Chapter 2
Laura
The morning sun hits my face before I walk into the law firm.
As soon as I walk in, the strange atmosphere seems off.
Everyone is talking in hushed whispers. What is going on?
I look around before placing my handbag on my desk.
My heart beats faster. Why is everyone whispering amongst themselves? This isn’t high school.
I sit down and log into my computer, and the announcement is already there.
Mr. Curran, my grumpy and strict boss, has proclaimed his retirement and I’ll be going under Mr. De La Cruz.
I can’t believe it. His wife has been pressuring him to retire for the last couple of years, but I never thought he would do it.
The man doesn’t know how to relax and is all work, all the time.
I have never gotten along with him, but from the gossip around the office, Mr. De La Cruz is even worse.
How am I going to handle another tough boss?
Guess I’ll just have to pull up my big girl panties.
“Did you see?” Jennifer says, taking a seat on the edge of my desk, her feet dangling. “I mean, I knew his wife was pressuring him, but I never thought he would do it. Aren’t you over the moon?”
I peer at her. “Okay, so I have been waiting for this day since my first week, but they are assigning me to Mr. Office Grump. Why would they do that to me?”
She laughs, leaning toward me so the others around can’t hear. “At least he won’t make you work twelve-hour shifts. Just brush him off when he’s being over the top and just do your job. No one here can say you aren’t good at what you do.”
She has a point. I might complain to Jennifer because she is my best friend, but Mr. Curran pays me well. Rent in this city is a fortune and a necessary evil. As awful as he is, at least he has given me a substantial raise every year. “We will see how this goes.”
“Are you ready to move? I still can’t believe you're leaving me.”
Jennifer met the love of her life right here in this very office, and now he has convinced her to move back closer to his hometown of Amesbury. For someone who always planned to live in a big city, love changed her.
“You act like I’m going to move away and never see you again! Don’t get all crazy.”
It’s her last week here and I’m going to miss the heck out of her.
I try to stay focused throughout the rest of the day with the gazillion emails that have come in over the weekend, but my mind keeps going back to De La Cruz.
He is notorious for firing his assistants.
I don’t need that drama. After two more cups of nasty coffee, I’m in a groove and it’s already seven.
Mr. Curran wastes no time working late again.
By nine, he allows me to go home and to be back bright and early in the morning.
The man doesn’t know how to take a break.
“Goodnight, see you in the morning.”
I grab my purse and take the elevator to the ground floor.
My heels click against the pavement as I come to the Subway steps.
On the way to board, my mind keeps going back to De La Cruz.
What if he is as bad of a boss as everyone says?
I can’t afford to lose my job, especially with Jennifer moving out and leaving me with the full amount of the rent.
I’m already feeling the pressure and stress of the changes, and I don’t know if I have the energy to handle another difficult boss.
Once home and after my bath, I spend the night tossing and turning, unable to find a moment of rest. The worry about my future is at the forefront of my mind and what if I can’t keep up with the demands of the job?
The next morning, I get ready for work after not sleeping a wink, trying to put on a brave face and not let my worries show.
“Laura, can you come to my office, please?” Mr. Curran says as I set my coffee down on my desk.
“Yes, sir. What can I do?” I stop right outside the door, realizing it’s not Mr. Curran.
I have heard plenty of office gossip, so I’m interested to see if he really is the big bad wolf.
When I enter his office, I am surprised to find a semi-friendly face and not the stern one I am used to on Mr. Curran.
“Good morning, you must be Laura. I’m De La Cruz. Have a seat.”
I didn’t expect him to take over Mr. Curran’s office, but with him just wrapping up paperwork, he can do that from home without even coming to the office if he wants. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
“So, let’s get right down to the business. I have heard about you from Mr. Curran, and I think we will work well together. He tells me you are okay with staying late and that’s a must for me. With the amount of clients I have, sometimes I am here until ten. Are you going to do that?”
The question catches me off guard. If I say no, will he fire me?
I don’t want to stay until ten every night, especially since I am the only assistant on record that has to do so.
The only way that is happening is if I get another raise.
“Can we discuss a raise? I have worked very hard for Mr. Curran, but with more hours, I should be compensated fairly.”
De La Cruz interlocks his fingers and leans on his desk. “I show you just got a raise six months ago.”
This is where I need to lie on my charm and know my worth.
Companies will not pay you more unless you prove to them why you are worth it.
“If you look at my schedule, I have worked late every single night since that raise. Also, I could never use all of my vacation time since starting here because of the importance of keeping the clients happy. If we will be working later into the night and adding more hours to my schedule, then compensation is required.”
I try to keep my face straight, even though my head is telling me I’m getting fired. This man doesn’t know me from Eve and I’m here telling him it is imperative that he give me a raise. What the heck am I thinking? I don’t backtrack though, because being weak isn’t my thing.
De La Cruz pulls something up on his computer and clicks a few buttons. “It looks like I have some extra money on my AOP. The most I could do is a 7% increase.”
I place my hand on my knee and think about it. The increase is more than I got last year and will help me afford the apartment on my own, but I don’t want him to know that. You never take the first offer. “I was thinking more like 9%.”
He leans back in his squeaky chair. “You were, huh? How about we meet in the middle and do 8%?”
I stand up and extend my hand out to him. “That’ll do. If you’ll excuse me, I have many emails to answer and the phone has been ringing nonstop since I walked in here.”
If there is one thing no one at this office has ever said about me, it’s a lack of work ethic. I have worked hard for everything in my life, and this is no exception. Without this job, I wouldn’t have a place to live or clothes on my back.
“Of course, we will have another sit down later.”
I stroll out of his office and sit down at my desk, squealing inside. Mr. Curran would have never given me another raise, so maybe I like my new boss a little more now. He doesn’t seem to be all that bad, so maybe the rumors are wrong.
He doesn’t seem so bad, but maybe he is keeping his crazy under wraps for the first couple of days.
“I heard he made his last assistant cry every day for a month before she quit,” Jenny says.
“Utter slave driver.” Mark babbled. “No lunch breaks, no personal calls. I’d start looking for a new job if I were you.”
I swallow hard, clutching the box of files to my chest like a shield. So much for my perfect attendance record and employee of the Month awards. According to the stories, these meant nothing to the likes of Mr. De La Cruz.
The walk down the hallway to his office is like heading to the gallows. My hands are clammy, and my mouth has gone dry. You can do this. Just keep your head down, don’t cry, and try not to hyperventilate.
When I step through the doorway, Mr. De La Cruz glances up from his desk, blue eyes peering out from under heavy brows. I brace myself for the barrage of insults and unreasonable demands.
Instead, he gives a curt nod and says, “Take a seat.”
I hesitate, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it seems the worst is over.
At least for now. I sink into the chair across from him, clutching my box like a life raft in a churning sea.
My new boss may have been less awful than expected, but surviving at Shark Island is going to take a lot of luck.
Mr. De La Cruz leans back in his chair, steepling his fingers as he studies me. My heart thumps wildly, like a caged bird desperate for escape.
“Let’s see if you live up to the hype.” He nods at the box in my lap. “That contains the Wilson file. I want it organized, cross-referenced, and summarized by the end of the day.”
My mouth falls open. The Wilson file is legendary, passed down for decades and containing enough documents to fill a small library. Organizing that in a single day is impossible.
Panic surges. This must be some kind of test. But what is the right response? If I argue, he might fire me on the spot. If I agree, I’ll fail and be fired, anyway.
Honesty is the best policy, even if it means walking into a trap.
“Sir, that file contains hundreds of thousands of pages. Organizing and summarizing it in a single day is impossible.” My voice shakes, but I hold his gaze.
One eyebrow rises. “Is that so?” His tone is mocking, challenging.
I grit my teeth. “Yes, sir. I’m afraid it is.”
He watches me, unblinking, and then the corner of his mouth quirks up. “Good. I want assistants who tell me the truth, not what they think I want to hear.”
I blink. Did I pass the test then? But his stern expression didn’t change.
“Get to work,” he barks. “I’ll expect a report on my desk by five, and it had better impress me.”
He swings around and stalks back to his desk, dismissing me. I stand frozen in place, panic and confusion warring in my mind.
How on earth am I going to do this? Even with an army of assistants, organizing that file in a few hours is impossible.
Failing isn’t an option. There has to be a way to get this done, somehow. Then it hits me.
I grab the box and rush back to my desk, flipping through the files at breakneck speed. Most are decades old and irrelevant. I can ignore those.
The more recent files are a mess, but if I focus on the key cases and documents...yes, that might work.
I spring into action, sorting files into the trash, “irrelevant,” and “priority.” The priority pile grows at an alarming rate, but it is coming together.
Doubt and panic continue to war in my mind, but I push them aside. I have a plan now, and that is enough.
As the clock ticks down to five, I finish the final case summary and report. My hands shake as I place the work on Mr. De La Cruz’s desk. I did the impossible.