Prompt 7: Timing

Written By PBMAXCA

"I'm not late! The clock's wrong."

Hermione's day was not ending well. It hadn't started off well that day so she wasn't really surprised that it was ending up this way either.

She'd been in New York overnight for meetings that had run later than scheduled.

Strike one on her way to hitting a home run on this trip. Due to her meetings running late, she'd gotten caught in traffic when there had been a pile up on the freeway heading towards Newark Airport.

Strike two.

Next it was the "random" stop in Security for an extra check, as if she really looked like a terrorist in her business suit and high heels.

Ball one. A pitch slightly to the inside with a little curve.

When she finally had gotten through to where her gate was, she'd realized that she had enough time to stop and use the ladies room. That had turned out to be a disaster too. She'd used a broken sink and had gotten water sprayed all over her. Luckily she'd packed only an overnight bag so she'd pulled out a pair of jeans and had changed immediately.

Strike three.

It wasn't until she exited the restroom that she realized her plane had already pushed away from the gate.

You're out.

"I'm not late! The clock's wrong!" she repeated then realized moments later that the old fashioned wind up watch on her wrist had been wrong and the clock on the wall, the clock that the airline seemed to be following was right.

"Do I need to call security?" the woman at the counter quickly said.

Hermione nodded that it wouldn't be necessary then with a short huff and a sigh she moved towards a seat, trying to gain her composure before she tried to approach the desk again.

Normally she wouldn't worry too much about getting home to Los Angeles, in fact, she liked her visits to New York, but the next day she'd planned to spend the weekend with friends at Big Bear. It was supposed to be a real getaway and now it looked as if she'd be taking a later flight, getting her into Los Angeles later which meant that trying to leave that night was going to be hard due to traffic. They'd rented a cabin for the weekend and were supposed to spend a good forty eight hours together since both their schedules had been so hectic. Ritchie would be flying in from an assignment Miami and her from New York. The car had already been packed and was waiting for them at the airport.

Fifteen minutes after she'd been told she had no flight, she approached the counter again and asked to be rebooked. The only flight with space available was the redeye flight so reluctantly she took that flight and moved away from the counter again, this time in search of a little bit to eat and a place to park herself until the flight left a few hours later.

She found an open seat at a bistro table, ordered a sandwich and a coffee and pulled out her laptop knowing that she'd be able to get at least a little work done before her flight.

The parchment she landed on was a contract that they were working up with a librarian in the New York City Library who was going to float her a few Muggle books that students who would be studying Muggle Relations would use. She'd planned to review it on the plane, but being stuck gave her the perfect opportunity to do it sooner than later. Reading legal jargin wasn't the best way to spend most of a wasted Friday afternoon, but once she got into the deal points she found herself in a whole other world.

It wasn't until she'd heard a laugh near her that she turned her eyes from the screen in front of her. She didn't really know why that certain laugh caught her attention, but she was completely amazed when her eyes focused on the woman across the walkway, and even more amazed at the man that she was with.

Frozen with fear, pain, and those ever-present words of Ron's in her mind about how Ritchie needed to love her beyond the moon and the stars, she closed her laptop, tucked her chin to her chest and turned her back on her husband and the woman he was so clearly interested in. This wasn't a case of misinterpretation or mistaken identity. It was him, he was flirting, and with one quick phone call it would all be over.

The number of her office appeared on the screen of her cell phone.

She dialed the number and waited for the operator. Without missing a beat she told the receptionist, "Please transfer me to Jack Carrington's office."

The receptionist did as she was told and a moment later Hermione was on the phone with Jack's assistant. "Laura. I need to ask a huge favor. I need Jack to draft up some divorce papers for me."

"Divorce?" Laura seemed clearly shocked at the request.

"Yes," she said, "I'll tell you all the gritty details later if you promise me to have him write up the paperwork as soon as possible and have them left in my office as soon as he's done with them."

"I don't need to know what's going on," Laura said sympathically.

"Is it--?"

Hermione took a deep breath as the shock of what had just happened was starting to fade away and the panic stage of her grief was sinking in. "It's Ritchie and I."

"I'm so sorry Hermione."

"Thanks Laura," she said wishing that she was still in touch with Ron. This would have been a perfect opportunity to call him. He could schedule her a portkey home if he wanted to, hell she could go and visit her parents in London if she wanted to.

Instead she took a deep breath and continued her conversation with Laura, "Please don't announce this around to anyone just yet. I'll let everyone know on Monday. Timing is important on this one though Laura so please make sure that it gets done."

No other words were needed.

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