I still intended to fight for the full time job, but I would do it the right way. Aiden was no stranger to competition having grown up with five brothers. That much I knew. Losing to him would sting, yes, but it would not be a total loss. I was a strong contender, and I had two weeks left to prove to the partners that I was the right fit for the firm.

I opened my car door and sat down, plunging the key into the ignition.

Enough about that right now, I thought.

The case is not even over, and I have nothing to worry about just yet. Whatever they were seeing him about had nothing to do with the final judgment most likely. Just like the jury couldn’t decide the fate of our client, the partners didn’t yet have the final determination of who would get this job, unless of course I was far worse at my job than I thought I was.

I pulled the gear into reverse, and carefully glanced behind me. As I pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road, I shook my head, imagining the negative thoughts tumbling out of my head, so as to no longer darken my thoughts. I had better things to worry about now, I decided. I had a date to get ready for.

I found Kelsey in the living room when I arrived home.

"I'm going out with Aiden tonight,” I said before even saying hello. "Help me figure out what to wear."

"I can't,” she said as she pulled on her jacket. "Blake is picking me up in fifteen minutes. How are things going with Aiden? You two looked awfully comfortable this morning."

"Well I am going out with him tonight," I said as I kicked off my shoes and landed on the couch, rubbing my soles.

“True." She grinned. "There he is. I gotta run, but have fun tonight."

"You too," I called as she grabbed her purse and headed for the door. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"Based on recent developments that gives me a lot of freedom,” she said with a smirk before disappearing out the door.

"What is that supposed to mean!" I called but she was already gone.

The silence of the apartment surrounded me like a warm hug. It occurred to me that I had been going nonstop for several weeks, surrounded at all times by either Aiden, Kelsey, or the partners.

The thought about what Aiden may have been meeting with the partners kept niggling at my mind no matter how much I tried to forget about it. I knew that seeing him later would put my mind at ease. He would probably tell me about it right away. I made myself a promise that I would not ask him unless he brought it up.

Enjoying the silence, I laid my head back on the couch and closed my eyes. My mind traveled even further back to the incident at Aiden's house. In true lawyer fashion I examined my actions, wondering how I could have handled the situation differently, and of course picking apart Aiden's actions as well, trying to determine if I needed to be more concerned. I didn’t think so. I only knew that I needed to stand by my promise that I would not share this information with anyone.

The very thought of Aiden made a smile spread across my face. I thought about the fun we would have later. Maybe I could even convince him that we should have dinner at his place. I could already think of a few things I might have in store to persuade him. I chided myself a little bit for having waited so long to be with him, but enough day dreaming, I said.

I stood and headed to my room to find something cute to wear. A minute later, I headed to the bathroom and turned on the shower, hoping the hot water would cool my thoughts. No matter how much I tried to focus on getting ready and being excited to see Aiden, I couldn’t let go of the idea that the meeting had some meaning.

I knew I was a good lawyer.

I would not have even been offered the opportunity if I weren't. The matter of who got the job might not even be an issue yet.

As I stepped into the shower, I decided with firm resolution to put the idea out of my head and focus finally on getting ready for our date. The hot water awakened my skin as I let it pour over my face and body.

If Aiden was offered the job, the worst case scenario remained that I would find another job at another firm. Absolute worst case, would be that I would have to take an unpaid internship somewhere. I would have to cross that bridge if it came about, but I truly believed that everything would work out.

So far I remained confident that I had good standing with Mahoney and Klein. I had been performing well in the courtroom, and the case seemed to be veering in a direction in which I could show off my assets.

The game wasn’t over yet.

Not by far.

At a quarter to seven I stood in front of the couch in my living room, wearing a red dress. I picked it out for the swishy skirt and the flattering collar. I liked the way it accented my waist. My makeup looked good and I had pulled my hair up into a dressy pony tail. I felt as if I couldn’t do much with it, as thick as it was.

All in all I felt pretty and was excited to see Aiden though it had only been a couple of hours.

I glanced at the clock, and sat down on the couch, absently flipping through the channels to pass the time before he arrived. I lay my earrings on the coffee table to give the pretense of putting them on at the last minute when he would arrive.

I definitely had butterflies, but the good kind this time.

Seven o'clock came and went. He was probably running late, though in the time that I had been with him, he had never once been late. He remained infuriatingly punctual. All I could do was match it at the firm.

At seven fifteen I stood and began to pace. I wondered if I should call him, and I checked my phone to see no messages or missed calls. I sat down again, crossing my arms and wondering if I should call or just wait.

For the time being I opted to wait.

The television depicted a rerun of an old sitcom that I used to watch back in high school. The humor rang hollow this time around, but I watched it, nervously fiddling with the strap on my purse.

By seven thirty I stood and picked up the phone once more, debating on whether or not to call him.

This definitely wasn’t like him.

I wondered if perhaps his meeting with the partners had somehow gone this long into the evening, but that seemed unlikely. Besides he would have found a way to step away and call, I imagined.

Of course my mind traveled then to another worst case scenario. What if something had happened and he was unable to call? Who would be notified if something had happened to him, I wondered. We had only just begun the romantic element of our relationship. Would anyone know to contact me? The idea of our longtime friendship being a factor didn’t cross my mind until much later.

Finally I caved to my thoughts and decided to call him. I checked my messages first just to be certain, but saw nothing from him. Then I scrolled down to his name and hit 'call'. He answered on the second ring.

"Hey Blair." His voice sounded strange. Short and curt. He continued speaking before I had a chance to say hello, "You almost had me convinced. How could you do it?"

"Do what?" I asked confused by his accusatory tone.

"You threw me under the bus, Blair,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. "You told them about the medication."

Chapter Twelve

"Aiden, what are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about!" he said.

My confusion had begun to veer into feelings of anger.

He was accusing me of something, but I refused to believe his thoughts would go that way.

"You promised to keep my secret, Blair. You said you would help me though this."

It occurred to me that he wasn’t so much talking to me as he was talking at me. I let him go on for a few minutes before I interjected.