ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟝𝟟 #3
Ted appeared. His eyes landed on Dannah first, then me. His expression changed slightly.
"Cameron West."
I smiled. "Hey, Ted."
Ted stared at me for a moment then glanced at Dannah in confusion.
"Cameron wanted to talk to you." Dannah gestured toward me.
Ted looked back at me. "I see."
"Do you remember me?"
Ted gave a small smile. "Yes."
"That makes my job a lot easier." I grin.
He opened the door wider. "Come in."
I stepped forward.
Dannah smiled at me. "Good luck."
"Thanks."
Then I walked into Ted's office. The door closed behind me. For the first time since leaving Dixie in that driveway, my smile disappeared.
Ted closed the door behind me.
I turned toward him. He gestured toward the chair across from his desk.
"Sit."
I did. Ted returned to his seat, settling behind his desk as if this were some ordinary business meeting.
It wasn't.
I didn't like this man. Maybe that was unfair. I wasn't the type of person to judge before getting to know them.
I barely knew him, but I'd seen what his job had done to Dixie.
I'd watched her come home exhausted. I'd watched her sit at the kitchen table long after midnight with paperwork spread everywhere.
I'd watched her skip meals because she was too busy. I had also seen the results of seeing her skip and cried myself to sleep that night.
I'd watched that same job become one of the things she loved most.
That was the complicated part. Dixie loved being a lawyer.
She loved winning, helping people.
She loved being right especially when everyone else told her she was wrong.
But the firm had slowly been eating pieces of her.
And I hated seeing her like that.
Ted folded his hands. "So, why are you here?"
I leaned back.
He continued. "If this is about Dixie, I already told her-"
"Yeah, so about that."
Ted stopped. I hadn't even realized I'd interrupted him until I heard my own voice.
I leaned forward.
"What exactly did you mean when you told her she has to work her way back into her position?"
"I meant what I said." Ted's expression didn't change.
"She already had the position."
"Well, she left."
"She was suspended."
"Technically-"
I cut him off. "She was suspended because you thought she was too involved in a case."
Ted sighed. "That isn't entirely accurate."
"Isn't it?"
"No."
"Then explain it to me."
Ted sighed. "Cameron, this is a professional matter between Dixie and the firm."
"I know."
"Then you would understand that you don't have a say in it." His voice started to rise.
"I understand that, but I can still ask questions."
"You can."
"So I'm asking."
Ted leaned back in his chair. "I've offered Dixie the opportunity to return."
"To assist Georgia. Why?"
"Because I believe it's the appropriate arrangement."
Gee, no wonder Dixie hated this scum so much.
"You really think she needs to prove herself after what she just did?"
"The Justin Deyes case was impressive."
I nodded slowly. "Impressive is an understatement. She spent months working on that case. She uncovered evidence that ultimately proved your system had failed an innocent man."
Ted's jaw tightened.
"I understand what happened."
"Then why are you treating her like she doesn't know what she's doing?"
"Well, Cameron, one successful case doesn't erase the concerns we had."
I stared at him in shock. "One successful case?"
Dixie has had far more than just one successful case.
"You know what I mean."
"No, actually, I don't." I stood.
Ted looked up at me. I wasn't yelling yet, but I was getting close.
"You've seen what she does to herself for this job."
Ted frowned. "That's her choice."
"No!" I shook my head. "It's not just her choice when the environment she's working in rewards her for destroying herself."
"That is just not my responsibility."
Something inside me snapped. "You know what? Now I understand why she hates you."
Ted furrowed his eyebrows, crossing his arms.
I stepped away from the chair. "She comes home exhausted, barely sleeps.."
"That's the nature of the profession."
"No." My voice rose. "That is the nature of this place."
Ted stood. "You're crossing a line."
"I don't care. You don't get to tell her she's not good enough when you know exactly how hard she works."
"She has responsibilities. Dixie is an attorney for crying out loud!" He yelled.
"She is also my wife."
The room went so silent I could hear my own breathing.
Ted stared at me, and I stared right back.
"She has to understand that there are consequences."
I shook my head. "She did her job."
"She became obsessed, and crossed professional boundaries."
"She saved a man's life. And what about the fact that she was right?"
He didn't answer. I nodded at his silence.
"Exactly."
Ted walked around his desk. "Cameron, I respect that you're trying to protect your wife, but you just don't understand the firm."
"I don't." I looked around the office. "But I understand Dixie."
That seemed to irritate him.
"She needs to understand that no one is above the rules." He gestured with his hands.
"She doesn't think she's above the rules."
"Her behavior suggested otherwise."
I laughed again.
"You know what her problem is? She cares too much, and instead of helping her learn how to balance that, you made her feel like caring was a weakness."
Ted frowned. "That is not what I did."
"But that's what happened."
"Dixie will make her own decisions." Ted sighed.
"She will." I reached for the door. "And I'm telling you right now, Ted, she isn't coming back here."
Ted raised an eyebrow, then laughed.
"We'll see about that."
I stopped. Slowly, I turned around. "What did you say?"
"I said we'll see."
I stared at him.
For a second, I considered walking back over there, slapping him in the face. But I didn't. Dixie didn't need another problem because of me.
So I simply nodded.
"Fine." I opened the door.
"But if she does come back, it won't be because you made her feel like she wasn't good enough."