Bumped Into Audrey's Car

Tessa intercepted Audrey the second she stepped out of the elevators on the twenty-second floor of Crestwood Law Firm. The assistant clutched a leather folder against her chest, lowering her voice to a hurried whisper. "Mr. Frost has been on a tear all morning. Nadia and Simon blew the preliminary hearing on the maritime dispute yesterday. He wants you in the main conference room immediately."

Audrey offered a reassuring nod. "I have the case notes ready. Go grab a coffee, Tessa."

She adjusted the lapels of her gray blazer and rapped her knuckles twice against the frosted glass door before pushing it open.

Inside, the atmosphere was stifling. Simon Hayes and Nadia Crawford sat rigid at the far end of the mahogany table, eyes pinned to their yellow notepads. Dominic Frost stood at the head of the room, his tie pulled loose, staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows with his hands shoved into his trouser pockets.

Dominic turned around as Audrey stepped in, his expression softening only slightly. "Audrey, take a seat. Tell me you brought better news than these two. How did yesterday's session go with Apex Capital?"

Audrey pulled out a chair and set her tablet down on the polished wood. "Apex agreed to our proposed framework during the preliminary review. The opposing counsel signed off on entering mediation next Tuesday, so we won't need to head to trial."

Dominic let out a long breath, casting a sharp glare toward Simon and Nadia. "That is how a senior associate prepares a file. If you two put half as much effort into statutory research as Audrey does, my blood pressure wouldn't spike every Monday morning. Get out of my sight and draft the amended briefs by five."

Simon and Nadia gathered their papers in silence and slipped through the door.

Once the room was quiet, Audrey cleared her throat. "Dominic, do you have a few minutes? There's an internal matter regarding my docket that I need to address."

Dominic took his seat, leaning back in his executive chair. "For you, always. What's on your mind?"

Audrey maintained direct eye contact across the table. "My legal counsel contract with Astral Entertainment concludes at the end of this month. I'd like you to assign the renewal and account oversight to Nadia or Simon."

Dominic frowned, his fingers tapping an impatient rhythm on the armrest. "You brought Astral into this firm single-handedly two years ago. It’s one of our most visible corporate accounts, not to mention a direct pipeline into the Hawthorne Group. Have you lost your mind, Audrey?"

Audrey kept her expression neutral, refusing to let the mention of the Hawthorne name crack her composure. "My judgment is clear. Astral was routed to me through my former boyfriend's connections. Now that the personal relationship is finished, keeping the account creates a conflict of interest. It's cleaner for everyone if another associate takes over the renewal."

Dominic's eyes widened. "Hold on. Your boyfriend works at Astral? Aren't you two supposed to get married in a couple of weeks?"

Audrey allowed a faint, cool smile to touch her lips. "We broke up last night. The wedding is off."

Dominic sat quietly for several seconds, studying her face to see if she was making a hasty emotional decision. Finding only calm resolve, he nodded once. "Understood. Wrap up your pending filings for the current billing cycle. I'll handle the account reassignment personally."

"Thank you, Dominic." Audrey picked up her tablet and left the conference room.

By the time Audrey returned to her office and cleared through the backlog of motion drafts, the digital clock on her monitor read eleven-thirty. She picked up her phone. The lock screen remained dark, empty of any calls or messages from Adrian.

A quiet scoff escaped her throat. He hadn't remembered. He had spent months demanding she adjust her schedule for their marriage license appointment, yet he hadn't even checked his watch today.

Two paralegals passed her doorway, chatting about their lunch plans. One of them paused, smiling in through the open frame. "Audrey, we're ordering from that salad bar around the block. Are you still sticking to your strict pre-wedding meal plan, or do you want to join us?"

Audrey stood up, grabbing her purse from the drawer. "I'm done with diets. Let's go get burgers."

The girl blinked in surprise. "Wait, really? After three months of measuring every calorie for your dress fitting?"

Audrey walked past them toward the corridor. "I don't need a wedding dress anymore. Come on, the elevators get packed if we wait past noon."

The two staff members exchanged wide-eyed, baffled looks behind her, but Audrey didn't turn back.

***

Across the city at the private lounge near the harbor, Adrian groaned as daylight hit his eyes through the sheer curtains. He shifted on the living room sofa, his neck stiff from sleeping in his dress clothes.

He glanced toward the half-open bedroom door. Giselle was still sound asleep under the duvet, her breathing steady and calm. Last night had been exhausting, filled with her tears and his soothing reassurances until dawn broke over the skyline. Yet, sleeping just outside her room had brought him an odd sense of peace.

He reached for his phone on the low coffee table. When the screen lit up, the clock read twelve-fifteen.

Adrian sat upright, running a hand through his messy hair. The City Hall appointment. They were supposed to register their marriage license at nine this morning.

He braced himself for the onslaught of angry texts, missed calls, and accusations that usually accompanied Audrey's temper whenever he was late. But when he unlocked the home screen, there was nothing from her. Only a few unread group messages from his college buddies and an automated notification from his credit card company.

Adrian rubbed his temple, feeling a sudden surge of irritation. Why hadn't she called him? If she was waiting at City Hall, she should have blown up his phone by now.

He pulled a blank memo sheet from the desk, scribbled a quick note telling Giselle to call him when she woke up, and grabbed his car keys.

Twenty minutes later, Adrian pushed open the heavy front doors of his villa at Summit Garden. "Audrey?"

Martha appeared from the kitchen hallway, wiping her hands on her apron. "Mr. Hawthorne, you're back."

Adrian tossed his keys onto the marble console table and cast a quick glance up the curved staircase. "Is Audrey still asleep upstairs?"

Martha shifted her weight, looking hesitant. "Mrs. Hawthorne left early this morning. She mentioned something about a business trip."

"A business trip?" Adrian's eyebrows drew together. The annoyance in his chest flared hotter. They had explicitly set today aside for City Hall, and she had just walked out on firm business without even telling him?

Yet beneath the annoyance, a small wave of relief settled in his stomach. If she wasn't here, it meant she had forgotten about the appointment too. At least she couldn't point the finger at him for skipping it.

Adrian took off his suit jacket and slung it across the back of the sofa. "Did she leave a schedule? When is she getting back?"

Brenda lingered by the kitchen archway, exchanging an uneasy glance with Martha. Martha cleared her throat carefully. "She didn't leave an itinerary, sir. Perhaps you should call her mobile. She seemed quite distant when she packed her bags."

Adrian recalled the sapphire necklace he had left on the vanity the night before. He had already apologized, brought her an expensive gift, and endured her cold shoulder. If she wanted to run off on an unannounced work assignment out of spite, he wasn't going to chase after her like an errant schoolboy.

Adrian turned toward the kitchen island. "Don't worry about it. She'll call when she lands. Get me an espresso, please."

Martha opened her mouth to speak, but seeing his dismissive shrug, she swallowed her words and nodded silently.

***

In an old commercial district across town, Audrey stepped out of a brick-lined pawn and consignment boutique. She slid a fresh bank deposit receipt into the inner pocket of her bag.

The transaction had taken less than ten minutes. The appraiser had examined Adrian's sapphire necklace under a loupe, checked the certification papers, and offered a flat one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Audrey hadn't bothered to haggle. She simply wanted every trace of his hollow gestures wiped clean from her life, converted into liquid funds he could never claim.

She walked down the quiet, narrow alleyway where she had parked her red sedan beside a boutique coffee shop.

As she reached the driver's side, her steps halted. A distinct, ugly dent marred the edge of her rear door panel, the red paint scraped down to the primer.

Tucked firmly beneath her windshield wiper was a folded piece of heavy cardstock.

Audrey pulled the card free and opened it. Written in crisp, authoritative masculine handwriting was a brief message:

[My driver backed into your door while maneuvering out of the lane. You didn't leave a contact card on the dashboard. Please call the number below to settle the repairs.]

Audrey looked at the clean, precise script, pulled out her phone, and dialed the ten digits listed at the bottom.

The line rang twice before a deep, steady baritone answered. "Yes."

Audrey's pulse hitched. The timbre of that voice was unmistakable—dark, composed, and carrying an underlying weight that commanded immediate deference.

Audrey gripped the phone tightly. "Uncle Vance?"

Silence stretched across the line for a brief second before the man spoke again, his tone shifting into something deliberate. "Audrey. So the red sedan belongs to you."

Audrey looked down at the scratched paint, forcing a light, casual tone into her voice. "It's nothing major, Uncle Vance. You really don't need to worry about it. I have to take the car in for its scheduled maintenance next week anyway, so I can just have the shop handle it then."

"I am currently sitting on the second floor of Brio Café, directly opposite your parking spot," Vance stated evenly, ignoring her polite dismissal. "Come upstairs."

Audrey felt a knot tighten in her throat. Meeting Vance Hawthorne one-on-one was the last thing her frayed nerves could handle today. "There's really no need, Uncle Vance. I know you're busy with Hawthorne Group matters. Please enjoy your coffee, and I'll be on my way."

The line fell quiet again. When Vance spoke, his voice was smooth, low, and entirely unyielding. "Would you prefer that I walk down to the street and bring you up myself?"

Audrey stared up at the second-floor terrace of the café, catching the faint outline of a broad silhouette behind the tinted glass.

Defeated, Audrey sighed, "I'll be right there."