What's a Girl to Do? (Season 3)

Chapter Two: Boundaries Are Made To Be Broken

Walking into the firm the following morning felt like a relief; not that I enjoyed handing Iana over to Rebecca for the second morning in a row, but because of the unexpectedness of what lay ahead for me. As I arrived at my office and let myself in, I deposited my belongings on top of my desk and immediately sat down to attempt to organize them, as well as to check my emails. It was a pleasant notion that nothing pressing was lurking inside my inbox, so I merely lay back in my chair, staring up at the ceiling for a few moments, until a knock at the door caught me off guard for a moment.

"Come in," I called, pulling my notes toward me—even more research on Paul Farris, except this time, they involved his youth.

The door opened and Allie popped her head in and smiled at me. "Hey," she said in an affectionate manner, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. "So sorry that Hugo and I couldn't be here on your first day back."

I shook my head. "No, that's all right," I replied, getting to my feet and crossing over to her, where she hugged me briefly. "I know that she's on the mend—at least, that's what Nicholas said to me yesterday. The treatment's working?"

Allie nodded. "So we've been told," she replied, crossing her arms as self-consciousness seemed to radiate from her. "It's not like we've been given an instruction booklet on these things. I mean, there's research out there, of course, but it's never concrete. Every case is different, and we just can't go onto WebMD and check her symptoms every chance we get."

I felt my expression morph into one I hoped read sympathy. "Yes, of course," I replied. "She's a lovely girl, Charlotte, and I know that she's well looked-after."

"Yes; we always have a nurse there or on call," Allie said quietly. "Thankfully, we can afford it, due to the family money..."

I reach out then, placing my hand on Allie's shoulder. "You know you can come to me if you need anything, Allie. I mean it. Even if you just need someone to cook for Charlotte, or to just sit with her for a while. Hey, I could even bring Iana, if that wouldn't exhaust her. I remember she said that she wanted to meet her..."

"That would be lovely, Murphy, thank you," Allie said, smiling at me. "I'm sure Hugo wouldn't mind—he thinks you're one of our best workers."

I shrug my shoulders, letting out a small laugh. "Oh, I don't know," I replied. "I just do extensive research and write notes..."

"You know your facts, Murphy, and facts are an important element of the law. We need to find the opposing side guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt. You've successfully brought up our victory percentage from seventy-five to eighty-percent in the last year that you've been here, which is a very successful feat."

I smiled. "Well, thank you," I reply. "I'm just doing my job."

"And other than your job," Allie said, "how is Iana doing?"

I found I was grinning then as I removed my phone from my pocket, getting to my gallery, and turning the phone to face her. "I took that last night when Ian and I were giving her a bath," I explained, and Allie let out a small giggle at that. "She seemed to want to put the bubbles onto her head, and I thought it was a wonderful picture opportunity..."

"And Josh?" she asked as I returned my phone to my pocket. "How have things been going with him? Are you two official yet?"

I swallowed then, wondering how to spin this. "Well, we hung out a lot during the summer—he came over quite a bit, spent some time with Iana, and she's quite fond of him," I replied. "We haven't been out-out yet, and we're not boyfriend and girlfriend. We're just friends, and seeing where it goes..."