The Hard Way Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Epilogue

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  The Hard Way

  Austin Bates

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Epilogue

  Want to read more? Check this book out!

  Chapter 1

  Noah struggled to stuff Jade’s small arms into her winter coat as she wiggled her arms out of his reach and fell forward onto her belly. She pounded her fists onto the hardwood floor and Noah pressed his fingertips against his temple. She hasn’t thrown a tantrum like this since she was three. Despite his exhaustion, he tried his best to keep a smile from forming on his face. I’m a little relieved that she wants to stay here for the night. Maybe Cullen and Andrew aren’t leagues better at keeping her happy like I thought.

  “Daddy, I don’t want to go to Dad’s this weekend! He and Andrew never let me stay up and watch cartoons!”

  He caught one arm and slipped it into her fuchsia coat and then tried to get the other one as she wriggled around. “Well, you’re there to spend time with Dad, not to watch cartoons. We’ve talked about this.”

  His mother, Madeline, came walking down the wooden floors of the hallway and Jade bounced out of Noah’s arms. “Grandma, don’t let him take me to Dad’s!”

  Madeline smiled and shared a knowing look with Noah. She knelt down to tug up the zipper of Jade’s coat. Madeline ran her hand over the soft dark hair on Jade’s head. Her granddaughter’s soft blue eyes burned into her, trying to communicate the betrayal that she felt to her grandmother.

  “You’re so angsty for a seven-year-old,” Madeline said as she kissed Jade on the center of forehead and stood up with a groan. “These old bones… Jade is going to kill us both one of these days.”

  Noah scoffed as he wrapped a scarf around his daughter. “Speak for yourself, I’ve got plenty of youth ahead of me.” He opened the front door and Jade reluctantly plodded out of the front door.

  They began the drive across town to Cullen’s. Jade could only keep quiet for half of the ride. “Daddy?”

  “Yes, sweetie?”

  “Are you going to come to Dad and Andrew’s wedding?”

  Noah felt a small pang in his chest. He navigated through the Baltimore traffic and said, “Well, probably. We’re all going to be family, right? And maybe Andrew and Dad will make a little brother or sister for you. Wouldn’t that be fun? You would have someone to play with all of the time.” At least that’s what I’m hoping for. I don’t care what Cullen does but Jade needs him to be sensitive to her right now.

  He slowed down to get off of the expressway, and started driving towards Cullen’s subdivision. He actually lives in a subdivision. A neighborhood with a home owner’s association. Cullen had grown and shed his identity of the boy that used to flirt with Noah when they were in high school. It was only last week that Cullen announced that he’d be getting married to Andrew, who he’d been dating for two years.

  He’s still that boy that knocked me up at seventeen and was so terrified of commitment that he made our relationship fall apart. And now he’s getting married. Noah had been doing his absolute best to try not to compare his own dating life to Cullen’s far more successful one. To be fair, Cullen didn’t have full custody of Jade, and had time to focus on a romantic life and a career. Noah’s priorities had to be different, raising Jade with the help of his mother and going to law school.

  They pulled into the driveway as Noah pulled himself out of his thoughts. He took a deep breath and grabbed Jade’s overnight bag out of the back seat. “Alright, sweetie, I’ll see you on Sunday. Please be good for Dad and Andrew.”

  Jade nodded and they got out of the car, dodging ice that hadn’t been dissolved by salt. Noah rang the doorbell and Andrew appeared at the front door. The smell of brown sugar escaped from the open door, and Andrew burst into a grin and knelt down in front of Jade.

  “Jade, sweetie! How are you? We have a lot planned this weekend.”

  Noah restrained himself from rolling his eyes. Andrew was an incredibly handsome man; he had model-like chiseled features, his eyes were a deep cobalt blue, his sandy brown hair was pulled back into a low bun. It’s funny how Cullen gets the happy ending, and I’m left with law school debt.

  There were footsteps on the hardwood floors and Cullen appeared beside Jade. “Hey, sweetie!” He scooped her up into one of his large arms. Jade clung to him, and Noah smiled with the politeness anyone would use when they want to slip out of a room.

  “Well, I hope you guys have fun! Let me know if you need anything.”

  “You’re rushing off? Why not come in and have a cup of cocoa? I made holiday cocoa,” Andrew said.

  “It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, I’m fine. Thank you, though. Well, have a good weekend, guys!” Noah said, turning on his heel and doing a half jog down the front steps. Cullen and Andrew said goodbye to him, and Jade yelled, “Bye, Daddy!”

  Noah climbed in his car and backed out of the driveway. He released a huge sigh as he left Cullen’s subdivision. He shook his head and said aloud, “Okay, I just need to go buy one of those cheap suits for Monday and rehearse my first day plans.”

  He sighed, gripping the steering wheel tighter when he noticed a slight tremble in his hands. It’s going to be fine, I worked for this, I deserve this opportunity, and Jade deserves the life that I can give her wor
king for Hugh Walsh.

  Noah pushed his sedan to sixty as he drove back over the bridge towards home.

  Chapter 2

  Issac's hands were tucked into the pockets of his expensive suit as he followed Rhonda, Hugh Walsh’s assistant, around the three-story office building. His eyes scanned the workstations of several other lawyers; the most seasoned lawyers were on the first floor. Newer or inadequate lawyers were on the second and third floors, which were only accessible by the stairwell.

  Rhonda’s nasal and serious voice rang in Issac's ears. He blinked; the lights that hung over each cubicle were blinding.

  “… you’ll probably be assigned your first case anywhere from this afternoon to tomorrow. We like to throw our new guys right in, see what they’re made of.” Issac focused on Rhonda’s short form. “Yes? I’m on the third floor?”

  Rhonda examined him, running her tiny dark brown eyes up and down the length of him. “Yes. Let me take you to your workstation. Try to keep up.”

  Issac frowned, and followed her down the walkways that revealed the cubicles. Each cubicle held two cheap, standard desks. “We have desk mates?” Issac asked.

  “Did you think that you would have the corner office on the first day?”

  Issac smiled as he replied, “Not at all. Just excited about being here.” Even my dad doesn’t have connections that are that good.

  She scoffed and stopped at a cubicle. “Here you are. Feel free to decorate however you like. The company directory sheet should be inside whichever desk you choose.”

  “Thank you—”

  “Yeah. Okay,” Rhonda said, and moved down the hallway and sought the stairwell. Issac watched her for a moment then sighed. Maybe she doesn’t appreciate having to come up here. She’s used to the 1st floor.

  He picked the desk on the right side of the cubicle, which wasn’t a hard choice because both desks offered a clear view of the gray divider wall that had been erected between this cubicle and the twenty other cubicles in the room.

  He sat down and pulled a brand new laptop of out of his laptop bag. The new laptop had been a gift for finishing law school in the spring. The expensive suit he wore and the five other suits were gifts for getting hired at the Law Offices of Hugh Walsh so soon after graduation.

  Issac’s father would offer any amount of money to make sure that Issac’s potential law career is what finally stuck. Issac hadn’t slept the night before, with there being so much more than simply liking the job on the line. He had to make this work and do well here, or learn to love it for a while if he ended up hating being a lawyer.

  He wasn’t able to stop replaying what his father told him. Being a lawyer isn’t like those court dramas. You better be serious this time or you’re on your own. He powered on his laptop and logged into his company email using the thin sheet of paper that Rhonda had scribbled his login information on.

  He shook out his left arm, then his right arm, then his left leg, and finally, his right leg. He took a deep breath and got started.

  Chapter 3

  Noah pulled down the sleeves of his gray suit and tucked a loose strand of brown hair behind his ear. I don’t feel like I prepared well enough for this, he thought, as a short, rotund woman led him up three flights of stairs.

  They reached the third floor and Noah blinked to adjust to the blinding fluorescent lights. Rhonda simply hustled past a few occupied cubicles and stopped at one with only one man on the right side of it.

  He wore a suit that made Noah feel even more insecure about his $40 suit from the thrift store; the man in front of him actually looked like a lawyer. He looked like the man that a client would place all of their hopes on, the rich tried-and-true lawyer that was going to get them off again.

  Noah rapped his knuckles on the stiff gray wall of the cubicle. The man turned away from his costly-looking laptop and his blue-gray eyes focused on Noah. Noah felt a wave of warmth flow through his body;the man in front of him was sexy as all get out. He had smoldering eyes and dark hair with a fine cut—the thick, dark strands were longer in the front and a little shorter on the sides.

  He smiled, two rows of perfect teeth emerged from behind his lips. He extended his hand to Noah. “Good morning, I’m Issac Fitzgerald002E I guess I’m your desk mate.”

  Issac’s smooth voice rolled around in Noah’s ears. Noah dragged himself away from his thoughts and gripped Issac’s hand. “Good morning, I’m Noah Wilson. I kind of thought that Walsh was a little too high profile for desk mates.”

  Noah set his laptop on top of his desk and pulled out his chair. He could feel Issac’s eyes on him as he got situated. He kept quiet and fumbled around his bag for the company email info. His heart sank as he realized he couldn’t find the small powder blue scrap of paper that Rhonda had given him at the front door. He ran his hands down his legs, feeling around his pockets for the paper.

  Shit, he thought, spinning around in a small whirlwind; his eyes scanned the hallway and underneath his desk. Noah felt a warm sensation in his right hand and turned towards Issac, who was sliding the blue piece of paper into Noah’s sweaty palm.

  He wore a sweet smile and tapped Noah on the shoulder with his other hand. “Here, use mine. I’m surprised that I didn’t lose mine too. I thought I was the only one that got that scatterbrained feeling from Rhonda.”

  Noah dumbly nodded his head. “Yeah… thank you.” With pink cheeks, he sat down at his desk and flexed his fingers over the keyboard. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied Issac’s curious glances towards him.

  Pulling his gaze back towards his login information, he typed in his company information. Noah leafed through a bundle of introductory emails, and new announcements that had gone out to the rest of the firm. He explored the other extensions of Walsh’s computer system, and opened a program called Case Counter. A log that ran on for hundreds of pages appeared, each client was noted by a single line with a small detail about the case, and which lawyer was assigned to it.

  His email pinged and he opened it back up, and more instructions from Rhonda waited in his inbox.

  Good morning, Noah!

  We are so excited to welcome you onto our team, I’m happy to answer any questions that you might have. You may visit me on the first floor. Please be sure to check the Case Counter office extension hourly, and please download the app onto your phone. Please be mindful that you could receive your first case as soon as this afternoon.

  Good luck to you!

  Rhonda Simmons

  Executive Assistant

  Law Offices of Hugh Walsh

  Noah took a long, deep breath. Okay, I can handle a brand new case. I’ve studied for this, and there’s no way they’ll give me a tough one for my first week.

  Issac sighed, and Noah raised his head to look at him. Issac frowned and gestured at his computer screen.

  “I’ve been assigned my first case,” Issac said, “and it’s for a soda company that’s being sued for the amount of unlisted additives in their beverages. Shit.”

  “Shit,” Noah repeated.

  Chapter 4

  Issac smoothed the black satin of his shirt as he stood up to wrap his mother in a hug. She pulled away from him and patted him on the arm. As he sat back down in his seat, Issac sighed at the showy reminders of his father’s wealth. His mother had recently remodeled the entire entryway and dining room for the house. Instead of what used to be a modest dining room table set, they now gathered around a pricy glass dining table with four stiff and overpriced chairs around it.

  “Issac, I’m so glad that you decided to have family dinner,” his mother, Charlene, said as she pulled out her own chair and served salad onto Issac and his father’s plates. Issac’s younger brother, Tristan, tossed him a head nod as he plugged his headphones back into his ears and picked at his salad.

  His father, Gordon, was seated at the head of the table. Gordon poured a glass of champagne into three glasses and passed one to his wife and gave another one to Tristan to hand to Issac.r />
  Gordon raised his glass. “I just want to toast to Issac. I’m so proud of you for finally selecting a path, and I think that practicing law is an incredibly good one. Issac has lasted three months at Walsh!” He tipped his glass back and poured the expensive champagne down his throat, and Charlene sipped from her glass as well.

  Issac took a small, polite sip of champagne and smiled at Gordon. “Thank you for that, Dad. Thanks for footing the bill on law school as well, again.”

  Charlene reached over and gave Issac’s arm a tight squeeze. “We’re so happy that you’re happy, son. Now, all you have to do is find a nice girl to share all of your success with!”

  “I’ll drink to that!” Gordon said, pouring himself a second glass. Tristan scoffed, one ear bud was pressed into his ear now.

  “You’ll drink to anything,” he mumbled, and Issac tossed a warning glance at his younger brother. The last thing Issac wanted Tristan to endure was a drunk lecture from Gordon.

  Issac took a bite out of some lettuce that had been doused in his mother’s homemade vinaigrette dressing. His jaw moved slowly; he chewed the piece to bits and cleared his throat as he swallowed it.