14. Fourteen

fourteen

Charlotte

My little three-day vay-cay was finally over, and as pumped as I was to go back to work today, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bummed out. I'd taken Peter's advice and shut off my phone and had come to learn something crucial about myself recently.

All I did was work.

My off days were never really considered as my off days because I still worked from home even after spending twelve hours at the firm, or wherever else the day's required tasks had directed me to meet with clients. I spent more time outside of my home than getting to relax and actually enjoy being at home, which I found to be quite depressing the more the reality of it settled in. I had a lot of vacation time over the years built up that I hadn't actually used yet, so I suppose that was something I'd have to look into soon.

And speaking of my phone, the damn thing hadn't stopped dinging since I powered it on first thing this morning. I was currently in my bathroom finishing up with my makeup and still, the fucking thing kept vibrating against the counter with God knows how many texts, personal and work emails, and possibly some voicemails too.

Someone was calling me now, so after glancing down at the screen and seeing it was Harley, I quickly answered the line and put her on speakerphone so I could finish applying the final touches to my hair. I was wearing it down today and almost had it ironed to perfection.

"Good morning, Harley," was my chipper greeting.

"Ah, Charlotte," she replied. "Are you coming into the office today?"

"I sure am. I'm finishing up now and will be walking out the door soon."

"Glad to hear it. Would you mind doing me a favor and grabbing me a coffee on your way in? I'm afraid the coffee pot in our break room is broken."

I couldn't help but chortle. "Is that why you called? To see if I was coming in so I could bring you some coffee?"

"Would it be unprofessional of me if I said yes?" she asked coyly.

I grinned bigger at my reflection in the mirror and shook my head. "It's not a problem, Harley. I'll be happy to stop and grab you one. How many sugars and creamers?"

"Don't worry about that. I'll just use what we have here."

"Sounds good then. I'll be there as fast as I can."

I hung up the phone and gave myself a final onceover in the mirror, nodding approvingly before grabbing the device and heading downstairs to grab my purse. A notification from my camera app had me freezing at the bottom step. I opened the app and sighed hard with relief when I saw a delivery guy placing a package at my front door. He knocked twice, rang the doorbell, then turned away and departed for his truck.

After punching in the security code, I opened the door and grasped the large box, staring down at it in confusion. My full name and address were printed in sloppy handwriting, but the sender's information was blank, which was weird because I couldn't recall whether I'd made any online purchases as of late.

Huh. I wonder what this could be.

I didn't have time to open it, so I shut the door and then wandered inside the kitchen and set the package down on the island, beside my purse. After snagging my keys and double checking to make sure I had everything I needed, I rearmed the system and was off to the coffee shop.

"Did you send me a package?" I asked Blaire first thing when I saw her.

She looked up at me from her computer and blinked at me standing in her doorway. "Huh?"

"A package came in with my name on it, but no information on who sent it."

"Oh." She frowned at me. "Sorry girl, but it wasn't me. Did you ask Peter?"

"Yeah. I called him on my way here and he swears he didn't send me anything."

"I don't know then. Are you sure you didn't order something and just forgot? I do that shit all the time."

"I don't think so," I said, shaking my head and shrugging. "Hell, who knows. It's possible."

If push came to shove, I'd break and call my mom on my lunch break. She and my dad were the only people I could think of considering I didn't have any siblings, and my grandparents passed away years ago, so I knew they couldn't have sent it.

"Alright, Blaire. Thanks. I have to go meet with Harley, so I'll catch you later. If things don't get too crazy today, then do you want to go out to lunch together?"

She smiled at me, nodding. "Yeah, that sounds good."

I bid her farewell and then made the short trek down the hall and toward Harley's office. After balancing her coffee in hand with mine, I knocked on the door. Harley immediately opened it and wasted no time accepting her beverage and thanking me at least a thousand times.

"Here," she said, rounding her desk and placing her coffee down so she could grab her purse. "How much was it?"

"Don't worry about it," I told her, refusing the money when she tried to hand me a five-dollar-bill from her wallet. "Really, it's fine. You don't have to pay me back."

"Nonsense." She shook the money at me, urging me to take it. Just to make her happy I did, but it wasn't going to stop me from slipping it back on her desk when she wasn't paying attention.

"Do you have any updates for me on Delilah's case?" I asked, eagerly glancing over at the file resting beside her computer.

"Yeah, about that."

"Is something wrong?" I asked when I heard the shift in her tone.

"Tell me something, Charlotte. Are you having any issues with Rhodes and Hutch?"

I blinked at her, a little taken aback by the question. "No, ma'am. At least none that I'm aware of. Why?"

"It's just that Detective Hutch phoned me last night requesting a new CDA for Delilah's—"

"He did fucking WHAT?" I bellowed, slapping my hands over my mouth as Harley's head jerked back, her eyes narrowed.

"Oh my God."

I squeezed my eyes closed and breathed in deep, letting it out.

"I'm so sorry, Harley. Forgive me. That just kind of…slipped out."

I sat down in the chair in front of her desk and watched as Harley plopped down in her seat, her features softeningat my apology.

"I don't understand. Did he say why?"

"Not exactly," she said, giving me a look that expressed she was just as befuddled by this whole thing. "He just expressed some concerns over whether you were capable of keeping your personal issues separate from the job given everything you're currently going through with Karl."

Rage bubbled up in my blood. I kept my face blank, albeit it was much, much harder keeping my breathing under control.

"I told him you and I have already had this discussion, and I guaranteed him he had nothing to worry about."

I nodded, remaining mute despite the heaving in my chest.

"It's evident you're upset by this." Harley sat back in her chair and offered me a frown. "Personally, Charlotte, I don't think he meant any harm. I think he's just worried you're gonna burn out from the stress. You are going through a lot and well, it's no secret that both sides of your life have been clashing lately, so it's completely understandable for him to be troubled."

"You're taking me off the case, aren't you?" I asked, struggling to fight back the tears dotting over my eyes.

"Did I say I was taking you off the case? I was just informing you what was relayed to me so there wouldn't be any surprises when you see them again."

"Thank you for telling me." I forced the fakest fucking smile I could muster in that moment. "I appreciate it."

Harley nodded and then turned her attention to the file, grabbing it. I took that opportunity to swiftly slip the five-dollar bill behind one of the picture frames closest to me on her desk.

We sat there for a bit discussing the case and when we were done, I grabbed the file, my coffee, and was out the door again.

Now it was time to go pick this fucking bone with Detective Hutch.