3. HENRY

As expected, the staff here were a mixed bag of folks. Some of them I didn’t want to cross, and others I felt like I could talk to forever. Sophia had been great, but openly angling for me to sing her praises, and I tried to both Rachel when I was approached after the fastest meeting with HR who had me in and out of their office with a signature and a slip of paper with a company email and passcode.

I was already assigned to work with a partner on a case. Grant Bastian said whatever was on his mind whenever it was there. I could’ve stayed in his office all day just looking at the view he had, and all the certificates and vintage film posters on his wall.

The urge to search everyone online to see what their digital footprints looked like was strong, but I was excited to get to work on the case as well. And alongside it, I wanted to sort out the office I’d been assigned. I still kind of felt strange for not being out in the pit and earning an office, and it seemed like Grant, the partner knew something but he wasn’t telling me. My family name had to have pulled strings, I was sure of it now. But I was going to do something with the opportunity given to me. I was going to work hard.

Just as I was settling into the office, unpacking my briefcase with my law degree to hang somewhere, Sophia came to my door which had been left open. Her eyes squinting as she walked inside. She gave the glass a tap. “You know you can close this thing,” she said. “I saw Rachel coming in here earlier. And after what I heard in the breakroom, I did a little digging, and—”

My stomach sank just as I’d been telling myself not to go digging into these people. “Oh.”

“What made you decide to go from family law to this?” she asked, tilting her head as she continued to stare.

“Divorces, pretty dehumanizing sometimes,” I answered, as if my choice wasn’t completely all about getting to be around the glitz of the entertainment industry and all the perks. I wanted to go to premieres, not walking a red carpet, but getting a ticket to sit in the theatre after the stars had walked the red carpet.

“My folks wanted me to go into tax, but that was about money in their eyes,” she said. “Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I’m not going to go around telling anyone about your family. I can imagine the weight of that already weighs you down.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. If my dad was a lawyer rather than a pharmacist, I would’ve gone into pharmacy instead, maybe not, probably medicine, could’ve become a doctor,” she said, playing with a strand of hair between two fingers.

“You almost became a doctor?” I asked.

“My dad pushed medical school, I thought about it,” she said. “But in the end, I decided I preferred Legally Blonde over Grey’s Anatomy , and that’s what it all came down to.”

“Makes sense, I guess.” I didn’t know what to believe from what I was being told. I was sometimes told I believed too much about what a person told me. “I decided to go into law because of my family, so I gave into the pressure, you could say.”

“Anyway, if you need any help, let me know,” she said. “I might not be able to help you, but I can tell you the best paralegals who can.”

I had tried taking in as much of the information that was given to me, and then occasionally, my father’s would enter my mind. A grumbling voice that would sigh frequently before dropping a phrase on me that would have me stuck in a looped thought. Don’t let people walk over you, or use you. My mom always told me I was too nice, and I never saw a downside to that.

There was a slither of the glass pane that was frosted and except for that, everyone could see in and I could see right out. Whenever I looked out across the frosted portion, I swore people were staring at me. I wanted to record a little video to send to Fallon, and maybe something for my mom who would show my dad. There was already a pin in the wall and a small outline of a frame from someone’s certificate prior to mine. I had a lot of questions about who could’ve been in here before me.

After placing my framed degree on the wall, I looked out of the window and caught a small flurry of snow falling. A couple dots of it touched the window before the wind flicked them away. It was a slip of window, from floor to ceiling. I tried not to get distracted by the snow, but it was snow, it was definitely the most exciting of all weather conditions. Sunshine was my favorite, I didn’t like being cold.

— It’s snowing! Fallon texted me.

— It must be a sign of good luck!

—Speaking of good luck how’s your first day?

—Daddy Sterling invited me over to his tonight but I told him we’re going to be debriefing over a glass of wine.

Fallon had a lot of energy this morning, probably also spurred on by the snow. He knew about my love for cheesy Christmas movies where it would snow and an unrealistic amount of it would stick.

— It’s good. I’ve met a bunch of people. No famous people yet. But I’m actually enjoying it. And I have an office with a view, it’s of the office building across the street, but I have an office! I messaged back.

I attached several pictures of the office and the view. The snow was barely visible on the pictures, but it was coming down nicely. I just wished it would stick, but the reality of it was, most of it would turn to a slurry on the street, unless it was a particularly heavy snow, which would probably have to happen overnight.

This job was just as I’d wanted it to be for me, with the exception of feeling like all eyes were on me because of something a partner said. It wasn’t like I could be mad, they were a partner, and I was grateful that I now didn’t have this huge secret weighing down on my soul.

Fallon was already asking about famous people I’d seen or met. I hadn’t even made it to lunch and he was expecting me to have been invited to brunch with a pop star. And granted, that was actually a bucket list goal of mine, but I would have to wait to get there. I’d spent enough time in my family’s shadow doing what they’d wanted from me, I had a lot of making put to go to get to where I wanted now.

A knock came at the glass door. It was Derek, the fun one of the duo I was greeted by earlier. He had a big smile on his face and his suit jacket draped over his arm.

“It’s your first day,” he said. “Don’t let them all see you sweat over the work. You want to make a good impression, but you don’t want to be worked like a horse.”

I nodded and forced a smile back . It wasn’t so much that I was working hard, but wanting to get to all the juice in the contracts. “I’m just trying to find my feet.”

“Ok, well, then I won’t invite you to lunch, but I will invite you to drinks tonight,” he said. “There’s a bar close by, most of us hang there after work and decompress on the heavier days with the best scotch.”

My lips recoiled in a wince. “I’m more of a daiquiri kinda guy,” I said.

“They serve those too,” he said. “If you do want to com with us and grab lunch, you are more than welcome to also.”

“Oh no, that’s ok, I want to figure out this space.” My finger tips wrapped on the desk.

“Great. Has Sophia mentioned the decorating budget? I forgot what it is, but they’ve got some great art pieces in holding you can put up there.” He knocked on the glass once more and stepped out.

“Wait. Actually. Who had this office before me?”

He scoffed. “Sophia told me not to tell you that.”

“What? Why not?” I glanced to each of the four corners in front of me. “Did something happen in here?”

“People think the room is cursed,” he said. “Darren, who was in here last, he quit to join a rival company. Before that, Yessika, and she went corporate, and before her, Pete, who actually just recently became a partner, but he’s not one of the fun ones, so guess that speaks for itself.”

It was a lot of information to take in. “From what you said, it sound like people in this office usually get to do bigger things,” I said. “And I’m sticking around.”

“Good to know,” he said, winking at me before leaving.

I wasn’t used to friendly lawyers, family law had some of the most hostile lawyers on the opposition. I suppose when dealing with divorces, the attorneys people hired were often cutthroat and going for as many assets as possible.

The contract between Lila Vance and PulseStream was a marriage, and just like marriages, there were plenty of ways people fought to get more value from their partners than they sometimes deserved. Although, the whole reason I left that side was because I wanted to celebrate things and be surrounded by happiness rather than tear it all down and leave with a big bonus check.

I couldn’t focus, so I went to the break room for coffee. It was mostly quiet in there with nobody trying to flag me down, and I was relatively shy in my new position. I discovered the coffee machine you put in a capsule and it would spurt out the order. Right now, I needed something sweet and with plenty of coffee. I spotted a pod on the wrack, it had a mint green foil on top and in an embossed italics, peppermint mocha on top.

“That’s mine,” the familiar deep voice came from behind.

Just before I could do anything with the pod, I noticed Grant with his coffee cup in hand behind me. “Sorry, I didn’t know they were—”

He laughed. “You can have it, there’s more in the cupboard.”

“Are you sure? I—”

“There’s a lot of them,” he said, standing beside me and opening the cupboard. Two boxed of the peppermint mochas were there, alongside the mugs, which was going to be my next adventure in this room. “Nobody else drinks them. I don’t know why, they’re like Christmas in a cup.”

It was only then I noticed the red and white candy cane stripes on the coffee mug in his hand. “That’s exactly why I wanted it.”

“I’m actually scheduled to go buy more in bulk,” he said. “Can you believe they only sell these things around this time of year?”

“It sounds illegal.”

“Illegal,” he laughed. “As a lawyer, you should know.”

“I wasn’t offering legal advice,” I quipped back.

He continued chuckling. “I know, I know. But please, help yourself to them. I’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth, so they actually help. Rather than sucking on a candy cane, I’m drinking one of these.”

“If there’s ever a time to eat candy canes, it’s now,” I said. “‘Tis the season and all.”

“I wish everyone else felt the same way about it as you do,” he said. “They’re putting a tree up in the reception area, but it’s going to be one of those art deco sparsely decorated ones. You know, spray painted gold and silver.” He huffed and shrugged.

“Oh no, my roommate and I have already got our tree up, and it’s like the type of tree I always saw on TV as a kid. It’s like full of red and silver tinsel, like so much tinsel you can’t even see the branches. And then we throw baubles on it and really go to town with whatever we have left that will sparkle.”

Grant kept a large smile as he stared at me. “That’s the exact type of tree we should have,” he said. “And you know what would make it extra special, those decoration that hang from the ceiling, you know.”

I scream also crept out of my throat, but I quickly reminded myself of the place I was in, and how I should’ve been conducting myself. “Foil garlands. We have those too. My best friend is obsessed with them, he makes sure they connect from the hallways and in each room. Well, except my bedroom ceiling, they’re distracting to stare up at in the middle of the night and see.”

“I was so certain you were going to be quite and reserved. It’s nice to see you coming out of your shell.”

“Sorry, I get—”

“Don’t apologize,” he said. “Oh, I can help you with the machine too. I’m not sure if you’ve used one before.”

As Grant stepped closer, passing me to get to the machine, I inhaled his delicious cologne that wafted through the air. I spoke a lot when I was nervous and excited, and right now, I was both. It wasn’t how I expected to spend the first day at work, but I wasn’t against having a crush on a partner, especially when he was older, stocky, and willing to take over and show me how things were done.

“Thank you,” I said. “Are the cups assigned or not?”

“Unless you bring it in with you, no,” he said, taking a white mug from the cupboard. “I suggest bringing in your own, these ones aren’t big enough. And if you’re like me, you’ll also want space for marshmallows and a little whipped cream.”

“There’s marshmallows and whipped cream?” I whispered, looking around to make sure nobody was listening in.

“Oh yeah,” he whispered back. “Let me show you how to work this, then I’ll let you in on my secret marshmallow stash.” And with that, he winked at me.

I declared it there and then, I was in love, or lust, or just taken by the spirit of the holiday season. Whatever it was, it was nice.