A gift from Santa

An offer

Raymond's POV

Just like the first time I had seen her in court dressed in a black gown and Louboutin pumps, which made her so tall when she stood with others but seemed to have her scurrying if I stood an inch closer to her, my heart slammed.

It spiked so fast that I had to force myself to rein in my emotions as I looked at her. She was skittering; maybe it was the little clench on her fist that gave it away, but she glared just like she had done on the first day we met in court.

I had kept her pinned to my mind, knowing that if I got out and it turned out she was still single, I would do whatever it was to get her to myself, but I knew it would take more than a mere request to do that since she was that stubborn.

“What are you doing here?” She demanded, finally yanking me out of my stream of thoughts. “You aren't supposed to be here.”

I bent over, picking up her phone just to make sure there was no one on the other end listening before I spoke up.

“Why do you think I shouldn't be here?” The phone settled in between my fingers as I tossed it in the air. “It seemed like you wanted me here.” I made gestures to her door, which hadn't been properly locked.

“How did you even manage to get in here? And what are you doing here? You should leave.” She was panting as she said that. Scared that I would hurt her, that I was here to do so.

“Leave?” I asked. “It is only fitting that I come here first to show you the clip of my innocence since I am out. You were so blinded by rage that you couldn't see that, so I thought it would be fitting if I did that.”

Her face morphed into shock before she stretched out a finger. “I am not taking this because it is important, but just because you are trying to talk down on me and what I have always pursued, do you think this is a joke, Raymond?”

“No, Tesoro.” My tongue ran on my teeth. “I will never play a joke when it comes to you, that much you should know.”

She glared, pointing daggers at me at my words before she flipped her head to the side, aggrieved.

“What do you have in here, and why do you think that I would be blinded by something such as this?”

Maybe it was the way she glared at me, but it had my heart racing so fast that I had to inhale deeply to make sure I was breathing properly.

“You can see for yourself then. If you still doubt me.” I gestured at the evidence she was holding in her hand.

It was a clip that had been difficult to get, but I had been able to do so.

She glared at me before running her hands around, probably searching for her laptop, which I slid across at her, taking note of how her brows had furrowed at that.

“You surely do know your way around.”

“It's you, Tesoro; for you, I am ready to learn whatever it is that you want.”

All she did was shrug at my words before she flipped her head to the side, her eyes drilling in on the system in front of her.

Just like the first time I had seen her, I took note of the crest on her forehead, one that appeared whenever she happened to be stressed.

Her eyes glued on the screen while her palm relaxed against her skirt, she was gnashing her teeth hard before she turned to take a look at it.

“This…this cannot be real.”

“What?” I mocked. “You think I will fabricate something like this? Why would I do that? What do I stand to gain from doing something like that?”

“How am I to know?” Her hands raked through her hair, a few covering her face before she tucked it behind her ears. “How the hell am I supposed to know that, and what are you doing in my house? You know I can sue you for burglary, don't you?”

“I know you can.” I concurred. “But you won't.”

“Hmmph,“ she scoffed at what I just said before turning to take a look at the door and her phone, possibly thinking about which one was faster.

It might have just dawned on her then that she was with a total stranger who she had sent to jail to serve time, and it might be possible that I was here to exert my revenge on her.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you.” I had to deter her, so I continued. “Just like you did, I had the opportunity to hand this over to the police, which in every sense seemed to be the right thing to do.” I explained it to her.

“Then why didn't you do it? Why the hell are you here now? Are you here to torment my life? Make it even worse than it already is? What do you want!” She slapped her palm against her hand as she waited for an answer.

“What? Cat got your tongue?”

“You look pretty when you look this way.”

“Cut the crap, Raymond, and go to the point; besides, I'm done. I don't want you in my house, and that's it, so leave.” She has a finger pointed at the door.

Moving a step closer, I had a hand around the knob, wanting to do what she had just said, when I felt her hands wrapped around my wrist. Well, someone certainly has a second thought, and a quick one at that.

“Fine,” she tossed both hands in her hands. “Why are you here? And that clip. How many copies do you have?” She gazed at my face as though judging my expression to see what I was going to say.

“I can't account for it presently, but you should know that I have a lot of them, just not countable at this point.”

She swirled to the side, almost dropping to the ground when my hands wrapped around her waist, stopping her from dropping. She slapped my hands off in fury, stunning me even further.

“If there is anyone who should be furious about this happening, it should be me, Lily, and not you.” I said to her when she ran a hand on her face before it hung underneath her lips.

“You know this can't be out, and neither can you go to the police. I know I was wrong, but I was simply defending my client like I had promised him I would do.”

“I spent years behind bars, Lily. My life was wasted behind bars for a crime I didn't commit, and you are talking about what's wrong or right? What is stopping me from snapping your head right here and now is because of the proposition I have for you.”

“What is it? I can't let that get out. People wouldn't want to come anymore. My winning streaks will be affected, and I can't let that happen.”

“Good, that is why you are going home with me as my partner. I need someone to show my parents, and you seem just right.”

She shook her head. “I can't do that; you can get someone else. I will never do that with you, Raymond. Not you.”

“No one else wants to be with an ex-convict, and it is only fitting that I get to the one who made me this way. How about I let you sleep it over? It should be an easy choice: a trip for Christmas with my family, or you can kiss your career goodbye. The choice is yours to make.”