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He took my hand in his and gave it a strong shake. “Listen, I had been tasked with catching you up to speed, but I just had a client call in. Lisa should be—Ah, here she is.”
I turned to see who he was looking over my shoulder. Standing in a body-hugging dress that went past the knees was a woman with long brown hair and a bored expression on her face.
“Lisa, this is our new paralegal, Selena. Please make her feel at home.” William did the introduction, but to me, it looked like Lisa wanted to be as far away from me as possible. “Lisa is our other paralegal. She was here before Amber, the paralegal you’ll be replacing; she has withstood the test of time here,” he beamed.
“Oh great,” I smiled at my new co-worker. “It’s lovely to meet you.”
Lisa nodded and then turned to William. “I will have the research for the Donavon case on your desk by the end of the day.”
“Great.” William scrolled through his phone absently before looking up and excusing himself. His musky scent lingered even though his presence was long gone.
I was about to open my mouth to speak, but Lisa turned and gestured for me to follow her. She walked at such a fast pace that I had to do a little jog to catch up to her, which was not easy in my heels. Six inches was never a smart idea for work, but I needed to make a good first impression.
“There are three main rules in the office,” she started firing away, “Don’t be late, make sure all work you turn in is perfect, and don’t sleep with anyone in the office—it’s against company policy.”
We walked down a long white marble hallway that showed off beautiful pieces of artwork on the cream walls. But I had no time to take it all in because Lisa was walking like she had hellfire nipping at her heels.
She turned to the door on the left and opened it. “This will be our shared space. We have one more intern left to come in—his name is Brandon. He’s running late. Your desk is the empty one in the corner.”
My mouth hung open. “This is our office?”
The room had three white desks in it, one side of the wall was completely made up of windows and showcased the impressive Chicago skyline. It was extremely high up and made me feel like I would be working in the clouds. There were sleek, white computers and beautiful, hand-stitched leather chairs at each desk, with my very own name plaque on the last one in the corner.
At the last firm, we didn’t really have designated areas to sit in. We all shared a long table, and our papers and belongings were spread out everywhere. It had been the absolute worst. I still could not believe that I was here and that I had gotten the job over countless other applicants. But now that I was here, I had to make sure I wouldn’t waste this opportunity. I had to prove myself worthy.
“Get settled in,” she continued, snapping me back to life. “Your calendar is loaded onto the database, and the handbook for the firm is in your first drawer. Don’t come to me unless it’s important, and make sure to stay on top of your shit so that you don’t make us all look bad, got it?”
Lisa, the brilliant ray of sunshine she was, would be an interesting co-worker.
When I didn’t answer her, she arched her brow and gave me this look that a mother would give their disobedient child.
“Got it,” I nodded.
I would need to be wary of that one. Just as I said that, a man in a modern brown suit slinked in behind her. He was a little frazzled but also a bit cute. He gave me a smile and half-wave and then quickly sat at the desk with his name on it.
I sat down at my desk, loving the feel of the expensive leather on my back. I ran my fingers along the sleek desk and looked at my name plaque. Twenty minutes into my new job, and I was already loving it. I knew it was too early to say this, given I hadn’t even begun handling actual cases, but I was optimistic. Things were finally looking up for me.
This place really did smell like money. Now that I was here, I felt like maybe leaving—being fired from my last firm—had been a blessing in disguise.
I looked at Lisa, who had her head buried in her laptop. When she felt my eyes on her, she lifted her gaze, and I could already tell that she was annoyed with me.
“What do you want?” Her brown eyes glared at me.
“Would you mind showing me to the break room?” I had no idea how to make my way around here. The office was large, and I also wanted to make friends. Granted, Lisa looked like she could barely stand the sight of me, but I still wanted to try. “I haven’t had my coffee yet.”
“Do I look like a babysitter to you? Just find your way. You aren’t a child.” She snapped at me and turned her attention back to her laptop.
My jaw dropped, astounded at her audacity. Who did this bitch think she was? If it wasn’t my first day, I would give her a piece of my mind. I think Brandon was just as shocked as I was at her rudeness because his eyes widened, and I saw him shake his head in disbelief.
“I will take you,” he said from the corner of the room on his side. “I was actually about to head there now.”
I nodded, feeling grateful that there was at least one caring soul in this place. I had no idea what was up with Lisa, but whatever it was, I just hoped that she could sort it out so we could work peacefully. I would hate to—okay stop. I was trying to be a changed woman here—no fighting with my co-workers. I am zen here.
I followed him out of our office, and we made our way down the tiled hallway toward the break room. I couldn’t help but marvel at this place all over again. Yep. Getting fired was the best thing to happen to me.
“So, are you from Chicago?” I asked Brandon to fill the silence.
He shook his head, his hand smoothing his jet-black hair. “I moved here from New York. I just graduated from NYU.”
