The Laws of Love

by Belle Winters

  After that little episode this morning, I put her to the far recesses of my mind and went back to work. It was a stressful job, I preferred to be in the court room and working on cases opposed to this high level shit. Don't get me wrong, I always dreamed of running the company but not this early. I was only 33 and had only been doing what I loved for 5 years before it was pulled from me and I had to take on my father’s reigns. This is just as demanding and required as much attention and dedication, it just didn’t hold the thrill as it did to outsmart my opponent. While it might sound like I’m an asshole I won’t deny that I am. I know it and I’ve embraced it, but I have morals. I never lost a case, and I only took cases to defend people I thought deserved to win. I never represented someone who I thought was guilty and was trying to use the law to get around it. I used to take on as many pro bono cases as I could in my spare time. I never thought it was fair that people who didn’t have millions were facing worse cases and charges and couldn’t afford to have decent representation. I love my business and all but I don’t know how some of these guys passed the bar. They were the epitome of a fucking joke.

  I was in the middle of emailing one of our senior partners when I got an instant message notification. I looked down to the corner of the screen and saw Cassie Richards. I clicked on it to open it, probably a little too eagerly and almost choked.

  Cassie R: FYI I spit in the coffee.

  I laughed because she was such a fucking liar. I knew she didn’t because I’m sure she was not expecting for anyone to take it.

  Drayden M: Ah, that was that disgusting after taste. I was going to tell you maybe you should stop going there.

  Cassie R: I poisoned it too. If you croak I don’t care.

  I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

  Drayden M: thx. I wouldn’t want you to give me mouth to mouth. I'd rather die.

  I heard a slam and another laugh burst out of me. She was so damn easy to rile up. I knew the girl wanted to kill me and had she known I was going to take it I’m sure she would’ve done both or worse.

  Cassie R: We'd both be happy.

  I knew she was angry but I felt a small sting. I was done talking to her so I closed down the chat and finished up with my work.

  For the remainder of the day we spoke maybe twice more, and this time it was professional. There were a lot of strict timelines and even our hate for each other didn’t cloud that. That was the one thing I was grateful of. No matter how she felt about me she got the job done. She would’ve been the perfect little assistant if it wasn’t for her smart ass mouth and the way my eyes gravitated to her ass every time she walked out of the room.

  I didn’t get out until after 8 and it was pouring. I sighed. Even if I ran through the parking lot I was going to get soaked. I gritted my teeth and took a breath before I sprinted across the lot to my car.

  It was early September, and it was in the low 70's but there was a chill with the rain. When I got in the car - drenched as I expected - I turned up the heat to get the chills out of my body. My phone rang and I dug it out of my pocket. When I saw the name Victoria lighting up the screen I cursed. I was supposed to meet her for a fling tonight but I forgot to cancel. She was getting too clingy and to be honest, she didn’t even turn me on anymore. I didn’t do any of that dating shit. I found clean, sexy woman who can have a no strings attached type of commitment. All the while they know the second they look for a relationship or anything more than I cut all ties. This girl was starting to try to leave her stuff behind in my place. The first time I thought it was an accident and handed it over to her the next time she came over. The last time she was there she left a whole outfit in one of the drawers. I mailed them back to her and haven’t seen her since. I haven’t spoke to her but I didn’t cut her off yet, well to her face. I wasn’t a complete ass to do it over the phone, but I knew that I had made plans with her for today before that incident. I ignored it and decided to deal with it later; I was too tired to be dealing with any woman’s shit right now.

  I pulled out of the lot and that’s when the rain really started to come down. The puddles were quickly accumulating and I almost felt bad for everyone I might be splashing… almost. I slowed down for a red light, but I still managed to create a huge wave of water to go over the sidewalk. I faintly heard a slew of curses and I turned to look out the window so I can see the newest person I pissed off. Why am I not surprised that the first thing I saw was a bright pink jacket that I knew belonged to Cassie? I laughed hard. Perfect fucking aim I tell you and I wasn’t even trying. I rolled down my window and let her heard my chuckle.

  “ASSHOLE!” she screamed.

  I shook my head. At least I know her attitude wasn’t reserved for just me. I don’t know why, but it was just then occurring to me that she was just standing there on the sidewalk. What the fuck was she doing? It was pouring… if she thought she was going to call out sick tomorrow she had another thing coming.

  “What the hell are you doing Cassie?” I yelled.

  I heard another curse slip from her. Her arms flailed and she let out a frustrated growl. “What the hell does it look like idiot? I’m waiting for the bus!” she said pointing angrily at the bus sign.

  I hadn’t even noticed the sign but who the hell took the bus anymore? I mean, I’m not being obnoxious or anything but she’s making enough money to afford a decent car. “Get in!” I screamed before I changed my mind.

  “Why?” she asked warily.

  “Because I said so and it’s your job to do as I said. Now get your ass in the car woman.”

  She huffed and stomped all the way to the car angrily. She made sure to carry as much water as possible with her into the car and had the audacity to huff and glare at me. I sat there idled while I just stared at her, waiting and she became more fidgety and more pissed off. She was kind of hot when she was mad, even looking like a wet dog.

  “Why are you staring at me?” she finally asked.

  “You need to put on your seatbelt… I’m waiting on you princess.”

  She buckled her seatbelt and waited for me to start driving before I saw her flip me off from the corner of my eye. She really needed to stop doing that shit. “Why don’t you have a car?” I asked.

  “Not everyone has a car Drayden.”

  I sighed. Why is she so fucking difficult? “You can afford one…”

  “It’s not exactly effective driving around in the city you know. Parking etc. we’re not all daddy’s boys you know. Plus, I don’t see how you can just assume what I can and can’t afford.”

  I rolled my eyes. “How original throwing out the money card. So what. I never denied my upbringing. I’m not ashamed or proud of it. I didn’t ask to be born but that’s what I was born into. I don’t give a shit what people like you think about me because I know I work damn hard. Even when I was daddy’s boy I busted my ass in school and various other things to earn my keep… so fuck you and your judgement.”

  “Struck a nerve?” she teased.

  “Should’ve left your ass in the rain.” I muttered.

  “So why didn’t you then?” she challenged.

  “Because I don’t need a reason for you to call out sick, now where do you live?” I asked ready to end the whole conversation.

  She gave me her address and I plug it into my GPS. I wasn’t familiar with the area and only had a small idea of where I was going. The rest of the ride thankfully went by in silence. I don’t know how much of her smart ass mouth I could take in one day.

  I pulled up to her apartment and gaped. There was a group of hookers – which I couldn’t tell whether they were male or female – standing in front of it trying to peer into the car. The exterior of the building looked ready to crumble under the slightest of winds and the stairs looked like a lawsuit waiting to happen. The number of intercoms in the front told that there were a lot of apartments which meant they couldn’t be that big. What the hell was she living here?

  “Thanks for the ride.” She said quietly a
nd I turned to look at her. I’ve never heard her speak almost timidly and it made me concerned. When I saw her, her cheeks were pink and she was fidgeting and running her hand through her hair. She was embarrassed.

  “Sure thing.” I told her and kept my questions and comments to myself.

  She looked at me for a beat as if she were waiting for me to say something. Those doe blue eyes were watching me, waiting for me to attack. When I didn’t she expelled a long breath and got out. I waited until she got into the building before driving off and I almost missed her look back.

  Cassie

  I didn’t believe I could be so stupid, I was completely mortified! I was so happy to be getting out of that damn rain it didn’t even occur to me until I after I gave him the address that my arch enemy would see how horrible I was living. Go figure he asked why didn’t I have a car, which although it pissed me off I couldn’t blame him. You see, based off of my paycheck I didn’t have a reason to be living this way but that’s only one factor right? My dad is currently battling cancer and my mom was living that Texas life. Housewife with no income. They had some money to help out but it was barely making a dent. On top of that there were the student loans since I just had to go to school and get all of my degrees and certificates to become a lawyer. I was swimming in my own debt, but wasn’t able to even take care of that because I had to make sure my parents stayed afloat. Would I tell him any of this? Absolutely not, it wasn’t his business. As far as this whole mess went the only thing he needed to be involved in was signing that name on my checks.

  I went to my room and changed out of my work clothes into something a little more comfortable. I am not a big fan of dressing up for work, it’s a hassle and isn’t exactly comfortable. Working for the CEO had its major downfalls, there was no such thing as casual considering he only met with the big dogs. If I could go in wearing sweats and a t-shirt I would one happy girl. I relaxed into the couch/bed and sighed. One day down… a trillion more to go. I know I’ve done nothing but bitch about my job, but I actually like it. Granted my boss is a dick and I would prefer to be in a court room defending someone instead of being someone’s assistant but I still get my feet wet with my work. I have begun reviewing requests to take on cases and making notations on it, it sucks I can’t give my opinion. I’m just starting to see how the process flows, from client and attorney finding each other through to the end. I’ve been keeping my eyes and ears open and I trying to absorb as much information as possible. If there was one thing I would get out of this gig, it would be knowledge. With that final thought about work I put my legs up on the couch and laid down with some TV.

  Chapter 2

  Drayden

  Fine so shoot me, the girl has a lot more tolerance than I gave her credit for. It’s been two weeks and she’s still here! I have picked more than enough fights with her and done everything just bordering on a HR issue – if I’m being totally honest I’m sure we’ve crossed that line more than a handful of times – to drive her out of here. Today was the first day of the Mavorik’s case and Paul was the head on this case. He wasn’t my best, but it wasn’t my choice. Mavorik requested him, and I’m quite sure it’s because they have some type of friendship or relationship. In any event, that’s who he wanted then that’s who he got. My only issue is I don’t think that Paul is equipped to handle this case. I know very general details on this, but nothing too in depth. I advised them both that having him on the case wasn’t the best idea but they both assured me that was wrong. They were finally heading to the courtroom, which meant I needed to haul ass there to see if I needed to pull him. At the end of the day I get that the client wants him, but this is my company and reputation at stake. I’m not going to put us under because the guy wants to use his pal.

  I picked up my phone irritated and hit speed dial. When she picked up I didn’t give her a chance to answer. “Cassie!” I barked into the phone. I cringed because this time I didn’t mean to take my frustration out on her.

  “Yes sir.” She replied sarcastically and I wanted to scoff.

  “Get your stuff together, we’re heading out in 30. Make sure you bring equipment to take notes.”

  “Yes sir.” She repeated and I could hear the laughter in her voice. What a comedian, I’d get her ass back. I hung up without another word.

  It was exactly 30 minutes when I walked out of my office. Cassie had her back to me while she was putting a notepad and some pens into her bag.

  “You ready yet Cruella?” I asked.

  Her head snapped up and she turned to me in slow motion. I was pretty sure the shit was going to keep going like the exorcist. I was more surprised when it stopped. She scowled at me and I felt satisfied. Payback is a bitch.

  “Sure am, Grinch.” She responded. I hid my smile, that was a good one but I couldn’t encourage her shit.

  I walked towards the door and she followed as I expected. I hailed a cab and waited until we were inside to brief her.

  “Ok, I need you to be serious now.” I warned her.

  She rolled her eyes. “I am the epitome of professionalism; I have no idea what you’re insinuating here.”

  I grunted. “That right there. You could’ve just nodded.”

  “And you’re still on this because?” She asked with a wave of her hand. My hands fisted, this was not the time to choke her.

  “Listen, this is the first time,” hopefully last I thought, “that we are going to a case. I’m sure you heard about the Mavorik case and they’re going to court today. This is just a preliminary hearing, but Paul is on this case. I would’ve been there regardless but I’m really concerned. He’s only even on it at all because Mavorik requested him, but I don’t think he can handle something this big. I don’t know how familiar you are with the court room and the proceedings but I know you at least studied this stuff in school. We’re going to be in a back corner like flies on the wall and we’re going to listen to everything being said. We’ll both take as many notes as possible. Since we’ll be there and be paying attention we will be able to do summaries on the cab ride back so let’s focus on not missing anything and writing down anything extremely important. Also, make sure that whatever that is said that’s important we quote it word from word. I know it’s a lot to ask and a hell of a lot of multitasking but watch everyone. Paul, Mavorik, the other side. We want to watch for any ticks or tells in their demeanor. Just a heads up he’s going up against the SEC, I’m telling you this so you can grasp the importance of all of this. As a lawyer the one thing I learned is that actions sometimes speak louder than words. I’ve won a few cases just by watching and going with my intuition.”

  She nodded the entire time and kept eye contact. She was listening and storing all the information I was giving her. Like I said, she wasn’t bad with work she was just bad with everything else. I knew that she would be ok with this task and I wouldn’t be concerned at least until we got back.

  Cassie

  Drayden was fucking livid. I knew better than to fuck with him right now. I didn’t even have a snarky comment on the tip of my tongue for him. I won’t lie I was pretty pissed too, only because Paul gave lawyers a bad name. The dude bombed today and it was the simplest stuff. The ride back to the office was quiet. Drayden seemed lost in thought and I preoccupied myself with jotting down everything that I could remember in the notepad.

  When we returned to the office, Drayden went direct to his office and put on the shutters.

  Drayden M: Hold all my calls and cancel all meetings until further notice.

  Cassie R: ok

  I stared at the blip on my screen with our chat. Don’t get me wrong I’m still fairly new here but I’ve never known of him to shut everything down. I went to work with clearing up his calendar for the remainder of the day. By the time I was done with my work for the day I peeked at the clock and was it was close to 8. I bit my finger nail as I thought about what to do next. I always check with him before I leave for the day, but he hasn’t left his office once since we
returned. Besides the message I didn’t have any other communication with him. I didn’t want to knock so I opted for messenger.

  Cassie R: I’m leaving for the day – do you need anything else?

  Drayden M: No, I’m fine.

  Well alrighty then. I packed up my stuff and headed home, thankful there wasn’t any rain today.

  The past two days followed in similar fashion. I got in a few before 6:30, and he followed closely behind me. He holed himself up in his office and we spoke via messenger once or twice a day. I was leaving between 8 and 9 these days with all the reorganizing of his calendar and having to deal with annoying clients and such. I didn’t mind, it was overtime and all I had left to do for myself was go home and watch TV. I didn’t see him this morning, so I assumed he was working from home, I could see him online on messenger.

  I was sitting at my desk typing away with my earphones plugged in. I was jamming to Miley Cyrus – don’t you dare judge me Pandora was picking my music – and one of my headphones was yanked out of my ear. I looked up startled ready to curse Drayden out when I was met with Barbie. Yes, I do mean Barbie. Beach blond hair, big breast implants, skinny as a fucking twig, a pound of makeup, long fake manicured nails, a tight dress that was not appropriate for this building, and the worst scowl I’ve ever seen in my life. I looked at the time and saw it was a quarter past 8.