2. Reed
Reed sat at his desk scrolling through last night’s box scores as he sipped on the last of the coffee in his travel mug. He could only hope that day two would go better than day one. He had begun to question whether he’d made the right decision in taking on this summer associateship because he felt so out of his element here. Big city, fancy office, intimidatingly impressive coworker. He had zero interest in intellectual property law, but he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be mentored by an upstanding man and renowned lawyer like Alvin King because, at the end of the day, Al was exactly the kind of lawyer he wanted to be even if he was practicing in a different area.
Before yesterday, he would have said that he trusted Al’s judgment implicitly, but he was questioning that now considering the complete mismatch he’d created with this so-called dream team. Maya was, no doubt, top of her class while he hung out somewhere in the middle of the pack as a solid B student. She was almost certainly a front-row sitter, quick to raise her hand and debate obscure case law while he preferred to attend lectures from the back row and quietly observe. She took on prestigious extracurricular opportunities and probably lived at the law library while he traded pursuit of a perfect GPA for being the best uncle possible to his brother’s girls, Grace and Lily.
It wasn’t that he didn’t care about being a great lawyer. In fact, he cared deeply, but he knew that he would pass the bar just like the Maya’s of the world. He also knew that he had no competition for the position he wanted after graduation because the Carter County assistant district attorney role had been vacant for over a year, so he had the luxury of not having to engage in the brutal battle to be top of his class. He respected the hell out of the hard work it took to excel in law school, but what really mattered was the work that came after. That’s what he couldn’t wait for.
He heard footsteps and the faint sound of music behind him and turned to find Maya walking into their office. As soon as she noticed him, she startled. Her arms jerked back, almost spilling the contents of her coffee cup all over her blouse. Her quick recovery spared her from disaster, though she still didn’t seem happy about it. She frowned as she set her coffee on her desk and fumbled with her phone to turn off the music still blaring through her earbuds, then none-too-subtly glared at the clock that hung on the wall above his desk.
“You’re early,” she said.
Yes, it was 8:12 a.m. which was exactly forty-eight minutes before they were due to arrive, and no, he couldn’t help but grin in the face of her obvious annoyance.
See, she could try to act as tough as she wanted, but it was too late because he’d already seen it. A small crack in her professional fa?ade showing her true personality. She had strolled into their office bopping her head to her music with a faint smile on her face, lost in her own little world. Her hair was freed from the elastic tie that held it in place the day before, allowing it to fall just below her bare shoulders. She wore a bright pink tank that showed off her toned arms, navy-blue pants that hugged her curves, and a few thin gold bracelets that shimmered and clinked against each other every time she moved. She seemed happier and more relaxed than the woman he had met yesterday. She was, dare he say, cute. Very cute. Maybe there was hope for them.
“Good morning to you, too,” Reed said from his desk chair.
“Good morning,” she returned. She was trying to be polite but seemed irritated. “What are you doing here?”
“I work here.” He knew what she was getting at, of course, but two could play this game. He found himself wanting to wedge that crack open a little wider.
She sucked in her cheeks and stared at him. “I meant, why are you here so early?”
“Oh, is that what you meant? To beat the traffic,” he explained as he watched her unpack her bag and get situated. “If I leave my house any later, I hit terrible traffic, so I’d rather sit here than in my car for an extra thirty minutes. What’s your excuse?”
“I was just up,” she said with a shrug, “so I decided I may as well get a start on the day. Want one?”
He eyed the bright green granny-smith apple she held out in front of him, then lifted his gaze up to her face. He must have been taking too long to react for her liking, however, because she raised her eyebrows and impatiently extended her outstretched hand toward him again.
“The guy at the coffee shop thought he was being cute by giving me an extra one on the house,” she said.
He supposed she wanted to make sure he damn well knew she hadn’t gone out of her way to bring him a present. Don’t be too flattered, Stanton. “Yeah, well, thank you,” he said, accepting the apple.
He spun back around in his chair to return to the box scores from yesterday’s baseball games. He wasn’t expecting her. She clearly wasn’t expecting him. And they were still feeling each other out, so he figured it was best not to push it. They could both just enjoy their quiet time until they went on the clock at nine. He brought the apple to his mouth and was about to sink his teeth in when her voice stopped him midbite.
“So what kind of case do you think we’re going to get?”
He turned and there she was again, eyes wide and bright, a flash of the Maya who had walked into the office.
“I have a feeling it’s going to have something to do with the controversy over the destruction of public arts installations at federal buildings and the artists’ right to their work. It’s all over the news right now.”
“Nah, I don’t think so.”
“It’s got to be. It’s going to be a huge case not just in Atlanta, but nationally. Who else would represent the artists aside from us?”
She was not going to like this. Not one bit. He gripped the arms of his chair and took a deep breath, silently cursing Al for giving him the “honor” of delivering this news. “It’s not our case.”
“What?”
“Al dropped this off before you got here.” He picked up a manila folder from his desk and offered it to her. “He said he was going to be stuck in meetings until lunchtime and wanted us to have it.”
She grabbed the folder, opened it, and began reading as she paced in the narrow space between their desks. He watched the smile fade from her lips as a frown set in. Once she’d reached the middle of the first page, she had apparently seen all she needed to see.
“This is an assault-and-battery case.”
“Yep.”
“This has to be a mistake.” She closed the file, and let it fall to her side. “I didn’t come here to do this kind of work.”
He leaned back in his chair, apple in hand, while she stood in front of him. She was clearly disappointed. He got it. Even he was surprised to get this kind of case from Al. Their day was off to a rocky start before it had even officially begun.
“I’m actually looking forward to working on it.”
“Well, yeah, it’s a criminal case,” she said as she tossed the file on her desk.
“It could still be interesting,” he said, trying to cheer her up. “For both of us.”
“Yeah. Maybe.” She sat in her chair, back to him, and put her earbuds back in.
Thanks, Al, he thought to himself. He had chalked up yesterday’s stilted conversation to first day nerves and awkwardness, but he wasn’t so sure of that now. He nodded and bit into the apple, then turned in his chair and went back to his box scores until they were officially on the clock. Maybe she just needed that cup of coffee and some time to let the news sink in. He hoped that was all, otherwise this was going to be a long summer.