Office Hours |h.s|

twenty four

Harry

Getting home at nearly two in the morning from Maine probably wasn't the best idea ever, since I got maybe four hours of sleep, but Maude makes it all worth it. Spending those few extra hours with her was just heaven. I just didn't miss the pressures that come with being a partner at a law firm.

But now it's back to our normal day to day and hiding our relationship from everyone. I wish I could see her today, even for just five seconds, but that doesn't seem likely. We have been texting when she's not in class though, so at least there's that. She sent me a selfie before to show me she has one of those ribbon bows in her hair, and I sent her one back to show that I still haven't shaved.

I just miss her.

Our student interns have just started today too, which only adds to this annoyance I'm feeling toward there being no time for me to see my girlfriend. As helpful as it is to have interns to go through all the evidence nobody wants to sift through, they're pretty much useless for a while, especially the first semester law students. We usually just put them to work doing coffee runs or going through years and years of phone records.

A part of me wishes Maude took my offer to work here, just so that we had an excuse to spend more time together. It would have been nice seeing her working in the other room. I could have brought her coffee or sat next to her even for a few seconds while we talked about the case in a meeting. But I respect her decision to turn it down. It would be extremely risky considering these are her classmates, and I know she has some allegiance to her family and their firm, even if she doesn't exactly get along with them. I've been keeping her up to date on the case though, and what we're thinking of doing for our client, just so she can have a taste of what we're doing here.

I know one of the interns we have on our team is her friend though, Charlie Dorsey. He's a smart kid and shows interest in possibly pursuing a career as a criminal defense lawyer, however I may have bumped him up on the list because he defended Maude that one time in the bar.

He's been kissing my ass since he got here though, trying to set himself apart from the other interns and as nice as the kid is, I had to hand him over to Mitch to get a minute to think. Maybe picking him wasn't the best choice since I'm dating his friend now, but what's done is done and I just have to wait for him to hopefully calm down.

For now, I've managed to sneak away from all the chaos of giving out assignments so I could have a few quiet moments to myself. Mostly to write up emails and see what's going on with our client, but also to text with Maude since she's between classes. It's definitely a little weird for me to be accommodating my girlfriend's class schedule, but I'd do anything for her, especially after this weekend.

Sitting back in my desk chair, I pick up my phone, smiling when I see her text.

You should tell Niall to stop giving us these giant case studies with a 24 hour turnover. I have other classes you know!

A soft chuckle escapes me as I smile at my phone, just so enamored with her.

I'll bring it up next time I see him, baby, but for now you better get reading!

She sends back a quick little emoji with its tongue sticking out. I'm sure she's getting a coffee right about now, so while I wait for another text from her –because I know there will be another– I go to my camera roll to look through all the pictures we took together. There are some pictures of the two of us, about a million just of her all throughout our time this weekend, and I've noticed she likes to take my phone and surprise me with silly little selfies.

A small smile tugs at my lips as I look through our pictures, wishing more than anything that I could print one to keep on my desk. That can't happen though, and it doesn't even matter that I fucking own half this firm. I know Mitch wouldn't care, he doesn't even know who the hell she is as long as I don't say her last name, but I have all these students running around my office, so she can't be here in any form.