Power of Attorney: A Novel (A Greenburg Family Book 1) (9 page)

Pure pleasure swept through her as he slipped into her warmth. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, and she sighed as his mouth found hers again. He groaned as they fully connected and her legs wrapped around his back.

In and out he moved, finding a rhythm to his thrusting. He
r nails sank into his skin as she held on for this most pleasurable ride. Their breath was in sync with the slow ebb and flow of their body. In between, there were no words, just the sound of two people drinking the sight of each other with the sound of passion they created. She didn’t open her eyes as she wanted to feel this moment rather than observe it. No eyes were needed to see what was going on around her. Each trust emitted a spark behind her eyes, and a small moan escaped her mouth. There were sounds of skin slapping on skin that were drowned out by their moans.

She could feel Patrick’s hand cupping her cheek as his face went down for another kiss.
It wasn’t long until their breathy moans became more vocal. Sarah could feel herself burning, heat pooling down her stomach. It was as if something inside her was about to erupt. She also knew that Patrick was close too as he felt him move his face to the crook of her neck as if he was trying to hold back something.

The peak of their lov
e making came down in a loud gasp made by Sarah, followed by Patrick’s sudden grunt. Her nails dug into his skin as their orgasm rode to its completion. Time stood still, and her mind became hazy with the afterglow. After a while, she opened her eyes and gazed into his deep greens. They were glistening with love and desire but, there was also something else hidden in there too. Gratitude.

She smiled as she gave him one last kiss
and then closed her eyes again, lulled to sleep by her deeply relaxing body.

In her dreams, she saw his eyes again, those beautiful green irises that were so hypnotizing. It wasn’t just the eyes though, or
the brilliant mind behind them. There was something about Patrick Greenburg she couldn’t explain.

Patrick
had never slept so well, and his bed was softer than he remembered. That’s when he realized his bed was never this soft. Startled, his eyes opened quickly only to be assaulted by the bright sunlight filling the room.

For a
moment, he didn’t realize where he was. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks… he was in Sarah’s bed. If he were at home, Patrick would be enjoying the fresh weather with a good jog and some good tea. However, this morning he was on the run for another reason – he was desperate to exit the room!

The memory of how he got
here in the first place began to come back to him after his initial moment of panic. He felt his face redden and his skin prickled with static electricity as he remembered every moment of last night.

Patrick groaned into his hands. He
was torn between punching himself to death and jumping out of the window. Or perhaps it was possible he could do both.

Glancing around he looked for Sarah, but her side of the bed was cold. Listening
intently, he heard the sound of water running in the bathroom. She was showering which provided him a good opportunity to disappear for a moment. He needed that moment to process what was going on in his life. Breaking is own person record for speed dressing, Patrick was dressed and out of the apartment in a flash. As he closed the door, he hoped she would understand.

“What
have I done?” he asked himself out loud. He just slept with his partner who was dating his little brother. Patrick did what he did best … run.

He wanted to
blame last night on the ‘heat of the moment’. He had been depressed, and Sarah was very good at giving him advice and restoring his confidence.

He wanted to deny that last night was an act of love and passion.
But he knew better, it would be a lie. Last night was the definition of love and passion; it’s wasn’t the ‘heat of the moment’ or any other excuse. Their time together was the culmination of the lust and affection that they had had for each other since day one.

He wanted to deny
how truly happy he felt when he was with Sarah Blake. What he said last night was mostly true; Sarah did change many things for the good. His office became alive with her around. It was no longer just him and a computer or a bunch of papers. It wasn’t his. It wasn’t hers. It was theirs.

Realizing that Sarah made him a little happier was one thing, he
also realized she made him hate himself a little less too. He had never revealed so much about himself to anyone, had never felt so connected to another soul.

Remembering how much he shared with her worried him a little. He still didn’t trust anyone completely. He was also afraid she would rub salt in his wounds, or judge him harshly for his action.

Deep down he didn’t think so, he instinctively knew she was different. She never ceased to surprise him. While trust was still a foreign thing for him, Sarah made it easier for him to try.

He raked his hands through his messy ginger hair. He needed to think this through.
They both needed time; he realized. He was confused; she must be too, plus she needed to sort things out with Henry.

Was Patrick really a coward? He wondered if the temptation
to run was because he was afraid she would say no. He wondered what was going through her head last night. Sarah was unpredictable; she already demonstrated that to him clearly. Even if he thought he had her, she would turn the table around, and Patrick would lose. Yes, Patrick realized that he couldn’t beat Sarah if the battle was about feelings and emotions. He wasn’t good with giving into human nature.

He wondered if he should message her or give her a call
, to explain why he had left. Would she be mad? Knowing Sarah, she probably would. How could she not be?

His phone’s screen flash
, Sarah had left a message. He had missed her call and was uncertain what to do. Her name was wrecking his brain.

An hour later,
Patrick reached his apartment. He’d needed to clear his head, plus the idea of being around others on the bus made his mind go numb. The muscles in the calves were begging for him to sit down. His feet were dragging as he stumbled on the steps to his room. He imagined that everyone in the office would have given anything to see him in this state. He gave up and sat on the last step, head bowed down in defeat and exhaustion. What should I do? What was stopping him from confessing to her, telling her how he felt, or at least asking her out? He didn’t want to give in to the rules he made to himself years ago. He didn’t want to make the same mistake and feel that disappointment ever again.

“Wow, never thought I would see the day Patrick Greenburg came home in a mess
.” Of all the people he wanted to see today, the owner of the voice wasn’t even on the list. Patrick raised his head to see Henry in front of him. Something in his stomach dropped at the sight of his brother. Talking about trust, he just betrayed his brother’s trust by sleeping with the girl he was dating. From the tight, blank look on Henry’s face, Patrick could only assume that Henry knew he lied to him and was assuming what happened afterwards. The usual happy face Henry wore was gone. He was angry, frustrated and on the edge. And Patrick was the reason of it all.

“Had a nice night?” Henry asked, the note of sarcasm was strong. Patrick could feel the heat of Henry’s anger simmering
in the undercurrent of his words. He knew what was going to happen. He knew that facing Henry was something unavoidable, but he never thought he would face it this soon.

“Henry, I am-”

“You know what?” Henry interrupted it. “I trusted you. You are the last person I expected to stab me in the back.”

Patrick knew he deserved
this. No matter how much he tried to sugar coat what he did, the fact still stayed the same. He had hurt Henry. There was nothing he could say to make it better or justify his action.

“I
knew the chance of getting together with her was very slim. I know that she admires you. I know she might never think of me other than a good friend. But at least let her say that to me, will you? Was that really too much to ask? I’m not blind Patrick!”

It
was another fatal error Patrick had made. He thought that Henry blindly loved Sarah and did not know her true feelings towards him. Perhaps the person who was really blind was himself.

“If you know then why
did you ask her out? You even asked me about it!”

“It
was a trick question. I wanted to see if you were interested. God, are you really so dense. Pat?!” Henry took a few steps closer and kept talking through gritted teeth. “For all my life, I’ve been compared to you or Jane. I’ve always been a step behind, walking in the shadow of the Patrick Greenburg.” He paused, fists clenching at his side. “For once I got a chance, even if it seems impossible, I got a chance to do something before you. And guess what… you have to ruin it too!”

“Henry…”

“I’m not the same little brother anymore Patrick. I can deal with heartbreak. I can deal with being rejected and failed relationships. I don’t need someone to break it for me, especially you!”

Patrick never knew his little brother felt the pressure
he and Jane unconsciously created by their talents. He never knew he was hurting his little brother by just being himself. Or trying to protect him. Did he really set a standard for his brother that seemed impossible for him to follow?

“Henry…
I’m sorry for what I did. This is my fault.”

“Damn right
it’s your fault,” Henry accused. “I looked up to you, respected you, and appreciated all that you sacrificed to help me. You have been my rock,” he exhaled a deep breath. “And now this.”

When Patrick said nothing, Henry continued.
“Was it really so hard to admit your feeling? All this happened because you just didn’t have the balls to tell her how you felt.” 

Patrick wanted to say that Henry was correct.
He didn’t understand his feeling and didn’t know why he acted this way. He was a coward and hadn’t resisted temptation last night.

He
knows that a simple conversation would have stopped all of this. A few words from his mouth could have alleviated all this pain.

“It’s more than that. Henry, I know now. About how I feel…”

“How?” Patrick braced himself a little. “How exactly does the Patrick Greenburg feel? I’m breathless to know.”

“
Sarah and I…last night…we, uh, were…together-“

The sentence wasn’t even fully complete when Henry pounced.
Suddenly his fist was in Patrick’s face, and stars burst around his vision. Henry had punched him. Hard. And was simply walking away, not looking back.

Patrick watched his brother’s
retreating back. The punch hadn’t hurt that much although Patrick felt sure his pain would blossom later. He didn’t care; he had deserved. Hell, he deserved even more.

As he rubbed his jaw and
stood up, on the way to the freezer for some ice. Patrick felt another pain deep in his chest. The pain of knowing he had destroyed his brother’s trust completely.

Patrick remembered another time when the
Greenburg family fell apart and this time, he wasn’t sure he could find the pieces to fix it.

Every pair of eyes landed on Patrick as he walked into the office. He looked ridiculous, he knew, wearing big Ray-Ban sunglasses, especially of a cloudy day like today
.

Henry’s punch had been a good one, leaving a bruise so big even the glasses couldn’t cover it all. He had been a fool to think it could conceal
it; the surprised looks and snickers behind his back made it clear he had done a really bad job.

At least he knew now who hate
d him in this office, or at least found amusement in his current state. He wished he could have called in sick this morning, and for the rest of eternity too.

It wasn’t just the bruise he wanted to
hide; he was loathed to see Sarah again, unsure of how she was feeling or what today would bring. But, it was the first day in court, he could hardly lay out. He would simply have to deal with things as they came at him.

He reached the office before her, as always. His right eye ached badly. He was sure Henry
had been wearing a ring when he landed that punch. The guy was more fit than him with all the time he tweeted about going to gym.

Patrick took
off his glasses and gently rubbed the skin around the welts. Even with a long cold compression and some cream he got from the nearest pharmacy, the bruised skin looked angry and deep. It was as if Henry had transferred all of his pent up frustration and jealousy into one punch. Which was probably true because Patrick hadn’t seen Henry explode like that in a long time. Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen Henry angry since their father left.

Perhaps it was good for Henry
to have unloaded like that. From what he said, he was under a great amount of pressure, from himself, from Jane and from his job. The borderline of expectation must have been suffocating him. Patrick wondered if Henry wanted to be a lawyer at all. Did he choose to become a lawyer because he thought he should follow his brother’s footstep?

“Nice
makeup.” Her voice caused a shudder to run down his spine. He’d been mentally bracing himself to hear it. Sarah strode in with her cup of Americano and a tight smirk on her lips. Henry quickly looked back at his papers to avoid it.

She didn’t look
as angry as he had imagined, or perhaps she was simply   enjoying the sight of him with a shiner for now. She went straight to her desk and hummed a tune he couldn’t recognize.

“Nice
makeup?” He finally said. He sounded so pathetic without the usual authority or the power he held over others. He shut his mouth so that he wouldn’t have to hear his own voice. But the silence was as aggravating as her refusal to address him. She was ignoring him, just looking at her screen.

“Are you giving me the silent treatment?” he tried again, with
a more obvious question. Perhaps being direct just like before would help with this situation. Just how wrong he had been.

“Sorry Patrick.
I’m working so I think we should talk about this after work. Just want to keep it professional.”

A
few days ago those would be the words he would say. Hearing them from Sarah sounded so… foreign to him. He felt something strike a nerve in his temple. Was this how everyone felt when they were talking to him?

Patrick gritted his teeth. Even Patrick himself could not argue against his own kind of argument. So he replied back with the same tightness in his voice. Their first day
in court was going to be rough. “Fine.”

He ditched his sunglasses and got himself an eye patch instead. It would even make him standout more but at least he looked less like an idiot trying to hide his
own wound. Sarah was dressed in her formal attire, ready for their first day. She still gave him the cold shoulder and the silent treatment, not that he didn’t deserve it. He started to worry that this would affect their teamwork during the trial. He just didn’t know how to fix it. He believed in Sarah’s ability, but they still needed to work together if they wanted to get through this case.

“You think you can handle the opening statement?” he asked her. At least it wasn’t a personal question.

“Have it memorized from the top,” Sarah replied monotonously. She didn’t even look at him when she replied. Patrick sighed. At least, she would still talk to him when it came to work. Their ride to the courthouse was nothing short of awkwardness and silence.

Their first day
in court was even more packed than they thought. Just like he imagined, there were press and cameras and a large group of Daisuke Terres’ fans holding up signs and cheering for them.

Patrick smiled towards the fans as he walked past and
was rewarded with many smiles in return. He was surrounded by a throng of reporters, and microphones were shoved into his face and questions flew at him from many directions. He wanted to bat the microphone away so badly, but he knew that he would need all the media attention he could get. The voice of public opinion is powerful, and he needed as many voices on his side as possible

He tried to be professional and answer as briefly as he could before
excusing himself from the crowd. Patrick looked back to see Sarah facing the same difficulty as she tried to handle the media for the first time. He wanted to help her, but the rational part of his brain told him to just stay put and wait because Sarah was more than capable of handling them. Plus, he didn’t want to add more fuel into the fire.

Sarah managed to get away
after a few moments and headed inside with Patrick. They were still stiff with each other, not joking about the reporters as they would have if they didn’t have this wedge of silence between them now.

Diana came after them and so did Golden Dome and their team.
Shunsuke stayed at home. His presence would only bring more media and crowd control difficulty.

Patrick
settled down at their table in the courtroom, prepared for what he knew would be a long process. This case wouldn’t be solved in a day; it could drag on and on for a long time.

Sarah had the opening statement. Those little mumbles he spotted her doing whenever she thought she was alone finally paid off. She
was perfect, never even glanced at her notes. No stumbling, no forgotten words. She appeared calm and friendly even under the pressure of the crowd and media. Patrick found himself admiring her even more. Perhaps she even handled it better than Patrick himself.

Their first day was nothing but
a boring session of bringing up evidence and introducing it to the court. Patrick and Sarah took turns and fell back into their normal professional relationship. They were a team, like two gears that turned each other. Every moment in court was flawless. But the moment the judge dropped his gavel to recess them for the day, the cold walls came back up, and the silence became awkward again.

Patrick started to feel that it was Sarah who was in charge here instead of him.
She seemed to radiate an aura he remembered only one person having. His sister.

With everyone
else, she was her normal self, laughing and chatting with her usual charm. She even seemed comfortable around Henry; it was as if nothing had changed between them at all. As Patrick watched them together he was baffled, not understanding how they could be so normal.

In Patrick’s experience, when people were angry with each other they just left. It had certainly happened with his parents.
Not many people Patrick knew were capable of staying friends with someone they had once dated. Usually, after the relationship fell apart, they would stay away from each other. It was if they couldn’t get past the nostalgic memory. Or they couldn’t get past the hurt.

Sarah and Henry did none of that. In fact, they seemed
to be drawing closer. They hung out together more on their breaks and laughed together like they used to. Patrick found himself being jealous. As they grew together, they withdrew farther from him.

Patrick already knew why Sarah was so angry with him. She thought he was just playing with her
that night. Leaving her alone the next morning without even saying why was a low move. Being defensive in this situation would not help him, not when he knew that he was the one at fault.

“Patrick,
” Sarah interrupted his thoughts. “Diana just phoned. She just had a meeting with an old employee of Golden Dome. He quit a few months ago and used to be one of the people who were responsible for handling Daisuke’s house. She said she left new evidence with Shunsuke. Can you pick it up or do you want me to do it?”

Even though Sarah looked clearly excited at the possibility of a breakthrough in the case, she didn’t meet his eyes as she told him. Patrick
sighed; he missed how easy things used to be between them. Because he needed some fresh air, he agreed to go.

Shunsuke
came out to greet him in his usual formal manner before ushering him inside to take a seat. He disappeared into his father’s workroom to get his things and left him alone in the living room with a china set filled with hot chamomile tea. Patrick breathed in relief, enjoying being away from the tension of the office.

“Oh, it’s you again,” a familiar cracking voice could be heard from afar. Patrick turned his head to see
Kanade walking slowly towards the living room. The tea cup in his hand was suddenly forgotten as he dashed towards her and helped her to the usual wooden chair where she always sat. She thanked him before asking him to pass her the remote on the coffee table nearby.

A soft tune of
the guitar filled the room, then came the distinguish voice of Johnny Cash. “You are my sunshine” echoed in the Terres house along with Kanade’s humming. She closed her eyes and let her mind meld together with the old tune. Patrick knew this song, he heard it before on some radio. Thinking about it, Daisuke’s first book was called,
Once upon a Sunshine
. Was it somehow a tribute to this song?

“Was it your favorite song?” he asked her.

“Aiden wouldn’t stop singing it to me. He even learned how to play it on guitar,” she pointed her finger to one of the pictures hanging on the frame. There stood Aiden, on the stage on some kind of a bar playing a guitar. He was probably singing the same song he heard now but it would be for Kanade and only her alone.

“Daisuke also knew the lyrics by heart. When they were together, they would always do a duet for me.”

“So they are your
sunshine
?” Kanade opened her eyes and looked back at him. She had a smile on her dried lips. The wrinkles on her face crinkled with her. Even though she was old, she looked beautiful with that wrinkled smile. It was a happy smile created by the memories of her long lost husband and son.

“Do you know why people would often compare people they love, especially lovers, to the sun?”
Instead of an answer, she gave him another question. He shook his head. Literature wasn’t his virtue even if he read some.

“The sun is always used as a sign of a new beginning. You would always see the sun
rising. It would disappear by the end of the day, but you are so sure that it will rise again on the next morning. The sun gives life to us but more than that, it is a symbol of hope. As long as that glowing light is there, you know that there’s tomorrow. You know that it isn’t the end yet. That hope is one of the strongest feeling that we humans can feel. And that it what people you love give you, faith and hope.” Kanade put her hands on his hand. Her maternal warmth spread through his body like a wildfire. It was a feeling he thought he’d forgotten.

“People you love
give you hope. You know they will come back even if they were gone for a while. They breathe life into you and make you feel alive. Aiden gave me hope when I was trapped in that camp. That’s why he’s my sunshine.”

The
song ended, and Kanade let go of his hand, “Some people hide in the dark so that they can avoid the sunshine. The wall people build in their heart. If they did not step out or break down that wall, they would never see the sunshine in their life. I broke down that wall, and I found Aiden standing there, waiting for me.”

“I’m sure
you did the same for him,” Patrick suggested. Aiden must also have fought the cold stares and rude words around him too when he chose to spend the rest of his life with Kanade. Racism and prejudice against people like her were strong back then. Perhaps there were times when he doubted his love and almost gave up as well.

“I’m sure he did. What about you dear?” Patrick was taken aback by the question. W
hat was she asking him?

“M-me?”

“Have you found your sunshine? Or are you still hiding behind a wall?” He started to doubt that Kanade was human. Was she some kind of telepath that could read his mind? Or perhaps he started to pick up Sarah’s inability to hide expressions. He thought about Kanade’s question. The wall was there for sure. He put it up for a reason. He was still reluctant to put it down.

But his sunshine…
he knew who was his sunshine.

“Yes…
I do have sunshine too.”