Meet Cute(78)

“Let’s go outside.”

He follows me to the back patio and passes me a beer. “You look like you need this.”

“It’s been a hell of a weekend, that’s for sure.”

“I’m surprised your girlfriend isn’t here.”

I glance over at the door on reflex, just to make sure Emme isn’t around to hear our conversation. “Kailyn isn’t my girlfriend.”

Felix lifts a brow as he tips his bottle back. “Really? Because I seem to recall you telling me you were looking forward to Friday night so you could get all up in that. Guess that plan went in the shitter, huh?”

“Yeah, well, if I hadn’t been distracted by a nice rack and a sweet ass, I might not have missed what was going on with Emme.” Even as I say it, I feel horrible; Kailyn isn’t a piece of ass I’m tapping, and she never has been.

Felix gives me a hard look. “You sure about that? I mean, if you hadn’t been with Kailyn, you would’ve been out with me passing off the wannabe groupies you can’t be bothered with.”

He has a point. But it’s more than that. “Emme’s too attached to her.”

“And that’s a bad thing? She seems pretty stable, and she spends time with Emme willingly, without you there.”

Kailyn is stable. She’s career driven, but she makes time for the people she cares about, and she’s sure as hell made time for me and Emme. Maybe more than she should. “I’m too dependent on her, to the point where I feel like I can’t do this without her. I mean, she’s been involved since the funeral, and they made her conservator. I keep going to her, like I expect her to make things okay. What happens when the custody issue is resolved and she’s not obligated to be part of this anymore? Is she gonna bail? Emme can’t handle that, and I don’t really know if I can, either. It’s a mess. I gotta get out before I get in too deep.”

“I hate to break it to you, but I think you’re already there.”

“Well, then I should cut out now. Make it just about the legal aspect. I don’t have time to juggle a relationship and Emme and work. I can barely handle Emme and work as it is.” And Kailyn has been picking up the slack for me in the Emme department when work gets in the way, which is another problem I’ll have to resolve sooner rather than later. Jesus, what the hell is even in this for her? What do I bring to the table other than a shit ton of baggage?

“Maybe you’re taking on too much. You were back to work a week after the funeral. Take some time off. It’s not like you don’t have vacation banked.”

He’s right. I have weeks of unused vacation time. “Yeah. I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about that, too. Kailyn’s mentioned a couple of times that her boss wants me on their team.”

“Do you really want to start over when you’re close to making partner, though? Who would I have to make fun of during meetings?”

I laugh a little, but it’s flat. “You could always make fun of Gene.”

“From the tax department? Too easy.” I can feel his eyes on me. “You’re seriously considering this, aren’t you?”

“Here’s the thing. No matter how close I am to partner, I can’t go that route now. Not when I need flex hours. I’d be working ninety hours a week, and I’d be in the courtroom all the time. I need flexibility, and I’ve looked into that company’s policies on family. It could work.”

“Would you take a pay cut?”

“I don’t know, but the paycheck isn’t the priority anymore. Neither is the prestige of making partner.”

“How’re you gonna manage working there with Kailyn?”

“It wasn’t like it was going on all that long. We can be professional.”

“You sure about that?”

“I’ll figure it out. I can’t keep going the way I am.” This train is going to derail eventually and I need to get off before that happens.





Chapter Twenty-One





We All Fall


Dax



The drive to work on Monday is miserable. Not because the traffic is worse than usual or the weather is shitty, but because I have an angry thirteen-year-old girl in the passenger seat who still isn’t talking to me. It’s driving me insane. I don’t know how people give each other the silent treatment. I would lose my ever-loving mind. In fact, if it goes on much longer, that may just happen.

“You can set yourself up over there and start on homework.” I motion to the chair on the other side of my office.

Emme says nothing as she dumps her stuff beside the chair and pulls out her laptop—I had to revise my electronics ban since all of her homework is online. But she’s not allowed to do it in her room. She has to work in the kitchen, which she hates. Along with me.

She quietly seethes while I check emails and go through my voicemails. Freeman pops his head in the door and glances at Emme set up in the corner. “Do we have a new intern I don’t know about?” He’s smiling, but there’s tension behind it.

“Hi, Mr. Freeman.” Emme’s voice is raspy from disuse.

“Emme’s not feeling one hundred percent, so she’ll be here for a couple of days.” I also refuse to let her stay home on her own, aware she’ll likely spend the entire day in front of the TV. It’s what I’d do without supervision.