Chapter One
Monster
The house is a lavish single story glass, it sits on top of a hill, a wrought iron staircase leading down in to the basement garden. On this particular California day sunshine sparkles on the periwinkle blue pool; coffee is brewing in the state of the art kitchen and Regina James is lounging at the breakfast table sipping on her freshly squeezed orange juice.
An Asian woman in her late fifties toddled over with Regina’s breakfast.
“Yum,” Regina said, “Thanks Anita; now can I have my phone back?”
“No!” Anita said. “Finish your breakfast!”
Leo Belitrov dressed in a navy blue Tom Ford suit walks in, kisses Regina on the cheek and promptly hands his phone to Anita who then hands him his breakfast. Anita, their house keeper, has set rules for breakfast. In their busy lives breakfast is the only meal Regina and Leo manage to take together; it is a sacred place where nothing else is allowed to intervene. Regina used to grumble about the no-electronic-devices rule at first but this is the only time they actually get to talk.
“The society pages are ripping in to me again,” she said laughing at the article on her recent wardrobe choices, pitting her against skinny celebrities with headlines asking ‘Who Wore It Better.’ Regina wasn’t your conventional success story; unapologetically black she didn’t conform to the body standards her peers had set.
“I’d like to rip in to you,” Leo growled in to her ear and she felt herself flush. Anita eyed them suspiciously then got back to peeling carrots. Regina kicked him under the table.
“The Hudson’s have invited us to their son’s birthday party tomorrow afternoon,” Regina said, she flipped the card so Leo could see. “Look,” she grimaced, “clowns!”
“Bradley’s turned six, eh?” Leo asked taking the card from her.
“How do you even remember their names?” Regina asked. “There are so many of them.”
“The Hudson’s like kids,” Leo shrugged. “We’ll go.”
“Do we have to?” Regina made a face.
“He’s your business partner!” Leo laughed. “Plus I’m hoping some of Mia’s fertility will rub off on you.”
“That is not going to happen,” Regina rolled her eyes.
She laughed it off every day but Leo’s hints about children were really getting on her nerves now. They had been together for three years now and she understood his need to cement the relationship but she had come too far to give it all up just because her boyfriend wanted to be a dad.
Regina polished off her eggs and got up. “Anita,” she said extending the palm of her hand.
Anita handed over her phone begrudgingly.
“Twelve emails!” Regina exclaimed. “I better rush, babe,” she kissed Leo on the cheek, grabbed her briefcase from the kitchen counter and headed out the door. She drove out of their property in Beverly Hills and rushed downtown.
The offices of James, Hudson and Colt were situated in the Eastern Columbia building; the firm was Regina’s crowning achievement. Having worked for people her whole life Regina was finally calling the shots. Leo had given her the head start, investing in her firm heavily but Regina had tripled his money in three years.
“You’ve got a surprise nine o’clock,” Jeffry Newman said handing her a fresh cup of coffee. “The Babcock’s cancelled their eleven o’clock so I’ve penciled in a pedicure.”
“You’re a saint,” Regina said. “Who’s the surprise nine o’clock?”
“Dakota. Simpson,” Jeffry said his eyes popping behind his black rimmed glasses. The shock of black curls on his head flopped forward.
“The child killer?” Regina asked surprised. “Wasn’t she with Clayton and Price?”
“She was,” Jeffry nodded handing her the case file, “but the sister doesn’t want to work with them; says they were treating her as guilty when she wasn’t.”
“So no guilty plea,” Regina said rolling her eyes.
“Nope,” Jeffry said. “You’ll like them, very intense.”
“Send them in when they come over,” Regina said opening the case file and going through the police report.