Page 14 of Love’s Decree

When I arrived at the office, I said good morning to the few people I saw. I beat Mark, which gave me a moment to breathe. When he got in, he’d have something for me to do.

In the meantime, I sifted through some emails. There were several referrals for new clients.

Once a week, the team met to discuss new cases we took on. As one of the top law firms in the city, there was no shortage of clients. The purpose of the meeting was for us to prioritize which cases would be beneficial for the practice. I chose four potential cases to present. Even if we didn’t get through them all, I liked to be prepared.

A knock at the door made me look up.

“Good morning, Rory. Do you need coffee or water before you head into your meeting?” Mark greeted me.

“Morning, Mark. I’m good. I’m about to head over. I’ll check in with you after.”

Mark gave me a warm smile before heading back to his desk. I grabbed my notepad, phone, and my coffee, then headed toward the conference room. When I entered the conference room, I sat next to Ava, like I always did.

“Hey, girl. I got stuck on a call. Sorry I couldn’t swing by to walk with you down here,” she said.

“It’s fine. There were so many referrals that I almost lost track of time.”

Our conversation ceased when the partners walked in. John kicked off the meeting with the normal pleasantries. He randomly chose the attorney seated closest to him to start. Once he was done, Danny was up next. I looked at Ava, and we rolled our eyes at the same time. Then Danny mentioned a name that piqued my interest.

“I reviewed a lot of referrals, but one case looks really promising. They charged Kurt Lawerence with possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute. What makes him interesting is he recently became a prospect at the Sons of Destruction motorcycle crew. John, I know your buddies at the DEA have been trying to get something on these guys for years. Maybe taking Kurt on as a client could be rewarding for us and them,” Danny explained.

The mention of Aasim’s crew made my heartrate increase rapidly. I had to tell Aasim he was under surveillance.

Danny laughed and said, “One of my buddies at the precinct sent the interrogation video. The kid was crying the entire time. He kept saying he would do anything to avoid jail time since it’s his first offense. The cops took him up on that and have been using him as a confidential informant. They’re willing to make a deal if he can get them some useful information. The kid may be their only chance to get some insight into Sons of Destruction’s operation.”

My stomach sank to my feet. I felt perspiration form on my forehead. I couldn’t wait for this meeting to end. Danny talked so much that we only got through half of the team. Whenever he had the floor, he always overtalked. He was like a child that didn’t get attention at home. Danny was a pretentious asshole who always kissed the partner’s ass.

When the meeting wrapped up, Ava and I walked back to our offices together. We stepped inside of my office and closed the door before Ava asked, “Girl, wasn’t that Aasim’s club Danny was talking about in there?”

“Yeah. It is. I have to tell him, right? I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t? This can’t be happening.”

“Are you ready for what can happen if you do tell him? I know you’ve been thinking about your exit strategy. Have you thought about what you’re going to do if it happens sooner than later?” Ava asked with her hand on her hip.

“It’s all I’ve been thinking about for the past few days. I can’t think about that right now. There’s no way I could keep this from him. Let me call Aasim. Come grab me when you’re ready to head to lunch,” I said as I let out a deep breath.

“Okay, girl.”

After taking a seat at my desk, I picked up my cell and called Aasim. The phone rang until the voicemail came on. This only confirmed the reason I didn’t want to call him this morning. Now wasn’t the time for me to be in my feelings. I texted him.

Me: Hey, I know we left things a little awkward last night. Can you come over later so we can talk?

I held the phone in my hand for a couple of minutes. When he didn’t respond, I got back to work. If he reached out, I would tell him. It was on him how we moved from here on out. A knock at the door diverted my attention.

“Come in,” I said.

Mark walked in with a long, white box. “This just came for you.” He placed the box on the desk, then turned to leave my office, and closed the door behind him.

I was skeptical to open the box. This time, it didn’t surprise me to see a bouquet of black roses. The shock I had when I received the first package was now replaced with annoyance. Somebody was fucking with me, and I couldn’t put off figuring out who it was any longer. I checked around until I found a card. This time around, it read: Tick Tock what’s done in the dark always comes to light.

Tick Tock, my ass. The longer I stared at the card, the angrier I became. My phone alerted me to a text message. I picked it up to see Aasim’s reply.

Aasim: I can come through. let me know what time.

Me: Six.

Aasim: Cool.

Instead of going back to work, I focused my energy on finding the person responsible for sending these flowers. For hours, I pulled through old case files. Around one, Ava called me, “Hey girl, are you ready?”