SWNOVELS Worth the Fall: Chapter 13
I sit at my desk, staring blankly at the mountain of files spread out in front of me. The pristine white papers blur together, the words meaningless as my mind drifts to the night before. My eyes burn from lack of sleep, and no amount of concealer can hide the dark circles beneath them this morning.
I tried my hardest to look my best today—my hair is sleek, my blouse crisp, my heels polished—but it’s all for show. Inside, I feel like a shell of myself.
My desk tells the real story. An empty coffee cup teeters on the edge, a crumpled napkin sitting next to it, and a half-eaten donut mocks me from the corner. I sigh, picking up the last bite, but before I can bring it to my mouth, I toss it into the trash with a frustrated groan. Three donuts. I’m on my third donut. Who eats three donuts before ten a.m.?
I lean back in my chair, closing my eyes and pressing my fingers to my temples. Get it together, Mia. You’re a professional, not a mess.
But no amount of internal pep talks can change the fact that I feel miserable.
The distant sound of raised voices pulls me from my thoughts. I straighten in my chair, my brows knitting together as I strain to listen.
‘Mia Mason,’ someone says loudly from the hallway. The voice is familiar—deep, determined, and completely out of place here.
Miguel.
My stomach drops as I scramble to my feet, my heart hammering in my chest. I open my office door just in time to see Linda standing in front of Miguel, her arms crossed, her expression somewhere between amused and exasperated.
Of course he’s here to witness the complete unraveling of my professional facade. But when I see him standing there, his eyes full of understanding and concern, something shifts in the room’s atmosphere.
‘I’m sorry, Mr. Ramirez,’ Linda says firmly, ‘but you can’t just barge in here without an appointment.’
‘I know, and I’m sorry,’ Miguel says, his voice steady but insistent. ‘But I don’t care if I don’t have an appointment. I need to see her. Right now.’
Linda lets out a long-suffering sigh, glancing over her shoulder and catching sight of me in the doorway. Her eyes widen slightly before she turns back to Miguel, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper that carries across the hallway anyway.
‘Look,’ Linda says, ‘you don’t understand. The last time someone showed up here to see her unannounced, it didn’t end well. She threw him out, along with his life coach, screaming and yelling at them in front of the partners and our newest client, Mrs. Ramirez.’
Miguel’s brow arches sharply, his steps frozen as his head whips back toward Linda. ‘Mrs. Ramirez?’ he asks, his voice echoing with disbelief.
Linda freezes, her eyes going wide as realization dawns. ‘Oh my God,’ she says, her voice pitching higher. ‘I’m not supposed to say client names!’
Her face pales, and she claps a hand over her mouth like she’s just spilled a state secret.
I groan, dropping my head into my hands. ‘It’s fine, Linda,’ I mutter, though my voice betrays how not fine everything feels.
The outer door clicks shut, and when I look up, Miguel is already striding toward me, his expression as sharp and demanding as his tone. ‘Mia,’ he says firmly. ‘What is Linda talking about?’
My heart lurches, and I straighten my spine, desperately trying to pull on the professional mask I’ve worn for years. ‘I can’t say anything, Miguel,’ I reply, my voice clipped. ‘You know that.’
His jaw tightens, and I can see the flicker of frustration in his eyes as he begins pacing the length of my office. There’s something commanding, almost magnetic, in the way he moves—his hand dragging through his hair, his steps deliberate, his shoulders taut with unspent energy. The air in the room feels heavier, like it’s brimming with his simmering intensity.
‘Miguel,’ I say, my voice softer now, unsure how to temper the storm brewing in front of me.
‘No,’ he cuts me off, his tone edged with something raw, almost desperate. ‘I’m not leaving this office until we get to the bottom of whatever is going on here.’ He stops mid-step, turning to fix me with a stare so pointed it feels like it could pin me to my seat. ‘Because we love each other, Mia. And I’m not letting Celine ruin this for me again like she did with our marriage.’
I flinch at the words. His voice carries a weight that’s rare for Miguel, like he’s stripped himself bare, leaving nothing but the raw truth. It unsettles me, cracks my carefully constructed walls.
‘You can’t just barge in here and boss me around,’ I snap, meeting his gaze head-on. If he’s determined to confront me, I won’t let him think I’m shrinking away from this.
A flicker of a smile touches his lips, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. It’s the kind of smile that tells me he’s not backing down. He takes two measured steps forward, closing the distance between us until I can feel the warmth radiating from him.
‘That’s exactly what I’m going to do,’ he says, his voice low and steady but with a fierce determination that leaves no room for argument. ‘Because I’m not letting us fall apart over something that can be fixed.’
His words hit like a punch to the chest, and my resolve wavers as I stare up at him. My heart thuds painfully, the intensity of his gaze unraveling my defenses.
Without breaking eye contact, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone.
‘Miguel,’ I say sharply, my tone a warning.
He holds up a finger, silencing me with a single gesture. ‘Sit,’ he commands, motioning toward my chair.
‘You can’t just—’
‘Sit, Mia,’ he repeats, his voice calm but unyielding, the kind of tone that brooks no argument.
I cross my arms, glaring at him as a surge of frustration courses through me. ‘You can’t boss me around like this. This is my office.’
‘Then act like the boss and sit down,’ he retorts, one brow arching as he presses a button on his phone and holds it to his ear.
Letting out a groan of exasperation, I roll my eyes and drop back into my chair. ‘This is ridiculous.’
He doesn’t respond. His attention is now fully on the phone, his expression unreadable but charged with purpose.
‘Celine,’ he says after a beat, his tone calm but carrying a blade-sharp edge. The sound of her name makes my stomach knot, the weight of this moment pressing down on me harder than ever.
My eyes widen as I realize what he’s doing. ‘Miguel, no!’ I lunge from my seat, reaching for the phone, but he sidesteps me with ease, holding me at bay with one hand while keeping the phone pressed to his ear with the other.
‘Hello, Miguel,’ I hear Celine’s smooth, clipped tone through the phone. ‘What a surprise.’
Miguel steps back, his hand on my shoulder to keep me at arm’s length as I try to wrestle the phone from him. It’s an absolutely ridiculous sight—I’m practically climbing over my desk, and he’s holding me off like it’s some sort of game.
‘Celine,’ he says, ignoring my protests and kicking the door shut with his foot for good measure. ‘Did you just sign on with Harrison & Brooks?’
I freeze, my hands gripping his arm as Celine answers.
“Sounds like a question an attorney would know better than to ask someone,” she says, her voice now laced with curiosity. “Why do you ask?”
Miguel glances at me, his eyes narrowing. “Because I’m standing in Mia’s office, and she looks like she’s about to have a full blown meltdown after telling me she can’t do this anymore.”
“Miguel!” I hiss, shoving at his arm, but he steps away again, his calm demeanor somehow both infuriating and impressive. “I am handling this!”
“Why does this matter to you?” Celine asks, her tone now tinged with suspicion.
“Don’t.” The word is a threat. “Don’t you fucking dare do this Celine.”
It’s silent and I swear I can feel the weight of her smirk even through the phone. “My legal matters aren’t your business anymore.”
“Celine,” he says warningly, his voice dropping an octave.
My stomach twists as Miguel lets out a sharp breath. “You’re unbelievable, Celine,” he says, his tone low and biting. “She hung up on me.”
He pulls the phone away from his ear, shaking his head in disbelief. He tosses the phone onto my desk and turns to me, his jaw tight, his eyes blazing with frustration.
“So—
“She knew you worked here,” he says, his voice tight. “She picked your firm because of you.”
I sink back into my chair, even though this isn’t new revelation to me. The weight of the situation pressing down on me like a ton of bricks.
“I can’t believe this,” I whisper, rubbing my temples.
Miguel paces the room, his hands on his hips, his jaw ticking as he processes everything. “She’s doing this to mess with us,” he says, his voice growing louder. “She’s trying to make things complicated.”
“She doesn’t have to try,” I mutter, slumping further into my chair.He stops pacing and looks at me, his frustration giving way to something softer—concern. “We’ll figure this out, Mia,” he says, his voice steady now. “I’m not letting her ruin this for us.”
I look up at him, my heart pounding in my chest. “You can’t just fix this, Miguel. I lied to you—to my boss. I hid the fact that I was taking on her case because,” I shake my head in embarrassment. “Because I couldn’t choose between you or this job and in the end…”
“Baby stop, this isn’t your fault. This isn’t something that you need to apologize for. And maybe you’re right that I can’t fix this,” he says, leaning forward, his hands on the edge of my desk. “But I can sure as hell try.” He picks up his phone again, hitting a button and holding it up to his ear.
“Celine,” he says sharply, “I’m only going to ask you this one more time and I want you to think long and hard about the selfish choices you’ve made that will not only impact me and Mia but also your daughter. Did you choose Mason, Whitman, and Briggs because of Mia?”
I freeze, my hands gripping his arm, holding my breath as her voice drifts faintly from the phone.
“Yes,” she says, her tone smooth, unapologetic.
Miguel’s jaw tightens. “Why?”
There’s silence on the other end, heavy and deliberate. I feel my stomach churn as I glance up at Miguel. His expression remains hard, his jaw ticking, but then a faint sound comes through the phone—a soft, barely audible, “I’m sorry.”
I blink, my heart racing as I look at Miguel, but his expression changes. The anger in his eyes doesn’t soften, but his focus shifts.
“I’m sending a car to your place,” he says, his tone clipped, his words precise. “You better be in it and on the way to Mia’s office in the next fifteen minutes. No excuses.”
Without waiting for her response, he hangs up and tosses the phone onto my desk.
“Miguel!” I exclaim, panic rising in my chest. “What are you doing?”
He turns to me, his eyes sharp and unrelenting. “What the hell is going on here, Mia?”
“What do you mean? You can’t just—”
“Do the partners know?” he interrupts, his voice steady but firm.
My lips part, but no words come out. The question sits heavy between us, and I feel the sting of tears pricking my eyes as my lip starts to tremble.
Miguel notices immediately. His expression softens, and he steps closer, sitting down in the chair across from my desk. “Mia,” he says gently, his tone no longer commanding but careful, coaxing. “Tell me everything.”
I exhale shakily, sinking into my chair as the weight of the past few days crashes over me.
“It started with Cameron,” I begin, my voice trembling. “He came to the office, unannounced, with his life coach. He had a sage bundle, Miguel. He started burning sage in my office.”
Miguel raises an eyebrow, but he doesn’t interrupt.
“And I lost it,” I admit, covering my face with my hands. “I yelled at him. Told him to get out. Then I threw both of them out—loudly, in the middle of the hallway, right in front of my boss and… and Celine.”
Miguel’s brow furrows, and he leans forward slightly, his elbows resting on his knees. “Celine saw that?”
I nod miserably. “Yes. And then—then it got worse.”
“How could it possibly get worse?” he asks, his tone half-wary, half-incredulous.
“I was so distracted and upset that I spilled coffee on my blouse before my meeting with my boss and Celine,” I confess. “And during the meeting, I missed my chair and fell to the ground—taking all my files and my iPad with me.”
Miguel’s lips twitch like he’s trying not to smile, but he quickly hides it. “Okay. And then?”
“Then,” I continue, throwing my hands up, “I went back to my office and tried to calm down. But Cameron had left the sage in my trash can, still burning. It caught fire, the sprinklers went off, and I ended up soaked and crying in Mr. Whitman’s office, explaining everything to him.”
I glance at Miguel, expecting him to laugh or scold me, but he doesn’t. He just sits there, watching me with an intensity that makes my chest ache.
“So the partners know?” he asks quietly.
“Yes,” I say, my voice breaking. “They know everything. And they still put me on Celine’s case. They said it’s my chance to prove myself, to show them I can handle a big client. But Miguel…” I choke back more tears, “I—we can’t be together then.”
He leans back in his chair, exhaling slowly. For a long moment, he doesn’t say anything, his gaze locked on me as he processes everything I’ve just told him.
Finally, he nods, his voice steady. “Okay. Then we’re going to handle this. Together.”
I stare at Miguel as he sits calmly in the chair across from me, his words ringing in my ears. “We’re going to handle this. Together.”
I stand up, crossing my arms, my voice sharp with disbelief. “What do you mean, handle this together? Miguel, this isn’t something you can just waltz in and fix!”
He leans back in the chair, his jaw tight, his eyes holding mine. “Give me a dollar.”
I blink. “What?”
He motions toward me, his hand outstretched, palm up. “Give me a dollar.”
I narrow my eyes at him, my irritation flaring. “Miguel, I swear to God, if this is some ridiculous—”
“Just do it,” he says, his tone calm but unyielding.
With an exasperated sigh, I dig into my purse and pull out a crumpled dollar bill. I slap it into his hand. “There. Happy?”
“Very,” he says, tucking the bill into his pocket. He stands up, smoothing his shirt as he towers over me. “Congratulations, Mia. You’ve just hired yourself an attorney.”
“What are you—”
“I’m your lawyer now,” he says with a confident smirk. “Which means you and I are going to march into your boss’s office once Celine gets here, and we’re going to solve this problem the way it should have been handled from the start.”
I gape at him, my mind racing to catch up. “Miguel, I don’t—”
“She’s the one who needs to find a new practice,” he continues, cutting me off. “She picked your firm just to mess with us, and that’s not your fault. It’s hers. We’re not going to let her derail your career or this relationship. Not happening.”
I stare at him, my chest tightening with a mix of anxiety and awe. His determination, his unwavering belief in me—it’s overwhelming.
“You can’t just boss me around like this,” I say, though my voice is softer now, almost teasing.
He steps closer, his eyes locking onto mine, his voice dropping to that low, commanding tone that makes my knees feel weak. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do, because I love you, and I’m not going to stand by and let anyone ruin what we have. Not even Celine.”
For a moment, I can’t speak. My heart pounds in my chest as I watch him, my mind still reeling from everything that’s happened. But as much as I want to argue, as much as I want to push back… I know he’s right.
“Okay,” I whisper finally, my voice trembling. “Let’s handle this.”
He nods, his hand brushing lightly against my arm. “We’ve got this, Mia. Together.”