After Midnight

chapter twenty-six.

26 - ZAYN

I'm nearly twenty minutes from home, and I couldn't be more excited to get back to work. I'm grateful for the break I got while visiting my brother, but I'm ready to dive back into normal life. I can't hide from my problems forever.

Although my impromptu trip to Rocky's was kind of an escape, it was also to help him plan out some final wedding details.

As his best man, I am responsible for planning the bachelor party, but Rocky can stand surprises, so we planned it out together.

Since the wedding will be pretty small, he only has two groomsmen, not including myself. The four of us will head to Top Golf and then to a strip club down the road. After that, Talia and her bridesmaids will meet us at a sports bar.

The two of them have made it very clear that they don't want a typical wedding. They don't want anything super formal or generic; they just want it to be small, fun, and nontraditional.

As I drive back into the city, I want nothing more than to go to Scarlett's office and bug the hell out of her, but I can't. I'll see her later, but still. For some reason, I always want to be around her. Four days was too long.

How the fuck do people do long distance?

Maybe I'm just clingy.

By the time I pull into my firm's parking lot, the sun has completely risen, and I'm practically the only car here. Except for Adelaide, of course, she's always here lately.

I waltz in tiredly and plop down into my chair with a grunt.

"Well, good morning, sunshine!" Adelaide greets, her voice far too cheerful for the early hour.

"Good morning, elder. How are you?" Before I even realize it, Adelaide's pen goes flying across the room, smacking me in the head. "Ow."

"That's what you get." She scowls. "Anyway, I have news."

"You're pregnant?" I joke.

"Would you shut up for five seconds?"

I shake my head once, smirking. "Not possible."

She crosses her arms, leaning back. "Fine. Then I won't tell you the good news."

"Good news?" I ask.

"Zayn," she says, looking at me with an unknown expression. "You are officially a criminal defense attorney at the Meraki Law Firm."

I freeze. I am quite literally stuck in place. I can't even register what she just told me. She's playing a joke, right? There's no way I actually got the position out of all the other applicants.

"... Huh?" I say. I'm sure I look ridiculous with my open mouth and wide eyes, but I can't help it. Everything's been so immensely shitty that I can't comprehend this right now.

Adelaide just starts laughing. "You got the position, Zayn."

"So this isn't some kind of orchestrated joke?" I ask, a look of disbelief clear on my face.

She looks at me with annoyance. "Do you think I have the time for that?"

Once her words set in, I jumped up from my seat and rushed over to hug Adelaide, thanking her profusely. I mean, if it weren't for her, I wouldn't be here.

"Don't thank me, thank you. You knew to apply for this job, and you were the one that convinced me having an 'assistant' would be beneficial. You've worked very hard, Zayn. You deserve it." She smiles brightly.

"Thank you," I say again. I only now recognize that I'm shaking with excitement and nervousness for wherever this journey takes me next.

"So," Adelaide smirks, pulling a key from her desk. "Ready to see your new office?"