Legally Yours

- 1 -

Gianna

If I have to answer one more phone call, I genuinely think I'm going to loose my mind. I know I signed up for this when I took the job but I'm the assistant, not the receptionist. It also doesn't help that my boss is a royal pain in my ass.

He's never here for one, he claims that hockey is more important then his company. He's never even at the games, he's been suspended more times then I can count. You'll see it on the news constantly, that he's failed a drug test. I don't understand why they let him go back when he's very clearly got a problem.

"Phone for you, ma'am." Liana pokes her head around the door, looking around for Aiden before stepping inside our joint office. I think she's scared of him, personally I don't think he's scary. He's just annoying and he likes to piss people off. Or yell at them, it depends on his mood.

"Thank you, Liana." I smile and gesture for her to leave. The annoying thing is I have to take calls in his office since I've been refused a phone in my own. When I say joint office I mean that you have to walk through my office to get to his.

I pick up the phone to yet another lawyer asking for Aiden. I do sometimes wish I could tell them to fuck off, respectfully of course. I don't get why they won't call him directly, they have his personal number. That's more then I have and I work for him.

"Are you sure he's not there? We desperately need to talk to Mr. Bennett." The lawyer asks again, I don't know what he's done this time. Maybe someone's caught him doing drugs again. Wouldn't surprise me at this point.

"I can assure you, he is not here. Try calling his personal phone, other then that I cannot help you. Is there anything else you need?"

"No, no. That's is all, thank you." She says with a sarcastic tone before ending the call. Like it's my fault he isn't here. I wish he was here more so I don't have to talk to his lawyers.

I get up out of his chair, opening the door to my office. Honestly I may get treated a little shitty by my boss but I do have a nice office. My pay however, is definitely as shitty as my bosses attitude. Sure I knew coming into this that the pay wasn't great but I did think it would get better. God was I so wrong.

If I knew when I signed up for it I probably still would've taken it. I may be months behind on my rent put I make enough so I'm not getting kicked out. I have a decent apartment and here in New York, I think it's a decent price. Given it has a stair lift to help my mom get up the stairs.

"Rose, open up."

You have got to be shitting me.

I open the door to reveal Aiden, who typically has been off the grid so to speak for four days. I say off the grid because no one can reach him but truest everyone knows where he is.

"Good you're here, you can talk to your lawyer. She's not very happy." I walk past him into his office, putting some papers into the filing cabinet.

"Fuck. Did she say what she wanted?"

"She was as blunt as always." I tell him, "like I said, she's not very happy." I stare at him as he leans on the doorway to my office. Unfortunately for me he's blocking pretty much most of the doorway so I can't actually get in my office.

"Call her for me, I have a million things to do." He pulls himself off the doorway, walking to the door to leave his office.

"She doesn't want to talk to me, she wants to talk to you." I remind him, before closing the door to my office. Today is going to go so slow now.

———————

I step into the hospital, the familiar smell hitting my nose. I still hate the smell, it doesn't matter how many times I'm here it just never seems to get better.

"Adrienne Rowell?" I ask the receptionist, bluntly. Quite frankly I don't have enough patience to deal with her bullshit today. This particular receptionist is always giving me shit. I don't know what I've done to her but clearly I've pissed her off and she likes to hold a grudge.

"Where she always is, room 221." I nod, taking the elevator to her floor. I always get nervous before seeing her, my mom is my life. I spend a lot of time here with her, I want her to get better. I want her to go back to how she used to be. I just wish I had the money to pay for the treatment she needs.

"Gianna?" I turn around, stopping myself from walking closer to my moms room. "Do you have a minute?" It's the doctor that is mainly looking after my mom when I come to visit.

"Yes, is everything okay?" I step aside so Ik not blocking the hallway, my shoulder resting on the wall.

"Your mother's physical state is declining, I'm starting to get worried for her mobility. We need to start treatment soon."

I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose, "I'm trying to get the money, but I have a million other things to pay for."

Like my student loans for a degree I never got.

"Look, it's not that I don't want my mom to get better. I really, really do but I'm trying to keep us fed and a roof over our heads while she's home. Her hospital bills are adding up and adding more treatments on top of that won't help us."

"I understand that, Miss Rowell. Right now your mother's health should be a priority." I can never tell what he thinks of me, it's so strange.

"Trust me, it is. It never hasn't been a priority, but we also need to be fed and warm." I push, trying to get him to see my side. "I pay for her medication that she takes at home, is that not helping her."

"Not really, her dosage is too low." Should they have told me this? Definitely. I don't know why they are keeping me in the dark about this.

"I understand, but I really want to see my mom."

He nods sympathetically, gesturing for me to go. I'll happily see my mom then be lectured by more people.