Axiom Ch. 05

Aidan exhaled sharply and raked a hand through his hair. He could hardly believe his ears right now and struggled to wrap his head around the absurdity of the whole scenario. "We could always increase the settlement value -"

"Fuck you, Aidan. We are not paying these people off." The rebuke came out harsh and unforgiving, matching the anger that was flashing in his eyes. "I came to you about this because I thought that of all the wankers in this fucking cesspool of a company, I figured that you'd have the decency to do the right thing." He scoffed at his own statement. "But I guess you've grown up true to the trust fund, throwing around money as a cheap way of saying you're sorry -"

"Don't you dare," Aidan bristled, his temper threatening to boil over. "Don't you fucking dare accuse me of being a fatcat when you're rambling like a lunatic about some glorified coup," he hissed the c-word with exceptional disdain "and fucking ignore the repercussions of it on LSA. You damn well know what's going to happen if you carry on with that Erin Brockovich fuckall you're trying to pull, and don't think, for a moment, that I'm not going to fucking stop you."

Julian had nothing to say in return. There was no arguing with the fact that publicly turning against Ceres Labs would be a PR and financial disaster. To be a global law firm that publicly dumped and shamed its client, who was currently locked in a high-profile civil standoff that skated thinly on the borderline of criminal, would spell the end of LSA. If, and after the dust cleared, even the Lehman Brothers would've been in better shape that they could ever be in. To be frank, Julian wouldn't have minded that in the least bit.

Having grown up with Aidan, at first it seemed like the two were meant to mature into lawyers, just like their fathers, promising to be the future of the legacy that their fathers perpetuated. After all, they shared so much in common - born into eminent families, strong-willed, idealistic - but at some point in life, Julian fell off the road to corporate law when the conflict between profit and pollution proved too deep to bridge. Inexplicably, and almost overnight, he came to hate everything that LSA stood for - all the multinational conglomerates and formula-thick investment banks, the vast wealth that kept accumulating, the money that pooled around people like his family. To watch the firm go up in cinders was pittance to him.

The two men just stared at each other in defiant silence. As always, the problem was that the two were so alike - both hard-headed and unwilling to give in. Oddly enough, one party reached out in a peace offering.

"There's a way we can do this without compromising the integrity of the firm," Aidan explained, trying to keep his tone in check. "You, me, Marty, and the Feds." Julian opened his mouth to say something, but Aidan hushed him by simply raising his hand.

"No major news networks, which means that BBC and CNN are the last to fucking hear about it. If we're going to come out of this alive, we're going to play it political. FDA, FBI, USDA. Criminal charges - all we do is collect enough to warrant prosecution, and the leave the rest for the guys over at the DA to jerk off to. Everything has to be off-the-record and insidious - files are to be shared on ghost servers, calls made through encrypted lines. If you think you're going to be seal a prosecution for Ceres by yourself, be my guest, because this is fucking loony as it is, Julian, but I'm willing to do it with you - so that's my final offer. Either take it, or go fuck yourself."

Aidan studied Julian's face to try and gauge his reaction. So far all he could tell was that Julian was duly impressed at how quickly he came up with a mediating solution, but apart from that, his train of thought was hard to decipher. Naturally, one would expect him to be dubious - Aidan's plan was nothing more than an impromptu answer, hastily devised on the spot. But the more Julian examined the logic behind the scheme, the better it looked. Finally he broke the silence.

"Can we trust Marty?"

"Without a doubt. He's the one man in this whole agenda whom you should never have to question."

Julian seemed satisfied with the answer. "And that woman - Kenner, was it? What about her?"

"She stays out of this." Aidan insisted in a tone that would brook no argument. "She's only an associate. The rest of us are big enough to play with the big boys, so if shit hits the fan, we'll ride it out, just us three."

Aidan's refusal to include the girl piqued Julian's interest. "Shouldn't she be allowed to decide if she wants to be involved? At least give her the opportunity, talk her through it -"

"I said she stays out of this, and that is absolutely non-negotiable." Aidan's stentorian voice made damn sure that Julian got the message. The anger was returning to the surface, bubbling inside his chest like lava, leaving actual physical discomfort in its wake. He felt restless and fidgety, and a lot more anxious than he'd like to admit. He should be. From this second onwards, things were heading full speed ahead down a dangerous slope There would be a lot of chaos, disguised underneath a facade of calm waters - and if anyone so much as saw a ripple on the surface, alarm bells would ring, and there would be no telling how ugly things will get, or how quickly it would escalate.

But that was a problem for later. A cursory glance at his watch showed that he was already late for a meeting. It wasn't a particularly crucial one, in fact, it was one of those brain-numbing, redundant jigs, but Aidan needed an excuse to get out of there, to escape from the oppressive tension in the room.

He got out of his chair abruptly and headed towards the door of his office. "I'm supposed to be at a meeting, so you can let yourself out after I'm gone. We'll discuss this later." Just before he left, he turned back and offered some parting words to his friend.

"And just so you know, no one here can so much as fucking take a piss without my permission. Remember that the next time you try to muscle your way around here, Lynch." Aidan slammed the door behind him, leaving Julian alone in Aidan's office.

Even if they didn't expressly discuss it, Aidan and Julian were both aware that if they were caught building a case against their own client, there would be a lot of personal loss at risk. The thought of putting himself out there and exposing himself to danger meant nothing to either of them. Growing up with all that money imbued them with a sense of invincibility, even if it wasn't real - they felt untouchable, never registering any imminent harm, never fearing what others feared. While Julian strode out of the office building with unshakeable confidence in his steps, Aidan's heart sank with dread as he barged into a conference room full of nervous lawyers. If Gwyneth got involved, she would be thrown into the flames a lot sooner than the rest of them, who were otherwise comfortably nestled in the security of a plush bank account and formidable assets.

The mere thought of Gwyneth made his stomach churn. Everything had been going great so far - too great, almost too smooth to be real. How long had they been keeping at this for? Six weeks? Fuck, that was longer than any of his previous dalliances. Usually, he went through the entire cycle in a month, moving from initial contact to planned parting within four weeks. There was only so much effort he was willing to pour into women, especially considering how most of them bored him senseless.

Either they were pretentious little rebels, out there to tout their feigned confidence act to any man who would buy it, or they were naive romantics who never took the breakup well, women who foolishly believed that the romance was actually going somewhere. So many of them, each and every one easy to read, lacking any proper depth. He had their entire personalities translated by the time he was done introducing himself. But that was a different matter - at any rate, whatever that was going on between Gwyneth and him was bolstering on well past its predicted due date.

Why? How? He could hear angry voices arguing about something around him, but he paid no heed. As much as he hated to admit it, his attraction for Gwyneth was a lot stronger than he let on. Sure, the sex was great, and he had no qualms about whether or not a prolonged physical relationship would work. But what really shook him was how much he wanted to talk to her. Her presence...there was something distinctly relaxing about her presence that made him lower his guard to allow her in. Why did talking to her feel so good? Yeah, yeah, she was brilliant, a fucking encyclopedia with legs that belonged to a Brazilian supermodel. They could connect on an intellectual level, no doubt, and yes, she was always so good-natured, always so patient. Was that it, then? Was that all it took to get him hooked?

Most importantly, why was he still thinking about her? It dawned upon him that he was second guessing himself, questioning his own mind, the same mind which was usually assured and decidedly intransigent. There was that niggling question that kept popping up in his head, even though he made it a point to avoid thinking about it. A lot of things were running through his mind now. There was the Ceres case, which was complicated enough as it is, and the situation with Gwyneth was no easier. He gathered his thoughts and forced himself to focus - the crux of it is that work is far more important. Right. But just as he tried to divert his attention, the all-important question popped up again, unable to stay buried in the shadows any longer.

Was he falling for her?

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"...and when he opened the door, you'll never believe what he saw - gorgeous little Nina Reed, on her knees, giving Luther one hell of a happy ending, if you know what I mean."

Gwyneth's jaw dropped, her eyes twinkling with fun. Office gossip was a secret guilty delight that she occasionally yielded to. "No!" she gushed, "Luther? Oh my God, that would explain why she -"

"Shhh! But yes, that pretty much sums it up." Dylan definitely didn't look the part, but he was every inch a gossip monger. Had it not been for his influence, Gwyneth couldn't care less about the ongoing scandals in the office, but alas, bad habits are infectious - and Dylan's unceasing updates on the who's and whats eventually had her hooked. "The best part is that apparently once, they were going at it when he was on the phone with his wife, " he paused to chortle "and the missus was asking him about their - fuck, berg alert."

Immediately, they both fell back into position with a practiced ease. In a fraction of a millisecond, Dylan was scribbling away on some document or other and Gwyneth was attaching files to a seemingly important e-mail, blending into the office bustle like chameleons in a tree. As luck would have it, their phony act was unnecessary. Aidan marched by quickly, barely throwing them a glance, and tapped on Gwyneth's desk without even slowing down. "My office," he instructed tersely.

She had to take big strides to keep up with him as they moved towards the office. Walking behind him, she stole surreptitious looks at his ass, watching the rich fabric pull taut with every step of his brisk walk, and smirked to herself. Judging by his hurried movements and humorless expression, she surmised that he was in one of his moods again. In his office, Lucy was already waiting beside his desk, holding a stack of papers which she passed to him as he sank into his seat, wasting no time in getting started. Aidan was moving at such a frantic pace it scared her. Was he always like this? Blimey, he took the word 'productive' to a whole new level.

As soon as Lucy left the room, Aidan spoke out.

"Alright, Gwyneth," he didn't even look up from whatever it was he was scrawling on, "there's no nice way to put this, so here goes. You will no longer be working on the Ceres case effective immediately. We have decided that your expertise is best expended in other fields, and while we appreciate your enthusiasm, it would be in the best interest of the case if you stepped down from the team."

Gwyneth was too stunned to even react. She just stood there, frozen stupid, the room completely silent apart from the sound of pen on paper.

It couldn't be. This was poised to be one of the biggest litigation settlements of the decade - Christ, there wasn't a single newspaper in the world that wasn't covering it from end to end. She'd been so proud to be offered a chance to be part of an elite squad, and now they were telling her to go play somewhere else, even before she'd done anything? She couldn't believe it. It was like being told you missed the target before you had the chance to shoot. Recoiling from the shock, she steeled herself with resolve.

"I don't - I - I don't quite get it. W-Why the sudden change? Has there been a recent development in proceedings?"

"No, nothing like that. Marty will continue to be at the helm, assisted by Julian and I. I'm sorry, but I cannot provide you with any more details, considering the sensitive nature of the case - I hope you understand."

No, she thought bitterly, no, she did not understand. More so, it pained her that he still wouldn't look at her, couldn't afford her the decency to look her in the eye while he forced her out of the opportunity of a lifetime. It stung like hell, standing in front of him while he blatantly ignored her, choosing to concentrate his attention on the documents in front of him. Like she didn't matter at all. All her life, she'd never felt so...disrespected. So insignificant, so small.

"Why?" Her voice came out slightly wobbly, betraying the resilience she aimed to exude. "Is it because Marty didn't think I belong there?"

He stopped writing and finally looked up to meet her gaze, but there wasn't an ounce of friendliness in his eyes.

"No, it's because I don't think you belong there."

The words dealt a far greater blow that she was prepared for. In that sentence, not only did he confirm that he didn't think she deserved to be on that team, or didn't think she was up to par with the rest of them, he also implied that he didn't want her to be around him. A fresh swell of hurt flooded through her and she desperately hoped it didn't show on her face.

If it had been anyone else, she would've fought back. She would've stood her ground and defended her merits, parried off their challenges and taken root in the faith of her own abilities. But this was Aidan. Apart from the fact that he was completely immovable, impervious to all the forces around him, there was the other reason she couldn't bring herself to fight his decision. Over the past few weeks, she'd allowed herself to believe that there was a private friendship between them, even in the office.

All those times they'd shared cryptic looks with each other, and the secret lunch breaks with each other...had they meant nothing to him? Weren't they close enough for her to at least be considered a friend? Shame burned hotly in her cheeks as her fists clenched in indignant fury. Of course he hadn't, she told herself. He'd made it perfectly clear from day one itself. Work will have to be work, she remembered him saying. It was a mistake on her part - she'd expected some form of special treatment, however slight - hadn't she?

Fine, so they weren't friends. That still didn't give him the right to be cruel and slap her in the face with bad news without warning. She wondered if he was felt a hint of remorse, or maybe sympathy - did he feel anything, anything at all? His eyes were still fixed on hers, cold and hard as she'd ever seen them, staring back at her like an judgmental, inexorable god. A part of her was already breaking apart and beginning to crumble, yet another part fought hard to scavenge whatever dignity she had left. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, willing herself not to cry.

"Well then, if that will be all, I'll excuse myself." It was a pathetic exit that left little saving grace. She made to leave and twisted the doorknob open, suddely stopping dead in her tracks as she was seized by a thought.

"You didn't have to be so brutal, Aidan. It's not too much to ask for you to treat a fellow human being with some modicum of respect."

By the time Aidan looked up, she was gone.

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The day couldn't possibly get any worse. He was exhausted and his mental processors have been maxing out from the second he arrived at the office. He tipped his head back to crack the pockets of tension in his neck and sighed wearily. The stress was getting to him, which was unusual because he usually fed on it.

You didn't have to be so brutal, Aidan. It's not too much to ask for you to treat a fellow human being with some modicum of respect.

His chest tightened every time he thought of what she said. He remembered the look of hurt in her eyes when he'd unleashed his temper on her. God, that expression on her face - knowing that he was the one who hurt her made him feel like the biggest asshole on earth. She had done nothing to deserve being treated like that. On the contrary, she'd always been so patient, so understanding - never asking, always giving. Why, then, why in the world had he behaved that way? Christ, hormonal teenagers could've handled themselves better than he did just now. He was angry at himself for letting her become the victim of his vicious temper.

Aidan blew out a long, tired breath and sagged back into his chair, closing his eyes. He felt terrible and his heart ached with immense guilt as he replayed the entire conversation in his head. A small voice in his head pointed out - that wasn't about temper, was it? Getting irate at incompetency was an almost daily occurrence, and dishing out stern reproofs were his 'thing'. This was different. This attack was unprovoked. Fucking hell, she didn't even fight to stay on the team. It didn't take him long to figure out why. He'd seen it in her face, the faintest flinch from an unforeseen stab in the back. She'd been hoping for a glimmer of kindness from him, a small indication that he at least cared for her in the most basic sense, but found the opposite.

All he'd been trying to do was protect her and make sure she was as far away from the Ceres case as possible. A noble thought, but unfortunately executed in all the wrong ways. The truth is that she had him all confused and muddled, allowing the mask of perfect control to slip from his fingers, undoing the tight knots of his seemingly salubrious life. And that made him lash out in self-defense, when the Trojan walls built to keep him safe were in danger of being breached. None of this was supposed to happen. But it did happen, and the fact is that she'd slowly crept in only because he allowed it, only because a small, unsaid part of him secretly wanted it.

An apology was definitely in order, but how was he going to make up for something like this? Would she forgive him for his crass harshness? He sure as hell hoped so. The emptiness of the office, compounded by the strain from a hectic day almost seemed to swallow him whole. What he needed to do now was figure out how to atone for his mistake, and at the same time try to work out whether he was really, really falling for her. God, his head hurt.

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Gwyneth was making dinner when the doorbell rang. After a day like that, the last thing she wanted to do was work into the wee hours of the night at the office. What she really craved for was a healthy homemade meal, a glass of wine, the comfort of her own home and a good book in bed. At this hour, she wasn't expecting anyone, but it was most likely to be Dylan, who enjoyed showing up unannounced for an impromptu movie night session.