Charmaine looked up from her reading when she heard muffled footsteps coming into her office.  Seeing Wayne walk in with a brilliant smile told her he came bearing good news.  "What's going on?" she asked, closing the file she had been reading.

Wayne waved a manila envelope in front of her before setting it down on her desk.  "This just came in," he said and with his fingers slid the envelope towards her.

Puzzled by the air of secrecy on his face, Charmaine nevertheless picked up the manila envelope and pulled out the single sheet of paper that was inside.  Her eyes widened with shock when she scanned the contents.  "Is this for real?"

"Apparently it is," Wayne confirmed before planting himself down on one of the guest chairs.  "Are you disappointed?"

Was she, Charmaine asked herself?  Looking at Wayne, she answered sullenly, "I think I am."

A smile touched Wayne's lips at her honesty.  "I don't blame you for feeling that way."

Charmaine re-read the one page document before saying, "I was so excited about this case and spent a lot of long hours on building a defense for him and all for nothing."

"There'll be others," Wayne said with encouragement.  "Although we didn't get the chance to fight this in Court, at least Ron Ng doesn't have to go through all the drama of a court trial.  It has been tough on him these past few weeks with all the bad publicity going around."

Charmaine slowly nodded her head.  She felt somewhat appeased that Ron Ng no longer had to face these charges against him.  It's always frustrating when an innocent man gets accused of something and had to endure the long process of proving himself.  "But what exactly happened?"

Wayne shrugged carelessly and repeated what he was told by Damien Ng when he came earlier to drop the document off.  "The victim, Yoyo Chen, that's her name.  She wanted to get Ron back for something so she cried .  She staged the entire thing.  Right after she had consensual with him she twisted everything around.  It was she who tore her own clothes to shreds.  She then ran out of his apartment crying and screaming so that she can get some eye witnesses, which she did."

Still confused, Charmaine asked, "Then what made her drop the charges?"

Wayne shrugged again and said with amusement, "Perhaps she now feels guilty for defaming him.  All she wanted was revenge and a little of his money along the way.  However, with everything getting bigger and out of hand, she has second thoughts.  She probably didn’t realize exactly how much trouble it was going to get him."

Sighing heavily, Charmaine mused, "Women nowadays would do anything for money."

"You're right.  Then again, not all women are like that," Wayne noted, his eyes studying her with heightened interest.  "At least you're not," he added the last in a small whisper.

Charmaine heard him and saw the sudden gleam in his eyes.  Fighting back the unexpected nervous tension that has began building within her, she asked, "I-Is there something wrong?  You're staring at me."

Wayne quickly averted his eyes and stuttered, "N-Nothing is wrong.  I was thinking about one of my cases and I guess I got lost in my thinking and didn't know I was staring."

His simple and logical response eased away the momentary awkwardness Charmaine had felt.  Smiling at him, she said lightly, "You think too much.  So which case were you thinking about that got you so mesmerized?"

"It's really nothing.  I just need to work out some strategy when I'm in court.  But you know me, there's nothing I can't handle," Wayne boasted with a smug smile.

Laughing softly, Charmaine slid the document back into the manila envelope and handed it to him.  "If you need any help you know where to find me."

Chuckling, Wayne said, "You're the first on my list."  He made to get up but changed his mind and stayed in his seat.  Leaning slightly forward in it, he said solemnly, "There's something that's been on my mind for the past couple of days and I want to ask you about it."

Curious by his words, Charmaine smiled warmly at him and said, "Ask away."

"Did you know Raymond Lam prior to him retaining us to represent him?"

The question caught Charmaine off guard.  Forcing her expression to remain cool and indifferent, she replied, "Of course not.  Where would I have met such a handsome and charming celebrity like him?"

Wayne watched her and for a second thought he saw a flicker of uneasiness behind that cool façade of hers.  That small sign gave him the answer he needed.  However, not wanting to pressure her or cause any rift in their friendship, he will have to accept her answer and let it be.  That is, for now.  For some unknown reason, he felt there was something between her and Raymond Lam.  He can't finger out exactly what it was but it was there.  From the way Raymond Lam had been outright staring at Charmaine that night at dinner and even though Charmaine had appeared like her usual self at that time, Wayne had sensed her fidgeting in her seat.  These were all subtle hints that indicated that they knew each other before hand.  The most obvious of all was the way Raymond directed all his words towards her.  Wayne had kept an eye on Charmaine and when Raymond Lam made the parting comment about running into each other again, he could have sworn there was a slight blush on Charmaine's face.  Even now, he could sense that she was distress and it all started with the mention of Raymond Lam.  In a casual voice, he said, "Maybe through your friend Myolie.  She's from the entertainment circle right?"

"Yes, she was but she never introduced me to him or any other celebrities," Charmaine responded softly.  Giving him a wide smile, she went on in a firmer voice, "And if I have known him before why would I lie about it?  After all, he's Raymond Lam, the hottest, handsomest guy in Hong Kong.  Why would any woman deny knowing him?"

Wayne knew she was lying.  He was good at reading people.  That's what makes him a great defense lawyer.  But he wasn't going to call her out on it.  That would only upset Charmaine and upsetting her would weaken his chances of pursuing her.  "I just thought since Myolie was a close friend of yours and she happens to be from the entertainment circle, you might have met a lot of celebrities, including the very famous Raymond Lam.  I have to admit, I was surprised that you didn't fawn all over him like the rest of the female population when they first meet him."

"You mean like Nancy?" Charmaine gave him a small smile and said, "He's still just an ordinary guy like you."

"True," Wayne agreed.  "I guess I better get back to work."  He stood up from his chair and turned.  Before he had taken a step he looked back at her, "Are you free for dinner tonight?"

Charmaine raised a brow at him and teased, "That depends on whether it's going to be a business dinner or dinner between two friends?"

"Which would you prefer?" Wayne asked with a serious expression.

Instead of answering his question directly, Charmaine said, "I'll meet you downstairs in the lobby at 6:00pm."

-------------------------------------------------

Raymond walked into the pub and easily spotted Ron, who lounged on a chair with a girl draped around his arm.  "Seems you already have company," he joked but still sat down on an opposite chair.

Ron nudged the girl and the girl obediently walked away but not before making a display of swinging her hips for Ron's eager eyes.  "You know me.  Girls tend to flock to my side whether I want them to or not."

Rolling his eyes, Raymond said, "Please spare me the details.  So what is this good news you have to share?"

Ron picked up a bottle of beer and handed it to Raymond.  "Congratulate me."

"For what?" Raymond asked before taking a swig of the savory brew.

Ron's smile widened and there was this aura of superiority emanating off him that Raymond never felt before.  "The charge against me has been dismissed."

Surprised by the news and yet thrilled for his friend, Raymond asked, "When did this happen?"

"This morning.  The stupid girl finally decides to tell the truth," Ron said gruffly.  "Even though she dropped the charges I should sue her for all the trouble she caused me these couple of weeks."

Raymond chuckled and said placately, "Leave it alone.  She already dropped the false charges.  Don't go asking for more trouble."

Ron was about to argue then thought better of it.  Picking up his beer he held it up in a form of a toast, "May I never have to see her again."

Raymond clicked his bottle with Ron's and said, "May we both don't encounter any more of these pesky females."

Ron lifted his bottle to his lips but stalled, his eyes focused on something behind Raymond.

Noticing Ron's stillness, Raymond asked, "What is it?" then turned around to find out for himself.  To his surprise, Charmaine and Wayne Lai stood at the entrance as a waiter began leading them to a table.

"Today is definitely my lucky day," Ron exclaimed with enthusiasm just before he stood up and headed in the direction of Charmaine and Wayne.