LUNCH BREAK RUINED.

ANASTASIA.

“Fine, you don’t have to be so “snarky.” I open the log. 

“I’m Ana. What’s your name?”

      

“Caroline. Now, work.”

      

It’s actually a lot more fun than I thought. I help her in making lists of cases by year and she makes charts for them that can be sorted alphabetically, by lawyer, by nature, by docket number, and even by judge.

      

And she does it so fast that I’m a little ashamed it took me hours to go through the files Damien gave me. It was the hostile looks from the other interns, maybe. Caroline, however, makes me motivated to work.

      

“That is so beautiful.” I motion at the result on the screen, but Caroline doesn’t even crack a smile, just continues on as if her fingers are fluid and all they know is the colorful keyboard, as if everybody knows how to do this. She's so good at what she does. 

      

“Doing needless things again, Caroline?” a guy with frameless glasses asks as he stands beside us. He’s one of the techs who were sitting in front of the screens earlier.

      

His friend, who’s wearing a tacky flannel shirt, joins him, laughing.

      

“I get bored when I finish my tasks earlier than you, boys,” she says without looking at them, and I can tell it pisses them off, because they’re not smiling anymore. I can tell that they are the type of boys that pick on women to make their egotistical tendencies swell. 

      

“Screw you,” the flannel shirt guy says. So rude. 

      

“You might want to pick your dignity up off the floor before you say that,” I say. Standing up for injustice is instinct for me. No clue who I take after for that. It sure as hell isn’t my dad, though, because he only believes in merciless justice. He thinks normal justice is weak and useless.

      

“And who the fuck are you?” frameless glasses guy asks.

      

I guess no one in IT really knows what’s going on in the rest of L&K Law Group. Because all the junior associates and interns recognized me. Or, at least, most of them did.

      

I lift my chin. “Caroline’s friend.”

“And how's that your business to poke your nose into our business?” he asks. 

“From what I can see, you're trying to pick on her, and that makes you an idiot because this is a workspace and I'm sure you know that the owners of the firm do not condone bullying of any kind, so if you try this trash again, get ready to face the disciplinary board.

      

“Whatever.” He rolls his eyes and leaves.

      

“Assholes.” I punch the air after them.

      

Caroline’s manic tapping stops for a second and she tilts her head to stare at me. It’s a bit creepy with how her hair drops to one side as well. “Why did you say that?”

      

“Say what?”

“That I’m your friend.”

      

“Because they were being jerks. I’m allergic to those.” Even though I married one. But my jerk is more hot and sexier than those jerks. They are what you call, low-budget jerks. 

      

“I don’t need you to stand up for me.”

      

“Sorry, but I can’t stay quiet when things like that happen.”

      

“If you keep it up, you’ll end up getting hurt one day.”

      

“One day isn’t today.” I stand and twist my neck, then move my legs to get the blood circulating to my toes. “Let’s go get lunch.” I need to stretch properly, my legs feels cramped. 

      

She opens a drawer and retrieves one of those sandwiches you get from the convenience store. “I have my lunch right here.”

      

“That’s not called lunch. That's a snack. Let’s get a real one.” I reach for it and she catches my hand so fast, I flinch.

      

“Don’t touch my computer.”

      

“I was going for the sandwich.” you will think she has something to hide with the way she quickly pulls my hand away, 

      

Her hold slowly eases from around my wrist. I massage the skin as it quickly turns red.

      

“Wow, you guys are super possessive of your computers, huh?”

      

She pushes her glasses back with the heel of her palm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“It’s fine.” I grin, even though it does really hurt. It’s as if she’s a trained ninja. “Lunch?”

      

She pushes the button on her screen, making it go black, and begrudgingly stands up. I intertwine my arm with hers, and she looks at me funny, but she doesn’t pull away as we head to the elevator and take it to the intern area.

      

“Do you like home-cooked food better? Because I can cook. I love it sometimes, though I love baking more. I brought cupcakes this morning, but I don’t think there will be any left, because Sebastian stole them all. Do you know him? He’s funny and has a dreamy accent and dimples. Jeez, they shouldn’t be legal. Anyway, I’ll bring you new cupcakes tomorrow—”

      

“Hey.”

      

“Yeah?”

      

“Lawyers aren’t usually this chatty.” she says. 

      

“But we’re supposed to be. Talking is what wins cases, Caroline.”

      

“And here I thought it was actually studying law.”

      

“Hey! Rude.”

      

She lifts a shoulder as if she couldn’t care less.

      

I can’t help the smile that pulls my lips. “You’re funny.”

      

“I’m sarcastic. There’s a difference.”

      

“I’ll go with funny.” I grab my bag from my desk, trying to ignore the interns’ cutting gazes. Caroline doesn’t even pay them any attention and keeps studying her black nails.

      

Soon after, we take the elevator to the parking garage. 

“Hey, Caroline.”

      

“What?”

      

“You really don’t know who I am?”

      

“You said you were Ana.”

      

“Yeah, right.” I don’t know why I feel giddy because someone actually doesn’t associate me with Dad, the firm, or anything.

      

I’m just Ana. And that’s liberating.

      

The moment the elevator opens, my smile drops and so does my heart. Because Payton is getting in Damien’s car and she’s smiling. No, she’s laughing, and he’s smiling.

      

Payton is in Damien’s car and she’s happy and it’s lunchtime.

      

But that’s wrong.