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So...my birthday is Saturday. My gift to you..2 new chapters!




Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


Monday Luke walked into the firm early in the morning. Most of the staff would not come in for another hour. Luke appreciated the quiet atmosphere. It gave him a chance to power through work with no interruptions. After entering his office, Luke sat his briefcase in his office chair. The first thing he did was pull out a picture frame. His most recent weekend adventure with Cassie yielded a fun picture of the pair at the cemetery. She emailed a copy of the photo to him. Luke liked it so much that he printed it out and put it in a picture frame during his spare time on Sunday. He placed the frame on the corner of his desk. It was a nice addition to his limited desk decorations. Luke smiled; Cassie would balk at knowing he had printed and displayed a picture of them on his desk. Luke sat down and began to work on a case that was set to go to court in the next couple of weeks.

The office began to fill with people. Lawyers, secretaries and paralegals went about their everyday business. Luke did not notice. He was concentrating on the depositions sitting in front of him. A knock on the door broke his concentration.

Luke looked out of the glass wall to see who was on the other side. It was his secretary Laurie.

"Come on in Laurie." Luke called. He waved her in.

Laurie, a petite blonde with brown eyes and unnaturally tan skin opened the door and stood in the doorway.

"Good morning, Luke. Did you want more coffee?" Laurie asked.

"Um...no I'm good for now. Thanks." Luke said.

Laurie nodded her head. "What time did you get in this morning?" Laurie asked.

"I think it was a little before seven. I wanted to get a head start on some things. I didn't really have a chance to work on any of this over the weekend." Luke explained.

"I see." Laurie glanced at his desk and noticed the new picture frame sitting in the corner. "What's this?" Laurie asked as she walked into the office and picked up the object in question. She looked at the photo; a goofy grin began to spread across her face. "Is this the new girlfriend?"

Luke stood. He reached across the desk and gently pulled the frame from Laurie's grip. "No, that's Cassie.  She's a friend."

"The one you have me block time off in your calendar for lunch dates." Laurie said with a knowing smirk.

"They aren't dates." Luke said putting the picture frame back in its place on the corner of his desk. He then sat back down. "There's a deli that she likes to go to, and I get a lot of my meals there too. We just meet up for lunch."

"U-huh." Laurie said. "And is that who you spent the weekend with?"

Luke was getting tired of Laurie's inquisition. "Laurie, don't you have work to do-calls to set up or something, anything that does not involve you asking questions about my personal life?"

Laurie rolled her eyes at Luke's brush-off. "I was actually coming in here to remind you about the Labor Day picnic next week. Henry stopped by and said he expects to see you there. He'd rather have you mingling with clients and potential clients than have you holed up in your office working."

"I hate those things." Luke said.

"You need to be there." Laurie said.

Every Labor Day, the firm hosted a picnic. Staff members were expected to bring their family and the firm also invited a few of the top clients out for an afternoon of bonding with their lawyers. Luke never really understood the purpose of the affair. Most people did not willingly deal with their lawyers outside of when they were in some kind of legal trouble. Every year Laurie reminded him it was the firm's way of showing their customers they were appreciated.

"The Partners are expecting me specifically or all of the Junior Partners?" Luke asked.

"Henry said you specifically. You should bring your girlfriend." Laurie said as she sashayed out of his office.

Shortly after Laurie left, Carmen stopped in the doorway holding a manila file folder. "What did Laurie want?"

"Oh, she was reminding me about the picnic." Luke said leaning back in his chair.

"Are you going?" Carmen asked stepping into the office. She sat down in one of the two chairs in front of Luke's desk.

"I guess I have to. Laurie said Henry specifically said he wanted me there. I hate those things." Luke said.

"I know. Since I've been here you have never gone to one of the picnics." Carmen said.

"What's with the file?" Luke asked. He did not want to continue to dwell on the company picnic.

"I was reviewing the files from your new account like you asked." Carmen said. "I came across this and I think you should take a look at it." Carmen handed the folder to Luke.

Luke opened the file and scanned its contents. "Oh." He said.

"My thoughts exactly. This guy does not seem like a good guy." Carmen said.

"He's our client." Luke said.

"He was a murder suspect a couple of months ago. You would think that's the kind of thing he'd disclose when hiring a new firm."

"You would think. He was never charged though, so it's not really our problem at the moment."

"But why would a real-estate mogul be a suspect in the death of a gun-for-hire?" Carmen asked.

Luke did not say anything. He was mulling over the details, a few of which seemed familiar. 

"Don't you have anything to say?" Carmen asked.

Luke looked up. "No, not really. Until something concrete lands on our desks, there isn't much we need to do for Mr. Miller." Luke said. It was the truth. He would worry about defending his client when there was something to fight. Until then, Luke had other cases to work on.

"I was just doing as you asked." Carmen said.

"Great. Thanks. Don't you have another case you're working on?"

"Yes, I'm just waiting for some things to be confirmed before I move forward. I'm a woman, I can multitask." Carmen stood. "I'll leave you to finish what you were working on." Carmen left Luke to his thoughts.

Luke continued to mull over the conversation he had with Carmen. He could not put his finger on why the details she gave him stuck a chord with him. Luke shook his head to dispel the impeding thoughts. He needed to get back to work.

Luke weaved his way down the block trying to avoid the end of lunch rush. Most people seemed to be making a mad dash toward whatever work they needed to complete after lunch. Luke raced to be on time for a late meal with Cassie. She called Luke a few hours after he arrived at the office in the morning. Cassie had errands to run nearby and wanted to know if he would like to get a quick bite to eat around one. It was now precisely 1:03.

Luke was late. It was a fact Cassie would chastise him for when he arrived. Until then, she decided to run through her list of things she needed to accomplish and adding mental notes beside the ones that needed them. She sat at the outdoor seating of the cafe and enjoyed the sun on her skin. The door to the restaurant opened and a young man walked over to Cassie's table. 

"Would you like to go ahead and order a drink?"  The young man asked. He was her waiter for the afternoon.

Cassie looked away from her notepad. "Yes. Just a glass of water." She bent her head down to go back to working on her list. Out of the corner of her eye she recognized a figure coming toward her. It was Luke. "If you hold on just a second the rest of my party will be here soon." Cassie said. She pointed to Luke who seemed to be speed walking through the numerous people on the sidewalk.

"That's not a problem."

Luke spotted Cassie. She was sitting at a table outside. There was a man, whom Luke assumed was the waiter, standing close by. Luke caught her eye and she waved. He walked into the fenced-off area and joined Cassie.

"Can I get your drink order?" The waiter asked Luke.

"Water." Luke replied.

The young man walked away leaving the pair alone.

"You are late." Cassie said.

"I know. I'm sorry." Luke said.

"Don't you ever get tired of hearing that?" Cassie asked.

"One would think." Luke said. He picked up the menu and perused it for something to eat. "Have you had lunch here before?" Luke asked changing the subject.

"On occasion." Cassie said.

Luke was not surprised. In addition to Cassie's love of history, Luke discovered she had a desire to visit as many eateries in the city as possible. He could only guess the number of places she had already tried.

 "Have you?" Cassie asked.

"Have I what?"

"Have you eaten here before."

"No. I've passed it several times, but I never stopped in. I'm always in a hurry." Luke said.

"Such enthralling work you must do." Cassie laughed.

"I enjoy it." Luke defended.

"I know you do."

The waiter came back to their table with glasses of water. "Are you ready to order, or do you need some more time?"

"More time please." Cassie said looking over to Luke. She could tell he was still trying to decide what he wanted to eat. The waiter nodded his head and walked back inside.

Luke looked up from the menu at Cassie. She had turned her head away from the table and was focusing on something in the distance. It was one of those moments where he decided to just admire the view. It was also one of those moments that made him question his sanity; how could he ever agree to their current arrangement. While Cassie stated in no uncertain terms that she wanted ‘no attachment,' it was hard for Luke not to form one.

"You are staring at me." Cassie said when she turned her focus back to Luke.

"I'm not. I was thinking."

"About?" Cassie asked.

"Nothing in particular."

"Right." Cassie said. She mentally shook off her skepticism and changed the subject. Cassie was not sure she even wanted to know what Luke was thinking. Their friendship meant a lot to her, and they seemed to be doing very well in the sex category too. They had set rules, which included not talking about their arrangement. But there were moments when Cassie and Luke would come dangerously close to broaching the topic. In those moments, Cassie felt that Luke might want more than what she was ready to give; Luke's reaction to Dylan was evidence of that fact. Despite her huge steps forward, Cassie still guarded her heart against any potential romantic threats.

"Is Alex cooking for Labor Day next week?" Cassie asked. Though she talked to Dani earlier in the week, Cassie forgot to ask about the upcoming holiday. Jade was, once again, spending it with Sean. Even if the singer were not meeting Sean's family, Cassie still would not spend the holiday with the couple.

"I don't think so. They usually have plans to visit his family in Albany." Luke said. "You don't have plans with Jade?"

"No. She and Sean are going to Atlanta. Jade's meeting the family." Cassie said.

"It sounds like things are getting serious between them." Luke said.

"It is." Cassie sighed.

Luke knew that Cassie did not approve of Jade's relationship with Sean. But he could not get a grasp on why. From his limited interactions with the music megastar, Luke gleaned that Sean was not a bad guy and he was very into Jade. Luke had a feeling that Cassie's disapproval had less to do with Sean and more to do with Jade. But he decided not to press the matter.

"What are your plans for Labor Day?" Cassie asked. She wanted to go back to their original conversation.

"There is a company picnic. The firm hosts a joint family and customer appreciation picnic every year. I try to avoid it at all costs. This year I'm being pressured into going."

"Sounds like fun." Cassie said. Luke easily picked up on her sarcastic tone.

"You should join me."

"I don't think so." Cassie laughed.

"No, you really should. I let you drag me to that cemetery this past weekend." Luke said.

"And you enjoyed yourself, and I was eager to go. You don't even want to go the damn picnic yourself. Why would you ask me to go?"

"You could be my excuse?"

"Your excuse for what?" Cassie asked confused.

"If I go by myself, I'll be expected to stay for a certain amount of time. But if you come along, I could say you weren't feeling well or something and we could tip out early." Luke explained.

"I don't know."

"If you come, I promise not to comment the next time we go to a museum, or whatever other place you decide to explore next." Luke said.

Cassie turned the idea over in her head for a while. A slow grin began to form on her face. "Fine. I'll join you."

Luke could see a mischievous glint in Cassie's eye. "What have I got myself into now?" Luke said.

 

Cassie laughed. "I haven't decided yet."












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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.