-Eric-

After getting no reply from Mason despite my spamming, I'd briefly contemplated just heading back home. I figured I'd maybe pick up some pizza from the campus cafeteria and call it a day.

But that was before Wyatt suggested another place a few blocks away: a nearby dive bar that had pretty decent wings. I openly frowned at the suggestion, yet he insisted that they were good enough for him to bring it up in the first place. Wasn't that good enough?

And yeah, that kind of made sense.

Somehow, I found myself trailing down the street after Wyatt, following closely behind as he animatedly reminisced on the brutal way our former professor had refused to curve the final last year. I glanced down at my phone every so often, expecting a reply, but all I got was a low battery warning.

Ah, great.

"I was so ready to curb stomp him," he mentioned while guiding us towards a filthy, ominous alley, cringing at the sudden stench. We paused as he reconsidered. "I usually head down this way, but it isn't nearly as appealing when sober."

I shrugged while glancing around the surprisingly unfamiliar surroundings, nudging him forward. We'd only been walking for a bit, so why the hell couldn't I recognized the streets anymore?

"Have we been walking that long?"

Wyatt rolled his eyes. "You don't venture out very far, huh?"

I scoffed in disagreement. I did, though it was usually by getting a ride from a friend or borrowing Mason's car.

"So, want to go around?" Wyatt asked while pointing at the alley once more.

I glared down the darkening path. It was certainly not the most pleasant of smells, but it beat having to walk around the block. Besides, it was only a matter of time until Mason remembered I existed and started blowing up my phone. So, we should probably hurry up.

"Nah."

"Nah?" Wyatt glanced back at me, grinning mischievously before bursting into a run, hastily signaling for me to follow. "Hurry up! Before you get jumped!"

"H-hey, wait!" My eyes widened as I stumbled into a run down the empty alley, nearly tripping on one of the toppled trash bags in my attempt to keep up. There were quite a few questionable puddles, but they were small enough to avoid. "Dude!"

As for Wyatt, he only slowed down once we reached the other side and escaped into the brightness of the afternoon sun, bursting into laughter as he paced along the sidewalk, waiting impatiently for me to catch up.

I came to an unsteady halt beside him, shooting a weary expression for good measure. "Bro."

"There you are," he teased, patting my back. "You good?"

"I almost fell," I complained while taking a shaky breath, straightening up right before getting dragged to the left by the arm, further away from campus. There were a few people walking around, but nobody paid us any mind.

Wyatt just continued ahead as if this wasn't concerningly convoluted, glancing back at me with a sudden scowl on his face, easily falling back into his rant. "He didn't even reply to my e-mail! To this day, I never got a response!"

I nodded in agreement while trying to even out my breathing, suppressing a snort as he glanced around, momentarily lost before nodding his head in realization and pulling me towards the pedestrian crossing.

"You do know where to go, right?"

Wyatt pouted. "Y-yes! I do," he defended, furrowing his eyebrows. "Just give me a second."

"Just one?"

He rolled his eyes before pointing further down the street. "Stop whining; we're almost there," he offered instead, slowing down to match my pace. "Now, their wings aren't as meaty, but you don't say that aloud, ya hear? They're still delicious."

I rolled my eyes. "Why would I?"

Wyatt shrugged. "I'm just warning you."

"Fine, fine. But really, how come I've never heard of this place?" I suddenly asked to shift the conversation away from my etiquette, frowning to myself. "And what bar sells good food, anyways?"

Wyatt rolled his eyes, nudging me in response as the light shifted, giving way for us to cross the street. "They do a little bit of everything," he replied matter-of-factly, signaling towards the shabby dive bar across the street. "During the day, it's pretty low-key."

"And during the night?"

"It does get a bit rowdy, but it's a pretty good time. Just don't use the bathroom," Wyatt warned before suddenly smirking. "Or do. But don't be surprised if you have a good time."

"Huh?"

-Shawn-

I silently fumed as Jacqueline poured herself another glass of wine, sitting amongst a sprawling mess of documents after encroaching on my home, setting base in my kitchen for what was undoubtedly going to be a long, tedious night.

"So, you fucked up," I pointed out, not even bothering to sugarcoat it. "When's the hearing?"

"In a few days. Shut up," she grumbled in response, clearly not taking it very well. No, she never took these kinds of set-backs well, especially since they went so directly against what she believed in.

Jacqueline was beyond brilliant, undoubtedly, but she was also quite headstrong when it came to her clients. She didn't trust easily, but she was also not easily swayed once her trust was gained. Despite my continuous warnings over the years, she made it a habit to stand ten toes down behind whoever she was representing... perhaps to a fault.

"Her alibi checked out. I double—no, triple-checked—and there were no cracks in her story. How was I supposed to know she'd convinced her brat's homeroom teacher to agree they'd had a meeting that exact Friday? Under what pretense was I meant to—?"

"They went to the same high school," I pointed out before she could dive into another tangent, sorting through the teacher's info. They weren't connected in many online social circles, or even formally following each other anywhere public. But there was definitely a thread, no matter how faint.

"Of like ten thousand students!"

"Calling it a coincidence is a cop-out and you know it," I supplied while taking a sip of my own half-empty glass, shifting my head to avoid a folder as she flung it my way. "Watch the face."

She huffed under her breath while narrowing her eyes. "Whatever. I'll figure it out, okay? We still have a strong case. Who even says they'll dig into that? That wasn't even the night of the crime."

"Famous last words," I retorted, rather unbothered by her dilemma despite how poorly this might reflect on everyone at the firm. "Sounds like it'll be entertaining, at the very least. Maybe I should tag along. When did you say the hearing was?"

I dodged another manila folder, though one of the fleeing documents did smack me in the cheek as they flooded out. "You're picking those up. I hope you know that."

"Whatever," was her uninterested reply.

I replied with silence, yawning under my breath while checking the timer I'd set up near the oven. The ribs wouldn't be done baking for another hour or so, but I'd been expecting that. Everything else was thankfully done. I considered taking a shower and changing into more comfortable clothes while Jacqueline dug herself further into that hole of her own making, but then I might come back out to a drunk mess, which would only give me more trouble.

I tugged on the collar of my dress shirt, growing a bit uncomfortable. I'd opted for getting started on food before changing, especially since Jacqueline hadn't stopped ranting my ear off from the second that we stepped in through the door. I still didn't know how she managed to invite herself as often as she did, but tonight was quiet enough that I didn't mind all her yapping. Or so I'd initially assumed.

"So?" Jacqueline suddenly asked, louder, as if she'd been expecting an answer.

I frowned. "So what?"

She cursed me under her breath before shaking her head in disbelief. "I asked when you're going to stop messing with the kid. You've had your fun already, haven't you?"

Ah, that.

"Focus on your case," I retorted while setting the glass down, making a point of signaling to the mess she'd left on the floor. "Or I'm not feeding you."

But, of course, it wouldn't be Jacqueline if she didn't persistently meddle. Hell, I was probably only reinforcing her commitment to defending the brat. "I heard you had him wandering around the city today."

I ignored that.

"You're being childish. You know that, right?"

I shrugged. Perhaps one could argue that, yeah.

"What are you going to do if he reports your ass to HR? Won't be so funny then, huh?" She muttered, shaking her head in disbelief. "This isn't going to end well and you know it."

For what it was worth, I had thought about that. But I'd quickly come to the conclusion that the little shit wouldn't bother with something so thorough or damning since it would involve escalating the situation. He seemed like the type to minimize issues, even if at the cost of his own peace of mind.

So, no, I wasn't particularly worried. There was no way he'd actually do anything. Well, not unless prompted by a certain someone. "You better not give him any ideas."

Jacqueline groaned quite dramatically, folding her arms across her chest while leaning back on the seat, her gaze sharp and surprisingly frigid. "Then leave him alone."

And really, I wanted to come out and admit it'd just been a misunderstanding, if only to get her off my back. Or how it hadn't even been that bad, since he'd only been sent to the wrong place once. But then that would mean she'd won. So, I merely shook my head. "No, I don't think I will."

She groaned.

"Fine."

"Fine?"

She nodded her head, though she didn't seem very pleased by the outcome. "I'll just have to hire you another intern."

My eyes widened at the prospect. "So, you'll fire him?"

Jacqueline quirked an eyebrow, scoffing under her breath. "That's not what I said. I'll get you a new assistant, but Eric will keep working with me."

"I already told you—"

"You don't think I already ran the numbers with Ira? You don't think I already got it approved?" she challenged, flinging rhetorical questions at me like they were detonating bombs. "I can and will go over your head, boss."

I huffed, well aware that she would. "Whatever."

"I'll get Eric, and you'll—"

"But why do you get Eric?"

Jacqueline stared at me with the restlessness of a cornered cobra, the rattling ever so faintly echoing through the kitchen. I stood back for good measure, though I didn't break away from her gaze, defiantly glaring back lest she mistake that as me backing down.

"Are you being serious right now?" Jacqueline more or less demanded, pointing a pen at me like she'd write my eulogy with it if I answered incorrectly. "Or are you just trying to piss me off?"

A little bit of both.

"W-why should you get to keep the brat, huh?" I replied with a bit less conviction than I'd expected, trying to recall that one phrase about keeping one's enemies closer. That had to be it.

---

A/N: Thank you for reading!