Disastrous (Disastrous Series) (14 page)

“
Trust
?” He said the word as if testing how it sounds. I stood up and walked over to him and bravely sat on his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. He didn’t flinch away from me; that was a good sign. He just stared at me confused by something, maybe his own feelings?

“Marcus, this weekend was absolutely perfect. Let’s not ruin it?” I leaned in and kissed him long and hard. At first he stiffened as if he were going to pull away from the kiss, but he didn’t. He slid his hand up my thigh, feeling underneath my skirt, making his way to my hips. His touch made my skin burn with heat. I changed my position so that I was straddling him. I kneeled, enclosing his thighs between my legs. He leaned back on the chair and lifted my skirt up to my waist. I ran my fingers through his hair, allowing him to unbutton my blouse.

One minute I was in his arms kissing him, touching him, and the next I was standing up, and he was quickly adjusting his clothing. He looked up at me and waved his hand to indicate my appearance. I was confused until I heard a knock on his door and a man’s voice yelling for him to open it up. I was so lost again in our kiss, I didn’t hear the knock on the door the first time.

Marcus yelled to give him a minute when he marched over to me and began to quickly re-button my blouse. It took me all but a few seconds to shake the trance and adjust my skirt. I smacked his hand off and tucked the shirt back into my skirt. He walked over to the door and glanced back at me. Once he saw that I was back in order, he opened the door. A man stormed inside and walked passed him.

“What the fuck is going on with you, Marc?”

The man was so upset he was pacing back and forth and didn’t notice my presence. Marcus slammed the door and walked over to him. I examined them as they faced each other. The man was slightly taller than Marcus; he had an athletic built. He looked like he worked out but was more slender than Marcus. He had a buzz haircut and green eyes. His complexion was lighter than Marcus’. He was very good-looking. After careful observation, I recognized him from the photos in Marcus’ shore house. It was Jimmie, his brother. He was older than in the pictures and his hair was shorter, but it was definitely him.

“I’m busy. What do you want?” Neither of them looked my way.

“What do I want? I get a fucking phone call from you on Friday with important information. When I tell you to back down from it, you said you would, but you go anyways!” Marcus’ eyes grew bigger, and slowly he turned his head in my direction. His brother followed his eyes. When he saw me, he looked back at Marcus and rolled his eyes.

“Um, hi, I’m Mia, the new extern.” I didn’t know what else to say. This was beyond awkward, and what made it worse was the long silence within the room.

“She works with you? That’s just fucking great!” His brother threw his arms in the air. I’m completely unaware of the reasoning behind this reaction. I was also offended. Does he know about me
and
our weekend? Does he think of me as the kind of girl who always sleeps with her boss? He glared at Marcus before walking towards me. Extending his hand, he gave me a tight smile.

“Hi, I’m Jimmie, Marc’s brother.” I looked up at him and then looked at his hand, questioning if I should take it. He impatiently extended his arm further which, in turn, gave me no choice but to grab his hand. He lightly tightened his grip and shook it twice before releasing my hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mia. Do you mind giving my brother and me a minute?”

Swallowing, I nodded lightly. “
Sure
.” I grabbed my belongings from on top of the coffee table and walked towards the door.

“Mia,” Marcus said. I turned to face him. “Uh you can take the office next door on the right. It’s one of the attorney’s, but she’ll be out the remainder of the summer for maternity leave. So you can work from there.” I nodded and walked out of his office. When I shut the door behind me, I let out a deep breath, not realizing I was holding one in. I quickly walked to the door on the right of Marcus’ office. I entered and swiftly made my way behind the wooden desk and sat in the chair.

Whoa that was weird!
I steadied my breath and glanced around the room. It was spacious but way smaller than Marcus’ office. It felt empty as well: no art work, no pictures, and no personalization. It only had a desk, a table in the corner with two chairs, and an empty vase in the center of the table. A bookcase that was semi-filled with legal books occupied half of the one wall. That was it. I turned my chair to look out the window. At least there was a beautiful view to the city skyline.

“What the hell do you want?” I jumped when I heard Marcus’ voice. For a second, I thought he was in my room, but the sound was coming through the wall. Oh my God, the wall! I could hear their conversation. I rolled the chair closer, so I could get a better listen. Then I felt stupid for eavesdropping. I was going to go back to the desk when I heard my name.

“What’s going on with you and Mia?” His brother’s voice was stern.

“None of your business.”

“Seriously? None of my business!” His brother was angry. There were a few seconds of silence before he spoke again, this time with a calmer tone. “Come on, Marc. You know I don’t like arguing with you. You’re my baby brother, and we’re in this together.
You
told me you were going to back off. We can’t deal with
any
interruptions right now. You do understand that,
right
?” There was another few seconds before someone spoke.

“Yeah, I understand,” he sighed. Marcus’ voice was lower, but I could still make out what was said.

“Good. Let’s just focus on this job. Okay?”

“Yeah, whatever you say,
boss
.” Marcus said sarcastically.

“Come on, Bro, don’t be like that. This is just as hard on me as it is on you. We are
so
close to finishing this job. I just don’t want some chick to ruin it all.”

“She’s not just some
chick,
Jimmie; there’s something different about her.”

“Look, Bro, I can understand that, but your timing is way off. Let it go now before you get too deep into something you can’t back away from.” Nothing was said. I heard footsteps on the hardwood floors stomping across the room then the sound of the door opening and closing.

After a few more seconds I heard a loud bang and something shattered, as if glass were thrown across the room. “Fuck!” Marcus yelled.

I quietly rolled back to the desk. When I was safely secured behind the desk I crossed my arms on top of the table and laid my head on my wrists.
What the hell was that about?
Does this mean that Marcus and I can’t be together? Does his brother have so much control over him that all it takes is a mere snapping of his fingers, and Marcus does what he's told?

If that’s the case, then that means we can’t have more than just an employer-employee relationship. Why is it when I finally really like a guy, who makes all my problems and fears go away with a simple kiss or touch, he’s taken away from me? I should be used to having important people taken away from me by now, but no matter how many times it happens, it still hurts.

I spent the next three hours contemplating whether I should go over to his office and let him know everything I heard, or if I should just leave it alone and see what he would do. So far he hadn’t come over to check on me, to go over any files, not even to discuss what my duties would be.

He hadn’t left his office either. I wondered what he was thinking. I kept replaying the conversation between him and his brother over and over in my head, but nothing made sense to me. If everything he said to me over the weekend was true, then he wouldn’t listen to his brother, and we’d continue our relationship, but if he listened to him …

My phone vibrated against the wooden desk. It startled me, and I grabbed it in the hope it was Marcus, but it was only Jeremy.

Jeremy (11:58am): Lunch?

Me (11:58am): Sure, meet u in the lobby in 2 mins?

Jeremy (11:59am): K

I inhaled and exhaled one deep breath before standing up. I grabbed my purse and headed towards the door. It felt like it was going to be a long day. Slowly turning the knob and exiting out the door, I quietly shut it in the hope that he wouldn’t hear me exit. When I turned around, Marcus was walking out of his office too.
Great!
We just stood there looking at each other, confused and anxious with desperate looks between us.

My heart was beating rapidly … He looked so lost. I just wanted to reach out and touch him; instead, I pulled myself together and walked past him. He grabbed my arm and pulled me to face him. “What’s wrong?” His eyes were searching mine, trying to find something, his answer? Our relationship? Our feelings for one another? I didn’t know what he was searching for.

I looked down at my elbow that his hand was gently holding and looked back up at him. I yanked away from his grip.

“You tell me.” I couldn’t hold it in. I’m the worst with crap like this.

“What are you talking about?”

“I heard you and your brother talking.” He took a few steps back to collect what he just heard.

“What do you mean you heard us talking?”

“You guys were pretty loud, and the conversation came through the walls. I couldn’t hear
everything
, just bits and pieces, but from what I did hear, basically I’m considered an
interruption,
and therefore we cannot be
together
.” Okay, so I lied. I didn’t want him to know that I could hear everything from his office. He’d probably move my desk.

He looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes. He’s thinking? It seemed like he’d been thinking for the last three hours. “Mia, I’m sorry you had to hear that.” He brought his head back down.

“So what does this mean?” I crossed my arms.

He shook his head. “I don’t know.” He just stared at me, not saying anything after that comment. It was like he was waiting for me to come up with a solution to our problem.

It pissed me off. “Well, when you figure it out, let me know. I’m meeting Jeremy for lunch.” I turned and walked away, slightly swaying my hips to show him what he’d be missing. I thought he would run after me and ask me to go to lunch with him instead, but he didn’t. It took so much of my willpower not to look back. I didn’t, and I felt like the biggest idiot. Why didn’t I just tell him how I felt? Sometimes my head takes over my heart, and I’m left with unanswered questions.

Jeremy and I decided on a small diner up the block from the building. It was extremely packed, so we had no choice but to sit at the counter. He went on and on about how much he loved the partner he was working with, how
cool
he was, and how much he’d taught him in just the few hours they spent together. I couldn’t help but feel jealous. This was supposed to be my future, my career, and here I was swooning over my boss instead of preparing myself for my future. I have to get my head out of this fantasy and bring myself back to reality.

“What’s up with you? You haven’t touched your salad.” He asked as he dipped a fry into the ketchup he squirted onto the side of his plate then tossed it into his mouth.

“Oh nothing, just not hungry I guess. I was really busy this morning with all the files Marcus gave me that I can’t even think about food.” I lied. I’m starting to get good at this lying stuff. Maybe I should make a career out of it; oh right, I am. Jeremy, of course, was oblivious and popped another fry into his mouth, and then he continued to talk about how awesome his first few hours were. Blah! Blah!

****

When I walked back into “my” office, I saw that Marcus had left a few files on my desk with a typed note that read, “Review each file and the discovery. Each file has a post-it note of what needs to be done.
‘
If you have any questions
,
contact Lisa. Thanks,
M.D
.
’
”

Great! I guess this means we are strictly off limits. He’s such an
asshole
! He could have at least given them to me in person. So our working relationship will be us avoiding each other and placing work back and forth on our desks. Just awesome! I shook my head and exhaled. Screw it, I’m here to build my resume and gain experience; I might as well get it over with.

The first file I grabbed was labeled
State vs. Johnny Di Angele.
The post-it note required that I review the file and discovery and locate case law similar to this case regarding self-defense. It was a murder case. I pulled the discovery out of the file and began doing what I was told to do.

The Di Angele case was very intriguing. Our client was at a local bar with a friend; they got into an argument. He left the bar alone and began walking home. Another man held our client at gunpoint for his wallet. Our client, when pulling out his wallet, decided to grab his pocket knife instead; he quickly jabbed the knife into the robber who was standing behind him and ran for it. The robber pulled the trigger and shot our client who fell and passed out. There were no witnesses and no surveillance cameras in the area. A nearby neighbor heard the gunshot and called police. When the police arrived at the scene, both our client and the robber were taken to the hospital.

The robber was stabbed in the chest, and he lost too much blood. He was pronounced dead by the time he arrived at the hospital. Our client was treated for his injuries and questioned. After he was interrogated, they arrested him, and he was charged with first-degree murder. The case was dropped down to third-degree murder at the preliminary. There was a jury trial scheduled for the end of next month. I hoped I could sit in on the trial and watch the case unfold; that would be cool. After an hour I had researched a few cases similar to this case, prepared memos, and began working on the next file.

I was so consumed with the research and work I’d done that I didn’t realize the time. I heard a knock at the door and told whoever it was to come in. Jeremy popped his head in.

“Ready to go? It’s after five, and I tried calling you.” I looked around for my phone then realized it was in my purse.