Office Hours |h.s|

eighty eight

Harry

Figuring out what to do with Charlie has been difficult to say the least. Obviously, the first thing I wanted to do upon finding out he's been spying on us was to fire him and report him and the Sterlings to the judge and the school board.

But Mitch brought up a good point, we don't know where our files are that he's been stealing.

We got together and made a comprehensive list of everything we're missing and even though they're little details, the sheer volume of things missing is enough to make us hesitate and figure out a plan. He's like some mastermind spy or something and we don't want to risk having him blow up on us.

I also explained the full situation to Mitch regarding the Maude side of things. He understands that there's the risk of Charlie retaliating, but he still wants to report him to the school board. I want to give Maude the heads up that it's looking more likely that we're gonna just take the risk, but she doesn't want me to be in her life anymore.

I just wish I had time to process the break up. Right away I had to push it from my mind and I threw myself into work and figuring out what to do with Charlie. It's the only way to ensure I wouldn't completely give up and fall into the same patterns I did after Gia.

It kills me to think about Maude being pregnant. That she had to go through an abortion alone all because I had to be a dick and break up with her. She needed me. Even if she did get the chance to tell me, if she would have said she wanted an abortion I would have taken care of her.

Now it all makes sense why she didn't call me to talk after the break up like I was so sure she would have. She was dealing with me ending our engagement and relationship and at the same time finding out life changing news and making a decision she shouldn't have had to make alone. When Cassidy said I broke her, when Will said I didn't even know what I was putting her through, they knew she had an abortion.

At the end of the day, it's all said and done, but I'm just hopeful that her friends rallied around her during that time. If she wants me to stay away, I'll stay away. I can't keep ruining her life.

For now, I just have to focus on this trial and what's gonna happen with Charlie. I've graded all the tests, sent in my final grades for every student, and packed up my office. Time to move on from there for the time being.

Walking into the firm, I have a one track mind. Getting Charlie to confess. We let the other interns stay home today, and the office is already pretty empty since we let people go home early for the holidays. I leave back to England in three days, and I can't get out of this fucking state fast enough. I just need to get away from all this drama and reset. Get Maude off my mind, as if that's even possible.

Going into Mitch's office, I mutter a quick good morning before putting my bag down on one of his chairs. "He should be coming in soon."

"I just want him gone. He fucked up this entire trial for us, I'm about to ask the judge to hold the Sterlings in contempt or disbar them or something. Stealing documents is too far."

Mitch shakes his head, "The Sterlings will cover their asses, they always do. And if they're held in contempt they'll just pay the fines and move on."

"I just want them off this fucking case. I want this guy out of prison, I want the brother arrested. It's not fucking fair!" I groan, holding back my fist from punching the furniture. It's not fucking fair that this is happening. "And I want Charlie out of that school and a restraining order put out against him."

"I still can't believe he did all that to you and Maude. At least you guys found out it was him. How was she, by the way?"

I didn't go into specifics about what was said or that it was the real breakup. The last thing I would tell him is that she got an abortion, since that's not my story to tell. All I said was that she told me about Charlie, plus he was obviously too focused on there being someone stealing our information to care about my relationship status.