RomCom Cliché

Chapter Twenty-Five

Note: We're almost there. I hope you're enjoying this one too! :))

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May brought a purpose back to Rebecca's life, beyond day drinking, gambling, shopping and Freen. 

West might have had her client list, but that didn't mean there was a lot of work to do for them, which meant they spent weeks trying to bring in smaller clientele or offering pro bono work on criminal cases so they could leverage themselves for bigger ones in the future. 

With it being a new business with just the two of them, it was a lot of paperwork and frustration and arguing in the new rental Downtown that West had acquired for their office space.

Rebecca spent almost every day there now, working Freen's 9-5 hours as she filed the physical paperwork with strict organisation, changed the layout of the office and spent hours scrolling through websites to find the perfect sofas for the waiting room, the best indoor plants to brighten up the place. 

There was actual work too, and a lot of it with only two of them to do it, going through the grunt work that they hadn't had to do since the earlier days of their careers. Rebecca ended up calling Mai to try and poach her; it didn't take much convincing and soon enough the three of them had fallen back into their old routine.

On top of it all, West was helping to structure Rebecca's defence, digging out old cases of bias and conflicts of interest to help strengthen Rebecca's argument that it would have been gross misconduct for her to represent Maya Sawyer, not for dropping out as her counsel.

Even though she hadn't really been worried about it, Rebecca felt lighter for having her old mentor on her side, having a job again, one where she felt like she fitted, even if the work was a fraction of her old load at the present. 

Clients would come with time though, and she was glad West had taken the initiative to open her own firm, backing it with the longevity of her career that Rebecca still lacked, even if her skill should've eclipsed that.

She'd finished up another day at the office and a quick shopping trip with Nam to help her choose which baby bottles she should buy and which colour scheme she should pick for the nursery as they held up minuscule socks and outfits. 

Her friend was starting to show considerably more at five months along and was even more radiant than usual as she used the excuse of pregnancy cravings to rope Rebecca into dinner with her and their bags of baby paraphernalia.

"I had another scan this morning," Nam said, slipping out the printed sonogram and handing it across to Rebecca.

Setting down her seltzer, ordered out of solidarity with her pregnant friend, Rebecca took it and smiled brightly as she took in the black and white swirls and distinct features of a baby. 

It was more formed than the last one she'd seen and she was struck again by how weird it was going to be with a baby thrown into the midst of their group.

"Are we ever going to see this baby's face?" Rebecca clicked her tongue with amusement.

"She's shy."

Quickly glancing up, Rebecca blinked in surprise. "She?"

"I have a hunch," Nam replied with a crooked grin, "I'm still staying away from pink though."

"Oh, so you haven't reconsidered finding out? I don't think I could stand not knowing."

"No. It's one of the few surprises in life and I don't want to ruin it. But... it's a girl, I can tell."

Giving her a droll look, Rebecca's cheek dimpled, "have you developed ESP along with the cravings?"