He was never one for settling down but she was right. It was a lonely existence when you're in this world. She was smart and she was pretty. He could use the distraction. Besides, she presented it as if their relationship could be some kind of business arrangement and, much like her career she was very determined to do things perfectly, their sex life had been no different. He smiled at her. "Agreed Alice, agreed. I would love to work on it with you, I just can't give you more than you're asking for right this moment." He looked at her directly. He wanted to be honest with her. "Once I thought I wanted marriage and family, Alex, but I can see clearly now that work is a better path for me. I'm happy with friends, with some benefits. I'd rather have someone in my bed I trust than someone I love." She took off her gloves and settled into the sofa as Jameson came back in. "Dinner?" He glanced towards Alex. "Yes Jameson, can you order food for us and have one of the drivers pick it up. Miss Alice and I have some work we need to do." He never looked away from Alice, and Jameson smiled. At least this was a start. Time went on for a while and the mutual benefits to the relationship kept both Alex and Alice happy. She was thriving at work and was looking for new work in a bigger firm. Alex couldn't have been happier at work. Things were thriving and he was content. Each night he went to bed alone which was when he would overthink things about what he wanted. He was happy, he had money, and he had a beautiful lover. What was missing?
He would go to bed each night wondering why he couldn't just be content. Even Mr. Warhol married his lady friend. Was there more out there? Brienne was in very much the same position. She worked and worked and never had a moment's peace. The tuition depleted her savings and there was no hope for paying for her final two years unless she worked. She was working in the law library in the mornings, she had classes in the afternoon and evening, and was working in a bar after class at night. Days seemed to fly by, and with her strange hours, time was a relative thing. She needed to go see her father...or at least call him. He met someone and had a quick wedding. She was happy for him. After so long, he deserved to be happy. Plus, she knew he was being taken care of. She received an email from Alex a few months ago. She hadn't even found time to reply to that. She heard he was dating Alice Pope, it was a name that popped up in some news articles she read about him. His business was doing well, extremely well from what she understood. She didn't want to bother him with stupid emails from an old friend. He was nice enough to send her a "hello," and for that, she was thankful. She received an invitation to Brandon's wedding but she knew she couldn't make it. If she missed one day, it would only set her back even more. She met a nice guy at work but she had no time to date. His name was Blake and he would often come sit at the bar with her and walk her to her car.
They made small talk and he was nice enough. She knew he wanted more, but she was concerned about things progressing in a direction that was ultimately going to go badly. Tonight was no exception. He was sitting across the bar laughing with some guy about how the Cowboys were going to beat the Redskins on Monday night. He caught her eye and gave her a wink. He never missed a beat of the conversation and defended his "Cowboy" honor to a fault. He was really nice. That night after the bar closed, he walked her out and this time he seemed different. He hugged her goodbye and when she turned to go, he pulled her in close for a kiss. She let it go on for a moment, it had been a long time since anyone kissed her. Before she knew it, one thing led to another and she found herself waking up the next day with him in her bed. She stood there now, towel wrapped around her watching him sleeping. It was a fun night, but the connection she was looking for wasn't there. She actually felt bad for letting things get out of hand. She tiptoed into the shower to get ready for the day, not wanting to wake him up and face where things stood now. She ate a quick breakfast, left a note for Blake, and headed downtown to Kirby and Bates where she was working. They were prepping for a huge case and it was "all hands on deck" for sure. She sat in the conference room combing through files and let her mind drift for a second. She felt different somehow, yes she had a fun night, but it was something else.