“I thought maybe you might enjoy a roast beef sandwich.” Tess stood in front of the man sitting on the bench. “It’s on sourdough.” He looked up at her, then lifted his cap and scratched his head. He needed a haircut, but he was freshly shaved. Tess braced herself. Maybe she’d been too impulsive with the stop at the deli counter. She wasn’t always good at dealing with strangers, but she’d been trying to get better.
He gave her a big, friendly smile and pointed at his sign. “Best offer of the day. Greatly appreciated.” She handed him the sandwich and he said, “I’m Eddie. That’s what my friends call me.”
“Nice to meet you, Eddie. I’m Tess.”
“I’m grateful for your generosity, Tess. I used to be a firefighter, but I hit some hard times.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I’m in a public service position myself.”
“Well, I’m holding my own. Picking up some odd jobs here and there, and I’m looking for more permanent work. I’ve got a space at a buddy’s place where I’ve got a decent bed to sleep in. Getting my act together. Yeah, I’m doing better.” Eddie smiled ather. “I won’t forget you. You take care.”
Tess headed back to her car. Her mood had picked up a bit, improved from when she’d driven into the lot. Maybe the weekend wouldn’t seem as long as she’d feared it was going to be when she’d woken up this morning.
Bree headed into the meeting of the Corazon County Superior Court judges in the conference room. Instead of Huffington sitting at the head of the table to run the meeting, Tess was the presiding judge now, and that was where she sat. Helene was in an inconspicuous seat behind her.
Since Monterey a week ago, Bree had seen Tess in passing, and their short exchanges hadn’t belied their connection. She couldn’t ignore the visceral rush of pleasure that inundated her at their encounters. Yeah, they’d been maintaining a distance—the best way to avoid crossing the reset line. Bree was beginning to think it was the only way.
She, Vera, Alan, Eric, and Callie took the seats along the sides of the table. Simon Huffington was the last one to arrive, and he did so with a slap down of his notepad and a loud scrape of his chair. He’d chosen the seat at the opposite end of the table from Tess instead of the open seat next to Bree, and she was grateful.
Tess flicked a gaze at Bree. Her eyes flashed humorous recognition of Bree’s inability to fully mask her relief at Huffington’s choice of a more distant seat, a moment’s silent manifestation of the familiarity between Tess and herself.
“I attended the presiding judge orientation in Monterey last week, and I thought that I’d get your input on a few things.” Tess launched the meeting.
Eyes widened in the room, and several of the judges lookedat each other. If Huffington’s headshake and eye roll were any indication, he didn’t approve. Well, this was no longer his show, and Bree was pleased that Tess was fulfilling her role as presiding judge as she saw fit. Bree was all on board for a more collaborative work environment versus what appeared to have been Huffington’s controlling style.
“I need to thank Judge Huffington for all he did in this position as presiding judge, for ensuring the effective management and administration of this court. In my review, it looks like established policies and allocation of resources have been targeted to promote access to justice for the public, to provide a forum for fair and expeditious dispute resolution, and to increase efficiency of court operations.”
Bree suspected that this complimentary overview was for Huffington’s benefit, and judging from his puffed chest, Tess had momentarily placated him.Nice job, Tess.
“I don’t want to bite off too much, and I’m a firm believer in taking the lay of the land before making too many major changes. However, I would like your input on some things that fall under my authority but impact you all,” Tess continued.
The room was silent as Tess held everyone’s attention. Their expressions suggested to Bree that Huffington had never asked for input.
“So, what I’m asking is for you to let me know if any of you are interested in broadening or changing the range of cases that you’re randomly assigned. You might need additional training if you do.” Tess looked around the table and made eye contact with each judge. “I’m happy to hear your input. My door is open, and we can discuss your interests.”
The table broke out into loud discussion. “I forgot my gavel.” Tess didn’t completely suppress the upward twitch of her mouth. “I’m not making any changes today, but I’m suggesting that you come talk to me if you’d like.” The room quieted down and Tessadded, “It doesn’t hurt the court to be prepared for changes in caseloads, retirements, that sort of thing, so having our judges broaden their—”
“Helene handles the case assignments,” Simon interrupted. “Not you.”
He tried to stare Tess down, but she ignored him as she corrected what he’d said.
“As the court’s executive officer, Helene has a major role in helping oversee the generation of the case calendar. Random assignments after the criteria are met is foremost. As the new presiding judge, I’m open to hear any input you’d like to give me within the scope of the criteria for case assignments, and any future changes any of you would like to pursue for yourself, as a judge.”
Huffington continued to carry on under his breath, and Bree watched the exchange of glances between the judges. Eric gazed around the table while Alan and Vera looked at each other. Huffington’s disgruntled response elicited a shake of Callie’s head. Bree sat and watched all of them until her eyes locked with Tess’s, and Tess tilted her head as if asking what Bree thought. Bree smiled and nodded.
“That’s all I have,” Tess said, “so have a good weekend. Make an appointment to talk with me if you want.”
Huffington stood up and marched out. The other judges chatted for a few minutes and then left. Bree had gathered her papers and was preparing to leave too when she overheard Tess address Helene. Tess told Helene that she’d like to see more regarding both the budget and how the random case assignments were done—they could put it on the agenda for one of their planned upcoming meetings, but she wanted to mention it now. Helene nodded before standing up and organizing her papers. She exited too, so Bree was the only one left in the conference room with Tess.
“Well, it looks like you learned a fair amount last week,” Bree said. “But maybe you flunked that arrogance class. You were so refreshingly inclusive.”
“I don’t think Huffington was very happy with me. I’m not sure if I’m an affront to his style or if it’s something else.”
“I didn’t hear a lot of other dissension.”
“Good to know,” Tess said. “Have a good weekend.”
Bree caught the flash of sadness she felt and made sure to mask it. “Can I walk you out?” She’d love to have dinner plans with Tess, but that was clearly not what Tess had expressed she wanted a week ago in Monterey.
