The Settlement

A week passed.

The penthouse was silent. The plants were starting to wilt. The cookie jar was empty.

Julian was winning cases. He crushed the lumber merger. He destroyed the opposition in a breach of contract suit.

And he was miserable.

He sat in his office at 9:00 PM on a Friday. The view of the city was grey and lonely.

His door opened. Ben walked in. He tossed a file on Julian’s desk.

"What is this?" Julian asked.

"My resignation from being your friend if you don't fix this," Ben said. He sat on the edge of the desk. "She quit the internship, Julian. She transferred to the Portland branch."

Julian felt the blood drain from his face. "She left?"

"She leaves tomorrow morning. Unless you give her a reason to stay."

"Ben, she's your sister. You said—"

"I never said anything!" Ben shouted. "You assumed! You assumed I would be mad because you're thick-headed. I don't need a bodyguard for Chloe, Julian. She can handle herself. What I need is a guy who isn't going to break her heart. Currently, you are failing spectacularly."

Julian looked at the file. He looked at his friend.

"You're not mad?"

"I'm mad that you made her cry," Ben said. "I'm mad that my apartment is depressing again. Go get her, you moron."

Julian stood up. He grabbed his coat.

"Where is she?"

"The Daily Grind café. Studying for property law."

Julian ran.

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