Jack watched in dismay in the unknown young lawyer made himself at home in Abbie's office, talking at her a mile a minute. He felt an irrational sense of having his territory encroached upon, which was absurd. It wasn't his office, after all, and Abbie was certainly not his property. But this interloper was disrupting well-established routines.
What was he going to do the next time a summation was kicking his butt? Ten minutes, just sitting quietly in Abbie's office with her, not talking, or thinking about the case, simply watching her work was enough to calm his mind and get his thoughts back in order. That was never going to work with the third wheel sitting there her new best friend.
LL&O
Two weeks later he was still sulking about the interloper in their own little personal bubble of peace. The only thing that made it better was that Abbie wasn't any happier about the arrangement than he was.
"He's asked me out five times already," she complained as they sat in his office going over a summation that had taken him longer to finish than it should have. "When he's not doing that, he obsesses over who's dating whom. Half the time I'm not sure if he's talking about the office or some obscure celebrity. I keep waiting for him to invite me to a sleepover so we can watch movies and braid each other's hair."
The chuckle he'd been unable to suppress earned him a glare and a slap on the arm."
"I'm serious," she insisted. "I swear, if they don't finish work soon either I'm going to start climbing the walls, or he's going to be found dead with a stapler embedded in his skull."
"Don't worry," he consoled her, "if it comes to that I'll be your defense. It's a clear-cut case of diminished capacity."
LL&O
Approaching Abbie's door he could hear two voices within. The rest of the floor was dark; everyone had cleared the building on the dot of 5.00 in anticipation of the long weekend. Clearly Abbie's limpet was still clinging tightly. He heard his name mentioned and came to a halt, uncertain whether to interrupt or not.
"…maybe you can explain to me why most of the women in this place think he's so great. I just don't get it."
He could practically hear Abbie's teeth grind. "Maybe because he knows how to shut up once in a while," she ground out tersely. Her chair squeaked as she stood, and Jack continued into the office, prepared to run interference if necessary.
"Hey, Abs," he greeted her, as if he'd heard nothing, "you fancy some dinner?"
"Why not. I'm done here." He helped her into her coat aware of the limpet staring at them open-mouthed.
"But…" he spluttered, "… but when I asked you earlier you said you were too busy."
Jack could hear the strained patience in her voice. "Clay, no offense, but as far as you're concerned, I'm always going to be too busy."
The way his face fell almost made Jack feel sorry for him. But not that sorry. They had their own plans for the weekend that didn't include the presence of a third-wheel.