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Chapter Eighty-Six—Meeting With Leon
Last Updated:
2023-08-28 00:06:57Related chapters
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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
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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.
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“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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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“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
Last Updated : 2023-09-04
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“Edward has everything in the car, Julie. We’re ready to head for the hospital. Now, you’re sure you’re okay with going through with a c-section? I mean, if you change your mind, you can still back out.” Michael could see how large Julie grew and wondered how his son hadn’t torn his way out. Michael worried Julie could no longer stand and walk safely. Life kept changing and he couldn’t believe he’d once thought this part of his life could go on without him. Over the last eight and a half months, he’d learned so much about a woman’s body he had to wonder if they were the same species. Women were so complicated, and Julie had some unique complications. A common comorbidity Julie had called EDS would complicate even the epidural she would need. Her joints had more range, and it caused her shoulders, back, and hips to be uneven. It could complicate administering the epidural. If she couldn’t get it, then she’d have to give birth naturally without it. This terrified Julie, alon
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“I’m glad you’re doing this, Julie. Honestly, I don’t know what her father is thinking. But if he thinks she could embarrass him normally, to not come to his daughter’s wedding. Campaigning or not, he’s going to look bad. He recognized her as his daughter when it was convenient for him. Now he pulls this because it’s not convenient. His poll numbers will go down and he’ll lose the public confidence. If it gets out and it will that we showed up after that entire mess that started all of this. He’s sunk.” “You don’t think this is a mistake? She will not pull something fast. Like become caught in someone else’s bed?” “Julie, Aria’s been through a lot in the last six months. Leon didn’t just send her to rehab to just get off the medication. He sent her to a location that deals with complex abuse cases. She doesn’t realize it, but they did. He had to wait for over two years to get her a place there. It’s why I took her in like I did. I admit there were other stupid
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The small plane landed at the secluded island airport, and Julie sighed in relief. There was something about travelling she disliked. To come all this way for a wedding for someone she didn’t like seemed crazy. But Leon was Michael’s best friend and Julie would muddle through it for five days there. What she still couldn’t get over was Aria’s request to come and bury the hatchet somewhere other than Julie’s back. She’d apologized. The hadron collider must have tested something again, and the world altered in reaction to the outcome of that test. That’s how Julie thought of why things changed in ways she didn’t see coming. Not that she believed the conspiracies; it was just a humorous way to look at her problem because Julie didn’t believe she’d ever find out the true reason these things changed. But jumping off into another timeline felt as sane as any other reason, and perhaps sometimes more logical. They stepped off the plane with the other guests, and a protracted line
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Michael had said that he didn’t want to celebrate something that didn’t change. He didn’t want to admit he’d changed, and that changed their relationship. His explanation for this was he’d not been aware that he could be any other way until he’d seen how she lived in perpetual difference. Her effort to give him an easier existence while ignoring her own struggles had him questioning and rejecting much of his father’s teachings. It’d crossed over into his work life to and several people mentioned it over the months. So much so it became part of the water cooler gossip. Julie only found out about this after they’d gone back to the gym, and she heard the gossip at the juice bar. Michael hadn’t gone with her today as he now often did. Julie still struggled to become used to his constant presence around her. But she knew why this time around she struggled with it. Julie had to fight putting up a mask for the world and in that moment with Michael at the gym, she couldn’t figure
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Christiana brought Aria upstairs, showed her the room, and helped her to unpack her things. Aria had to wait an hour before Leon came upstairs to her. But once Christiana ended with that, she gave Aria an odd warning before she left Aria to her own devices. “My dear, you’re not as sweet as you pretend to be, but that’s not a mark against you with me. The problem you will have been with the men of this family. They run this family with an iron fist, and we are not part of the conversation or the family business. So, if you think you will control anything or anyone within this family, then you’ll be walking a thin line between surviving or disappearing within an unfortunate accident. Please be careful what you say and do. This is something we say to all women who enter this family. Think carefully and long. If you stay, learn to keep your head down and your mouth shut. You can do and say anything outside of the family but don’t allow the bad to reflect on the family.”
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Julie sat there in the conference room with her lawyer. They’d been hashing out exactly how things would go from here on out. Michael had given her a file of documents which gave her terms he was willing to work with and he’d changed all the wording. Her lawyer had to review it all over the last few days and he had admitted to Julie that the generosity in the new offer was off the charts compared to the first time they sat down to get through this. But to stay was more beneficial for both parties. However, he warned her not to do anything if it wasn’t in her heart, or best for her safety. She should do what she believed was best for her and her child. “I will, I promise you that. But I will have to say that things have changed greatly in the last six months. I’m still unsure what changed things. If it was a single event or multiple events, but he’s not the same man. No, before you say it’s temporary, understand he’s happier now with the changes he’s made. It’s
