JULIET
My alarm had gone off exactly four minutes ago, but I lay still in my bed staring blankly at the ceiling and wondering if the day was worth doing. It was like a ritual, waking up, thinking about the stressful day ahead and getting so weak in my soul that standing up became a task.
The past few days have been much better though, I guess it had a lot to do with the new office and vibes that came with my promotion. The workload was relatively larger compared to my last position but that was only expected.
Grudgingly, I pulled the covers over my legs and rolled out of bed, shuffling my socked feet into the slippers at my bedside. I went into the kitchen, downed a glass of water, then into the bathroom to wash up very slowly.
After dressing in the usual corporate pants, I topped it up with a maroon colored blouse and black heels before packing a bag. It usually consisted of some files I brought home to work over but lately with the confidential duties I took on, it was just best to leave them at the office where it was under lock and key and had better security.
I picked up my coat from the rack and stepped right into the October cold. It has been getting progressively colder each morning, with the day getting warmer leading to an even colder night than before with each passing day.
I pulled my coat around me and walked to the bus stop, the bus arriving just a few minutes after I did. The drive to work was calmer than usual and I took the opportunity to check my phone for any text messages. Mary, my best friend, texted me two hours ago asking if I was still down for drinks on Saturday. I replied yes with a 'beer cheers' emoji. The other messages were from the firm's platform and some rental spam.
I alighted from the bus at my stop and walked straight to the coffee shop for my regular cup of hot caffeine. I ordered that alongside a sandwich then took a small trek to the firm, up the elevator and after a few cheerful greetings, into my office.
The morning went off incredibly chill. I spent most of it making calls, drafting some documents, attending client meetings and sipping through my addiction. At exactly 1pm, just before I wanted to leave for lunch, Henry knocked softly and came in, his rich leathery scent filling up the room almost immediately.
He had a broad smile on his face that was both cute and manly at the same time. The way he managed to pull that off, I had no idea. Henry had been my crush for as long as I could remember. He was a senior during my time in college and I had fallen right in love with his brilliance and love of a good law defence.
I had cooked up the courage to tell him but he had politely declined my advances. Then, I hated how nicely he had let me down, because for some reason, it had only made me like him more. Mary had jokingly commented that despite having an intelligent brain, I thought like a housefly.
I couldn't argue, the lady had seen me go through most of my life with silly decisions.
After a while though, I had pushed those feelings into pure admiration and focused on being somewhat like him at least. A good lawyer.
These past weeks though, following my promotion and our increasing interaction about work, it was getting harder to just see him as a mentor. I liked the way he smelt and the way he spoke.
Oh shit, it seemed like he was saying something to me, "...are you not going to offer me a seat?" he said, his smile getting even larger as if he could read all that I was thinking.
"Sorry, you should have a seat." I said, hoping my pale skin had not flared up from embarrassment. He took a seat right opposite me and I suddenly saw the envelope he was holding in his hand. It was white, like most of the envelopes he had passed to me as I got onboarded to the job. Possibly another client.
He placed the envelope on the table and pushed it to me. "Volkov Empire," he said, his eyes glinting as I picked up the envelope and opened it. "High profile client. We handle all of their legal issues. Pretty big deal to the law firm." he stated, and I nodded. I've been hearing a lot of those kinds of sentences lately. Huge client. Big deal to the firm. I definitely did not expect what he said next though, "You handling this is a far throw but I am trusting you." Okay, so maybe it was a bigger deal than normal.
I stared at the papers that were clipped together from the envelope and skimmed through them for a bit feeling Henry's gaze on me. They were pretty tacky files, land acquisition and factory constructions, never a good friend of mine. Land always had a lot of parties involved and the laws surrounding construction were like freaking landmines. Plus, I have hardly any cases that covered such.
As if noticing my fears, Henry piped in, "I know you don't have a lot of experience with these sorts of cases, but I'm always available if you need me." Have I mentioned just how thoughtful he was? "I would really love that, thank you so much." I say, trying to sound as professional as possible but failing when the smile on my face grows large into a blush that he totally ignores.
"The client is flying in later this week from Russia," he says, placing his hand on the table. "probably by Thursday. I'd advise you to keep your lunch schedule clear on Friday, chances are he'd want to get right into it." he adds, rising to his feet and straightening his blue plain button-up shirt.
"You can also contact him to confirm. His number is written somewhere in those papers." He glances at the paper in my hands and I nod, making a mental note to put a call through before the day runs out.
"Is there anything I should know about this client?" I ask, trying to sound brilliant. It was practically general knowledge that knowing a thing or two about your client before a meeting helped greatly.
Henry stilled at the door, his face looking like he was giving the question a lot of thought and with his right hand going into his pants pocket, he says, "He is quite unnerving."
I was not able to ask any further questions before he opened the door and left the office shutting the glass door after him.