A Very Hero Wedding - Chapter 5

Here's the unedited version of Chapter 5!

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Aisha walked out of her office to grab a soda as Tim charged into the reception area, carrying a sandwich on a plate and a dark scowl on his face. She didn’t have to ask who caused the latter.

“What did she do this time?” she asked.

Patty twirled around on her chair to watch the fireworks.

“It’s nothing,” he muttered. But he stopped in front of the door to the basement and turned back to Aisha. “Why does she think she can run everyone’s life?”

Aisha and Patty exchanged looks before they both looked at Tim again.

“I’ll get the stash.” Patty jumped up from her chair and headed for Arthur’s office.

“What do you want to drink?” Aisha asked.

Tim blinked. “Drink?”

“You know…” She waved her hand in the direction of their breakroom. “Coffee, tea, soda, water, milk, juice?”

His shoulders sagged. “Can I have water without anyone bitching at me about it?”

“Sure.” She grinned. “Go have a seat in my office. We’ll be there in a minute.”

Aisha strode into the breakroom and collected a bottle of diet cola for herself and a bottle of water for Tim before she heated milk for Patty’s hot chocolate. She carried all three drinks to her office. Patty ran in behind her and quietly closed the door.

“The phones?” Aisha asked.

“Aren’t you the one who keeps telling me to let calls roll over to voicemail during my lunch hour?” Patty arched her right brow.

“Just don’t let her catch you,” Aisha muttered.

Tim’s eyebrows rose when he caught sight of the boxes in Patty’s hands. “Where’d you get Girl Scout Samoas this time of year?”

“You know the subzero freezer you have downstairs?” Patty grinned.

“I keep medical samples in that freezer!” Tim leaned away from the boxes she sat on the coffee table.

“Chill, Canyon.” Aisha set Patty’s mug on the table before she handed the bottle of water to Tim. “She’s messing with you. We have a small chest freezer in Arthur’s first floor workshop. It’s the only cookie hiding place Harri hasn’t found.”

“Yet,” Patty grumbled.

“So we’ll share as long as you can keep your mouth shut,” Aisha said. “Otherwise—”

“I’ll chip in when you restock,” Tim offered. “I didn’t even get one cookie out of the three boxes I bought last spring.”

“Exactly.” Patty nodded as she ripped open the first package. “I learned my lesson back in our City Hall days. I made the mistake of sharing my Thin Mints. I started charging her. She’d pay me and inhale them just the same. But will she order them for herself?”

“No,” Aisha said in sync with Tim.

“She did the same thing with me and Jeremy when we were undergrads,” Aisha continued. “I thought it was some weirdness about not being able to afford them back then. Nope, she still did it when she interned for Judge Reeves. I thought his bailiff was going to kill her after she ate his four boxes of Tagalongs he stashed in his bottom desk drawer.”

“I was hoping it was some crazy relationship thing.” Tim took a couple of cookies out of the package Patty held out to him. “She does her best to drive me away, but when I accede to her wishes, she comes up with some new demand. I thought her weird push-pull behavior was why she ate all my cookies.” He took a bite of one of the treats, ignoring the ham and Swiss sandwich on the plate in front of him.

“Don’t take it personally.” Aisha grabbed two cookies from the package Patty held out to her. “I think Jeremy and me are the only people in her life she hasn’t driven away.”

“That’s not for lack of trying.” Patty shoved a whole Samoa into her mouth and chewed loudly.

“Unfortunately, my life choices are probably what’s driving her little trip to Crazytown today,” Aisha admitted.

“There’s no probably about it,” Patty grumbled around her mouthful of cookie.

“Wait a minute.” Tim cocked his head. “Where’s Grace?”

Patty swallowed her cookie. “Arthur took her to the electronics supply warehouse with him. It’s not the park, but it gets her out of the building. And nice try in changing the subject.”

Someone knocked, and they all froze with guilty expressions on their faces.

“I didn’t lock the door,” Patty whispered.

The knob turned, and the door swung open. Susan wore a puzzled expression until she spotted the two boxes on Aisha’s coffee table.

“You bitches,” Susan hissed before she closed and locked the office door. “I can’t believe you dug into the stash without me.” She laid the paperwork she carried on Aisha’s office chair and grabbed the seat on the couch next to Tim. “Gimme.”

Patty slid the open package across the table.

“Are we dishing about the battle royale this morning?” Susan grabbed a cookie and took a bite.

“Sort of,” Aisha admitted. “Now she’s taking her pissy mood out on Tim.”

“This is getting ridiculous,” Susan mumbled around the chocolate, caramel, and coconut. “She can’t force you to stay in the United States while your husband is in France.”

Tim shook his head. “I’m still trying to figure out why you agreed to taking on a new client when you’re overloaded already.”

“What new client?” Aisha’s back and neck tensed. Not even her superpowers kept her muscles from contracting due to stress. Unfortunately, she could no longer go to her regular masseuse for any relief.

“Shit.” Tim closed his eyes. “I didn’t mean to spring this on you.”

Susan stared at Aisha. “Is she deliberately trying to tank the firm?”

“The sad part is I don’t think it’s deliberate.” Aisha shook her head. “Damn, every time I think she’d gotten this insecurity crap out of her system, it blows up in my face.”

“I can’t be looking for a new job right now,” Patty wailed. “Grace isn’t ready for preschool yet.”

“That’s assuming you can ever send her.” Aisha sank back in her couch and rubbed her forehead. “This is getting freakin’ ridiculous.”

“Can I amend my statement, counselor?” Tim wore a rueful grin. “In all fairness, she only agreed to talk to this person because Jeremy begged her.”

She groaned. “No, it does not make me feel better. Jeremy knows how overwhelmed we are. At least, Patty and I are handling the daycare. I don’t think she’s made one damn call to find us an associate we can train.”

“Why don’t I stay in Canyon Pointe?” Susan said. “I’m not related to Martin like you and Harri are. I can start the associate search and weed out the unacceptable candidates before you guys get back from Atlanta.”

“Maybe I should stay here with Susan. It’s not like I’m family either.” Patty nibbled on her lower lip.

“That’s just exchanging one crabby woman for another.” Aisha smiled. “I’ll never hear the end of it from Aunt Queenie if you, Arthur, and Grace don’t come.”

“You mean, if Grace doesn’t attend the wedding.” Patty made a face.

“She’s looking forward to spoiling both of our babies along with LaShun’s kids. And she can throw a hissy fit to rival one of Harri’s. Please don’t make me suffer through both of them at the same time.” Aisha popped the Samoa she’d been holding in her mouth and licked the melted chocolate smears from her fingers. She was definitely going to need to raid the stash of cookies in order to survive this entire damn wedding trip.