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Would I be disappointed? Yes, but there would be other opportunities later. Someone would recognize my potential and snatch me up eventually, or I’d start my own firm. Either way was okay with me.
The circles under my eyes made it known that I wasn’t getting much sleep nowadays, and people in the office were starting to question me. It’s not like I stay up all night for the hell of it, it’s always because I’m swamped with work.
“Good morning, Lori,” I said, passing the receptionist on the way back to my office, a coat draped over my arm. “How was the movie last night?”
Her shoulders shrugged, “Could’ve been much better, in my opinion, but I didn’t write it.”
I laughed. Her husband always took her to action films even though he knew she hated them. Once, he let her pick, and he sat through a two-hour romantic comedy and never let her pick again. If I were her, I’d pick a different thing to do. “Better luck next week.”
My office door closed behind me, and I hung up my coat. My desk was still a mess, as I left it four hours ago. I got two cases done beforehand and only had eight more to go.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Come in.”
A familiar face popped in, “Hey. Just wanted to check on you. The others said you appeared sick. You know you shouldn’t be here if you aren’t feeling well.”
I shook my head, “No. Nonsense, I’m fine.”
Jim slipped all the way in and shut the door. “You don’t look fine. When’s the last time you got a good night’s sleep? Huh?”
“Honestly?” I asked.
He nodded his head.
“Months ago. There’s too much to do. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” I laughed, trying to force myself to smile.
“Seriously. You need to go home and get some rest. You look like a walking zombie.”
“That’s not necessary, Jim. I’ll be fine. There’s too much work to be done today to prepare for the trials next week. Taking a day off would stress me out even more.”
“Fine, but I don’t want to see you here this weekend, Ms. Cade. You take the whole weekend off and get some much-needed rest. You hear me?”
“Yes, sir. I understand.”
Jim hired me right out of graduate school, and I’ve been here ever since. Believed in me when no one else did. I should tell him about the Shure & West firm.
“Jim, wait.” I ran after him. “There’s something I need to discuss with you. Can you come back to my office?”
He followed me and took a seat in front of my desk. “What’s going on, Cam? Is everything okay?”
I smiled, but my hands were shaking from not knowing how he would react. “Yes. I’m fine, but I would like to make you aware of an offer I received. A partnership back in Fort Smith. Shure & West. They called me and asked me to apply, and I did.”
His eyes bored into mine. “Are you leaving us, Ms. Cade?”
“If I’m chosen for the partnership, yes, I’ll be leaving. Until then, I plan on working as hard as I always do for this firm. Nothing to worry about. Plus, I don’t even know if I’m going to get it.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Well, I’m sure they are plenty of highly skilled people gunning for a partnership with a lot more experience than me.”
Jim shook his head, “Listen, you’re qualified and spend more time on work than everyone here. If anyone deserves a partnership, it’s you.”
The door shut behind him, and I was stuck in my office thinking about how things would change if I got it. I would have to move back to Fort Smith, but did I want to move back there?
My phone rang, and it was Mr. West again. I let it ring a couple of times, trying to play it cool even though my excitement couldn’t be contained. What if it’s bad news? Suddenly, the jumping stopped, and I answered with a shaky voice.
“Hello, sir. How are you?”
