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Had to…
That’s what I’m stuck on, what I focus on. That internship would have been recent and I’m guessing that was at Silvermans.
“You had to stop?”
“Yeah. I’ve been trying to apply for jobs for the last eight months but it’s been tough. There was this one I really thought I had. I hoped I had it. It was at Barkers.”
I smile. I know the firm she means. They’re one of the family lawyers
“It turns out there was somebody better than me for the job, as is always the case but I still have my fingers crossed.”
She stops and I know it’s because she’s reached the point in her explanation that’s more recent.
“Then what happened baby? What brought you to The Dark Odyssey?”
She shakes her head and drops her gaze to my chest. “It’s okay. It’s best I don’t talk about it.”
I guide her face back up to meet my gaze. “Tell me, tell me something. I don’t have the passion for my career the way you do.”
It’s clear that she truly, truly wanted to be a lawyer.
“My family got into debt,” she begins. “My father… almost died. He’s very sick. He was very sick. Not out of the woods yet but I nearly lost him, really he’s all I have. My mother died before I was old enough to remember her and my brother is… absent. He’s not really around much. He has a daughter and we take care of her. They’re my everything,” she raises her shoulders into a little shrug.
“Mia. Let me give you the money. How much do you ne–” she cuts me off by placing her finger to my lips and shaking her head.
“No. You’ve done enough and you fixed a lot. More than you needed to. Doesn’t matter what it cost me, I would have lost a lot more,” she nods.
“The other night… what happened with Antonella won’t happen again,” I still feel disgusted with myself.
The shine in her eyes falters. “Why did you send me to the Playboy lounge, Nick?”
It’s a valid question. One she deserves an answer to. Answering, however, feels like asking me to open up about all the shit that’s happening. It’s actually all part and parcel of the same thing.
“My life right now is very hectic. There’s a lot of shit happening.” That’s the shortest answer I can give. “I don’t want to drag you in too deep.”
“Is that where you want me now? Not with you?” I don’t miss the quiver in her voice.
“No it’s not. I want you with me, if you still want to be with me.” I must have really lost my damn mind. It’s the question my heart wants and it’s taking over.
She holds my gaze and I find myself getting lost in the depths of those eyes of hers.
“I do…” she whispers, and fuck, it feels like a balm on my tortured soul to hear it. Her fingers glide up my jaw, caressing my cheek. “What was the fight about Nick? What makes you want to forget life?”
Here it is.
The moment of opening up and sharing. It’s difficult to talk about, but somehow she makes me feel like I can do it.
“My best friend … Tommy was gunned down in his home a month ago. His wife and baby were in the house at the time. Someone hired a hit on him. He’s in a coma now.” A pang of sadness creeps in as I speak. It spirals through my nerves like cold, icy tendrils of fear that knot my insides.
Her lips part. “What? Oh my God, Nick. That’s awful.”
“Yeah. I’m looking for who did it. Yesterday was about that.”
“Nick please don’t do something dangerous,” she pleads.
This is the part where we differ immensely and it brings reality back to the table.
“Baby danger is my world.” I run my finger over her cheek. “This is nice. Us… I’m a hotheaded accountant who loses his head on occasion. You calm me down, make me forget.”
“Accountant?” She looks fascinated.
“Yeah. What do you know? The lawyer and the accountant.”
She smiles at that and reaches up to touch my face. We fall into a kiss. A kiss that calls for more. I’m not one to turn away the chance for more so I pick her up, carry her back upstairs and devour her in my bed.
