New code: * * * * * means a setting change and ( ( ( ( ( means point
of view change. Okay? Sorry about the lack of updates. But now that
finals are over (thank God!) I WILL update once a week. Keep the reviews
coming! The story's taking a new direction I didn't think I'd want it to
take, but now I rather like it. But don't worry, it's still a Helen/Bobby
fic.
* * * * *
"And I said, honey, buy your own damn Porsche."
Helen laughed hysterically, trying to keep from spitting out her coffee.
"So, wait, let me guess," Helen began, after regaining her composure, "Your third marriage went just as smoothly as the first two."
Pat chuckled. "My third was the worst. Here I am thinking 'third time's a charm'! Yeah right! The sweet, loving girl I married did a complete 180 after the wedding ceremony. She sucked up all of my money on plastic surgery, clothes, jewelry, etcetera. She came up with this agreement that we would only speak when in the public's eye and that we would purposely avoid each other in our own house, except when she needed to access more money."
"Lovely," Helen remarked sarcastically, tossing a fry into her mouth.
Pat rolled his eyes. "You have no idea," he remarked shaking his head. "But, I'm actually more curious as to why you were crying. Lose a case?"
Helen sighed. "Work doesn't mean that much to me," she insisted.
Pat cocked an eyebrow.
"Okay, at times it does," Helen admitted. "But the last case I lost was a carjacking case, and those normally don't get me too worked up."
Pat smiled. "So then why were you crying? And don't give me that line about the sun in your eyes again."
"You know.dating problems," Helen said.
"Really?" Pat asked intrigued. "Any special guy?"
"No, not really," Helen lied.
"Well for someone to make you this upset, he had to have meant a lot to you."
"Listen, I really don't want to get into this right now," Helen remarked.
"Okay, fine," Pat said, raising his hands up in surrender. "Let me know if you want to though.it will do you some good to talk about it."
"Thanks," Helen said, flashing him a sincere smile. It was good to be able to talk to someone who wouldn't judge her. "So are you working on wife number four?" Helen teased. He laughed heartily at her little joke. If he had been anyone else, he would have been offended by her harsh comment, but Pat knew Helen and her cynicism was the one thing he loved the most about her.
"No, no. Not just yet anyway. I'm beginning to think that marriage is completely overrated." Pat shook his head. "Even if I found someone, it would be a long time before I even considered the possibility of marriage."
"Well, wounds like that are hard to heal," Helen agreed. She took another sip of her coffee, finishing it off. "So you never did tell me. What brings you to Boston?"
"Well, I've been in Manhattan ever since law school, and I just figured it was time for a change. That meeting I was on my way to was actually a job interview."
"Oh, God, I'm sorry!" Helen remarked, staring at Pat with shock. "You blew off an interview to talk to me?"
"Oh, they'll forgive me," he said, flashing her his charming smile. "Plus, I don't really want to work at Clarkson and Newman anyway."
"They're crappy lawyers," Helen admitted.
"So I've been told," Pat agreed. "Their track record's not all that impressive. Besides, the place I'd really like to work won't interview me until Monday."
"Oh really?" Helen asked. "Where at?"
"It's a small law firm, but they have a great track record, and despite being the underdogs, they've beaten huge corporations like the tobacco company."
Uh oh, Helen thought. This law firm is sounding pretty familiar.
"It's uh, Donnell, Young, and Frutt," Pat replied, confirming Helen's suspicion. "I'm sure you've heard of them."
"Yes, I've gone up against them quite a number of times. They're really good," Helen replied. "Oh, and you remember Lindsay Dole from college don't you?" Pat nodded. "Well, she works there. She's the one who won against the tobacco company. The others just take credit for it. Actually, she's become quite the drug lawyer."
"Really?" Pat asked, surprised. "Are we talking about the same Lindsay?"
Helen laughed. "Yeah, Lindsay's changed. Not a lot, but she's definitely not as naïve as she used to be. I personally think that law firm's tainted her."
Pat grinned. "So how has Lindsay been? I haven't heard from her in years."
"Good, good," Helen said nodding. "Work's good for her and she's still as pretty as ever. We're still really close, despite a few obstacles life's thrown in the mix. We said we'd always be best friends and we still are."
"That's great," Pat smiled. "Is she married to Chris? I know they were really close in law school."
Helen laughed. "No, no, no. I would have killed her if she married him."
"Why what happened?" Pat asked, suddenly concerned.
"Well, Chris isn't exactly the saint we all thought he was. He works for the district attorney's office, like me, but he's become extremely corrupted, taking bribes and such. Not only that, but he basically raped Lindsay." Pat's eyes grew wide with fear. Helen nodded. "He slipped that new date-rape drug in her drink and they had sex. She scared the piss out of him though."
"Lindsay got revenge?" Pat asked shocked. He shot Helen a knowing look.
Helen laughed. "Okay, okay, so the shooting was all my idea." Pat looked shocked. "He wasn't really shot. Lindsay brought an unloaded gun into his office and scared him to death. She threatened to kill him for what he did to her. Then she fired the gun. She swears he peed himself."
Pat laughed. "Leave it to you to think of that," he remarked.
"Hey, the guy deserved it!"
Pat grinned and shook his head. "So Lindsay's not married?"
"Nope."
"That's a surprise," Pat replied. "She always was a romantic."
"She still is," Helen replied. "She just doesn't romanticize the idea of relationships and love as much as she used to, because she's beginning to realize that they're not always perfect. But she's still a romantic at heart."
"You two always were an unlikely pair," Pat agreed. "You and Lindsay. You'd spend your nights chasing men and using them for all they were worth and Lindsay would search the entire city looking for the one. She was always so sweet and innocent, and you were."
"Malicious and hostile?" she suggested. "Heinous bitch?"
"Completely insane," Pat laughed.
"Well, we've both grown up since then. True Lindsay's still more sweet and innocent then most, and I'm still the relentless ice queen, but we've gotten better with our bad qualities. However, I still am completely insane," she remarked. "Even more so actually."
Pat laughed solidly. "Well, some things never change."
"No they don't," Helen smiled as a pager went off.
"Sorry," Pat apologized, reading his message. He groaned.
"And that would be?" Helen asked.
"My niece," Pat remarked.
"Your brother has kids?" Helen asked. Pat's older brother Mark didn't seem like a family oriented type of guy.
"No, no, Mark's in Europe somewhere probably going sex crazy, but never thinking twice about knocking people up." Helen shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Pat winced. "Sorry.I forgot that."
"It's fine," Helen replied. "So it's Tracy's daughter then?"
"Yes, my lunatic sister."
"Hey now, don't make fun of crazy people!" Helen teased.
Pat grinned. "But you're crazy in a good way and she's crazy in a bad way. There's a huge difference."
Helen rolled her eyes. "And the world makes sense yet again!"
"Yeah, well, she's living with her piece of trash boyfriend and I have to go rescue her kids."
"Aw, aren't you the sweet uncle," Helen gushed. "How many kids."
"Two. Dani and Charylie."
"Two boys?"
"Girls actually," Pat grinned. "Dani's short for Danielle and Charylie's real name is Charlotte. How she acquired that nickname I'm not short, but it's what everyone calls her. Dani's seven and Charylie's thirteen."
"Where's their father?" Helen asked.
Pat shrugged. "Who the hell knows? It's actually better that they don't know him, as horrible as he sounds. He's a screw-up, a real asshole. He'd just make their lives worse then they already are."
"That's sad though, growing up without a father," Helen replied. She knew first-hand how tough that could be.
"But look at you," Pat said, trying to cheer her up. "You grew up without your dad and you couldn't have turned out better."
"Thanks," Helen said, blushing slightly.
"Well, sorry to cut this short, but I have to go pick up the kids. There's no way I can stand to let them live in that trailer park. It's no place for a kid to have to grow up."
Helen nodded sadly. "So I take it you're a big part of their lives?"
Pat nodded. "Yeah. I'm trying to gain custody of them actually."
"Really?" Helen wasn't the least bit surprised. Pat loved children and hated when they were abused or neglected. He was such a sweet, warm person.
"Yeah. The court doesn't want to turn them over to me unless the girls testify. I don't want to put them through that, but I also can't let them live the rest of their lives the way the do."
"Well, I hope everything works out for you," Helen said, grabbing the check from the waiter. "And for them."
"Thanks, I hope so too. So I should be seeing more of you now that I'm in Boston right?"
Helen nodded. "Of course." She scribbled down her phone number on a napkin. "Let me know how your interview goes."
"I will do," he smiled. "Hey, wait! I'm the man, I pay for the bill," he insisted.
Helen shook her head, fishing some money out of her purse. "Not in my world. Guys paying all the time is such an old cliché. And if you remember anything about me, you know how much I hate clichés. Lindsay's the cliché one."
Pat laughed. "How soon I forget."
* * * * * The next day * * * * *
"Helen!" Lindsay cried out gratefully, running up to her and giving her a hug. "Oh, my God, where have you been?"
"Chill, babe, I'm fine," Helen insisted, shutting the front door to their new apartment. "I went out to clear my head. I ran into Pat Williams. Remember him from high school?" Lindsay nodded. "We went out for lunch, and then I went into the office for a little bit."
"On a Saturday?" Lindsay asked incredulously.
"I had to pick up some paperwork," Helen explained. "Anyway, I ran into Mike Maguire there, and we went out for dinner. He's upset about his girlfriend Chloe. You remember her right?"
Lindsay nodded. "Tall, thin, green eyes, perfect blonde curls. She's the type of girl who drove us crazy in college remember?"
Helen laughed. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, Chloe's mother's really sick and she's in the hospital. So I stayed and talked to Mike and we crashed at his place. He was too tired to drive me home and I was too drunk to drive myself."
"Reminds me of college," Lindsay replied dramatically.
"Oh shut up and stop reminiscing!" Helen teased.
"So," Lindsay said, sitting down to a cup of coffee. "Have you?" she raised her eyebrows.
"Have I?" Helen repeated.
"You know," Lindsay said, sipping her coffee.
"I do?" Helen asked.
Lindsay sighed. Helen sure could make things difficult sometimes! "Have you talked to Bobby?"
"Oh, no," Helen said flatly. She had been doing all she could to forget about him.
"You should," Lindsay said. "He called about thirty times last night asking if I heard from you. He's really upset Hel. I think you should try talking to him."
"Linds, please don't do this to me. I don't want to talk to him right now. When I am ready to talk to him, I will. But don't push me."
Lindsay sighed. "Okay, babe, I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Helen relaxed. Hopefully this whole Bobby thing would blow over quickly. That would make it much easier for her to move on. She turned back to Lindsay who was flipping through the Sunday paper aimlessly. Helen's face softened. Lindsay must have been under much more stress than she realized. This whole Bobby thing certainly had to have taken a toll on her. She should have been more considerate to her friend's feelings.
"Hey, I have a crazy idea," Helen grinned, plopping down next to Lindsay.
"Oh dear God," Lindsay remarked in her best David Hasslehoff impersonation. "Last time you had a crazy idea, we woke up naked in Jerry Hresko's apartment."
Helen laughed. "Fine, fine, we just won't go shopping then."
Lindsay eyes lit up. "Shopping?" she asked.
Helen nodded. "Well, I need a few new business suits and I'm sure you do too. But Linds, you're not allowed to buy one gray or tan one. Try maroon or navy. They're much better than your same boring, old gray ones."
"Right, as opposed to the lady in black?" Lindsay teased.
Helen stuck out her tongue. "That's exactly why I need to go shopping!"
Lindsay grinned and slipped on a pair of sandals. "Let's go, before you talk me into going to a strip club."
"Well, actually, after we were done shopping, I thought." Helen began. Lindsay shot her a look and slapped her playfully on the arm. Helen laughed and led the way out the door.
* * * * * The following day at DY&F * * * * *
"Okay, so who's interviewing this guy?" Ellenor asked.
"From his resume, I don't even think he needs to be interviewed," Lucy remarked. "Let's just hire him."
Rebecca rolled her eyes. "She just likes him because he's hot."
"Do not!" Lucy remarked. "I'm not that shallow."
"I think Eugene should interview him," Bobby suggested. "He won't go easy on him or hire him immediately just because of his looks." Bobby caught Lucy's eye and she blushed slightly.
"I didn't know we were hiring," Lindsay said, hanging up the phone.
Bobby nodded. "Well, we don't desperately need the help, but this guy's really good. Plus, you, El, Eugene, and I have been taking on more than we can handle. It's a help with Jimmy and now with Rebecca as a lawyer, but one more lawyer would be extremely beneficial."
"Bobby, I can't interview him," Eugene remarked. "I have opening arguments on the Mattel trial."
Bobby sighed. "Well, El and I have an appeal and it looks much more convincing when both attorneys are there. Jimmy's at the scene of a drug bust and I'm not sure when he'll be back. And Beck's meeting with Helen Gamble on the Springfield case." Bobby's voice shook a bit at the mention of Helen's name. She hadn't talked to him since Saturday and he couldn't blame her. But still, if she decided to come to her senses and speak with him, then and only then, he'd explain everything. Until then, he wasn't going to pine after her.
"I'll interview him!" Lucy volunteered, eager to be alone in the room with such a tasty dish.
"No!" Bobby, Eugene, Rebecca, and Ellenor shouted at the same time.
"Fine!" Lucy huffed.
Bobby turned to Linds.
"No way Bobby, I have a meeting with my client!" she replied. Bobby shot her a pleading look. "No," she said firmly.
"Linds, he'll be here in twenty minutes. Can't you just delay your meeting an hour? It won't take long to just talk to the guy," Bobby said.
Lindsay groaned.
Lucy looked at her. "I could always interview him and make your life easier."
Lindsay looked around at Bobby, Eugene, Rebecca, Ellenor, and finally Lucy's eager face. She didn't want to cancel on her client, but there was no way in hell she would let Lucy scare off a potential employee. Besides, her client was a drug-dealing addict who didn't even deserve a trial. "All right," she relented. "But you guys owe me big time!"
"Dinner at McCall's?" Ellenor suggested. "The whole office, my treat. We'll even bring the new guy if he gets hired."
Lucy's eyes grew big and Rebecca laughed. "You can come too, Luce," she said.
Lucy grinned and went back to researching Rebecca's murder case. Bobby's cell phone rang and he quickly answered it. Eugene waved to everyone and rushed out the door. Ellenor sat down at her desk, shaking her foot impatiently waiting for Bobby to finish.
"Okay," Beck replied, grabbing her coat. "I better hurry or I'll be late. I wouldn't want to anger Helen anymore than she already is."
"What's she swollen about now?" Lindsay joked.
"The judge held her in contempt," Rebecca replied. "It was kind of stupid if you ask me. She was only proving a point. But we all know how loony Swackheim is. He threw her in jail without so much as a warning. It wasn't really fair, but hey, it helped me, so I didn't complain."
Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Well, if she needs to be cheered up, tell her she was right about this suit. I've gotten a lot of compliments on it." Lindsay was wearing a cream-colored business suit, with a skirt a little shorter than she usually wore. The buttons were real pearls and the suit was tailored perfectly to her figure. It was extremely stunning and Lindsay knew she looked stunning in it.
Rebecca laughed. "Did you two go shopping yesterday? I noticed she had a new suit on, too."
Lindsay nodded. "I've been in a bit of a funk lately, so she took me out to cheer me up. She's a really good friend," she added.
Beck smiled. "I'll be sure to tell her that," she grinned. With that, she slipped her plaid jacket on, quickly fastening the buttons and hurried out the door.
"All right, El, you ready?" Bobby asked, hanging up the phone. " Sorry, that was Patrick, our potential new lawyer. He said that he got here earlier than expected and would it be okay if he came up in about ten minutes."
Lindsay nodded. "Yeah, that's fine."
"Good, because I told him it would be," Bobby replied, flashing Lindsay a soft smile. "Let's go El," he said turning to her. He looked shocked. "Why are you sitting?! God, you take forever! We're going to be late!"
Ellenor slapped his chest as she stood up and he nearly ran a mach eight out the door. She turned to Lindsay and Lucy. "And they say men don't PMS!"
* * * * * The DA's office * * * * *
"Sorry I'm late!" Beck called, rushing into Helen's office. Her thick curls were windswept and her stylish black hat nearly flew off her head. "There was a huge debate over who would interview a new lawyer we're hoping to hire, and then I was almost hit by a taxi on the way over here. Those damn cabbies don't know how to drive! DMV should revoke their licenses! As soon as this trial's over, I'm going to sue each and every one of them and." Rebecca paused to take a breath and then smiled sheepishly as Helen burst out in a fit of laughter. "Sorry again," Rebecca added, sitting down across from Helen.
"It's fine really," Helen insisted. "I had some things to take care of anyway."
"Oh, by the way, nice job helping Lindsay shop," Rebecca replied. "She looks great. Much better than the usual drab colors she wears."
"That's exactly what I told her. I think that suit lifted about five years off of her. She's only twenty eight and she looked about thirty three in those old lady suits."
Rebecca laughed. "Yours is great too," she said, motioning to Helen's new sapphire blue business suit. It was trim and poise with silver swirled buttons. The jacket dipped down in a low v-cut and the skirt had small slits up the sides. A hint of black lace from her corset peeked out through the v-neck of her jacket, adding a sexy, racy touch. She wore her hair down in tight spiral curls. She looked amazing and she knew it. She was in a good mood today, for no reason in particular.
Helen smiled and thanked her. "Lindsay's been rather depressed lately, so I offered to take her out shopping. You should see the lingerie she bought!"
Rebecca laughed loudly. "I can't picture Lindsay in a lingerie store, let alone buying some!"
Helen joined in her laughter. "It was quite a sight. She kept scanning the store nervously hoping no one she knew was in there watching her. She was so edgy that she knocked down a manikin, causing a huge commotion. I thought she would die!"
"Ooh, I can not wait to tease her about that!" Rebecca remarked.
Helen nodded in agreement. "I'll never let her live it down." Beck grinned wildly, thinking of all sorts of ways to taunt Lindsay. "Well," Helen said, slipping back into her professional demeanor as she was rather accustomed to. "We should get back to the Springfield case."
Rebecca quickly agreed and they began discussing the elements of the murder case, both hoping to work out a deal.
* * * * DY&F * * * * *
"Hi, I'm." Pat began, walking up to the office receptionist. She was young and fairly pretty, with short redish-brown hair a little past her chin. She looked no older than 19 or 20, causing Pat to wonder how on earth she had scored such a job without a college diploma.
"Patrick Williams?" the secretary asked eagerly, reaching out to shake his hand. He accepted her handshake a little awkwardly, and pulled away quickly as Lucy found it hard to let go. "Uh," Lucy started standing up and regaining her composure. "Ms. Dole will be interviewing you. She's in her office right now, so if you'd just follow me."
Lucy led Pat to Lindsay's office and rapped softly on the door. "It's Mr. Williams," Lucy said, trying to sound as professional and sophisticated as possible.
"Send him in Luce," Lindsay called.
Lucy turned around and flashed Pat a seductive smile. "In here," she gestured, opening the door for him. Lucy reluctantly shut the door behind him, giggling insanely to herself.
"Your secretary sure is enthusiastic," Pat remarked, having a seat across from Lindsay's desk.
"That she is," Lindsay said, peering up from a stack of paperwork. "Plus she's head over heels in love with you."
Pat laughed merrily. "Kids nowadays."
Lindsay smiled. "So how have you been?" she asked.
"Great," Pat replied. "I presume Helen told you I was interviewing here?"
"Surprisingly no," Lindsay said. "Helen mentioned that you and her had lunch, but Bobby, the senior partner here kind of forced me into interviewing you. I was reviewing your resume a few minutes ago, and that's when I realized exactly who you were."
Pat smiled. "Yeah, Helen sort of caught me up on how you were doing. I'm sorry about the whole Chris thing. I never would have thought he could be such an asshole."
Lindsay smiled genuinely. "Yeah, well, people aren't always what you expect."
"Very true," Pat remarked, a little snidely.
Lindsay laughed. "Helen told me all about your three charming ex-wives."
Pat snorted. "Oh they were charming all right. About as charming as Cruella Deville," he joked. Lindsay laughed. "So you've been all right?"
Lindsay nodded. "I live from day to day. I'm between relationships. Business is good. I have great friends. Speaking of which, are you free tonight around eight?"
Pat looked taken aback. "Are you asking me out?"
Lindsay squinted in confusion. "What? Oh, no!" She suddenly looked embarrassed. "Everyone form the firm is going to McCall's, a local bar, for dinner tonight. I figured that since you're the new employee here, you should naturally come along with us."
Pat grinned. "So I got the job?"
"Welcome to Donnell, Young, and Frutt, Pat."
* * * * * So what do you guys think of Pat? When I first wrote him in the last chapter, I was thinking about getting rid of him, but now, I kind of like him. There's a whole lot of history between him, Helen, and Lindsay, so stay tuned. Now that summer is finally here, I will update once a week! I promise! Oh, bear with me on the Helen/Bobby moments. It will, happen, but as the story's title states, it will take a matter of time!
* * * * *
"And I said, honey, buy your own damn Porsche."
Helen laughed hysterically, trying to keep from spitting out her coffee.
"So, wait, let me guess," Helen began, after regaining her composure, "Your third marriage went just as smoothly as the first two."
Pat chuckled. "My third was the worst. Here I am thinking 'third time's a charm'! Yeah right! The sweet, loving girl I married did a complete 180 after the wedding ceremony. She sucked up all of my money on plastic surgery, clothes, jewelry, etcetera. She came up with this agreement that we would only speak when in the public's eye and that we would purposely avoid each other in our own house, except when she needed to access more money."
"Lovely," Helen remarked sarcastically, tossing a fry into her mouth.
Pat rolled his eyes. "You have no idea," he remarked shaking his head. "But, I'm actually more curious as to why you were crying. Lose a case?"
Helen sighed. "Work doesn't mean that much to me," she insisted.
Pat cocked an eyebrow.
"Okay, at times it does," Helen admitted. "But the last case I lost was a carjacking case, and those normally don't get me too worked up."
Pat smiled. "So then why were you crying? And don't give me that line about the sun in your eyes again."
"You know.dating problems," Helen said.
"Really?" Pat asked intrigued. "Any special guy?"
"No, not really," Helen lied.
"Well for someone to make you this upset, he had to have meant a lot to you."
"Listen, I really don't want to get into this right now," Helen remarked.
"Okay, fine," Pat said, raising his hands up in surrender. "Let me know if you want to though.it will do you some good to talk about it."
"Thanks," Helen said, flashing him a sincere smile. It was good to be able to talk to someone who wouldn't judge her. "So are you working on wife number four?" Helen teased. He laughed heartily at her little joke. If he had been anyone else, he would have been offended by her harsh comment, but Pat knew Helen and her cynicism was the one thing he loved the most about her.
"No, no. Not just yet anyway. I'm beginning to think that marriage is completely overrated." Pat shook his head. "Even if I found someone, it would be a long time before I even considered the possibility of marriage."
"Well, wounds like that are hard to heal," Helen agreed. She took another sip of her coffee, finishing it off. "So you never did tell me. What brings you to Boston?"
"Well, I've been in Manhattan ever since law school, and I just figured it was time for a change. That meeting I was on my way to was actually a job interview."
"Oh, God, I'm sorry!" Helen remarked, staring at Pat with shock. "You blew off an interview to talk to me?"
"Oh, they'll forgive me," he said, flashing her his charming smile. "Plus, I don't really want to work at Clarkson and Newman anyway."
"They're crappy lawyers," Helen admitted.
"So I've been told," Pat agreed. "Their track record's not all that impressive. Besides, the place I'd really like to work won't interview me until Monday."
"Oh really?" Helen asked. "Where at?"
"It's a small law firm, but they have a great track record, and despite being the underdogs, they've beaten huge corporations like the tobacco company."
Uh oh, Helen thought. This law firm is sounding pretty familiar.
"It's uh, Donnell, Young, and Frutt," Pat replied, confirming Helen's suspicion. "I'm sure you've heard of them."
"Yes, I've gone up against them quite a number of times. They're really good," Helen replied. "Oh, and you remember Lindsay Dole from college don't you?" Pat nodded. "Well, she works there. She's the one who won against the tobacco company. The others just take credit for it. Actually, she's become quite the drug lawyer."
"Really?" Pat asked, surprised. "Are we talking about the same Lindsay?"
Helen laughed. "Yeah, Lindsay's changed. Not a lot, but she's definitely not as naïve as she used to be. I personally think that law firm's tainted her."
Pat grinned. "So how has Lindsay been? I haven't heard from her in years."
"Good, good," Helen said nodding. "Work's good for her and she's still as pretty as ever. We're still really close, despite a few obstacles life's thrown in the mix. We said we'd always be best friends and we still are."
"That's great," Pat smiled. "Is she married to Chris? I know they were really close in law school."
Helen laughed. "No, no, no. I would have killed her if she married him."
"Why what happened?" Pat asked, suddenly concerned.
"Well, Chris isn't exactly the saint we all thought he was. He works for the district attorney's office, like me, but he's become extremely corrupted, taking bribes and such. Not only that, but he basically raped Lindsay." Pat's eyes grew wide with fear. Helen nodded. "He slipped that new date-rape drug in her drink and they had sex. She scared the piss out of him though."
"Lindsay got revenge?" Pat asked shocked. He shot Helen a knowing look.
Helen laughed. "Okay, okay, so the shooting was all my idea." Pat looked shocked. "He wasn't really shot. Lindsay brought an unloaded gun into his office and scared him to death. She threatened to kill him for what he did to her. Then she fired the gun. She swears he peed himself."
Pat laughed. "Leave it to you to think of that," he remarked.
"Hey, the guy deserved it!"
Pat grinned and shook his head. "So Lindsay's not married?"
"Nope."
"That's a surprise," Pat replied. "She always was a romantic."
"She still is," Helen replied. "She just doesn't romanticize the idea of relationships and love as much as she used to, because she's beginning to realize that they're not always perfect. But she's still a romantic at heart."
"You two always were an unlikely pair," Pat agreed. "You and Lindsay. You'd spend your nights chasing men and using them for all they were worth and Lindsay would search the entire city looking for the one. She was always so sweet and innocent, and you were."
"Malicious and hostile?" she suggested. "Heinous bitch?"
"Completely insane," Pat laughed.
"Well, we've both grown up since then. True Lindsay's still more sweet and innocent then most, and I'm still the relentless ice queen, but we've gotten better with our bad qualities. However, I still am completely insane," she remarked. "Even more so actually."
Pat laughed solidly. "Well, some things never change."
"No they don't," Helen smiled as a pager went off.
"Sorry," Pat apologized, reading his message. He groaned.
"And that would be?" Helen asked.
"My niece," Pat remarked.
"Your brother has kids?" Helen asked. Pat's older brother Mark didn't seem like a family oriented type of guy.
"No, no, Mark's in Europe somewhere probably going sex crazy, but never thinking twice about knocking people up." Helen shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Pat winced. "Sorry.I forgot that."
"It's fine," Helen replied. "So it's Tracy's daughter then?"
"Yes, my lunatic sister."
"Hey now, don't make fun of crazy people!" Helen teased.
Pat grinned. "But you're crazy in a good way and she's crazy in a bad way. There's a huge difference."
Helen rolled her eyes. "And the world makes sense yet again!"
"Yeah, well, she's living with her piece of trash boyfriend and I have to go rescue her kids."
"Aw, aren't you the sweet uncle," Helen gushed. "How many kids."
"Two. Dani and Charylie."
"Two boys?"
"Girls actually," Pat grinned. "Dani's short for Danielle and Charylie's real name is Charlotte. How she acquired that nickname I'm not short, but it's what everyone calls her. Dani's seven and Charylie's thirteen."
"Where's their father?" Helen asked.
Pat shrugged. "Who the hell knows? It's actually better that they don't know him, as horrible as he sounds. He's a screw-up, a real asshole. He'd just make their lives worse then they already are."
"That's sad though, growing up without a father," Helen replied. She knew first-hand how tough that could be.
"But look at you," Pat said, trying to cheer her up. "You grew up without your dad and you couldn't have turned out better."
"Thanks," Helen said, blushing slightly.
"Well, sorry to cut this short, but I have to go pick up the kids. There's no way I can stand to let them live in that trailer park. It's no place for a kid to have to grow up."
Helen nodded sadly. "So I take it you're a big part of their lives?"
Pat nodded. "Yeah. I'm trying to gain custody of them actually."
"Really?" Helen wasn't the least bit surprised. Pat loved children and hated when they were abused or neglected. He was such a sweet, warm person.
"Yeah. The court doesn't want to turn them over to me unless the girls testify. I don't want to put them through that, but I also can't let them live the rest of their lives the way the do."
"Well, I hope everything works out for you," Helen said, grabbing the check from the waiter. "And for them."
"Thanks, I hope so too. So I should be seeing more of you now that I'm in Boston right?"
Helen nodded. "Of course." She scribbled down her phone number on a napkin. "Let me know how your interview goes."
"I will do," he smiled. "Hey, wait! I'm the man, I pay for the bill," he insisted.
Helen shook her head, fishing some money out of her purse. "Not in my world. Guys paying all the time is such an old cliché. And if you remember anything about me, you know how much I hate clichés. Lindsay's the cliché one."
Pat laughed. "How soon I forget."
* * * * * The next day * * * * *
"Helen!" Lindsay cried out gratefully, running up to her and giving her a hug. "Oh, my God, where have you been?"
"Chill, babe, I'm fine," Helen insisted, shutting the front door to their new apartment. "I went out to clear my head. I ran into Pat Williams. Remember him from high school?" Lindsay nodded. "We went out for lunch, and then I went into the office for a little bit."
"On a Saturday?" Lindsay asked incredulously.
"I had to pick up some paperwork," Helen explained. "Anyway, I ran into Mike Maguire there, and we went out for dinner. He's upset about his girlfriend Chloe. You remember her right?"
Lindsay nodded. "Tall, thin, green eyes, perfect blonde curls. She's the type of girl who drove us crazy in college remember?"
Helen laughed. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, Chloe's mother's really sick and she's in the hospital. So I stayed and talked to Mike and we crashed at his place. He was too tired to drive me home and I was too drunk to drive myself."
"Reminds me of college," Lindsay replied dramatically.
"Oh shut up and stop reminiscing!" Helen teased.
"So," Lindsay said, sitting down to a cup of coffee. "Have you?" she raised her eyebrows.
"Have I?" Helen repeated.
"You know," Lindsay said, sipping her coffee.
"I do?" Helen asked.
Lindsay sighed. Helen sure could make things difficult sometimes! "Have you talked to Bobby?"
"Oh, no," Helen said flatly. She had been doing all she could to forget about him.
"You should," Lindsay said. "He called about thirty times last night asking if I heard from you. He's really upset Hel. I think you should try talking to him."
"Linds, please don't do this to me. I don't want to talk to him right now. When I am ready to talk to him, I will. But don't push me."
Lindsay sighed. "Okay, babe, I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Helen relaxed. Hopefully this whole Bobby thing would blow over quickly. That would make it much easier for her to move on. She turned back to Lindsay who was flipping through the Sunday paper aimlessly. Helen's face softened. Lindsay must have been under much more stress than she realized. This whole Bobby thing certainly had to have taken a toll on her. She should have been more considerate to her friend's feelings.
"Hey, I have a crazy idea," Helen grinned, plopping down next to Lindsay.
"Oh dear God," Lindsay remarked in her best David Hasslehoff impersonation. "Last time you had a crazy idea, we woke up naked in Jerry Hresko's apartment."
Helen laughed. "Fine, fine, we just won't go shopping then."
Lindsay eyes lit up. "Shopping?" she asked.
Helen nodded. "Well, I need a few new business suits and I'm sure you do too. But Linds, you're not allowed to buy one gray or tan one. Try maroon or navy. They're much better than your same boring, old gray ones."
"Right, as opposed to the lady in black?" Lindsay teased.
Helen stuck out her tongue. "That's exactly why I need to go shopping!"
Lindsay grinned and slipped on a pair of sandals. "Let's go, before you talk me into going to a strip club."
"Well, actually, after we were done shopping, I thought." Helen began. Lindsay shot her a look and slapped her playfully on the arm. Helen laughed and led the way out the door.
* * * * * The following day at DY&F * * * * *
"Okay, so who's interviewing this guy?" Ellenor asked.
"From his resume, I don't even think he needs to be interviewed," Lucy remarked. "Let's just hire him."
Rebecca rolled her eyes. "She just likes him because he's hot."
"Do not!" Lucy remarked. "I'm not that shallow."
"I think Eugene should interview him," Bobby suggested. "He won't go easy on him or hire him immediately just because of his looks." Bobby caught Lucy's eye and she blushed slightly.
"I didn't know we were hiring," Lindsay said, hanging up the phone.
Bobby nodded. "Well, we don't desperately need the help, but this guy's really good. Plus, you, El, Eugene, and I have been taking on more than we can handle. It's a help with Jimmy and now with Rebecca as a lawyer, but one more lawyer would be extremely beneficial."
"Bobby, I can't interview him," Eugene remarked. "I have opening arguments on the Mattel trial."
Bobby sighed. "Well, El and I have an appeal and it looks much more convincing when both attorneys are there. Jimmy's at the scene of a drug bust and I'm not sure when he'll be back. And Beck's meeting with Helen Gamble on the Springfield case." Bobby's voice shook a bit at the mention of Helen's name. She hadn't talked to him since Saturday and he couldn't blame her. But still, if she decided to come to her senses and speak with him, then and only then, he'd explain everything. Until then, he wasn't going to pine after her.
"I'll interview him!" Lucy volunteered, eager to be alone in the room with such a tasty dish.
"No!" Bobby, Eugene, Rebecca, and Ellenor shouted at the same time.
"Fine!" Lucy huffed.
Bobby turned to Linds.
"No way Bobby, I have a meeting with my client!" she replied. Bobby shot her a pleading look. "No," she said firmly.
"Linds, he'll be here in twenty minutes. Can't you just delay your meeting an hour? It won't take long to just talk to the guy," Bobby said.
Lindsay groaned.
Lucy looked at her. "I could always interview him and make your life easier."
Lindsay looked around at Bobby, Eugene, Rebecca, Ellenor, and finally Lucy's eager face. She didn't want to cancel on her client, but there was no way in hell she would let Lucy scare off a potential employee. Besides, her client was a drug-dealing addict who didn't even deserve a trial. "All right," she relented. "But you guys owe me big time!"
"Dinner at McCall's?" Ellenor suggested. "The whole office, my treat. We'll even bring the new guy if he gets hired."
Lucy's eyes grew big and Rebecca laughed. "You can come too, Luce," she said.
Lucy grinned and went back to researching Rebecca's murder case. Bobby's cell phone rang and he quickly answered it. Eugene waved to everyone and rushed out the door. Ellenor sat down at her desk, shaking her foot impatiently waiting for Bobby to finish.
"Okay," Beck replied, grabbing her coat. "I better hurry or I'll be late. I wouldn't want to anger Helen anymore than she already is."
"What's she swollen about now?" Lindsay joked.
"The judge held her in contempt," Rebecca replied. "It was kind of stupid if you ask me. She was only proving a point. But we all know how loony Swackheim is. He threw her in jail without so much as a warning. It wasn't really fair, but hey, it helped me, so I didn't complain."
Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Well, if she needs to be cheered up, tell her she was right about this suit. I've gotten a lot of compliments on it." Lindsay was wearing a cream-colored business suit, with a skirt a little shorter than she usually wore. The buttons were real pearls and the suit was tailored perfectly to her figure. It was extremely stunning and Lindsay knew she looked stunning in it.
Rebecca laughed. "Did you two go shopping yesterday? I noticed she had a new suit on, too."
Lindsay nodded. "I've been in a bit of a funk lately, so she took me out to cheer me up. She's a really good friend," she added.
Beck smiled. "I'll be sure to tell her that," she grinned. With that, she slipped her plaid jacket on, quickly fastening the buttons and hurried out the door.
"All right, El, you ready?" Bobby asked, hanging up the phone. " Sorry, that was Patrick, our potential new lawyer. He said that he got here earlier than expected and would it be okay if he came up in about ten minutes."
Lindsay nodded. "Yeah, that's fine."
"Good, because I told him it would be," Bobby replied, flashing Lindsay a soft smile. "Let's go El," he said turning to her. He looked shocked. "Why are you sitting?! God, you take forever! We're going to be late!"
Ellenor slapped his chest as she stood up and he nearly ran a mach eight out the door. She turned to Lindsay and Lucy. "And they say men don't PMS!"
* * * * * The DA's office * * * * *
"Sorry I'm late!" Beck called, rushing into Helen's office. Her thick curls were windswept and her stylish black hat nearly flew off her head. "There was a huge debate over who would interview a new lawyer we're hoping to hire, and then I was almost hit by a taxi on the way over here. Those damn cabbies don't know how to drive! DMV should revoke their licenses! As soon as this trial's over, I'm going to sue each and every one of them and." Rebecca paused to take a breath and then smiled sheepishly as Helen burst out in a fit of laughter. "Sorry again," Rebecca added, sitting down across from Helen.
"It's fine really," Helen insisted. "I had some things to take care of anyway."
"Oh, by the way, nice job helping Lindsay shop," Rebecca replied. "She looks great. Much better than the usual drab colors she wears."
"That's exactly what I told her. I think that suit lifted about five years off of her. She's only twenty eight and she looked about thirty three in those old lady suits."
Rebecca laughed. "Yours is great too," she said, motioning to Helen's new sapphire blue business suit. It was trim and poise with silver swirled buttons. The jacket dipped down in a low v-cut and the skirt had small slits up the sides. A hint of black lace from her corset peeked out through the v-neck of her jacket, adding a sexy, racy touch. She wore her hair down in tight spiral curls. She looked amazing and she knew it. She was in a good mood today, for no reason in particular.
Helen smiled and thanked her. "Lindsay's been rather depressed lately, so I offered to take her out shopping. You should see the lingerie she bought!"
Rebecca laughed loudly. "I can't picture Lindsay in a lingerie store, let alone buying some!"
Helen joined in her laughter. "It was quite a sight. She kept scanning the store nervously hoping no one she knew was in there watching her. She was so edgy that she knocked down a manikin, causing a huge commotion. I thought she would die!"
"Ooh, I can not wait to tease her about that!" Rebecca remarked.
Helen nodded in agreement. "I'll never let her live it down." Beck grinned wildly, thinking of all sorts of ways to taunt Lindsay. "Well," Helen said, slipping back into her professional demeanor as she was rather accustomed to. "We should get back to the Springfield case."
Rebecca quickly agreed and they began discussing the elements of the murder case, both hoping to work out a deal.
* * * * DY&F * * * * *
"Hi, I'm." Pat began, walking up to the office receptionist. She was young and fairly pretty, with short redish-brown hair a little past her chin. She looked no older than 19 or 20, causing Pat to wonder how on earth she had scored such a job without a college diploma.
"Patrick Williams?" the secretary asked eagerly, reaching out to shake his hand. He accepted her handshake a little awkwardly, and pulled away quickly as Lucy found it hard to let go. "Uh," Lucy started standing up and regaining her composure. "Ms. Dole will be interviewing you. She's in her office right now, so if you'd just follow me."
Lucy led Pat to Lindsay's office and rapped softly on the door. "It's Mr. Williams," Lucy said, trying to sound as professional and sophisticated as possible.
"Send him in Luce," Lindsay called.
Lucy turned around and flashed Pat a seductive smile. "In here," she gestured, opening the door for him. Lucy reluctantly shut the door behind him, giggling insanely to herself.
"Your secretary sure is enthusiastic," Pat remarked, having a seat across from Lindsay's desk.
"That she is," Lindsay said, peering up from a stack of paperwork. "Plus she's head over heels in love with you."
Pat laughed merrily. "Kids nowadays."
Lindsay smiled. "So how have you been?" she asked.
"Great," Pat replied. "I presume Helen told you I was interviewing here?"
"Surprisingly no," Lindsay said. "Helen mentioned that you and her had lunch, but Bobby, the senior partner here kind of forced me into interviewing you. I was reviewing your resume a few minutes ago, and that's when I realized exactly who you were."
Pat smiled. "Yeah, Helen sort of caught me up on how you were doing. I'm sorry about the whole Chris thing. I never would have thought he could be such an asshole."
Lindsay smiled genuinely. "Yeah, well, people aren't always what you expect."
"Very true," Pat remarked, a little snidely.
Lindsay laughed. "Helen told me all about your three charming ex-wives."
Pat snorted. "Oh they were charming all right. About as charming as Cruella Deville," he joked. Lindsay laughed. "So you've been all right?"
Lindsay nodded. "I live from day to day. I'm between relationships. Business is good. I have great friends. Speaking of which, are you free tonight around eight?"
Pat looked taken aback. "Are you asking me out?"
Lindsay squinted in confusion. "What? Oh, no!" She suddenly looked embarrassed. "Everyone form the firm is going to McCall's, a local bar, for dinner tonight. I figured that since you're the new employee here, you should naturally come along with us."
Pat grinned. "So I got the job?"
"Welcome to Donnell, Young, and Frutt, Pat."
* * * * * So what do you guys think of Pat? When I first wrote him in the last chapter, I was thinking about getting rid of him, but now, I kind of like him. There's a whole lot of history between him, Helen, and Lindsay, so stay tuned. Now that summer is finally here, I will update once a week! I promise! Oh, bear with me on the Helen/Bobby moments. It will, happen, but as the story's title states, it will take a matter of time!
