I've been in love with the idea of Alex and Olivia since before I even knew what being a lesbian meant. I've had this idea for a story floating around in my head for some time now, so I figured who better to do it with than these two? This is my first Alex/Olivia fanfiction, but I hope you guys enjoy it!

This story is set in modern day, 2021, sans pandemic.


It was snowing again, an occurrence that was slightly uncharacteristic for New York City in early December. Despite all the depictions in Hallmark movies, it very rarely snowed in the Big Apple before Christmas. It was flurrying, barely sticking to the slick city streets, but enough to line the hundreds of peacoats adorned by businessmen and women scurrying about the city in the early morning hours. It was barely 7 AM, and notwithstanding the snow, the sun was shining bright.

Thirty-year-old Alexandra Cabot was, as per usual, running way ahead of schedule. Her routine hadn't changed a bit since being hired at Goldstein & Park, P.A. just two days after receiving her bar exam results nearly six years prior. She'd wake up at 4:30 AM, head off to the gym down the block from her apartment, be back and showered by 6 AM, heading out the door by 7 sharp. She'd grab her typical black coffee from the little shop on the corner and walk the seven blocks to the firm, typically finding herself sitting in the large white leather chair in her office by 7:20 AM. Alexandra Cabot was a creature of habit, a perfectionist to a fault, preferring to arrive at the office before her bosses, and never leaving before them. Today was no different, except for the fact that it was 7:10 and she was already standing outside the elevator doors inside of the Upper East Side building she worked in.

Goldstein & Park was one of the best full-service family law firms in the city. While only having two equity partners, the firm had twelve attorneys in total: a third non-equity/silent partner, five senior associates, and four junior associates. Their support staff was some of the best in the city: five paralegals, three law clerks, and two receptionists. For almost exclusively working in the family law sector, Goldstein & Park was a successful, unattainable, mid-sized firm, having refused multiple acquisition requests that could have brought them national. Goldstein & Park didn't need anything extra, they were one of the best with significantly higher than average success rates. They practiced in divorces, adoptions, domestic violence, abuse, trusts and estates, probate, and were even known to take on the occasional criminal or civil case for their bigger clients. Notably, they even had an attorney on staff who took solely pro bono cases.

Alexandra had set her eyes on a position at Goldstein & Park since the moment she decided she would follow the family legacy and go off to law school. Alexandra's father, grandfather, two uncles, aunt, and both of her brothers were all attorneys or judges. Goldstein & Park was a prestigious firm, one that would bring her that much closer to her ultimate goal: politics. As a child, Alexandra had attended the oldest and most established private boarding school on Long Island, the Knox School, and went on to graduate from undergrad at The New York University at 21. She'd studied hard for her LSAT's scoring a nearly perfect 178 on her first try. She'd been accepted to every law school she applied to, ultimately opting to attend Harvard Law School, her father's alma matter. She'd graduated second in her class at 24 and, delivered a beautiful speech, spent three days at her childhood home in Amaganset, and then delved straight into bar preparation. Alex had scored perfectly, on her first attempt, and was admitted to the New York bar just weeks after receiving her results that October.

The day the bar results were released, Marla Goldstein had called Alexandra personally, just five minutes after the results had gone live. In fact, Ms. Goldstein was the first person to congratulate Alexandra on her passing, offering to take her to lunch that afternoon. She'd been offered a junior associate position, despite there being no openings at the historically eleven attorney firm. Without even opening the offer letter in her hand, Alexandra had accepted the position – her childhood dream had become a reality.

By 7:13, Alexandra Cabot was unlocking the Mac desktop in her office getting ready to review the plethora of emails she'd surely been inundated with over the weekend. Contrary to Alexandra's typical practice, she'd gone ghost for the weekend, turned off her phone and headed out east to Amaganset to spend the weekend with her parents and two brothers. The tall blonde attorney's case load was typically light in December, most families opting to steer clear of fighting during the holidays, but she also had a few contentious cases that were heating up over the last few months that she'd been ignoring for just a little too long.

Ms. Cabot,

If you recall, we've had this conversation on multiple occasions. Repeatedly sending e-mails each month reminding my client of his obligation is doing nothing but driving up his attorney's fees thereby depleting his available funds each month. Attempting to develop a record on behalf of your client at my client's expense is unnecessary; we are aware of the amounts due without your monthly reminder. We see no reason why your client cannot simply communicate with my client regarding this issue without the need for attorneys.

That being said, it is time to address the real issues in this case:

1. My client needs a modification of his temporary support obligations. The judge's determination was clearly punitive, and he cannot await the final hearing for a reversal of this matter without finding himself in contempt of court every month. You've had our worksheets for a week, as well as our offer of settlement. Again, I ask, what is your client's position?

2. You have a duty to disclose your positions. We need your position on the issues of slander, marital waste, and your client's employment. We are mediating this case in three days, I suggest we exchange memorandums of the topics to be discussed and mediated, as I know your client refuses to mediate certain positions at this time. I suggest we complete this exchange by 4 PM tomorrow.

3. Will your client permit a civil assist for the retrieval of my client's personal belongings? Your client simply cannot take the position that my client is spending extravagantly, and simultaneously refuse to permit him to retrieve his necessities. My client has worn the same two suits to work for the last month. This needs to be figured out. If your client is unwilling, what is your position on our filing for a forthwith status conference?

4. We're still awaiting the records from Zeigler. You are required to supply the ordered documents by tonight at 11:59 PM. Will this deadline be met?

I appreciate your prompt attention to these matters. If you think hopping on a call would expedite any of these items, please feel free to give us a ring.

Cordially,

Trevor Langan, Esq.

Alexandra rolled her eyes as she quickly scanned the email from her least favorite attorney. Langan didn't typically practice in family law, preferring to dabble with the seediest of New York's elite as a criminal defense attorney. He'd take the occasional divorce case, if it were tied to a large paycheck and a prickly domestic violence issue. The Hawthorn Case was exactly the type of case Trevor would jump for: an uber rich Wall Street stockbroker accused of beating on his wife, a particularly nasty high dollar divorce with tons of little nuances. Ellen Hawthorn was the type of high value client Marla Goldstein would typically come out of the woodworks for, especially since she'd come to them as a referral from a much bigger client. Surprisingly, Marla had handed it right off to Alexandra the moment Ellie, as they called her, had come in. Unbeknownst to Alexandra, Marla simply could not stand Trevor Langan, or his father, and refused to work cases against either one of them.

"Good Morning, Alexandra," came a gentle, husky voice from just outside her office. The blonde looked up from her place behind her modern l-shaped white lacquer desk, her eyes falling upon the red-haired woman standing in the doorway. Adrienne Lowell, one of the law clerks, was standing in the doorway, a white paper bag in her hand. "Got you your favorite," the young woman said, walking into the office and placing the bag on Alexandra's desk.

"Good Morning, Adrienne," Alexandra answered, flashing the girl a cheerful smile, "You know you don't have to grab me breakfast every morning," she added, quickly grabbing the bag and opening it. Adrienne had been at the firm for almost a year, having started clerking for Goldstein & Park during the second semester of her 1L year. She was 5'6, slim, and maddeningly beautiful. Alexandra had taken a liking to her almost immediately, opting to take the slightly younger girl under her proverbial wing. She reminded the blonde of herself, in some respects. Adrienne was driven, extremely intelligent, had political aspirations, and was entirely too focused on her career. In other respects, Adrienne was everything Alex had never been: wild, outgoing, promiscuous, fearless. Adrienne had come from Chicago, the University of Illinois to be exact. She'd raised herself, having grown up in foster care, and had completely blown the statistics out of the water. Alexandra admitted, on only one occasion, that she was slightly taken with the girl, enamored by her resiliency at barely 23 years old.

"If I want to work on the juicy cases – I do," Adrienne answered, flashing the blonde one of her distinctive flirty, yet appropriate, smiles.

Alex rolled her eyes at the young woman and waved her hand dramatically, "Bullshit, you know I don't really care for that Casey chick… I put you on every case."

"She's still learning Alexandra, she's not that bad. She actually had the magic touch on that Palomo settlement; Casey sealed that deal," Adrienne offered. The truth was, Casey Novak, their other, younger, law clerk, wasn't really interested in working for a private law firm. As a 1L, it was impossible for her to get an internship with any decent DA's office close to the City. Private practice in the realm of her interests was her best bet. Casey was good, smart, but unfocused, in Alexandra's opinion.

"I'll let everyone else utilize her," the blonde answered, "How was your weekend?"

"Decent. Spent most of Friday night here helping Marla prep her binders for the Wilson arbitration," Adrienne told her, plopping down into one of the plush white chairs situated in front of Alexandra's desk. "Marla wanted everything ready for her review before Saturday afternoon… I don't know why since she won't even touch the binders until Sunday, but whatever… spent most of Saturday drinking in Chelsea with my best friend and his new new girlfriend and her friends – then had to prep for class all day Sunday… we're doing a Paper Chase style review of the first amendment in class tonight," she finished, crossing her legs and leaning back in the comfortable chair.

Alexandra was used to starting her mornings like this. Being the youngest of the junior associates at the firm, it was common for the law clerks and support staff to gravitate toward her – she was closest to their age, easiest to deal with, probably giving them a sense of comfort. Adrienne typically came into the office a couple of minutes after her on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, always meeting Alex in her office with some sort of breakfast treat. On Mondays it was typically Alex's favorite, a warmed roll from the deli downstairs, lightly buttered. Simple, but a classic. Adrienne was talkative, more so than Alex was used to, but she enjoyed her company. Work typically didn't allow Alexandra to have much time for a social life, so she was grateful for friends at the office.

"Sounds like a fun weekend," Alexandra answered the girl sarcastically.

"Oh? You're going to make fun of my weekend? Let me guess… you went home Friday night with at least three case files… took a bath, went to bed by 9:30… Spent Saturday and Sunday working, and haven't done a single non-work-related thing since this conversation," Adrienne teased, her dark, impossibly green eyesdarting between Alexandra's discarded bulging briefcase on the floor and the blonde attorney with a smirk spread across her lips. Adrienne was clearly confident in her assessment of Alex's weekend.

"Ha, ha, ha," Alex laughed sarcastically, "I'll have you know that I didn't work at all this weekend. I took a break, went home to see my parents and brothers."

"Your idea of a break is visiting the family?" Adrienne chided, "Talk about stressful!"

"My brothers are quite fun, if you must know… we had a wonderful weekend," Alex answered, looking away from the young woman as her e-mail inbox chimed for the fourth time this morning. "We ate good food, went shopping in town, saw old friends, it was nice."

"You need to get out more Cabot," Adrienne answered, leaning over and standing up out of the chair.

"Who says?"

"I say… you're young, you're successful, you're hot, you need to have a little fun… let some chick unwind your cork a few times," Adrienne said with a wink as she started to walk out of the blonde's office.

"Adrienne!" Alexandra exclaimed, a blush creeping up her long, slender neck. Alex had never been comfortable discussing her sex life, but the young redhead was right. Alexandra hadn't even been on so much as a simple date in over a year.

"You know it's true…" Adrienne called back as she headed toward her smaller office toward the front of their penthouse law firm. Goldstein & Park took up the entire 14th floor of their building, having just enough offices for every attorney, clerk, and paralegal to have their own, while still having space for a large reception area, a community kitchen, and three good sized, teched out, conference rooms.

Alex shook her head at Adrienne's response, but opted not to respond. While she hadn't heard anyone else enter the office, no one needed to hear them shouting across the firm at each other, especially not about something as personal as Alexandra's sex life. Adrienne had become a good friend over the last few months, somehow conning Alexandra into opening up about her life, and that was more than enough for the blonde.

She turned her attention back to Mr. Langan's email, forcing herself to respond.

Mr. Langan,

I hope that you had a lovely weekend, the City has always been my favorite during the holidays. I myself enjoyed a quiet trip home, sans the disruptions of work.

It is well within my clients right to request compliance with a court order. To insinuate that the repetitive nature of these emails is anyone's fault but your client is disingenuous. Again, I will reiterate that your client was ordered to deposit the sum of $25,000 per month into Ms. Hawthorn's account by the 1st. This order was signed three months ago, and your client is already in arrears. Your client is in contempt of court. Please have your client remit the remaining $15,000 of this month's support payment immediately, it was due five days ago. We are unwilling to discuss this issue any further. Per my previous emails of November 13 and November 24, we will be filing for contempt by the end of this week and intend to seek attorney's fees and costs in connection with this.

Contrary to your assertions, the issues you have outlined are not paramount to the resolution of this case. For you to state or imply that my firm, or my client, are the reason why this case is not progressing appropriately is patently false.

How you believe that we can properly assess the modification offer without complete and accurate financials from your client is astonishing. Are you suggesting that our client, a victim, should take your client, an abuser, at his word when it comes to his income and the value of the marital estate? The Court already established that your client's testimony is not credible. Your client walked into a temporary orders hearing having provided no financial documentation. The judge's decision was not punitive, it was accurate based on the evidence we presented. That being said, we will not participate in negotiations without all pertinent facts. Please provide your client's most recent tax returns, paystubs, W2's, bank statements, investment portfolios… you know the drill, it's on the court approved forms. Please let me know if you need it sent to you a fourth time.

As for the mediation memorandum, I agree that we need to provide one another with the pertinent facts and positions so as to streamline this process. We will not engage in a mediation conducted in bad faith, nor will we permit your client to frivolously drive up our client's fees with stall tactics. I'll have my law clerk send over our positions by the end of day today. We will need until 6 PM to effectuate this.

Regarding the civil assist, yes. We will permit a civil assist and allow Mr. Hawthorn to enter the marital residence in the presence of a police officer. Please let me know when the NYPD can accommodate this request, and we will ensure that our client is out of the home. I will be present at this assist, and Mr. Hawthorn may take only his personal effects. We will accommodate the presence of one of your attorneys as well.

Your client's refusal to adhere to deadlines, court orders, and to cooperate in his own motions practice is what is causing both parties to accrue increased attorney's fees. Your clients lack of disclosure has made this much more complicated than it needed to be. As required, we will be adhering to all of the court's proscribed deadlines, as we always have. Your request for the documents is premature. Please, as you say, do not drive up my clients costs over frivolous matters.

Please remind your client that he is not permitted to have contact with my client. There is a protection order in place prohibiting all contact, including text message. The Parties are permitted to speak only through Talking Parents, and only in regard to Sydney. His attempts at contact have not gone unnoticed. If this continues, we will be forced to take action. He seems to be of the opinion that showing up at her typical locations of interest is acceptable. We will not tolerate this any further. Contrary to your client's belief, Ms. Hawthorn is no longer, as he put it, "under his control." I encourage your client to test this assumption at any time.

A call is unnecessary at this time. I'll be in touch later tonight via e-mail.

Respectfully,

Alexandra Cabot, Esq.

Sassy, a little feistier than Alex preferred to be with her opposing counsels, but effective. The Hawthorn case was getting borderline ridiculous, fighting over pennies when they were worth millions. After dealing with that, Alexandra began skimming the 29 other emails she'd received and ignored over the weekend.

Not much was urgent, only having to deal with a couple of deadlines as soon as she walked in; but, Alexandra was already aggravated. Langan simply rubbed her the wrong way, and Alexandra had taken a liking to Ellie and her daughter, Sydney. The two had been through a lot with Kevin Hawthorn. Kevin had been abusing Ellie for the last five years of their marriage, financially, mentally, emotionally, likely physically. Ellie had remained strong for years, but something finally snapped – and she wanted out, now. The only problem was Sydney – she loved her dad. Alexandra had taken on the case a few months prior, and Kevin had been attempting to drag it out as long as possible. It was clear, to Alexandra, that the man was trying to determine the outcome of his criminal trial before handling the civil aspects of the divorce. But Alex was adamant that she was not going to let that happen.


"Ah, Alexandra," Marla Goldstein's loud, thick, Brooklyn accent said from the hallway between the firm's small kitchen and the partners' offices. "I've been looking for you, have you had a chance to review the confidential matter I sent over this morning?"

Alex was bent over, leaning with her upper body halfway into the refrigerator. Her black pencil skirt was rather short, a little too tight for work, and rode up slightly as she turned and leaned up and out of the fridge. Alex turned toward her boss and smiled her acknowledgement. At least her firm didn't mind a little sex appeal, letting its employees dress anywhere on the spectrum of dressy casual to business professional. In fact, they encouraged personality – preferring not to be the stereotypical stuffy New York law firm. Today, in addition to the skirt, Alex was dressed in a fitted white oxford shirt, black heels on her feet. She'd ditched the matching black suit jacket she had been wearing all morning, her long locks tied up in a low side bun, her hair falling out of it slightly in neat whisps framing her face. At 5'10, or 6'2 in her heels, young Alexandra Cabot was sinfully beautiful. Even Marla, who was straight and married, had a subtle wandering eye for the blonde.

"No, sorry Marla, I haven't had a chance. I had to deal with Hawthorn and Crestwood all morning, and then Adrienne threw a consult on my calendar last minute… she'll be paying her retainer tomorrow by the way… but, then I had to move around my Plackard and Tyler calls, I'm just now getting a chance to even grab a snack, I'm starving," Alex told her boss as she opened the water bottle she'd grabbed from the refrigerator. Alex had crossed a lot off her to-do list, between meeting a few deadlines, landing a new client, and the plethora of side work, she was already exhausted.

"Alexandra, it's 4 o'clock," Marla chided, looking at the Rolex on her wrist, "You haven't eaten all day? Congrats on the new client, by the way…"

"Adrienne and Abby went out for lunch around noon and brought me back a latte, but no food, assholes… I just haven't had time to grab anything… What's this confidential case?" Alexandra asked, closing the refrigerator behind her and moving toward the hallway to head back toward her office.

"I'll have to talk to them, they should have brought you lunch," Marla groaned, "I'll order a platter for us from downstairs, I'm starving as well… anyway, it might be a long night. We've got a new client coming in for a consult – it'll be pro bono – but I want you to take it. She isn't able to come in until 7, is that alright?"

"Of course," Alex answered, knowing full well she'd probably be working later than that anyway. There was no difference to her if she worked late from the comfort of her Upper East Side apartment or the office. Thankfully, her office was just as comfortable at the firm as it was at home. Besides, Alex tended to do her best work from the comfort of the firms four walls. "Did you want to chat about it, or do you just want me to read the file? I don't mean to rush you, but I've got a few more deadlines for tonight that I fell behind on this weekend." Alexandra, ever the hard worker.

Alex had walked the pair back over to her office, heading inside and gesturing for her boss to take a seat. Marla consented, taking a seat in the plush white chair to the left of Alex's desk. Marla was an older woman, in her late 50's. Short, with dark brown hair, eyes to match, and a hardass exterior. She'd worked hard to get to her position, and it showed, but Marla was secretly a softy who cared way too much about her clients and employees.

"I'd like to talk about her," Marla told Alex, sitting back in the chair and pulling out her phone to open up her notes.

"I'm all ears," Alex said, picking up a thin ballpoint pen and situating herself in front of her legal pad to take notes. Sure, her computer was right in front of her, but Alexandra preferred to take notes and keep track of things the old-fashioned way, with pen and paper.

"Her name is Olivia," Marla told her, "She's got a little guy, Noah. He's 6 years old, I think. She's an adjunct English professor at Columbia. $60,000 a year – Husband's got all the dough - $460,000ish between salary and investments. As for assets, they own their home, husband's got a retirement account, obviously investments, cars are paid off. She's got a pension. Charity foundation with substantial assets."

Alex wrote notes quickly, but neatly on the notepad in front of her as her boss spoke. By the time she finished, Alex as sufficiently confused.

"Why are we taking this pro bono? Not that I don't want to, or that we shouldn't, but seems pretty simple – we can get him to pay her attorney's fees. Our resources in that department could be placed elsewhere," Alex said, always one to share her opinion, even if it meant speaking against her bosses.

"So, that's the harder part," Marla said in understanding, "Two big problems. I think we've got another Hawthorn x10 on the other side – I suspect some pretty intense abuse… and from what I was told, she's unable to access any of her own money, financial control. She's afraid to even come here today."

Alex continued writing notes for herself, remembering to note that these were only suspicions, "So you haven't spoken to her, is she a referral?"

"Yes, from an old friend of mine, Judge Donnelly," Marla told her, "Alex, this case must be treated with discretion. We're dealing with a very powerful man."

"Okaaaaay," Alex said dragging out the word in curiosity, "Is that the other problem?"

"Yep. We're dealing with high profile people here," Marla said simply.

Suddenly, a thousand little light bulbs went off in Alex's head. Olivia? Noah? She knew exactly who this woman was, "Are we talking about Olivia Holter... The mayor's wife?"

Marla stood up swiftly and shut the door of Alex's office, shushing the blonde as she did so, "Alexandra, hush, please. Olivia Benson, we're using her maiden name. I just told you this is confidential," Marla told her, hurrying back over to Alexandra's desk.

"Sorry," Alex said, putting down her pen. She knew who Olivia was for many reasons. First, Alex knew practically everything about politics – an avid follower, wanting to someday run for mayor, then senate, then who knows? Secondly, the mayor and his wife were huge philanthropists, something Alexandra and her family also dabbled in. Most importantly, Olivia was drop dead gorgeous. Thirty-five, with an incredible body, and a smile that could kill – Alex had always thought she was extraordinarily attractive.

"It's fine, it'll come out eventually… anyway, we need to be discrete right now," Marla told her, sitting back down, "And we need to develop the facts fully before we make any moves. It's essential that we have everything lined up perfectly to protect this woman… Donnelly is very concerned about her."

"Of course, I understand," Alex told her boss, jotting down a couple more notes of various laws she wanted to look up, and questions she wanted to ask.

"We'll be working this together, you and I… but you're taking the lead. This will likely be big, so feel free to utilize Casey on this too, it's right up her alley," Marla told Alex.

"Casey?" Alexandra asked, turning up her nose, "Can I have Adrienne, or maybe even Abby?"

"Abby is too close to this case," Marla said flatly, offering no additional information, "… and hey, anyway, what's up with you and Adrienne?" Marla winked at the blonde attorney. Marla had suspected for a while that something was going on between them.

Alex shook her head, "Absolutely nothing Marla, don't even finish whatever thought you have in that brilliant brain of yours."

"Yeah right, that girls obsessed with you," Marla teased. The best part about working for a small to mid-sized law firm was the simple fact that no matter how hard anyone tried to keep work at work, the firm was a family in its own right. Happy hours on Thursdays and Fridays, firm lunches twice a week, holiday parties, potlucks, birthday parties – you name it, they did it. They were their own little family. It was part of the reason Marla and her partners, Theodore "Ted" Park, and Preston Lowe, had never sold out to a national firm.

"I hadn't noticed," Alex lied. The truth was, Alex was well aware of Adrienne's crush on her. A few months after Adrienne had started at the firm, Marla and Ted had rented out a huge yacht for the 4th of July, inviting everyone and their families. Adrienne and Alex had both had a bit too much to drink and found themselves in a very heated interaction in the bathroom on the boat. Nothing had happened, but the small room had quickly been filled with sexual tension, borderline inappropriate touching, and an almost kiss – had Marla not interrupted them by coming down the stairs. She hadn't seen anything, but it had snapped the two women from their drunken haze. They'd both vowed to never let that happen again and had, thankfully, returned to their playful banter as good friends. Letting that happen would be a terrible mistake, Alex knew that. She wasn't interested in anything serious with Adrienne, and something other than friendship would surely result in problems at the firm.

"Mhm," Marla said with a fake nod, "Sure, kid. If you'd rather put Adrienne on it, that's fine… just make sure it stays away from Abby. They're good friends too… Anyway, 7, we'll do it in your office," Marla finished, standing up and heading out of Alex's office to let the blonde finish her work.

Alex opened up her web browser and clicked her bookmark for WestLaw. She had some research to do before this meeting, adding to her list of deadlines – this one jumping in priority over the midnight deadlines. She was about an hour into her research when she was interrupted by Adrienne at her door again.

"Alex, I finished editing that memorandum you needed for Hawthorn – um, I shot it back over to you a few hours ago…," she said with a smile. "I really hate to rush you, but I have to leave, or I'll be late for civ pro," she added, her jacket and backpack already on, ready to head out for the night.

"Sorry Adrienne," Alexandra told her, "I got caught up on other things, and then this new case… I'll handle the final proof and get it over to Langan, thanks for taking care of that today."

"No problem," Adrienne said with a smile, "If you need any help with anything, you can send it over – you look… tired, and I've got the extra time so," she finished, trailing off.

"I'll be here late tonight," Alex confirmed, "I'm already tired…. And thank you Adrienne, I will. I'm going to bring you in on this new case, but we can talk on Wednesday," Alex said, pushing her black framed glasses back up onto her nose and smiling back at the girl.

"Have a good night Alex," Adrienne said, turning and leaving the office.

Alex turned her attention back to her Mac desktop and scanned her email for the document Adrienne had sent over for her review. She spent some time editing the work but was overall pleased with what Adrienne had put together. For a 2L, she was pretty adept at this area of the law already. She checked the clock by the time she was done, 5:45. With Trevor, Alex typically preferred to be right on time. Her disclosures weren't due until just before midnight, but she'd agreed to get him her mediation memorandum by 6. The disclosures were done; her favorite paralegal, Amanda, had finished redacting the sensitive information by noon, but Alex wasn't inclined to send them early when Hawthorn hadn't complied with any disclosure deadlines thus far. Sighing, she opted not to make her life harder by having to sit up until 11:59 PM to send them, and attached them to her email with the memorandum, sending all her documents off by 5:55 PM.

"Goodnight, Alex," a woman called from down the hallway, the last employee still in the office. Even Marla had left, vowing to be back by 7 for their consult.

"Goodnight, Abby," Alex replied, knowing full well that Abby was about to come bug her for the next thirty minutes.

"Thought you got off easy?" Abby asked, walking into Alexandra's office uninvited. She plopped down directly on Alex's desk, right beside Alex.

"No, you'd never leave without annoying me for an hour first," Alex teased, pushing away from her desk and stopping the timer on their law software so she wouldn't bill her client for small talk.

"It's been a shit day," Abby told her, southern accent thick as ever. Abigail Carmichael was another associate at the firm, three years older than Alex, a senior associate, who had been at the firm for seven years, a year longer than Alex's six years. She'd joined the firm from the DA's office after a year there, deciding that prosecution just wasn't for her.

"Why?" Alex entertained her friend, knowing it probably wasn't a bad day at all. Abigail Carmichael was rather dramatic, having been born and raised in Dallas, Texas.

"Busy – I've got three cases in criminal court right now – they're freaking ruthless there," Abby complained, "And an unusually contentious adoption – I swear, I don't understand people sometimes."

"Criminal court sucks, I've got two in there, but our client isn't the perpetrator, so we're kinda hands off except talking to the state," Alex told her, "The other is a petty theft for a client's son."

"Lucky – I've got a college admissions scandal in federal court that's driving me up a fucking wall," Abby complained again, "Our client is a goddamn idiot."

"Sounds like you need a drink," Alex told her, gesturing toward the small bar cart off to the side of Alex's office. It was always fully stocked, courtesy of the firm. For once, Abby's day did actually kind of seem like a nightmare – federal court was never a cake walk.

"Honestly, yeah, I do," Abby said, standing up and moving over to the cart. She picked up the bottle of Belvedere and poured herself a straight glass of vodka.

"Don't you have Court tomorrow?" Alex asked, scanning the firm wide calendar. Abby did, in fact, have court in the morning, at 9:00 AM to be exact.

"At 9, I'm not too worried, just a quick status conference," Abby said downing a large gulp of the drink in her hand, "I've got a date tonight."

"Another? Same chick?" Alex asked, laughing.

"Nah, that one wasn't really working for me, on to the next one," Abby answered happily. "This one's name is Lana, kinda cute."

"Wasn't the last one Laura?"

"Yep, Lana, Laura, whatever," Abby shrugged. Abigail Carmichael was a flirt, a big flirt. As long as Alex had known her, she'd never known Abby to date anyone longer than a few months. Honestly, Abby had never brought the same girl to a firm event twice.

"You're incorrigible," Alex chided.

"You love me…" Abby answered. It was true, Alex did love the woman, she was arguably her best friend. "Anyway, I'm just weeding out the bad ones, so you don't make any mistakes when you decide to finally have a life."

"Shuttup Abby, I do have a life," Alex groaned.

"Yeah, work, coffee, the gym, and torturing poor Adrienne," Abby retorted.

"I do not torture that girl," Alex said feigning annoyance.

"You do, and I think she secretly likes it," Abby said.

"Whatever," Alex answered. That would never happen. Adrienne was only 23, still young and wild. Alex absolutely thought she was beautiful, and enjoyed their innocent flirting, but other than sexual attraction, Adrienne was far from her type.

"Are you stuck here late tonight?" Abby asked, "And lord, Cabot, no one's here, loosen the fuck up," she reached over and pulled Alex's hair out of her low bun, tousling it quickly for her to fix it. She reached over and unbuttoned the top button of Alex's shirt and smiled, "That's better."

"Abigail, I have a consult," Alex said, reaching up and swatting at her friend's hands, making quick work of rebuttoning the button on her shirt.

"Okay, but at least leave the hair down, you're so uptight sometimes, it's time for you to get out of the house and live a little again," Abby told her downing the rest of her vodka.

"You're not driving home right?" Alex asked, eyeing her friend and coworker.

"Nah, I walked," Abby told her sarcastically, feigning a laugh.

"You walked from the Village?" Alex asked, her mouth agape. That was a long walk.

"No, I took the subway… for someone so smart, you're incredibly dense sometimes, I'll see you tomorrow Alex," Abby said, turning and leaving the office of her very gullible friend.


By 7:15, both Marla and Alex were concerned that their potential new client was not going to show up. Neither woman had received a call from Ms. Benson and when Marla had tried to call the woman twice, both had gone straight to voicemail. Neither attorney was surprised that Olivia hadn't shown up, it was common in their area of practice to have potentials get cold feet at the last minute, but something about this case had both of them concerned. Namely, the referral had come from a judge, a well-respected judge. Donnelly wasn't one to put her name out there for just anyone, so Olivia had to be a special case.

When 7:30 rolled around, Alex told Marla that she could head out. The blonde attorney still had to complete the first draft of a settlement agreement for a civil litigation client before she left for the evening, so she'd told Marla that she would be around for at least another two hours just in case Olivia decided to show up.

At around 8:30, Alex heard a faint knock at the front door of the office. She'd locked the door behind Marla when she left, even though the building had tight security and a nighttime security crew. Truthfully, Alex just knew how nasty litigation could get, and she wasn't taking any chances. She'd just finished the first draft of the settlement agreement and was in the midst of editing her work when she heard the knock. She stopped the timer on her law software, glancing down at her billed hours for the month. It was the sixth with only four of those days having been business days, but Alex had already billed 42 hours for the month. With a billable rate of $385, she'd already earned the firm nearly half her monthly salary. She shook her head at herself, maybe she did need a life.

Alex stood up from her desk, walked out of her office, and headed down the hallway toward the front door to the firm. The entrance to Goldstein & Park was separated from the hallway containing the elevators and the bathrooms by a wall and two large glass doors stained elegantly with the firm's name. Just outside the door stood Olivia, a little curly haired boy at her side, holding her hand. Alex smiled at the sight of them. Olivia was even more attractive in person than in pictures. She was tall, yet still shorter than Alexandra, especially in her heels. Her hair was longer than it was in the last photo Alexandra had seen of the woman from a charity event for lymphoma research, now just past her shoulders in near perfect curls. She looked tired, but put together in a pair of Blundstone boots, jeans, a black sweater, and a jacket. The little boy beside her was adorable, a bright smile on his face, dressed in a puffy green jacket, jeans, and boots that matched his moms. He was the spitting image of his mother, with a mop of curly locks on his head and big hazel eyes. Alex moved closer to the door, unlocking it, and opening it for the woman to enter.

"Ms. Benson?" Alex asked, a formality, already knowing it was her.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," Olivia told Alexandra as she led her son into the office, "My phone died, and – and we just – well, long story short we had to walk here from Penn," Olivia said softly, "That was a little difficult with a 6 year old." She looked down at Noah and ruffled his hair at the top of his head.

"My feet hurt mommy," the little guy said, looking up at her with a smile.

"That's almost 4 miles," Alexandra said, shocked that they'd had to walk. Why couldn't they have taken a taxi, the subway, or even the bus?

"Yeah," Olivia agreed, "About 3 and a half. Again, I'm so sorry."

"Wow, I wish we would have known; I could have sent a car for you… anyway, I'm Alexandra Cabot," Alexandra told her softly, leading them into the law firm's lobby and closing the door behind her, locking it again.

"Thank you… I'm Olivia, and this handsome little dude is Noah," Olivia said sheepishly, looking down at Noah, clearly not wishing to explain the circumstances that left her having to walk from Penn Station all the way to Goldstein & Park in front of her son.

"It's a pleasure to meet you… Well, I'm glad you both made it. We'll certainly cover the cost of your ride back to Penn," Alex told the woman as she led them further back into the firm, toward her own office, "Why don't we put this little guy up in my boss' office, and then we can go talk in mine?"

"That would be great," Olivia responded, she knelt down slowly, as if she was in pain, until she was eye level with her son and took his hands in hers, "Hey Noah, how about we go with Miss. Alexandra, and get you comfortable with some music so Mommy can talk to Miss. Alexandra about grown up things?"

"Can't I stay with you?" Noah asked, looking up at his mom with large sad eyes.

"You know," Alex interjected suddenly, "My boss' office has this big comfy couch that you can lay on, and a huge TV. We have all the channels, so we can put on some cartoons for you. But that's not even the best part…"

"What's the best part?" Noah asked, looking up at Alex now.

"We have all the snacks. Anything you want!" Alex grinned, lifting her hand and pointing over toward the small kitchen in the back of the office.

Noah's eyes lit up, "Do you have cookies?"

"All kinds," Alex answered, "My bosses both love sweets."

"Can I Mommy?" Noah asked his mother.

"Of course, kiddo," Olivia answered, standing up from her spot on the floor. The wince of pain she made as she rose, this time, did not go unnoticed by the attorney.

Alex opted to ignore it for now, and instead lead the two toward the kitchen to get some snacks for the little boy. Once Noah was situated in Marla's office with cartoons and a couple different selections of cookies, Alex had led Olivia into her office two doors down. Alex helped Olivia get comfortable in one of the chairs in front of her desk and walked over to her chair to sit down behind her Mac.

Neither woman spoke for a moment, Olivia clearly a little uncomfortable, and Alexandra hesitant to begin until the woman initiated the conversation. Finally, after a few seconds, Olivia broke the silence.

"Elizabeth Donnelly referred me… she told me I'd be meeting with Marla Goldstein, Elizabeth is an old friend of mine," Olivia said softly, unsure of how to begin the conversation.

"Yes, I apologize for that. Marla went home for the evening not too long ago. We weren't sure if you'd be showing up and she had dinner plans with her husband. He'd have been annoyed if she cancelled again," Alexandra explained with a smile, "So, you're stuck with just me tonight."

"I didn't mean to keep you here late, I'm so sorry, again," Olivia answered.

"Please, stop apologizing. You're not the first client to be late for an appointment, and you certainly won't be the last… besides, I knew I'd be here a while tonight, so it truly isn't a big deal," Alexandra answered, flashing the brunette a genuine grin.

"Thank you for understanding… So, Alexandra Cabot, you said?" Olivia asked.

"Yes ma'am," Alex answered, nodding her head, "Alex is fine. If you choose to have us represent you, we'll be getting rather well acquainted."

"Any relation to Alexander and Donna Cabot?"

"My parents," Alexandra responded with a smile, "I'm their middle child."

"I've met them a few times… at events… lovely family," Olivia told her, nodding her acknowledgement of who Alexandra is.

"They're good people," Alex conceded.

"You're an attorney?" Olivia asked her.

"Yes, I've been here almost six years now," Alex answered, "First job post law school. I've never looked back."

"Congratulations… I would've pegged you as a law student," Olivia answered with a bright smile.

"Ah yes, curse of the Cabot genes, I only look like I'm 20 something, but I can assure you, I'll be 31 soon," Alexandra answered with a grin.

"Hmm, I'd say there's something to be said about those Cabot genes," Olivia answered, looking the blonde up and down. A flirtatious smile spread across her lips. Alex gulped at the sight, maybe Olivia uses flirtation as a defense mechanism, like Abby, she thought to herself. Or, was the potential new client flirting with her? Alexandra's curiosity was now ultra-piqued. Who was this woman?

Alex's cheeks turned a light shade of pink, "Thank you, you're very kind."

"So, I guess you'll want to know why I'm here?" Olivia asked.

"That might help," Alex teased, picking up her pen and turning to the note pad she'd been jotting notes on before, "But don't worry, we can take this at your speed. Would you prefer if I start my spiel?"

"Sure," Olivia answered, leaning back in the chair.

"So, as you already know, I'm Alexandra Cabot. Marla Goldstein is my boss, and we would be the two working on your case, if you decide to hire us. We'll be taking the case pro bono, so you wouldn't need to worry about costs, or fees." Alex paused to look over at Olivia who had taken out her own pad and paper, preparing to take notes. "But, that doesn't mean the quality of work you'll receive from our firm will reflect that. We take great pride in our high success rates, good outcomes, and client loyalty. We don't advertise, we run almost solely off of referrals and word of mouth. Marla's been in practice for over 30 years, and like I said, I've been practicing for about six years… From my understanding, you're looking to get divorced?"

"Yes," Olivia said softly, slowly, almost as if she was whispering, "I need this to be as quick and painless as possible."

"I understand… Can you tell me a little bit about your husband, is there reason to believe this won't be easy?" Alex asked gently. She already knew most of the background information, but Alex preferred to allow her clients to speak their truth to her in their own time. Especially for the harder cases.

"He – he um, he doesn't know I'm here," Olivia said, her voice remaining at a whisper, "It won't be easy."

"That's alright," Alex said reassuringly, "He doesn't need to know that you're here."

"I – I um, I just want the divorce, and my son. He can have everything; I just want this to be as… discrete as possible. I'm – I'm not going to fight him on anything, except my son," Olivia said, her voice gaining a bit of gusto as she spoke. "I just need to get away from him, I – I can't take it anymore."

"Does your husband agree to the divorce at least?" Alex asked, jotting down a few notes.

"No," Olivia said simply, "He doesn't know… He will fight me on it," the brunette sat back in her chair, huddling up into her jacket as she spoke. Alexandra, again, didn't fail to notice the brunette's actions.

"Olivia," Alex started, taking her glasses off her face and placing them on the desk beside her. She sat back comfortably in her chair and softened her demeanor, knowing she had to ask the difficult question, "Are you afraid of your husband?"

Olivia flinched at the question but chose not to respond. Instead, she looked down at the ground for a moment, seemingly catching her breath, "If you're my lawyer, you can't tell anyone, right?"

"No, Olivia, I can't," Alex confirmed, "I cannot break your confidentiality, even during this conversation, since we are speaking in preparation of my representation of you."

"You can't represent my husband, right? Or use this against me if I decide not to do this?" Olivia asked.

"No," Alex told her, "Anything you tell me today is strictly confidential, and will remain that way. Only those working on your case will be appraised of anything you tell me – and even then, I won't share information that you ask me not to. It's safe to speak freely with me. Unless you plan to tell me about a crime you're about to commit," Alex smiled, throwing in a joke at the end of her speech with a smirk.

"Okay…" Olivia said, nodding.

"I know I'm a stranger to you, but I am a good attorney," Alexandra tried, keeping her voice even, "I am here to help you, protect you. But I – I can't protect you if you don't tell me what I need to protect you from."

Olivia looked back up from the floor, her chestnut eyes meeting Alex's impossibly blue ones, tears threatening to fall, "I – I… I…" Olivia stopped, unable to form the words. While she'd been able to mentally prepare herself for these conversations, she hadn't prepared herself to actually be able to speak to anyone about it. Olivia stood up from the chair she was sitting in, placed her hands at the hem of her sweater and lifted the fabric slowly. Alexandra's eyes went wide, unable to hide the shock, as the woman revealed a small portion of her torso to the blonde. Bruises of all different colors adorned the brunette's olive colored skin, some new, some old, some still trying desperately to heal.

"Did your husband do this to you?" Alex asked as Olivia lowered her shirt and sat back down in her chair carefully. The brunette nodded, almost unnoticeably. Alex had never expected that the abuse Olivia was suffering from would be this severe. It never ceased to amaze her how well the media could portray a picture of happiness, completely oblivious to the reality of a relationship. The Holter's had always seemed happy, success, intelligence, money, a beautiful son, and a dog.

"Okay," Alex said sympathetically, crossing out the portion of her notes that called the abuse a suspicion, "Do you have somewhere safe you can go?"

"He's out of town this week," Olivia offered, "That's why we scheduled this meeting for today. I'm hoping we can get out of there while he's gone."

"When does he get back?" Alex asked.

"Sunday night," Olivia responded, "But I don't have any access to money… I – I forgot this morning when I left for work… When he leaves town, he – he only gives me some cash. He takes my credit cards, I have no access to my own bank account - anything that I could use to get away from him. I – I forgot, and I didn't take enough cash with me. My – my sitter got sick, and I had to cancel class, rush home to Long Island, get Noah, and come back here… I stupidly only grabbed enough cash for Noah's train tickets, and my phone died on the train, and I just – I didn't know what to do, so we just walked."

"Okay," Alex said, forcing herself not to show any emotion toward the woman in front of her. It definitely seemed like Olivia wasn't giving Alex the whole story. How could a woman like Olivia stay under the control of a man like that? She was educated, attractive, had tons of friends to help her, a son… Sure, Mayor Holter looked like an asshole, and based on what Olivia was saying, he clearly was an asshole, but why not leave sooner?

"So, we have until Sunday to handle everything. We can have him served on Monday, after we get you into a safer situation," Alex added.

"I know you're probably thinking it's ridiculous that I let things get this bad, but it's complicated. I was terrified, and if I just up and fled with Noah, I'd be accused of kidnapping, I'd never get my son away from him… and I don't want to just take my boy to a shelter," Olivia said, fear evident in her voice, "He doesn't deserve this."

"Let me handle that part of things, okay? It's normal to be afraid, and I'm not judging you at all. Everyone handles tough situations differently. I can't begin to imagine how horrible this all must have been for you to endure, but we will get you out of there now," Alex said gently, reaching a hand across the desk to comfort the brunette.

Surprisingly, Olivia reached up and took Alex's hand, squeezing it, "Thank you… I'm just… scared for Noah and I."

"I understand," Alex told her giving her a gentle squeeze back. It was typical for clients to get emotional in her office, it was just simply part of the job when dealing with domestic issues. "Have the cops been involved at all?"

"No… well, yes… but not really… Noah… he called 911 a few months ago," Olivia offered, "For me."

Alex lowered her head at the news. How incredibly traumatic that had to be for the little boy, "Can you explain why?"

"Brad… he… we got into an argument. I – I told him I was going to leave him," Olivia explained, "I asked him for a divorce."

Alex nodded in agreement, encouraging Olivia to continue.

"He got upset. He was yelling at me at first, freaking out honestly. I've never seen him so angry. He – he got physical… Noah, saw it… And he did the only thing he knew, and called 911… The cops came, and Brad was able to charm his way out of it, threatening Noah and I both about revealing too much… They didn't do anything to help, and I don't want them to. I do not want this getting to that point, I just want out – a clean break," Olivia answered.

"Do you have any family nearby that you can stay with?" Alex asked, writing down the notes regarding Olivia's desires to keep the authorities out of the situation.

"No," Olivia answered, "My mom is gone, and I never knew my dad. I've got friends, but no one that Brad wouldn't be able to find," Olivia told Alex, "We all pretty much run in the same circle."

"First priority is getting you out of this situation, safely, with Noah," Alex said with an understanding smile, "I can have something set up for you by Wednesday morning."

"Wednesday?"

"Are you prepared to get moving on this that quickly?" Alex asked.

"I – Yes," Olivia said, correcting herself, "I need to get out."

"Have you kept any records of the abuse you've suffered?" Alex asked the woman, planning her attack already in her head.

"Yes," Olivia answered honestly, "I – I have videos, pictures, text messages," Olivia explained, reaching for her phone.

"No, no, not now. We can deal with that later, I just wanted to know what we're looking at in terms of evidence… I know I don't need to tell you that this could all get very ugly," Alex told her honestly. She had to prepare the woman for the very real possibility that her reputation would be smeared across tabloids, that Brad was going to do anything in his power to keep his hands clean for the public. His career depended on it.

"I know," Olivia answered, "Which is why I should tell you… my hands aren't exactly clean."

"Self-defense is common among ba-" Alex started to say, correcting the woman in front of her.

"No – nothing like that… I've – I've been unfaithful," Olivia answered, "I – this all started just after Noah was born. Before that – before that, things were good between Brad and I… I just – I didn't know who I was, or what I wanted. I was so young and swept up in all the hype of him. I'd just barely turned 29 when Noah was born, and we were married for barely a year before that… I – I told him I wasn't happy… that he couldn't possibly be happy – that I had realized I was a lesbian, and I wanted to split up, as friends… Raise Noah together… He – he freaked… that was the first time he – he hit me. We separated for a few months after that, and I was so happy, so free, exploring who I was, splitting up time with Noah with him… he found out… about a relationship, and he – he forced me back, threatening to take Noah, he – he begged me to stay and told me we could have an open marriage, for Noah's sake, and things just progressed from there. I – I don't know why I went back, or why I didn't try, I just wanted to do what was best for Noah – I just… it got so bad, and I couldn't get out of it… and now we're here."

Alex sat quietly, listening to the woman in front of her. Well, this is certainly more complicated than we'd thought, Alex thought to herself as she listened intently to the woman across from her. She continued jotting down notes, making note of the various fault divorce allegations they could make on the edge of her paper. New York was one of the few states that still allowed for fault divorces, rather than simply turning to a no-fault only situation like majority of the United States.

"Thank you for sharing that with me Olivia, that's very helpful information. We need to know where your liability is too. Even if he is a bastard… Is there a pre-nup or a post-nup that we should be aware of?" Alex asked, ever the lawyer – attempting to remain focused on the consultation at hand and not let her emotions get the best of her. The situation sucked, and frankly, Alex wanted to cry. Olivia was a young mother, had a son she needed to protect, was being abused by a controlling husband, had been trapped in a relationship with a man, and was going up against a powerful New York City politician with a plethora of connections.

"No," Olivia answered.

"Okay, that's good," Alex answered, making note of that fact, "Is there anything else we need to be aware of? I'm not going to get into the procedures of divorce right now, seeing as we need to make sure priority one is accomplished before we do anything. Getting you and Noah safe is the first move... And it looks like you could use a break."

"Thank you," Olivia said appreciatively, unsure if she could muster the strength to delve into the non-important aspects of their divorce right now, "But yes. He – he told me if I ever left him it would be without Noah… that he'd rather kill me than let me have him. He isn't going to make this simple."

"Are you concerned for your life Olivia?" Alex asked simply.

"Yes, I am… you don't understand what he's capable of," Olivia answered, whispering again.

"Okay," Alex said again, nodding in understanding. It was clear that Olivia had been through a lot, most of which she had not divulged to Alex during this meeting, "Let's talk more about that at another time. We don't need to overwhelm you right now."

Olivia grinned again, thankful that Alex wasn't going to push her too far. She stood up from her chair and walked over to Alex's door to peek her head out and check on Noah. There were no unusual sounds coming from Marla's office, just the goofy voices of the cartoon characters booming through the TV for Noah. She resigned to the fact that he was okay and turned back to Alex.

"He's been through a lot, Alexandra," Olivia said, "I just want this to be as easy on him as possible."

"You have my word, Olivia," Alex told her, standing up from her desk and walking over to where Olivia was standing.

The brunette placed her hand on Alex's upper arm and smiled, "Thank you."

"Why don't I call you a cab back to Penn, and you take Noah home. It'll be almost 11 by the time you get home at this point… I want you to start packing up all your important documents, and anything you and Noah might need, and I'll give you a call tomorrow afternoon with an update?" Alex asked, helping Olivia to exit her office. She turned her toward Marla's office to retrieve Noah.

"Okay," Olivia answered, walking into the office and collecting Noah. She started trying to clean up the cookie mess Noah had made on the small table beside the couch.

"Don't worry about the mess, I'll clean up," Alex told her softly. She picked up the handheld device of Marla's office phone and pressed speed dial 9, the car company the firm had on retainer for their clients and attorneys to utilize when necessary.

"Good evening… Yes…. Hello, This is Alexandra Cabot of Goldstein & Park… Can I get a car at the office please?... For a client… To Penn," Alex said into the receiver, "Yes… On the company account... Thank you." She hung up the phone and smiled at Olivia, "They'll be here in a few."

"Thank you, Alex," Olivia said, leading Noah out of the office, "We'll go sit in the lobby so you can get finished and get out of here."

"No, please, stay up here, they'll call when they're outside… you're not a bother," Alex said with a smile, "In fact, better yet, I can finish my work at home, so I'll head out with you… let me just go grab my briefcase and a couple of files."

Alex turned, leaving Olivia and Noah in the lobby of the firm. She headed back into her office and began compiling the papers she'd need to complete the settlement agreement draft she'd promised her client by midnight tonight. She quickly gathered her laptop, note pad, and a couple of files, shoving them all into her briefcase neatly. Alex put her suit jacket back on, buttoning only the top button, then picked her peacoat up off the back of her chair and pulled it on her body. She wrapped the scarf she'd worn this morning around her shoulders, letting it hand uselessly around her neck, untied. She saved the document she had open on her desk, locked her Mac, and headed out of the office, shutting the light off behind her. Within just a few moments, she rejoined Olivia and Noah in the lobby.

Olivia looked up as Alex approached, her eyes landing on Alex's hips as she practically floated across the lobby toward them. Olivia's breath hitched in the back of her throat at the sight of the blonde. Alexandra Cabot was a very attractive woman, especially in a powersuit. "Wow," Olivia commented, accidentally speaking her inner thoughts aloud. She blushed immediately at the recognition that she'd spoken the word. Olivia clearly found Alexandra attractive, something that did not go unnoticed by the attorney.

Alex laughed, a slight blush creeping up her neck, so maybe the new client was flirting with her. Alex opted for playful banter, "You don't like my jacket?"

Olivia stuttered for a second, "No. God no, not that… you just look so – powerful…" Olivia commented, trailing off as she looked the blonde attorney up and down.

"Some call me an Ice Princess," Alex responded, "I'll gladly accept powerful as an alternative."

Olivia didn't respond. There was something very comforting about the commanding presence of the blonde attorney beside her. She felt almost safe, being in her presence – Alex exuded a level of power and confidence Olivia admired.

"Let's go downstairs, I could go for a nice cup of coffee, and your car should be here shortly," Alex said, leading them toward the door of the law firm. She ushered everyone out, shut off the lights, and locked the door behind her. "There's a deli downstairs with a decent roast."

"Coffee at 9:30 at night?" Olivia asked.

"Oh, I've got a lot of work to do tonight Olivia," Alex winked at her, pressing the elevator button to take them back down to the building's lobby.

"You don't have to wait for us," Olivia answered as they all got onto the elevator.

"I'd oddly feel better knowing that you got in the car safe," Alex told her simply, pressing the lobby button and watching the doors close. She didn't feel it necessary to expand on that any further, protecting clients was her job.

"Since when did lawyers have hearts?" Olivia asked.

"We're not all shitty… especially not the family attorneys. I swear I spend half my day being an overpriced therapist," Alex told her with a grin, "We have hearts, Olivia."

"Surprising…" Olivia answered, pulling Noah closer to her. "But I appreciate it… I'd like to hire you, your firm…"

"Great, I'll have the paperwork sent over to initiate our representation in the morning," Alex told her with a smile.

"How are you getting home?"

"I live just up the street," Alex answered.

"Ah… A Cabot, I forgot," Olivia answered. Cabot's had money money, so it was no surprise that Alexandra lived and worked on the Upper East Side.

Alex rolled her eyes at the woman as the elevator doors opened to let them out, "Look, your car is already here."

"Thank you again, Alex," Olivia told her, taking Noah's hand and walking him toward the exit to the building, "Say goodbye to Miss. Alexandra, Noah," she told her son.

"Bye Miss. Alex, thank you for the cookies!" Noah said with a giggle as he and his mother exited the building and headed toward the black car waiting for her out front.

"Goodnight Olivia, Noah," Alex answered as she turned toward the deli door in the lobby and headed inside to grab a cup of coffee. It was going to be a long night.


I'd love to hear your thoughts!