He was surprised to see her. For once, she was on his turf, not the other way around. He wasn't exactly sure why she was here, but he smelled that she was up to something. Sharon wouldn't just pop in and watch one of his trials. Something was going on. His charm wasn't that good, and he'd heard that she was officially dating Flynn. What a shocker. He could have called that over a year ago, even as part of the demise of his marriage. Whatever. She was here, in his court today, and he had to admit he was surprised.
He couldn't show the surprise, though. He needed to play it cool. Whatever she wanted, he'd soon find out. She was direct, always had been. He'd seen her look better. The hair, it was stark and made her look void of any emotion, cold. It wasn't in its natural waves, looking sweet like she wore it often. Perhaps trouble in paradise? Perhaps her life wasn't so cheerful. Maybe it was for him. Whatever. He'd seen her look better. He didn't like her look today, but she wasn't his wife anymore. She'd made that clear.
He'd been dating around, but honestly, when hadn't he been dating around? He'd been dating for years, most recently, a young French thing, Colette. She was fun and teaching him French. Was it going anywhere? Nope. He was pretty certain of that, but she was fun now, while it lasted. Plus, in the meantime, he could irritate Sharon to no end, whenever he did speak to her, and throw in some of his newest vocabulary from Colette. Yes, he'd grown bitter towards her. It had taken awhile, but he had. He'd tried, and she'd divorced him and moved on. Even after promising to get better, which he currently was sober, she wasn't interested in even hearing from him. He'd tried. Fine. He could do bitter. He could do bitter well.
"Jack?" he heard her and turned, watching as she strolled up to him. Even with the strange hair, she was still his Sharon. She wasn't his, but he knew her, deep down, from decades ago. Some things, they never go away.
"Sharon," he'd greeted her a bit sternly, trying to find out what she wanted. She was cold, but so was he. It stung. She was dating another washed up drunk, and from what he'd heard from the kids, mainly Emily, the two were thick as thieves. Apparently, now, Flynn was even staying at the condo. Jack chuckled, thinking of all the nights he spent on the couch there. Enjoy that, Flynn. It's a hard couch. He was sure that she hadn't invited him into her bed; she was strict about that. Oh, he knew. He remembered. They had been young, but there hadn't been anyone else, just Jack. Jack knew that over the years, he'd played the field, but he didn't have a feeling Sharon had done so. No, she'd loved him to the bitter end, or so he told himself. Flynn, staying at the condo while he "recovered"-laughable. What kind of idiot jumps on a moving car? Emily had sounded worried and said the pictures were bad. Andy's face was bruised. Fine, maybe it improved it, in Jack's opinion. Oh, Sharon, using the accident as a way to move Flynn in, get closer to him. She just always had to be difficult. He was certain Flynn would go packing soon. Sharon was too cold to stay attached to for long. Flynn would find that out. After all the time he'd chased her, he'd get tired. That was part of Flynn's mantra-chase a woman and when he caught her, he toyed with her, and then he dumped her. Jack was a little more direct-sleep with them and move on, well, except for Sharon. She'd been his wife, his rock, even when he didn't want one.
He ignored her comments as he got on the elevator. Well, she could dish out trash, but so could he. He'd catch up with her later, deliver the evidence she wanted. He knew Flynn wouldn't be there, but he'd sort of hoped to see him, mess with him about the accident. He knew he'd rattled Sharon just a bit by bringing up Flynn when he got on the elevator, and her, "He's going to be just fine, thank you," comment-yeah, she didn't expect him to know all about it, know all about her personal life, but he did. Sweet Emily, she just couldn't keep things to herself. He always asked about Sharon, and Emily was willing to dish. She bought that he was actually worried about Sharon. Not anymore. Really, nowadays, he just wanted to know what she was doing in her life. Apparently, she was screwing it up even further by going down a rabbit hole with Andy Flynn. Sharon, what an idiot.
He had to admit the best payback came at the end of the case. Yes, he knew that he'd lost once again with Sharon. THAT was tough to swallow, especially with the whole team watching. Well, not quite the whole team. Flynn, Sharon's guard dog wasn't there, because of course, Jack had heard the latest, about the blood clot. Emily had called him, worried, wanting to pass along the information to Jack because she told him she thought he'd want to know. Yeah, he wanted to know all right. He wanted to know so he could use it against Sharon once again. She looked tired, rattled, and yes, he knew this case was part of it. But, knowing her like he did, he could see the worry, see the anguish, for Flynn. That idiot. She was worried about him, and if he had to be brutally honest, he could actually see she loved the guy. Wow. He knew that look, one of concerned love. She had used it with him years and years ago. He hadn't seen it recently. Most recently, she'd had looks of disgust, anguish, and disappointment, maybe even disgust. He hadn't seen that worried look of love since the start of their marriage, but he saw it now. Wow. She was in so deep she loved the washed up drunk. He almost couldn't imagine what that idiot thought of Sharon. Maybe he'd have to follow them again, like he'd done a year ago. Maybe he'd have to see just how deep these feelings went. Andy Flynn with his wife. He didn't know why he was surprised. He'd been watching things develop for a couple years now. He knew Sharon better than almost anyone. Almost. Maybe he had to admit Flynn knew her better now, but partly due to the fact Jack hadn't been around Sharon in years. Yes, he got her-bringing up the blood clot to the team. Clearly, they didn't know. It was priceless to watch everyone's reaction, and to make it even sweeter, he spilled the beans in front of Sharon's boss. Finally, a win for him, and even though he had been had by his client, fired by him, and betrayed, he took joy in this one victory. One victory over Sharon, well, it didn't happen often, but it was amazing.
Oh, he was sure he'd get an earful from the kids. He could play the victim, explaining to them how he was just expressing his concern. He couldn't help it if Sharon took it the wrong way or the team didn't know. Poor Andy Flynn. What a joke. That guy, he had no idea the mess he was getting with Sharon. Jack had seen it. He'd convinced himself for years he needed Sharon, and she needed him. Finally, he was seeing that Sharon had made things a mess for him. Well, Andy Flynn was about to get his own dose. Yes, poor Andy Flynn. Tres mal, he thought to himself. Yeah, really bad, he'd play along for the kids' sake, mainly Emily's sake, but right now, Jack Raydor had no love loss for Andy Flynn. What goes around comes around, and Andy Flynn was up next for a dose of cold-hearted Sharon Raydor.