Finding Submission (Service & Submission Book 1) (3 page)

Now she was sitting in front of the judge’s chambers for stealing and intent to sell stolen property. Being the daughter of a Judge, her father wouldn’t be happy if he heard of her arrest. She desperately hoped he hadn’t been notified of her indiscretion.

Deep in thought, she almost missed the tall handsome guy who strode into the room. It sounded so cliché, but he truly met all the requirements for tall, dark, and handsome. Six foot three, two hundred pounds of pure muscle with black wavy hair that feathered nicely on the sides.

“Hi, Samantha. Is Judge Morton in his chambers? I was told to meet him here before court at nine o’clock this morning.”

“Yes, Preston. He’s waiting for you. Let me buzz him, and you can go right in.”

Avery loved the sound of tall, dark and handsome’s voice. She loved a man with a deep voice. Her imagination started to fly — imagining him whispering to her. How would he sound in bed? Would he be the type to talk during sex or would he be the strong and silent type? How would all that confidence be in bed? Would he take charge in the bedroom?

She looked at him again, admiring how he looked in his suit. He filled out a suit very nicely, looking like a commercial for men’s cologne. His white dress shirt was showing a quarter inch past the sleeve of his dark blue suit and when he raised his arm to see what time it was, he had sapphire blue and black jeweled cuff links. His tie was cobalt blue and made his blue eyes sparkle. Judging from the breadth of his chest and shoulders which filled out the suit nicely, as well as the toned muscles in his thighs, this was a man who worked out regularly.

At that moment, Judge Morton opened his door “Preston, I’m glad you could make it on such short notice.” The Judge then turned and looked at Avery. “Miss Beauchamp, we’ll be with you momentarily. Are you okay?”

“Yes, Sir. I’m fine, thank you.”

As the two men walked into the Judge’s chambers, Avery got a great view of Preston’s tight ass. The man
definitely
filled out a suit well.

Avery worried about what they were saying about her in the Judge’s chambers. Her father was very influential in their small town. Granted she was in Brentwood, Tennessee, which is why she was having such a hard time making rent. An affluent suburb of Nashville, Brentwood had the best schools and homes for the professionals who wanted the fifteen minute commute to their high-paying jobs in Nashville; it was a great town to be a cleaner for all the rich socialites who didn’t have time to clean their houses. She would know, she grew up that way too. She never paid the cleaners any mind. They came daily to her house, which she knew now was rare; most families had them come only once or twice a week. She worked independently and not for a cleaning company which normally worked out very well. But that also meant she was responsible for all the supplies and health insurance for herself, besides her car payment and rent. She wondered if the police had called her father or if her father’s assistant, Lloyd, would’ve seen her arrest record and contacted Judge Morton himself.

* * *

Judge Morton, as with most judges, was past middle age but he was one of the nicest judges in their district court. Preston looked up to him. Judge Morton wasn’t pretentious or condescending, yet he was firm. He didn’t believe in letting things slide. He believed he should come down on the criminals hard the first time in the hopes he’d discourage them from ever appearing in his court room again. Preston respected that theory and believed in it himself. He felt that principle could be applied to all aspects of life. His mother used to tell Preston as a teenager, “I’m a prayin’ momma. I ask God to let you be caught the first time. That way your Daddy and I can straighten your butt out and prevent a reoccurrence.”

It was that tenet that the Judge carried out in his courtroom.

“Preston, have a seat.” The Judge indicated the chair in front of his desk. “I have a sticky situation here today. The sweet girl out there that you saw is Miss Avery Beauchamp. Does that last name ring a bell with you?”

“No, Sir. I don’t think so. Should it?”

Judge Morton leaned back in his chair, grabbing a pointer and tapping Memphis, Tennessee on the large map on his wall. “Judge Grayson Beauchamp is a well-known, wealthy and respected Judge in Memphis and that young lady out there is his only daughter. I received a call from him early this morning telling me that she’d been arrested trying to sell Rolex watches at a pawn shop.”

“Did she say why she was doing it?” Preston asked. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

“She said she needed the money to pay her car payment and knew she could get the money on the street for them.”

“What? Wait a minute.” Preston tilted his head, suspecting there might be something else going on here with this case. “Her Daddy is a prominent, well-respected
and
wealthy judge and… she can‘t make her car payment?”

“She left home six months ago trying to make it on her own. She didn’t want to follow the rules of the house,” Judge Morton said. “The Judge wasn’t willing to compromise his rules or the peace of the house. He gave her two month’s rent, helped her find an apartment and hasn’t seen her since. She’s apparently rather strong-willed and stubborn.”

“Sounds like she gets that from her Daddy. He made the right decision in my mind. How old is she?”

“She’s twenty four and has a Bachelor’s in International Relations. Couldn’t find a job in her degree, so she’s started cleaning houses in Brentwood. According to her credit history, she pays her bills on time and makes pretty good money. She was smart enough to know where to live to clean houses. She just made the mistake of getting an apartment in Brentwood and lives paycheck to paycheck paying that rent. I’m guessing her pride and stubbornness have prevented her from calling her Daddy for help thus far.

“So what does Daddy want us to do?”

The Judge rubbed his forefinger on his top lip, hesitating. “He wants us to waive the criminal charges, no probation, and no record. He said we can impose a fine. But what he really wants is for us to lecture her, convincing her to drag her little tail home, preferably tucked between her legs — or work out an arrangement for her to work off her fine to the State.”

“God, you know I
hate
shit like this. A spoiled rich kid — with a Daddy in a high place — who has no understanding of boundaries and limits. She needs to pay the price. If you ask me—” Preston laid a hand on his chest “—and I’m assuming that’s why you asked me here this morning, I’d recommend having her work off her fine for the State. Have her pick up trash; work in a soup kitchen or women’s shelter. She apparently needs the discipline and structure. She left home because she didn’t want limitations and structure. Now she’s broken the law, due to no consistent boundaries while growing up and now if we don’t impose a punishment, she gets off again.”

“I had a feeling that you’d feel that way, and you know I support that thinking, right?” Judge Morton raised his eyebrows, nodding in agreement. “I’m sure we can get her to agree when we apply the right persuasion. Her father, I’m pretty sure, will agree to whatever we propose — as long as she’s left without a record.”

Preston Harrison came from a family that believed in discipline and he in turn was a proponent of punishment fitting the crime, using what’s available, finding what the “currency” is for the one being punished. Once you determined what they would avoid at all costs, you had the upper hand. He thought about how Miss Avery Beauchamp hated rules and boundaries to the point that she resorted to a job of manual labor due to her lack of skills and experience. This might just work.

Preston’s eyebrows raised. “So you say she’s a cleaner, right?”

“Yes, working on her own, not part of a cleaning company. Why?”

Preston rubbed his forefinger along his top lip, formulating a plan. “Well, I was thinking. She cleans — and I just bought this property that needs so much cleaning, I don’t even want to think about it. More than enough to keep a girl busy. Since it was her inappropriate behavior while cleaning that got her into trouble, it would seem that being required to clean and behave responsibly might be a good punishment.”

“What’re you proposing, Preston?” Judge Morton pulled his glasses off and leaned forward.

“Well, the fine is eight to ten thousand by my calculations, which would be about six months of work. She would have her own bedroom and keep her cell phone. I would require that she not drive or leave the property unless she’s accompanied by me. In addition to that rule, I would require that she follow other house rules — no alcohol, drugs, or smoking. She would have to work responsibly as evidenced by the progression of rooms cleaned during her stay. If she doesn’t comply, she will add weeks to the time served to meet the fines.”

Judge Morton nodded. “We’ll have to run this by Judge Beauchamp first and get his approval. Then we’ll have to deal with Miss Avery Beauchamp.”

“She’ll agree. I have no doubt. Let’s contact her father and get him to sign off on it.”

Chapter 3

Judge Morton appeared at the door of his chambers and beckoned. “Avery Beauchamp, come this way please.”

Avery stood on shaky legs and made her way to the doorway. He held the large cherry door open and she stepped into the stylish room. She was stunned by the huge desk, and the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, filled to bursting with various law books. The handsome lawyer she had seen earlier rose from his seat as she entered.

As she approached the desk, he thrust his hand out toward her. “Miss Avery Beauchamp, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Preston — Preston Harrison.”

At a loss for words, she put her hand out to shake his. “Hi, how are you?”

She felt self-conscious, still wearing her jeans and red sweater with sneakers. She didn’t even want to think about the fact that she hadn’t showered or brushed her teeth since yesterday morning. “I’m sorry about how I look. Please forgive me. I haven’t had a shower or anything.”

He paused, looking at her, seemingly sizing her up. “Not having a shower appears to be the least of your concerns today, young lady. Am I correct? It’s been a pretty rough twenty-four hours for you.”

“Yes, Sir. It has.” She looked at the floor noticing that Judge Morton had a beautiful oriental rug in his office.

Judge Morton sat down in his large leather chair behind the desk. “I talked to your Daddy last night. He heard about your arrest. Mr. Harrison and I talked to him again this morning too.” Avery rolled her eyes and looked at the ceiling. Of course, he would do this. He
always
had his finger in everything.

“God, I knew he would do this! He always interferes. What did he say?”

Judge Morton just stared for a minute. his jaw clenching. “He was worried about his
only
daughter. He wanted to make sure you were safe and not harmed in the county jail.” He looked at her over his glasses, then continued. “And then he asked that we not charge you with a felony. He’s requesting that there be no record, jail time, or probation. However, there is still the issue of a fine for your crime.”

Avery nodded. She hated that her father intervened. But then again, she probably wouldn’t have to worry about paying a fine. Her parents would pay for the fine and she’d be able to continue on her merry way. Maybe she’d get a little lecture or something, too. Nothing she couldn’t handle.

“How much is the fine, Sir?”

“It will be eight thousand dollars. At least.” The Judge slid the formal court document across the top of the desk toward her, so she would see it in writing.

“Jesus! Are you fucking kidding?” Avery started to stand up. “I don’t—“

“Sit. Down. Young lady.” Preston’s voice was almost a growl. “You will
not
speak to the Judge in that tone of voice using those words. Apologize, now.”

Avery immediately sat down, swallowing loudly, her throat tight. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had spoken to her in that tone of voice. The firmness in his voice made her heart race, and she stared at her shaking hands for a moment, a blush heating her cheeks.

“I’m sorry, Judge.” She looked at Judge Morton through her eyelashes then glanced toward Preston.

What did tall, dark and handsome say his last name was again? Harrison?

Preston reached over, patting her hands. “Okay. You mind your manners in the Judge’s chambers. Now, let’s discuss your fine and the rest of your punishment.”

The way he said that, she felt so…
chastised
. It’d been years since she’d felt that way. Her father had always doted on her, and as his
only
daughter he’d gone to great lengths to see that her wants and desires were met. As he used to say, “What’s the use in having money if you can’t spend it on your only daughter?”

And she was more than happy to oblige him.

Avery looked at Judge Morton; it was easier to look at him than looking at Preston. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt a little unsure of herself and unable to look Preston in the eyes. He was just so
intense
.

“So, I can call my father and have him send you a money order or transfer the money into an account here at the County.”