𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 | 𝐒.𝐌

Chapter 2

The next morning Bakker calls me and tells me to work from home until four o'clock. The office is full of people and I'm not really needed today, only in court.

'Why are you there?' I ask suspiciously.

'Well, I need to work. And since I have a five and a three-year-old at home, I can't work there. Plus, I have meetings all day. I also got you a new case if you want it?'

'You can give it to someone else. I'm already working on three cases right now.'

'Ok fine. I'll see you later.' He says before hanging up the phone.

I'm making phone calls all day and I try to wrap up the case I've been working on for the last five weeks. My boss wanted to give the case to someone else since I've been working on it all this time. 

The attorney on the other side of the case keeps stalling the sentence, which makes me look bad. He keeps "finding" new evidence and since the judge can't ignore it, the trial just keeps going on and on. 

I decide to settle on a pretty good deal when he hits me with a new piece of evidence for the tenth time in the past five weeks. My client only needs to go to prison for five years, instead of twenty. And since she's been keeping things from me the whole trial, I think it's a good deal. 

If she would've been honest with me from the start, I could've talked her out of prison into community service, but she kept lying, so she brought it upon herself.

Honesty. It's the only thing we want.

At half-past three I leave my apartment for work. It's complete chaos in the hall of my floor when the door of the elevator pops open. 

There are a couple of people screaming at each other in Dutch, which I only understand partly. A couple of police officers emerge out of my office while dragging a very angry woman in handcuffs behind them. 

She stops walking as she sees the two people screaming at each other. She yells something that means: 'You'll see.' in English, but in Dutch, it sounds more powerful and threatening.

Behind me, the security walks to the two screaming people and drags them into the elevator. When the security and the police both leave, it suddenly becomes very quiet. 

What the fuck happened here today?

Bakker pops up behind me as if he just dropped from the ceiling.

'Oh my god, Bakker! You scared the hell out of me.' I scream.

'I still don't get why you call me Bakker. My first name is Gijs.' He says for the hundredth time since I met him.

'I can't pronounce your first name as you do. When I say it, it sounds like I'm choking. And your last name is the only thing I can pronounce.' I say with a smile.

'Well, you also get that wrong all the time, but it's not as bad as you trying to say Gijs.' A small smile forms on his lips.

'It's much easier to say "Shawn".' The elevator behind me slides open for the sixth time in the last five minutes.

It's Shawn's voice that fills the room immediately. 

He doesn't really have a deep, low voice but the sound of it is still nice. Jeez, why am I liking his voice? What's wrong with me?

'Since we both speak English, I think it's kind of obvious I can say "Shawn".' I say as I turn around to face him.

His father isn't with him today. He walks toward me and puts his hand on my shoulder. I grab his wrist and push his hand off of my shoulder as if he's carrying a disease.