I am so happy!” Yarni screamed in excitement when she heard Bambi’s news. Yarni covered the phone and told Des, “They dropped the charges against Lynx.”
    Des smiled. “That’s great.”
    “B, how about I plan a little dinner at my house for him?” Yarni suggested.
    “How are you going to be the event planner? That’s my job,” Bambi reminded her sister.
    “I know, but we got the same blood. I’m sure I can pull it off. So let’s do it next week, once Lynx is settled and y’all have caught up.”
    “I’ll think about it,” Bambi teased. “Where’s my niece?”
    “At home with her YaYa.”
    “Where are you?”
    “At the Jefferson.” Yarni kicked off her shoes and lay across the bed next to