2. Love Ballad, continued

AN: Thank you for reviewing Love Ballad. And yes, this is a different Richonne story. I'm sorry if that was not clear but each song is actually a different story. As a result, you will see them in different roles.

THEN, Part II

Michonne

I was about to meet the legendary Rick Grimes who barked at me as though I did something wrong when all I did was my fucking job. His mercurial temperament was well known on the litigation floor but he had another thing coming if he thought he could talk to me the way he did and get away with it.

I gathered the two files, which required his immediate attention and placed them on my desk and then sat for another ten minutes texting my best friend and colleague, Aaron on the twelfth floor. I was not impressed being banished to the fourth floor to work for a week but my name was the first one out of the hat. It was just my luck.

...

Michonne: Can you believe it? He just barked at me summoning me to his office as if I didn't try to meet with him yesterday.

Aaron: Honey, don't fret. You got this. You're a Goddess. Does he not know that you descended from Olympus to save his mortal ass? He'll love you, how could he not? Life on high is not the same without you.

Michonne: Luv you too, hon. I miss you both. It's going to be one hell of a four days in exile.

Aaron: Let's do drinks later.

Michonne: The usual?

Aaron: No. The Sidebar on Elgin. It's new—just opened last week.

Michonne: Seriously, Aaron? Don't we spend enough time with them already?

Aaron: Hon, it's drinks, not a commitment. And you should talk, it won't be long before you join the ranks.

Michonne: Touché! I have to go now, I think I've kept him waiting long enough.

Aaron: Remember, you're a Goddess. He should consider himself lucky to have. XO

Michonne: You're the best! XO

...

I stepped off the elevator and turned right. His office was located on the next right. It was a corner office but smaller than the ones on the twelfth floor. He was the senior litigator who sometimes acted as the litigation manager whenever Mr. King was absent, so his office space went with his position.

I knew of his temperament and from what I heard his regular paralegal, Lori Walker got herself knocked up but apart from that, she was the only one who would tolerate his mood swings. I had no intention of being bullied nor harassed by this man so I straightened my posture and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" he commanded from behind the closed door.

I let myself in and closed the door behind me and waited because his type needed to feel like they had control but only as much control as I would allow him.

When his head popped up from behind the monitor, to my surprise, he was more handsome in person than I expected. He had short brown curls on the top with faded sides and back. His forehead had three although faint still noticeable crease lines and his chiselled features were framed by short white scruff which accentuated a sexy pink bottom lip. He was definitely a good-looking man for his age. I finally understood the hype as to why both Aaron and Sasha were going all gaga over this man.

Involuntarily, I moistened my bottom lip and he removed his thick-framed black reading glasses and set them on the desk revealing the sexiest sky-blue eyes.

"Please. Sit, Ms. Monière," he commanded indicating the chair in front of his desk. I sat down, crossed my legs and placed the files on my lap while he just stared at me. I swear if I didn't know better, I would say he was in some sort of trance. It made me uncomfortable so I cleared my throat and called his name.

When he finally came to his senses, we discussed the two files and the status of his office which as far as I was concerned, was in a state of shambles. He seemed indifferent either way, seemingly content to let HR fix their mess. It was his problem, not mine. My only intent was to leave the mess in better shape than I found it so the next person could function and keep him on track. One week was my penance and as I sat in his office there were three days left in purgatory.

After several minutes of back and forth discussions, I left his office and returned to my personal hell on the fourth floor.

...

Three days later…

Somehow, by the grace of God, we managed to stay out of each other's way for three days well almost. It was easy since he spent a day in court and by Wednesday morning, I had drafted two statement of claims, one motion and prepared two document lists for disclosure on two of his upcoming files. By the end of the week, his files were up to date and I was relieved to be going back to the fishbowl on high.

On Friday morning, however, I was busy and when I returned from the copy room with my hands filled with binders that I prepare for the senior partners meeting, I found him lurking in my cubicle. I had no clue as to how long he was there nor did I care. I had my work phone with me at all times and neither he nor Beth tried to reach me. There was also a note on the whiteboard next to my cubicle indicating where I was but he chose not to find me or call.

Being the bigger person that I am, I called to him and he turned to face me.

"Rick, did you need something?"

"Not really, you didn't check-in today. I was on my way to lunch and just wanted to make sure everything's okay."

I cast my eyes over his shoulder to the clocks on the wall and noticed it was only eleven-thirty but he was on his way to lunch. Litigation must have a different set of standards than the twelfth floor, I thought. "I was busy with my other duties but if you have a few minutes, we could discuss what I've done so far.

"Sure."

It wasn't lost on me that our conversation in the middle of the office was disruptive to the others, who due to the renovations were clumped together in the cramped space like sardines. The place was unlike the bright spacious bullpen I was accustomed to on the twelfth floor. Naturally, he didn't seem to notice a thing standing there in his Friday casuals looking as lost as ever in his grey sports jacket with a beige button-down shirt, charcoal jeans and brown leather chukka boots.

Meanwhile, I stood there laden with the binders in my arms with him standing between me and my workspace staring at me never once offering to assist me in any way.

I signalled him with a nod to move out of my way but his piercing grey-blue eyes bore into me as if he couldn't comprehend my impatience. "Fine. Let me grab my notebook and I'll meet you in conference room C." I added exasperated by his impertinence.

Finally, he caught on and side-stepped out of the confined space but as he did so, he stepped into the narrow aisle and was so close to me I got a lung full of his scent. I then twisted to the left to avoid any personal contact with him whatsoever. As a result, half a dozen of the binders crashed to the floor. Within seconds, Noah, the young man who sat across from me scrambled to his feet and was on his knees retrieving them for me as I placed the remaining binders on top of my desk.

"Here, Chonne," Noah added, passing the binders to me.

"Thank you, Noah, that's so nice of you to do that."

Naturally, a simple thank you would have sufficed of course but I wanted the oaf standing there like a spectator to know, that's something he should have done. Instead, he stood there mere feet away from the mess he caused and simply look from Noah back to me then added, "Very well then," and walked away. What the hell was wrong with him anyway? I thought as I locked the binders away in the cabinet they installed temporarily for my corporate work.

In my peripheral vision, I caught movement down the hallway but as I turned to investigate further, I realized he actually paused momentarily before turning the corner and looked back.

...

That afternoon, just after lunch, I was summoned to HR on the second floor. I was shown to Ms. Harrison's office, my boss Philip's main squeeze at the office. I qualified that because he has many others and they were all blissfully ignorant because my best friend Sasha, Philip's trusted executive assistant, lies to them on a regular basis. She also kept track of anniversary dates, birthdays and such and sent them gifts accordingly. Naturally, Sasha enlisted Aaron and me to help her shop for these fools who thought Philip's marriage was on the verge of clasping which couldn't be farther from the truth. Philip's wife, Deanna Munroe didn't care; she too had her own lovers too, but their money came from the Munroe empire, so he wasn't about to kill his golden goose.

"Hi, Michonne. Please take a seat," the pretentious botoxed woman instructed me pointing towards the empty chair in front of her desk.

I wasn't nervous. I hadn't done anything wrong that I know of so I sat down and waited to hear her out.

"First of all, on behalf of the firm, I want to thank you for pitching in and turning Mr. Grimes' office around."

"I was just doing my job, ma'am," because you fucked up but the boss won't fire you, I thought and gave her a sweet smile.

"Well, it didn't go unnoticed. You did an amazing job and as a result, Mr. Grimes has asked that you remain on his desk for the next six months until you leave for law school."

I could not believe my ears. This couldn't be. She must have noticed the shock on my face because I heard her calling my name.

"Michonne, is everything okay?"

"Sorry." I cleared my throat, "Yes, ma'am."

"I was asking whether you would consider enrolling at OttawaU instead of relocating to Montreal?"

Omg, that bastard. He went behind my back to Philip and brokered a deal to keep me downstairs. Philip, however, didn't need much prodding either since he was upset that I accepted an out-of-province school after learning I was also accepted at both Ryerson and OttawaU. Right then and there, I felt like telling the botoxed simpleton before me about the bevy of women Philip kept on the side. Instead, I smiled because it seemed Mr. Grimes wanted to flex his superiority and put me in my place. The minute I got what I wanted I would fix him for doing what he did.

"If I continue to work on Mr. Grimes' desk, what's in it for me since Mr. Blake will no doubt also expect me to carry on with my corporate duties as I've done all week?"

"I will speak with Mr. Blake to have your duties temporarily reassigned to Mr. Ross."

I smiled because my workload would have to be redistributed between the three remaining paralegals in corporate and I knew there was no way in hell Philip Blake would deal with three different people. As managing partner, he had his own paralegal while the other named partners shared paralegals. Philip was high maintenance and I knew Aaron would quit on principle alone because he preferred dealing with any other partner than Philip. I kept Philip inline workwise and Sasha managed his other shit and between the two of us, he had structure. He needed that.

"You do that," I told the simpleton because I knew something she didn't. "But just in case, here are my terms. I will continue to work on Mr. Grimes desk for the next six months while fulfilling my corporate obligations and for that, I want a ten percent increase in pay, an office on the ninth floor to facilitate movement between both offices whenever I have to report to Mr. Blake's office and I want my own assistant."

Ms. Harrison's botoxed forehead threatened to crack as her big blue eyes widened in shock. She no doubt thought I was full of myself but that was her opinion. I would get what I want just not on my back.

"I will speak with Mr. Blake and see what we can do to accommodate you."

"And if Mr. Blake truly wants me to attend school here, the firm will have to pay for my tuition."

"I will also have to discuss this with Mr. Blake but you should prepare yourself for little to no accommodation at all because there is a pool of paralegals who would jump at this opportunity of a lifetime."

"That may be so, but none did. Perhaps, you should dig a little deeper into why that is."

"Anything else?" she asked dismissively as if it wasn't common knowledge just what went on in litigation.

"Once I start classes, naturally, we'll have to re-negotiate my workload to accommodate my schedule."

"That sounds reasonable. If there's nothing else—" she added signalling the end of the meeting.

"No, ma'am, that's it for now."

"Very well then, I will let you know the outcome sometime next week once I've had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Blake."

"Thank you, ma'am," I added and excited her office.

...

On my way to the elevator, I sent Aaron a text to see what the hell went down behind my back. I felt like a damn fool. I never saw it coming. This morning when we met to discuss his files, Rick gave me no inkling he had something up his sleeve. After discussing the status of his files, he seemed pleasantly surprised at the amount of work I accomplished in a week with little to no guidance from him. He thanked me and as I left the conference room, this time, he remained seated which was a huge relief because I was certain that neither of us wanted a recurrence of the awkwardness that happened the first day when we shook hands prior to leaving his office. It was a fleeting moment but there was definitely an electrical surge between us when his huge hand enveloped mine. I also recalled the predatorial look in his eyes as he moistened that sexy pouty bottom lip of his. Then there was the recent awkwardness at my desk earlier today. I won't deny that a part of me was slightly tempted but right now, I just wanted to kill him. How dare he?

...

Michonne: Did you know? Did Sash know?

Aaron: Know what, sweetie?

Michonne: He went to Philip and got me re-assigned to his damn desk for the next six months.

Aaron: He never came to the twelfth floor. You know Sash would never keep that from you. I told you he'd fall hard for you. He's a mortal—how could he resist you? You're a Goddess. He could do it— I'm sure he wouldn't say no.

Michonne: I never should have told you shit.

Aaron: You could not have kept that to yourself? You're lucky, you get to work up close and personal with the one guy in litigation who isn't a slut."

Michonne: I don't want to fuck him nor do I want to work for him. If you like him so much, why don't you tell HR that you want to work for him?

Aaron: I would if there was the slightest chance I could turn him. ;?) Who the hell wants to work with all that sexiness when there's no chance in hell to get even a piece of it?

Michonne: You do know that's not the point, right? If you can't turn him, perhaps you could offer Walsh a first.

Aaron: Sweetie, even I have standards—Walsh is a HO!

Michonne: Lol. But the girls with daddy issues seem to love him.

Aaron: We're talking about you and your new sexy bow-legged boss. You know, six months is an awfully long time, anything could happen between now and then. Plus, I heard the litigation file room gets quite a bit of action. :-).

Michonne: I can't deal with you right now. Bye!

Aaron: You'll get over it once you have gotten under him or on top of him. You're both alphas so either way it will be explosive.

...

I ignored the last text. Naturally, I made the mistake of confiding what happened between Rick and me that day to my besties Sasha and Aaron and they both had a bet as to whether or not we would do the deed especially given I was only going to be working for him for a week or four days since he blew me off the first day. So, with him going behind my back and extending the timeline meant they were both happy since it gave them six months more to cash in on any weaknesses either of us may have that would lead to the desired outcome.

The elevator doors opened and I got on. I arrived on the ninth and beelined for his office but he was M.I.A. I guess his lunch ran longer than most. I then located Beth who was busy gossiping with Enid another PA and asked as to his whereabouts to learn that he had left for the day. The bastard knew I would definitely confront him after my meeting with HR so he booked the afternoon off.

As I turned to leave, I received a notification. It was Sasha.

Sasha: WTF? Was he that good that you would want to stay downstairs? That filing room must be something else.

Michonne: I just came from HR where Botoxed informed me that Philip okayed his request to keep me on his desk for the next six months.

Sasha: How did it go down? Did you? Did he? Was it a lunchtime quickie? Was it up against the shelves or bent over a table?

Michonne: Omg, Sash. The imagination between you two is off the charts. I'd like to think it'll be less dramatic than that but certainly not with him. I guess I was too damn good at my job so he decided to keep me on until that Lori chick gets back.

Sasha: So, we were right, he wants you. How do you feel about that?

Michonne: Naturally, I'm pissed at him. I came to talk to him but he had already booked the afternoon off because he knew damn well I would confront him about his shady ass dealings. Philip's just as bad too but we know he's all about winning at any cost, so I countered with terms of my own.

Sasha: That explains why Botoxed is in his office now and she is PISSED.

The offices on the twelfth floor were all glass. It was like living in a fishbowl. At first, I didn't like the concept but eventually, it grew on me to the point I no longer noticed it at all.

Michonne: Are you listening to them?

Sasha: Yeah. At first, I thought it was because he cancelled their weekend plans but when she whipped out a legal pad, I knew it wasn't all personal but I missed the first part. By the time I started listening, I heard the list of things she says you're asking for and she's pissed that Philip is even considering giving you what you want. Botoxed told him he should ship you off to litigation or real estate and after a period of time when things cool down, he should let you go. Philip dug in. He said you're not going anywhere so Botoxed is even more pissed than when she came upstairs. She said giving in to your demands is a bad precedent for others then she asked Philip if he was fucking you.

Michonne: She didn't.

Sasha: As God is my witness, girl, that bitch just asked him that and he is pissed.

Michonne: It doesn't surprise me, you should have seen her face as I was dictating my demands. Since she asked him that, she knows or at least suspects there are others.

Sasha: A woman always knows.

Michonne: I'm going back to the fourth and I'm leaving once I've locked up everything. Do you feel like meeting up later?

Sasha: Sure, hon. I won't be too much longer because Philip's grabbing his coat. Oh, shit, Philip just told her he's got wifey duties tonight but I know for a fact Deanna's out of town and he's going to their chalet in Deux Montagnes with the young blonde articling student, Sophia.

Michonne: He certainly moves fast, no wonder litigation is the mess it is. Are we doing drinks or dinner?

Sasha: It's Friday, let's let our hair down. You need it especially after that curveball with no dick from that Dick. XO

Michonne: Not you too. Later. XO

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