Note: this chapter contains mention of sexual assault/abuse.

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"It's fine, MJ. It was an honest mistake. Just apologise, and move on as though it never happened."

Deep brown eyes stare assertively into the bathroom mirror, catching a scruffy reflection; while large fingers grip onto the sink below him. With one swipe Michael rubs harshly, with the back of his hand, at the red tint that clings to his lips, and he lets out an irritable grumble. He wonders to himself why he would do something so bold and out-of-character — even more so, with a colleague, on the second day of his new job.

"Come on, man. Clean yourself up and go out there and say hi to your boy and your buddy. They came here to see you."

A defeated sigh and a moment to compose himself serve as the push he needs to run the tap and soak the palm of his hand. He brings his wet fingers to his face once more, scrubbing to remove the ruby sheen from his skin. Once he deems his face clean, he reties his hair into a neat ponytail to pull the look back together, then glances at himself in the mirror to evaluate his tidied appearance. Deciding he is now presentable, he anxiously makes his way back out to the main cafe, where Casey and Sean are sat waiting for their drinks.

"Sorry for takin' a little while," Michael says to Rita. "Joanne was showing me the stock room, but I got a lil' messy and needed to clean up."

"Damn right you did," Joanne adds, giving a quick wink which only Michael catches. "There's no need to apologise at all. Well, not to Rita at least. Your best friend is a little shocked at what she saw."

"Laurie," Michael sighs, spotting her silently working through cake orders. "She must've been mortified at what she saw."

He moves over to Laurie's work area, leaving Rita and Joanne to converse more privately.

"Am I missing something?" Rita asks. "What's this secret unspoken thing I'm clearly too naïve to be realising?"

Joanne's voice suddenly breaks, as though she is on the verge of tears. "It doesn't matter, chica," she assures her friend. "I'll explain later."

"Wait, Joey, is something wrong?" Rita furrows her brows at her friend, confused. "What happened back in there?"

"It's really nothing," Joanne answers, no louder than a whisper to avoid drawing Michael's attention to what she's saying. "Let's just get on with our work, please."

Michael, oblivious to Joanne's abrupt onset of emotion, taps Laurie gently on the shoulder to gain her attention. "Laurie, I'm ... really sorry for what you saw in there."

"I'm just confused, honestly." Laurie momentarily halts her work to look at him; she doesn't look angered, but rather hurt. "I helped you get this job, but it almost feels like you did it to find yourself a new wife, and stepmum for Casey."

"That's not true at all," Michael argues. "I really don't know what happened. It was a moment of complete madness, and extreme weakness. She sorta ... came at me, and I just ... stupidly didn't stop her."

"Does this job really mean anything to you like you said it did, Michael?" Laurie asks. "Because I was just looking out for a friend by selling you to Allie. Do you really want to throw that away with a random fling with a stranger on day two of working here?"

"Of course not. We'd just been getting along all day, and she took me to the stock room to show me the ropes. But I guess she had other ideas and I just—" Michael shakes his head, bewildered as to how he could land himself in this position. "Look, this job means everything to me. It's my future. Please don't let Allie know this happened. I'm begging you."

"I won't say anything, but if she finds out another way then I can't lie about it happening for you. You understand that, right?"

"I understand." Michael catches a glimpse of Casey and Sean out of the corner of his eye, so he exhales slowly to expel any remaining nerves. "I'm going to say hi to them real quick. I'll come help you after. Okay?"

"Not a problem." She gestures for him to go over to them, before turning around to continue with her orders.

Michael slips around the counter, and approaches their table. His eyes meet his son's, so he opens his arms to invite Casey in for a quick hug. Casey accepts, wrapping his little arms around his father excitedly.

"Hi, Daddy."

"Hey, buddy." Michael looks down at the boy, feeling all signs of anxiety fade just by observing him. "How's your morning been?"

"We went to the park!" Casey squeals, bouncing up and down on the spot. "I went on the slide forty-six times!"

"Only forty-six?" Sean intervenes. "I was sure it was at least eighty-three. It certainly felt long enough to be."

"Case, have you been tiring your Uncle Sean out?" Michael tuts playfully, ruffling the mop of curls on Casey's head. "Anyway, sorry to cut this so short, but I need to get back to work. You know how it is. I hope you guys enjoy yourselves here."

Sean salutes. "Thanks, man."

Michael smiles graciously at his best friend and his son, before returning behind the counter to continue with his shift. In the midst of such an onslaught of customers, he manages to purposely organise the slew of orders in such a way, that he is able to fulfil Sean and Casey's; and he does so, solely to see the look of joy on the boy's face at the sight and knowledge that his precious father has made his hot chocolate.

"This is a bit of a wild one, huh?" Michael comments to Joanne as they work. "Much busier than yesterday."

"Mm-hm," Joanne responds shortly, barely acknowledging Michael or his words. "Crazy."

Michael furrows his brows, puzzled at Joanne's change in demeanour. He tries to ignore it in favour of getting on with the task at hand, but it continues to play on his mind. Every so often, he glances in her direction, but she doesn't take the bait of returning eye contact, causing his paranoia to get the better of him. His mind spirals with worries about making an enemy of her; maybe her heart was far more into the kiss than his, and the rejection is hitting her hard. Once the afternoon rush of customers eases, he decides to initiate conversation with her once more, in a bid to clear the air.

"Joanne ... " His eyes move down subconsciously, for he is apprehensive about bringing the subject up. "Uh, I just wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier."

"There's nothing to say." Her tone is blunt, with notes of hurt intertwined. "Water under the bridge now, isn't it?"

"I-I just need you to know I'm sorry for encouraging it. I shouldn't have. I got caught up in the moment, because I haven't had the intimacy since I was with my ex-wife. It doesn't excuse it, but ... it's been rough." He dares to look at her, finding her expression has mellowed a little at his explanation. "What happened was entirely out of my character. Usually I have a lot more self-control. I know you were the one to initiate it, but ... I could've easily nipped it in the bud before it escalated, and I'm sorry I didn't. It was a huge, stupid mistake."

"A huge, stupid mistake," Joanne repeats. "That's all I ever am to anybody."

"I'm sure that's not true," Michael reassures her. "I'm sure there are a lotta people who would kill to have the opportunity just to be around you."

"Unfortunately not." She shrugs, her way of dismissing the woes of her past. "But that's just the way it is sometimes, isn't it?"

"If it makes you feel any better, I was clearly a mistake to my ex, too," Michael says. "And evidently, my son was a mistake to her, too. She gave up everything one day, and left without a trace, like it was nothing to her."

"Some people just don't deserve the love they have. They just deserve nothing but pain," Joanne adds. "It hurts when you make yourself vulnerable to somebody, and they shoot you down."

"I don't want to get off on the wrong foot here," Michael tells her. "We got along so well before ... well, whatever that was back there. I don't want that to be ruined because we made an error in judgement."

"It hurts to be considered a mistake." Joanne absentmindedly completes an order, and passes it along to the end of the counter where the serving trays are. "But I can't change the past now. Only the future."

"I guess that's true," Michael answers, not quite sure of the context of her statement. "Will Allie find out about what happened, though?"

Joanne shakes her head dejectedly. "There's a camera in the stock room, but it's fake. It's supposed to deter folks from stealing anything. She can only know if me, you, or Laurie blab about it. But I just want to forget about it rather than keep digging it up."

Michael sighs to himself, guilt creeping in at the idea of causing upset to Joanne. In spite of this, he continues on with his work, choosing to do so without broaching the subject any further.

• • •

After a fast-paced afternoon, Michael stands with Laurie, Avery and Rita making light small talk about anything and everything. The prejudice-fuelled tension between Rita and Avery jeopardises the chance of an entirely lighthearted conversation, but regardless, gentle laughter fills the work space between silly comments and the occasional distasteful joke.

The door leading to the staff area opens, from which Allie emerges with an unreadable expression upon her face. "Michael, could I have a word with you please?"

Michael furrows his brows in confusion, but anxiety sets in at the possibility that Joanne has divulged what happened in the stock room. He forces himself to swallow the lump building in his throat, as he nods and heads towards her. As she walks to her office, he follows shortly behind her, his mind racing at how he will excuse his actions if the situation should arise in which he needs to do so. As they approach the office door, Allie opens it, revealing Joanne sat at the desk with bloodshot eyes and flushed cheeks.

"What's goin' on?" Michael asks. "Is everything alright?"

"Michael, I want to give you grace because you're new here. I want to give you the fair chance you deserve, and you know that's true." Allie glances back at Joanne sympathetically. "So that's why I'd like you to tell me what happened earlier when Joanne took you to the stock room. I'd like to see if your description matches hers."

Michael's eyes soften as he looks to Joanne; however, she looks straight down at the desk to avoid eye contact.

This is it. This is where the one chance at a future ends.

"Joanne and myself ... we'd been getting along so good all day. We complemented each other's work ethic and were workin' through orders real fast. She told me she wanted to show me the ropes with the stock room, so she took me there and showed me a little." His gaze moves back to Allie, who seems to be gauging how genuine his story is. "Uh, and we were kinda flirting a little, but then she sorta ... kissed me, and I foolishly didn't stop her or—"

"How can you say that?" Joanne rises from her seat, a glint of anger visible in her teary eyes. "How dare you pretend this was my fault!"

"What are you talking about?" Michael asks. "You kissed me and I let you, but I shouldn't have. I should've stopped you, and it was a huge mistake. I'm sorry if you felt humiliated, but that's all I can take responsibility for."

"You're full of bullshit!" Joanne cries, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "How the fuck can you live with yourself?"

"Joanne, please." Allie speaks with a hushed tone, in an attempt to keep her colleague calm. "Michael, what happened after?"

"Um, I eventually pulled away. It just didn't feel right to be doing that when I'm still trying to get over my ex-wife. But uh, I told her it was a mistake. I don't know what would've been said or done after that, because Laurie found us and sorta figured out what had happened. I feel mortified that this happened, but more than that, I'm confused as to what Joanne is trying to suggest—"

"So you're just going to deny it?" Joanne spits her words like venom, with every intention of them stinging him.

Michael flails his arms in front of him, desperate for some confirmation. "Deny what?"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this." She laughs through her fury, as though he is delusional. "You're really going to deny that you sexually assaulted me?"

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How is Michael going to prove his innocence now? Hope you enjoyed this chapter! xx