The one where she meets the stranger again

~Bella~

Grrrr!

The sound of my alarm pierced through my skull. I shot up out of bed, alarmed.

I dragged myself out of bed and waddled off to the bathroom.

I didn't bother looking for Parker. I knew he was most likely already gone. He was an early riser, unlike me.

He was probably at the office, going over files or something already. The man's work ethics were truly amazing.

I stood numbly under the shower, letting the water run over my body and hopefully wash the rest of the sleep from my eyes.

By the time I came out and got dressed, I only had time to grab a slice of bread from the pantry before rushing out.

When I walked into the office, my secretary, Maggie stood and followed me in.

"You're late," she said, pushing me into my chair and pulling my semi-wer hair up into a ponytail.

"I think I dozed off in the shower," I confessed.

"You're the only person I know who can sleep under running water," she said, shaking her head.

"Well, it's very soothing," I said.

'Maggie' or Margarita Finn was my bestfriend and secretary.

Wanna know one of the best things about running your own firm? You could employ whoever the hell you want!

Maggie flooped into a chair and dragged it close to me.

"I heard the case yesterday went amazingly well."

I sat up, eyes shining. "You should have been there to see Parker! He was spectacular!"

She squealed. I squealed too. We clasped our hands together excitedly.

If there was anyone who knew the magnitude of my crush on Parker, it was Maggie.

"How can someone be so perfect?" She gushed.

"You're asking me?" I shot back. We both giggled.

"So what about you? How did you do?"

I sighed and flopped back in my seat. "I forgot my printed questions at home. I had to come up with new questions on the spot. It was horrid."

Maggie winced. "Sorry, girl! At least Parker did so well that no one would notice, right?"

"Right!" I said hopefully, sighing heavily.

There was a knock at the door. Maggie shot to her feet and hurriedly took position in front of my desk.

She adjusted her skirt and clasped her palms neatly in front.

I shot her an amused look. Her eyes twinkled merrily back.

Knock! Knock!

The person on the other side knocked again.

I straightened and cleared my throat. "Come in," I said loudly.

The door opened and a small, stout woman in a plain, tailored grey suit stepped in.

Next to tall, big boned Maggie in a flower-patterned top and bright orange skirt, she looked like a dowdy widow.

The newcomer gave Maggie a displeased look before sliding her eyes to me.

When her eyes landed on me, she didn't look much more pleased but she at least kept her expression blank.

"Mrs Smith, Mr Smith is requesting your attention at his office immediately," she announced.

"Good morning to you too, Mrs Meyer," I said.

Her lips thinned. "Good morning," she answered politely.

"Do you know why Mr Smith is asking for me?" I asked.

"No," Mrs Meyer answered in a clipped tone. "If you'll excuse me." She turned and walked out.

Maggie rolled her eyes. She moved to the spot Mrs Meyer stood in and imitated her posture.

"Mrs Smith, Mr Smith yen yen yen!"

"Ugh, I just can't like that woman," I said.

"I don't think she likes you much either," Maggie retorted.

We laughed. "I better go see what Parker wants," I said.

"I should get back to work too," Maggie said, sighing. "Lots of files to sort out."

I got to my feet heavily. "I wish I could help, sweetheart but..."

You're just too lazy!" She cried, the same moment I said, "I'm just too lazy!"

We burst into laughter again. "You know me so well," I said. I patted her on the shoulder as I walked past and headed off to Parker's office.

Parker's office was on the other extreme end of the long hall my office was on so it barely took me a minute to get there.

His office was so different from mine. Between Maggie and I, my office was bright, colorful and eclectic.

But Parker's office was different. Everything was in shades of white and grey.

There were no personal belongings except for a picture of the two of us that sat on his mahogany desk.

I don't understand how he can work in such a place. I would go stir crazy looking at those blank walls all days.

I snickered. The plain walls were almost identical to Mrs Meyer in her horrid grey suits. She suited that office perfectly.

Thankfully, Parker let me decorate our house so it looked just like my office, bright and colorful.

He'd never complained about it too so he must be okay with it.

I passed by Mrs Meyer on the way in but she stubbornly kept her head bent over a file she was working on and didn't acknowledge me.

'Humph!' I turned my nose up and walked past her, studiously ignoring her too.

There was a man standing right in front of Parker's door.

I instinctive took a step back when I saw him.

The man was huge! He was so tall his head reached the top of the door. Probably about 6'6!

His shoulders were so wide, they practically touched both sides of the door.

Even worse, a single scar ran down his face, from his left eye to his lip!

He looked really fearsome, like he could break me in half if I looked at him the wrong way.

He looked faintly familiar but for the life of me, I couldn't remember exactly where I'd seen him.

He passed a cursory, uninterested glance over me and stepped to the side, making way for me to go in.

I skirted as far as I could from him, opened the door and quickly stepped in, shutting the door behind me just as fast.

'Phew!'

"Oh Bella, you're here," Parker said. "Come in. I wanted you to meet our new client, Mr Nikolai Reece."

There were two men in the room, sitting with their backs to me.

The one Parker pointed at turned his head slowly to look at me.

I gasped as his face came into view! Holy shit! It was the man from the courthouse!