rage takes over. I have to leave before I say something I’ll regret. I turn to face her one more time before heading out the door, gritting my teeth as I’m barely able to hold myself together. I’m a lawyer and a damn good one. I fight for a living. I argue with judges until I’m blue in the face, but this is nothing compared to that.
This is my best friend, the one person who I never fight with.
“That man loves you. He’ll do anything for you. Stop being a selfish little bitch and grow up.”
Those are my final words before I storm out of the office.
***
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get her words out of my head. We have never really fought before, and the act itself was enough to bring me down.
Rocky’s hand presses on my shoulders as he gently massages me. “Babe, it’ll work out for them. They both need to get some perspective, and Charlie won’t be thinking clearly right now. Just give her space.”
“Do you think I’m wrong for understanding his side? Does that make me a bad friend?”
“You know as well as I do how that stuff is rubbish. Yeah, I read it for laughs, but I didn’t actually take it seriously. They will work it out, babe. Please stop stressing. I don’t like seeing you like this.”
Charlie avoids me the next few days at work. According to Becky, our intern, she’s busy seeing clients and attending courtroom hearings. The tension in the office is palpable. Eric also avoids me after our blow-out, running scared every time I enter the building, which I’m thankful for because I still want to slap his face with a double-ended dildo and tell him to harden the fuck up.
By Friday afternoon, I can’t wait for the week to officially be over. Emma is inside my office as I pass on notes for an upcoming brief when a commotion stops us. Shrugging her shoulders, Emma informs me she’ll check to see what’s going on. Moments later, she returns, pleading for me to step outside my office before disappearing again.
“Oh, for God’s sake, Emma, I’m not interested in office gossip,” I lecture, head down as I continue reading.
“Nikki, seriously, you need to come out here. Now!”
I don’t care for her disrespectful attitude, making a mental note to reprimand her after I sort out whatever it is that’s disrupting my urgent deadline. I walk outside only to be met with an angry Lex banging on Charlie’s office door. The security guards, the sad, pathetic, overweight donut-eating bunch of fuckers can do nothing to hold him back. I motion for them to leave, telling them I’ll sort it out.
“Lex, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” I berate him, trying to keep my voice controlled. “You can’t come in here and disrupt our office with your personal problems.”
“Where is she? I’ve given her four days, and she hasn’t responded to any texts or emails, nor has she been home. Tell me where the fuck she’s staying, Nikki.”
“In my office, now,” I demand.
Lex follows me into my office, pacing up and down, not pausing for a second. His appearance catches my attention—the messy hair, crooked tie, and an overgrown beard—a telltale sign of a man’s sorrows.
I pull Emma aside for a moment as she hovers by the door.
“You make sure the office gets back to normal. I don’t want anyone mentioning this to Charlie. Warn everyone out there that anyone caught discussing this will have to answer to me. You find out where she is, and if you need Eric’s help, make sure she does not come into the office. You understand?”
Emma nods, scurrying out of the room, closing the door behind her.
With a restless week almost behind me and many sleepless nights, I’m officially over this bullshit. Charlie has chosen to ignore the problem rather than face it head-on, leaving me with a very devastated man inside my office.
“I don’t know where she is,” I tell him, calmly. “She won’t talk to me right now. I told you not to smother her.”
“Do you honestly expect me to sit here and do nothing? Let her believe all the fucking lies? I flew back in because I need to see her. I’ll not leave until I speak to Charlotte.” He bows his head, trying to gain some sort of composure. “I never wanted to leave her, Nikki. I always loved her. She doesn’t understand how much pressure I was under