Fire on Fire

18. Nothing is more important than freedom

"Where is he now?" Nancy asked without turning around, her swivel chair facing the breathtaking view of Manhattan's skyline.

Emma swallowed hard. Coming to see her had been a mistake per se, but coming to her office had been worse. She felt like a hopeless rabbit that had just entered the wolf's lair. But it was necessary, for his sake. "It doesn't matter where he is," she said, willing strength into her words. It was time to bring Allison Healy back, or at least her fierce nature that bowed to no one.

"Doesn't it?" Nancy laughed, turning around. "Doesn't it all revolve around him?"

"I know about your deal." Emma said in a flat tone without beating around the bush. It'd taken a lot to convince Alexander to go back to New York, and she'd been able to only on condition that she accepted the apartment and the job he'd found for her.

Right now, there he was, still sleeping in the same bed where they'd cuddled each other until dawn after having made love. Emma knew the memory of that night would be the most endearing one of her life, and she would cherish it forever, whichever the outcome of this meeting would be.

He would wake up soon, but she didn't want to go back to him before having solved the problem. It was the one thing she could do for him, after all. "I know everything."

"Awww, he confessed? So cute."

"I am not here to discuss the nature of your relationship, Nancy. I'm only here to make a deal."

"Oh?" The young lawyer feigned surprise.

Emma pursed her lips, taking a moment to think carefully about her next words. It was always like that, around Nancy you could not speak without thinking, she would use it against you sooner or later. "Maybe you two have known each other longer, he knows you better than I do for sure," she said, "but I believe there's something Alexander hasn't realized yet."

"Which is?"

"That your relationship isn't supposed to have an end in sight." Emma stated. Alexander was hopeful, he thought that in 13 months he would be free and they could start their new life together. If only it were that easy.

There was something he hadn't considered. "Given your ... milestones, any relationship wouldn't suffice," Emma explained, talking to herself more than to Nancy. "What purpose would a timed relationship have, if it didn't involve a more specific end?"

Nancy sneered. "What do you know, the lost kitten can put two and two together."

Emma didn't react to the not so veiled insult. "You intend to set him up, don't you?" She accused without missing a beat. "Either he thinks too high of you, or he's naïve, I don't know which is it. What I do know, is that you don't intend to free him from your contract, do you?"

The young lawyer smirked, standing up and going to stand before her large windows. "Alexander is smart," she conceded, crossing her arms, "but he's still a man. Men can be blind to some things that only women perceive."

"So I'm right."

"I didn't say you were."

"Nancy, let's be honest here." Emma raised her voice, moving closer to the desk the more she acquired strength. At each word she proffered, she felt something of her old self resurfacing, which came in handy when facing someone like the person in front of her right now. Emma pulled a copy of their contract out of her bag, and placed it on the desk.

"Once a thief, always a thief, huh?"

"You should really treat your employees better. That way they won't betray you for free even." Emma scoffed. "But that's beside the point."