Page 28 of Honorable Convictions
“But still plausible.”
“Tell me how your new job is going.”
“It’s been two days.”
“I can count. Are you enjoying it?”
“I have a thick stack of cases. I always enjoy working hard.”
“Have you made any new friends?”
Pierson’s mouth tightened and he again looked away. “I haven’t been there long enough to make any tight connections.”
Which was Pierson-speak for no, and it made Mitchell frown. “I’ve seen you handle your clients with care and pleasantness. They count on you and you gain their trust. Why don’t you use those skills to make friends with other fallen knights?”
For a split second, Mitchell was privy to the misery and frustration inside of Pierson. A second later, his icy mask reappeared. “It’s my duty to make my clients comfortable and for them to understand that I’ll fight for them.”
“I know that. What I’m asking is, if you’re struggling to get to know people, why don’t you treat them as if they’re clients? Utilize the skills you already have.”
“It’s getting late, I should go to bed.”
“Is that an invitation?”
Pierson was so exasperated that Mitchell chuckled.
“I’ll be sleeping alone.”
“Fine, but remember that I’m a good cuddler.”
Rising, Pierson’s eyes were devoid of any emotion. “Boasting of sleeping with other people does nothing to promote your case that this foolish matebond could work.”
Mitchell stood and took a step so that only inches separated them. Waiting for it, he wasn’t disappointed when Pierson’s spine tensed and he somehow managed to make his posture more rigid. “I haven’t shared a bed with anyone, Pierson. What I have done is imagined a day I’d be welcome in yours. I have every intention of holding you close as you drift off to sleep someday, and in the morning, you’ll still be wrapped in my arms.” His words were kind, but his tone was pure venom as he thought about all the times he’d dreamed of it and yet it was far from reality.
“You should go.”
“I’ll be back.”
∞∞∞
After two weeks in DC, Pierson was on a first-name basis with the checker at his grocery store, and he’d watched his fair share of love movies with Mitchell, who came to his apartment every evening, ready with his random “friend” questions. They’d bickered or squabbled about certain points, but no real argument had sprung up, stealing any reason to insist that he stop visiting. Pierson wasn’t sure what to make of it, so he simply set it aside. His focus had to be on his new job and hopefully one day not eating his lunch alone.
As he took his seat at the table, Pierson was happy about their weekly meeting. It was hard to believe they didn’t need to do it daily, but DC wasn’t Vegas. Although he’d learned the names of all the Juris Knights, they’d barely exchanged pleasantries.
“Good morning,” Pierson offered, pulling out his chair.
“Morning,” JK Percival Desner said, then returned his attention to the files in front of him. The other two JKs echoed the same sentiment and returned to the conversation they were sharing until their boss stalked over. Her uniform was immaculate, and there wasn’t a hair out of place. Ella Barnaby might not be the friendliest person on the planet, but Pierson respected the efficient way she ran the DC office.
With a stack of files that Pierson hoped didn’t constitute the entire workload, she distributed them. Since his arrival, he’d completed the mega pile she handed him at the start and hoped for additional ones, but he was handed two cases.
“Questions?” Ella asked.
“Yes, I’m confused as to why I’m not being assigned more,” Pierson remarked.
“I told you when you arrived that your workload would be considerably smaller.”
“But you also handed me a giant stack.”
“That was the backlog for the entire East Coast. None of them were cases that had any pressing urgency, so we were tackling them as time allowed or shipping them out to other offices. We’re grateful that you were able to catch us up.”
