11:A GameOfHand
671 Words
The morning air was warm, but Alessia felt nothing but exhaustion. This was the third law firm that had turned her down, their rejections laced with carefully worded excuses, but she knew the truth—they were all afraid to go against Theo Lennox.
She sighed, rubbing her temples as she stepped into a café, the warm scent of roasted coffee beans doing little to ease her frustration. She ordered a black coffee, barely noticing the barista’s cheerful greeting, then found a seat by the window.
As she stirred her coffee absentmindedly, her gaze followed the people passing by outside. A mother guiding her child across the street. A man in a suit hailing a taxi. A young woman laughing into her phone. Life moved on, indifferent to her battles.
Then, as her fingers tightened around the cup, a thought crept into her mind.
Her father’s death anniversary was around the corner.
And with it, an old, unshakable question.
"Will she come home this year?"
The thought lingered, unsettling and unanswered, but before she could dwell on it further, her phone buzzed. It was an email—another rejection. Clenching her jaw, she finished her coffee in one last bitter gulp and stood to leave.
She was barely past the door when she collided with someone. Hard.
"Ah, s**t—sorry," she muttered, stepping back.
A deep, smooth voice responded. "No harm done."
She looked up, and for a second, she forgot how to speak.
The man standing before her was striking, with a quiet, effortless charm that made him instantly memorable. Sunlit blond hair, tousled like he hadn’t bothered to fix it but somehow still looked good. Eyes the color of storm clouds—calm, unreadable. Something about him was effortlessly refined.
It was only then that she noticed he had dropped something—a small card fluttering to the ground between them.
She bent down to retrieve it.
Her fingers brushed against the edges of a sleek, embossed business card. The name on it was unfamiliar, but the title was not.
Cassian Holt
Attorney at Law
Her eyes flickered back up to him.
"You're a lawyer?"
His lips curved into a small, knowing smile. "That depends. Are you looking for one?"
Alessia hesitated, then exhaled and handed the card back to him. "Actually, yeah. I am."
Cassian’s expression shifted, intrigued. "Interesting."
Not wanting to waste either of their time, she crossed her arms. "But before we go any further, I should tell you who my opponent is."
Cassian arched a brow, waiting.
She met his gaze evenly. "Theo Lennox."
She braced herself for the familiar reaction—hesitation, discomfort, a quick excuse to back out. But it didn’t come.
Instead, Cassian simply studied her for a moment, then handed the business card back to her.
"Drop by my firm," he said. "We’ll talk."
She blinked. "That’s it?"
He shrugged. "That’s it. Besides"—he tilted his coffee cup toward her with an easy smirk—"I’m technically on a coffee break."
A chuckle escaped her before she could stop it. She took the card, slipping it into her pocket.
"Alright," she said. "I’ll see you soon."
~~~
The city moved in a blur outside the tinted windows, buildings flashing past in streaks of steel and glass.
In the backseat of a sleek, black car, Theo Lennox leaned back against the leather interior.
The bodyguard in the front seat spoke, breaking the silence. "We’ve received reports that Calloway’s team is struggling to find legal representation. Three firms have already refused."
Theo smirked. "Smart of them."
His tone was casual, indifferent—yet there was satisfaction in it. He had spent years ensuring that when he played, he played to win.
Then, his phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
He arched a brow but answered anyway.
A beat of silence. Then—
"Thought you could play dirty and win, huh?"
It was her.
Alessia Sinclair.
And from the sharp edge of her voice, he knew—she had found her counterattack.
***
- Writer
