If only Baz had been smart enough to cut his losses when he knew he had to.But no, he had to go and bare his fucking soul to a man who didn’t want it.Allegedly.
After days of grappling with having fallen victim to a con artist, now that Sami had told him where to shove it, his masochistic brain refused to believe it.The worst part?Whether Sami had meant it or not made no difference.
Sami deserved someone caring, someone who would be there for him the way he had been for Baz.Someone who could have difficult conversations without losing his mind over them for days first.Someone worthy of his trust.Baz had been stupid to think that could ever be him.He wasn’t relationship material.
“Anything else you’d like me to consider, counselor?”The judge’s voice permeated through the fog.
“Uhm.”His eyes darted to Aya, who shook her head.Whether in disapproval or because they were done, Baz didn’t know, but it was all he had to go on.“No, Your Honor.”
“Then I’m ready to rule.I’m dismissing the motion for class certification on grounds of the plaintiffs’ too individualized injuries.”
Baz closed his eyes, bit the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood.
Forty-two times.He’d have to endure Ian’s face and the painful reminder of what he had lost anotherforty-two times.Assuming all his plaintiffs would stick around for a mass tort that would demand so much more from them individually than a class action would have.
And still, all Baz could think about was how many of those trials Sami would attend.Whether Baz would get the chance to apologize, see that Sami was all right.
Next to him, an animated Vanessa Martinez asked what this meant, how they would proceed.Baz couldn’t bring a word past his lips.Aya got this.She didn’t need Baz.No one did.
No oneshould.
“I knew this would be easy.”Ian smirked.All he had achieved was increasing his own workload, but if that had been the goal, congratu-fucking-lations.
Baz collected his papers, kept his eyes trained on his hands as he stowed them into the binder.Ian leaned against his table, arms crossed in front of his chest, gloating.
“Thanks for playing, lover boy.”
“Fuck you.”It came from the pits of Baz’s soul, the most heartfeltfuck youhe had ever uttered.If he’d had the capacity to feel anything through the hollowness eating him inside out, he imagined that would have felt pretty damn good.As it was, he had nothing more than an eyeroll to spare for Ian’s theatrical gasp and walked out before he got held in contempt.The way this had gone, he wasn’t sure Aya would bail him out.
She was deadly quiet in the car back to the office.No post-trial analysis, no interrogation of what he thought he had done wrong, only a faraway stare out of the window.She must have known talking was pointless.
One thing about Aya, she didn’t kick dogs when they were already down.Lord knew what Erika had to say, though.He couldn’t get himself to care.
Instead, he pulled out his phone.No new notifications.
He opened the chat with Sami anyway.If they’d never speak again, there was one more thing he deserved to hear.
I’m sorry.
If Baz were good with words, he might have been able to produce something more profound, something that would fix everything he had broken today, but he wasn’t.Sami had the right idea by breaking up with him.
The plan was to hide in his office all day, keep his head down, and beg time to move quicker.The universe couldn’t even grant him that tiny bit of respite, because of course Erika wanted to see him right away.Alone.
Could today get any worse?
The air was thin on the top floor.His head was spinning.Every step toward the dark cave of Erika’s light-flooded office was like pushing a boulder up a hill.Her gaze was daggers piercing through his gut: he could bleed to death and still wouldn’t care about it anymore than she would.
He all but slumped into the chair opposite her, stared at the black, polished stapler on her desk.
“Do you care to explain what the hell happened today?”Her voice was a low, restrained rumble.
Too much.He had only gone and screwed up the best thing in his life because he had been too much of a coward to talk to Sami right away.
“A minor setback,” Baz said.
“Minor,” Erika echoed.A shiver trembled through Baz.“Let’s review.I told you to settle the case.You failed.You promised you’d win at court, now you’ve lost class certification.”
Yup, that about summed it up.Not that it mattered.Class or no class, the clients would get their justice, it would just take a little longer.But he might never get to hold Sami again.
