Colleagues

Chapter 3 | Sadie

Boy, was I wrong. As I sat at my desk the next morning, trying my very best to ignore the constant glares from the woman sitting next to me, I began to regret not requesting a seat change. There had to be room next to Cody or Marcus, or anybody else for that matter. But now it was too late. I would be stuck with this cretin until the end of time.

Margot cleared her throat loudly beside me. "Excuse me," she muttered with distaste. I refused to give in, continuing to stare down at the extensive amount of paperwork in front of me. "Brooks, I'm talking to you!" she stated louder, annoyance dripping from her voice.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" I shot back, matching her tone. Truthfully, I was surprised she remembered my name.

"Shut it, newbie," Margot replied. As she spoke I could've sworn I saw the corner of her mouth rise ever so slightly. Of course I was probably seeing things. "I was wondering if you could get me a cup of coffee."

I looked at her in confusion. "What?"

"I'm pretty sure you understood every word I said," she stated as she crossed her arms in front of her, her words drawn out like I was some petulant child.

"I'm not going to get you a cup of coffee. It's not in my job description and I'm pretty sure you're capable of doing it yourself," I replied calmly.

I watched as Margot dramatically rolled her eyes in indignation, standing up and storming away.

"Please fire me now," I muttered to myself. Could this day get any worse?

I heard somebody clear their throat behind me. I turned, horrified to realize my boss was standing right outside my cubicle. I desperately hoped she hadn't heard me. But if she had, she pretended not to.

"Hello Ms. Brooks," Cynthia greeted me politely. "Could you please find Ms. Lopez and meet with me in my office?"

I was wrong. This day could definitely get worse.

~~~

Margot and I sat next to each other in confused silence as we waited for Cynthia to arrive. It was clear that Margot also had no idea why we were meeting.

"Spit it, Sadie," she hissed at me. "You tattled on me to the boss. Well jokes on you, she loves me too much to give a damn."

"Actually, I didn't," I replied. "I really don't know why she called us into her office." Margot scoffed in disbelief.

Suddenly the door opened, causing both of us to stand up quickly in response.

"Sit, sit," Cynthia urged. "Lopez, Brooks, you're probably wondering why I have invited the both of you into my office." We nodded in affirmation. "As both of you know, our firm has been asked to be the prosecution against Megan Kane in the Earl Wilson case. Ms. Brooks is already aware that she will be working on the case. However, as somebody new to how we do things here, I believe she will need a more experienced partner." Cynthia watched our expressions, encouraging us to respond.

Surprisingly, Margot was the first to open her mouth. "Cynthia... I don't kn-"

Cynthia put her hand out, urging Margot to rethink her answer. I watched as Margot's face grew deathly pale, her lips trembling slightly. Honestly, I felt sort of bad for her. She clearly wanted absolutely nothing to do with this trial.

After a moment she nodded, forcing a smile. "Thank you for the opportunity. I can't wait to work with Ms. Brooks on such a big case." Her voice was tense as she spoke.

Cynthia then turned to me. "Th-thank you as well," I said quickly. "I know I have a lot to learn from Ms. Lopez."

Cynthia smiled brightly. "Awesome! I'm positive both of you will do an amazing job."

As the two of us walked out of her office, I imagined we had similar thoughts running through our minds. I didn't want to work on this case with Margot, anybody else but Margot Lopez. First of all, she clearly hated my guts. Second of all, I hated her guts even more.

But when I turned towards Margot, expecting to see the same disgusted expression on her face, she looked scared. "Sadie... I don't think I can do this case," she said. My mind went back to Cynthia's presentation the day before, and how sick she had looked.

"You made that abundantly clear on the stairwell yesterday, so what changed? Why did you tell her you could?" I demanded.

"Because," she began with a sigh. "Because I have worked too hard to fail now. There is a promotion coming up, and I really need it. So I cannot make any mistakes, not when everything is riding on this career."

"Fine, we can wait until tomorrow to begin so you can collect yourself," I said after a moment, and I meant it.

"Stop that," she snapped.

"Stop what?"

"Being so judgmental," Margot said. "I'm not stupid, Brooks. I know you don't want to work on this case with me, almost as much as I don't want to work on it with you."

"But the universe hates me," I said, repeating her same words from before.

Again, the corner of her mouth lifted ever so slightly. "Guess so," she replied.

~~~

By the time I entered my apartment, voices could already be heard in the flat next door. But it wasn't just Margot's. There was another, much deeper voice. That was surprising, I didn't know Margot had a boyfriend. Then again, I didn't really know her.

Despite my wish to stay out of Margot's private business, I couldn't help but listen in on the hushed conversation.

"How was work?"

"Not the best," answered a familiar voice. "I was put on this case that I really don't like."

"Oh," the man replied.  "Is that why you've been giving me the silent treatment? Like, what's that all about?"

"I've just been busy, that's all," Margot replied with the same strange vulnerability from yesterday.

"So you're too good for me now?" he accused, his tone changing drastically. "Just because you're some lawyer at some fancy law firm?"

"That's not it at all," Margot insisted. "I'm not better than you."

"But that's what you think!" the man continued, his voice growing angrier and angrier.  "You think I'm some lowlife bartender, while you stand there on your glass pedestal!"

"That's not true. I don't think that," she replied, nearly whispering so that I had to press my ear into the wall to hear her. "Can we please just stop fighting?" she begged.

I couldn't listen in any longer. Trying to shake the overwhelming guilt forming in the pit of my stomach, I retrieved my laptop from the kitchen counter. I walked to the door of my balcony, slamming it shut behind me. What right did I have to listen in on my coworkers' fights with other people?  Though the fight seemed pretty one-sided to me.

Maybe that's why Margot completely despised this case we were working on so much. It was like taking the deepest, darkest aspect of her life and shoving it right back into her face. We were about to defend an abuser.

"What am I doing?" I said to myself with a sigh as I leaned against the railing, staring down at the busy street below. Margot was just another annoying and pretentious person at work. So why did I care so much?

I worked on the balcony for a while, hoping that whatever conflict going on inside would be over soon. I entered cautiously, relief sweeping over me when I heard only silence from the apartment next door. But even the complete lack of noise filled me with unease as I prepared to go to bed.

I wanted to get as much sleep as possible before tomorrow, but despite my wishes, I tossed and turned on my tiny mattress. Sleeping seemed just about hopeless right now. When I finally dozed off, I dreamed of Margot and the enraged shouts of the faceless man in the apartment next door.