It Was Always You [BxB]

"Didn't you hear the latest news? There's a new associate on the 10th floor."

"Girl, you're late to the party. Everyone's already talking about him!"

"I did a little digging. Googled him, actually. He's quite popular for a rookie lawyer. Won a few big cases before he took a break to the US..."

"Duh. Law school class valedictorian and the son of a previous cabinet minister? And he has this authority vibe in him, y'know? Total package. Like he could ask me to do..."

"Ssh! NSFW!"

"But you agree! Damn. What a catch."

Julian exhales sharply through his nose, his hands balling into fists under his desk. He wants to block out the noise with earplugs, but at the same time, his senses are heightened, curiosity gluing him in his place. It's maddening.

"But I heard he keeps a picture of a baby in his office."

"A baby?! Maybe it's his baby photo?"

"Who would do that? I bet it's his kid..."

Julian's typing halts, eyes dropping to the keyboard, torn between ignoring them and asking them to shut it down. Thankfully, their direct supervisor, Stefanie, intervenes first. "Don't we have a deadline to meet? No?"

The noise finally dissipates, the hush bringing him relief. It is short-lived, however, as the word 'baby' echoes in his ears.

A baby? Joaquin has a baby? With who? Could it be one of his matches? But doesn't he live alone? Did he have a ring? Where's the mother? The baby?

He's unraveling. It's one step forward and two steps back. He came to work with high hopes of getting a breather. But how could he when he's surrounded by coworkers who wouldn't stop fawning and speculating about his ex?!

A walk and some caffeine. Those are what he needs.  After sending the report to Stefanie, he invites Myka out.

*

Myka steps onto the main floor, her heels clicking crisply with every step as if announcing her arrival. She's barely masking her frustration with how the trial turned out. They'd exhaustively prepared the witness for cross-examination, but the opposing counsel had a trick up his sleeve, blindsiding them like they were amateurs.

How had she missed such a small, crucial detail? The battle isn't over, but it's beginning to stress her out.

She rides the elevator and sends a quick response to Julian, who seems equally desperate to get away. Though unaware of what it is about exactly, she suspects it's linked to Joaquin. Julian's been on edge ever since he'd come across him, like a volcano erupting after a long period of dormancy.

Huh. Myka has lots of pent-up energy to rechannel... Perhaps she could help Julian instead. Forget her case.

Her mind reels. What if she gets them together in one room? It would break the ice. Might desensitize Julian. Exposure therapy, as he'd once put it when he shared about what transpired with Alexander.