Horizon Seeds (Complete)

Chapter Three

'We had a deposition in court that I was second chair for. Our client had too much evidence and the boss-man required an extra hand.' He looked to the kitchen and stood up as he continued talking. 'I also managed to score the firm a new client. Do you remember Charles Locke, the engineer who was busted for city water limit violations?' She nodded as he picked up her unfinished meal and brought it back to her. 'I knew his son from school back in the capital and managed to sign him on over lunch today. I heard Phil and Phillips were trying to get him but when I started asking about his Son's new baby boy, he was signing away over schnapps.'

She caught herself laughing as she knew there was no way Brandon was drinking anything but beer, and on the firm's account too. She renewed her eating as he finished entertaining her with his rendition of today's life in the city, enjoying his company.

'Oh, and I nearly forgot. I finished paying off my mortgage today.' It was said so casually that she almost didn't understand until he stopped talking and she had to look up at him.

'Pardon? Your mortgage? You paid it all off? Brandon that is amazing!' Her meal laid aside, she jumped into his lap and hugged him about the neck and planted a kiss on his lips. 'That's wonderful news. I'm so proud of you. You really deserve this.'

'So now we can get hitched and knock out a wall between our apartments and apply for maternity leave?' His face was so hopeful. She smacked him on the arm playfully.

'Oh babe, we're not ready for that yet. You still have to make partner at your law firm and that takes a whole lot of time and commitment. I have my own mortgage to sort out first. I started my social standing on the back foot. You know that.' Coming from a rural community into city life meant that she had no social standing before studying as a police officer. Paying off her mortgage and working for the Bureau would ensure her social standing for life, especially if Brandon would wait for her, something she was certain he would do.

'I bet Mr Laupshi'i could put in a good word for you that would increase your social standing.' She wriggled out of his arms and off his lap and picked up her finished meal. Walking to the kitchen she tried to keep a scowl off her face.

'I'm not doing that, Brandon. Its wrong on so many levels and it goes against everything we stand for.' It wasn't a new discussion and that wasn't his first proposal either. Her reply was always the same, she needed to pay off her mortgage and increase her social standing so that if anything happened to him, she would be able to stand on her own two feet.

'Independent woman, thy name is Valerie,' she heard muttered behind her. Ignoring his comment, she cleaned her dishes, recycled her dinner container then collected two stemmed flutes and a bottle of bubbly. Back in the lounge she found Brandon standing by the windows looking out at the night-scape. She knew he was sincere about his offer of marriage and could see he was a little upset about her rebuttal. She placed the glasses and wine on the table next to the couch and slipped an arm around him and laid her head on his back between his shoulder blades. They stood that way for a moment until Brandon was ready to change the subject.

He opened the bottle and poured them drinks and they toasted to the end of his mortgage-paying days. Drinking, they sat in quiet company until he checked the time on his wrist device Swatch. He kissed her on the head and stood and walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge.

'News is on shortly, Babe. Do you have any beer, or should I go get some from next door?' She was already collecting the glasses and nearly-full bottle of wine, and shook her head in answer to his question. As he left her apartment, she called out to him.

'Bring me some chocolate too please, and not the low-fat vegan stuff.' She heard him chuckle as he closed her front door.

Brandon preferred the top-of-the-hour news at this time of the night as it covered the stock market and government closing-of-the-day news. While Valerie waited for his return, she parked herself back on the couch and controlled the TV monitor via her wrist device Swatch. When he didn't come back in time to watch the first story, Valerie started recording it, streaming it straight to his Swatch. The first story covered one of the world's largest seed and meal production firm, Brancroft, and their bid to sue the Othshali'i race with infringement of intellectual property and theft of patented material. There was little real information on what the aliens did or didn't do, but the news was sensational enough that it made the headline story. She just shook her head at that. There was no way that would end well, not when the Othshali'i were willing to so freely trade their advanced technology with Earth. Some people were just that stupid.