Damn Your Eyes

Chapter VI

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Harley walked from the kitchen of her condo into the living room. She had a large stack of notes she need to familiarize herself with about a huge case that she was assisting on. One of the partners at Franklin & Brennan, the law firm where she worked, was working on a case and thought that her young, bright mind would be a great asset. Harley interned at the criminal defense law firm during her two years at New York University's School of Law, where she transferred to after completing her first year at UCLA School of Law. So when they offered her a position when she graduated this past May, she took it without hesitation.

She sat her glass of wine in the tray located on top of the Tiffany blue large, square tufted ottoman which she used as a coffee table. It had a sheet of clear glass laying on top of to give an even surface. The tray was an accent on the table that held two silver, medium height candle holders and a small vase that regularly held one of her favorite flowers, sunflowers, in it. The rest of the space on the tray usually would hold her beverage.

Harley let out a sigh as she plopped down on her cream colored couch. The couch was perpendicular to one of two the walls in the living room that had floor to ceiling windows. One side led to her balcony where she got of great view of the Brooklyn Bridge. On the other she could see the lit up Empire State Building. When Harley first moved to New York she was staying with a friend from Howard University, where she attended for her undergrad years, until she found herself a small but cozy apartment near NYU's campus. She had paid for rent and everything herself despite her father's offers of paying for a better place for her to live. By better he meant safer. Her apartment was not exactly located in the safest neighborhood but considering her predicament at the time, it was all she could afford on her own.

Harley glanced out the window at the beautiful sunset. She had arrived home an hour prior from a long, hectic day at the firm and all she wanted to do was sit back and relax on the couch, with some Chinese food and a glass or two of wine while catching up on some episodes Grey's Anatomy that she missed from last season. Her work didn't allow her a lot of free time. She was lucky she even got to attend Neil and Cynthia's wedding two weeks ago. Criminal law was a demanding career but she loved it. Although she couldn't say that she hadn't thought about switching careers; or at least switching to a different type of law. Something that would enable her to help more people. Maybe not now but at some point in her life.

Franklin & Brennan had some of the biggest, and richest clients in United States. They represented big corporations, millionaires and billionaires. The richer they wee Franklin & Brennan probably had them as clients. There were positives and negatives to this. The negatives were if the client was a part of some big scandal, it was broadcast all over the news along with the names of the lawyers involved. Screw up, or lose a case and that could be the end of your career. The positives were the salary. For a new lawyer fresh out of law school, Harley made better than a decent salary. A salary that most didn't see until they hit their 30s or 40s. That is, if they even see a salary that lucrative at all. But Harley was thankful and humbled by it. She was able to get this position completely on her own. Her daddy didn't have to call in a favor like some of her coworkers, and she worked her ass off in school.

Even with her lucrative salary, Harley still couldn't afford the luxury loft in Manhattan on her own. During her second and final year at NYU Law, Harley finally gave into her fathers begging, and Noel's persistent nagging, and moved out of her cozy little apartment in the bad neighborhood. Sure getting to school was quite a commute, but she didn't mind.

Harley reached for the stack of papers that were neatly placed on her coffee table and brought them to her lap. She let out tired groan as she skimmed through the countless number of papers. She had until next Tuesday to complete her readings and it was only Wednesday, but she preferred to get stuff done early. Especially when it came to cases because information could change quickly. Not to mention Noel had been talking nonstop about going out for weekend.