CHAPTER FOUR
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Being a cop, Jake felt like a sheep to the slaughter as he walked to Sophia's office. He didn't dress specifically like a cop, he wasn't even wearing his leather jacket, and he didn't place his badge around his neck like he usually did. Yet, they must've recognized him as a detective from court or something, because as soon as he stepped in, they started booing.
Very mature, Jake thought. At least they weren't firefighters, which could be worse. He ignored them and looked around, trying to spot Sophia, but she was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, Peralta, are you going to cry like that time in court?" a man shouted.
Jake rolled his eyes, and couldn't help to turn to him. "That was one time, and it was a strategy!"
"If your goal was to look pathetic, you did great, bud!"
Everyone laughed, and Jake exhaled sharply. Just as he wondered if that was worth it, he heard Sophia's heels against the floor, walking toward him. "Alright, give him a break," she told her coworkers.
"You know this loser?" a woman told Sophia.
"That, he is," she said, smiling sarcastically to Jake. He smiled shyly.
"Hey, can we talk?"
She sighed, and grabbed him by the wrist, yanking him into a room, which must've been her actual office. He didn't know how to describe it but by using the word 'lawyer-ish'. The walls were grey, the floor carpeted, and the desk made of glass. Sophia locked the door behind her, and turned to him with her arms crossed over her chest.
"What are you doing here?" she asked angrily.
"I'm here to explain."
"I think I understand pretty well what happened."
"No, you don't," he insisted calmly. He hadn't had a lot of time to think about what he was going to tell her, since he was using his last minutes of lunch to be there, and Gina had just come up with the idea. "See, I'm am not technically married anymore, okay? I'm having a hard time accepting this, but my wife and I just got separated."
Sophia stared straight into his eyes, as if trying to figure out if he was lying or not. He'd never felt more nervous in his life. "So... you are getting a divorce."
"Yes, exactly. And you know it can take some time. But she and I just... we don't even live in the same house anymore." Jake gulped, realizing he'd been talking too fast. It was obvious he was lying, but Sophia must've been focused on the fact that she'd not actually had sex with a married man.
"Well, I..."
"I can't go back to that marriage," Jake said, trying to put on an act like he did with every woman. "She's not the the kind of woman I want for my kids."
Sophia's eyes went wide, and he hadn't realized what he'd said until it was too late. "You have kids, too?"
"Yeah," he choked out, swallowing hardly. "Yeah, yeah, totes. Kids. Two of them. Alex... and Ben."
"Really?"
He wished he could go back in time. God, why did he have to screw everything up? But he had to keep going. "Yeah, really. And I think their mother is kind of irresponsible, and I know I've not known you for that long, but I'm sure they'd love you."
Sophia's expression softened, and that's how Jake knew he was going on the right track talking about the kids. "Well... I actually feel bad for you now. The children must be going through something hard."
