"Care to explain?"

My heart beat seemed deafening. It was all coming down at me like a landslide. Those memories of last summer which I had kept hidden in my memory were starting to appear through the cracks of present.

"No, nothing." I muttered, wiping my tears which where burning through my skin. He looked at me surprised, he didn't expect me to cry. He handed me his handkerchief , looking at me expectantly while I wiped my tears, hoping for an explanation as to why I had smudged his firms name with dirt .

I hadn't realised how weak my knees felt due to standing in a croched position while looking at his laptop till I tripped and almost lost my balance. Embarrassment! Mr. Logan helped me get on my feet properly and asked me to sit on the sofa in his office.

"Look, I know sometimes it's not our fault. They sometimes show as blood- sucking parasites just because we are lawyers." He said. His brown eyes crystal clear showing no emotion other than understanding.

I nodded silently. It was a nightmare. We weren't assaulting Nik, he was the damn sucker. I stopped crying. I had to work to take my mind off this. People would forget about this article or maybe they wouldn't. I couldn't lament the loss of my reputation, rather build a new one.

I rose and returned the handkerchief .

"These are the briefs on the case. You want me to explain you or you'll go through them yourself?" I asked, my throat still dried due to crying and my voice cracked up.

"Don't worry, I'll call you when I am done with them."

I took the rest of my files and reached for the door when he stopped me. Our faces were a few inches apart , his hand caressed my hair strands and pushed them back my ear.

"It'll all be okay." His warm breath , against my dried up cheeks felt relieving. I nodded.

"And check out your makeup before you leave." He smirked.

I looked at him strangely . It took me minutes to realise what he was referring to. I took my phone out and opened the camera to look at myself. The makeup was completely fucked up due to crying. My mascara had reached my cheeks and my lipcolor was messed up too, damn I looked like a ghost. Double embarrassment! Could this day get any worse?

Sitting on his sofa again, I took out a few wipes from my bag and wiped the makeup off my face, applying the lipcolor and eyeliner , I fixed my hair once again. Dirty wipes in one hand and my bag and files in the other , I left his office. I swear I heard him chuckle.

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No matter how much I assured myself that everything would be fine, the small voice in my head kept beeping signals of worry and self loathe. I couldn't concentrate on the case . I took a break and pushed back on my chair comfortably.

My files spread open on the desk, pencils ,stick notes and highlighter scattered, a small vase which Amara had gifted me held those yellow roses carefully at the corner of the desk . Although I loved having my own office, I missed working with my friends.

"Hii, May I come in?" Jason said, standing on the threshold of my office with a small package.

"Sure."

"I know we didn't have a formal introduction before, but as I said we share a wall, we ought to be friends." He laughed.

Only if I could be as chirpy as he was. I shot him a smile.

"My name's Jason. I am specialised in contract law and have about seven years worth experience in this field."

"I am Isabelle. I have a JD but not a specialisation in any field. I am a simple corporate attorney I guess."

He smiled , looking around the office.

"Here, I got us a chicken salad ." He said, signalling to the package.

"You didn't had to."

"I did. My mother told me to do this for you, my sweet old lady would have eaten my head if I didn't." His lips parting into a bright smile.

" You told your mom about me?" I laughed, some genuine happiness returning to my face. I was slowly forgetting about the morning issue.

"Wouldn't anyone? It's not everyday you get a beautiful and intelligent woman as your wall sharer , do you?"

"Is that so?" I giggled.

" Absolutely. "

We shared the meal, joking about the work, about Logan, Jason's mother and ofcourse our beautiful wall that we shared.

Wiping our faces and hands, I was going to ask for his leave when he asked me to take a seat.He looked serious. The Jason who was joking with me over lunch was gone I guess. I sat on my chair.

"I read the article."

My eyes turned grave black as I raised them to look at him . My throat was dry despite the water I had been drinking. It felt as if the everything around me stopped in their tracks.
Jason must have noticed my change , to which he held out his hand and placed it on mine.

"You don't have to feel sad about it. Shit happens, we deal with it." His tone was assuring, calm and satisfying. He looked at me without any judgement. His serous yet calm look showed how much he kept it all together.

My lips barely parted in a smile when Logan called me in his office. Jason took the cue and left.

"May I?"

"Yeah come in." He said.

"So the case, I assume you have met the client?" Logan asked.

"No, I couldn't contact her. Her numbers are...-"

" Wrong. Happens. Contact her employer and fix a meeting. We'll have a date for hearing soon. I don't want to be sandbagged by my client."

"Okay, you want to discuss the case?" I asked, having no clue as to why he would call me in his office only to fix a meeting. That could have been done on a call. This guy needs to know how hard it is to walk in heels so fast.

"Nothing to discuss Isabelle. It's a simple sexual assault case . We have enough evidence. We have a pattern of these assaults. We will win."

I would have gone through this case atleast four times before being so sure. How the hell was this man so confident?

"Experience." He chuckled, making me realise I just said all that out loud.

"Hey Logan, hope you know me ?" A man came into his office. He was wearing a three piece suit with a blue coloured coat . His tie well placed , his shoes so polished that I could probably see my reflection in them and his hair, slicked back with gel in style. He looked more like a investment banker rather than a lawyer.

"Yes I do. Isabelle, this is Mark Tanner. The attorney on the opposite side." Logan said, dryly, mouthing "and a real pain in the ass".

I grinned and introduced myself to him.

"What are you here for Mark? "

"I am here with a settlement offer. "

"You know you'll lose." Logan replied, his voice sarcastic and confidant.

"I won't. The firm wants you to take the settlement because they care about the lady. I on the other hand would rather kick your ass in open court. "

Wrong move Marky boy. I couldn't help but notice Logan's nerve twitching near his neck, his jawline was tight and his face muscles tensed.

"You know what Mark, I'll win because that what I do. About kicking asses? Your the only one in this room with a flat ass and nowhere to kick. " Logan smiled.

Mark left the room frowning at him.
I wanted the floor to break open and engulf me in so I could laugh in peace.

"That was -"

"Amazing, I know." Logan smirked.

My face lit up in a genuine laugh quietly letting go of what happened in the morning.

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We had been working the whole day. I hadn't received a text from Amara yet, she was drifting away from me , in guilt of why she left me alone last night. It wasn't her fault, she had to know that.
My phone lit up with a notification of a text. It was from Nik.

" Assaulting someone isn't good when you are actually fighting a sexual assault case yourself. I am sueing you for the slap. Good luck fighting."

My blood boiled seeing the text. Heat shot up in my veins like a snake's venom. I could hear my heartbeat due to the adrenaline rush in my body. He was right. Such a case was never good for a firm who was fighting against an assault case in the first place. We would lose both the cases and make the first page of Newyork times forsure. Tears rushed in my eyes when Logan entered my office.

"Everything okay? Everybody left and you're still here? "

"I have to tell you something." I signalled him to sit. It was time I told him what Nik did and why I slapped him. It was time for the buried to breath the air again.

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Hello!!!! I am so grateful to all of you who read this book and so actively comment!!!! 💙💙💙💙
It means so much to me. We have surpassed 100 reads on just 3 chapters. I know it's  not much, but it's really great!

I promise I have a great story in store for you guys.

Although did anyone notice a small change in the chapter divisions?? Comment if you did!❤️❤️