"Hey Kara! Miss English is on line two." My assistant shouted from the next room. My assistant, Jessica, and I had always had a super close relationship. And while the bosses were out of the office, the children will play. I smiled at the track of my thoughts and quickly lifted the reciever on my phone and pushed the button for line two.
"Kara here. What can I do for you?" I said as I leaned back in my far too expensive leather chair and nonchalantly wrapped the cord around my pointer finger. There was a short pause and I frowned slightly into the emptiness of my beautifully decorated office. It took me over a month to choose everything in my office. Everything consisted of thick cherry wood and beautifully engraved glass. The big window that I sat in front of lit up my one guilty pleasure that hung in my window. It was a crystal that refracted rainbow dots all over my large office. At the perfect time of day the room sparkled with beautiful colors. I smiled as I realized that it was nearly time.
"Hey. Kara. I need you to come to my office. We need to dicuss something." I shivered and mentally went through a list of things I could have done wrong. Nothing came to mind. I bit my lower and lip and responded apprehensively.
"Sure. I will be right there." I placed the reciever down, took a quick sip of my latte and stood. I straightened out my plain black skirt suit and walked quickly, pausing briefly to let my assistant know where I was going. Jessica frowned at me as I went to the elevator down the hall. All of the big guns at the company lived on the 7th floor. And I was only on the 4th. No way was I going to trek up the stairs up there and show up at Hope's office all disheveled. The elevator doors opened and I stepped in and pushed the button for the 7th floor. I attempted to shake the tension out of my body. Seeing Hope daunted me a lot. There was something about her. I couldn't shake the feeling of impending doom. I laughed softly to myself as the elevator stopped at the 7th floor. I was being completely irrational. I put a slight smile on my face and approached her assistant's desk.
The woman sitting at the desk had to have been at least 60, and crude looking. She had her dark red hair pulled into a harsh bun at the nape of her neck and reading glasses perched upon her thin bony nose that pointed out the harsh lines of her lips that seemed to be stuck in a frown. I cringed slightly as the woman looked me up and down.
"I'm Kara Carlyle. Miss English asked me to come see her." I said and anxiously fiddled my fingers in front of me as the woman lifted the reciever and asked quietly if I was allowed to enter. She placed the reciever down gently. She seemed so cold and efficient. It was unnerving.
"You can go on in. Miss English is expecting you." I nodded softly and opened the glass door that led to her office. Blinds shrowed the room in near darkness. Even though most of the room was made of glass, the room had a closed off feeling. The furniture was cold and uncomfortable looking. I frowned and sat opposite Hope. Her desk was made of glass and her computer was silver. Everything in the room reeked of modern bleakness. I frowned slightly shifted my weight. Hope watched me squirm and seemed to enjoy herself. My expression hardened a little.
"I feel like I haven't seen you in ages." Hope said with a gentle smile. "Sorry for the darkness. I feel exposed with the blinds open. I suppose I should get some lights in here or something."
I laughed, somewhat nervously. "So what can I help you with, Miss English?" Hope smiled and my eyes relished in the sight of how her face lit up.
"In private you can call me Hope." She said and shifted some folders on her desk. "Take a seat." I sat opposite her in a slightly uncomfortable chair that seemed to force the person sitting into an awkward sitting position. I forced myself to not groan aloud as my back protested. "I have a case. A rather large case, as it is. I am unsure if you have heard of the Dewitt's or not. They are one of our biggest clients. I have heard that you are excellent at your job. The owner, Bob Dewitt, is being charged with negligent homicide. Normally we don't handle this types of cases. But we could lose him as a client is we do not put our best foot forward. I heard from some of the big wigs here that you have an excellent background with these types of cases. That you had interned with one of the best criminal attorneys around. I need you on this, Kara. Can I count on you?" I froze up for a moment. This case could make my career. And it could also break it. I couldn't fathom why they would want someone so new on the case and not a more seasoned lawyer. I took a deep breath. Denying her request could be detrimental to my job.
"Of course you can count on me. Who would be my co-council?" I gingerly folded my hands on my knee. Hope stood suddenly, having finally straightened out the folders.
"I would be." My eyes widened significantly and I couldn't help but blink multiple times in disbelief.
"Seriously?" I said before I could stop myself. She frowned slightly and seemed to size me up, which only served to make me squirm slightly in the damning chair.
"I am in charge here. And because you are so new, and this case is so important, we decided it would be best that you and I went in together on this. You know this means we will be spending ALL of our time in the office, researching and preparing for the case? I want to be sure that you understand the responsibility you are taking on." She stared at me, waiting for my response, as if I had any real choice in the matter.
"I understand perfectly." Hope nodded slowly.
"Meet me here at 5. I will brief you and we can get to work." She stood and walked me to the door. I went to open it and her hand slipped around me to shut it quickly. I jumped, slightly startled. "You should probaby tell anyone that you are seeing that you won't be available anytime soon." Her words seem to float away and my breathing became inexplicably shallow. My eyes fell to her lips and I nodded, uncertain of what to say. A dazzingly smile crossed her lips, almost as if she won some kind of battle. Then she quickly opened the door and I walked back to the elevator, slightly dazed. What had just happened?
