A Taylor Christmas

Chapter 4 - Mean

9 days to Christmas

**Josh's POV**

I'm about to stab this piece of paper any minute.

My fingers have started to cramp a while ago already because of all the mindless doodling I am doing as one of our partners drones on and on and on.

A star.

A mini Christmas tree.

A smiley face.

Another star.

A three-dimensional cube.

Some swirls here and there.

A smiley face with a Santa hat.

There's hardly any space left on the previously pristine page of a random notebook I found lying around on the boardroom table.

By now, I am convinced that this guy likes to hear himself talk. And he must be the only person who does, because if the faces of my colleagues are anything to go by, they are in a similar situation to mine: bored out of their minds.

It is our weekly meeting where the whole firm comes together, all 35 of us. We have a managing partner, four partners, a few mid-level and senior associates, some paralegals and office staff. And then there are all the associates (aka sad losers) like me who have been working their butts off ever since joining straight out of university with the goal of making senior associate at some point. It should soon be my turn to get promoted to a mid-level position.

Normally, they announce the promotions shortly before the end of the years, so tension has been palpable in the office. There are only two mid-level positions up for grabs this time around and we are four associates with aspirations for this next important step up the career ladder.

If someone had told me ten years ago when I started college that I would stay on after my bachelor's degree and end up successfully finishing law school, I think I would have laughed in their face. I always knew that I wanted a solid education, however, the main goal was to get something done as quickly as possible and then move on to get a job to support my family.

But Alex, perceptive as he is, quickly noticed that I actually thrived in college and secretly started to fancy to stay on for longer. So he pushed me until I eventually admitted that I would like to study law and he didn't hesitate for a second to support my career choice. He did everything within his power to keep any family responsibilities off my back so that I could get my undergraduate's degree and then get into law school. I passed the BAR exam in autumn two years ago and have been working at this corporate law firm in the city ever since then.

A sharp pain in my side startles me and almost makes me jump. I turn to glare at my friend and colleague Chris and am met with his typical boyish grin.

"Dude, at least try to look alive," he says under his breath, shoving me again for emphasis.

I try not to react to his physical harassment as to not draw unnecessary attention to us. If there is anything this particular partner despises it's disrespectful behavior. It would certainly reflect negatively on us if he caught us goofing around instead of listening to his seemingly never-ending monologue.

"Gentlemen, am I boring you?" he suddenly bellows from the other side of the vast table that we are all sitting around.

Very much so.

"No, of course not, Stephan. Never. Your case sounds fascinating, indeed. I sincerely hope to be working on similarly challenging cases once I've finally earned my stripes," Chris replies overly enthusiastically and sweet.