A/N: Apologies for taking forever to update this. I have a pretty clear idea on where I want to go with it, but I've been somewhat distracted with writing my other fic "Honourable". It's also difficult to write. Anyhow, on with the chapter
Chapter 14: Gilded Cage
Alex
As long as I can remember, my life has been planned out for me.
The daughter of the wealthy well connected Cabot's, my parents had my life traced out for me before I'd even been born.
I was born around ten minutes after my twin brother, Alfred, or Alfie for short.
We shared a womb, we still share a birthday, and more than a passing resemblance, but in temperament, we are polar opposites.
He's always towed the line, comfortable in his position as heir apparent to the Cabot empire. He walked the path mapped out by our parents with ease, grace and without deviation.
You may think, as a second born, I'd be comparatively free from the obligations that come with a name of weight, but that was not the case.
I'm still a Cabot, and thus still subject to the same obligations. The difference is, I've always had the tug of rebellion in my heart.
My nanny used to say 'that girl has the devil in her'. Perhaps she wasn't wrong.
The leash that acted as a guide to my brother always seemed to tug suffocatingly against my neck, though I never completely shook it off.
My brother went to business school, whilst my parents grudgingly indulged my desire to opt for law school instead. After all, a career in politics or a partner in a big law firm were both positions befitting of a Cabot.
I remember when I took my job at the District Attorney's office. I was able to keep it a secret for around two months, and then my Uncle Barry saw me in court and called to congratulate my Father.
'A fucking civil servant Alexandra? Is that all you want to be?' he spat. My mother calmed him, placated him with promises that it was a good start, and that a woman of my intellect and education would quickly rise through the ranks. Surely District Attorney would be a great springboard into politics.
I went along with it, even if my passion lay in prosecution. It's always easier to keep Daddy happy.
When I returned from my absence, and then became EADA, my father, though no longer tempered by my dearly departed mother, was satisfied I was progressing sufficiently.
However, in the aftermath of what Olivia did, he was less so.
Alex liked to arrive early on Mondays. It gave her time to breathe before the deluge of weekend holdover work rushed in. As always, she took to her desk to find her answerphone light flickering ruby red.
As was her routine, she set her tall cappuccino on the desk, grabbed a pen and started played her messages, absently scribbling non-sensicle shapes on her notepad until something noteworthy came up.
The first message made her nearly stab the pen through the smooth velour paper.
"Miss Cabot, I want to see you in my office first thing Monday morning. Clear your diary." Branch barked gruffly.
She sat back in her chair, paused for a moment. Her boss never called her 'Miss Cabot' unless she was in trouble.
This could not be good.
She glanced at the clock. The red LEDs told her it was just after eight am. She had time, but rather than stew and worry, she pushed back from her desk, straightened her suit jacket and headed for Branch's office. No point in delaying the inevitable.
She found his door set slightly ajar, so she popped her head inside, finding the older man tense behind his desk, elbows set in V's, fists propping up his head.
"You wanted to see me?" She said nonchalantly, even as her stomach stirred with discord.
"Miss Cabot, please close the door and take a seat."
Alex wondered if her gulp was audible. Branch's brows were set in a deep furrow, and his normally affable manner had abandoned him. Reluctanly, she clicked the door shut and settled in the seat opposite him, hands knitted together to avoid fidgeting.
"Do you know why I wanted to see you this morning?" Branch rumbled.
"I'm afraid you've got me at a disadvantage," Alex said, attempting to sound cheery.
"I'll be brief," Branch said, "what you do in your private life is your own business, but it becomes my business when you cross professional boundaries. I'm sure you are aware of this office's policy on fraternisation."
"Sir, I really have no idea what you're talking about,"
"Don't play dumb Alexandra, I have heard from a very reliable source that you have become involved with a colleague, whom you are in a position of authority over, and from what I've heard, you've been in no way discreet about it."
Alex tensed, maintaining her poker face, "Sir, this office is a gossip mill, and half of it is completely unsubstantiated."
"On this matter, I'm inclined to believe otherwise," Branch said, "and I don't need to tell you how serious this matter is…"
"If you're going to fire me, I deserve to know who accused me of this."
"Oh, I'm not planning to fire you," Branch said, "HR would be on my case in ten seconds flat without direct evidence. However, I'm going to ask you to stand down as EADA and take up the now vacant White Collar docket."
"And if I refuse?" Alex said.
"Well, then I'll have to take matters further, investigate these rumours thoroughly. And then there will be consequences. Both for you, and the other party."
Alex squeezed her eyes shut. She knew exactly what he was implying.
Alex weighed up her options. She could call Branch on it, let him dig around. But even the implication, even if unproven, would be damaging to both their careers.
Or take the demotion, make up an excuse about missing the courtroom action, and move on, letting Casey get out scott free.
With a sigh, Alex said, "alright. I'll take the move to white collar."
As much as it stung, this was mostly Alex's fault. She couldn't let Casey get dragged down with her. She bore the brunt of responsibility. She'd seduced her innocent, naive report. It was her bullet to take.
"I'm glad to hear it," Branch nodded, "and don't get any ideas about calling up Daddy Cabot to fix this for you. I already spoke to him over the weekend. He's expecting you after six today."
Alex felt her heart sink.
"Thank you sir," Alex snapped out, before vacating the office as fast as she could without breaking into a jog.
You know your family is wealthy, Alex thought wryly, when your father tells you to meet him at home, and you have to call his butler to find out which one.
Thankfully, he was at what he called 'his little place in the city' which translated to his sizeable Manhattan townhouse. It shortened her journey time significantly.
Alex waited a few minutes before stabbing at the doorbell with her finger. Within a few seconds, a maid answered the door, no one she recognised, but her Dad did get through staff quickly.
"Hi, I'm Alex, I'm here to see my Dad," Alex said with a tight smile. The maid, wide eyed looked her up and down, and then glanced back over her shoulder. Her father loomed in the hallway, offering a single, curt nod. At that, the maid stepped back, allowing Alex inside.
She shuffled over to her father tentatively, greeting him with a "hey."
"Hey?" Her rather said, regarding her with a raised eyebrow.
"Hello Sir," Alex said, instinctively straightening her posture. Her father had many peculiarities, the least of which were being a stickler for proper, slang free language, and also an insistence that his children refer to him as 'Sir' when addressing him.
"Come through to my study please Alexandra," he said as he departed into said room. Alex followed, suddenly feeling ten years old again as she sat in one of his tall armchairs. The seat was set high enough that her feet didn't quite touch the ground. Perhaps that contributed to the regression she was experiencing. She idly swung her feet before her Father's glare told her she ought to stop.
" called me this weekend regarding your behaviour," he started as he ran his finger across the slender cylindrical cigars stationed on his desk, selecting one seemingly at random and placing it between his lips.
"It's all a big misunderstanding," Alex said.
"So you are not sleeping with one of your staff. Specifically, one of your female staff?" Her father said, lighting his cigar, the tip turning dark orange as he puffed.
Alex gripped the arms of the chair, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks, "I uh...no, of course not."
Her father exhaled a smoggy cloud of smoke, glancing up thoughtfully as the fumes rose to the ceiling, dissipating in the fan blades above, "you're blushing Alexandra. That means you're lying. Try again."
Alex stared down at her feet, turning the points of her heels inwards, offering a half assed shrug.
"Since you seem to have forgotten your words, let me put my cards on the table, I'm fully aware of your...inclination. Nonetheless, I'm very disappointed in your behaviour. Scandal such as this can ruin a political career before it has even begun," he said, his delivery flat and impassive as usual.
"I was…" Alex chewed over her words, still unable to meet his stare, "careless. It won't happen again."
"You are damn right it won't," her father said, "I have given you an awful lot of freedom to follow your little pet project, but you are a grown woman now. You need to start taking your responsibilities seriously."
"I certainly will," Alex said.
"Good. I've already spoken to Gus Lehmann. He's happy to take you on as a Junior Partner. You start next month."
Alex fumbled with her jacket sleeves, "thank you Sir, but I'm going to stay at the DA's office for now."
"Alexandra, this is not a request," her Father snapped, "look at your brother, he's the CFO of my property development business, and he's on the board of three other companies, he has a great family of his own. What have you done? Still living alone in Manhattan, scraping a living as a civil servant, engaging in trysts with your colleagues…"
Alex couldn't hold back any longer, "so what? You expect me to marry some uptight city slicker, work at a commercial law firm, pop out a couple of perfect little Cabot grandkids, is that what you want?"
"Yes, Alexandra, as a matter of fact it is," her father said, "the simple fact that you're still unmarried, and rarely attend functions leads to unbecoming gossip in our circles. If you had a career to speak of, perhaps I could defend your behaviour, but you don't. It's time to grow up. I spoke to Eric Olson. His son Sebastian is eligible, and very interested in meeting you."
Alex leaned back in the chair, covering her face with her hands, trying to suppress the growing anger welling up inside her chest, "I thought you said you 'know about my inclinations'"
Her father shrugged, "what you do behind closed doors is up to you, but your public image is a whole other story. Look at your cousin, Roderick. It's an open secret within the family that he prefers the company of men, but he married well, and he has three beautiful children."
Alex stood up, placing her hands down on her father's desk with a slap, "I am a grown woman, what gives you the right to tell me how I can live my life?" she snapped out.
Her father let out a deep sigh, tapping the loose ash on his cigar, "Alexandra sit down, you're making a scene."
Alex crossed her arms, "I'd prefer to stand."
"Fine. Stand. Not only did I give you life physically, but also I gave you everything in your life. I paid for you to go to the best schools in the country so you would have the best education money can buy. I also paid for your apartment and your car so you could live in relative comfort whilst you work for a pittance at the District Attorney's office to fulfil some noble dream of becoming a 'defender of the downtrodden'. I think that gives me some say in how you live your life."
"I'm grateful, really I am, for everything you've done for me, but I am a person. I'm not an investment," Alex said.
"Alexandra dear, children are an investment," he said, "this isn't up for discussion. I'll have my secretary send across the contract for 's firm, it's already been checked by my lawyers. I'll also have her liaise with Sebastian to find an appropriate date for your introduction. If you do not take up either of these offers, I will take that as an indication that you would like to sever your ties with this family. Go home. Think about it."
Alex couldn't help herself, "what would Mom say about this?" Alex immediately regretted her words. She sounded like a petulant child, playing one parent off the other.
"Your Mother spoiled you far too much," her father ground out, "and she is not here any more. Go home Alexandra, and take a long hard look at your life and what you want out of it."
Alex stormed out of the room before she said anything else she'd regret, with only one destination in mind.
A rapid staccato knock rattled the door of Olivia and Elliot's home.
"I'll get it," Elliot said, rising slowly to his feet from the living room sofa, his copious frame arcing out in a stretch, "you expecting anyone Liv?"
Olivia shook her head, "no, I hope it's no one from work. I was hoping we'd get at least one evening to ourselves."
Elliot grinned, "who else do we know?"
"Good point," Olivia said, flipping the channels idly.
Another knock came, urgent and loud, prompting Elliot to yell, "alright, coming!" as he peered through the peephole, before quickly swinging open the door.
"Hey Alex," Elliot said as he opened the door, allowing the blond inside. Olivia froze in place.
In a fit of anger, she'd driven to Arthur Branch's office, and calmly explained that she felt it was 'inappropriate' the Alex was rather openly carrying on with Casey, alleging that the whole squad was aware of their relationship.
That of course wasn't true, but something, a surging river of jealousy had clouded her mind. She hadn't thought far enough ahead to put any thought into how she would explain herself to Alex and Casey.
And now Alex was here and she needed to think fast. She just had to hope the other woman exercised a little more restrained than she had.
"Hi Elliot, can I come in?" She heard Alex say.
Please, please, please she thought, silently begging Alex not to declare her crimes in front of Elliot.