Three: The End?

"Hi, Emmett," Elle said softly, watching him rise to his feet and advance towards her. "I hope you don't mind me coming by like this."

"No, of course not!" he exclaimed. For a heart-stopping moment Elle thought that he was going to sweep her into a hug and she braced herself, excitement rising within her, but he suddenly stopped about a foot away from her and rather formally extended a hand in her direction instead. "I'm just surprised to see you; I thought you would have been out celebrating with your friends."

"Oh," Elle said, making an effort to quell her disappointment at his brisk, businesslike nature. "Well, I am going to go out, I just…I wanted to stop by and thank you again." She awkwardly reached to shake his hand. "So, thanks…I guess."

"Well, you're welcome," Emmett said. "Not that you really needed my help. You were awesome, Elle. Didn't I say that you could do anything?"

He smiled at her, and she suddenly felt much better. He thought she was awesome! This was it, she realised. She had to tell him how she felt about him. She had to tell him that he was just as awesome, if not more so. Taking a deep breath, Elle plunged into her confession.

"There was actually something else I wanted to say too, Emmett," she said. "It's about…well…I suppose that what I'm trying to tell you is…" Elle stopped as she realised he didn't seem to be listening to her; he was staring over her shoulder, a frown etched on his handsome features.

"What is it?" she asked, half-afraid to turn around for fear that she might see Callahan there.

"Hello, Warner," Emmett said, in an icy tone Elle had never heard before. His arms were folded across his chest and his stance imposing, and she realised that in all the time they'd spent together she'd never seen him glare so furiously at someone either; he hadn't even looked like that at Callahan in court.

At that, Elle turned to look, and groaned inwardly at the sight of her former boyfriend swaggering towards her, his usual confident smile in place.

"I thought you might be here," he said teasingly, waggling his finger at Elle. "Thinking of having this office as your own, are you?" He slung an arm around her shoulder possessively, ignoring her grimace.

She stared at him in disbelief. Hadn't her earlier brush-off registered? Of course it won't have, Warner only hears what he wants to. She had never met someone so arrogant, and all the attributes she'd once thought were so attractive paled in comparison with the charm and intelligence of the lawyer at her side.

"Warner, what are you-" Elle was in the process of putting him firmly in his place when the meaning of his words finally registered with her and she whirled around to stare at Emmett. "Why would I have this office, anyway? This is your office!"

"Not for much longer," Emmett informed her abruptly. "I quit. As soon as I pack up my stuff, I'll be leaving, never to return."

With that, he picked up one of the empty boxes which were strewn across the floor and began to pack up his things, methodically stacking his books in the carton and then taping the lid shut.

"Well, listen, it's been good, man," Warner said easily. "Maybe we'll see you around." He smiled at Elle. "Come on, baby, let's go. Margot and Serena have organised a party for you…everyone will be there."

"Hey, have fun," Emmett said, nodding in their direction as he seemed to become engrossed in wiping a speck of dust from an old football trophy. He looked at Elle and tried to smile but it didn't quite reach his eyes, and she belatedly realised that Warner still had his arm around her. Immediately she stepped away from him, so that it fell harmlessly to his side. "You deserve it, Elle." He ignored the boy standing next to her, who didn't notice the snub anyway because he was too busy checking out his reflection in the window.

 "But where are you going? What will you do?" Elle asked in horror, stepping forward so that she was standing right in front of his desk.  Emmett set a box down heavily on the polished surface and she took a frightened step back, wondering why he suddenly seemed so angry. "Will I…will I see you again?"

Emmett stopped in the act of taking his framed degree certificate off the wall. "I doubt it," he said. "But you don't need me anyway." His eyes flickered over Warner's face then landed back on Elle's. "You've proved you can do it, Elle. You can handle things on your own from here."

"But…even if I can…that doesn't mean that…you have to leave, does it? I mean-" She broke off in annoyance as Warner grabbed at her arm.

"Come on, Pooh-bear, we have to go!" he implored her.

"Warner, would you please leave us alone for a second?" she snapped, shaking him off again. "In fact, go to the party. I'll see you there in a little while."

He looked nonplussed by her rejection. "But I was going to drive you," he objected. "You don't have your car, and-"

"She'll take a cab," Emmett interjected, and Elle looked at him. With a small smile, he shrugged his shoulders, and she beamed back.

"Go, Warner," she added for good measure, and he finally took the hint.

After he'd left, Emmett resumed his packing and Elle stood there, unsure of what she should do. She spotted a pencil on the floor and briefly contemplated pulling the 'bend-and-snap' after all, but decided against it just as quickly. Instead, she began to help him with his packing, folding his Boston Red Sox shirt and placing it in the box as carefully as she would have if it had borne a Versace label.

"You don't have to do this, Elle." His voice was much gentler than it had been when Warner was there. "You should be out having fun, not stuck in here with me, getting covered in dust."

"But I want to be here, with you," she said unthinkingly, and her cheeks grew uncharacteristically red as she thought about how he might interpret that. Then, finding that she wanted to give him a hint of just how he should interpret it, Elle added, "I like…being with you."

She kept her head down as she said it, which meant that she completely missed Emmett smiling at her. But when he murmured the word "good" she heard him, and felt herself blush even more.

With their combined efforts it wasn't long until most of Emmett's belongings had been packed away; the last thing left was a stack of magazines under the desk. Gingerly getting down onto her hands and knees to retrieve them, Elle had filed half of them away before she glanced down at one and saw the title.

"Why are you reading Cosmopolitan?" she asked, flipping through the pile to discover that all bore the same name. "You must have at least ten issues here."

"Um, research?" Emmett said, and Elle wondered if he meant it to sound like a question.  "You know, I was trying to understand how a woman's mind works. I thought it might put me in a better position to help Brooke." Elle had started to read the latest issue and he took it from her hurriedly, dropping it into the box with the rest. "Plus I was able to verify your theory on exercise and endorphins. It was most helpful."

"Oh." Elle thought it was very odd, but accepted his explanation without questioning it further. Looking around herself, she was dismayed to discover that all of Emmett's possessions had been removed from their perches, and with them had gone her reason for staying. "Well, I guess I should get going."

"Yeah, I guess you should," Emmett agreed softly. He smiled at her. "It's been a pleasure working with you, Elle."

She looked up at his gorgeous face, understood that he meant exactly what he said, and suddenly all the words that she wanted to say to him swarmed into her brain at once, rendering her incapable of putting together a coherent sentence.

"Well, bye," she managed. Raising herself up on tiptoe, because she still wasn't tall enough to reach his cheek Elle contented herself with planting a gentle kiss on his strong jaw-line,  and allowed her lips to linger fractionally longer than she'd meant to. After all, this will be the closest thing I get to a real kiss from him. Then she grabbed her purse and stumbled from the room, tears almost blinding her.

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This was meant to be a three-part fic but I'd be cruel to end it like this, right? Who wants to see another chapter?