I picked up my dry cleaning after taking Chayton to the airport. Fortunately for him DHS has a couple of small jets, which saved their agents from the discomfort of economy air travel. Way more efficient as far as time management went as well.

It turned out Bingo was just fine with Malia. He responded to her with an immediate nuzzling of her shoulder when Chayton introduced them. When she confided she was bleeding in the first return of her natural cycle, I was absolutely certain all would be well. Stallions often had issues with women at this point of their cycles.

I promised myself I wouldn't cry when he left, but it was beyond my control. This was a test for me. I had to be able to deal with missing him if I was to continue with the case. Time to dig out the Ice Queen again. I wasn't sure I could. And all considered, maybe it was time to reserve her for court days only. My staff needed to see the softer side of me as well.

I licked my lips once more as I pushed open the door into our section of the Flagstaff office, savoring the flavor of Chayton's goodbye kiss. Edison's office was on the top floor. My office was in the corner, with a panoramic view of the desert. I winced, thinking of our time at Chidi's arch.

Sitting down at my desk, I logged into my computer, in between hitting the on switches for all of my monitors. Four screens lit up. First order of business was the staff meeting. Things were going to change. I hung the court suit on the hook on the back of my door. It could stay there until I had to dress for the first session in two days.

Gathering my resolve, I headed into the boardroom. Coffee, tea, various fruit juices, and iced water jugs stood on the table at the back of the room. Most of my team was already in place and I remembered our last full meeting. It was as if three years of my time in deep cover was erased.

Time to change the tone. Comfort and a supportive atmosphere was far more important than micromanaging every task I assigned.

"First, I'm glad to be back. Sort of." I raised my left hand. The understated band there popped a few eyes.

"Yes, I'm engaged. My wedding band will serve as an engagement ring." Chay surprised me with a circlet of pink gold embedded with diamonds. His birthstone and mine formed an intertwined heart in the center. He told me he found it many years ago in his grandfather's bedroom. Family legend said it was an old piece, and the rose cut diamonds proved it.

As far as he was concerned, the fact the colored stones meshed with our birthdates was a nod from fate. A confirmation we were destined to be together. When it slipped onto my finger as if it were made for me, I had to agree.

A smattering of applause greeted the announcement. My security chief shook his head and mouthed trouble. I nodded and pointed at my watch. The signal to wait for our private meeting after lunch.

"Next. Things are going to change here. I learned a lot about myself while I was out there. I'm beyond grateful for the rescue of my sister, but we have a lot to do if we are going to close every aspect of this case. What we face in court isn't the end of this one."

"Agreed. What about this list from the Cree emissaries?" This came from my second in command. Ophelia O'Brien was a wise white haired attorney with over forty years of building cases. Ironclad cases.

"I'm putting you in charge of everything that comes in on it. I'll be informing Chief Choogan and Kimi Wapun. You'll also receive evidence from DHS agent Chayton Adakai. He's also my fiancé."

Several eyebrows shot up at this revelation. I thought I might as well reveal the next bombshell immediately.

"Before we go any further, this meeting is going to enforce a new way of supporting each other in this office. This is a high stress environment with hard deadlines and many surprises we have to deal with. The last thing we need is to undermine our ability to work together because there are personal issues you are fighting. From now on I want to know if you are experiencing a problem."

"Yeah, right." That was Marcel. It figured. My hard ass attitude of leaving problems out of the office was hardest on him.

"I'm sorry, Marcel. I've probably been hardest on you. I let go of some pretty serious trauma issues over the course of the last few weeks." The skeptical expressions around the table didn't surprise me, and I pushed on.

"I'm proud of you. I've never said it to any of you. I'm damn proud of the team we have here. I don't expect you to believe I've changed. I'll continue to show you. Make use of HR's programs. I know Marcel did. We should be celebrating every day he comes in here sober." I raised my glass of cranberry juice to him. "It's been eleven years, way to go."

Delta slapped him on his back. "I knew you could do it." She gave me the thumbs up. "Keep it up, boss." She was probably the most positive and kindest person in the office.

"Next. Office wear. I expect you to put your suits on a hanger and leave them on the hook on the back of your office doors. We're lucky to have the luxury of our own offices. Change into them when we need them. Interviews, discovery hearings, etcetera. Only when we need to impress our clients, or the court. This," I raised my hand to my face, and ran it down my t-shirt and jeans, "is more than adequate for work from now on in. Shorts, as long as they cover the essentials and tank tops again, cover the essentials. I want comfort from now on."

"Holy shit, ma'am. Are you okay?" The sarcastic comment came from our research specialist.

"Yes I am. Better than I have been in a very long time, Tommy. By the way, I've hired and assistant for you. Joey Larson. His brother is the forensic sculptor who is reconstructing the Meadow victims. He's working remote. Which is another change coming. Office attendance will be required twice a week. I regret to say Monday, because let's get the worst of the week out of the way early, and Wednesday. If you come to a consensus, we can change it."

Shocked murmurs erupted as staff started to converse. I waited as they talked and then Evelyn asked, "Can we alternate different days."

"Yes." It was good to see them pulling together already.

"Wednesday one week and Friday the next. Excluding when our lawyers are in court." Evelyn's proposal brought full blown applause.

"Sounds good. Are you taking notes on this, Jane?"

My paralegal nodded. "I'll get this to HR. Are you putting us all on salary? And what about overtime?"

Trust her to come to the crux of the issue with HR. "Salaries for all. We'll put the hours over forty per week on record and add them to your vacation allotment. This office will no longer ignore accrued time off. You will take your time. I've learned that lesson. We all have to recharge." I crossed my fingers and hoped Edison would be on board. From the way he treated me, I figured I was okay.

"So, with that out of the way, what are we working on?" Tommy again. Evelyn nodded. Most of the others were still shaking their heads.

"Discovery for Derringer Whitcomb for you two." They were a solid partnership already. "He's the only one of our defendants who didn't take the plea bargain route. I want to know everything you can find about him. The rest of you, work on victim impact statements. Ophelia, do you have any progress on identifying family for Ella and the twins?"

"I'll have the details for our meeting this afternoon. I like the new you." More applause broke out.

"I've been nursing hurts for a long time. I let them go. Chayton was a large part of it, and you'll meet him when he gets back from this assignment. Now, let's head to our offices. My door is open. Even when I'm in a meeting. We all understand the nature of our work. No one is keeping secrets as far as the work goes. Now you don't have to worry I'll jump down your throats for being human, with all the issues life brings."

"Closed doors for interviews?" Samuel asked. Distinguished with his greying temples, he looked like the grandfather everyone wanted.

"Yes. Respect for clients continues as always." Seeing Jane's face, I added, "And at any point where you want privacy. I want you all to support each other. If you have an issue with a case or a brief, ask questions. If no one has an answer, come to me and we'll work it out. Understood?"

The sound of sighs was like a calming breeze. I didn't expect this change to be without its issues. But it was better than having my staff walking on eggs whenever they spotted me through the windows of their offices. Maybe the privacy blinds would go up on more of them.

"One last thing. Make up is no longer compulsory. Edison agrees with me. There have been rulings on this, and we are way behind the times on getting rid of that little piece of archaic office bullshit. Not to mention, swearing is not a fireable offence anymore either. Just don't do it audibly in court."

"Like Tommy said, are you okay ma'am?" Morton asked.

"Call me Alyana. I'm human, not an ice queen. Unless, court, like I said. Now go and do what you all do so well. I'm counting on you." I waved them out the door.

Ophelia came over to me after Jane left, leaving us alone. The door would have slammed after the last one out, but it was left open. I knew they were quick studies. I just had to learn to trust them without constantly looking over their shoulders.

"About time girl." Her approval meant everything, and the tears I was holding in, spilled over.

"Thank you."

Her arms came around me in the first hug of what I hoped were many more to come. She was my best friend and the closest thing I had to a mother.

"So, when do I get to meet him?"

I grabbed a tissue from the box on the back table. "As soon as he gets back. He's with the team that went after one of the buyers from the auction."