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Her mouth falls open, but her expression moves from shock to anger in a heartbeat. “Asshole! You’ve decided not to hire me? You could have dropped that in a text message and saved us both a bunch of time. Seriously Smoke, why bring me here and give me the grand tour of the office I’m not getting, because you’re hell bent on not hiring me because of a damn kiss.”
She jumps to her feet. I follow suit and grab onto her arm, forcing her to refrain from storming out of my office.
“Holy shit, princess, give me a chance to explain.”
She jerks her arm out of my hand and crosses her arms over her chest. “Look, I’m not angry about you thinking it’s an ethical violation. I’m angry because you didn’t give me a head’s up.”
“There was nothing to give you a heads up about. I want you to work with me, not for me,” I clarify.
Her angry gaze turns confused as she tries to work out what I’m offering. “I don’t understand. What’s the difference?”
My shoulders relax and I try to quell my own panic, “I’m taking you on as temporary partner, not an employee.”
Her hands fly to her mouth. She’s clearly surprised by my offer.
“I can’t believe you would do something like that for me,” she says in a shocked tone.
“I fucked up a bit by indulging your kissing fantasy,” I explain jokingly. “You were too irresistible. The thing is, it would be ethical to fool around with an employee. Therefore, you have to be my partner. Being my partner makes us equals.”
“Hiring a former love interest isn’t a conflict of interest?”
“I’m willing to chance it, because I want to work with you,” I say without blinking.
Hiring a person and continuing to sleep with them is shady, but not actually unethical. I wouldn’t mind an opportunity to get to know her better if it eventually leads to a relationship, all the better for both of us. If not, she’ll be gone in ninety days so it’s no harm, no foul.
When she doesn’t say anything, I add, “You deserve the chance at being a partner and it’ll look worlds better on your resume than being an employee.”
Excitement blooms on her face. Unable to contain her exuberance, she launches herself at me and throws her arms around my neck. “Thanks for this, Smoke. You don’t know how much it means to me,” she whispers in my ear. “You’re the best.”
When she lets me go, we sit back down. “The onboarding process you were so curious about is probably going to be much less complex than you’re used to.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she says happily. “This is a short-term arrangement and I trust you.”
“Trust is a good thing, but I created a contract to cement an understanding between the two of us. We also have the typical new hire paperwork for you to fill out.”
We begin going over the new hire packet. I’m proud that she reads the employment contract over thoroughly before moving onto the tax forms. She has all the hallmarks of a great attorney.
I’ve created a short handbook of policies based on how I normally operate. Going over those takes the better part of two hours. I let her know, “We received a copy of the California law license you sent, as well as your college transcripts. They’ll be kept in your personnel file here at the office. Just so you know, I had to send a copy of your license to the courthouse to verify your eligibility to take cases.”
Her face lights up, “What kind of cases am I taking on?”
“I signed you up for six cases. They’re all indigents, in need of a good lawyer.”
“I believe everyone should get a fair trial and good legal representation. No matter what they were accused of, I’ll do my best to ensure they get proper representation.”
I unlock my desk and pull out six manilla files. “Three are domestic violence cases, one is a teen charged with drunk driving, one is an elderly man being charged with drunk and disorderedly conduct and the final one is a child custody case. The cases are spread over the next month, but they aren’t the only cases you’ll be assigned. Therefore, I advise you to familiarize yourself with the cases, make initial contact with each client and let me know if you need any investigative legwork done. We don’t do that ourselves. Our club has a security firm, and a member of their properly credentialed security team conducts impartial investigations and will testify in court about their findings.”
“I’ll get right on the cases and let you know what I find,” she says eagerly.
“Great. The first time you go to the courthouse and county jail, I’ll accompany you, introduce you to all my contacts and familiarize you with their processes.”
“I’ve never worked as a public defender, so I’m eager to sink my teeth into these cases.”
“These cases might not make us rich, but the county does a minimum of twelve billable hours for each case. If any of the cases turn out to be complicated, the hours can be adjusted upwards.”
“Alright. That’s a framework I can operate in.”
“Come to me if you need anything at all or just need someone to bounce ideas off of, okay?”
