Jacqueline
"Yay!"
"Cheers!"
"To us!"
"The best legal team in history!"
Marcus, Jason, and I are celebrating at a luxury wine bar around the corner from the courthouse. This is a nice, opulent place to celebrate. It has velvet curtains and plush seating, upping the sexiness vibe. We're chilling in the VIP lounge area. We've got a bottle of Belvedere and we're letting loose tonight. I love being here with both guys, and they're complimenting me and it makes me worshipped by them. I can tell each one is vying for my attention without really seriously butting heads with the other, and I'm happy to send it around in this sort of safe environment where it's just accepted that I've got more than one man. But the thing is, I don't want two men...
I want three.
Because the thing is, I've texted Xavier for him to come join us and I hope he shows. He had an equally important day in court. I'm riding the high of what happened in there. It was a huge turnaround for us considering how badly the trial had been going against Damian, largely because of his own behavior. I'm looking forward to not having to deal with him anymore because he was not our easiest client. And it feels great to have a clean slate; I can look forward to new and different work. But, for now, I'm trying to stomach the fact that such a sinister man as Wolff can even exist.
I still can't believe the malicious way that he tried to use his position to exert power over this case and to cover his tracks. It's hard to imagine evil existing to the depth that Wolff contained it. He's a bad guy, and Emma must have been so scared. I feel so contented by the fact that we put the right guy behind bars. We did not just win a case for the money, we achieved a level of justice that is integral to the entire court system. I am so proud of us. I am so proud of what we achieved. At the same time, my mind is on Xavier. He must be feeling so taken advantage of by Wolff. That guy was his boss... and the DA. Here is Xavier, this beautiful man with such high morals and he got taken by the biggest criminal of them all. He must never have seen that coming. I'm overwhelmed with compassion for him and I want to know how he's feeling and to comfort him. I want him to know how important he is to me, and how important he was to the case. In fact, without Xavier, this thing may not have turned out so great.
"Man, that was amazing," Marcus is saying.
"I know, did you see Damian's face? A look of shock and relief to a point I've never seen on any client," Jason adds.
"Thanks to Xavier," I say.
"Yeah, that moment with him was really epic," Marcus agrees.
I'm excited to see Xavier walk in, the exact person I wanted to see. He looks delighted to see me too, and it seems like the enormity of what's just happened is not bringing him down.
I get up to greet him and to make room on our couch.
We are all sitting together and Xavier says, "Wow, that was such a day. I can't believe my boss." He pauses and looks at me. He says my name, the way only he calls me, "Jackie," so lightly that I almost think I’m imagining it. My heart hurts so much for him.
"I’m so glad you’re here. And I know," I concede. "It was a media circus also."
"Overall," Jason says, "It was one of the most outrageous days in court I've ever seen. But it was also the most satisfying. We, all of us together, put a real criminal behind bars."
"Yes," Xavier agrees. "Honestly, I feel violated by my boss. What a creep."
"So what are you going to do now?" I ask.
"I really have no idea," Xavier says.
"You know, Jason says, "We'd like to formally offer you a position with our firm. I talked to Jacqueline and the other partners and we think you'd be a great asset. Seeing your performance in there really impressed us. How'd you like to come to the defense attorney side of things and let them sort out the new DA's office?"
Xavier smiles, and I see that he pleased to have been invited on board.
"Xavier, with us, just think how many people we could help. We would all make a great team, just as we saw today," I say.
"Yeah," Marcus jokes. "It's not such a bad place to work. Plus the fringe benefits are great!"
We all laugh and cheers. In the midst of this Xavier says, "Why not? I think I need a change of scenery anyway. I'd love to come on board with you all. Thanks, Jason, Jackie, Marcus....I know that you didn’t have to do this, and I truly want to do good. I think I can do that at Stone, Carvall, and Winters."
"Yay!" I'm so happy at the thought of getting to work closely with Xavier. "This is going to be so fun, and I say. “We should really celebrate hard tonight. After all, we've earned it."
Marcus gets up. "Tequila shot anyone?"
Oh man, it's gonna be that kind of a night. Tequila means party. "I think you should get a round," Jason says. "Of the best."
Marcus orders and I'm snuggled in between Jason and Xavier. My life couldn't get any better than this. He comes back with the drinks, and we all take a shot together. I'm feeling high on life and I know for sure that I'm the happiest girl on the planet right now, with these three amazing men, a perfect job, and a case that was honestly breaking my heart solved.