Chapter Text
With the weather being in the high sixties and the wind being nothing more than a soft autumn breeze, Lucy knew today couldn’t be a bad day. Not with how perfectly her hair was made or how cute she was looking. She could feel in her bones that she was doing great and it made her feel quite jittery thinking she may finally be getting her promotion.
Being in a male dominated field wasn’t easy but she was easily liked and appreciated by everyone and it helped that she had the records to prove it.
Someone who finished high school in just two and a half years and began her college education at the age of sixteen instead of the normal eighteen. Someone with a masters in psychology that she received at the age twenty.
But that didn’t matter when it came to the real world, because the real world was harsh and unforgiving at times.
She would know since she saw the worse of it with her clients.
Lucy currently worked as a probational officer, hoping to climb up the ladder to one day maybe become a judge. It gave her the experience and first hand thrill of what she could do. She had seen people change their entire lives (and of course those who shit on it) and it had been a somewhat fulfilling experience. She was basically a high-paying babysitter who worked for the government instead of parents.
It wasn’t an ideal job nor was it something she really cared for at the moment but you have to start somewhere. And if that meant Lucy were to supervise a bunch of people, she was going to do it and do it well.
She worked her ass off and made it known she was someone who was dedicated at her job and a kick-ass employee. She had a clean record of no returning clients.
So, why wouldn’t she deserve the promotion?
After getting settled into her workplace, the first thing Lucy always did was make her coffee. It was always the one thing she always did and it felt like a routine for her. Come into work, drop off her bag, greet all her co-workers, make her cup of coffee, water the plants in the office, and then, make her rounds.
The only difference in today is that she was finally receiving a high profile client that would make or break her career.
Being a probational officer wasn’t a field she thought she would enjoy but it had been a somewhat joyful ride. Most of her clients were up to a year probation due to small minuscule violations like traffic tickets, drug charges, or even things like theft. Nobody of danger has ever been given to her and while there are still times where she feels like she had to put her big girl shoes on and show them who is in charge, this would be her actual big client and would show the higher ups if she would be capable of becoming someone more.
Finally sitting at her desk with her hot cup of coffee, Lucy set her mug to the side to cool off while she booted up her computer and grabbed the thick file that she snagged on the way inside.
She couldn’t help but feel a bit giddy about this and excitedly opened her file, carefully reading through the information as if she would be tested later on.
Lucy always had a good track record in the sense that she always formed a relationship with all her clients. She found it more enjoyable if she knew the person and wasn’t in this officer-client role at all times. Spending time with the client is the entirety of her job and if she was able to pick at their brain and figure out how to adapt herself in any situation, it helped them not relapse into disaster.
Of course there are always those who do and take advantage of the system but she never blamed them. She knew how hard it was out in the real world and the system did not always work in everyone’s favor.
“Mornin’ Lucy!” A cheerful voice nearly shouted in her ear and she was caught off guard after being so absorbed into the notes that she let out a high-pitch scream.
She flinched so hard she knocked over her coffee cup that was a bit too close to the ledge and the freshly brewed coffee spilled all over her desk, files, and her lap.
Jumping up from her seat, the blonde felt her face grow hot in embarrassment and frustration at the sight of the mess and she quickly grabbed her paperwork to have the coffee bleed into the nice crisp paper. The coffee dripped off the edge in a tearful way as if it was mocking her.
“Oops…” She heard over her shoulder, forcing her to turn and see her dumbfounded co-worker, Dan, staring sheepishly at the mess. “I didn’t mean to scare you Lu-Lu.”
“Dan,” Lucy hissed, feeling the annoyance bubble inside her chest. “This is a super important client file that I was looking at!”
“Oh! You mean your big case?”
“Yes! And you spilled coffee all over it!”
“Well, I personally didn’t do that,” he emphasized, pressing a hand over his broad chest. Lucy shot him a disapproving frown while she moved forward to push her keyboard, mouse, and pens aside while the liquid began to grow into a bigger mess. “How about I take you out to lunch to make up for it?”
Lucy wanted to scream in his face but knowing how he was, she merely counted to ten inside her head and gave him a tight pinched smile.
“If I say yes, will you leave me to my work?”
“Amazing! See you at noon, Lu!”
Irritation builded inside her as she grabbed a paper towel to clean up the coffee and she imagined a couple of scenarios where it was her foot against his face. Thankfully he did leave afterwards and it left her to clean up the coffee in peace.
But the downside was that she had to make another cup of coffee, her outfit was ruined by the brown stain, and she had agreed to lunch with the one man in the office who did not know how to shut up.
She regretted making friends with the guy but she was naive and the youngest when she first joined the company and wanting to fit in, she became friendly with the one guy who did not know how to read the room. Even when she rejected him one million times, he was persistent in the way that if he could get one yes out of ninety nine nos, he was going to keep trying.
It wasn’t like he was ugly anyway or a terrible person.. He was just not self aware and talked a little too much. As if he only asked her out so he had a chance to talk about himself.
Returning to the break room to make her second cup of coffee, Lucy felt indifferent about her situation, now. Her day had completely flopped in the bad way where she felt like this might be a sign from the stars. She was too superstitious to go about her day easily knowing today was supposed to be a big day and she messed it up by backtracking in her steps.
And not to mention most of her files had a big brown stain and were wet. It was going to be hard to read through the mess.
Too busy in her thoughts, Lucy failed to notice her boss pop his head in and call her name the first time. And the second time. And by the third time, she just looked like an airhead as she nearly spilled her second cup when he came and tapped her shoulder.
“Sorry to startle you, Lucy,” his thick brows knitted together in concern. “Is everything alright?”
“Y–yes!” She replied, flustered beyond imagination as she put down her mug before she spilled anymore coffee. “I am so sorry, I was just thinking about–”
“The case?” He finished for her, a small smile on his face.
Lucy could only nod, a pinched smile to her lips. “It’s been a morning and I really want to do well on this since it’s my first big profile and I am a bit nervous about–”
“Let me stop you right there, Lucy.” The older man put his hand up, pausing her in her rambling. “You are one of my star employees here and if you can handle all the chaos I throw at you, you can definitely shine bright in this aspect as well. Besides, this isn’t any different from anything you’ve done before. High profile or not, it is just another job and just another person, right?”
Lucy felt instantly better receiving this praise from her boss and she let out a genuine smile, feeling her chest swell in pride.
“Now, that is what I actually wanted to come in and speak to you about. I wanted to touch base with you if you’ve read through the files.”
“Yes, I did, I–”
“Great! I will meet you in my office in ten minutes then!”
“S–sir?!” Lucy cried out, watching how he spun around and began walking away. “T–ten minutes?!” She asked, confusion and a bit of fear decorating her usual pale face.
“Yes!” He chirped, a smile on his face as he continued to walk towards the door. “I left a note inside the files for you.”
Feeling like she was a balloon that lost all the air, her smile dropped as soon as her boss left and forgetting about her cup of coffee, Lucy sprinted towards her desk in a hurry. She dodged all those that were in her way and she may have looked like a crazy person but she didn’t care. This was her one shot at showing everyone how capable she was at her job and if this one small thing stopped her from getting her promotion, she was going to crash out on everyone and everything.
Nearly breaking her ankle in her four inch heels, Lucy almost tossed her entire desk to the ground as she picked up every single thing to see if there was a note left behind. She picked up the thick file to flip through frantically, hoping to see some kind of note that would catch her up to speed on why she had to be in her boss’ office in less than ten minutes.
Lucy was beginning to believe maybe today was not her day and her fate had been decided that she was not fit for this until she saw something catch her eye.
Crushed by her wheely chair was a small and wet post-it note that was out of the ordinary, making her assume this must be the note her boss has left her.
Frantic, Lucy dropped to her knees to pick up the note and she cursed out loud when it ripped in half.
She was close to pulling her hair out as she tried to puzzle it together, tilting her head and reading the smudged handwriting that read that her client will be here a lot earlier than expected and her boss expected her to be in his office by ten AM.
Turning to head to look at the clock, Lucy wanted to scream bloody murder when the clock showed it was six minutes before ten and without a second thought, she sprinted to his office, forgetting her coffee, her sanity, and her promise that she would have lunch with Dan.
–X–
“It is so great to meet you, Miss Heartfillia, and must I say how surprised I am to see such a young, beautiful, and high spirited woman like you in such a field?” His hand was shaking hers a little too hard and a little too fast. Lucy could only let out an awkward soft chuckle as she tried to slip away from his grip.
It always went like this where the Warren who oversees and to drop off said the client was a bit too friendly and a bit too surprised to see her in this field. She’s heard it all. And knowing that these people are just around men at all times, they could see a photo of a woman and go rabid.
Finally able to pull her hand away from his, she rubbed her palm down the side of her pants and kept her pinched smile.
“Everyone always says that but my dream is to move up into the judicial system so we all have to start somewhere.”
She ignored the laughter and voices as her mind began to wander. She truly did not have the time to memorize or even finish the client file and being thrown into this situation made her feel anxious. She was not prepared but if this was like any other client situation, it wouldn’t be too hard. But the fact that the jail warren himself was here and knowing this man was somewhere in the same building as her in handcuffs, she wished she spent more time studying than crying about spilled coffee.
“Well, knowing you were able to read through his files and understand the situation, shall we bring in the son of a bitch?” The warren grinned at her and Lucy tried not to grimace at his language. She offered a sharp nod and watched how he stood to go grab his client.
“Rest assured you will be fine to take him to his place of residence, Lucy?” Her boss leaned over to ask her and Lucy felt like a fish out of water gaping at him. “It was in the—“
“Here he is!” The warren announced loudly, busting back into the room with a man still bound together in shackles.
The first thing Lucy noticed about him was his hair and how pink was a very odd choice for someone like him. And then the next thing she noticed was how incredibly tan and built he was for someone who came from federal prison.
But usually anyone who has been locked up only has the choice of working out or picking up some random hobby like reading or coloring.
She was curious about him from the start, truly wishing she had more time to read his file and while that was the first thing she would be doing as soon as she had free time, the most alarming thing to her was seeing the massive healed scar on his face. Stretching from his chin all the way up his cheek, he looked like a war veteran and finally catching his dark gaze, he almost looked dead to the world.
Dead inside or an act? She didn’t know but what she did want to know was how he got there in the first place. Because behind those dark eyes, a small spark of life clung on as if it refused to go.