-Eric-

I waved at the older woman as I departed the bus, only realizing I hadn't even exchanged names with her once the bus had already turned the corner. It was a bittersweet realization, and for some reason that was enough to make me want to turn back and go home.

But I was already here, at the edge of a looming precipice. And all I had left was to succumb to the beckoning call of gravity, letting myself plummet down to an inevitable demise.

Surprisingly, it didn't take long to find the law firm, my phone's GPS eagerly delivering me right to the entrance of my personal execution grounds. I frowned at the large glass doors, pushing on one of them before warily stepping inside.

There were a few people waiting in the lobby, sitting dispersed across sleek, leather couches. They were also all formally dressed in varying shades of muted tones, which was when I realized, with a sinking feeling, that I was most definitely not dressed for the occasion. I self-consciously tugged on the hem of my red muscle shirt, wishing I'd at least switched into jeans instead of opting for the basketball shorts.

Clearly, I hadn't fully considered the optics of walking into a law firm. Or, perhaps, I'd tricked myself into believe that I'd be in and out so quickly that it wouldn't matter.

On the closest couch, a middle-aged woman with a short, black pixie cut sat on the right side of a loveseat, typing away on her phone while waiting for... an appointment, likely? I flashed a polite smile at the businesswoman as she glanced up, sparing a wave before noticing she'd already gone back to her phone.

So, I just kept walking, even as I approached an empty front desk. "Hello," I called out wearily, frowning at the uncomfortable quietude that I received in return.

"He went out on an errand," the woman on the couch explained without looking up.

I sighed at the revelation, thanking her before turning towards the front desk set-up. Of course, it was just my luck that the receptionist was busy right when I needed to hand something over. I hastily reached across the desk and grabbed one of the post-it notes and a nearby pen, scribbling down "for: grumpy lawyer" and moodily slapping it atop the wallet. There.

Then, I set the wallet down behind the grey keyboard on the front desk, breathing out a sigh of relief once it was finally out of my possession. And I was ready to leave, really. Except, as I took a step back, I realized just how noticeable the wallet looked sitting there, not even remotely hidden by the computer.

My eyes darted between the quiet strangers and the stupid desk, realizing anyone could just... grab it before the receptionist returned. They'd all seen me place it there, as disinterested as they seemed.

Fucking hell.

"Do you know when he'll—?" I started before realizing the woman had wandered off further into the building, down the left hallway and turning in through one of the open doors.

"Anyone there?" I called out while glancing around, a bit louder... and a bit more distressed. But no receptionist popped out of thin air, much to my chagrin. I contemplated sitting down and waiting it out, but I still had a mountain of coursework waiting for me back at home.

Besides, I felt nauseous just being here, and the feeling would likely not go away until I was on the bus back home.

So, I groaned under my breath, snatching the wallet back from the desk before hesitantly walking further into the building, willingly crossing past enemy lines. Only some of the doors were wide open, strangers busily working inside neat office spaces. Although, most were either with clients or on the phone, not sparing me a glance. I tried to get the attention of a man who was between calls, but he just waved me off.

---

It wasn't until I made my way to the end of the main hallway that I found it, set on a prominent wall plaque. His name, Shawn Briggs, was boldly displayed beside the door, signaling to his presence like a warning sign.

I physically cringed while looking at the closed door, whining under my breath; part of me had almost hoped I wouldn't be able to find it and I'd have to head back to the front. Why couldn't that damn receptionist just be where I needed him to be?

Even as I attempted to step forward, my body felt stiff and unwilling, feet rooted to the ground. I glanced back, debating whether pretending that I hadn't found his office would make me a coward or just... good at self-preservation.

"Phaeric isn't scared of anything," I muttered to myself, releasing a shaky breath before hurriedly opening the door and barging in.

I only realized I should've knocked after I caught sight of Shawn's bewildered expression, ducking my head a bit as my nervous eyes locked with piercing, grey ones.

He opened his mouth to say something, only to close it back up before shooting up from his chair, silently glowering at me with the same vitriol from last night.

"Yeah, I did try that already," Shawn muttered into the phone, seemingly on a call, before harshly signaling towards the seat in front of me.

Sit, he mouthed angrily.

I complied, ducking my head a bit before hurriedly sitting down across from the man, unsure of where to look. I opted for avoiding his gaze, even as he continued scowling down at me.

"So, when can they send someone to fix the computer, then?" Shawn asked a bit impatiently, sighing under his breath before pacing towards the window, finally looking away from me. "Really? What am I supposed to do until then?"

I cautiously peered up, noticing Shawn was also wearing a suit, though the jacket was draped over the back of his chair. It was a deep grey, far darker than his eyes, yet tailored like the black suit he'd been wearing last night. A part of me wondered if he had to get it dry cleaned after the fact. Although, I was the only one dragged across the front yard, so maybe not.

My gaze trailed up past his white dress shirt, honing in on his clenched hand as he tugged on the collar and loosened his tie, his voice droning on as he conversed with someone from IT. Apparently, they weren't being very cooperative.

Suddenly, Shawn huffed, hanging up and turning his full attention back to me.

And that was... a lot.

"I'm sorry," I blurted out while looking up, squirming in my seat when he didn't respond.

Apparently, an apology didn't go very far; his gaze only darkened with ire as he leaned forward on the desk, glaring me down. "Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why are you here?" Shawn demanded, rolling his eyes when I nervously reached out and set his wallet on the edge of the desk.

"Of course," he grumbled sarcastically, quickly picking it before frowning down at the front of it. "For: grumpy lawyer?"

I cursed under my breath, forcing a weak smile. I'd totally forgotten to take off the goddamn sticky note from atop the wallet, too distracted to bother with it. "Y—yeah?"

"I'm not thanking you," Shawn murmured while opening the wallet, browsing through it and verifying everything was still present. Once he confirmed I hadn't taken anything, he slowly nodded his head, sitting back down on his seat and staring at me disinterestedly. "I'm not."

"I—I know," I breathed out, shrugging tiredly. At this point, I was mostly glad he wasn't immediately throwing punches.

"You can leave now," Shawn continued, signaling towards the door. "And don't bother anyone on your way out."

I sighed under my breath, forcing my body to stay firmly seated; surprisingly, now that I was being offered the option to flee with my tail between my legs, I found myself stubbornly meeting his gaze. I didn't want to just run away from this, as easier as it would be. I wanted a chance to explain myself... or at least try.

"Look, I didn't—"

"I told you to leave," Shawn cut me off, retorting bitterly.

I shook my head persistently, gritting my teeth. "I'm really sorry for what happened, okay? I am... really. But I didn't know! Hell, I wasn't—I wasn't going to..." I drifted off, huffing when I had a frustrating realization while staring back at an intimidating scowl: the jerk wasn't going to believe me anyways.

Shawn scoffed, narrowing his eyes. "What... you're giving up so easily?"

I shrugged, releasing a shaky breath. "I was going to turn her down," I whispered tensely, peering up and meeting the storm head on. "She was the one who followed me outside; I was just taking a call. I didn't mean any harm..."

"You're right," he replied.

My eyes widened. "Huh?"

Shawn got up, walking around me and heading towards the door. "You were probably thinking to yourself... there's no way he'll believe me," he explained scornfully, opening the door and signaling me to get out. "And you were right; I don't buy your bullshit for a second."

I clenched my hands into fists, shaking my head in annoyance. Fucking hell. "You're so... frustrating," I snapped, forcing down all my apprehension. "And I'm not a liar!"

Shawn chuckled humorlessly, tilting his head. "Is that so?"

"You think I wanted to come here?"

Shawn sighed, rubbing at his temple when it became abundantly clear that I wasn't leaving. "I'm trying so hard not to kick your ass again, you brat. Can you go before I lose my patience?"

I shook my head again, only to lean away when he stepped forward, threateningly towering over me. I huffed while standing up to match his height, more or less, though not without taking a few steps back for good measure. "Why can't you just admit I may be right?"

Shawn just huffed.

"I'm not a jerk... or a pervert, okay?" I complained, scratching the back of my head before awkwardly pointing towards his computer. "I—I can fix your computer if you want."

Because, really, doing him another favor felt a lot easier than having to grovel for forgiveness.

"No."

Oh.

"They won't fix it anytime soon, right? It's Friday afternoon. There's a chance they'll get sidetracked and won't get to you until next week... Do you have until Monday?" I asked, stubbornly crossing my arms across my chest.

"What the hell could you do?" Shawn retorted, sneering down at me.

I shrugged. "I'm good with computers."

He didn't seem impressed.

"I'm also a computer engineering major... on my final year, at that. I can fix it, alright?" I elaborated so he'd get off my fucking back. Not that such knowledge was even required for what was probably just a small issue.

Shawn clenched his jaw, darting his eyes between the computer and myself, as if he was deciding which he despised the most. Then, he let out an exasperated sigh, waving me off. "Whatever."

And sure, he seemed ready to strangle me, but he didn't complain when I hesitantly walked over and sat down in his leather chair, immediately trying to troubleshoot the issue. Clearly, he valued work more than his personal vendetta, which was surprisingly comforting in that moment.

I tried to boot up the computer, frowning as an error message flashed beneath the loading screen before it promptly shut down. I searched the error message up online, scrolling a bit before rolling my eyes when I realized the computer wasn't detecting the graphics card. What the hell did he do?

I glared up at Shawn, deadpanning. "Do you ever hit your pc?"

Shawn scoffed. "What?"

"Do you have a screwdriver?" I asked.

He just complained under his breath before searching through a drawer, roughly shoving it into my hand. "Here."

I got up and inspected the poor tower, taking off the side panel before peeking inside. Everything seemed to be wired properly, but I still removed the graphics card and re-installed it, grumbling under my breath when I felt Shawn hovering nearby.

"Back up," I murmured while checking the cables.

He backed up a bit, but not without complaining under his breath about me not breaking anything. As if I was the one bullying a pc.

"The video card isn't being detected. You either hit it hard enough that it unslotted a bit, or it's damaged. For your sake, pray it's the former."

Shawn frowned. "Whatever that means."

Why the hell did this dinosaur have a custom build? Some of these parts looked more expensive than my entire build back at the dorm. I couldn't really estimate everything, but it was likely upwards of 7k based on the graphics card alone.

"Did someone in IT help you build this?" I asked curiously, noticing everything was installed properly and the pieces all came from reliable brands. There was no way Shawn had built this on his own.

Shawn huffed. "I told some intern in IT that I was tired of my old computer and I gave him a budget for a new one. A few weeks later he brought me this and plugged it in."

Ahh, alright. That made a lot more sense.

I sat back down and tried to boot up the computer once more, stifling a laugh when the computer didn't shut down right away. I clicked in, signaling for him to put in his password.

"Meghan7," Shawn replied drily.

I awkwardly cleared my throat, looking away before finally catching sight of the picture frame right beside his computer desk. And of course, there they were, Shawn and his daughter in a tight embrace, beaming at the camera. She couldn't have been more than two or three here, and Shawn looked... surprisingly young as he cradled her in his arms. He was wearing a graduation cap and gown, so I almost assumed it was from university. Except, there was clearly a high school behind them.

I frowned a bit, choosing to focus back on the computer. There was a twinge of uncomfortable remorse in the pit of my stomach, but I pushed it to the back of my mind as I glanced at the monitor and input the password. "There, see?"

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A/N: Thank you for reading. Please consider voting and commenting; I appreciate it immensely!