Saturday came, my Father announced he'd bring me to the final meeting with the big bosses of both companies, but not just me, Erika and Rachel followed along too. I still hadn't made any successful contact with Hamish since he left us alone last night, his final text message told us that everything's fine and he left the office to go do something for Nathaniel to deal with the information we found in the folders.
Something didn't seem right afterwards.
I really wanted to know if he was okay, and it was all I could think of all night. Dominic arrived around 7 o'clock and woke me up the morning after, he didn't look like he had too much to drink the night before, but he seemed to be in a hurry as dropped my things off on the way to the gym and meet his Parents for lunch. However, he rubbed it in my face that he didn't need to work on a weekend, but I shrugged him off and left for the showers to get ready to leave with my Father.
"Boo," Erika pulled me into her office, she leaned close and whispered, "Don't you think it's a bit weird that we found the information and Nathaniel suddenly calls in to pry it off our hands?"
"I know, something isn't right." I mumbled. "I can't put my finger on it, but something's going to happen."
"I find it even weirder that we're suddenly going to go see the bosses again. There weren't traces of loopholes and badly written fine prints anywhere, so something - or maybe someone - must have played a major part here, or else we're all getting screwed over." She must've thought about this a lot last night too.
"But what are we going to do? We're nothing compared to the partners."
"We can always tell your Father-"
"-No freaking way, if we're telling my Father, both of us are out of this case and be left in the gutter!"
"The only thing I can think of is really try and get a hold of Hamish and hear out what happened." She suggested, her eyes filled with desperation, like she really wanted to find out the truth. "Because I'm sure that Nathaniel didn't expect Hamish to be the one to turn up in his office last night. He called you, and there's got to be a reason-"
"Erika," I stopped her. I held onto her arm and stared her right in the eyes, my nerves went frantic as it knew that I am considering telling my best friend about Nathaniel's advances towards me.
"Let's just hear out Hame first."
Or not.
"And we can work from there." I added as I gave her a hug, something I thought I should give her since I just lied to her face about what she asked. I didn't want to tell her yet, if she knew, I already knew her reaction - despite how much she truly loved her job in Lawler & Walsh.
"You're not lying right?" She muffled.
"Nope." Still lying.
"Alright, come on, before we get in trouble for being late," She changed the topic and linked her arms with me as we walked out together.
There were some employees who came to the office to do additional work, the other senior associates were still scattered about in their own offices, some just woke up from a late night. Well, we all had a long night, but they may have had a longer one as Erika and I fell asleep no later than two in the morning and woke up at around seven. My Father went home, he had a reason to go home as Antonia was pregnant - liar - he left us all to do his work and he went to go to a bar and catch up with Judge Cole and a few of his friends. Dominic told me he caught my Father at the same bar he was in and looked less likely to go home to Antonia.
On our way down, the elevator became a less likely area to have a discussion about our discovery. Erika looked eager to keep pushing it as a topic, but as some overnight employees in the building began to fill the space of the elevator, we began to shut our lips tighter and lock it to make sure we wouldn't spill unnecessary information. I certainly won't allow that, if Nathaniel found out both Erika and I knew something, we'd be screwed for good, and I definitely won't let my Father know.
My Father's changed, there were parts of him I barely recognized, and compared to before, we hardly keep in contact and he's proven to lack interest in talking to me like his daughter. We were - which was slightly similar to my current relationship with Dominic - kept to some sort of professional relationship and interaction. So, pretty much, he treated me like any other lawyer in the firm, but I am in a state of denial about it since I don't believe that I've lost him and my fiancé for good. I believe they're in there, and Nathaniel's not going to stop me.
"Looks like Rachel's late," Erika remarked as soon as we took a step out of the confined space with the crowd of people. "And your Father too."
"Maybe we got the wrong time?"
"Oh wait, no, I see his car. I was wrong." She sighed and we met with the sun light.
It felt so nice being outside, breathing the oxygen instead of the recycled air inside the office, the heat from the sun and the exposure of people all around us. Being trapped inside an office isn't what I expected at all, at least in the PD office, we are in and out of court and get to spend more time outside and work on cases instead of going down how many levels of a building to get out in the great outdoors, totally opposite lifestyle. Despite all my complaints, I don't think I'm able to leave L&W.
"Miss Barnett, Ms Lawler," My Father's driver greeted us as he opened the back door of the black car. "Mr Lawler will meet us at the venue. The third person will not be coming," He added in right before he slammed the door shut and went on to the other side.
"What the heck? No Rachel?"
Erika only shrugged. "You think she finally got the boot?"
"Doubt it," I quickly replied just before the driver got to his seat. Erika and I exchanged glances and gestured a zipped mouth to keep our conversation for later, where none of my Father's extra ears could hear us.
The car ride to the meeting place was quiet, well, except for the noises of beeping cars, the pedestrians enjoying their Saturday day off, and of course, the sweet tunes of the classical music from the radio. But talking wise, nope, Erika and I both looked out the windows from our side of the backseat, admiring the skyline, blue sky, the faint view of the Hollywood sign and the freedom of the people. Okay, I can't just ignore the carefree and happy faces of the people along the sidewalks, they enjoyed their day off from work and lack of responsibilities as work related things were at the back of their minds.
I was jealous.
If given a choice, I'd be with Dominic right now, since he was finally free and had freedom until the next list of work he needed to complete, but noooo, here I was, inside my Father's luxury work car with my best friend and his driver taking us to some location and sort his damn screw-up. Though, I do understand why Erika had to go, she was part of the case before it fell off the cliff and she's my Father's second chair all the time, but I don't really understand why he chose me to go to the meeting when Rachel and the other senior associates have seniority over me.
We arrived not long after at a smaller building, possibly a fraction of the building where L&W is situated, and there were already a few people gathered outside, talking to my Father and- Hamish? He seemed fine and dandy, he wore a fresh, new and looked like he took a shower too, and he didn't appear bothered while he puffed a cigarette a few steps away from the crowd.
"What the hell?" Erika nearly yelled into my ear as she prssed against the side of my arm to get a clearer view of what I saw. "Wait, why- How the hell- Hamish is here?" She even struggled to form some sort of sentence.
"I really want to talk to him." I mumbled.
"When you do, can I be present? I want to know too."
"Of course you can," I smiled. "You and me are just as involved as Hamish." I added as the car came to a full stop. We waited for the driver to open the door for us, and he took his bloody damn time too as the gathered crowd all turned their judgmental eyes and neutral faces towards us.
"We got this boo."
I nodded and the door swung open. I got out first, nearly stumbling at my own foot on my way to stand next to my Father. Erika wasn't too far behind with a bag full of folders given by the driver. I greeted my Father then Hamish before the group of men and women in suits, not the same quality as my Father's or Hamish, but they were decent enough.
"Mr Langley, this is my daughter, Marianne." My Father introduced me to a larger, tanned man with receding black hair. "Marianne, this is Mr Langley, he's the CEO and our client-"
"-And a pretty old friend of Nathaniel." The man added.
The urge to have a snarky remark boiled, but stayed, in my throat. I wanted to spill the beans about how they may know each other, but I kept my mouth fully shut and pretended I knew nothing, which probably worked on the client because he looked ready to talk about other things than the business there. This job certainly made me become a better liar.
"Nice to meet you, Mr Langley," I shook his large, yet short and stubby hand.
"And you've already met Miss Barnett," My Father rushed the conversation.
"Oh, yes, yes, hello Miss Barnett." The man weakly waved at Erika before he adjusted the jacket of his suit and gestured a finger to one of the employees behind him, he was given a folder with a large scribble that barely make out the words 'signed and sealed'. "Here you go, and the files you promised?" Mr Langley lazily handed out in the space between he and my Father.
"Miss Barnett-" My Father clicked his fingers and Erika did the deal on his behalf, but she looked just as confused as I was, I mean, who wouldn't be? She just handed over a majority of the documents she and I read over and over when Hamish disappeared, and in return from all that effort, we got a lousy signed contract with no complaints.
There was something more behind this.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr Langley. I will get in contact with you once this is filed on Monday morning."
Both men shook hands, but my Father wore the smug and victorious smirk on his face while Mr Langley looked defeated and uncertain. Erika followed my Father with no further words or questions, she was my Father's pet and I saw his control over her. I could only turn to Hamish for answers, but at a clearer view, he looked as troubled as Mr Langley.
"You're free to go home, Marianne, Miss Barnett and Mr Schwartz can handle the rest," My Father directly told me as soon as he turned around to give one dashing smug grin to the defeated client, talk about rubbing salt to the wound. "Thank you again, Mr Langley."
I tried to understand and process everything, but it didn't make sense. None of it did. I watched my Father go into his car, Erika mouthed an apology before going back into the car after him, and Hamish, well, he pulled me to the side for a moment and said, "Don't investigate about this anymore, Annie, this is none of our business, it's between Mr Lawler and Mr Walsh."
"What happened yesterday, Hame?" I kept my voice low as I touched his arm and attempted to coax is out of him, but he shook his head and replied, "Nothing to worry about Annie. Just leave it be."
But I couldn't.
I watched the back of Hamish's head get into the car, the door slammed and I watched the car drive away. I waited for the turn at the corner and made sure it was clear before I chased after Mr Langley in his building. I had a feeling none of his employees were pleased by the merge and having to reprocess everything for the sake of it, especially since they were the real losers from the whole event. I needed answers though.
"Oh, Ms Lawler, what are you doing here?"
I slipped into his office, wrapped in my own arms as I cautiously approached him and asked, "I was wondering if you could tell me why the sudden change of mind?"
He sighed, rubbing at his forehead and leaned against his desk for support. "Oh Ms Lawler," He groaned. "All I can say is that Nathaniel had something to do with this."
"How? He wasn't part of the case or anything-"
His hand waved between us. "You don't get it. The other company is partly owned, cosigned and funded by one of your bosses. We've hired your Father a long time ago, and not once has he mentioned anything like this until a month ago, when I met Nathaniel for lunch, he said in passing that he'll run me to the ground."
I frowned. "Why?"
"I asked the very same thing, and apparently I have some information about something I shouldn't know about."
"Can you tell me?"
Mr Langley chuckled. "Oh Ms Lawler, that's confidential, you should know better."
"At least tell me the gist of it?" I was desperate.
He shook his head. "Even the tiniest gist of the matter would form it in your mind. Lawyers are clever." He said so kindly yet looked so annoyed. "Aren't you engaged to Nathaniel's nephew? All I can say is it's about him."
Dominic? What? My mind swirled about, I couldn't focus on what I wanted to drill from Mr Langley anymore, my emotions went into concern and curiosity about my fiancé, unsure about how he's involved and why.
"Please excuse me, Ms Lawler, I don't mean to be rude and ask you to leave, but I have much to do. I know it's much to process. I hope the truth comes out for you," He added as he turned away from me and continued what he did, shutting me off as well.
I walked out with my head down, my heart pounding, my stomach uneasy and I felt nauseous. I needed answers, but I couldn't confront Dominic, and if I did, my Father would eventually find out that I pushed my nose into his business. I needed to go home and lie down. I'm probably over thinking everything that's very little. Maybe it's from the lack of sleep too.
I wandered outside, my body moved on its own, hailing a cab and headed home. I didn't expect Dominic to be home, he went to see his Parents without me, so he'd have no reason to leave early and have no one to blame on his need to leave. And as I expected, the apartment was empty, no one but my confused little self. I dragged myself towards the sofa, my body slumped and I skimmed through my phone list. I shouldn't call anyone and talk about my current situation, but I wanted to let it out instead of bottling it in.
I pressed the phone against the side of my face and took a deep breath. "Hi Mommy." I cooed.
"Annie! Hello sweetheart, how are you- Wait, what's wrong?" Mothers always knew the problem. I loved my Mother because of her amazing, natural and motherly instincts when it came to me and Marcus. We had a bond like no other, closer than my Father really.
"I just needed to hear your voice-"
"You know you're always welcome to run away here," She tried cheering me up. "But I know you can't, your heart belongs there, I know that."
"Maybe I'll consider it."
"You'll leave that handsome fiancé of yours, really?"
"Probably." I considered it. "If he loved me as much as I love him, then he'll come after me. But who knows." My heart ached thinking I'd have to say goodbye to Dominic, leaving him is hard enough.
"I have this funny theory, sweetheart," As she said that, I could imagine my Mother smiling at me, sweeping away my worries and cradling me in her arms like a baby. "If a man puts you in front of everything else, he's a keeper. If a man puts you behind everything else, he's a loser."
I laughed, trying hard to hold in my tears.
"Your Father is a loser to me, but he's Antonia's keeper. If Dominic is only hurting you, leave. It's not worth it."
I parted my lips to speak, but quickly shut them once I heard the sound of the door knob shuffling. I leaned back a bit more and peeked at the familiar red and navy blue sneakers that I spotted when I woke up this morning, followed by a large, brown, leather tote bag swinging into view. I shifted my eyes to the ticking clock by the wall and realized it was far too early for Dominic to be home, and my jaws dropped when he did come to view.
"Mom, I have to go," I quickly muttered into the phone.
"I'm guessing the man of the hour is back home?" She giggled. "Don't forget to use protection... Wait, no, I want grandchildren, don't-"
I hung up on my Mother. Sorry, Mommy.
"Why are you home early, Dom?" I called out to him, sliding my phone down my body and to the spot beside me, pretending like I wasn't on the phone at all.
"I heard the meeting finished early, so before I go see my Parents, I came to get you," He casually explained as he dropped the bag beside the coffee table and sat next to me. I could smell his deoderant mixed with his natural scent, he glistened from his sweat and wore the same grey sweatpants and white tanktop, his black jacket draped down his arms and exposed the muscles of his arms, teasing my inner desires.
"Who told you?"
He lazily leaned back and looked me in the eyes. His pretty hazel eyes sent me to a daze. "I stopped by the office on my way home, Erika and your Father were there, they said you were dismissed-"
"Did you get my clothes?"
"Is that really a concern?"
I nodded. I wanted to distract myself from thinking about what happened not earlier today, my mind and body weren't mentally prepared to even think about it, and what perfect way than to use my fiancé? Sorry, Dominic.
"Yes. It's in there." He beckoned with his foot towards his bag. "I knew you'd ask," He mumbled and suddenly tugged me closer to him, my face smothered into the side of his neck and his sweat soaked into my skin. I groaned in disgust and complained, "Gross Dom."
"I hate an empty bed," Dominic grunted and readjusted me enough to straddle him. "And I hate going to go see my Parents without you."
"So you want me to go with you?"
He nodded, his hands grazed over from my legs to my waist, leaving them there as he kept his eyes focused at me. I felt conscious.
"Fine, but I need to go take a shower now that your smell is all over me- Wah-"
"Let's go save some water." Dominic said loudly, as though he announced what he wanted to do. I couldn't complain, I just wanted a distraction.
Dominic Walsh will always be a keeper for me. I'm not ready to tell him what I learned today. Not yet.