Promises (18+) ✔️

Twenty Eight

She had been coming to work for exactly three weeks and in the time she had spent here, she had never crossed paths with Parker. It wasn't that she hadn't wanted to or that she didn't try, because she did. But the man was hard to track down. She had heard his voice in the hallway many times and had only caught his retreating form once. He hadn't called any meetings so they didn't have any particular reason to meet.

In the passing weeks, she'd uncovered evidence to prove her client -Carter-, hadn't started the fire. They also had a pretty good alibi so she was feeling pretty confident about the fast approaching trial. She had also had a little luck in finding out who the guys at the bar was and had even found out their names. All she needed to do was find a way to meet them without making things worse. It was safe to say the week was going well.

"I heard he's barely come in to work because he's avoiding her. I wonder what she has against him to still have a job here," someone snickered as she walked past on her way to her office.

Well, the week was going well except for the gossips that had been spreading like wild fire. Everyone knew that Parker wasn't talking to her and nobody knew for sure why. So they had started coming to conclusions on their own. As usual, she walked past them without saying anything, smiling at James who waved at her before hurrying into her office. Coming to work sucked most days, but she was trying to be strong and not quit.

She wiped the few tears that had managed to roll down her cheeks then pulled out her compact mirror to fix her make-up. She was super grateful for the invention called water proof mascara. She reapplied her powder, then added another layer of lipstick to the deep fire engine red she had on.

James knocked before stepping in to hand her the hot coffee he had brewed. She accepted it with a small smile and then thanked the man.

"So there's an end of month meeting to review ongoing cases by ten am. Are you excited? This is our first team meeting!"

"Yay, super excited," she smiled.

"You don't look excited at all. Do you not want to go to the meeting?"

"It's not that I don't want to go, I've just been in a weird place recently."

"Is it true? What they're saying about you and Mr Diego? I know it's not in my place to ask, but I've been meaning to," James folded his hands in front of him as he gave her an encouraging nod.

She had been expecting the question for a while now and was mostly surprised he'd lasted this long without asking.

"I'm not sure exactly what you heard about Mr Diego and I, but yes we were dating. We just had a bit of falling out, so seeing him would be awkward."

"Do you want me to go alone? I can take someone else from the team if you like."

"No, no. It's fine, I'm actually excited for this meeting. I can't wait to share the progress we've made so far," she smiled.

James considered her for a few seconds before nodding and beaming at her. "Yes! We've been doing amazing!"

She laughed at his enthusiasm and waved at him to go. She checked the time, noting that she'd had about half an hour before the meeting. When James left, she buried her head in work.

***

"It's time to go, Miss Parks," James said as he pushed open the door. She glanced at her watch and took a deep breath before nodding at James. He closed the door behind him, leaving her to sort herself out before the meeting.

She checked her make up again, noticing the smudged lipstick where she had chewed on her lip. She took a wipe out of her purse and cleaned the lipstick off, taking a few minutes to apply it and then add another layer. She fixed her hair, then made sure her blue dress was wrinkle free before making it out of the office and towards the conference room.