The Arcane Trilogy: Better Call Paul - Book 1

Chapter 25: Consequences

It was in his lonely moments in the office when Paul had started to regret his act of kindness to Josy. The work he had to make up for was a long and arduous task, that Paul sighed in defeat at when he returned to the office and gazed at the work that sat in front of him. He put it off for half an hour, as he took the liberty of heading to one of the high-end Vintners in the city and acquiring one of the top tier bottles for sale, which turned out to be one of the newest Noxian brandies. The Vintner was also kind enough to offer a 50% discount due to his association with Hoskel, an offer that Paul would never turn down in a million years. The deep crimson liquid was a harsh drink that left a strong aftertaste in Paul's mouth, but with the work that lay before the lawyer, a drink with a strong kick was the sort of thing he would need.

The progress he made was decent, but as he slowly made his way through his newly acquired bottle, his mind went to the person he missed the most.

Josy.

His mind would often drift off towards her, with her supple tanned skin, her enchanting blue eyes, her soft brown hair, and her shapely figure often latched onto Paul's mind like a lustful demon that had sunk its teeth into his soul. He would often find himself distracted from the work that was needed to be done when his mind thought of her. He would catch himself thinking of what things to say when he next saw her, planning conversations in his mind. He would pull himself back to his work when he would lose himself to his thoughts, but the call of the woman he desired was never too far away. As the night took a form hold of the city, Paul would try to pull himself back to his work with one thought to dispel Josy from his mind temporarily

He was Paul Goodbrook, and he would have her.

The hours rolled by and slowly became a blur. They blurred by to such a degree that Paul began to feel rather drowsy as the nightfall fell upon the city of progress. He fought it away for many hours, determined to get as much work done as possible before his battle to hold back his fatigue ended in defeat. It was inevitable after all, due to the hearing that took place that day, the prep work that went into it and the hours of work he had done before sleep had begun to sway him. Eventually, deep into the night, Paul's eyes continued to frequently flutter, with the time that they were closed increasing each time. Eventually, Paul rested his eyes for a few moments, and they did not open until the next morning.

Paul's eyes slowly fluttered open, feeling warm drool dripping from the corner of his mouth trickling onto the desk. He slowly realised what had happened, cursing himself internally for getting a small sliver of saliva on the corners of one of his contracts that he was halfway through completing before he fell into his slumber. Paul cursed at himself as he wiped and shook the sheet clean, leaving the document to one side as he rubbed his eyes.

He then looked down at his suit, smelling an armpit and being surprised by how badly he had smelt, with a mixture of alcohol and body odour sticking to him. He looked over to the pile of forms that was thankfully a lot smaller than the day before. He was certain that after a few hours of working through them, he could get all caught up, so he deemed that the next day would be when he finalised all his work.

After sluggishly getting up from his chair, he realised that he had not locked the front door. In a tired panic, he burst into the waiting room and scanned it with rapid eyes. He half expected Jinx to appear before him, or for the room to be ransacked. However, after looking through the desk and noticing nothing was missing, he breathed a sigh of relief. They did not keep anything valuable in the front room, and the only thing of value was the cog stash in his office, which he slept over the entire night. Just to be sure, Paul walked back into the office and peered under the rug after moving his chair aside. He saw that the panel was in the exact sane placement as it was when he retrieved the money for Renna, so he breathed another sigh of relief. He could then relax and head home to grab some breakfast and sort out his personal hygiene.