The Affair

Chapter 2.2

Tuesday, May 24, 2022, 11:34am

On the heels of May, the office had grown to be a bustling workspace. Summer was around the corner, which meant kids out of school and attorneys scrambling to work ahead of their dockets to take time off. William was no different; he had been working diligently all month to clean up his docket, anticipating some quality time off with his wife and daughter. Fallon had proven herself to be a formidable assistant. She anticipated his needs at every turn and never failed to have a hot cup of coffee or even a sandwich ready for him when he needed a break. She followed his docket perfectly, met all of her filing deadlines without a single error, made courtesy calls to clients, and even maintained his weekly schedule.

With Fallon's help, William was able to catch up with all of his clients and now was in a position to court a new client, Spencer McCallen. Spencer was an old college friend he met during law school who, though not a law student, was at the time working with new seismic technologies as part of his dissertation. Though he is the son of a wealthy offshore drilling tycoon, Richard McCallen of McCallen Offshore, he was by no means incapable of earning his own keep. In the past year, it was announced that Spencer had been appointed as head of McCallen Offshore's Research & Development arm. Recently, William had gotten word from a colleague that McCallen Offshore's current counsel was retiring, and thus the McCallen docket could be up for grabs if they were looking for other options.

William had decided to pursue the work, knowing that landing a client this large would certainly earn him great respect at his firm and even in his field. For two weeks he and Spencer communicated back and forth via email and phone. To his surprise, Spencer was indeed looking for new counsel. They scheduled a meeting for Friday the 27th, now just three days away.

At her desk, Fallon lowly hums as she works through her filings for the day. The space in her cubicle is quiet, with only the subtle sounds of keyboard clicks and mouse tappings from her and her new desk mate, Amy, who is seated at the other end of their desk. Her phone's ringing breaks the silence; the sudden noise triggers a soft yelp and a jerk in her shoulders. She is quick to settle herself and sees that it was William's extension calling her. A warm flutter tickles her chest, and she eagerly answers his call using the speaker.

"Y-Yes, sir," she answers, hovering closer to the speaker.

"Fallon, darling, have you filed those Hashimoto responses?" he asks.

"I have! I'm about to email the client right now."

"Perfect! You want to go out for some lunch? There's a Thai place off Main Street that I want you to try."

"Oh my god, yes please!"

"Great! Let's meet at the elevator in 20 minutes. Sound good?"

"Yes, sir... but, um, one thing..." she says, fearing that Amy is listening.

"Sure, what's up?"

"Umm, can I talk to you in your office for a minute?"

"Of course."

"Okay, I'll be right there."

Fallon hangs up the call and sighs. What she had to discuss with William is embarrassing for her and the last thing she wants is for Amy to eaves drop. After a slow breath, Fallon rises from her seat and adjusts her skirt that had slightly ridden up. Using a little mirror she keeps hung on her cubicle wall, she primps her hair and straightens her blouse. A strange discomfort gnaws at her, feeling as if Amy's evil stare is coiling around her throat.

Amy Nguyen is a fierce tiger of a young woman; wickedly intelligent, drop dead gorgeous, and seductively charming in her presentation, all the while harboring her true malevolent nature under the pretty surface. Joining the firm directly out of college, she quickly had positioned herself as a formidable assistant amongst the other support staff at a young age. As such, it did not take her long to catch the attention of Mrs. Beverly Salinger, the lead and founding partner of the firm, and get personally selected to be her assistant.