2 Chapter 1 : Nyriad

Chapter 1: Nyriad

"Mason, I need to run into the office. The managing partner for the firm is going to be in today and Mr. Jenks asked me to be there!" At this point, I was rushing around the house like a madwoman. Throwing my bag over my shoulder, I rushed to the front door itching to get out of the impending argument.

"Wait a second Nyr, we weren't finished talking." Mason rounded the corner, trying to keep up with me.

"Mase, I don't have time for this. I could lose my job if I'm not there." I smoothed the wrinkles in my blazer before turning away from him.

"Same shit, different day Nyriad. I'm tired of it." Mason's voice cracked at my resolve. It hurt to hear him talk to me like I was lower than the dirt under his shoe. Without another word, I let the storm door slam shut behind me. I slid into my black challenger without a second thought and ran my hands through my hair. How many times was this going to happen? Mason knew from the beginning how demanding a law career can be. I basically signed up to be on call when I became an intern for Sullivan & Oisín.

"It's not worth your time Neary." I whispered to myself. I pulled out of the driveway, sparing Mason one last glance, only to realize he had already walked away. Sighing, I sped off towards the firm. At least I can bury myself in all the cases I've taken on.

I pondered my marriage on the way there; Mason and I had been married 5 years now. It was like military tradition to get married young and fast. I should have known better than falling in with the crowd. It took 5 years of marriage to realize that I actually had no idea who I was partnered with. Coming to that realization was hard, I tried everything in the book to remedy our situation. The last thing I wanted was to end up like some of my clients. Nasty divorces, bitter words, and broken hearts.

At first, he was my everything- the reason my heart beat. Was it infatuation or love? Honestly the lines blurred with him so easily, I couldn't tell. Or did our careers kill what we had? Mason was retired from the army and my career was just taking off. I had no intention of being a "suzy homemaker," maybe he thought he could change that.

There were rough patches of course, a marriage is hard to maintain with deployments and long work nights. I never had it in me to end things or even stray from him for that matter. I couldn't say the same for Mase.

"It" happened over a year ago. I wouldn't have been shocked if it was someone he worked with, but it wasn't. It was one of my work colleagues. Nothing stung more than him managing to maintain a relationship with a lawyer but unable to maintain ours.

I gripped the steering wheel harder thinking about Alice. After the affair, she left the law firm and convinced Mason that this needed to stay quiet. Foolish me went along with their thinking; "anything to keep the marriage going." I thought, bitterly.

The pristine, overbearing glass building of Sullivan & Oisín was coming into view.

"Finally." Anything to get my mind off Mason and our shit-show of a marriage. I pulled into my designated spot, cut the engine and inhaled deeply. The managing partner. The CEO of the law firm. My heart raced with anxiety as I checked in the overhead mirror to make sure I was presentable. No traces of my fight with Mason earlier were present on my pale face. Now, you just need a decent night of sleep. Since this was the CEO I was meeting, I attempted to pull out all the stops. Thick black lashes framed vibrant forest green eyes, my cheeks were dusted a light pink, almost matching the natural pink of my lips and my hair was...well frankly a mess from running my hands through it.

I attempted to smooth down the onyx strands with my hands before closing the mirror and exiting the car. You can do this. Deep breaths. Calm and collected. It was like feeling a mask slip over me. Nervous Nyriad was fading away, I felt confidence oozing from every pore. My heels clicked against the white tile of Sullivan & Oisín, in that moment, I felt like I could take on the world.

"Rebecca, lovely to see you. I'm here to meet with Mr. Jenks and Mr. Oisín." Good, I thought. My voice was even and cool. Our front desk secretary, Rebecca smiled at me.

"Hello Nyriad! I'll walk you to the conference room." I followed Rebecca's lead, already knowing she was going to lead us to Mr. Jenk's private conference room. High profile clients, especially the likes of celebrities and business owners, all met in the private conference room.

As we neared the more secluded office space, I was immediately hit with an overwhelming bout of anxiety. Calm yourself, Nyriad. I held my stomach and inhaled deeply. My nose twitched slightly, what is that..? It was indescribable. I picked up notes of sandalwood and something...almost like what sunshine personified would smell like at the beach on a summer's day. It's comforting..

"Right this way Nyriad!" I smiled at Rebecca's cheeriness as she knocked on Mr. Jenks' door.

"Mr. Jenks, I have Ms. Nyriad with me." I heard a gruff "come in," following Rebecca's introduction. She opened the door for me, thankfully, as I was assaulted once again by that overwhelming smell. Someone is definitely wearing too much cologne. I stepped through the threshold, a carefully curated mask of confidence already on my face.

Immediately, I was met with the stares of Mr. Jenks and what I could only assume to be Mr. Oisín's son.

I calmly took my seat across from the two lawyers, trying not to stumble under the intense gaze of Mr. Oisín. Once seated, I took the opportunity to observe the young man before me. Who let him in here? My inner teenage girl was squealing in delight. I cleared my throat anxiously, desperate to get this meeting over with.

Mr. Jenks began with introductions and a brief discussion about the cases we're currently working. I tuned out some of his speech, having been his practice dummy the last few weeks. Mr. Oisín. I glanced at him every now and again out of my peripherals, it was impossible not to. His tousled caramel brown hair tickled the sides of his ears, bronzed skin was accentuated by the black suit he wore. God, He was sin personified. It felt like electricity was alive in the room. Molten amber eyes watched me curiously as I dragged my eyes back to Mr. Jenks. There's no shame in checking him out, just keep it professional.

I tuned back into Mr. Jenks' speech before he could notice my little indiscretion. Why does it still feel like my heart is going to beat right out of my chest? I took a small calming breath, enjoying the sandalwood that invaded my senses.