Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 52699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
“Wait a minute, Miss Tanner,” he interrupted me. “Can you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“Me asking you to go get my coffee for the second time in a row.”
“Um…no?” I shook my head. “I didn’t hear you repeat that.”
“Exactly.” He held out a cup. “Don’t make me wait too long.”
DISMISSAL (N.)
THE ACT OF VOLUNTARILY TERMINATING A CRIMINAL PROSECUTION OR A LAWSUIT OR ONE OF ITS CAUSES OF ACTION BY ONE OF THE PARTIES
DAMIEN
“Michelle?” I called her desk in the morning.
“She’s still on leave, Mr. Carter,” Jessica answered. “This week is her Jamaica trip, I think. I can check her Instagram account if you want me to.”
“That’s okay. Can you send Miss Tanner into my office, please?”
“She doesn’t work under you anymore.”
“What?”
“Check your email.”
RECUSE (V.)
TO REFUSE TO BE A JUDGE IN A LAWSUIT OR APPEAL BECAUSE OF A CONFLICT OF INTEREST OR OTHER GOOD REASON
ELIZABETH
Subject: My Final Check + Internship Request
Please deposit the funds for all hours worked this week to the new bank account I recently submitted.
Per my attached letter, I would like to be transferred to the intern department and will gladly accept the decrease in pay.
Thank you,
Elizabeth Tanner
P.S. Why don’t you all just invest in an in-house barista for all the coffee you drink?!
P.P.S. You should also start buying Cuban coffee. It’s stronger and it’ll last longer per cup/save interns what’s left of their sanity.
Since I knew it would take Human Resources a while to process my request, I decided to finally unpack some boxes and decorate my brand-new condo.
The first day I actually get to enjoy it.
After opening the floor to ceiling drapes, I hung small ferns on my balcony and unrolled a small rug.
I smoothed a duvet over my mattress and tossed far too many pillows against the headboard.
When I was finished rearranging the living room furniture, I poured a glass of wine and slipped under the suds in the ceramic clawfoot tub. And to properly christen this bathroom with the new television, I turned on Law & Order: SVU.
After watching two episodes, I drafted a text to Damien.
The lawyers in this show are LAWYERS, and the cops are the LAW. Occasionally those two things entwine, but everyone plays their role and—
“This is why you and I are having problems.” His deep voice suddenly filled the room, and I looked over my shoulder. “You believe that their version of the system is how the real-world works.”
“You’re breaking and entering.” I sat up. “Get out.”
“Twelve writers pull the craziest media headlines and then they draft a fictional story around it,” he said, stepping closer. “I will admit though, the early seasons have the best twists.”
“I don’t recall changing my home address on my work profile.” I glared at him. “How did you know where I moved?”
He shot me a “You can’t be serious” look and stepped next to the bath.
“Don’t make me call the police,” I said. “They could be here in twenty seconds flat.”
“I just took the chief out for lunch,” he said. “He was quite shocked to know that I’m working with a partner these days.”
“We are not partners.” I grabbed a washcloth and placed it over my breasts. “We are colleagues, and I’m days away from being an intern, like I should be.”
He looked into the water, and I gasped, realizing the suds were long gone and almost every inch of my body was exposed.
Leaning over me, he gently grabbed the washcloth and pulled it away from my chest, completing the full naked view.
“What are you doing here, Damien?” I asked softly.
“I came here to help you relax.”
“The tub beat you to it.”
He let out a low laugh and sat on the edge of the bath. He pulled a huge cigar from his pocket and lit it. Then he placed it between my lips.
I inhaled hard and coughed.
“Slower,” he said, running a hand through my hair. “It’s weed, by the way.”
“So, you just break every law in the book?” I asked. “Is ‘rules were meant to be broken’ your personal mantra?”
“No.” He placed the ‘cigar’ between my lips again. “But if rules were made to be broken, what makes the law an exception?”
I inhaled slowly, silently pondering if he actually lived by that.
“Hold it in a bit before letting go,” he instructed, and I obliged. He led me to do it a few more times, taking a few hits for himself between.
I didn’t want to admit it, but after a while, I started to feel a bit more at ease.
“I like having you as my partner, Elizabeth,” he said, catching me off guard.
“Why?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
“If you like having me around, why do you treat me like shit?”
“That’s not how I would describe it.”
“Then give me a better definition.”
“I think you still have a lot to learn about being a lawyer,” he said, his voice soft. “And I’m not used to working with someone inexperienced or young in their career, so I can see why you think I’m mean to you sometimes.”