In Time

03 | Unwelcome Guest

"Then I told the jury that any single one of them, most all of them being parents themselves, if they had been in that position, they would have done the same thing. And that any good parent has an instinct within themselves to do anything to protect their children."

"Absolutely brilliant, Marcus." I smiled at him, astonished. The deck had been stacked against him with this case, but he managed to make a miracle out of it as always. "I better watch myself, Marcus. You may end up with that corner office instead of me."
He laughed. "Thank you, Charlotte. I'm flattered. But Lord knows, I can't top the way you work in a court of law."

I shook my head and smiled at him, flattered at his words.

"Hey," he perked up. "Any news with your brother? How is that whole situation going anyway?"
I rolled my eyes. "Not so hot. Did I tell you that they have a friend in on it with them? He's pretending to be some Scottish lord from the 15th century or something."

"Seriously?" His eyes narrowed at me in disbelief.
"Yeah," I shook my head, glancing to the ground. "I had a chat with him last night at his apartment, but he was so insistent that he was telling the truth, I just really don't know what to—"

"Miss Richards," a voice from the door called, interrupting our conversation. "You have a visitor here to see you."
"Okay, just tell them to wait in the lobby downstairs. I'll be down in—"

She stepped aside, a guilty look plastered on her face, and the visitor appeared behind her, stepping into the doorway of the break room.

A very unwelcome guest indeed. No doubt he had used his governor's charm on my assistant to allow him to come straight up without checking with me first.

"Tristan." The breath in my lungs halted.
"Can we talk?" He asked, a large bouquet of flowers in his right hand.
I took a moment, knowing that if anything got out of hand at my place of employment, it could mean partner getting tossed out the window.

He also had a reputation to maintain, however, so a discussion in a public place was sure to be somewhat civil. Against my better judgement, I agreed.
"Sarah, can you arrange for an empty conference room for Mr. Blake and I to speak privately?"
She nodded, scurrying down the hallway.

"Is everything alright?" Marcus asked quietly, a hand on my shoulder.
"Everything's fine, Marcus, really." I nodded, forcing a smile. "You should get back to your desk. I'm sure you have a line of clients waiting for you after your recent success."

He nodded slowly, hesitantly complying with my request but definitely suspicious as he left the room. Marcus didn't know the gruesome details of our breakup, only that it wasn't amicable as the media had been told.

"I'm Mr. Blake now, huh?" He grinned sheepishly. "When did that happen?"
"When you decided to invite strange women into our home." I whispered back, looking up at him as I walked past him. "This way, Mr. Blake."

He followed me down the long hallway and into a small conference room at the corner of the office. I closed the door behind him.

"Mr. Blake, what are you doing here? What could you possibly want from me?" I asked, a pleading tone not so subtle in my voice.
"Call me Tristan, Charlie, please."

I looked up at him, keeping my distance, eyes red as tears threatened to form.

"I came to apologize."
"After so much time has passed," my voice quaked. "Why now?"
"Because I miss you."

A sarcastic, bitter laugh erupted from my throat, my hands trembling as they reached for the bridge of my nose. "The many women who crave your attention not good enough for you anymore?"

"Charlie, please, listen to me—" he started, taking steps towards me.
"Don't." I interrupted, my voice quaking, stretching an arm in front of me and taking a step away from him. "Don't come any closer."

He complied, not moving another inch forward. His gaze was filled with sadness and longing, but I couldn't tell anymore if this was true or if he was only pretending.

"Things changed that night, Tristan." I said, my voice faltering. "You changed."

"And I've done a lot of thinking since then, Charlie, a lot of soul-searching." He said. "I found that the best parts, the highest moments, of my life happened when we were together. I don't think that's a coincidence."

I stayed silent, knowing that if I spoke, my voice would crack under pressure. He wouldn't see me break again.

"I need you back, Charlie. You make me a better man."

"I can't be that person for you, Tristan." I closed my eyes and swallowed the lump in my throat. "You have to find that man again for yourself. I can't make you a whole person, you have to be that alone before you bring someone else into the picture."

"I can do that! I can do that for you!" He smiled. "I was so confident in myself before. Don't you remember? When we first got together all those years ago, you told me that you were first attracted to me because of my confidence. And you fell in love with me because—"

"Because you made me laugh." I nodded, finishing his sentence.

"See? A part of you misses what we had, I knew it."
"We can never have that again, Tristan. It can never be the same." I backed myself against the wall, my legs threatening to show ake beneath me.

"C'mon baby, don't say that." He started. "It was a stupid mistake. I had been drinking too much that night. I wasn't in the right headspace. I'd take it all back if I could."

I clenched my jaw trying not to think about it.
"I'd like to give us another shot at this. What do ya say?"

I stayed silent, unsure of myself and what to say next.

He continued to speak. "The governor's ball is coming up. I'd like to take you if you'll let me."
"Look at us, Tristan. I mean really look at us." I pleaded.

Fragile tears finally began to trace delicate paths down my face. "I can hardly look at you without that night playing over and over inside my head. How is this supposed to work?"

He started towards me again. The breath in my lungs halted and my head turned away from him, trying to get farther away but the wall not allowing me to.
I was taken by surprise when I felt his arms wrap around my shoulders, the side of his face pressed against the top of my head.

"I can't take back what I did that night, Charlie." He said. "But I know we can move past it. Say you'll come with me. I need you there."

I felt cornered again. The same way I felt that night a year ago. What could I say or do now? I just needed to be away from him.
"Okay." I finally whispered.

The words spilled from my mouth involuntarily. And as soon as they had, I found myself wanting nothing more than to take them all back.

"Really?" He released his grip long enough to glance down at me.

I blinked up at him, slowly nodding, unsure of myself. He excitedly pulled me into a tight embrace, my body stiff under him. "I knew you couldn't say no." He grinned.

He placed me back down on my feet. "I'll be in touch with the details. I'll be seeing you."
He stepped out of the door then, not saying another word.

My heart felt like it had stopped in my chest.
I was a fool to think I'd ever be able to rid myself of Tristan Blake.

What a mess I had managed to get myself into.