25 - Shay
25
Shay
I loved my job. I really did.
But sometimes I fantasized about quitting and taking a job at McDonald’s instead.
My law firm worked to exonerate wrongfully convicted individuals through DNA testing and criminal justice reform. Some days, this job felt like a battle against time itself. I dug through decades-old case files, chasing down lost evidence. Begging the justice system to acknowledge its own mistakes. I’ve sat across from men who’ve spent more years behind bars than I’ve been alive.
A lot of the time, it was a losing battle. But when we did win—when a judge finally said the words that set one of our clients free—there wasn’t anything like it. Seeing a mother embrace her son for the first time in years, watching a man step into the sunlight after half a lifetime in prison…
It made every sleepless night, every frustration-filled day, worth it.
Today was one of the other days, though. That McDonald’s job sounded really nice.
“Julie!” I leaned out my office door. “I need you to pull the deposition transcripts from last month—specifically Carter’s testimony. There’s something off about his timeline, and I want to cross-check it against the security footage we got from the hotel.”
Julie, my amazing paralegal, flashed a thumb’s up without looking up from her computer screen. “The full transcript, or just the relevant sections?”
I tapped my pen against the door frame. “Highlight anything that doesn’t match the footage. Also, can you draft a follow-up request for opposing counsel? We’re missing the keycard logs.”
“You got it, bossman,” she replied.
“What would I do without you?”
“Hire someone else.” She glanced up at me for a split second. “Someone dumber. ”
“Everyone’s dumber than you,” I said.
“I’ll remember that when we have my performance review next month!”
I chuckled and returned to my office. I had to leave for court in ten minutes. I hadn’t had a chance to eat breakfast this morning, and my stomach rumbled insistently, so I opened a protein bar from my desk drawer. It only kind of tasted like chalk.
Before I could finish it, my phone rang. “Lucas. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Just seeing if you’ve got plans tonight,” Lucas said. “I’m watching the new Dune movie.”
Lowering my voice, I said, “Are we actually going to watch a movie this time? Or is it going to turn into something more… adult?”
“Why, Shay,” Lucas said with fake-confusion, “what do you mean?”
“I’m in the office, so I have to watch my phrasing.”
“You’re good at that, being a lawyer and all. But no. Just a movie.”
I’d known Lucas since we were young. He was originally my brother’s friend, four years younger than me. As soon as I had my driver’s license, my parents made me drop off my brother—and Lucas—at their middle school on my way to high school. Over time, my brother and Lucas had a falling out… but I still liked him. And I could tell he looked to me as an older brother figure.
So I felt an obligation to call him out when I thought he was doing something stupid.
“Have you talked to Haley since that night?” I asked.
There was a pause on the line. “What do you mean? Why would I talk to her?” Lucas asked.
Yep. He was getting defensive. I’d touched a nerve, which proved my suspicion. I saw it as clearly as if it were a witness being cross-examined on the stand.
“It’s okay if you moved back to Vancouver to try and rekindle things with Haley,” I said carefully. “I wouldn’t blame you. She seems like a great girl, based on my small sample size from that one night.”
“I didn’t move back for her.” Lucas sounded exhausted, like he’d been having this argument already. Probably with Jordan.
All I said was, “Okay.”
“We’re actually having lunch today,” he added.
“Oh?”
“I ran into her at the grocery store. Totally random. We chatted a little bit, and I asked her to lunch.”
“All right. I’ll ask the obvious question. Is it a date?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
I tapped my pen against the desk. It helped me think.
“I know you don’t believe in fate,” I said carefully, “but surely you have to admit this is a sign.”
Lucas groaned. “Not this again.”
“Vancouver is a big city. There must be dozens of grocery stores, and you two don’t live anywhere near each other. The odds of you randomly running into each other are minuscule.”
“Just because an event is unlikely doesn’t mean it’s a sign from the love gods. I don’t believe in any of that, Shay. I know you do, and you love horoscopes and all that other nonsense, but I don’t. It wasn’t fate.”
“I’m happy you asked her out,” I said to deflect away from the supernatural subject. “You can tell me all about it when we watch Dune tonight.”
“So you’re in?”
“Assuming the DA doesn’t drop off another truckload of discovery at my office this afternoon.” Julie appeared in my office, tapping her wristwatch. “Hey, I’ve got to run. I’ll see you tonight. Have fun with Haley.”
Julie and I drove to the Clark County courthouse, even though it was almost close enough to walk. I cut an impressive figure in my suit, but sweating through my shirt wouldn’t win me over with a judge.
While circling the parking garage, I thought about Haley. I was certain Lucas had moved back to try and rekindle things with her. I understood why: she was a hell of a woman. I’d never met her before the foursome, but she still lingered on my mind. I’d had a few dreams about that night.
Gripping her by the waist.
Driving into her from behind.
Pushing her head down on Jordan’s hard length.
I shook off the thoughts. Lucas was the one who wanted a relationship with her, even though he wouldn’t admit it. There were a million other women in Vancouver and Portland that I could pursue. I didn’t need to keep thinking about Haley.
With an amount of willpower I had curated in law school, I wrapped all of those thoughts into a trashbag, tied off the top, and put it in the corner of my mind. It was time to focus on today’s hearing at the courthouse. We’d taken a pro-bono case involving a deaf woman who was pulled over for a traffic violation, then arrested when she couldn’t understand what the officer was asking her. It was a straightforward case, a rare easy win.
Julie led the way into the proper courtroom. There were several other cases on the docket, most of them relatively minor since this was traffic court.
I stopped in my tracks.
The blonde woman sitting two rows in front of us was Haley. Even though I could only see half her face, it was unmistakable. I’d never forget those eyes and lips as long as I lived.
Unlike Lucas, I did believe in fate.
And if this wasn’t a sign, then nothing was.