Page 58 of Cocky Counsel

Twenty Six

Eva

My hands were shaking as I made it back to my desk and sat down. I was trying to pick an emotion and stick with it, but it felt impossible when there was a constant battle between anger and humiliation pulsing through me simultaneously. I unlocked my computer and opened my email, trying to force myself to focus and forget about everything that had just happened.

A few seconds later, a chat box popped up and flashed in the lower corner of the screen. I glanced across the hall to see if Ethan was looking at me, but he seemed rather focused on whatever he was reading on his computer. I moved the mouse and clicked on it, relieved to see that it was from Regina and not Ethan.

Regina: When you have a chance, please forward to me the contact information for your sister. I will reach out to her as soon as possible.

I felt the tension release from my shoulders as I typed my response back to her, thanking her for considering my sister for the position. I knew that Regina would still need to interview other candidates as well and that there was a good chance that they wouldn’t pick Lucy for the position, but I still had to try.

Lucy had been working for the hospital for eight years and while they were flexible with her when she had Jackson, they’d recently started giving her a hard time about her requested shifts. Instead of letting her work during the week, they would assign her the weekend shifts or the graveyard shifts. Both of which would be impossible for her to work as a single mother. I knew this would be something that Lance would use against her to prove that she wasn’t able to provide a stable environment for Jackson, and I wasn’t about to let that happen if there was anything that I could do about it.

I sent a quick email to Regina with her information, then sent Lucy a text to let her know what was going on. I felt excited that maybe something good would happen for once, and Lucy would get the job. After the bullshit that happened today, I needed something good. I felt bad for not talking to Ethan about bringing Lucy on before I mentioned it to Regina, but in all fairness, it wasn’t like there was a position to consider her for until now. There was an opportunity, and I took it.

Was he right that we wouldn’t be able to work together without letting our personal lives get in the way? Maybe. Honestly, I didn’t know. I was five years older than her and that seemed to work well for us growing up because we were never into the same things at the same time. But, on the flip side, she had also complained a lot that I was more like a second mother than a sister, so there was that.

The day dragged on, and I was ready for it to be over so that I could go home and drink some wine before sulking in my apartment all weekend. My phone vibrated on the desk, alerting me to a new text message. I picked it up and swiped it open to find a group message between Lucy, Gabi, Brittany, and myself.

Gabi: Are we still meeting for dinner and drinks tonight?

I decided to respond as quickly as I could before anyone could get the bright idea to make this happen tonight. I wasn’t in the mood for it and desperately just wanted some alone time.

Me: Brittany told me it was canceled last night. I already made other plans. Sorry.

Brittany: I said that so you would go to dinner with your sexy fuck buddy and his friends. Those better be your plans, if not, dinner with us is still on.

Gabi: Agreed- go to dinner with your fuck buddy and let’s do brunch in the morning?

I exhaled heavily and pulled my shoulders back. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with this.

Me: We had dinner last night instead, after Brit ducked out and stood me up. I have other plans tonight. We’ll catch up later this weekend. K?

Lucy: What’s going on? Why don’t you want to meet up with us?

Gabi: Maybe she’s tired from all of her friends with benefits action?

Brittany: He is DELICIOUS. Just sayin, I would be tired after a night with him too. You can bet that I would be buying an ALL DAY pass for that ride…

Me: Alright, well you ladies enjoy dinner and I’ll talk to you later.

I put my phone down and closed my eyes as I rubbed the back of my neck. Today was turning out to be more of a disaster than I thought. I prayed that they would sense my bitter attitude in the group text message and stop asking to meet up tonight but knew better than to harbor false hope when I heard the buzzing from additional text messages that were coming through. Maybe they would all go without me and have such a great time that they wouldn’t give me shit for missing another girl’s night.

By five o’clock, I was ready to go home and fall into bed. While my stomach was growling from missing lunch, I had no desire to do anything about it. I grabbed my purse from the floor and turned off my computer, making sure it was off before I walked away. I still felt stupid and foolish for having left it unlocked, to begin with. Had I been smarter, maybe none of this would have happened to begin with. But that was a problem that I didn’t have the mental capacity to deal with right now.

I flipped the light switch to turn off the lights as I stepped into the hallway and pulled the door closed behind me. Ethan’s office was already empty, his door closed, and lights turned off. I didn’t remember seeing him leave, but I also tried my hardest to avoid him as much as I could today.

As I turned to walk down the hall, I felt a body as I collided against it. My hand flew to my chest as I took a step back.

“Lucy!” I shrieked; my eyes wide with surprise. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I came down to meet with Regina, we just finished a few minutes ago. I thought I would come see if you were still here and drag you out to dinner if your other plans fell through.” She winked as if she knew my secret and locked her arm in mine as she led me down the hall.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to meet with her?” I asked, trying to get my heart rate back down. I decided to ignore the last part about going to dinner. If I pretended not to hear her, then she couldn’t get mad when I refused to go… right?

“It was so last minute I didn’t have time. I got Jackson to mom’s house and rushed right over.”

“So, how did it go?” I could feel the hope radiating through my voice as I reached out and pressed the button for the elevator. She pulled in a deep breath and waited for the doors to open before she jumped in and turned to face me.

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