Brooke slipped into Neville's apartment, closed the door, and leaned back against it as if she were stopping the news from leaving the room.
"Went well," she said.
"It wasn't half as bad as I'd imagined.
Ashley's eyebrows did the thing, but she hugged me and threatened to destroy you, if you ever hurt a hair on my head. It was wholesome." she squealed like a school girl.
Neville felt something in his chest loosen, like a knot from massage.
"I admire your friendship and her consistency in proving that your relationship matters."
"Your turn," Brooke said, words too bright because apprehension was still in them.
"Confess to the dragon lord."
"I don't work for a dragon lord, you all just misunderstood him." Neville said,
"I'm certain he would understand and if he didn't, I would gladly drop him as a client, for you." He reached out to grab her.
Julian wasn't cruel, he was exacting. In Neville's world, that was more dangerous and more respectable.
He reached for his phone, then decided this deserved the decency of a physical conversation and not an e-mail trail.
"Walk with me." he said to Brooke as they both walked hand in hand, heading to his car as they headed to Blackwood corp.
Neville dialed.
Julian picked up on the second ring, you could percieve how composed and grounded he was. His silence, made people want to fill the spaces with secrets.
"Neville."
"Do you have a moment?"
"For you," Julian said, then, dry, "How much blood?"
"None," Neville said.
"Relax, it's just a personal disclosure issue, I'll be on my way to you soon. See you at 10."
A beat. "Proceed here, there's no need coming all the way. I appreciate the sentiment though."
"I'm seeing Brooke,your wife's lawyer, that's all." No prep, no buttering up, just truth served up cold on a tray.
"I'd rather you hear it from me, than from a photo on a gossip site, with a funny caption."
Silence did not explode on this line either. It went colder. Neville could track the micro-beat.
Julian took his time to digest the information, flipped through different possibilities of implications, checked it against clauses and risks, then chose a tone.
"Thank you for telling me," Julian said. "How long?"
"Long enough to be serious," Neville said. He looked at Brooke, she blushed, averting her eyes.
"Not long enough to be foolish. You have no worries, our professional lives and clients are private and off limits."
Julian was quiet for another beat. "I don't want this to become a gossip that hurts Ashley," he said finally. "Or you. Or Brooke. We've had enough knives from friendly kitchens."
"It won't," Neville said. He made it a fact.
"Good," Julian said. "And Neville…"
"Yes."
"If you hurt her…"
"I am painfully aware of your resources," Neville said. "And of my own conscience. "
Something like a laugh moved across the line.
"Noted. Keep me posted. And… congratulations. On finding your person."
"Thank you," Neville said, and meant it more than he expected.
He ended the call and let his shoulders drop. Brooke stared at him like he'd just balanced a glass on its rim.
"That was almost sweet," she said. "For a threat."
Brooke stepped closer to him and in an act that felt both criminal and necessary, put her forehead against his chest, just for a second. He didn't move. Moving felt like it would spook the future. Her voice was muffled with a laugh.
"What now?
"I feel like I just got the parent's approval and I'm scared," he said.
"Are you?"
She considered honesty and chose it. "Yes."
"Let's go out on a date,this evening,what do you think?" He asked her,his eyes sparking .
"Hmmm,spontaneous, I love it"
Later that evening they were seated at a small restaurant called Brie & Cole, the restaurant that pretended not to be expensive and succeeded.
They didn't sit in a corner this time. Or eat with small doses of guilt.
"We did the hard part," Brooke said, fork and knife hovering over her steak.
Neville arched an eyebrow. "Disclosure is the hard part?"
"Disclosure is the honest part," she corrected "The hard part is not letting fear ruin dessert." He said mischievously,evoking laughter from her.
He lifted his glass. "To dessert."
A server set down a small plate halfway through the meal.
Neville reached across the table and took her hand, not hiding it because they had nothing to hide. "No more secrets?"
"No more secrets," Brooke said.
"Just boundaries."
Neville felt eyes on them,biting into his skull. He turned towards the door but the watcher had slipped away. He heard the door close behind a bracelet charm,which chimed once against the doorframe soft, unmistakable to anyone who'd been listening for it.
Brooke didn't hear it. Neville did, but only as a note in the city's song.
He turned back facing her m,then he leaned in and kissed her. Quick and careful, the kind of kiss that said.
When they pulled back, the world had not fallen. But server reappeared with the quiet choreography of expensive dining and set down a chilled bottle of champagne in a silver bucket.
"We didn't order that," Julian said.
"With the compliments of the house," the server said. "A note."
He offered a small tented card. Neville didn't touch it. Brooke didn't either.
"Which house?" Neville asked without looking up.
"The restaurant," the server said, a trained smile unfading.
Neville's gaze slid to the manager across the room, to the bar, to the door.
"We don't receive anything complimentary," he said. "Take it back."
"Of course." The server hesitated. "But the sender asked me to give you the card."
Neville held out a hand. The card was heavy, cream, the kind you could bruise with a fingernail. He turned it over once.
For the gentleman.
— A friend.
This looked like it had the exact ink and handwriting in the copy of the parcel in the photo Julian had sent to him a few days back.
Neville's jaw hardened, a muscle under his cheekbone announced itself.
"The house didn't buy that bottle."
"No," Brooke affirmed. "But the house let it in."
Neville reached for his phone to text Julian and froze. A new message had already arrived, unknown number, no preview.
Tap to view image.
He met Brooke's eyes, who was had switched positions and was already by his side.
"On three," he said.
They tapped.