"Are you ready to go?" Lauren asked while holding her husband's hand. She could tell he was a little bit nervous.
After the Foxes' lawfirm moved to the same building as their company, Adam decided it was time for them to sit down and talk. She said she would always support him, whatever was his decision about it. For her surprise, he smiled and said:
"You know what? Screw them. I decided to leave the past behind, I want my career back, I want to be respected again. I'm done hiding behind my insecurities."
"And I'm going to be by your side, we'll do this together," Lauren said.
In the next days she prepared everything for Adam's come back. She redecorated their office, she bought him new clothes and the most important, she went to talk to Jerry Fox.
She didn't feel confortable going that office again, not only for the possibility of running into Kate, but because everytime a woman entered that place Jerry Fox and Nick Payne would start a competition to see who would get the client, but not in a professional way.
He was very polite and assured her that Kate was no longer part of their team and wouldn't cause anymore problems for Adam. He also said something else that Lauren later realized he could be hitting on her.
"So, did you like it?" Lauren asked when she opened the office's door.
"I loved it."
Adam kissed her. The only reason why that company still existed was Lauren. She had been in charge of their business for 9 years now and saved them from bankruptcy. His parents weren't happy in the beginning, they never liked Lauren and when they got married they'd tell him all the time that "she wasn't suitable for him or their family", but at that point she was considered more trustworthy than their criminal son.
"Hey man, it's good to see you here," Ethan said.
"Oh yeah, get ready, easy times are over," Adam joked. "I'll be your boss now and I'll watch every step you take."
Lauren smiled. She was glad to see her husband being excited about their company again.
Kate wasn't happy when Victoria called her asking for help, she couldn't decide what to wear for her job interview with Lauren. At first she thought her friend was joking but then she found out she was really determined.
"You're going crazy, Victoria," she said. "I know you're in trouble with your bills, but I can borrow you some money."
"Kate, no. I need to get a job."
"But it doesn't have to be there, not at that company! Lauren is a psycho, she even went after my father again."
"It's my only option right now."
The friendship between Kate and Victoria wasn't the same from 12 years ago. When Kate started to become famous she had no time for her best friend, their conversations were short and most of the time, limited to the phone. In 2007, during a trip to New York for an interview, she met a man named Josh. He was funny, handsome and above all, mysterious. Using her matchmaker skills, she knew exactly what to do to make his walls come down. He became the perfect boyfriend and less than 6 months later they were engaged and living together.
From day one, Victoria hated Josh. In the beginning, Kate thought she could be jealous but her feelings wouldn't change. In Victoria's mind her boyfriend was a psychopath who was only with her for money, she insisted there was something wrong about him. Kate assured her Josh was a good man and later she asked the best friend to be her bridesmaid, which Victoria declined.
After the wedding Josh suggested Kate should write a book with relationship advices. The book was a hit and they spent almost 8 years traveling around the world and living in different countries where she could promote her book and her matchmaker job. They had two kids, Hazel and Bradley.
When they moved back to Los Angeles Kate felt she needed to restore her friendship with Victoria, everything was fine, until Josh was casually mentioned during their conversations.
"So, where's Mr. Perfect?" Victoria asked, sarcastically.
"In San Francisco, visiting his mother," Kate said, giving Victoria a look of disapproval. "He was supposed to come back last weekend but he'll be attending a reunion with his friends from Berkeley on Saturday."
"And why didn't he take you with him?"
"Look, Victoria, I know you don't like him but Josh had a tough life," Kate explained. "His father died and his mother raised him alone, he's embarrassed of the place he used to live and doesn't feel confortable taking me there. I don't mind, ok?"
Victoria kept her mouth shut, she knew there was something else behind Josh's story. She wanted to protect Kate but how was she supposed to find out what secrets Josh could be hiding?
Adam's anxiety quickly passed after he was welcomed by the other employees. There was no laughs or whispers when he passed through them and nobody taunted him during the conference they had in the morning. Maybe everything was only in his mind, he was being a coward all this time.
Deep down he knew his wife probably also had her part in this, she probably threatened one by one with demission if they treated him badly again.
He was sitting on his desk with a smile of satisfaction on his face, making plans, but then he looked at Lauren, something was clearly bothering her. She stared to the laptop's screen with a terrified look.
"What? Don't tell me there's already a new article?" He joked.
She was in silence for a moment while her eyes examined the screen again.
"Adam, who used my laptop in the last few days?"
"I did," he replied. "B-but I was only reading the files you showed me, whatever you found there isn't mine."
"Did one of the kids used it?"
"Uh, I don't remember..." he thought. "Oh, Luke. He used it a few days ago."
Lauren fell silent again. Everything was making sense now, the long time he was spending alone, his quietness, the aggressive behavior around his parents and siblings. When he asked to use her laptop he thought the parental control wouldn't register the websites he visited but it was all there, in the recent activity list of the software:
"Entries removed from browsing history:
- Google Search - "how to cover a bruise"
- Google Search - "how to stop a nosebleed"
- Google Search - "bullying help"
"Take a look at this," she said as Adam approached to see what was wrong.
A couple of weeks before, when she picked him up at soccer practice, his nose was bleeding actively.
"I got hit during the game," he said.
Later she noticed he had bruises on his back, arms and legs while he was getting dressed.
"I fell," was his excuse this time.
Deep down she felt something was wrong with him but she always tried to convince helself that he was only growing up and needed some privacy. She was even told she was being overprotective.
Adam involved her, trying to calm her down.
"Hey, I'm gonna go to that school right now and..."
"Wait," she suggested. "We should talk to him first."
They were interrupted when Ethan opened the door.
"Lauren, can you come here for a moment?" He asked.
"Sure."
"Am I interrupting you guys?"
"No, it's ok," she said, her voice was still weak and distant. "Adam, if that girl I'm gonna interview shows up, please tell her to wait. I'll be back in a minute."
Adam's mind was so absent that he could not hear the knocks on the door. Not only he found out his son was being physically attacked by bullies but he also heard the conversation between Ethan and Lauren minutes before. His mother was on the phone to tell Lauren that her decision of bringing him back officially to the company was a harm to their reputation.
"Hi, may I come in?"
He heard a voice saying. When he turned to the door he noticed a familiar face waiting for his answer.
"What are you doing here?" He questioned.
"I have an interview," Victoria answered. "With Lauren."
"I hope it doesn't have anything to do with Kate."
"Oh no, she didn't even wanted me to be here."
Adam thought for a while, in the past he had two or three dates with Victoria to please Kate, if it ever came to Lauren's knowledge he'd be in trouble. She was still extremely jealous of him and countless times she fired female employees because she claimed they were being "too friendly" around him.
"Listen, Victoria. I don't like getting in the middle of my wife's choices but if you put me in any uncomfortable situations I won't hesitate telling her how I've met you before. Got it?"
"Don't worry, I'm only here because I really need the job."
"Good," Adam said. "Would you please sit down?"
Victoria sat on the couch in front of Adam's desk, she coudn't help thinking how much he had changed, not his looks, but his personality. He was no longer that immature, arrogant man she met years ago.
"Oh hey you," Lauren said as she entered the office. "I'm sorry, I was solving a problem."
"No worries, I just got here." Victoria smiled.
Lauren glanced at Adam, wondering how much he and Victoria had talked before she got there, but he seemed to be focused on his computer screen.
"Everything's ok?" He asked her.
"Yes, just a... I tell you later."
"So, I'm giving you some privacy with your candidate."
Adam left the office and Lauren sat down on her desk, inviting Victoria to join her.
"So Victoria, can we get started?" Lauren asked.
When Lauren got home later than expected, she found her husband at the kitchen cooking the dinner. He left the office earlier to pick up the kids at school.
"How's my favorite chef?" She gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
"Good, how's my favorite wife?"
"Tired, got stuck in traffic."
Adam got her a glass of wine, she thanked him. Then he sat next to her on the table, looking upset.
"I tried to talk to him," he said.
"And?"
"He yelled, shut the door on my face and told me he hates me."
Lauren looked down and got silent for a moment.
"He's going to tell me what's going on, whether he want it or not."
"Oh, and apparently his two minions are helping him to keep the secret," Adam said, referring to David and Serenity. "Can't we just go back to the time when they fought over cartoons and threw Lego blocks on each other?"
Lauren smiled.
"That was way easier."
After dinner she went to Lucas' room, she knocked on the door and moments later she heard a "leave me alone" in the middle of rock music and a shooting game the boy played on his computer. She opened the door anyways.
"We need to talk."
She sat on his bed, waiting. Lucas kept ignoring her.
"Now, or I'm gonna change the WiFi password."
With a grouchy face, the boy dropped the joystick, turned off the music and sat next to her.
"What's going on, Luke?" Lauren inquired. "I saw the stuff you've been reading on my computer."
"Damn it, are you a spy or what?"
"Don't change the subject. When did it started?"
"Like 6 months ago but in the last few weeks it started to get physical." Lucas lowered his head and told his mother. "You know, last month they found those articles, they printed them and spread to the whole school. Now everybody makes fun of me, they say my father is a criminal."
"Luke, sweetie... this is not true, ok?" Lauren tried to comfort the boy. "Your father was innocent."
"Of course it's true, it's all over the internet!" He shouted, tears were rolling from his blue eyes. "He also cheated on you, the articles mentioned another woman. He helped her to become a millionaire with the confidential information he shared."
Lauren embraced the kid, he rested his head against her chest and she could feel he was sobbing.
"I'm gonna tell you everything, ok?" She said after kissing his forehead.
"Grounded, both of you," Adam asserted.
"But dad, Luke asked us to keep a secret," argued Serenity. "You have a brother too, you've done the same."
"No, I wouldn't. Your brother could be in serious danger, it's not like lying about your grades."
The little girl crossed her arms and observed him, annoyed.
"I'm sorry, dad," lamented David. "I thought I was helping him, he said he could solve it himself."
"I want you two to promise that you'll never hide something like that from us again, do you understand?"
Both of the kids nodded in agreement.
"Dad, is it true you were in prison?" David asked.
"Of course not, David," Serenity shouted. "Those idiots invented the articles."
"Yes, it's true," Adam said. "I think you guys are old enough now to know the truth."
"That's it, Luke," Lauren finished.
"Why were two getting divorced?" The boy still had a lot of questions.
"Every couple goes through some difficult periods, we had ours at that time."
"Was dad in prison when I was born?"
"Yes. Getting a low-income job was the first thing he did when he was out, then with his first paycheck he bought you a gift."
Lauren got up and picked a stuffed giraffe on his closet.
"Do you remember it?" She asked. "You wouldn't let it go for a minute."
The boy held the plushie and smiled.
She stroke his dark brown hair.
"Why didn't you tell me before, son?" Lauren questioned.
"I didn't want to disappoint you and dad."
"Disappoint? We're all so proud of you! You do know David only built that plane because he's trying to film you playing from another angle, right? You're his idol."
The boy agreed and they both laughed.
Adam was sitting on the couch watching TV when Lauren appeared behind him.
"How was it?" He asked.
"He's gonna be ok. How was with double trouble?"
"Grounded, no video games, tablets or TV for a month."
"I know you, Adam," she teased. "Tomorrow they'll look at you with their puppy dog eyes and everything will be fine."
"Of course you know, they inherited that look from you!"
Lauren laughed, she knew it was true.
"Did you told Luke everything?" Adam showed some concern.
"Oh, no," Lauren assured. "Don't worry about that."
"Dad?" Lucas came to the living room.
"Hey buddy, come here," Adam called.
The boy sat in the middle of his parents.
"There's something I need to tell you," he started. "I'm sorry, I don't hate you ok? You're the best dad in the world."
Adam hugged his son.
"That's ok. And Luke, tomorrow I'm going to your school and we're going to get those guys, they'll never bother you again."
Next evening when Lauren was leaving the office to go home, Adam was waiting for her with the kids.
"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" She asked.
"I talked to the school's principal and Luke's coach," Adam announced. "They said the boys will be properly punished if they bother him again."
"That's great."
"So, I thought we should pick you up at work and go somewhere to celebrate everything will be alright again."
Lauren squeezed him tight.
"Uhh, excuse me?" They heard. It was Kate Fox.
"What do you want now?" Lauren questioned.
"I wanna solve things between us, why don't you guys come to my house for dinner this weekend?" Kate invited.
"No," Adam quickly answered.
"We should go, Adam. If she wants to talk to you it'll be in my presence."
