I felt as if the floor had dropped out from under me.

"I'm sorry... my what?"

"Don't worry,” she insisted. "We've all thought about dipping our pen in the company ink. As long as you keep it mostly under wraps and don't let it affect your judgment, no one cares honestly."

It took me several horrified minutes to admit to myself what she was saying.

She knew about me and Aiden somehow.

My face burned and I began to feel nauseous.

Shit.

Despite everything, I sat in stunned silence while she finished her lunch, eating small delicate bites without paying much more attention to me.

She finished her food, wrapping her empty bowl carefully into the same bag that she had brought it with and tucked it into her purse. She stood to go, pausing at the door of the break room.

Turning back to me, she said, "Between you and me, the race is nose to nose right now, if that's what you want to know. If we had to make the decision right now it would be impossible. It' would be an even draw."

"Thank you Ms. Klein," I said.

With a conspiratorial smile she disappeared down the hall to the elevator. I forced myself to finish my sandwich just to have something on my stomach before heading back upstairs. The last thing I wanted to do was to pass out during opening statements.

I arrived back at the chamber just at eleven. When Aiden and Mr. Mahoney arrived I kept my eyes forward or down, not willing to have even a passing glance between us.

The bailiff came and collected us and we filed into the court room. The audience area was filled with people of all walks of life and ages. From the grandmother holding her bejeweled purse, to the biker with the spiked collar and the long beard. I glanced over them as we took our place at the defendants table, trying to figure out who our team might lean towards selecting.

Across the way the prosecution took their place, lining up next to their table. Just like last time we were instructed to watch and take notes on how the senior partners handled the jury selection. Despite everything else, I remained curious how the process would play out.

I had my intentions on keeping my mind focused on the happenings within the court, and I noticed the bailiff bringing a piece of paper to the judge. The two men conferred quietly before the judge called both teams up to the bench. The lawyers stopped what they were doing and the other team walked up to the judge.

'You two stay here,” Ms. Klein said to me and Aiden. "We expected this."

Aiden and I waited while the senior lawyers spoke briefly at the bench, Mr. Mahoney become animated pointing to one of the prosecuting lawyers and speaking with vehement body language. Ms. Klein calmed him by placing one hand upon his arm.

"Can you make out what they are saying?" Aiden asked.

"No," I answered. "I wonder what it's about."

That exchange had been the most we had spoken all day. Our curiosity was soon answered when Mahoney and Klein returned to us. The judge announced that the jury pool was free to go. Mr. Mahoney addressed me and Aiden.

"The prosecution asked for a continuance,” he explained. "The approval just arrived on the judge’s desk."

"What?" I asked.

"The court date has been pushed back for another three weeks,” he explained.

"What about Mr. Shaw?" I asked. "He is still awaiting trial in jail. This is not fair to him at all. What about his family?"

Mr. Mahoney raised his hands with his palms towards me.

"All of that will be taken into account. His bond will be adjusted according to the time he has already spent."

I had to admit I felt a rush of relief upon hearing about the continuance. I recalled my mother sitting back at the apartment waiting for me. Plus I knew I needed to refocus. Today had been less than ideal to begin the trial.

"What happens next?" I asked.

"We wait," Ms. Klein said. "Then in two and a half weeks we rally the troops once more and prepare for opening. There is really nothing more. The two of you are free to go."

I stood letting the sense of relief rush over me. The day was still early, not even noon yet. I had to get back to my mother and wanted nothing more than to get away from the situation I found myself in.

As much as I wanted to be there for Mr. Shaw, I also felt that a break from preparation would be nice. I decided that since we were in between cases, I could take some of my floating time off and spend the time with my mother while she was here.

I gathered my things and after the jurors cleared, heading for the exit down the aisle and towards the front door. The relief of not having opening statements made me realize almost instantly that I had been especially hard on Aiden this morning. The case wasn’t the only thing I needed to refocus on. Time with my mother would be nice, I decided. I could finally take the time to visit the beach and explore the city the way Kelsey had been hounding me to do since we arrived.

I pushed through the revolving door and into the bright sunlight, slipping on my sunglasses.

"Blair," Aiden's voice called after me. I hadn’t walked fast enough to shake him from following me apparently. "Blair, wait!"

I turned to glance over my shoulder seeing him jogging down the sidewalk to catch up with me. My first desire was to run to my car and pretend I hadn’t heard him, but instead I slowed my pace until he reached me and fell into stride alongside me.

"You can't just ignore me forever," he said.

"I can try," I said, heading down the sidewalk leading to the parking garage.

"Blair, please."

He placed a hand on my elbow. I turned and faced him, but kept my eyes away from his face. I wasn’t quite ready to look him in the eye just yet.

"Blair, come on. Can we talk about it?"

"Do we have to?" I asked.

"Blair," his voice had softened and I felt my resolve giving way a little bit. "Come on. It's me."

I finally lifted my eyes to his. What I saw there surprised me. He didn’t have the cocky look of someone who had reached a conquest.

Rather he looked concerned, worried even.

I saw sincerity and kindness there.

"Okay, fine. I'm sorry I blew up at you this morning,” I said, matching his tone.

I only did because he wouldn’t get his ass up.

We turned to walk again, both of us slowing our pace.

"Blair, last night..." he began.

"Do we have to mention last night?" I said.

"Can you listen?" he asked with a chiding tone behind his slight smile.

"Okay fine,” I said.

"Last night was more than I could have ever expected. And you seemed to have enjoyed yourself a little bit,” he said.

I turned my head to hide the redness I felt in my cheeks.

"Blair, I don't want it to be just a one night stand."

Job over boys.

Job over boys.

Job over boys.

I had to get this job.

We reached my car and I turned to face him, suddenly aware of how close he stood, and unsure if I minded that I wanted him to kiss me. My mind didn’t take long to wander in that direction if today was any indication.

"Is that so?" I said, unsure how to respond.

Forming words had escaped my abilities.

"Yeah," he said. "That's so. I think there is more going on here than you’re willing to fucking admit."

He lifted his hand and brushed an errant strand behind my ear. The sensation of his fingertips brushing against my skin made my breath catch in my throat. He noticed, because his next move was to lean in, closing the small gap between us. My head tilted of its own accord meeting his lips with mine.