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I groan in annoyance. “Listen. You don’t have a valid argument. Okay? My clients could not have known, or should have known, they were going to Hell. They were supposed to go to tier one Hell, which means that they weren’t going to be in Hell for very long anyways, before they were to be reincarnated.” I pause, open my folder, and remove a paper that I retrieved from Yirah on the way here. She really is the best. “Have you read some of the things people went to tier one Hell for? It can be very random.”

I wave a paper in my hand, then I look down and pick out some of the interesting sins.

I begin to read out loud, “You can go to tier one Hell for calling someone’s grandma a bitch every day, road rage, never giving money to someone in need, sticking your chewed up gum under a table, skinny dipping in a restricted area, creating laws in order to control women’s reproductive rights—that one is worthy of tier three hell in my opinion—”

The judge waves her gravel in the air, cutting me off. “Okay, Ms. Parker. We get it. They could not have known they were going to Hell. Opposing counsel, do you have any proof that they knew or should’ve known they were supposed to go to Hell?”

“Well, no—”

The judge raises her hand to silence her. “Ms. Parker, what do your clients want?”

I reply, “They are requesting to remain as reapers. When they choose to leave the position, they would like to be reincarnated.”

Opposing counsel begins, “Your honor, in no way—”

The judge strikes the gravel. “Ms. Parker. The court accepts. This case is now dismissed. We got better things to do in Reaper’s Court than handle a clear-cut case.” The judge moves to stand.

“All rise for the Honorable Judge Williams,” a reaper announces.

Everyone in the courtroom stands and waits until the judge leaves. As soon as the door closes behind her, the glitch reapers rush up and wrap around me in a group hug. They all start talking at the same time.

“You are awesome!”

“The way you started listing what people have gone to Hell for was hilarious.”

“Let us treat you to drinks!”

I laugh and pat them as a signal to let go. They all take a step back.

“We really appreciate you. You didn’t have to help,” Valerie says, appreciation evident in her voice.

I wave my hand, all nonchalant. “It’s my job as a lawyer to help people. It helped that I believed in your case, too.”

“Let us treat you to drinks?” she asks again.

I look at my watch. I’m supposed to meet up with Aiden later, but I have plenty of time. Plus, I’ll never say no to a drink.

I nod. “Yes. That sounds good.” Everyone exits the courtroom, with Valerie and I following behind them.

She whispers, “You and Aiden are cute together.”

I stumble over my feet and stop, looking at her with wide eyes. She stops too and snorts when she sees my face. She could not possibly know about Aiden and I, right?

I stutter, “W-what? Aiden and I aren’t together. We are just attorney and client. That’s it. We barely even like each other.”

She rolls her eyes and lets out a chuckle. “Girl, if that’s the story you want to go with, then sure.” She begins walking again then says over her shoulder. “But just so you know, you didn’t actually hang up the phone and I will never say no to free porn.”

I gasp. Absolutely shocked at this information. While I am a little embarrassed, I have other concerns.

I chase after her, yelling out, “You owe me at least a hundred dollars!” She should at least pay me for my performance.

21

OBJECTION. RELEVANCE?

“Keep your fist up!” Aiden yells as he throws another right hook at me. I barely manage to dodge it.

“You can go a little easier on me,” I snap, breathing hard. We have been sparring for an hour. I am anxious about the trial today, so Aiden suggested we release some stress. I mistakenly thought we were going to be doing a different type of workout.