Reese worked relentlessly the rest of the afternoon organizing the marketing event for the Melrose listing. She slouched in her desk chair as she typed; she would catch herself doing it every so often and would straighten up. She had to get this done, at least have something on paper for Victor so that he knew everything was still moving forward.
Knock! Knock!
"Come in," Reese said without breaking her concentration from her computer screen.
"Hey Reese."
Reese turned around to the sound of the deep gentle voice. It was Scott, her brother. It had been a while since she seen him; he had finally lost the traces of his boyhood. He had a Clarke Kent look about him, the Henry Cavil version though, dark hair and glasses—almost nerdy but strong. Despite the perfect tailoring and crispness of his suit, he seemed a little disheveled; she had never seen him without a haircut.
"Wh—what are you doing here?" she said standing.
"I'm taking Naomi out for dinner," he said hesitantly, "thought I'd surprise you."
"You did," she said with a half-smile, "Come here," she said with outstretched arms. They awkwardly embraced each other. "It's good to see you."
"You too," he said holding her tight.
"So," she said pulling away from him, sitting on the edge of her desk "What's new?"
"Oh," he sighed, sitting in a nearby chair, "just finished finalizing the settlement for this couple."
"The Greys?" she asked raising a brow.
"Oh right, you know," he smiled, "Your selling their house. How's that going?"
"It's going alright," she sighed deeply, "it's a lot of work, but I'm managing."
"You always do," he nodded.
"So," her eyes glanced around the room, "elephant in the room," she chuckled nervously.
"Yea…I know," he stared at her though his glasses, "look Reese, I didn't know about the affair. When I saw Collin hanging out, I just thought it was his colleague. I mean you go out with colleagues, too right?"
"Scott—"
"No, I know you blame me, and I should have just tol—"
"I don't blame you," she said softly, "Look, Collin and I had a lot of problems."
"Yea but if I would have known that he was cheating on you, I would have—"
"You couldn't have known," she interrupted, "I didn't even know, and we were living together."
"The guy is a slick bastard," Scott said firmly, "he didn't have to string you along like that. I can still bust his face in if you want?" he continued holding up his fist.
"No, that's okay," she laughed softly looking up at him, he laughed too. "You look strong."
"Yea, well rehab three times a week definitely helps," he smirked.
"I'm glad you're doing better. I was surprised to hear you were back at work already."
"You know us Sutherlins, nothing keeps us down," he grinned, "besides these are high-profile clients, you're not the only one that likes rolling in the dough," he teased.
"Ha for good reason though. I have bills," she laughed.
"Oh what, and I don't?" he chuckled.
"I thought Naomi was your suga mama," she teased.
"Oohh here you go," he laughed harder. It was a sound that Reese hadn't heard in a while. His laughter was like ripples in a pond after I rock was thrown in it, it radiated, and it was the sweetest sound to her in the moment.
"Hey, I have a question?" she said watching him regain his composure.
"Why did the Greys get a divorce anyway?" she said crossing her arms.
"Oh c'mon Reese," he paused, "you know I can't talk about the case. I signed an NDA."
"No, I know," she said averting her eyes, "Naomi had mentioned that there was a scandal or something?"
"She talks too much, "he mumbled, standing to his feet, "look, I can't say much all I know is that there were some photos—"
"Photos? Of?"
"I don't know," he said shrugging, "My client wasn't specific, but there were some photos and hey if it was enough for her to file for a divorce then they must have been pretty damaging."
"Hmm," she nodded.
"Look, I have to go," he said glancing at his watch, "Naomi's been sitting in the car all this time. It was great seeing you," he said leaning in, kissing her on the cheek.
"You too," her voice trailed as he left her office, "you too."