Story Written Only For FanFiction
By: Siretha Elaine
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Chapter 1 – When the Dust Settles
As the multifaceted sky turned grayer, the whiter everything else became. Like ballerinas, snowflakes danced around in the air before eventually littering all over the city of Rosewood. The gusty December winds played tug of war with fragile tree branches as the snowfall continued and thickened into the night.
Toby Cavanaugh sighed impatiently as he did another lap around the crowded parking lot. When at last he saw an available spot between a gray car and the dumpster. It wasn't an ideal space, as it was far from the entrance and not well lit, but he pulled into the narrow space anyway.
He turned the key to shut off the engine and adjusted the rear view mirror in order to see himself. He fumbled with his bowtie until it was no longer crooked and then ran his hands over the dark velvet material adorning his chest to rid the vest of any wrinkles and lint. Pleased with his appearance, he took a deep breath before emerging from his car.
He groaned and shivered when the single digit temperatures greeted him; frozen leaves and piles of snow crunched beneath his shiny black loafers as he sped walked towards the front of the building. Pushing the glass partition forward, he advanced through the revolving door and smiled now that he was indoors and warm. He shook to rid his attire of snow and ice as he made his way across the lobby.
Behind the front desk sat a uniformed man with his eyes fixed on something below the counter. As Toby neared him, he noticed an illuminated light reflecting in the young man's eyes.
Toby loudly slapped the counter, purposely startling the man.
"What the f-?!" the security guard shrieked in surprise, dropping his phone in the process. "Dude, you scared the dickens outta me. And you made me drop my phone."
"Dude," Toby replied in a mocking but firm tone, "you're not supposed to be on your phone when you're on the clock."
"Yeah, yeah," Noel said dismissingly. He finally looked up from his now cracked screen and up at the man before him, realizing the obvious difference in their attire. "Yeah, I'm sure you're not supposed to be dressed like Happy Feet when you're on the clock either. What's with the tux? Where's your uniform?"
"I'm not working tonight," Toby informed his colleague as he tugged on his bow tie for the umpteenth time. "If you must know, I'm here for the party."
"The firm's Christmas party?"
The carpenter nodded blissfully.
"Oh, I thought it was for the lawyers only."
"Nope. Everyone, including us, are invited. You never expressed interest in wanting to come, so it's why I put you on schedule to work tonight. But if you want to come…"
"No, no, no. I'm good right here. Trust me, I don't want to be around a bunch of arrogant, self-entitled know-it-alls."
"Whoa there, Noel," Toby objected. "One of those people you're talking about is my fiancé!"
"You know I don't mean Spencer; I mean… her," he said and pointed at the short brunette who'd just entered the lobby.
Toby turned around to see who his coworker was referring to.
She was clad in a body-hugging crimson red gown with a plunging neckline that broadcasted what seemed to be miles of cleavage. She walked towards the pair of men, purposely swaying her hips in a very noticeable and seductive manner.
"Good evening, gentleman. Toby, my god," she smiled as she placed her hand on his arm, "you look dashing. And Noel, you look… Anyway, where is the party?"
Noel rolled his eyes at Mona's not-so-subtle dig. He threw his hand up and pointed towards the left. "That way - in the grand room," he lowly barked. "Feel free to make your grand exit now."
Mona sucked her teeth before turning his eye roll. Her smile returned when she returned her focus back to Toby. She slipped her arm beneath Toby's, entwining them. "Mind escorting a lady to the party?" she asked.
Toby politely smiled to mask his annoyance as he swiftly snaked his arm out of her grasp to break contact. "I'm sorry, but you and I both know that's not a good idea."
"Can't blame a girl for trying," she replied with her signature sinister smile. "Besides, Spencer is really going to need a companion tonight. Make sure you have some Kleenex with you… lots and lots of it." And with that cryptic message, she gracefully walked away to join the party in the room down the hall.
Happy with Mona's departure, Toby turned back to Noel. "Do you know if Spencer is at the party already?"
"No, I haven't seen her come down yet; I think she's still in her office."
"Ohhh, she better not be still working," Toby assumed as he slowly jogged towards the elevators. Then, he stopped in place when an eerie thought crossed his mind; he turned on his heels back towards his friend. "Hey Noel?"
"Yeah?" he replied, looking up from his phone.
"Um, I know Mona has no boundaries and says and does whatever and is like that with everyone. But, um, I kinda felt this weird tension between you two… seemed like something more. I just gotta ask and please be honest with me here: is there anything—anything at all—going on between you two?"
"Heck no, man! That… that was just Mona being Mona. Sadistic and annoying. You know she likes to ride on her high horse and clown us. To her, she's royalty and we're peasants, simply because she's a lawyer and we're part-time security guards. I have no problem with telling her off, and that's the reason for the tension. Nothing more, nothing less. And dude, don't think she's being all nice and cool with you without an agenda. The only reason she talks to you, correct term would be flirts with you, is because…"
Toby threw up his hand, interrupting Noel. "Flirts with me?! No, no, no, you're mistaken…"
"Hey, I'm not saying you reciprocate it nor welcome it, but man, she totally flirts with you every chance she gets. And she does it because you're with Spencer. I know I just started working here, but I've picked up on a lot of stuff going on. Spencer and Mona definitely hate each other."
Toby started to shake his head in disagreement, but he thought about it thoroughly; he knew Noel was right. The girls had been rivals since high school, competing to be the top scholar academically and athletically. Now, nearly a decade later, the rivalry continued in the workplace. With both girls becoming lawyers and with Rosewood being a small town, they faced off in the courtroom often.
The latest victory had been awarded to Spencer when she prosecuted Mona's client Garrett Reynolds who was actually Spencer's ex-client. It was the most talked-about and publicized case on the entire East Coast as it included a dirty cop, a missing girl, a kidnapped toddler, stalking, arson, several accounts of attempted murder, and two fatalities.
The victory landed Spencer as the face of the firm, with her smiling, ivory face plastered on a dozen billboards throughout the state of Pennsylvania; she even made it on the cover of Cosmopolitan as Woman of the Year: A Great Role Model for Millennials.
But what many outsiders didn't know was how personal this case was to Spencer. Her own life had been threatened as well as several of her loved ones. And these threats were not empty ones. She once held the love of her life in her arms, drenched in his blood as he tethered on the brink of death right before her eyes. Ian was the one who pulled the trigger, but Garrett was the one who'd lent him the gun. In her eyes, they were both responsible. Ian was killed and Garrett was prosecuted. It was justice well served.
Unfortunately for Spencer, she wasn't able to revel in this career-making achievement as much; she had to take a leave of absentee from work to tend to a recovering Toby. Meanwhile, her firm had to hire a new attorney in her place during her sabbatical. Never in Spencer's wildest dreams would she guess who her replacement would be: Mona Vanderwaal.
Spencer had recently returned to work, claiming her rightful position. She was under the impression that Mona's employment at her firm was temporary, but that was not the case. Peter and Veronica decided to keep her permanently which was a great power move business-wise but not family-wise. All in all, Spencer and Mona were now coworkers.
One of the founding partners, Mr. Smith, had announced his plans to retire at the end of the year; this was bittersweet news for Spencer. Sweet because this presented the opportunity for her to make junior partner, but bad because Mona, too, was gunning for the same thing.
Noel's voice pulled Toby out of his thoughts. "So just watch out for that Mona. She's sneaky and conniving."
"You're right, man; sorry I asked."
"It's cool," Noel replied. "I'm sure Jenna told you that she and I are going through a rough patch right now, but please be assured it has nothing to do with Mona."
Toby smiled brightly. "Great answer. Sorry I asked; it's just, you know, me looking out for my sister. Especially after all that stuff that happened with her ex last year."
"With Garrett? Oh, I understand, but I'm not him. I would never hurt her like that. I love your sister immensely, and I plan on proving that to her really, really soon. It's why I took this second job, moonlighting a guard. I've been saving up for a ring."
"Like an engagement ring?"
Noel blushed and nodded.
"I had no idea. Oh man! Congrats. Love to have you in the family."
"Not yet, not yet, and shhhh," Noel demanded and lowered his voice. "You're the only person I've told, so please keep this a secret."
"I will, I will," Toby giggled like a schoolgirl.
"While we're on the subject, have you and Spencer even set a date?"
Toby's smile flattened. "No, not yet."
"Really? Dude, yall have been engaged for a year!"
"It hasn't been a whole year yet. I proposed in February."
"And it's now December, about to be February again. What's the hold up? Somebody having second thoughts? Getting cold feet?" Noel inquired.
"HELL NO!" the carpenter shrieked. "It's not as if we've just been sitting around and procrastinating for no reason. We've had to deal with a lot this year. My recovery. Spencer's sabbatical. Therapy: physical and mental. Our financial woes due to neither of us working for several months. We had too much going on and we were too stressed, but now the dust has finally settled; thank God. Now, we can get back to being in love and being happy and being…"
"And being Spoby," Noel blissfully chimed in.
"Sp-Spoby? What's that—a new app?"
Noel guffawed. "No, it's your couple moniker. Spencer plus Toby equals Spoby. That damn Hanna made it up and it kinda stuck."
Toby cracked a side smile. "Hey, I'm glad we had this talk, now get back to work," he playfully jested. "I'm going to head on up and grab my future bride, so we can get this party started."
"Have fun," Noel stated and waved Toby off.
When Noel turned his head, he noticed a figure off in the distance out of his peripheral. He looked up and over. Mona was staring at him profusely and unblinkingly. When they made eye contact, she gave him an emotionless expression before turning around to head back to the grand room.
"Thanks and you too. Merry Christmas," Toby shouted before disappearing onto the elevator, none the wiser to Noel and Mona's nonverbal exchange just then.
As the elevator ascended, his smile broadened. Since Spencer's return to work, he'd seen less and less of his beautiful fiancé. She was out the door by sunrise and worked late often. He never complained as he understood she had to play major catch up and was also trying to make partner.
So instead of complaining, he got a second job at the firm as a security guard. It was partly because the colder months meant no construction jobs, but it was moreso just to spend time with his love. Those few moments when they would pass flirty glances across a crowded room or sneak-attack booty grabs when they were the only ones on the elevator had been sufficient enough… for now.
The elevator dinged as well as Toby's energy. He practically skipped down the dimly lit corridor towards her office. He walked past her secretary's empty desk towards the closed glass door behind it. He ran his fingers across the shiny gold letters centered in the middle of the glass that read Spencer J Hastings, JSD - Criminal Attorney at Law. He smiled boyishly because one day soon-very soon-that door would read Spencer J Cavanaugh, JSD - Criminal Attorney at Law and Beautiful Wife at Home and Freaky Lover in Bed… Ok, so two-thirds of that statement were all of his imagination. Point was: he was so madly in love with her and couldn't wait to make it official.
His hand descended, grabbing and turning the knob. He opened the door and gasped, "SPENCER!"