Chapter Four Seeing is Believing
July
I t was early on a Thursday morning, and Mirabelle was sitting at her desk, typing up some documents and reflecting on the last three months with a mixture of gratitude and frustration. Gratitude, because her divorce from Eddie was finalized three months earlier and, as Bastian predicted, the judge agreed to their terms. Eddie had to pay her just over twelve grand for the part of the money he used from their emergency savings account; the house needed to be sold, and the money split between them. He was responsible for his credit card debt, and there was no spousal maintenance payment on either side. Eddie tried to argue that he was unemployed because of Mirabelle, but the judge ruled he was unemployed due to his own actions and took issue with the fact that he remained unemployed despite still being licenced to practice law.
She wasn’t sure what story Eddie had spun to his family and friends, but feeling like she had done enough damage and knowing he was already the black sheep in his family, she just distanced herself from them, which hurt because she had been very close to them, especially his older sister, whom she adored. She found herself missing them, and while she had a couple of conversations with her former mother-in-law on the phone, they were polite and superficial, lacking the usual warmth Francesca Shea usually spoke to her with.
Adding to her sadness about losing Eddie’s family was the frustration from the fact that John had hired his daughter as the third lawyer for the firm. Kelly Henderson was a single mother to a two-year-old boy named Kade, whom she frequently used as an excuse for why she didn’t have her work completed. She had brought the child in a few times when her childcare didn’t show, and while Mirabelle knew the terrible twos were a thing, she was pretty sure Kade had never heard the word no once in his short life; he was allowed to wander freely throughout the firm and had twice escaped into the street, causing the receptionist, Barb, to chase him. The second time she brought him back, she warned Kelly that if he got out again, she wouldn’t chase him, and it would be on her for expecting people to do her mothering for her. She then walked into John’s office and threatened to quit if Kelly brought her little terror to the office again.
The meltdown that followed had been epic, but when Mirabelle, the rest of the support staff and the interns backed Barb up and threatened to walk out the next time Kade was brought to the office, John had no choice but to tell Kelly that she needed to find a daycare and offered to pay for it for her. Bastian hadn’t said very much during all this, but that didn’t surprise her. He seemed to be adopting an attitude of burying his head in the sand when it came to Kelly.
There had been several occasions since she started that caused Mirabelle to side-eye Bastian and wonder what the hell he was thinking, including offering his help and, by extension, Mirabelle’s help with her cases, leading them to cancel the cabin trip a few times and most recently, taking Kelly’s side in the lunchroom when Kelly blamed her for something she had done. Mirabelle called her out in front of everyone, causing Kelly to start yelling at her. The rest of the support staff had taken Mirabelle out for drinks that night and came up with a plan. It had taken three weeks to get everything in place for it, but they were ready to go on Mirabelle’s signal. Bastian had promised to make the cabin trip the upcoming weekend, and Mirabelle fully intended to go the next morning – with or without him. Hearing the door open and the sound of voices, including Bastian’s deep baritone, as people filed into the office for the start of the workday, Mirabelle quickly closed what she was working on and brought up the paperwork for the court hearing they had that afternoon.
Bastian stopped by her desk on his way in, smiling at her happily. “Hey, Bunny.” He passed over the tea he had picked up for her on his way to work that morning. “Are you ready for our cabin trip?”
“Thank you.” Mirabelle flashed him a smile. He hadn’t missed picking up her tea for her in the morning for six years, and it was still something that melted her heart and made her feel as cared for as much as it had the first time. Despite that, she couldn’t help the sarcasm that followed. “Is it actually happening this time?”
“We have court this afternoon, and then I've cleared my calendar for the next week.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “It’s happening.”
“Uh-huh. Forgive me if I don't believe you.” She sipped her tea and passed him some paperwork he needed to sign. She had a gut feeling that something was going to come up by the end of the day, and she would be going alone.
“I swear, no more rescheduling.” He promised, crossing his heart. “I need some time away from the city and the courtroom.”
Mirabelle fought against the urge to roll her eyes, knowing full well that if Kelly came to him, whining about needing his help again, he would cancel the trip and stay. “I'm going with or without you this time,” she warned him firmly. “So, if you reschedule, you'll be working here without me for a week.”
“Threats, Mira?” Bastian raised his eyebrow and frowned. Mirabelle knew he wouldn’t survive a week without her running interference for him, and he did too, so the fact that she was going to take her vacation, whether he came or not, probably did feel like a threat.
“No, Bast, not threats, promises. My boss has approved the time off.” She smiled up at him sweetly as she reminded him that he had signed off on her vacation. “It's not my problem that the new lawyer has decided you’re the answer to all her prayers, and it’s definitely not my problem that you indulge her. I refuse to put off my much-needed vacation for her or you any longer.”
“I have no choice but to “indulge her” Mira.” Bastian sighed and ran his hand through his short brown hair; frustration etched in every line of his face and body. “Henderson keeps letting her take cases on that she's not ready for, and I don't want our reputation going to shit because Daddy wants his little girl to succeed.”
“Mmmhmm.” Mirabelle hummed. She didn’t care about Kelly or her inability to put together a case; she just knew she was tired of doing Kelly’s job for her. In her opinion, Bast was just digging himself in deeper and should have let her fail at the start. “Regardless, I'm leaving tomorrow at ten, so be ready.”
Bastian tapped the papers she had given him on her head. “I'll be ready. Come on, let's go find the princess and go over this stuff one more time before we head to the courthouse.”
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They won the case, and as Bastian and Mirabelle were leaving the courthouse to go home and finish packing for the next morning, Kelly came running up behind them. “Bast!” She squealed loudly as she reached them. “Come on, we have to go celebrate!” She shoved her way between them and gripped his arm tightly, causing Mirabelle to stumble sideways on the steps and forcing her to catch herself on the railing. She looked up to see Bastian frowning and reaching out towards her. She noticed he didn’t say anything to Kelly about shoving her, so she shook her head quickly and straightened up.
“Oh, sorry,” Kelly smirked at Mirabelle before turning her attention to Bastian again. “Puhleeaase?” She drew the word out childishly, and Mirabelle looked at her in profound disgust as she continued down the stairs, knowing exactly what was about to happen.
“One drink.” Bastian allowed, and she could hear the reluctance in his voice as they started walking after her. “Mira? Are you coming?”
“Fuck no.” Mirabelle glared at him briefly over her shoulder before heading to her car in the parking lot down the street.
“What's her problem?” she heard Kelly ask, making her clench her jaw. God, she hated her voice. It grated on her like the sound of children screaming and crying. She always had a whiny tone, and it drove her nuts. “You shouldn't let your assistant speak to you that way, you know. It sets a bad precedent.” She continued as Mirabelle glanced over her shoulder again, curious about how Bastian would respond.
“Mira can speak to me any way she wants to.” She saw Bastian frown at Kelly and could tell he regretted agreeing to a drink since Mirabelle refused. “You should learn to act like an adult and not a teenager.” He pulled his arm free of her grasp with a low grumble. “I have an hour if you want to get a drink. I have to be ready to go early tomorrow.”
Picking up her pace, Mirabelle quickly left them behind by jogging across the crosswalk as the final seconds counted down before the “Don’t Walk” signal came on, reaching her car before they even crossed the street.
She got in her car and let out a frustrated scream, slamming her hands on the steering wheel. Fuck, she hated that woman. Personally, she thought Bastian shouldn’t have backed down about going after her when she tried to pass her unborn child off as his. Resting her head on the steering wheel, she took a few deep breaths. She had almost instantly regretted saying no to a drink. Bastian shouldn't be left alone with her; he seemed to be incapable of saying no to Kelly for whatever reason, and she was willing to bet one drink would turn into several and another baby scare in a few weeks. Kelly was enough of an airhead to forget Bastian had a vasectomy.
Mirabelle leaned back in her seat, resting her head on the headrest and staring at the ceiling of her car for a moment before shaking her head and reaching for her seatbelt. Every time she shared her frustration with Bastian, he would beg her to have more patience; he was working on getting his ducks in a row to leave Henderson Law and doing his best not to cause waves or problems for John, whom he felt sorry for. Mirabelle didn’t feel sorry for John at all. She was close friends with his wife, Marie, and knew he brought everything on himself. She also knew Marie was quietly getting her things together to divorce him. Kelly and Kade had moved in with them, and it was causing a lot of stress in their marriage because John refused to stand up to his daughter and expected everyone to indulge her as he did.
Bastain was taking far too long to make his exit and had adopted John’s habit of indulging Kelly to keep her from having meltdowns, which meant Mirabelle also had to put up with Kelly's attitude. The attempt to push her down had pushed her past her breaking point. If Bastian wasn't ready to go at ten tomorrow morning, or if she got there and Kelly was in his bed, she would be leaving her resignation on his table, along with the check for his services as her lawyer. He had refused payment after the divorce was settled, and she knew he would never come after her for it, but she had written the check anyway and planned to deposit it into his account, just like he had done when she represented him during his divorce.
She hit the button to start her car and saw Bastian coming towards her. She seriously considered driving away but decided to see what he wanted. When he was beside her, she lowered the window and looked up at him. “Are you sure you don't want to come?” He crouched down next to her door and rested his forearms on the edge of the door, giving her his most charming smile in what she knew was an attempt to convince her to come with him. She returned his smile, leaning closer to him.
“I could come, but you'd be bailing me out tomorrow.” Mirabelle held Bastian’s gaze as she sat back, letting him know she was very serious. Get a few drinks in her and she would let Kelly know precisely what she thought of her.
“Mira...” He sighed, resting his forehead on his arm and slowly shaking it. “You have to be professional.” His voice was muffled and sounded tired and frustrated, but Mirabelle was over feeling sorry for him.
“Why?” She snorted out a harsh laugh. It was funny that he expected her to be professional but was okay with Kelly behaving like a child. “She isn't.”
“You're better than her.” Bastian looked up at her, his expression pleading with her to understand, but it only made her angrier.
“So why don't you hold her up to the standard you hold me up to, Bast? Why does she get away with almost shoving me to the ground, but I'm told to be professional for expressing my displeasure at it?” She glared at him. “By the way, thanks so much for standing up for me back there. The way you came to my defence warmed my cold, dead heart.”
“You're right, Bunny, I'm sorry. I should have said something.” Bastian reached out and ran his fingers along her cheek. She could see he felt terrible, but once again, it only made her more upset. Mirabelle scoffed and folded her arms, aware that she was behaving childishly now but unable to stop herself. “It's only a little bit longer, Mira, and we'll be able to leave.”
“I'll believe it when I see it, Bast.” She shook her head and swallowed the angry lump that rose in her throat. “I'm near the end of my rope; she treats me like I'm less than a dog, and honestly, the fact that you agreed to a drink with her...” She shook her head again, knowing nothing she said would matter at this point. “Be ready at ten. I will leave without you if you're not.” She started to put up her window, forcing him to stand up and stake a step back, then she pulled out of her parking space and drove off before he had a chance to reply.