The Suite Adult Life

September (13.2)

Bailey stared at the screen of her computer, the cursor blinking at her on her unfinished brief. It had been weeks since she had been brought into Mr. Lodge's office to be interrogated with a flimsy accusation. By all intents and purposes she should feel like she was in the clear. She hadn't been brought back in, she didn't need to call upon her own counsel, and the talk around the Kurig had moved on from the subject as a whole. The merger itself seemed to be back on track, albeit taking slower than anticipated; but, rumors were Congress was looking favorably towards it.

Even with all of that, there was something that was still nagging her. Something felt off. Andrew had started to pop back into her office daily. Sometimes he would bring her a cup of coffee and sometimes she would find a doughnut on her desk in the mornings. They would chat about their life outside of work and he was firmly in love with Luna and their relationship just continued to grow. Truly, she was happy for him. In her sessions with Dr. Thompson, she realized that Andrew really was a rebound; and, more than that, he was a manipulation. She wanted to prove not just to Cody, but to herself that she had the capacity to move on.

It was on this particular morning that she smelled before she saw a mug being held towards her. "You've been staring at that screen for an hour now," Andrew said.

Bailey sighed, looked at the offered java before accepting it solemnly. "Do you ever wish your life had turned out differently? Career wise, I mean." She wasn't in the habit of discussing major life decisions with colleagues; and, she didn't want to start now.

"Sometimes!" He said helpfully. "I mean, I always kind of think about what my life would have been like if I had been recruited into the NFL."

"Okay, sure... But I mean in law. You head up our pro bono division. Didn't you want to open your own firm?"

Andrew looked at her and slowly nodded. He remembered telling her about his dream to help those who were less fortunate. Those who didn't have anywhere else to turn. But it was a dangerous situation and it didn't pay the bills. "Can I tell you something?" He asked a bit conspiratorially.

Bailey sipped at her coffee, nodding. "Of course." She watched him stand and close the door. "Oh, so this is a closed door meeting." Shit, she cursed to herself. Maybe he was the one who was going to deliver the bad news and this was the moment!

"I'm leaving," he finally said. Well, that wasn't exactly what she thought he was going to say. She heard herself questioning his motives. "This isn't the place for me. I don't like the atmosphere and most of the people are just too self-centered... Present company excluded!" He recovered. She didn't take any offense. To be in this area of the law there was always an air of pretension and conceitedness. "But it wasn't what I started out wanting to do. And even though I head up that project, I don't really get the resources that I need. That's really been a learning experience in itself. I know just how little I can work with and still be successful."

"So, what are you going to do? Quit? But what about your clients? How are you going to afford to live?" The last question could be considered gauche. But they lived in New York City. It was definitely something to concern a person with. Maybe he would be moving back home. He did say he was from a small town in Ohio. Things were cheaper in the midwest. She knew that for certain.

"Well, I lived really cheaply. I mean, I share an apartment with my two best friends and Luna and I have talked about moving in together." He smiled bashfully at that. So it was going really well. "And the four of us are getting a slightly bigger place but it's going to average out to paying less than I have been. So, I got with some of the guys in the financial department and invested what I could of my paycheck. I don't have any equity in this firm, which is a good or bad thing depending on who you ask."