Careful Wording is a Lawyer Specialty

“I’m assuming that it’s true, then?” Carol asked, grimacing.

You swallowed hard and took a breath. Things had just gotten very complicated. Garrison was staring at you and Sabrina hard, like he was trying to tell you something but you weren’t getting the telepathic message. Carol was one step shy of glaring openly. Considering how sweet but utterly corporate HR she’d been earlier in the summer, you had a feeling your view of HR people in general was going to be tainted by this woman for the next twenty years.

Sabrina looked at you, and you met her eyes for a moment - she wasn’t projecting it, but you could see the panic in her eyes. If the Bellagambas were digging into either her or you, or both of you, then that put the rest of her life potentially under a microscope. The OnlyFans account could get out, and it would be public knowledge if they found a way to get it into argumentation over the case. But it wasn’t just that. How were they digging into you? If they’d hired a PI or something to follow you, then they’d know about Emma visiting. And if someone had tried listening in at the apartment door, or asked questions of the neighbours, they might know that there had been some loud sex going on while the three of you had been in there - and that the same sort of loud sex had been happening for half the summer between you two and Gemma, pointing to this not being a new thing. Plus, if there was a PI, then they could have followed you on the weekend, leading them to Becks and Tasha, or Amanda last night.

The sheer number of secrets you were hiding didn’t end there, but at least that was everything from the last week… or so… Probably.

“It’s new,” you said with a mild sigh, admitting it in the room and reaching over and taking Sabrina’s hand openly. She looked surprised for a moment, then gripped your hand tightly as she rolled her lips in and bit them for a nervous moment. You looked back to the two adults in the room. The key here was to be vague enough that you weren't giving away too much, even to Garrison, so it wasn’t something he would need to act on. The Firm was thankful to you and Sabrina, but how thankful they were might have its limits if it saved them an imperial boatload of cash by cutting Sabrina loose from the defence.

“How new?” Carol asked tightly.

“Well, that’s kind of complicated to narrow down,” Sabrina said. “But Gemma gave her blessing for us to get together before she left.”

Thankfully, your girlfriend was on the same wavelength as you, and by the quirk of Garrison’s eyebrow you had a sneaking suspicion he was rooting for this to not become a thing. Sabrina hadn’t lied - Gemma had given permission, it was just for you two to move in together rather than the implied starting of your relationship. Context mattered, and the two of you were walking a fine line even if you weren’t on trial or sworn in.

“Gemma left last week,” Garrison said slowly. “Which means that the time period we’re talking about is well after the incident of the break-in and injury. Not to mention the other previous issues.”

Either he was on your side completely, or he didn’t want to pick a side and was trying to sidestep the entire issue.

“It seems that way,” Carol continued to grimace. Then she sighed in the back of her throat again, like an internalised hiss. “It would likely be… imprudent to have them sign the form now, wouldn’t it?” she asked Garrison.

He flinched slightly as he considered the implications of putting a paper trail on your relationship at this point. You could follow the trail of thought quickly - Pro: Show nothing is being hidden, hopefully making it a ‘non-issue’ by putting a date on it post-incident. Con: Confirm that there is a relationship that could have affected Sabrina’s actions, putting her motives into question.

What you caught Joy doing in the office wouldn’t change, but the case against Sabrina could change dramatically if a case could be made about her being vindictive, jealous, or her motives being anything other than in defence of you.

“Can I ask,” Sabrina cut in before Garrison answered the question. “If the ‘rumour’ of us being together came with any substantiation or evidence? Or was it just a sort of spaghetti-thrown-at-the-wall thing to see what stuck?”

“From what I understand, it was somewhere between the two,” Garrison said. “It was a pointed accusation but didn’t come with any additional information or threats. The legal team sent it over to us to check out.”

“So the next step is to tell them… what?” you asked. “Confirm that we are currently in a relationship, but that the incident with Joy occurred without any connection to our relationship status? We do have you as a witness on the phone to confirm Sabrina didn’t say anything that would hint at her actions being anything other than they seem.”

“And this, folks, is why lawyers make awful clients,” Garrison smirked a little. “When we get emotionally involved in something, it becomes harder to foresee all possible outcomes and make a judgement call. That’s why we have outside counsel, and that’s why you two should remember never to represent yourself in court, even if it seems like an open-and-shut simple thing to you.” He grunted softly, shaking his head. “Fill out the form, please, you two. Carol, don’t backdate it or anything, and keep it sparse. I’ll bounce it back over to our counsel that there is a relationship between our employees, but it is irrelevant to the facts of the case, and we’ll see what they decide to do with it. You two keep your heads down for the last- Jesus, the last day and a half you’re here.”

“Yes, sir,” you and Sabrina both nodded.

Carol looked like she wanted to argue something, but nodded and stood up. “Come on, you two,” she said. “We’ll get that form signed and get you back to work.”

Following her out, Garrison’s eyes on your back, you could have sworn you heard Carol mutter about ‘Fucking interns never keeping their hands off each other.’

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