Chapter 18

Alicia almost sprinted out of the elevator into the offices of her law firm at 9:49. Traffic hadn't been as bad as Alicia had feared. But before she even reached her desk, she heard Cary say behind her, "You said you wouldn't be late."
Alicia frowned at her managing partner. "Cary," she began, "I'm not late."

"Well, you're almost late then. The meeting starts in 10 and the clients are going to be here any minute."

"Yes, Cary, I am well aware. Thanks for the 'good morning' that I didn't hear," she said jokingly. As she pulled some files out from the organizer behind her desk, she suddenly felt dizzy. She leaned against the desk to take a few deep breaths. "Are you okay?" Cary asked, concerned.

Alicia turned around, and Cary caught Alicia's reflective face (while she was thinking of Will) before she wiped it off her face. "I'm fine. I just had a few too many drinks last night and overslept my alarm."

"Uh huh," Cary said, "You overslept your alarm."

"I did!" Alicia exclaimed, realizing that Cary had noticed something. She crossed her arms and said, "What?"

"Is there something else I need to know, Alicia? What was that look on your face when you turned around?"

"Cary, it isn't any of your business at this time," Alicia contested, just wanting the clients to arrive or the meeting to start early so she wouldn't be pressured into divulging anything about Will. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to prepare for."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll see you later, Alicia," Cary said, smiling, wondering what Alicia was so defensive about. As Cary walked away and Alicia started flipping through the relevant case files, Alicia smiled to herself. She hadn't been defensive about last night because she regretted it. She had been defensive because she wanted that time with Will all over again.

After eating a (smaller) second breakfast at his apartment, Will grabbed his keys and exited his apartment. As the elevator doors opened in front of him, he saw a person that he didn't want to see.

Josephine.

"Will!" she exclaimed in her traditional fake-enthusiastic tone, "I came by last night, but obviously missed you. I need to talk to you about Alicia. You can't be with her. She's the governor's wife for God's sake! What are you thinking?"

Before she could say anymore, Will cut her off, stepping into the elevator, "Josephine," he began, already irritated, "My relationships and my personal life are none of your business now and they never have been. So I would really appreciate it if you just dropped the subject. Have you forgotten how you and Alicia got into a full-fledged shouting match in my kitchen?" After giving her a glare, he pressed the button for the garage floor and he was thankful when the doors began to close, and the elevator started going down.

"Oh, I haven't forgotten," Josephine alleged, "I don't have memory loss problems, Will."

"I never said you did," Will spat, his face now permanently fixed on his sister's in a scowl. "Alicia is my friend, not yours. If you started dating someone new, I would never get in the way because that is your personal business. So what do you think gives you a right to interfere in my personal business? You're crossing the line."

"Will!" Josephine said, her voice just below shouting level. "You would destroy your firm, your reputation, and Alicia's reputation if you two got back together! You're crazy! You're not listening to me!"

"Then why are you here?" Will shouted, speed walking out of the elevator towards the garage aisle where he'd parked his car earlier that morning. He chuckled slightly as he stopped next to his car, with his back turned to his sister as she shouted, "I'm trying to help you, Will! Can't you see? I'm trying to stop you from making a big mistake!"

"But can't you see, Josephine," Will replied slyly, "I don't think I'm making a mistake at all. And my judgment is all that matters here."

"Your judgment or your feelings for Alicia?" Josephine asked, now level with her brother. She could see that he was extremely irritated now, but then, he suddenly started to laugh. "What?" Josephine asked.

"Do you use Facebook?"

"Of course! Don't you? I've never seen a friend request from you though," Josephine realized, feeling offended.

"I don't. Know why?" Will said. "Because people get obsessed with it, and without knowing it, they throw away their privacy. I still have my privacy because I choose to keep it. But you keep trying to invade my privacy. You're like that annoying Facebook friend who keeps 'poking' me to get my attention. Well, I'm tired of it and I won't stand for it anymore. I know you don't want to hear it, but I love Alicia. I do. And nobody is going to stop me from pursuing a relationship with the woman I love. Including my ridiculously nosy sister." And with that, Will got in the car, quickly locked the doors so she couldn't get in, and drove out of the garage, watching a very stunned Josephine in his rearview mirror as he drove away.

Will found himself smiling in the elevator up to LG. He wasn't sure why initially, but then he realized that he was satisfied because he had defended his lover. He hadn't really felt a feeling like that before, and he sort-of liked it.

From her desk, Diane watched a smiling Will walk all the way into his office and sit down at his desk, still smiling as he pulled out his phone. She asked Kalinda to do some investigation work on a case she was doing, and after she left, Diane walked across the hall into Will's office. "Good morning, Will. A bit late, don't you think?"

"Oh, you know, when you don't have meetings until the afternoon, you can't really come in late if you come in in the morning, right?" He smiled like he was satisfied with something. She hadn't seen him this relaxed in a long time.

"Is Alicia alright?" Diane asked out of the blue, trying her options like a lawyer. She had already been a little suspicious of them getting back together, but hadn't "voiced" her suspicions until now. Will, not expected the question, took a minute to clear his throat and replied, "Oh, yeah, she's good. Why do you ask?"

"Because you seem unusually happy?" Diane asked.

"Yep. I had a few too many beers last night. So, I apologize in advance if I'm not entirely with it later on."

"Okay," Diane said, not buying his answer entirely, "See you later. Oh, and a partners' meeting has been called for five o'clock today."

"What? I have to be in court from four till six," Will said, worried.

"No worries. I've got your back," Diane said, smiling as she turned back towards her office.

"Thanks, Diane," Will said, pulling out files. He then remembered what Alicia had told him about Cary and Kalinda the night before, and before thinking about the certainty that she would ask who told him, he said, "Oh, Diane, hold up." At his request, she came back to his desk and leaned against it. "What?"

"I heard that Cary and Kalinda are back together. Just thought you should know," he confessed, figuring that she had a right to know.

"Interesting," Diane said, trying to mask her utter surprise, shock, and suddenly oncoming worry, "And who told you this?"

"Oh, Alicia did," Will blurted out. Shoot, he thought, Damn hangover.

"Oh," was all Diane said before she exited Will's office and went straight to her cell phone. She still had Cary's number in her cell from when he was still at LG. She called but got no answer, and left a voicemail.

"Hi Cary, it's Diane from LG," she began, "I need to talk to you soon. Today, preferably. Call me when you can."