Coming down the stairs, Julie had noticed the stain on the carpet was gone, and Jason was already up, making breakfast. Now, she was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping the remains of her coffee.
“I hope you don’t mind. I called my friend this morning,” Jason said.
“Oh?”
“He said we couldn’t have had better timing. His wife is pregnant and she’s been helping him at the office up until now. He was just about to put out an ad for an assistant. It’s very basic – answering the phone and running errands. If you want, I could drive you there this afternoon?”
“Wow…” Julie said. “You move fast.”
“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to…”
“No, I… I need to get started on my new life. The sooner the better, right?”
“But if you feel you need some time…”
“It’s fine. Really. But he knows I don’t have much experience, right?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Jason said reassuringly. “Like I said, Jim’s a friend.”
-
“Jim Richie, pleased to meet you,” the lawyer smiled and extended his hand to Julie. She noted he was probably in his late 30s, his dark hair graying at the temples and his hairline receding slightly. “I was just fresh out of law school when I got to know Jase here,” he said and patted Jason’s back jovially.
“Yeah, he’s gotten a lot better since then,” Jason mocked his friend.
“Hey,” Jim said, feigning hurt.
“Hope you’re keeping people out of jail these days, Jim,” Jason continued.
“Well, the ones that don’t belong there, at least,” he shrugged.
“Fair,” Jason said. “So how’s Glory?”
“Glorious,” Jim joked.
“You know,” Jason said, turning to Julie, “I’ve never actually met this woman, but every time Jim came to visit me at the jail, he would tell me stories about Glory and what an amazing woman she was. I figured he was just trying to keep my hopes up and that once I got out, he’d reveal the cold, hard truth – that there were no women left in the world.”
“Oh, I think that’s impossible,” a female voice said from behind them. “Women rule the world, after all.”
“And there she is,” Jim beamed at his wife, a blonde beauty with a proud belly encased in a stretchy fabric of sorts. “Glory – this is Jason,” Jim said and gestured to Jason. “Jase, my wife.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jason said and extended his hand. Glory, however, had a different idea and wrapped him into an embrace.
“So great to meet you, Jason. Jim’s told me all about you.”
“All lies, I’m sure,” Jason said and extricated himself from her grip. “This is my friend Julie,” he said and moments later, Julie was wrapped up in a Glory-cocoon as well.
“She’s a hugger,” Jim chuckled as Julie struggled for air.
“I’d hug closer if this little one didn’t get in the way,” Glory said and rubbed her belly. “I’m so happy you could come on such short notice – it was getting a bit hard to carry the Starbucks tray all the way over here from across the street,” she joked.
“Well, I’m so grateful for this opportunity,” Julie said timidly. “I mean, if…”
“Oh, you haven’t told the poor girl she’s hired yet?” Glory scowled at her husband. “Shame on you, Jim Richie, stringing her along like that.”
“They only just got here,” Jim rolled his eyes.
“Oh. Well, come on, then,” she said and looped her arm with Julie’s. “I’ll show you how the phone works. It’s the easiest thing in the world, but my husband’s too lazy to answer it himself.”
Julie cast an anxious look back at Jason, who just shrugged and chuckled.
“Yup, quite a woman you got there,” he said to Jim.
“The best,” Jim said and gestured to his office. “Let’s catch up.”
“Wow, you’ve done all right for yourself, Jim,” Jason said, looking around the little office filled with case files and diplomas. “But it looks like you might need a housekeeper or something,” he said and ran his finger along the top of a filing cabinet, producing a coat of dust.
“A little dirt never hurt no-one,” Jim drawled and sat down in his chair. “Now tell me what brought you here.”
“Well, you should know – you talked to my lawyer in Louisiana. I got the house.”
“I know that. But I thought you were going to sell it and move to New York. Wasn’t that always the plan?”
“Plans change,” Jason shrugged.
“Because of a woman?” Jim ventured.
“She’s my cousin’s wife, Jim,” Jason rolled his eyes.
“I know, you told me. You also told me your cousin deserves to be behind bars more than you did. Is she getting a divorce?”
“Right now, I’m trying to get her to see that she doesn’t need a man to take care of her. Derek’s got it hammered into her head that she’s useless. I want her to realize he’s a big fat liar.”
“Ten years in the big house and you’re still rescuing damsels in distress…” Jim clicked his tongue.
“What can I say? I’m incorrigible,” Jason shrugged.
“Have you told her? Why you were incarcerated, I mean?”
“She doesn’t need to know that just yet.”
“And she still trusts you?” Jim frowned. “She’s not afraid of what you might have done?”
“Not that I know of, no.”
“Jase…”
“I’m not a hero, Jim. It’s better that she thinks I did something wrong. I don’t want her getting too attached to me.”
“Why are you worried about that?” Jim asked, leaning back in his chair.
“What are you, my shrink?” Jason snapped. “I told you – I want her to depend on herself, not on other people.”
“Sounds more like you might have feelings for her,” Jim shrugged.
“Married life has turned your brain to mush, Jim,” Jason said and rose from his seat.
“Doesn’t mean I’m not right,” Jim said and Jason rolled his eyes. “Does she have a job or not?”
“She can start Monday. We’ll see how it goes.”
“Good,” Jason said and headed out the door.
-
“So that’s really all there is to it,” Glory said and flopped down in a chair. “Sorry, I can’t take many steps without putting my feet up these days,” she smiled sheepishly.
“When is the baby due?” Julie asked.
“Not for another month,” Glory sighed. “I know, I look ready to burst any minute, don’t I?” she chuckled. “People keep asking me if I’m having twins, and I tell them ‘nope, just using the baby as an excuse to pile on the pounds.”
Julie glanced over the petite blonde. She only carried her weight in her stomach area; the rest of her looked almost skinny. If she’d only seen a headshot of Glory, Julie never would have guessed she was pregnant.
“You’re married?” Glory asked, her gaze landing on Julie’s hand. Julie had to look down to see she was still wearing her wedding band.
“Um… yes.”
“Not to Jason, right?” Glory frowned. “I mean, I’ve read about these women who fall in love with men behind bars, and from what Jim told me, Jason never really belonged there in the first place, but…”
“No, not Jason,” Julie cut her off. “His cousin.”
“Oh.”
“It’s a long story…” Julie fidgeted.
“Hey, say no more,” Glory put her hands up. “We have all the time in the world to get acquainted. You’re starting Monday, right?”
“Um… I don’t know if…”
“Well, of course you got the job,” Glory said. “Jim is a sweetheart and a decent lawyer, but he needs someone to keep an eye on him. I don’t have the energy for it anymore, so we need someone in here stat, and I’m positive you’ll be great.”
“Thank you,” Julie said gratefully. “Really, I’m…”
“Hold off your ‘thank you’ until you’ve worked here for a week or so – Jim will drive you mad, I tell you.”
“Okay,” Julie smiled.
“Julie? Ready to go?” Jason asked, coming out of Jim’s office.
“Um… okay,” she said and walked over to him, shooting Glory a grateful smile. Jim also stepped out of his office and offered his hand.
“Welcome onboard, Julie. Does Monday at 8 am work for you?”
“That’s perfect. Thank you,” Julie said and shook his hand.
“See you then,” Jim smiled and she followed Jason out of the little law office.
“So?” Jason asked as they got in his car. “What did you think?”
“They’re really nice,” Julie said.
“You think you’ll like working there?” he asked and turned the ignition.
“Yeah,” Julie nodded. “Thank you again for doing all this for me. I really don’t know what I would have done if…”
“Don’t mention it,” Jason said and pulled out of the parking lot. “This is just the first step in a long line of them. Pretty soon, you won’t need me to hold your hand anymore.”
Julie’s gaze dropped to her lap. He was annoyed with her. He thought she was being a baby who couldn’t do anything for herself. What did she do wrong? Why was she so weak? She didn’t mean to depend on Jason, but she was lost without him. She hadn’t been on her own since… well, never. There was always someone there to take care of her, and it was so easy not to bother making your own decisions. But that’s what she had to do now.
Jason looked over at Julie. She hadn’t said a word since they left the parking lot, and he wondered if he’d said something to upset her. It was true, he wanted her to stand on her own, but it wasn’t like he didn’t want to be there for her. He just worried she’d start relying on him the way she’d relied on Derek, making her vulnerable. He was not a good guy. He might have had ten years to work on his anger management skills, but he couldn’t be sure he’d never lash out. And he couldn’t bear the thought of Julie getting in the way of that. No, it was best she got as far away from him and his family as possible. They’d only drag her down.