Office Hours |h.s|

fifteen

Harry

My eyes scan over the paperwork for the newest case I have, trying to comprehend the words typed out, but they make no sense. Nothing has since Maude came into my life.

It's like my life was flipped on its head and has been a mess since we met. I've always been a serious person, focused on my work and being the best attorney and professor I could possibly be. My work ethic cost me my most serious relationship, and in a way I never expected to really date ever again. Hell, when I met Maude I had every intention of that being just a casual hook up.

She caught my eye immediately, just so naturally stunning. She wasn't wearing anything special, no makeup from what I could see. She was just her, and I wanted her more than anything. I've had a few hookups since the breakup, but I never felt as attracted to someone as I did with Maude.

Maybe it's the innocence in her face, the way her eyes captivate me and speak more words than she'll ever know. She just has this presence about her that draws me to her, even when I know it's the worst thing in the world. Getting close to her only means hurting her, and she's already damaged enough.

When we first met, she was bold, confident, and didn't care what other people had to say. I mean, she made out with me in the middle of a parking lot when we didn't even know each other's names. But slowly over the past few weeks she's changed. I don't know if I have anything to do with her confidence dipping, but I would be foolish to think I wasn't. Logan also had a big part in making her second guess herself, and I'm sure her family is on her twenty four seven to remind her how important it is that she's here.

I should be the adult, the authority figure, and tell her that this isn't going to work. I'd be saving her the heartbreak and humiliation that will inevitably come, not to mention I'll save my ass and my job at the university. Am I really willing to risk my career and reputation just for a few more weeks or months of being with her? Is this even worth the effort?

I don't have an answer for that.

Because I keep reminding myself of how bad this can get. How bad it will get. But then I get lost in her eyes, and in her voice, and in the way she exists, and I make the situation even worse. She just does something to me that nobody else could ever do, and that's fucking scary.

I give my paperwork another go, trying to make sense of this new case like I'm supposed to, but my phone lights up.

M: You know you don't have to keep apologizing for the Niall thing. But thank you for the flowers, they're beautiful!

Flowers. I got her fucking flowers. It was an idiodic move, especially since she has a roommate who will definitely ask her where she got the flowers, but I'm kinda hoping that by having the card be signed 'daddy' they'll just assume it's from her actual father. My hand comes up to rub my forehead, stressed out, but I finally pick up my phone.

I wanted you to have them, baby. You're definitely more beautiful though.

Putting my phone face down, I glance over when my partner Mitch walks in to join me at the table. "Hey, did you get a chance to read over everything? This is a pretty tricky one and we have to stay on top of it."

"Um, yeah, I'm still going through it. Might just bring this stuff home with me, I'm just trying to wrap my head around it." I shake my head, putting the document down on the table for a second as I take my glasses off.

Mitch scoffs, sitting down with a shake of his head, "You're telling me. This case is a mess. I don't know why we even agreed to represent this guy." He sighs, paging through his papers.

"Because we're getting paid really well and from what I remember, there's strong evidence against him. Mitch, we wouldn't have taken him on if he wasn't innocent, you know that. We just have to cut through all this background noise and decide what's the most important." I sigh, leaning forward on my elbows to rub my face. I need to get a grip if I'm going to handle this case.