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| All site contents are owned and copyrighted under Crystal Bright. Use of any content on this site without express permission of the owner is prohibited. But go ahead and test me. I don't spend enough time in court now as it is. © 2002-2008 |
:: Naturally Nate ::
Chapter 1
If Farrah Yancey looked at another ass crack today she was going to scream. Colorful brochures
littered her boss’s desk. She managed to keep her emotions contained so that he wouldn’t think she had
completely lost her mind.
“Come join us!” one brochure had in bright red lettering across the top.
“Be happy in your own skin!” another pamphlet proclaimed.
“Live the way God had intended.”
At that point, Farrah broke her gaze from the scattered mess to focus on Jefferson Aldridge, a much
better diversion. The towering man paced behind his desk. Worry marred his otherwise distinguished
look.
His black hair, parted on the side in the standard, politician look, remained in tact, perfectly coifed as
though waiting for a photo opportunity. His crisp, white shirt had his initials monogrammed on his cuffs,
JCA, Jefferson Cleveland Aldridge. And his black-and-gray checkered suspenders matched with his
silvery necktie. If Aldridge didn’t have a stylist, he could have been one.
“Perverts,” he barked. “All of them. Just look at them.”
He pointed to the brochures but Farrah kept her gaze on him. Even if piles of money covered the
desk, she would have kept her gaze squarely on Jefferson. Farrah dismissed working as a clerk in a busy
courtroom, sure to get her noticed by the district attorney’s office, to work for Jefferson. Although the man
rubbed elbows with the mayor of Smithfield and was even a part owner of a drugstore, Farrah’s decision
disappointed her mother.
When Farrah explained her important role in the attorney’s political career, her mother backed down.
Of course Farrah left out the part about wanting to work for him because he had the ability to make her
weak in the knees from one look.
“To be honest, I didn’t even know nudist colonies existed out here in Smithfield, Virginia. Who would
have guessed?” she said.
She crossed her legs. A swift pang of doubt hit her as she lowered her leg and instead crossed them
at the ankles. While the Aldridge did his rant, she didn’t want to be accused of being a deviant like the
residents in the colony by showing off so much skin.
“That’s my whole point,” he continued. “I don’t want anyone to guess. I don’t want anyone to know. I
can see a place like this in Virginia Beach. Nothing but weirdos out there. I could almost see it popping up
in Williamsburg.”
“Williamsburg, sir?”
“Yes. Colonies and all. Trying to bring back history. Naked Indians running around.”
“Native Americans,” she said with a smile. A good assistant had to be supportive of her man, uh, boss.
“What?”
“The correct term is Native Americans.”
He stared at her for a while. Farrah imagined that he rolled around the idea of whether he needed to
call her an African-American or a Black woman. Instead he nodded and continued pacing. He had that
resigned appearance as though he realized what terminology would garner him more constituents.
“I’m going to put an end to this place.” He jabbed his finger down on his desk, landing it squarely on
top of a woman’s plump backside pictured on a brochure.
At least he got rid of the view…at least in that picture.
“Do we have a civil case brought up by one of our customers or something?” Farrah had been used to
listening to Jefferson’s stance on most contemporary topics. The nudist resort was a new one.
“Farrah, no one has to wave a flag in front of me for me to notice immorality.” He smiled then winked at
her.
Farrah fought hard from smiling but around him, she couldn’t help it. He’s willingness to stand up for
what he believed in always melted her resolve.
“Next week at the city council meeting, I’m going to raise the issue to close this place down.”
She shook her head. “You can’t.”
“Why not? I’m sure I can get the people to rally behind me.”
Farrah being one of his supporters.
She said, “It’s private property. They have their land gated off. They’ve done everything by the book.
It’s all legal.”
Aldridge opened his mouth to question her claims.
She shut him up with her conclusion. “I did some research about the place. That owner, Nathan
Hickson, has made sure to cross his T’s and dot his I’s on everything.”
As much as she hated to she had to admit it, the legal papers tied to the campground would garner
admiration from someone in the legal profession. He must have paid his attorneys a mint to make sure his
place wouldn’t be shut down for any reason.
“He’s not that smart.” Aldridge put his hands to his slim hips. “Everyone has an Aphrodite’s Heel.”
“That’s Achilles Heel, sir.”
He waved his hand in the air as though shooing away the wrong word. Then his sky blue eyes became
wide. He gazed down at one particular brochure on his desk until he had to snatch it up to review it closer.
“I got it! I have that son-of-a-bitch now.” He shook the paper in the air. “If the way to a man’s heart is
through his stomach then the way to take this cretin down is through his pockets.”
Farrah let the image of a naked man run through her thoughts and wanted so much to tell Jefferson
that Hickson technically wouldn’t have any pockets. However she let it go.
“I’m going to hit him where it hurts.” He pointed to her. “And you, young lady, will be on the ground
floor of a major case. I told you that sticking with me would get you places.”
Farrah grinned, excited to hear that her career in politics may be taking off, even better, along side
Jefferson. Even as an assistant, having her name associated with the popular attorney would get her
some recognition. It would be what she needed to get her career going. She could also capture the man’
s eye.
Farrah already imagined what her dress would look like when she walked arm-in-arm with the man
during his inauguration speech as governor. She would help him get to that point and anywhere else he
wanted to go. And she would do what it took to jumpstart his career…even take down a bunch of nudists.
# # #
“This is bullshit!” Nate exclaimed as he looked at the public notice in the newspaper for the fifth time in
less than half of a minute.
“It’s a good thing I saw that public notice or you wouldn’t have known about the hearing tonight,” Zeke
said and spat a wad of tobacco into a white, Styrofoam cup. The older man rolled back in his wooden
swivel chair, making the springs squeak.
“What are you going to do, Nate?” Sylvia asked.
She sounded like she always did as a kid when she looked to him to make things right. Protecting little
sisters were part of the big brother credo. Today would be no exception.
“I’m going to save my place. They can’t just proclaim that I can’t do whatever I want on my private
property. They can kiss my ass!” Nate snatched his truck keys from off the side hook in his office.
“Hey, Nate!” Zeke screamed after him. “You can’t go like that.” He tossed Nate his Boston Red Sox
baseball cap. “It might rain.”
Nate slapped the hat on his head, called for his Bull Mastiff, Lady G., and headed out to town.
# # #
Kya sat next to Farrah in the sparsely filled meeting room where the good people of Zuni, Virginia met.
Farrah’s knee bounced as she scanned the room. Her boss, as always, carried a calm demeanor as he
glad-hand some local business owners and community leaders.
“Looks like your man is laying it on thick,” Kya whispered.
Farrah snickered but it came out as a nervous laugh. “Will you stop that? He’s not my man. He’s just
my boss.”
“My bad. You’re right. What was I thinking? I’m sure there are a lot of employees that stare at their
bosses’ asses.”
Farrah didn’t need a mirror to know her golden, light brown skin turned a bright pink hue. She jabbed
her friend in her side.
“Behave yourself. I only asked you to come with me so that we could go out to dinner afterward.”
Kya may have had a big mouth but she had a great mind for the law. Her skills had become even
sharper after she started working for Scott, Parker and Stark, the same law firm Farrah turned away from
when she passed the Bar.
“Need to pick my brain or need a shoulder to cry on?” Kya shifted her weight as she and Farrah sat on
the hard, wooden bench.
“Put me down for brain picking. I suspect this is going to be an easy case.”
“Really?”
The moderator at the civil meeting called up the next issue, not Jefferson’s yet.
“I have an idea,” Kya said. “You’re trying to get your boss’s attention, right?”
In a highly indignant manner, Farrah gasped and put her hand to her chest. “I would never do such a
thing. I’m a professional. I have morals and ethics.”
“You also have a bit of drool on the side of your mouth.” Kya pointed to Farrah’s face.
Farrah wiped her mouth, feeling nothing but girlish embarrassment.
“Don’t sweat it, Farrah. I know you dig him. Personally, I don’t go for the stuffy, uptight, Republican
looking guys like him.” Kya nodded her head toward Jefferson who sat in the benches across the aisle
from the duo. “But it’s your life, honey. Run it the way you need to. It’ll be good to see a sister in the
governor’s mansion some day.”
Farrah took a deep breath, wanting so much to get off this topic and talk about something else. “You
mentioned having an idea.”
“Oh, yes. Instead of doing the obvious thing, which is fight on the same side as your boss, why don’t
you surprise him and fight against him.”
“What are you talking about?” Farrah crossed her legs, making the old bench screech out a long
squeaking sound that reverberated throughout the small hall.
Some people turned their attentions to her. Farrah maintained a calm demeanor until they turned
around. She took in a deep breath, inhaling the scent of honeysuckle that lined the back of the building.
“I’m talking about really playing hard to get,” Kya continued. “You defend the nudey farm.”
“Why the hell do I want to do that?” Farrah whispered between gritted teeth. “I work for Jefferson. He
pays me a salary, a small one but one nonetheless. What benefit am I going to get by defending the thing
he’s hoping is going to be a part of his big platform when he runs for senator?”
“Because bottom line, men like to hunt. If you make it too easy on him, he’s not going to want you once
this is all said and done. But if go after the enemy and, say, not do as well as you could have,” Kya
winked, “he’ll look favorably on you and you two can run off and have your two-point-five kids and your
white house with your picket fence. Of course, getting over the whole interracial relationship is going to be
another hurdle but let’s do one fight at a time.”
Farrah blinked. “Blow my case?”
Kya shrugged. “It’s one stupid little case that will hardly make a blip on the radar screen. You’re going
to have to take some slings and arrows to get the ultimate prize.” She nodded toward Jefferson again.
“Isn’t that what all of this is about?”
Farrah glanced at him. Even his profile with his strong jaw line, sleek nose and prominent chin made
him even more desirable. He turned his attention to her direction and smiled. The man even had perfect
lips. They were full and definitely kissable.
Farrah shook her head. “No, I’m not going to do that,” she said to Kya. “He needs me by his side. I
don’t want to stray too far from him.”
Kya leaned in close. “You can stray but still have his best interest at heart.”
Farrah huffed. “And this is why there are so many lawyer jokes out there.”
“Next we’re going to hear the request to shut down a hotel production at Natural Living Resorts,” the
older moderator stated. He coughed and cleared about five years of phlegm from his throat. “I believe
that’s your new cause, Aldridge.”
A chuckle rippled through the small crowd. Farrah gritted her teeth. She glared around the room,
attempting to make eye contact with each of the bastards that just ridiculed her man, uh, boss. No one
looked in her direction.
“Let’s just make this quick, Chuck,” Jefferson said as he made his way to the podium. “I have dinner
reservations and I don’t want to be late.”
“Then by all means, Jefferson. State your business so that you can be sure to leave here in enough
time to stuff your face with crab dip and wash it down with the best wine your meager salary can afford
you.”
An uproarious laughter broke through the crowd. Jefferson took the dig in stride, straightening his
cuffs and buttoning his jacket. Fanning her face, Farrah wondered how he could look so cool while the
temperature in the room, even on this June evening, sweltered.
“Thank you, Chuck. As we all know, there is a den of iniquity within our city limits.” Jefferson raised his
hand like Farrah’s old pastor from her church growing up as a child. “Our morals and family values
continue to plummet while that place exists among us.”
Chuck let out a long sigh as he sat behind a long table covered in a cobalt blue cloth. “Before you
condemn this room to hell fire and brimstone, you want to state your case?” Chuck twirled his index finger
in the air, requesting him to speed up his rant.
“Natural Living Resorts,” Jefferson stated. “Although I know we can’t shut down the place, they are
trying to built a small thirty-room motel on their property.” Jefferson held up the brochure that had caught
his attention a week ago in his office.
Although Chuck blinked at the proclamation, he didn’t move. “And your issue with this would be what?”
“I want it shut down. If they are allowed to put a motel on their property they’re going to advertise that
tourist come see them.”
“And you don’t want tourism in our fine city?” Chuck smirked.
“I don’t want the kind of tourism that this place will attract.” To drum up more drama, Jefferson turned
to the twenty plus-member audience and held up the brochure like it was the Holy Grail. “Folks, it’s high
time we take our city back. It’s bad enough that that place exists in our city to begin with. But let’s take
into consideration what this all truly means. Natural Living Resorts advertises itself as a family
establishment. What kind of family would want to sit around and look at each other naked?”
The thought of seeing her mother and father naked made Farrah shudder.
“Then we’ll have to think about the cretins that would come to our town just to get into a place like that
to stare at the poor, defenseless children.”
The blue-haired women sitting in the row in front of Farrah shook their heads and tsked through their
teeth.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, my friends, but the devil is at our door just waiting for us to let him
in,” Jefferson said with a chorus of amens.
As though he cued it himself, the large, wooden double doors in the back of the room crashed open.
Farrah gasped then turned around. What she saw not only made her breath catch again, she coughed
and couldn’t stop.
Stomping down the center aisle wearing nothing but a red baseball cap on his head and the meanest
scowl under his bushy, muddy beard, stormed a completely nude man. His bare feet smacked against the
creaky hardwood floors.
When he passed Farrah’s row, Kya jabbed her in the side.
“Jesus Christ! Who knew God would answer my prayers?” Kya joked. “With what that man is packing
between his legs, I can tell you this. He needs to stay naked twenty-four-seven.”
Farrah struggled to keep her gaze from heading to his lower region. As soon as he stood in front of
Jefferson, who now had his hands braced on his hips, he huffed like a bear.
Farrah’s gaze briefly dropped down to his firm backside. Feeling like she was somehow betraying
Jefferson, she brought her gaze up his strong, wide back to the back of his head.
Sprigs of thick brown hair escaped through the adjustment band on the back of his baseball cap. His
shoulders rose and fell with each heaving breath. Until he entered the room, Farrah hadn’t realized how
her breathing patterned had changed from normal to loud and ragged. Her heart raced as though she’d
sat down after running in a marathon. She clasped her hands together and attempted to stare at
Jefferson. She couldn’t break away from Nature Boy, who had managed to capture everyone’s attention in
the room.
“You sorry son-of-a-bitch!” the man spat.
“Come on. Curb your language. There are women present.” Jefferson’s jaw flexed.
From Farrah’s fourth row seat, she saw the corner of his mouth tremble.
“You can’t fight me face-to-face but you’ll go behind my back to try to mess with me.” The man put his
hands to his hips.
Why did he have to do that? Now Farrah’s gaze dropped back down to his narrow waist and rounded
ass cheeks.
“It’s not personal. It’s all business.” Jefferson stepped from in between the nude man and the podium.
“Your renewed interest in my business is killing me. Don’t you have some intern to sleep with or babies
to kiss? I’m not bothering anyone. Just leave me and Natural Living alone.”
“Someone get security in here.” Chuck stood up.
“Milton’s out getting coffee,” said a thin man in the front row.
Thank goodness the nude guy wasn’t some raving lunatic with a gun. What was Farrah thinking? This
was Zuni, Virginia. Not much happened in the slow, sleepy town except for the nudist resort.
“Just face it, Nate, you don’t belong here,” Jefferson said and jabbed his finger into Nate’s chest.
Nate swatted his hand away. “Too bad you feel that way. I’m not going anywhere.”
The crowd gasped at the motion. Milton, the off-duty policeman that doubled for security, walked through
the door just as Nate hit Jefferson’s hand.
“Holy mackerel!” Milton, bulging belly and all, ran as fast as he could up to the duo.
The slow moving officer gave Nate enough time to step aside as soon as he ran up to tackle him. Milton
crashed into the front table nearly toppling it and the row of people sitting behind it down to the floor.
“You feel the walls closing in on you, Nate?” Jefferson asked then cocked a smile. “It’s over for you.
And when I hit the senate I’ll make sure to make your life a living hell.”
Nate took a step closer to Jefferson. Every hair on Farrah’s body stood on end as she watched the two
determined men squaring off on each other.
“If you’re so sure of that, Jeff, why are you the one who looks so nervous?” Nate asked.
Jefferson swallowed, bobbing his protruding Adam’s apple. At that moment, Milton ripped off the blue
tablecloth from the front table, knocking over a pitcher filled with water and a couple of glasses. As though
he netted a wild boar, Milton covered Nate in the cloth.
Farrah sat at the edge of the bench. She grabbed the back of the bench row in front of her awaiting
Nate’s next move.
“It’s not over,” Nate said, glaring at Jefferson. “Be ready for a fight.”
“Get him out of here.” Jefferson turned his back as they hauled Nate away.
“It’s an invasion of privacy!” Nate screamed. “You let him decide what happens on my private property
and he’ll do the same to you all!”
The officer slammed the door before Nate’s next damaging statement.
“Good Lord!” Kya said as soon as the officer had Nate removed from the room. “Get that man as a
client so that you can charge him some personal billable hours.”
Farrah sat silently, her mouth agape. “I can’t believe that man just stormed in here only wearing a
baseball cap.”
“He was wearing a hat? I didn’t notice.” Kya winked.
The room settled down. Women fanned their flush faces. Farrah had to cross her legs to tamp down
her sudden throbbing heat. Nate was just a naked man. Primal, forceful, scary. Nothing like Jefferson
who had remained cool under pressure.
Jefferson slid his hand back over his hair, putting the individual strands back in their places.
“In light of what just occurred, I think it’s obvious that I’m right,” Jefferson said with a snicker. “That man
drove over here stark naked and came into a public building. Would the rest of them do that?”
“He was wearing a hat,” one of the audience members said.
A few people laughed.
“Okay, folks. Let’s settle down now.” Chuck waved his hands in a slow motion to calm the crowd. “Don’
t get the people riled up, Jefferson. It’s apparent that you two have some personal history. You’re not
going to use the city as a way to fight your battles.”
Jefferson unbuttoned his jacket again. “Doesn’t matter what I feel for the man. It’s that motel I’m
concerned about.”
“Drop it, Aldridge. Make something else your platform like bringing jobs to the community.”
Jefferson opened his mouth to continue his battle but Chuck cut him down.
“Enjoy your dinner tonight.” Chuck righted his chair and summoned for someone to get brooms and
towels to clean up the mess made when the officer ran into the table.
“You know I’m not going to let this rest. You haven’t heard the last from me.” Jefferson straightened
out his necktie, a powerful red one this time. He turned to leave. As he walked by Farrah, he bent over
and whispered, “Meet me outside.”
A swarm of butterflies fluttered in her belly.
“He wants me,” Farrah whispered to Kya after Jefferson went outside.
“What are you waiting for? Go get your man.” Kya nudged her until Farrah stood.
Securing her purse on her shoulder, she took a deep breath before heading to the doors in the back of
the room. Farrah patted her bun in the back of her hair. She made sure to always keep her hair slicked
back and down in an ultra-conservative style to please Jefferson. Or maybe she did it to match his style.
Besides, her wild, curly hair could use some taming now and then.
As soon as she opened the doors to the outside, the sultry heat hit her immediately. Living in Virginia
all of her life, the humid weather didn’t bother her as much as it did the tourists.
She found Jefferson pacing in front of his Cadillac. He looked so good in and out of the vehicle.
“Wild what happened in there, huh?” Farrah began. She had to break the ice somehow since Jefferson
looked fit to be tied.
Jefferson kept his gaze down, staring at his expensive Italian leather shoes with each forceful step that
he took. “This whole town thinks I’m some sort of joke.”
“No, they don’t.” She reached for him to comfort him but he continued pacing.
“I’ll show them and I’ll show that nude freak, Nate Hickson.” He finally stopped long enough to stare at
Farrah.
His light brown eyes turned her brain into mush. She put her hands together and wrung them.
“I need to ask you a favor. I just don’t know if you’re up to it.” He approached her.
With each of Jefferson’s steps, Farrah’s heart beat in triple time until he reached her. Then the organ
fluttered until he spoke.
“I need to know what that man is doing and thinking,” Jefferson began.
“Okay.” She cleared her throat when her voice cracked. “I think I know a great way to do it. He’s going
to need some representation.”
“You’re going to find out who he’ll get as an attorney?” he asked.
“Not exactly. I’m going to represent him, well, if he’ll have me.” Farrah felt her heart stop for a brief
moment.
“Excuse me?”
“You need someone to get close to him, earn his trust. He may have seen me in the room back there
but he doesn’t know who I am or who I am to you.” Farrah fought hard not to suck in her lower lip and
chew it like she used to when she was a little girl.
“No. Absolutely not. I don’t like this idea. I don’t want you alone with that man.” He shook his head.
“Plus you’re a damn good attorney.” He cocked a smile. “I don’t want him winning his case.”
Farrah opened her mouth to argue her case but from his staunch demeanor, she knew it would have
been a losing battle. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t go behind his back and try anyway.
“You’re right. Maybe I’ll ask my friend, Kya, to do it.”
Jefferson gave her one of his politician smiles but this time it came across as sincere. He took a step
closer to her and cupped her cheek in his warm hand. Right now if he asked her to kill the president she
would ask him how he wanted it done.
“You are going to be my savior with everything you do for me. If your friend does it, let her know how
much I would appreciate he efforts. I know it’s a rotten thing to do, having her defend that caveman but
trust me. She won’t be doing it for very long.”
Nuzzling her face in his hand, she’d almost missed the meaning behind his statement. “What do you
mean?”
“I mean that as soon as we get close enough to our court date, I want her to resign as his attorney,
leaving him high and dry.”
Farrah’s stomach knotted. “I don’t know. Just doesn’t seem right.”
Jefferson moved in closer. She smelled his wickedly spicy cologne that made her want to lick him all
over. “And do you think it’s right for him to parade around town in the nude? I’m protecting our society
from deviants like him, protecting every man, woman,” he paused, “and child from this lifestyle.”
The way Jefferson said child made her think that he imagined them producing a little Aldridge of their
own. Their baby would have his height, his persuasive blue eyes and her compassion.
“What you’re proposing, Mr. Aldridge---”
He cut her off. “Jefferson, please.” He smiled even wider.
“Okay, Jefferson.” She dropped her gaze for a moment. “What you’re asking Kya to do doesn’t seem
ethical. I don’t want her to be disbarred.”
“That won’t happen. The only ones who know about this is me and you, and I’m not going to say a
word.” He took his index finger and made and ‘x’ shape over his heart then held his hand up with his first
two fingers up and the rest balled down. “Scout’s honor.”
She giggled.
Jefferson leaned down, hovering over her. He grabbed her shoulders as though she needed
steadying. On instinct expecting a knee-dropping kiss, Farrah closed her eyes and softened her lips,
parting them slightly.
His warm lips pressed against her cheek. Farrah felt young and foolish all at the same time. Mid-
twenties and she still felt like a giddy schoolgirl.
Grow up, girl.
Farrah opened her eyes when Jefferson pulled back.
“Are you okay with this now?” he asked as he rubbed her arm.
“Getting there.” She hoped he didn’t pick up that she was talking about feeling warm and tingling for
him under his touch.
“Good. Now I need you to take your friend over to the jailhouse and talk to her new client.” Jefferson
broke from Farrah and strutted to his car. “He’s going to need some help tonight.” He winked at her.
“Good luck. Make me proud.”
Jefferson backed out of the two spaces he took up to keep people from parking near him. Farrah
watched him drive away until she could no longer see him.
Make him proud, huh? She would make him so proud of her that she’ll get a ring out of it. Governor
and Mrs. Jefferson Aldridge. Rolls off her tongue beautifully. Now she would need to do some clever
talking to get Naked Nate to trust her. Forget putting Kya in for this job. She could do it on her own.
© copyright 2005, Crystal B. Bright
If Farrah Yancey looked at another ass crack today she was going to scream. Colorful brochures
littered her boss’s desk. She managed to keep her emotions contained so that he wouldn’t think she had
completely lost her mind.
“Come join us!” one brochure had in bright red lettering across the top.
“Be happy in your own skin!” another pamphlet proclaimed.
“Live the way God had intended.”
At that point, Farrah broke her gaze from the scattered mess to focus on Jefferson Aldridge, a much
better diversion. The towering man paced behind his desk. Worry marred his otherwise distinguished
look.
His black hair, parted on the side in the standard, politician look, remained in tact, perfectly coifed as
though waiting for a photo opportunity. His crisp, white shirt had his initials monogrammed on his cuffs,
JCA, Jefferson Cleveland Aldridge. And his black-and-gray checkered suspenders matched with his
silvery necktie. If Aldridge didn’t have a stylist, he could have been one.
“Perverts,” he barked. “All of them. Just look at them.”
He pointed to the brochures but Farrah kept her gaze on him. Even if piles of money covered the
desk, she would have kept her gaze squarely on Jefferson. Farrah dismissed working as a clerk in a busy
courtroom, sure to get her noticed by the district attorney’s office, to work for Jefferson. Although the man
rubbed elbows with the mayor of Smithfield and was even a part owner of a drugstore, Farrah’s decision
disappointed her mother.
When Farrah explained her important role in the attorney’s political career, her mother backed down.
Of course Farrah left out the part about wanting to work for him because he had the ability to make her
weak in the knees from one look.
“To be honest, I didn’t even know nudist colonies existed out here in Smithfield, Virginia. Who would
have guessed?” she said.
She crossed her legs. A swift pang of doubt hit her as she lowered her leg and instead crossed them
at the ankles. While the Aldridge did his rant, she didn’t want to be accused of being a deviant like the
residents in the colony by showing off so much skin.
“That’s my whole point,” he continued. “I don’t want anyone to guess. I don’t want anyone to know. I
can see a place like this in Virginia Beach. Nothing but weirdos out there. I could almost see it popping up
in Williamsburg.”
“Williamsburg, sir?”
“Yes. Colonies and all. Trying to bring back history. Naked Indians running around.”
“Native Americans,” she said with a smile. A good assistant had to be supportive of her man, uh, boss.
“What?”
“The correct term is Native Americans.”
He stared at her for a while. Farrah imagined that he rolled around the idea of whether he needed to
call her an African-American or a Black woman. Instead he nodded and continued pacing. He had that
resigned appearance as though he realized what terminology would garner him more constituents.
“I’m going to put an end to this place.” He jabbed his finger down on his desk, landing it squarely on
top of a woman’s plump backside pictured on a brochure.
At least he got rid of the view…at least in that picture.
“Do we have a civil case brought up by one of our customers or something?” Farrah had been used to
listening to Jefferson’s stance on most contemporary topics. The nudist resort was a new one.
“Farrah, no one has to wave a flag in front of me for me to notice immorality.” He smiled then winked at
her.
Farrah fought hard from smiling but around him, she couldn’t help it. He’s willingness to stand up for
what he believed in always melted her resolve.
“Next week at the city council meeting, I’m going to raise the issue to close this place down.”
She shook her head. “You can’t.”
“Why not? I’m sure I can get the people to rally behind me.”
Farrah being one of his supporters.
She said, “It’s private property. They have their land gated off. They’ve done everything by the book.
It’s all legal.”
Aldridge opened his mouth to question her claims.
She shut him up with her conclusion. “I did some research about the place. That owner, Nathan
Hickson, has made sure to cross his T’s and dot his I’s on everything.”
As much as she hated to she had to admit it, the legal papers tied to the campground would garner
admiration from someone in the legal profession. He must have paid his attorneys a mint to make sure his
place wouldn’t be shut down for any reason.
“He’s not that smart.” Aldridge put his hands to his slim hips. “Everyone has an Aphrodite’s Heel.”
“That’s Achilles Heel, sir.”
He waved his hand in the air as though shooing away the wrong word. Then his sky blue eyes became
wide. He gazed down at one particular brochure on his desk until he had to snatch it up to review it closer.
“I got it! I have that son-of-a-bitch now.” He shook the paper in the air. “If the way to a man’s heart is
through his stomach then the way to take this cretin down is through his pockets.”
Farrah let the image of a naked man run through her thoughts and wanted so much to tell Jefferson
that Hickson technically wouldn’t have any pockets. However she let it go.
“I’m going to hit him where it hurts.” He pointed to her. “And you, young lady, will be on the ground
floor of a major case. I told you that sticking with me would get you places.”
Farrah grinned, excited to hear that her career in politics may be taking off, even better, along side
Jefferson. Even as an assistant, having her name associated with the popular attorney would get her
some recognition. It would be what she needed to get her career going. She could also capture the man’
s eye.
Farrah already imagined what her dress would look like when she walked arm-in-arm with the man
during his inauguration speech as governor. She would help him get to that point and anywhere else he
wanted to go. And she would do what it took to jumpstart his career…even take down a bunch of nudists.
# # #
“This is bullshit!” Nate exclaimed as he looked at the public notice in the newspaper for the fifth time in
less than half of a minute.
“It’s a good thing I saw that public notice or you wouldn’t have known about the hearing tonight,” Zeke
said and spat a wad of tobacco into a white, Styrofoam cup. The older man rolled back in his wooden
swivel chair, making the springs squeak.
“What are you going to do, Nate?” Sylvia asked.
She sounded like she always did as a kid when she looked to him to make things right. Protecting little
sisters were part of the big brother credo. Today would be no exception.
“I’m going to save my place. They can’t just proclaim that I can’t do whatever I want on my private
property. They can kiss my ass!” Nate snatched his truck keys from off the side hook in his office.
“Hey, Nate!” Zeke screamed after him. “You can’t go like that.” He tossed Nate his Boston Red Sox
baseball cap. “It might rain.”
Nate slapped the hat on his head, called for his Bull Mastiff, Lady G., and headed out to town.
# # #
Kya sat next to Farrah in the sparsely filled meeting room where the good people of Zuni, Virginia met.
Farrah’s knee bounced as she scanned the room. Her boss, as always, carried a calm demeanor as he
glad-hand some local business owners and community leaders.
“Looks like your man is laying it on thick,” Kya whispered.
Farrah snickered but it came out as a nervous laugh. “Will you stop that? He’s not my man. He’s just
my boss.”
“My bad. You’re right. What was I thinking? I’m sure there are a lot of employees that stare at their
bosses’ asses.”
Farrah didn’t need a mirror to know her golden, light brown skin turned a bright pink hue. She jabbed
her friend in her side.
“Behave yourself. I only asked you to come with me so that we could go out to dinner afterward.”
Kya may have had a big mouth but she had a great mind for the law. Her skills had become even
sharper after she started working for Scott, Parker and Stark, the same law firm Farrah turned away from
when she passed the Bar.
“Need to pick my brain or need a shoulder to cry on?” Kya shifted her weight as she and Farrah sat on
the hard, wooden bench.
“Put me down for brain picking. I suspect this is going to be an easy case.”
“Really?”
The moderator at the civil meeting called up the next issue, not Jefferson’s yet.
“I have an idea,” Kya said. “You’re trying to get your boss’s attention, right?”
In a highly indignant manner, Farrah gasped and put her hand to her chest. “I would never do such a
thing. I’m a professional. I have morals and ethics.”
“You also have a bit of drool on the side of your mouth.” Kya pointed to Farrah’s face.
Farrah wiped her mouth, feeling nothing but girlish embarrassment.
“Don’t sweat it, Farrah. I know you dig him. Personally, I don’t go for the stuffy, uptight, Republican
looking guys like him.” Kya nodded her head toward Jefferson who sat in the benches across the aisle
from the duo. “But it’s your life, honey. Run it the way you need to. It’ll be good to see a sister in the
governor’s mansion some day.”
Farrah took a deep breath, wanting so much to get off this topic and talk about something else. “You
mentioned having an idea.”
“Oh, yes. Instead of doing the obvious thing, which is fight on the same side as your boss, why don’t
you surprise him and fight against him.”
“What are you talking about?” Farrah crossed her legs, making the old bench screech out a long
squeaking sound that reverberated throughout the small hall.
Some people turned their attentions to her. Farrah maintained a calm demeanor until they turned
around. She took in a deep breath, inhaling the scent of honeysuckle that lined the back of the building.
“I’m talking about really playing hard to get,” Kya continued. “You defend the nudey farm.”
“Why the hell do I want to do that?” Farrah whispered between gritted teeth. “I work for Jefferson. He
pays me a salary, a small one but one nonetheless. What benefit am I going to get by defending the thing
he’s hoping is going to be a part of his big platform when he runs for senator?”
“Because bottom line, men like to hunt. If you make it too easy on him, he’s not going to want you once
this is all said and done. But if go after the enemy and, say, not do as well as you could have,” Kya
winked, “he’ll look favorably on you and you two can run off and have your two-point-five kids and your
white house with your picket fence. Of course, getting over the whole interracial relationship is going to be
another hurdle but let’s do one fight at a time.”
Farrah blinked. “Blow my case?”
Kya shrugged. “It’s one stupid little case that will hardly make a blip on the radar screen. You’re going
to have to take some slings and arrows to get the ultimate prize.” She nodded toward Jefferson again.
“Isn’t that what all of this is about?”
Farrah glanced at him. Even his profile with his strong jaw line, sleek nose and prominent chin made
him even more desirable. He turned his attention to her direction and smiled. The man even had perfect
lips. They were full and definitely kissable.
Farrah shook her head. “No, I’m not going to do that,” she said to Kya. “He needs me by his side. I
don’t want to stray too far from him.”
Kya leaned in close. “You can stray but still have his best interest at heart.”
Farrah huffed. “And this is why there are so many lawyer jokes out there.”
“Next we’re going to hear the request to shut down a hotel production at Natural Living Resorts,” the
older moderator stated. He coughed and cleared about five years of phlegm from his throat. “I believe
that’s your new cause, Aldridge.”
A chuckle rippled through the small crowd. Farrah gritted her teeth. She glared around the room,
attempting to make eye contact with each of the bastards that just ridiculed her man, uh, boss. No one
looked in her direction.
“Let’s just make this quick, Chuck,” Jefferson said as he made his way to the podium. “I have dinner
reservations and I don’t want to be late.”
“Then by all means, Jefferson. State your business so that you can be sure to leave here in enough
time to stuff your face with crab dip and wash it down with the best wine your meager salary can afford
you.”
An uproarious laughter broke through the crowd. Jefferson took the dig in stride, straightening his
cuffs and buttoning his jacket. Fanning her face, Farrah wondered how he could look so cool while the
temperature in the room, even on this June evening, sweltered.
“Thank you, Chuck. As we all know, there is a den of iniquity within our city limits.” Jefferson raised his
hand like Farrah’s old pastor from her church growing up as a child. “Our morals and family values
continue to plummet while that place exists among us.”
Chuck let out a long sigh as he sat behind a long table covered in a cobalt blue cloth. “Before you
condemn this room to hell fire and brimstone, you want to state your case?” Chuck twirled his index finger
in the air, requesting him to speed up his rant.
“Natural Living Resorts,” Jefferson stated. “Although I know we can’t shut down the place, they are
trying to built a small thirty-room motel on their property.” Jefferson held up the brochure that had caught
his attention a week ago in his office.
Although Chuck blinked at the proclamation, he didn’t move. “And your issue with this would be what?”
“I want it shut down. If they are allowed to put a motel on their property they’re going to advertise that
tourist come see them.”
“And you don’t want tourism in our fine city?” Chuck smirked.
“I don’t want the kind of tourism that this place will attract.” To drum up more drama, Jefferson turned
to the twenty plus-member audience and held up the brochure like it was the Holy Grail. “Folks, it’s high
time we take our city back. It’s bad enough that that place exists in our city to begin with. But let’s take
into consideration what this all truly means. Natural Living Resorts advertises itself as a family
establishment. What kind of family would want to sit around and look at each other naked?”
The thought of seeing her mother and father naked made Farrah shudder.
“Then we’ll have to think about the cretins that would come to our town just to get into a place like that
to stare at the poor, defenseless children.”
The blue-haired women sitting in the row in front of Farrah shook their heads and tsked through their
teeth.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, my friends, but the devil is at our door just waiting for us to let him
in,” Jefferson said with a chorus of amens.
As though he cued it himself, the large, wooden double doors in the back of the room crashed open.
Farrah gasped then turned around. What she saw not only made her breath catch again, she coughed
and couldn’t stop.
Stomping down the center aisle wearing nothing but a red baseball cap on his head and the meanest
scowl under his bushy, muddy beard, stormed a completely nude man. His bare feet smacked against the
creaky hardwood floors.
When he passed Farrah’s row, Kya jabbed her in the side.
“Jesus Christ! Who knew God would answer my prayers?” Kya joked. “With what that man is packing
between his legs, I can tell you this. He needs to stay naked twenty-four-seven.”
Farrah struggled to keep her gaze from heading to his lower region. As soon as he stood in front of
Jefferson, who now had his hands braced on his hips, he huffed like a bear.
Farrah’s gaze briefly dropped down to his firm backside. Feeling like she was somehow betraying
Jefferson, she brought her gaze up his strong, wide back to the back of his head.
Sprigs of thick brown hair escaped through the adjustment band on the back of his baseball cap. His
shoulders rose and fell with each heaving breath. Until he entered the room, Farrah hadn’t realized how
her breathing patterned had changed from normal to loud and ragged. Her heart raced as though she’d
sat down after running in a marathon. She clasped her hands together and attempted to stare at
Jefferson. She couldn’t break away from Nature Boy, who had managed to capture everyone’s attention in
the room.
“You sorry son-of-a-bitch!” the man spat.
“Come on. Curb your language. There are women present.” Jefferson’s jaw flexed.
From Farrah’s fourth row seat, she saw the corner of his mouth tremble.
“You can’t fight me face-to-face but you’ll go behind my back to try to mess with me.” The man put his
hands to his hips.
Why did he have to do that? Now Farrah’s gaze dropped back down to his narrow waist and rounded
ass cheeks.
“It’s not personal. It’s all business.” Jefferson stepped from in between the nude man and the podium.
“Your renewed interest in my business is killing me. Don’t you have some intern to sleep with or babies
to kiss? I’m not bothering anyone. Just leave me and Natural Living alone.”
“Someone get security in here.” Chuck stood up.
“Milton’s out getting coffee,” said a thin man in the front row.
Thank goodness the nude guy wasn’t some raving lunatic with a gun. What was Farrah thinking? This
was Zuni, Virginia. Not much happened in the slow, sleepy town except for the nudist resort.
“Just face it, Nate, you don’t belong here,” Jefferson said and jabbed his finger into Nate’s chest.
Nate swatted his hand away. “Too bad you feel that way. I’m not going anywhere.”
The crowd gasped at the motion. Milton, the off-duty policeman that doubled for security, walked through
the door just as Nate hit Jefferson’s hand.
“Holy mackerel!” Milton, bulging belly and all, ran as fast as he could up to the duo.
The slow moving officer gave Nate enough time to step aside as soon as he ran up to tackle him. Milton
crashed into the front table nearly toppling it and the row of people sitting behind it down to the floor.
“You feel the walls closing in on you, Nate?” Jefferson asked then cocked a smile. “It’s over for you.
And when I hit the senate I’ll make sure to make your life a living hell.”
Nate took a step closer to Jefferson. Every hair on Farrah’s body stood on end as she watched the two
determined men squaring off on each other.
“If you’re so sure of that, Jeff, why are you the one who looks so nervous?” Nate asked.
Jefferson swallowed, bobbing his protruding Adam’s apple. At that moment, Milton ripped off the blue
tablecloth from the front table, knocking over a pitcher filled with water and a couple of glasses. As though
he netted a wild boar, Milton covered Nate in the cloth.
Farrah sat at the edge of the bench. She grabbed the back of the bench row in front of her awaiting
Nate’s next move.
“It’s not over,” Nate said, glaring at Jefferson. “Be ready for a fight.”
“Get him out of here.” Jefferson turned his back as they hauled Nate away.
“It’s an invasion of privacy!” Nate screamed. “You let him decide what happens on my private property
and he’ll do the same to you all!”
The officer slammed the door before Nate’s next damaging statement.
“Good Lord!” Kya said as soon as the officer had Nate removed from the room. “Get that man as a
client so that you can charge him some personal billable hours.”
Farrah sat silently, her mouth agape. “I can’t believe that man just stormed in here only wearing a
baseball cap.”
“He was wearing a hat? I didn’t notice.” Kya winked.
The room settled down. Women fanned their flush faces. Farrah had to cross her legs to tamp down
her sudden throbbing heat. Nate was just a naked man. Primal, forceful, scary. Nothing like Jefferson
who had remained cool under pressure.
Jefferson slid his hand back over his hair, putting the individual strands back in their places.
“In light of what just occurred, I think it’s obvious that I’m right,” Jefferson said with a snicker. “That man
drove over here stark naked and came into a public building. Would the rest of them do that?”
“He was wearing a hat,” one of the audience members said.
A few people laughed.
“Okay, folks. Let’s settle down now.” Chuck waved his hands in a slow motion to calm the crowd. “Don’
t get the people riled up, Jefferson. It’s apparent that you two have some personal history. You’re not
going to use the city as a way to fight your battles.”
Jefferson unbuttoned his jacket again. “Doesn’t matter what I feel for the man. It’s that motel I’m
concerned about.”
“Drop it, Aldridge. Make something else your platform like bringing jobs to the community.”
Jefferson opened his mouth to continue his battle but Chuck cut him down.
“Enjoy your dinner tonight.” Chuck righted his chair and summoned for someone to get brooms and
towels to clean up the mess made when the officer ran into the table.
“You know I’m not going to let this rest. You haven’t heard the last from me.” Jefferson straightened
out his necktie, a powerful red one this time. He turned to leave. As he walked by Farrah, he bent over
and whispered, “Meet me outside.”
A swarm of butterflies fluttered in her belly.
“He wants me,” Farrah whispered to Kya after Jefferson went outside.
“What are you waiting for? Go get your man.” Kya nudged her until Farrah stood.
Securing her purse on her shoulder, she took a deep breath before heading to the doors in the back of
the room. Farrah patted her bun in the back of her hair. She made sure to always keep her hair slicked
back and down in an ultra-conservative style to please Jefferson. Or maybe she did it to match his style.
Besides, her wild, curly hair could use some taming now and then.
As soon as she opened the doors to the outside, the sultry heat hit her immediately. Living in Virginia
all of her life, the humid weather didn’t bother her as much as it did the tourists.
She found Jefferson pacing in front of his Cadillac. He looked so good in and out of the vehicle.
“Wild what happened in there, huh?” Farrah began. She had to break the ice somehow since Jefferson
looked fit to be tied.
Jefferson kept his gaze down, staring at his expensive Italian leather shoes with each forceful step that
he took. “This whole town thinks I’m some sort of joke.”
“No, they don’t.” She reached for him to comfort him but he continued pacing.
“I’ll show them and I’ll show that nude freak, Nate Hickson.” He finally stopped long enough to stare at
Farrah.
His light brown eyes turned her brain into mush. She put her hands together and wrung them.
“I need to ask you a favor. I just don’t know if you’re up to it.” He approached her.
With each of Jefferson’s steps, Farrah’s heart beat in triple time until he reached her. Then the organ
fluttered until he spoke.
“I need to know what that man is doing and thinking,” Jefferson began.
“Okay.” She cleared her throat when her voice cracked. “I think I know a great way to do it. He’s going
to need some representation.”
“You’re going to find out who he’ll get as an attorney?” he asked.
“Not exactly. I’m going to represent him, well, if he’ll have me.” Farrah felt her heart stop for a brief
moment.
“Excuse me?”
“You need someone to get close to him, earn his trust. He may have seen me in the room back there
but he doesn’t know who I am or who I am to you.” Farrah fought hard not to suck in her lower lip and
chew it like she used to when she was a little girl.
“No. Absolutely not. I don’t like this idea. I don’t want you alone with that man.” He shook his head.
“Plus you’re a damn good attorney.” He cocked a smile. “I don’t want him winning his case.”
Farrah opened her mouth to argue her case but from his staunch demeanor, she knew it would have
been a losing battle. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t go behind his back and try anyway.
“You’re right. Maybe I’ll ask my friend, Kya, to do it.”
Jefferson gave her one of his politician smiles but this time it came across as sincere. He took a step
closer to her and cupped her cheek in his warm hand. Right now if he asked her to kill the president she
would ask him how he wanted it done.
“You are going to be my savior with everything you do for me. If your friend does it, let her know how
much I would appreciate he efforts. I know it’s a rotten thing to do, having her defend that caveman but
trust me. She won’t be doing it for very long.”
Nuzzling her face in his hand, she’d almost missed the meaning behind his statement. “What do you
mean?”
“I mean that as soon as we get close enough to our court date, I want her to resign as his attorney,
leaving him high and dry.”
Farrah’s stomach knotted. “I don’t know. Just doesn’t seem right.”
Jefferson moved in closer. She smelled his wickedly spicy cologne that made her want to lick him all
over. “And do you think it’s right for him to parade around town in the nude? I’m protecting our society
from deviants like him, protecting every man, woman,” he paused, “and child from this lifestyle.”
The way Jefferson said child made her think that he imagined them producing a little Aldridge of their
own. Their baby would have his height, his persuasive blue eyes and her compassion.
“What you’re proposing, Mr. Aldridge---”
He cut her off. “Jefferson, please.” He smiled even wider.
“Okay, Jefferson.” She dropped her gaze for a moment. “What you’re asking Kya to do doesn’t seem
ethical. I don’t want her to be disbarred.”
“That won’t happen. The only ones who know about this is me and you, and I’m not going to say a
word.” He took his index finger and made and ‘x’ shape over his heart then held his hand up with his first
two fingers up and the rest balled down. “Scout’s honor.”
She giggled.
Jefferson leaned down, hovering over her. He grabbed her shoulders as though she needed
steadying. On instinct expecting a knee-dropping kiss, Farrah closed her eyes and softened her lips,
parting them slightly.
His warm lips pressed against her cheek. Farrah felt young and foolish all at the same time. Mid-
twenties and she still felt like a giddy schoolgirl.
Grow up, girl.
Farrah opened her eyes when Jefferson pulled back.
“Are you okay with this now?” he asked as he rubbed her arm.
“Getting there.” She hoped he didn’t pick up that she was talking about feeling warm and tingling for
him under his touch.
“Good. Now I need you to take your friend over to the jailhouse and talk to her new client.” Jefferson
broke from Farrah and strutted to his car. “He’s going to need some help tonight.” He winked at her.
“Good luck. Make me proud.”
Jefferson backed out of the two spaces he took up to keep people from parking near him. Farrah
watched him drive away until she could no longer see him.
Make him proud, huh? She would make him so proud of her that she’ll get a ring out of it. Governor
and Mrs. Jefferson Aldridge. Rolls off her tongue beautifully. Now she would need to do some clever
talking to get Naked Nate to trust her. Forget putting Kya in for this job. She could do it on her own.
© copyright 2005, Crystal B. Bright