Michael brought Leon into his office, and they closed themselves off from the rest of the apartment. “Mike, what was that? After signing the separation and divorce papers, I never saw her again. Michael could see Leon’s discomfort of this. “I’m sorry if I said something wrong. Dude, it’s not any better, is it?” “In some ways, it is. I’m less annoyed with her now that I understand her deliberate actions and the unintentional consequences of dealing with her day and the surrounding people. But we’re pussyfooting around the past and it’s a real pain. I’d rather not revisit last night. It scared the crap out of me. That wouldn’t have scared me before I figured this out about Julie. I would have thought I’d annoyed her, and she’s giving me the silent treatment.” Michael hated saying this to Leon, but of anyone, Leon was the one person he believed he could trust. “Wait, what happened? Rewind for a minute and fill in the details you missed the first time
Julie tried to get through her work, but try as she may, it wouldn’t happen. She’d have to send it off to Mike for editing as is. To stay on schedule, she had no other choice. The schedule became irrelevant when the publisher rejected the novel, but Mike’s popularity meant they still had to make appointments for him. It was something that kept her working and on schedule for other aspects of her writing. Deadlines helped, as did music. It didn’t work for everyone, but it worked for her. Unlike Michael, she could wear a set of earbuds with the music on softly, and Ms. Higgins could do as she pleased around the apartment. It wouldn’t bother her one bit. If the music was instrumental only. But today the music wasn’t cutting it. She changed playlists three times, but it didn’t help. Julie couldn’t forget the kitchen scene. She’d been rude to Michael and Leon. Michael’s only intention was to help her. All they discussed was how different she was from Aria.
“She says start and she’ll be right here. I found Julie in the kitchen baking cookies. Is that something she does regularly?” Leon returns to Michael’s home office, and he took his seat at the table before a monitor that hung on the wall where the faces of four men appeared. One man Leon didn’t know grumbled. “Great, she’s anxious and avoiding doing her work.” Leon looked at Michael. “That’s Stephen Jones, Julie’s agent.” “When we arrived to prepare for the meeting, she had already been working for hours. She craved something sweet but couldn’t find it in the kitchen, so she made it herself. I’d say that’s using her time wisely. Oh, she promised to bring something in here for us when she came.” Seeing the publisher’s logo behind the other stranger, Leon decided it wasn’t wise to say it in front of everyone. “You’ve met John and Gary, our lawyers.” Michael gave the final introduction of the attendees. He’d not expected the
Julie didn’t know what she walked into when she first opened Michael’s office door, but she wasn’t expecting to hear him go for the jugular of a representative of her publisher. She recognized who he worked for by the symbol on the wall, not his name. But there Michael sat, acting like they’d attacked him personally, and cancelled his contract with them, not hers. She felt a warm spot form in her chest from this discovery. Was this part of his plan to win her over? Julie felt indifferent but appreciated having someone on her side besides her few reliable allies. She’d expected that to happen for Aria with Leon there, and she couldn’t picture Michael doing this for her without seeing it herself. If someone told her, he’d done this, she more than likely wouldn’t have believed them. Julie was too busy listening to people defend her against the publisher’s representative and criticize the media’s gossip articles to speak. The veiled threats flew from Michael and his lawyer so
Julie was thankful for the recording of the meeting, as she had difficulty focusing on everything they were saying. Leon’s lawyer mumbled often and talked over others. Stephen, as usual, spoke slowly and dragged on. A gathering like this was inherently stressful. Julie struggled to find her words as she tried to keep up with what the others were saying. So, when she had the words, they’d gone on to something else. This added to her frustration. She wasn’t unreasonable, but nothing moved at her speed. They spoke too slowly, but switched topics before she could contribute. She preferred conversations through email. Having a record of the conversation would aid her in making her point. “Julie, is there anything else you’d like to add before we wrap up this meeting?” “What?” “I ask if you…” “Oh no I don’t sorry.” Julie said to Michael. She interrupted him with an embarrassed rush of words when what he’d said finally registere
Leon settled into the back of his car and the driver pulled away into traffic when his phone rang. “Hello, Leon Opus.” “Leon, what the hell is going on? My people are in an uproar.” Aria’s father was on the phone. He’d called Leon to vent. “What has your people in an uproar? I’m unsure what you’re referring to. Your people may have overlooked several things I can think of. But don’t worry about it. I’m dealing with it right now. You can continue to wash your hands of all of it.” Leon wanted to avoid her father’s interference. Weeks ago, he’d said what he’d thought exactly of the senator to his face. Leon took the kid gloves off for this one again. “You sold me damaged goods, and instead of returning those goods, I’m making improvements.” “What are you talking about? I didn’t wash my hands of Aria, and what goods did I sell you? I’m not following.” The senator groused unhappily in indignation. “You set me up to take Aria off your hands
Michael finished up in his office and then went to find Julie. He couldn’t leave things like this. Michael wasn’t sure what happened, but she wasn’t herself in the meeting. He noticed her struggle and wanted to reassure her. Michael was certain she reacted to something from the meeting. With a coffee in one hand and her medication in the other, he had a ring box burning a hole in his pocket with a new engagement and wedding ring combination inside it. Michael wanted her to see it as an effort he was making to prove to her she meant something to him. He found her in her office glued to her laptop. Beckett saw him and gave him a nod before he exited the office without an explanation. Michael would take that as Beckett was giving them some time together. He got her attention; Julie took her earbuds out, and he could hear the computer reading aloud her writing to her. “Hey, can we talk?” She’d been editing some of her writing. Julie tracked her writin
“Michael, I’m not sure you understand this. But just because I’m easy to get along with isn’t necessarily how our child would act. Everything is random, our differences are more likely going to be different. A male will present different symptoms to a female. That’s why it took them so long to diagnose me. When I was a child, they didn’t believe girls could have ADHD or autism. Treatment for women is less understood than for men. What’s effective for men may not be effective for women. Different body makeup and size differences contribute to medications being too strong for women. Also, women’s symptoms are simply different. We learn to hide our symptoms until we no longer can. That’s what makes us appear ill.” “I have never shirked my duty or backed down from a challenge.” “Is that what I am? A duty and a challenge? Is that what our child would be?” “There you go, twisting my words against me.” “No, I’m not Michael. I’m trying to und