Insider || hs

Literally So Much Stress

When Freddie stepped out of the cab and stood in front of a towering skyscraper in lower Manhattan, she felt more nervous than she had on her first day of work. She was meeting with Harry's lawyer friend Anthony during her lunch break, and as far as she could tell from their phone call a few nights earlier, he was about to help her make her report against Damien that very afternoon, which meant there would officially be no turning back. Nonetheless, Freddie knew she had to do it for the sake of the people Damien was cheating, so she forced herself to walk into the building and towards the office of one Anthony Mathis, Esquire.

The firm where Anthony worked was located on the twelfth floor, and just like Freddie's office on Wall Street, she was greeted by a small, minimalistically decorated reception area. There was an older woman sitting there at the desk, but before Freddie could approach her, her eyes fell on the short, finely dressed man walking out from the back of the office floor. His hair was dark, much darker than even hers, and he looked to be about Harry's age. Freddie knew instantly this was the man she was looking for.

"Miss Singleton?" He asked as he approached her, to which she replied with a nervous smile.

"Mr. Mathis, it's nice to meet you," Freddie answered, extending her hand out to greet him. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help."

"Call me Anthony," he said as he shook her hand, a broad smile stretching across his mouth. "And it's no problem at all. I'm glad to finally be able to do Harry a favor for once. He does my taxes, you know?"

Freddie felt her cheeks momentarily warm at the mention of Harry, but she quickly shoved the thought of him away. This was supposed to be a professional meeting, and she didn't need to be distracted by the fact that her feelings for Harry were growing by the minute. It freaked her out, if she was being honest, and given that she was already freaked out by the task she had to accomplish that day, she knew better than to even begin indulging herself by thinking about him.

"He said something about that," Freddie smiled politely. "He's very generous."

"Don't I know it," Anthony said. "I can't imagine doing all that he does for his friends; I think I'd collapse from exhaustion."

Freddie had to laugh, "He comes close at the end of the day. Dinner usually picks him up a bit though."

"That's right, he said you two lived together. How'd that happen?"

"Craigslist," Freddie said mockingly. "Not usually the safest bet, but I lucked out with him, especially now that I'm having to deal with this mess at work. I don't know what I would've done if he hadn't connected me with you."

Anthony smiled warmly, "I know it's probably stressful to you, Miss Singleton, but I assure you, you have nothing to worry about. Let's step into my office, and we can submit the report within the hour. Sound good?"

"Perfect."

Freddie followed Anthony through the door behind the reception desk and down a hallway with several office doors on either side of the wall, some opened and some closed. People's voices quietly filtered into the hallway, though none of them were loud enough for Freddie to discern any specific information. They stopped at one room towards the end and went inside, Freddie first while Anthony followed behind and shut the door behind them.

"Take a seat," he said warmly, gesturing to the empty chairs across from his desk. There was a window behind him, but the light wasn't too blinding given that the sun hadn't begun to set yet. Freddie took her seat as Anthony sat down at his computer and clicked randomly on the screen.

"I have the form pulled up already," he said, turning his attention on Freddie again. "Like I said the other night, this form is pretty preliminary. It's mostly just information about you, the complaint, and who the complaint is against. You can submit any accompanying documents you'd like, though I imagine in this case, you're not at liberty to disclose company files, correct?" Freddie nodded in affirmation, and Anthony continued, "Right, so we won't have to worry about that, so this part should be pretty straightforward."