To Love Somebody

02. concinnity

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concinnity - harmony or elegance of design

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Zander glared at Spencer, refusing to give in to his new little proposal.

"No. I refuse to work with her."

"Oh come on Zander. She's smart and I'm pretty sure if you win this next case, Chris will definitively make you a partner." Spencer picked up the black stapler, playing with it as he tried to convince Zander to work on the fraud case alongside Natalie.

It was an important case and winning it would only help further his best friend's career. The only way to get Zander to agree to work with Natalie was to convince him that it would help him become a partner for sure.

"Last time you said that Natalie was also a contender." And more than anything, Zander did not want to work alongside Natalie. He was the one who was supposed to handle all the major cases and now Spencer wanted Natalie to work alongside him. "Besides she's so fucking annoying. She takes everything too seriously. Isn't she just out of law school? And you already trust her with an important case?"

"Well someone's going to have to take your job once you get promoted. She's already proven herself. Besides, you already have my vote. You only have to convince Chris to pick you instead of someone else. I promise that Natalie is not going to be a partner. Just work with her, it's one case." Spencer shrugged before he stood up.

Zander sighed as Spencer walked out of his office. He picked up his phone and sent a quick text to his wife.

He debated on calling her to see if she wanted to meet up for lunch but then decided not to as Natalie knocked on his door.

"Um hi, Spencer said he wants me to um work on the case with you. I mean work together on the case." She mumbled, nervously. Why she was given such an important case despite only working at the firm for only four months, she didn't know.

But Natalie was more then ready to prove she was capable of doing so.

She placed her flowery blue folder on the desk and pulled out four different colored pens from her pouch, placing them in front of her. Her eagerness chipped away as she took note of Zander looking at her disdainfully.

"I like to to use different colors for my notes."

"I could care less." He snorted. He wouldn't admit but he was a little impressed and most definitely amused. "Most people lose interest in coloring after second grade. You're a lawyer, Natalie. No one gives a fuck whether or not your notes are organized or a certain color."

"I know but I just like being organized and planned."

Natalie looked around his office. It was far too neat and too organized. His desk was almost empty except for a few files, a stapler and a wedding picture.

She quickly looked away and instead looked out the window. There were only four rooms that had windows and Zander's was one of them.

She had apologized for the snide comments about his wife at her party. She'd immediately felt bad and she had avoided him at work the weeks after because she was ashamed.

Maybe it had been the shock that he was married. She'd assumed he just didn't mix work and pleasure because he was so serious about work all the time. But married, she hadn't expected it.

It had made her forget about her little fantasy that he might take an interest in her. It was just a stupid crush she'd slowly developed but it was quickly forgotten about.

He was married and off-limits. She was going to leave it there.

But still, she couldn't help but admire him. He was dedicated and incredibly smart. He was respectable and she admired him for everything he did. It wasn't just that he was still young and super good-looking. She saw the other side of him too, how he stood for what he believed.

He was everything she strived to be as a lawyer.

"Have you looked into the case?" She looked back at him, pushing away any other thoughts and focusing on work instead. "I started reading some of the documents, legal notes and evidence that some of the witnesses provided and..."

She slowly trailed off as he smirked at her, his eyes filled with amusement. She looked down at her notes, avoiding his gaze as she felt her cheeks redden.

He was just another lawyer, that's all. He was at a higher position than her, that's all. It was a stupid little crush she had, nothing more.

"I think we should meet with some of the people who were cheated. It's obvious that they invested their money and were promised some sort of vacation to a luxury resort but got nothing."

"This is why I told Spencer I didn't want to work with you." Zander picked up his phone as it buzzed. Misha had texted him back. It wasn't too busy at the hospital and she could meet up for lunch.

He typed back a quick reply, telling her that he'd meet her at the Emperor Norton's Italian Pizzeria near her work.

"You're taking this too seriously, Natalie. This is just another fraud case, a typical mail fraud case where a company sends out promotional mail to certain people promising them a vacation if they invest. And once people invest, the money's gone and there's no vacation."

He stood up, grabbing his phone and suit jacket.

"I already looked at the evidence and it's enough for us to win. The couple that filed the case is in good standing to win what they're suing for. Now if you're done wasting my time, I'm meeting my wife for lunch."

He gave her a slight nod, before walking out.

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01. 21.2018

9:39 PM