Sudden Devotion

by Sudden Devotion [Siren Classic] (lit)

  “Come on. Let’s get some of your stuff together, start a huge load of laundry, and I’ll buy you lunch,” Sara said as she began sorting the clothes again.

  “You’re gonna buy me lunch?” He looked incredulous.

  She picked up a huge amount of blue jeans and t-shirts and headed for the hall closet that held the stackable washer and dryer. “What can I say? You are always so good at making me feel better, I’d like to be the one to make you feel better.”

  Mitch came up behind her and rested his head on top of hers as she started the washing machine. “You make me feel better, Sara. I’m sure you’re going to get sick of hearing this, but I love you.”

  “Mitch?” Her sharp tone surprised him.

  “What honey?”

  “You don’t have any laundry soap, do you?” she said, disgusted. There were at least eight loads of laundry that needed washed.

  “Nope.” He smiled at the little domestic situation that was playing out.

  “How do you wash your…have you even done any laundry since you moved here?”

  “Does dry cleaning count?”

  “Not a chance.”

  “Well then, if I tell you the truth, do you promise you’ll still love me despite my answer?” He kissed her on her cheek.

  She laughed. “Oh, Mitch. I will love you in spite of your answer. That’s probably the real reason why you want to live with me. You’re running out of clean clothes. You need a maid.”

  “Now, Sara, that’s not true. I am truly offended. I mean, what we have goes deeper than laundry.”

  With a glint in her eye, she smirked. “I don’t do windows, Mitch.”

  “Oh, I see. Well, I think you should have disclosed that and been up front about it. But, I guess I will still love you in spite of the fact that you’re lazy.”

  “Watch it, mister.” She pinched his arm, hard, until he yelped. “Go back over to my place and grab the laundry soap. I’ll keep sorting through this, and hopefully, I won’t find any dead bodies buried underneath this mess. Hurry up,” she said as she pushed him through the door.

  Walking across the courtyard, Mitch lifted his head to bask in the sunlight. He just had his first nagging from the woman he was going to marry. It had been over laundry and his housekeeping skills. It was trivial and boring, and it made him happier than he’d ever been.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The following week wore Mitch out. He spent his days in Arbitration for the Jennings case and his evenings preparing for an upcoming trial. Completely exhausted and cranky, the only thing that kept him going every night was going home and crawling in bed with Sara.

  As he sat drinking a cup of coffee while they waited for the Arbitrator to reach a decision, he wondered if they would have time the coming weekend to look for houses again. The selections that were viewed last weekend didn’t get them excited. Sara had found them a realtor through one of the girls at the office, so maybe they would find something soon.

  Besides, he knew they had to move soon, because Sara had called him at the office last night after she ran into the man that they had watched having sex. While her embarrassment was adorable, he knew she was ready to snap from running into him three times in this past week. He chuckled to himself as he took another swig of coffee.

  “Something funny?” Alan looked up from the newspaper.

  Mitch shook his head. “No. Hey, you know we’re going to lose this, right?”

  Alan smirked. “Yeah, well, when your own client holds back on discovery documents, it tends to sink the case.” With a shrug, Alan reached for his coffee. “It’s his own fault. We did our job.”

  “True.” Mitch glanced at his watch. Hating wasting time here. Normally, they would have headed back to the office until a decision was reached. But the Arbitrator had specified that he wouldn’t take long to reach a decision. That had been nearly two hours ago.

  “So, things going well with Sara?” Alan asked, more as a friend than a co-worker.

  Mitch couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah. We’re trying to keep things mellow around the office, though. We don’t want to cause any trouble.” Taking another drink of his coffee, he asked, “Does everyone know?”

  Alan nodded. “Pretty much. It was kind of hard to miss since you go the long way to the break room to get your coffee just so you can pass by her desk and wink at her.”

  “That obvious, huh?”

  “Totally, not to mention the way she lights up every time you do it. But, don’t worry about it. You guys have handled it well. I’ve seen a lot of office romances get complicated from people not acting professional while at work.”

  Mitch held in his laughter. If only Alan knew what had gone on in his office. Just last night, before Sara went home, she brought him in a sandwich from the deli. She gave him a kiss. But, before she left, she dropped to her knees and told him she wanted him to have a reminder of what he got to come home to. Boy, did he. She gave him quite the reminder.

  “Gentlemen, the Arbitrator has reached his decision.” A small, portly gentleman with a comb-over said from the doorway.

  Alan stood up and walked over to Mr. Jennings who had been slumped in a chair in the corner, sulking. He slapped a hand to the man’s shoulder, and said, “Come on, Mr. Jennings. Let’s go see how badly you screwed yourself.”

  The look in Mr. Jennings’s eyes told that he did not see the humor in it at all. “It might not be that bad,” he stated in complete denial.

  Walking in the room behind Alan and Jennings, Mitch whispered to Alan, “How sad. He totally blew this case, he would have won.”

  * * * *

  Sara sat in the chair across from Donna, the Office Manager, wondering what she had done. No one ever got called to Donna’s office unless they were in some sort of trouble. She waited patiently as Donna finished with her phone call. Once Donna hung up the phone, she turned her grim expression to Sara.

  Folding her hands across her desk blotter, she looked like a cobra ready to attack. “Sara, I have received some rather disturbing complaints regarding your...well, let’s call it professionalism. Or rather, lack thereof.”

  Sara sat solemnly and responded to the accusation. “I don’t know what you mean, Donna.”

  “Look, let’s not be coy, all right? We’re both adults here. It’s no secret that this office is rather laid back. I mean, we all call each other by our first names. There’s no mister or missus. We don’t even refer to the partners by their last name. However, no matter how lax we might be in certain formalities, we still have a job to do.” Reaching for a sheet of paper that was on her credenza, she perused it before continuing. “I have a complaint from someone who claims that at least twice, that they are aware of, mind you, they have heard you and Mitch engaging in rather illicit behavior.”

  That bitch! “Donna. With all due respect, I’m sure I know where this complaint comes from. And while I can appreciate your concern for the potential problems that can arise from office romances, I also feel it necessary to point out to you that you are not within your rights as my employer to ask me such personal questions.”

  Donna’s eyes glazed over, and her mouth became set in a very thin white line. “I will ask you anything I feel.”

  “Donna…”

  “No. Now you listen to me. She said you thought you were a step above everyone else, and I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. But obviously, you are just as bad as she said. First, let me make it abundantly clear that if you are going to screw one of our attorneys on the clock than it is most certainly my business, and I will not have such tempestuous behavior affect the business.” It seemed Donna had brought out the fangs, and had every intention of using them to draw blood.

  Sara sat silent as she listened to Donna ridicule and judge her. She knew that she and Mitch had been wrong to do the things they did in the office. But, no matter how wrong it was professionally, it pissed her off to think of the double standard that happening. The same woman who made the complaint had
probably done it on nearly every desk in this office.

  “Donna, if I may. I feel a bit like the poor schmuck that is being used as an example. While I may be guilty of partaking in some less than professional conduct, I can assure you I’m not the only one. And quite honestly, it offends me that you are speaking to me with a tone of such disappointment when the same person who filed this complaint is guilty of much more than a couple of liaisons.” Sara was proud of herself for speaking her mind so eloquently.

  Donna stood up from her chair and leaned across the desk. Pointing her finger at Sara, she screamed. “Rumors are just that, young lady. Do you have any proof? No! I didn’t think so. Now get out of my office and back to work before I fire you.”

  Sara stood up, her face now white with fear as Donna continued to scream. “And another thing missy, if it happens again, you’ll be gone faster than you can blink. So, don’t test me, you’ll lose! Now get out!”

  * * * *

  Mitch and Alan had just walked back into the office when they heard the screams. Mitch looked at Alan and then noticed Claudia standing there with a smug smile on her face. “Sara.”

  Mitch walked toward the office around the corner and ran right into a trembling and tearful Sara. “What happened?” Mitch asked her, but Sara didn’t respond. “Come to my office.”

  “No, I can’t. I have to get back to work.” Alan had come up then, and Sara looked at him before returning to Mitch. “I don’t want to lose my job. If we’re going to live together, I don’t want to be dependent on you. I have to get back to work.” Sara walked away from him as she dried her tears with the backs of her hands.

  “What was that about?” Mitch bit out the words to Donna who was still seething in the open doorway.

  “Don’t you take that tone with me. I am her manager. She did something that affected her work. I dealt with her accordingly.” Donna pointed out in a curt manner.

  Alan put a restraining hand on Mitch’s shoulder. “It didn’t sound like you dealt with it accordingly, Donna. It sounded like you were bullying her.”

  Mitch turned to Alan. “I want a meeting with the partners. Now! And I want her there, too.” Stalking off, Mitch yelled back, “Call me when it’s set up.”

  Alan turned a fierce eye to Donna. He had never liked the woman. She seemed to be in cohorts with the boys club that seemed to act so vile. It was strange because she was a woman, but there was just something about her that made her seem just as bad as the other sleaze balls.

  “You will have some explaining to do Donna, mark my words.” Alan walked to his office.

  Donna came completely out of her office and shouted back to him. “Gladly!” She stomped back into her office and slammed the door so hard, the picture on the outer wall shook.

  * * * *

  Mitch had tried to call Sara’s desk several times, but she just kept telling him that she couldn’t talk. She said she would explain everything tonight when she wasn’t on the clock. He was pissed. He didn’t know how, but he was sure that Claudia was behind this. The look of triumph on her face when Donna screamed at Sara could not have been a coincidence.

  Mitch picked up his phone on the first ring. He saw it was Alan’s extension. “Yeah.”

  “Meet me in Peter’s office now,” Alan told him before hanging up.

  Mitch slid out from his desk and walked to Peter’s office like a man on a mission. Passing Sara’s desk, he didn’t see her sitting there. God, he hoped she was okay. If she hadn’t have seemed so scared about losing her job, he would have pushed her harder to tell him what happened.

  Mitch got to the office doorway just as Alan came from the other direction. Walking into the office, Alan and Mitch were both met with the sight of Donna, Peter, and two other partners, George and Theo, all huddled in a whispery conversation over by the window. Theo was the first to notice the two standing in the doorway.

  “Gentleman, come in.” He motioned them in and walked to the door to close it.

  “Have a seat,” Peter said, as he took his position behind his massive desk.

  Mitch glared at Donna while he chose a red leather chair. He smirked when she nervously looked away.

  “Now. It seems there was a bit of a misunderstanding earlier,” Peter said with nonchalance.

  “Misunderstanding? She screamed so loud that everyone in the office heard her as she threatened someone’s job,” Mitch snapped as he motioned his hands toward Donna with a look of disgust.

  “Someone, Mitch, or, your girlfriend?” This comment came from George.

  Mitch glared at him before returning his gaze to Peter. “My personal life is none of anyone’s concern. What exactly did Sara do wrong to warrant such a threat?”

  “First, I’m going to have to ask you to calm yourself. I understand that you are upset. But, perhaps that will make you understand just how Donna felt.” Peter took a moment to look at Donna before continuing. “She has become quite close with Claudia, and unfortunately, Sara made some unflattering remarks regarding some rumors that have been circulating in the office.”

  “Unflattering remarks, Claudia’s a…”

  “Mitch!” Alan turned to Peter and spoke for him. “I think what Mitch is trying to say is that the situation seems just a bit hypocritical. Every word that Donna shouted at Sara was circulated through the office grapevine within minutes. It hardly seems fair to judge Sara or threaten her job because she made a poor choice when she was in the company of her boyfriend. Especially when the complaining party has, well, let’s not beat around the bush here guys, Claudia has probably done much worse and many more times at that. She is a thorn in the side of this firm. I swear, I don’t know why she’s kept around. But, I do understand that I am the newest partner, so it’s not my call. But if you ask me if anyone has hindered work production or efficiency at this office, it’s that little trouble maker.”

  Mitch smiled at Alan. Glad that he had interrupted him. He couldn’t have said it better himself. The two watched as the partners and Donna exchanged knowing looks. Almost as if they completely agreed but could do nothing about it.

  “Donna. Perhaps you should address Mitch.” Theo said.

  Clearing her throat, she stared him in the eye. “Mitch, I am, well I’m sorry if I upset Sara. I will apologize to her as soon as we leave this office.”

  Mitch’s eye quirked up. “Why? Why the complete turnaround? You were ready to rip her to shreds just an hour ago.”

  Donna looked at the partners, as if looking for some sort of guidance. “I overreacted. I said I’d apologize. I don’t know what more I can say.”

  Alan was the first to break the eerie silence that filled the room. “They’re afraid.”

  Mitch turned to him. “What?”

  Alan looked at all the partners now when he continued. “Donna was not only out of line but threatening Sara’s job for a personal matter which really hasn’t affected her work performance could be construed as grounds for harassment.” He smirked at Mitch. “That’s why they’re back peddling so fast.”

  “So, if that clears everything up, we’ll release you all, and Donna can go apologize to Sara appropriately.” Peter said as he nodded his head toward Donna, indicating for her to do just that.

  Mitch watched as Donna left the office. “Thank you. I appreciate you all taking the time to meet with me about this.” Mitch rose from his chair.

  * * * *

  Alan started to leave also but was curtly told to remain where he was by Peter. “Shut the door would you, Mitch.” Peter waited until it was closed before he leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head.

  “Alan, do you enjoy being a partner at this firm?” he asked him.

  Alan responded to the underlying threat. “I do. However, if you chose to attempt to have me removed from this firm, I would be forced to remind you of the hefty sum you would need to pay me to buy out my portion of the partnership.”

  Theo laughed. “Touché, Alan, touché.”

&nbs
p; “Look, we’re not threatening you. We just need you to understand that you are a part owner in this firm. It doesn’t bold well for us if you appear to go up against us with our newest associate. No, let me finish, please. I understand that you have become chummy with Mitch. And we all like him. Really we do. It’s just that sometimes people can lose focus when they become involved in a relationship at work. They might do what suits the relationship as opposed to what’s best for the firm. Do you understand what I mean?” Peter asked with the cool confidence that made him the great trial attorney that he was.

  Alan raised a leg up to rest on his opposite knee. “Yeah. I can see where that might be possible. Now can I ask you a question?”

  Peter nodded in agreement. “Of course.”

  Brushing something off of his pant leg, Alan stared at each one of the partners before he spoke, “Have you ever heard the thing about the pot and the kettle? Just wondering, because I have to tell you, the hypocrisy in this office is getting to be a bit thick.” Standing up, he walked toward the door and left without saying another word.

  The partners all sat quietly for a moment until George spoke, “He could be a problem.”

  “He’s right,” Theo agreed.

  “Forget it. Donna screwed up today. If everyone just forgets about it, things will blow over,” Peter claimed with complete confidence.

  “Blow over? She’s getting worse and you know it. I’m not going to lose my wife and my family because of that bitch!” George’s words were filled with pure hatred.

  Peter shook his head at the two men in front of him. “I agree she has gotten a bit demanding lately. But are you forgetting why we do what we do? We’ve made our bed, now we must lie in it.”

  Theo shook his head. “I’m not so sure anymore. Maybe we should just come clean.”

  Picking up his phone Peter dialed a three digit extension. He waited for the person to pick up at the other end and then said, “Claudia, please come to my office.”

  He set the phone down and watched George and Theo fidget in their chair. Laughing at them, he chided them. “Don’t act like you have a choice. We’ve fought this battle before, and we always lose.”