AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ari tried not to invade her privacy by listening, but when she started to cry, she stopped short of the door. Glancing back at her over her shoulder, she guessed the petite blonde was in her class of new prosecutors. In a rush of compassion, Ari approached her.
“Hey,” she said softly, hoping not to startle the woman who’d given up on her call and dropped onto a bench under a palm tree.
When she looked up at her, her eyes were red and her make up smeared. “Hi,” she replied, scrambling to clean her face.
/> “Is it your first day?” Ari asked, pulling a napkin out of her lunch bag and o ering it to her.
Her pale skin flushed with color as she accepted the o ering. “And what a day it’s been.” She tried to smile as she dried her face. “My most immediate problem is that I left my wallet at my parents’ house when I visited them yesterday. Not so bad, right? Except they live in Orlando and I only just noticed it was missing.”
Ari grimaced. “That’s not so great. Did you tell security what happened?”
The woman nodded as she composed herself. “I showed them my o er letter and the on-boarding stu they sent, but the guy said he couldn’t let me in without a picture ID.
This whole long line started to form behind me, and people were getting annoyed. It was so humiliating. Now I can’t get the Recruitment Coordinator on the phone and he’s the only person I know.”
Before the girl could start to cry again, Ari put her hand on her shoulder. “Do you remember the guy’s name or what he looked like?”
Armed with a description, Ari knew who they were dealing with. “Come on.” She gestured toward the building with a nod. “Let me try.”
The girl’s eyes widened as if witnessing a miracle.
“You’re a prosecutor?”
“It’s my first day too,” she admitted as the girl gathered her things and followed her to the entrance. “I’m Ari Vidal.”
“Yelena Abramovich,” she replied before shifting around the stu she was carrying to o er her hand. “So nice to meet you.”
As soon as they stepped inside, they joined the long line of people waiting to pass through security. When they did this again tomorrow, they’d have photo IDs hanging on lanyards around their necks like everyone else.
“Robinson! Sak pase?” Ari asked as she piled her things on the x-ray machine’s conveyer belt before walking through the metal detector.
The guard, who’d been running his wand over a man’s belt, turned toward the sound of her voice and smiled. “Muy bien, Ari! Good to see you!”
Every summer he’d taught her some Creole while Ari taught him a little Spanish. As she waited for her things to slide out, she asked about his grandkids and his yearly trip to some extravagant destination.
Collecting her bags, she snuck around the back of the machine and spoke quietly while Yelena waited o to the side. “My friend is having a pretty crappy day,” she started before explaining the situation. “Do you maybe have a form or something she can fill out since she doesn’t have her ID?
I’m happy to vouch for her.”
Robinson’s honey brown eyes darted between her and a terrified Yelena. “Okay, but if anyone asks, I’m going to say you snuck her in,” he joked before waving Yelena in.
Ari hugged him while he laughed. “You’re a star. I’ll bring you a Cuban co ee tomorrow,” she promised.
“And a guava and cheese pastelito too,” he shouted as Ari grabbed Yelena by the wrist and they rushed away.
“You got it!”
“Do you know where you’re going?” Yelena asked, her heels clicking loudly against the tile floor as she raced to keep up with her. “I think the paper said the training is on the third floor.”
Ari smiled. Yelena had obviously only given the welcome letter a cursory glance. A careful reading revealed that they were to assemble in the waiting room first. She guessed it was written that way to test their attention to detail.
Avoiding the main lobby and the chaos of visitors and lawyers alike, Ari cut through a rarely used corridor.
“Where the heck are we going?” Yelena asked, her cheeks bright pink.
“You’ll thank me in a second.” Ari smiled as they zig-zagged through the maze of hallways until stopping at a closed door.
Before opening it, Ari ran her fingers through her dark hair and straightened the blouse under her jacket before smoothing her skirt. Yelena followed her lead and composed herself.
