A Chance Meeting [Matthew Murdock]

A Murderer And A Regular Player

It was a quiet day at Nelson and Murdock, and Karen Page was busy filing some reports for Matt. She had just put away her fourth one, when a shadow fell upon her desk. Karen looked up.

Standing in front of her was a pretty girl with blond-streaked brown hair and expressive hazel eyes. She was dressed in a corporate suit and had a huge folder in her hands.

"Hello." Karen said with a smile. "Can I help you?"

"I hope so. I'm looking for Matt Murdock." said the girl.

"Aren't we all?" Karen mumbled under her breath. Matt had left for lunch three hours ago, and he hadn't been back since. The frequency with which that had been happening recently was beginning to worry her. Karen took a deep breath and began her standard speech. "Mr Murdock is busy right now. Would you..."

"Anita?" Foggy's voice interrupted her as he stepped out of his office. He had a look of mild surprise on his face. "Are you stalking me?" he asked the girl, grinning as he made his way towards her.

"Fine guy like you, how could I resist?" the girl replied with a grin of her own.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Karen asked with mild surprise. She had never seen the girl before.

"Yeah, met her this morning. She helped Matt cross the street." Foggy explained. He turned to look at the girl. "So, what brings you here?" He paused and narrowed his eyes playfully. "You're not a murderer, are you?"

"Yes I am." Anita replied with a sly smile. "But I haven't been caught, if that's what you're asking."

"Why is it always the good looking ones?" he said with a fake sigh. Anita laughed.

"I was hoping you guys would be my lawyers. I've been looking at lawyers all week and you guys are the only ones that don't seem so fake." Anita scrunched her eyebrows. "Why do lawyers like to put on such a show of competence?"

"It's so that they seem more trustworthy." said a deep voice from behind them. They turned around to find Matt slowly walking towards them, his head tilted like a bird's. "You seek out lawyers only when you're in trouble, and during those times you want someone who looks like they know what they're doing."

"Hey buddy, look who's come to meet us!" Foggy said sarcastically.

"That's always funny, Nelson." Matt said to his best friend. Turning to Anita, he smiled. "Hello again."

"Hello back. And I'm not in any trouble, if that's what you're wondering." Anita said with a smirk.

"You'd hardly be looking at lawyers all week if you were." Matt replied with a smirk of his own.

"Touché."

"Okay, now if you guys are done flirting shall we get back to business?" Foggy said, without missing a beat. Matt laughed.

"It's funny because Matt's usually the one saying that to Foggy." Karen whispered to Anita.

"Yeah, I figured." Anita replied with a laugh. "This one's a regular player."

Foggy guffawed. "Hardly!"

"But you're right. Let's get down to business." Anita said. Matt gestured to his office, and led the way.

Karen sighed and went back to her paperwork.

***

They were in Matt's office for the better part of an hour. When the three of them came back out, Karen was all but done with the filing. She looked up to see Anita shaking hands with the two lawyers.

"It was really nice to meet you, Karen." the girl called out, then with a slight wave towards her, she was gone.

"What was that all about?" Karen asked no one in particular.

"That was a business proposition." Foggy said, sitting down in the seat in front of her. Matt turned around and went back to his office.

"What kind of a kind of a business proposition?" Karen asked.

"She wants to hire us to work for her company." Foggy explained. "For now her company's American branch is small, so she just needs us on the roster, you know as a statutory requirement. If we say yes, we'll basically be paid to do nothing, just show up in case she ever needs us."

"If you say yes? You mean you haven't agreed to it?" Karen asked him, sitting up straighter. "Foggy, we need the money. Casseroles don't pay bills." She looked at the pile of food their clients had left on the chair. Foggy sighed.

"I know, and I wanted to agree right away, but you know Matt. He needs to know what he's getting into, before he says yes. That's what he's doing in there right now." Foggy said, tilting his head towards Matt's office. "Looking her company up on the Internet."

"What did you tell her?"

"That we'd think it over." Foggy said with a grimace. "I asked her to meet us at Josie's tonight. I figured that by then Matt will have whatever he wants to know, and it won't take us so long that she'd start looking for other lawyers. Win-win."

"You're inviting a prospective client to Josie's?" Karen asked with a raised eyebrow.

Foggy shrugged. "She's new in town and she said she wanted a place with a homey feel to it. And besides, that's where Matt and I started Nelson & Murdock, so it's only fair that we take our biggest client there."

"I just hope Matt doesn't find anything wrong with her." Karen muttered with a sigh. Doing pro bono work was all well and good, but they needed to be able to run.

"You and me both."

************

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