The Tables Have Turned

"A parking lot view and no assistant," he repeated. "Is this because I've been defeating you so thoroughly, or was this place always run so cheaply? Disgusting. How am I supposed to get any work done?!"

He grumbled, staring at the carpet, which was a cool grey--not the pristine white of his old office. "Your assistant had better not be another blind terrorist or I'll go fucking nuts."

Addock chuckled despite himself. It really wasn't funny, but seeing Stephen in such distress brought him immeasurable amounts of joy. He was about to retort when Florence opened the door. He was a rather pretty, feminine man who was wearing a blouse and women's slacks over his slightly heeled shoes. He had a light shade of lipstick on and his nails were perfectly manicured. He smiled when he saw Addock.

"Addock, I have your transcript ready."

"Thank you, but I wanted to introduce you to the man I was telling you about," Addock replied. "Say hello, Stephen."

"Hello," said Stephen, flashing a bright smile out of habit; like clockwork, his gloomy demeanor vanished. "You must be Addock's secretary, or aid, yes? Nice to meet you, I'm Stephen LeBlanc. I hope you make good coffee, because I'm already having a rough morning--first day and all."

"Oh, I can get you some coffee, if you'd like." Florence smiled at him, adjusting his messy bun with his slender fingers. "How do you take your coffee? Addock, do you want some?"

"No, don't worry about it. Come on, Stephen, let me finish showing you around." He grabbed Stephen by the sleeve and pulled him along.

"Two sugars, no cream--that and your touch will be more than sweet enough," he said, chuckling and shooting her a wink. What had Addock said her name was again? Francine? Pretty name, Francine.

As Addock pulled him away, he struggled against his grip. "This is an Armani suit, you know--probably cost more than this entire goddamn building. Don't wrinkle it. Why the fuck is a blind guy pulling me, anyway? Gonna lead us into a fucking well, asshole."

-x-

"Stephen, are you in your office?" Addock knocked on the door to his friend's office. Well, perhaps he wasn't his friend so much as his colleague. Or, something. Addock wasn't sure how he felt about Stephen aside from 'very conflicted'. He was certainly not a bad person, at least not deep down, Addock had discovered. Although this only made him feel even more conflicted. With a heavy sigh he knocked on the door again. "Stephen?"

"Oh, hey!" said Stephen, hurrying up to Addock; he quickly adjusted his lopsided tie, then realized it didn't matter. "Sorry, I was, uh--getting some coffee. Getting ready to look at those case files for today. Here, my office is nicer than this shitty hallway."

He unlocked the door, still attempting to catch his breath; he hoped he didn't sound too winded.

"So, uh, what did you need to talk about?" he asked, leading Addock inside.

Addock reached for a chair and sat down. Although it was uncommon of him, he took off his glasses once they were alone. He pinched the bridge of his nose in obvious frustration.

"Are you going to the Christmas party?" he asked as he leaned back in the chair. "I was pressured into it this year, but Florence weaseled out so I don't really have a way to get their and back this year. So, I was going to...ask you a favor..." Addock put his glasses back on, curious as to Stephen's response.

"A favor? Sure, anything, ask away," he said eager to distract Addock. He shuffled and flipped through files at random so he would hear. "You need a ride or somethin'?"

He rose an eyebrow.

"Are you sure? It's this Friday, the 20th, do you have any plans...?" he asked, leaning closer to Stephen's desk. "The party's at 6 until 10, but we don't have to stay the whole time. I'll leave whenever you want to, I just have to show up at least. It's annoying, but what can you do. Are you sure about taking me...?"

"Yeah.  Why not?  It's a Christmas party, anyway, right?  Can't skip out on that.  Wouldn't miss it for the world.  Is that all you had to say, or...?"

"Are you feeling alright, Stephen?" he asked, genuinely concerned. "If you need a day off, don't be afraid to ask for it if you're sick."

He snorted.

"Are you sure you aren't sick, you nosy bastard? Since when do you care about my health?" His lawyer instincts kicked in, covering his nervousness.

Addock furrowed his eyebrows. Typical. He should have expected as much coming from Stephen.

"Whatever you say. Don't forget, you already agreed to take me to the Christmas party," he reminded him as he stood up. "Be there by 6, please. I'll see you later, then."

-x-

Stephen awkwardly rang the doorbell, standing on Addock's front porch like an awkward prom date. He had almost waited in the car, but then he had started to worry about if Addock could even find it on his own. He fiddled with his phone, trying to look nonchalant; maybe if he looked calm and collected, he would feel that way, too.

Addock opened the door and smiled at the man. Maggie was at his side and from inside the house a Boston Terrier napped on the couch. With the hand he wasn't using to hold onto Maggie's guide he adjusted his tie. He was wearing a snug fitting dark red sweater and jeans. It was the most casual he had dressed to go to work in quite some time.

"Hello, Stephen, I hope you don't mind but I'm taking Maggie with me today," he said. "Go ahead and let her sniff you so she knows she's allowed to go into your car."

Stephen wrinkled his nose.

"I never said dogs were allowed in my car. What the fuck, man?"

"Maggie is a highly trained guide dog, and I'm not going out at night without her. I trust Maggie more than my cane, sorry, Stephen. I'll owe you one, okay?" he stepped down the stairs from his small house.

"You don't just ask a man for a favor and then drop a bomb on him, you fucking asshat," he growled. "If your dog pisses in my car, I'll have it turned into a stylish muffler."

He stuck his hands in his pockets and walked brusquely to his car, only checking three times to make sure Addock was following.

"Come on, Stephen, I already owe you for the ride in the first place, I should have said something. I forgot, I'm really sorry. I'll make it up to you, I promise," he insisted. He felt the handles on the door and let Maggie jump in the back. Then he sat down in the front, buckling his seatbelt.

"Whatever," he grumbled, turning on the radio. "...So, how're you doing?"

"Tired, actually...Florence told me I have dark circles under my eyes," he chuckled to himself as he leaned against the window. "The Wilson case is really getting to me. But I'm sure it'll all work out. I just need to relax and focus on the party tonight. Although, I might drink a little...I haven't drank in a while. Do you mind if I do?"

He snorted. "You don't plan to drive, do you? Why the hell are you asking me? You're a grown-ass lawyer, right? Don't sweat the Wilson case, anyway--if you need help, you can always just ask."

"Well, you'll have to deal with a tipsy blind man and his guide dog who is desperately trying to keep him walking straight and probably failing," he replied with a chuckle. He sighed slightly, folding his hands in his lap. "You're right, the Wilson case shouldn't be giving me that much trouble. It's just a little bit more high profile than usual."

"Oh. Is it?" he asked, distaste creeping into his voice. "...It's not that high profile. We'll be fine."