Truce day had worked a little too much. Ashley slept through the alarms, but the silence ended the moment her shoes hit the floor.
She tied her hair back, slid into a dress that looked like a decision, and left the house before the city settled on a mood.
She wondered why Julian didn't wake her up, even though the note she found on her side stool did say he couldn't bear to wake her, when she looked so peaceful asleep. Going to Sleep and respecting boundaries after the day they'd had, was particularly difficult in the night.
For all her tossing and turning, Julian's only acknowledgment was stillness at his own end.
God he was infuriating.
Ashford & Co., as it was now called, had a busy lot by the time she arrived.
Forklifts murmured. A gull screamed at a dumpster like it had notes.
As she crossed the loading bay the scent hit her.
The heat of ink and paper, metal warmed by motion, that particular dry breath old presses, exhale when they're awake and irritable.
"Morning, boss," Doyle called from the floor. Doyle had run the press department,since Ashley was nineteen and still too timid to wear steel-toe boots.
His beard looked like it had seen better days. "You picked a day."
"I always do," she said, grinning, and then she heard it, the stutter-thrum of Press 2 failing to convince itself it was fine.
She didn't go into her office, she resumed there first.
When she finally got to her office, Brooke called, informing her she was on her way to see her.
Ashley wondered briefly why she was coming as Brooke rarely left her office during work hours.
Sometimes the most dangerous mistakes are the things left unsaid. So, Brooke rehearsed in the elevator because the elevator didn't judge.
"Full disclosure," she told the mirror in the elevator, holding onto her peace offering like a life raft.
"Conflict of interest. Fire me, but don't make it weird." The doors slid open on the Ashford floor before she could finish rehearsing her speech.
"Show time!" She said under her breath, as she found her way to Ashley's office.
Ashley's office door was open. The late afternoon light made the glass wall look like a lake. Ashley stood at the cabinet, file in hand, hair rolled up in a bun.
She was obviously very busy and lost in the content of the file.
Brooke breezed in with two cups of coffee and a grin too bright for her nervousness earlier on.
"Peace offering and bribery" she said as she set them down.
" you get to choose which one is which."
"Hey," Ashley said, registering Brooke and whatever expression was on Brooke's face. "Why do you look like you're about to confess to murder. If they are both edible, it's both." She narrowed her eyes. "Okay… what's with your glow?"
"Spot on," Brooke said,as she closed the door behind her and took the chair opposite, palms flat on her jeans.
"Neville"
"Should I be worried? Are they cooking up something? I dont get…" Ashley asked, but her voice held warmth, not sharp edges.
"Yes," Brooke said honestly. "And no. And yes."
Ashley dropped the file and sat. "That's three answers."
"I'm hedging."
"Stop."
Brooke stopped. "I'm dating Neville." She blurted out.
Silence did not explode. It landed on the room like a tsunami.
Ashley's eyebrows shut up as her eyes widened. "How long?"
"A minute," Brooke said.
"As in, long enough to know it isn't casual.Not long enough to be smart. I told him I don't do casual flings and he said, 'me neither'.The rest as they say is history." She smiled and continued," We started… working late. Comparing notes. He's precise and infuriating and insists on facts, and I…" She trailed, finding the word.
"It just sort of happened, and I don't want to keep it from you. Considering..."
Ashley watched her. Not the kind of watching that strips you, the kind that wraps you in a clean towel and waits.
"You realize he's Julian's Lawyer." She asked rhetorically
"Yes," Brooke answered anyways.
"And I realize I'm your right hand and part of the room where secrets live. Which is why I'm here saying this before it's a rumor or before it turns into a 'we're so sorry our lawyers are involved kinda situation'."
"You could have kept it a secret ," Ashley said.
It wasn't an invitation to lie, it was a test.
"I don't do well with the kind of guilt that comes from lying," Brooke said.
Ashley's mouth did the slightest, saddest smile.
"This is so romantic."
"It is," Brooke said.
"In a different subtle kind of way."
Ashley smiled, as she drew a slow breath.
"All right. She finally said, "But let's talk about boundaries. You disclose to me, he discloses to Julian. You recuse from anything that touches Neville's work. He removes himself from any inquiry that involves me."
She wasn't done. "On no account should I ever be the subject of your pillow talk as your client, and I hate that I had to say pillow talk."
"I hate that you had to say pillow talk too." They both laughed. "We're both adults and neither of us wants to be a cautionary HR training video." Brooke murmured
Ashley tilted her head. "Girl! I'm happy for you."
Both women leaned towards each other in an embrace across the table.
Ashley's words had a warm tone as she said "I'm really happy for you. You don't get many things in this life that feel obvious and good at the same time. I want you to have one."
Brooke hadn't planned on crying, she wasn't emotional, but the way Ashley had handled it, she even felt bad for being worried sick. She was lighter now.
"Thank you for being cool about this, I also want you to know, Neville and I,have had a talk about it. We take our clients and attorney privilege seriously."
"Good," Ashley said.
"And if he ever uses you to get to me, I'll remove his kneecaps."
"You'll need a small hammer," Brooke said, dead serious, and Ashley's laugh was the kind that made long days shorter.
"Okay," Ashley said, "So any other thing you want to offload?"
" All good, but i'll have to leave soon, i've got a meeting. "
Ashley stood and rounded the desk, this time around. She opened her arms like a woman who had learned how to do it without apologizing.
Brooke stood into the hug and let herself be held for exactly three seconds, then stepped back with a sniff and an exaggerated flick of her hair.
"Go tell your lawyer," Ashley said. "Tell him if he breaks you, I will end him and then invoice him for my time."
"Noted," Brooke said.
Brooke tried on a grin that felt like the kind that ferries you over a chasm.
She reached the door before she remembered. "Oh, one more thing."
Ashley lifted an eyebrow.
"Dont tell Julian, he has to hear it from Nevile himself."
In the hall, Brooke let the air out of her lungs and felt ten pounds lighter and ten pounds more responsible.
She texted Neville, got five minutes? Your office or home?