Brenda couldn't stop her eyes from watering. The frustration about the stinging and bleary vision was exacerbated by having to justify to Will Pope that she was right about foul play. Wiping at her eyes with the industrial strength shop towel she hmphed as Will called "come in!"
Sharon sauntered in, all beaming smiles until she saw Brenda's red, puffy eyes and concern washed over her.
"Good afternoon." Gavin greeted as he shut the door behind them. "Good to see everyone in one place…" He said slowly, scrutinizing the scene in front of him. "Just passed Goldman sitting outside."
"Looking very smug." Sharon looked between Will and Brenda. "Something wrong?"
"Oh, just pepper spray!" Brenda frowned, lifting the shop towel to her running nose. The brunette had nursed her through food poisoning and a bout of gastroenteritis yet she still felt embarrassed to have a dripping nose in front of her.
Will immediately launched into the explanation to assuage Sharon that it wasn't an incident that required IA's attention.
"Goldman's offer has already been approved by the city's attorney." Sharon announced, trying to get Will Pope to stop making asinine suggestions like a grown man pepper spraying himself in the face while trying to ward off a small woodland creature. "And now it's our turn to take a look."
"Goldman is going to make this offer seem like a miracle cure so don't get too excited when you hear it, okay?" Gavin looked at Brenda pointedly.
"Okay." She nodded, still sniffling.
"Mr. Goldman, come in please." Pope opened the door for him, coughing into his handkerchief. "I think you've met everyone."
Brenda looked across the table at the man who was making her life hell and wiped her nose again. "Was it something I said?" Goldman joked obnoxiously.
Pope laughed. "Pepper spray. Sorry we can't offer you any." Goldman laughed at the joke and Sharon had to turn away to roll her eyes.
"We're anxious to hear about this settlement." Sharon stepped back up to the table.
"I have good news. Followed by even better news." Goldman looked around the room, clearly pleased with himself. Gavin watched him with skepticism and narrowed eyes. "The Baylor family has agreed to lower the claim from twenty million to five hundred thousand dollars."
Brenda looked to Sharon, hoping to see something in the woman's face that would give away her feelings about the announcement. Sharon just stared at him, stone-faced, hands shoved deeply into her pockets.
Goldman grinned his sickening grin. "I know! Not every day you get a ninety seven and a half percent discount!"
Gavin looked over at Sharon. Pope spoke up, "that does sound like good news."
Gavin hmmed, "so, what's the better news?"
"If you agree to the settlement, the Baylor family will drop their claim of wrongful death against Chief Johnson," Goldman gestured toward Brenda.
Brenda frowned when everyone's attention was redirected to her in the middle of blowing her nose. She felt Sharon's eyes on her but when she looked over to the brunette her focus was back on the grease ball on the other side of the table.
"In exchange for what?" Sharon demanded in a low, menacing tone.
"Sorry?" Goldman blinked.
"Well, you've made the sun shine," Gavin smirked, "now tell us about the rain."
"There… is some language which stipulates Deputy Chief Johnson was 'unconcerned' with Turrell Baylor's welfare when she dropped him off."
"Language is a magical thing…" Gavin drawled as he took notes on his legal pad.
"You will also note," Goldman resumed, handing copies of the settlement to every person in the room, "that I have significantly lowered my contingency fees. This has never been about money; this is about righting a wrong: getting Mrs. Baylor a new house so she's not forced to live where her son was brutally murdered."
His last sentence was spoken while looking directly at Brenda. Brenda slid her glasses up her nose, the rims bumping sensitive flesh.
"And this offer does all of that without singling anyone out for blame. So. Read it, please, every word, under a microscope. And you're welcome."
Gavin held the door open, looking down at the paper dismissively, "thanks, we'll confer."
"I was kind of hoping we could settle this today."
"Mm, sorry to disappoint." Gavin cocked an eyebrow. "B'bye."
Goldman scowled, "fine. I'll expect an answer by midnight tomorrow. Chief Johnson." He looked to Gavin as he left but Gavin didn't look up from the settlement, only pushed the door closed as soon as the unattractive little man had passed over the threshold into the hallway.
"Well, I can see why the city loves this offer." Pope said. Gavin held up a halting hand to the happiness that threatened to break out on Brenda's face. "Obviously, five hundred grand instead of twenty million and no one is reassigned, right? No one's culpable…"
"Still says I didn't care what happened to Turrell Baylor." Brenda bit her lip.
"That's okay, nobody cared about him until he died." Sharon pointed out wryly. Brenda looked at her, for the first time since the whole mess began Sharon had actually let her feelings about the debacle be somewhat known. "Gavin, what do you think?"
Gavin felt a little thrill at Sharon's request for his opinion. "Well… the agreement appears reasonable… but I'm not going to pressure my client into signing a potentially life changing document in the next five minutes."
"Well, then allow me." Pope announced, "Chief Johnson, let's get this civil suit over with and I'll take us all out for a celebratory drink."
"The motion for summary judgment is set to be argued next week. I can win it, I will win it. This agreement acknowledges as much. Goldman is desperate. Why would you want to celebrate paying five hundred thousand dollars for something you could get for free?"
"What if you're wrong and the judge decides to try this case. Have you thought about what would happen to your client then?"
"I don't think of anything but what will happen to my client. Can you say the same?" Gavin demanded. Pope rolled his eyes and looked away. "No. Didn't think so."
"Hey," Gavin leaned against Angela's open door.
She looked up from the motion she was drafting. "Hey."
"So, you're the nit-pickiest pain in the ass I know," he started.
"Oh, you're such a charmer, how could my mother resist you?" Angela responded flatly.
"I know, right?" He let himself in and sat down on the other side of her desk. "I just need you to look at something for me and you're like an idiot savant when it comes to picking language apart."
"Take the 'idiot' out of that statement and maybe." She tapped her inbox. "If I have time."
"It's for Brenda," Gavin pleaded.
"She broke up with my mother. Maybe I'd like to see her get punished a little. Karma's a bitch, you know."
"She may have broken up with your mother but you know your mother would be really upset if Brenda went to prison." Gavin drawled, "it might even make her more sympathetic to her and slow down her recovery."
"Okay, fine. Leave it with me and I'll look at it in a couple of hours."
Gavin took Angela's hand in both of his and brought it to his lips, "you're a goddess. I adore you."
"Yeah, yeah."
"And not just because you're going to grow up to look just like your mother." Gavin teased, "hey, speaking of, would you like to go to dinner with me in 2031?"
"Mm, sorry, I'm washing my hair that decade." Angela mocked an apologetic smile. "Maybe sometime in the 2040s."
"Even better!"
"Okay, really, get out of here before you say something that I'm going to regret hearing."
Brenda was stretched out on Fritz's couch in a green sweater and her silky kitty pyjama pants watching the news footage of her case.
"It's only a bit of comfort if you believe Bob Michaels found a fresh pizza on a mountain trail one hour before he was pepper sprayed and shoved off the side of a cliff by the invisible man." Brenda groused, looking to Fritz who was ignoring her in favor of reading over the agreement.
"It's so frustratin' you couldn't find the footprints." Brenda griped, trying to get his attention by draping a foot across his lap.
"Too many feet on the trail to tell who's who." Fritz glanced over at her before using his free hand to massage the ball of her foot. "And obviously someone neatened up near the top of the cliff. It's not my fault."
"Oh! If I hear that song again I'm gonna jump off a cliff." Brenda muted the TV and dropped the remote in annoyance.
"Gotta admit, it's kinda catchy."
Brenda glared at Fritz. "So's the flu." She rubbed her eyes with a frown. "You should see the contract that Bruno uses to fool these parents. They pay four thousand dollars for a song and music video but then he gets eighty percent of the proceeds. It's a total scam!"
"It's kind of like this blameless settlement offer…" Fritz looked at her again. "You really want to sign this?"
"I have read it over and over and I can't find anything in it that locks me, or the LAPD, into liability for Turrell's death."
"What about 'by releasing him in hostile surroundings Deputy Chief Johnson demonstrated a lack of professional concern for the safety of the plaintiff's son?'"
"Well… doesn't say I arranged his murder which is what it used to say." Brenda wiggled her foot to get Fritz's attention again. "Besides, Gavin said it was a reasonable offer."
He pushed her foot down, favoring a serious discussion over Brenda's attempts to distract him. "No, you told me Gavin said it appears to be a reasonable offer. Appears."
"Sometimes things are as they appear to be, life doesn't always have to be so complicated." Brenda pouted.
"I'm sorry, my name's Fritz Howard. Who are you?"
Brenda looked at him sincerely, "the person who can end this civil suit for everybody."
"Why don't you wait to see what Gavin has to say."
"I know what Gavin's going to say. He's certain he can win the motion for summary judgment but it's not his life on the line, it's mine! And and and I want things to go back to normal. Right now."
"You sure you can live with this?"
"I think I have to."
"I'm going to get ready for bed." Fritz picked up Brenda's feet and set them on the couch as he stood up.
"I can sleep on the couch tonight, Fritzy, you don't have to give up your bed for me." Brenda sighed.
"That's sweet, but we both know you'd be miserable. Let's save us both the frustration and I'll just sleep on the couch."
Brenda cupped his cheeks affectionately. He moved forward and she turned slightly, causing him to back off. "I… I'm sorry… I know that I'm not being very fair to you."
"I'd wait forever for you, Brenda Leigh Johnson." Fritz said softly. Brenda smiled back at him, her heart breaking at his words. Fritz Howard was not the great love of her life, she was already aware of that. She couldn't bring herself to end the fantasy because she still needed things from him.
She leaned up and kissed his forehead softly.
Fritz smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. She watched him disappear into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. She sighed and leaned over the coffee table to sign the papers.
She wanted all of this behind her. She wanted to figure out what she wanted from Sharon. It had seemed like the thing to do at the time, like Sharon wasn't concerned about her but in the two weeks that followed she wasn't really sure anymore.
Sharon was by the book to a fault which, more than once, resulted in her not being there for Brenda because of 'regulations.' Fritz jumped into action any time she batted her eyelashes, he was attentive and he loved her and he never pretended he didn't love her just because there were people from work around.
Brenda also realized, since being away from her and feeling separate from her, that she chose Sharon over Fritz once and she always would.
"Yes?" Brenda asked tiredly, opening the door of Pope's office.
"How come this Bruno character announced his arrest to the press?"
"We give people their phone calls, who they call is up to them." Brenda said flippantly, already preparing to make her exit.
"Maybe he thought that if he acted rashly his problems with magically disappear." Brenda jumped at the sound of her voice and turned to see Sharon sitting at Pope's table. "Like someone who signs a settlement to a lawsuit without talking to her attorney."
"How did you find out about that?" Brenda narrowed her eyes with annoyance.
Pope sighed, "I have to forward all signed settlement agreements to Professional Standards, sorry…"
"It is my job to review all legal agreements concerning officer conduct and I refuse to certify this document." Sharon tapped the offensive pile of papers with her pointer finger while watching Brenda with a look of reproach.
"Why?" Brenda demanded.
"Because we need to determine if the term 'professionally indifferent' has broader legal implications."
"Honestly, you think I'd be congratulated for agreeing to fall on my sword." Brenda huffed.
"Right? And with negligent homicide off the table it's really more like a pen knife anyway." Pope added, causing Brenda and Sharon to cast him uneasy glances.
Brenda shook it off and looked back to Sharon. "I wanna sign it. I want this to be over."
Sharon tucked the document away into her bag and leaned back in the chair nonchalantly. "Maybe tonight. We'll see."
"Fine." Brenda ground out, feeling a mixture of angry and morose and trying to keep both off of her face. She knew that Sharon knew her well enough to recognize either and did the only thing she could do, she turned away. To Pope she added, "I tried." Before retreating from the room.
Sharon stood from the table, glad to be leaving. "You and I both know this deal isn't getting any better." Pope said, derailing her before she got to the door.
Sharon glared at Pope. "There's something here we're missing. I don't trust Goldman and when it comes to this agreement, I don't trust you either."
"I am the Chief of Police-" Pope started, prepared to lay into Sharon.
"Acting Chief." Sharon was quick to point out. "And I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that I am on the committee that will be evaluating your performance as Chief."
"Is that a threat, Captain?"
Sharon looked taken aback, "I never make idle threats, you should know that about me by now."
"It's in her best interest to end this now." Pope insisted in a low voice, "you think you're doing her some big favor by dragging your feet but you're just making it worse."
"We'll see." Sharon shrugged dismissively before letting herself out. As soon as she stepped out of the office she was face to face with Brenda. She jumped a little and laid a hand over her heart, "you startled me."
"Why won't you sign off on it?" Brenda demanded. "And who gave you the power to be able to veto it anyway?"
"We were together for six years and you don't know what I do?" Sharon snorted.
"How can I keep track? You do a million different things! Force Investigation Division Captain, Co-Chair of Women in the LAPD something or other, Professional Standards... department… liaison?"
Sharon crossed her arms over her chest, "are you through?"
"I want to sign the agreement, Sharon, and I'm sick of you trying to play mother all the time. You don't always know what's best for everyone."
"I'm not'playing mother' and for the record I find that offensive and sexist." Sharon put a defiant hand on her hip.
"Oh, it can't be sexist if another woman says it!"
Sharon let out a frustrated growl. "Sometimes I can't believe the things that come out of your mouth. The only thing that ever stops the deluge of crap is when you put your foot in your mouth."
"Just sign off on the papers so I can be done with this whole thing and I can be done with you!" Brenda snarled.
The door opened behind them, "hey! These walls are not sound proof, you know!" Pope snapped. "Is it so much to ask to go argue somewhere else?"
Sharon turned and started walking toward the elevator bank. "I'm not finished with you!" Brenda called, catching up with her.
"Hey, Chief," Gabriel cleared his throat, "uh, Tao found something you should take a look at."
Sharon stepped into the elevator and Brenda turned to look at her. "We'll talk about it later."
"Ooh, that woman makes me so crazy." Brenda groaned.
"I hear someone has decided they can act as their own lawyer."
"Oh no!" Brenda cried upon seeing Gavin and Sharon, the two people she didn't need bitching at her right now. "I'm just about to interview a suspect and we don't have an appointment today."
Brenda started giving Flynn and Sanchez their tasks and asked Buzz to grab his camera and tried to walk away from the double trouble as quickly as possible and failing as Gavin stepped into her path.
"Wait, wait, wait. You're still working on that case?" Gavin's eyes were wide with excitement and he broke into song, "Daddy say yes!"
Brenda blinked a few times in annoyance and answered slowly, "…yes…"
"Oh my god. Is that not the worst video ev-er?" Gavin giggled and turned to whisper guiltily to Sharon, "I've watched it fifty times."
"Chief, do your work, we'll wait for you in your conference room."
"Oh no, no, no. If I'm off the clock, I would really like to see these people. Can I watch you?"
"As long as you're not chargin' me." Brenda tried her best to give a cheery smile but it came out forced and insincere. She could feel Sharon's disapproval boring into her skin.
"Okay?" Gavin looked over to Sharon.
"Okay…" Sharon fought the urge to sigh but consented.
"Okay!" Gavin announced excitedly, earning him an eye roll from Brenda. Brenda stalked off toward the interview room and Sharon dragged her heels behind Gavin.
His phone buzzed in his pocket and he stopped just outside the door to the conference room. "Sorry, Sharon," he apologized, "I have to take this I'll be in in two shakes of a lamb's tail."
Sharon nodded and pushed into the room.
He accepted the call and put it to his ear, "my angel," he greeted sweetly.
"Hey…" Angela smirked at the greeting. "I just finished reading over the agreement."
"Just now?"
"I had a lot of shit to do!"
"I'm sorry, what did you find?"
"Nothing. The agreement is squeaky fucking clean."
"Mm…" he chewed on his lip, "I was afraid of that… she wants to sign it… should I let her sign it?"
"Not if you ever want to have a chance with my mother – my god, how did I let you corrupt me?" Angela demanded.
"Hold on, hold on. Why shouldn't I let Brenda sign the agreement?"
"You were right, he's desperate and if you let Brenda sign that you'll be handing her over to him on a silver platter."
"Oh goddamnit!" Gavin cursed. "He just wants her to admit that she didn't care… that devious, slimy… teeny, tiny, poorly groomed man…"
"So, just put that thing right through the shredder and tell Goldman you'll see him in court where you will rock his world."
"I will rock his world." Gavin agreed, feeling confident. "And I'm going to tell Brenda that she owes you the world's largest celebratory mimosa."
"No. Keep me out of this. Promise me you'll take full credit for the revelation."
"Oh, but Angel!"
"Stop calling me that." Angela rolled her eyes.
"I just think you're being a little silly."
"Promise me that you won't tell Brenda or my mother that this was my spot." Angela insisted.
"Alright, alright. Hand to god, I will not tell your stone cold fox of a mother or her sweet-talking, stunning ex-lover that their brilliant, breathtaking love child has saved the day."
"I hate you a lot sometimes."
"Kiss, kiss, bye-bye." Gavin grinned before hanging up the phone. He entered the room and took a seat near the monitors.
Sharon leaned forward, "everything good?"
He turned to smile at her, "everything's coming up roses, ma Cherie."
"The way you led her down the garden path, just telling her what she wanted to hear… so simple." Gavin gushed, having a fangirl moment over her recent performance.
"Well, when someone's guilty they're pretty easy to lead." Brenda smiled, enjoying the compliment. Sometimes it was nice to have someone impressed with her work again. Everyone else had seen her break suspects so many times before that it was a given, it was old hat.
"How right you are." He said, his tone getting serious. "That's why…" He threw the agreement to the side, startling Brenda and Sharon.
"Oh, come on! We need to discuss this." Pope demanded, getting a little flush with cantankerousness.
No, we don't. That settlement has one objective and that is to get my client to take responsibility in writing for the murder of Turrell Baylor."
"But they dropped the wrongful death charges!" Brenda stuttered.
"Nowhere does Goldman promise not to re-file the moment after you admit professional indifference to the suspect's predicament." Gavin leaned back in his chair, trying to resist the urge to give Angela the credit.
"I knew it!" Sharon grinned triumphantly.
"Do you really think he'd still try to take me to court?" Brenda chewed the inside of her lip.
"Well, this is why he wanted us to check out the offer with a microscope. He wanted us to concentrate on what was in the settlement and not on what wasn't. So, let's say you hand the document over to Goldman after you put away the mother of internet sensation Missy Michaels, he could wave this agreement around on television and say Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson has, in effect, confessed to responsibility for a murder of her own. How do you think the press would play that? Especially after you ruined Daddy Say Yes."
Commander Taylor entered the office, "the Michaels are walking the press plank if anyone's interested."
"Oh my god, you have to ask?" Gavin demanded as Commander Taylor turned the television on. Pope rolled his eyes, disgusted with the recent turn of events and excused himself from the room.
Gavin sat riveted to the screen as Beth Michaels was loaded into a prison van and the press dogged Missy. Brenda looked over to Sharon out of the corner of her eye. Without turning to her, Sharon slid her hand closer to Brenda's and discreetly stroked Brenda's pinky finger with her own.
Brenda smiled and suppressed a small laugh.
"Well," Sharon said, standing. "I have to go finish a bit of paperwork."
Brenda stood as well, "Captain, thank you for… your continued support… in this matter."
Taylor kept his eyes straight forward on the press footage but was really straining to listen in on the women's conversation.
Sharon nodded curtly. "Just doing my job, Chief."
Even Taylor had to admit that that was an icy response. He almost felt sympathy for Brenda as Sharon excused herself without further comment. Brenda sank back down into her chair.
At the sound of the door closing Gavin turned around. "Oh… did Sharon leave?"
Brenda nodded, trying not to betray her emotions. "I'm going to…" Brenda stood again, suddenly wanting to be alone. "I have to do my paperwork."
Gavin got up, "alright, well, dear," he gathered his things into his briefcase. "I'll meet with you in a couple of days to discuss the summary judgment."
Brenda nodded.
"Oh good, you're still here." Brenda purred from the doorway.
Sharon grinned, "I was just on my way out. Good timing."
Brenda sashayed into the room and shut the door behind her, leaning against it seductively. "I was thinking we could grab a bite to eat…"
"Sure," Sharon smiled, slinging her purse over her shoulder and walking up to the blonde, "when?"
Brenda hooked her finger into Sharon's belt loop and gave her a tug, "tonight… now…"
"I have plans." Sharon whispered, her face close to Brenda's.
"Cancel them," Brenda leaned closer, brushing her lips against Sharon's lightly.
"Oh, that would be very rude of me…" Sharon turned her head, pressing her cheek to Brenda's to say softly in her ear, "cancelling a date on such short notice…"
Brenda pulled back abruptly, staring into Sharon's face as though the woman had just drowned her kitty cat. "A date? Two weeks after we broke up?"
"Two weeks isn't a respectable amount of time to wait?"
"We were together for six years! I think it's only respectable to wait at least six months."
"You've got to be kidding me. You're getting in my face about having a date when you moved out of my house and right into the apartment of your ex-boyfriend?"
Brenda gaped for a moment. "That is completely different! I'm not back together with him."
"If you're waiting out of respect to us you don't have to."
"I can't believe you're throwing us away."
"You threw us away." Sharon's bottom lip quivered and she had to look away from Brenda. "I'm so sick of you doing things and then trying to blame them on me."
"When have I ever?"
"Oh, you do not want to get into this." Sharon sighed heavily, "you don't need me to get into a laundry list of all of it right now. It would make me late."
"You know what I'm sick of? I'm sick of you making mental notes every time I do something wrong, making notes in my file. Do you know how much pressure that is?"
"Well, you're free. We're not together anymore, no more pressure." Sharon let out a shaky breath. "Why don't you just get back together with Fritz or anyone who has never asked you to do anything or take responsibility for anything?"
"Maybe I will."
"Please leave my office… Chief." The two women locked eyes defiantly before Brenda broke the gaze and stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind her.
"You asked to see me, Mr. Lewis?" Angela knocked on the doorframe to the office of one of the named partners.
"Angela, yes, come in, have a seat." Josh Lewis gestured toward the chair in front of his desk.
Angela sat, feeling somewhat apprehensive. In the time that she'd worked for the firm she had scarcely interacted with the man at all and had only had a personal conversation with him once, for two minutes, when she was interviewing for the position.
"Gavin Baker has been filling me in on what a help you've been to him recently."
"Oh, of course he has."
"He's not the only one," Josh continued. "I've been hearing a lot of good things about you from all of the partners. You make yourself available when someone needs help and you don't go around bragging to everyone and his brother. Humility is an excellent trait to have, Angela, but I want to start hearing from you. Don't let your humility be to your detriment."
"Yes, sir." Angela nodded.
"Have you settled the Morgan-Emerson dispute?" He looked up at her and she nodded, "good, I want you on the Murphy-Gomez deposition, I want to see what you can do. Peter can fill you in on the trial so far."
There was a knock on the door and Josh smiled and beckoned the visitor to enter. "Oh, I'm sorry, you're in a meeting," an all-too familiar voice apologized.
Angela whipped around and stared at Sharon with horror. "Hi Angela, it's nice to…" Sharon trailed off upon seeing her daughter seething. "I can wait outside."
"No, it's okay, we were finished." He smiled at Angela and said, "we'll touch base again tomorrow."
"Thank you, Mr. Lewis." Angela nodded to her boss and giving Sharon a dirty look as she passed her.
Josh reached for his jacket when his phone rang. He looked down at the caller id, "I'm sorry, Sharon, this is about a case. I have to take this."
"Take your time. I'll be outside." Sharon closed the office door behind her.
"Mom, will you come down to my office for a minute?" Angela asked tightly.
"To be honest, dear, I'm really tempted to say no." Sharon laughed uneasily. "That look you're giving me is making me nervous…"
"Don't date my boss. I am begging you."
"Josh and I are old friends, we used to date in undergrad." Sharon explained. "I ran into him last week when I came by to get you for lunch and he asked me out."
"I don't think I should have to explain to you on how many levels it is wrong for you to date my boss… but since, obviously, I do, one, if anyone catches wind of this it'll make me look bad, like my mother is trading sexual favors to get me promoted."
Sharon let out a peal of laughter, "oh, Angel, you're being ridiculous."
"Two, if you break his heart it could be very bad for my career."
"You're getting ahead of yourself. We're just going out for dinner, we're not eloping. We're just old friends."
"Three, if he has certain expectations about your evening and you don't… 'meet those expectations,' that could be bad for my career."
Sharon scoffed, "Angela Arianna Raydor, that is enough." She planted her hands firmly on her hips. "I know that we are close and have always been very open with each other but I am still your mother and who I choose to date and what I do or don't do with my dates is my own business. You can't possibly be selfish enough to think that this is about you."
"Four, you're using my boss to scratch a rebound itch. That it is completely inappropriate. You say you're fine with the fact that Brenda broke up with you, that it was a giant weight off of your shoulders but I know you well enough to know that it is killing you. That not only because you love her but because you can't stand to fail at anything. You're resparking this whatever it is with Mr. Lewis because you want to reassure yourself that you're still desirable and that it was Brenda's deficiency that led to the end of your relationship and not your own." Angela snarled. Sharon blinked at her in shock.
"Angela, I…" she stuttered.
"Sometimes I just wish you liked yourself better."
The door to Josh's office opened before Sharon had a chance to rebut. "Sorry about that, ready to go, Sharon?"
"Have fun, mom." Angela smiled sweetly at her mother. "I'll see you tomorrow, sir."
Sharon watched Angela walk away and let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "I made us a reservation at Mistral in Studio City, if that's alright with you." Josh said, resting his hand on her lower back.
"Sounds great."
"Great," he pulled her closer as they walked toward the exit. "It is a crime that it's been so long." He announced with fervor, continuing to talk as Sharon let Angela's words sink in and thinking back to the pain in Brenda's eyes as she stood against the door of her office.
She didn't necessarily think that Angela was right about everything and she didn't think Brenda was right about everything. If she didn't go out with Josh, at this point, she'd be doing it for Angela. If instead she went out tonight with Brenda, she'd be compromising her self-respect. When Brenda was frustrated she tended to lash out and act emotionally instead of rationally, which how Sharon knew that Brenda was as guilty as sin in the lawsuit. She also knew that Brenda only said hurtful things when she felt vulnerable.
Sharon didn't think that she should just forgive everything hurtful she said or did just because Brenda was vulnerable. Sharon was vulnerable sometimes too and when she was vulnerable she never made herself feel more in control by attempting to take someone else's away.
Brenda would say that meant Sharon had a martyr complex.
Sharon didn't think that she was out of line to want an apology from Brenda. Sharon didn't think she was out of line to want to catch up with an old friend.