Chapter One
I saw her coming toward my desk ten minutes before it was time to leave for the day, an evil smile on her face, and I knew that I was not going to like whatever it was that she had to say. Ever since Astrid got a promotion that made her my boss, she enjoyed taking every opportunity to rub it in my face that she was the one given the pay raise, the private office with her name on the door, and the perks that came with being the office manager in a large law firm such as ours.
“I’m so sorry, Jodi,” she said, looking at me with an expression that said she was anything but sorry. “Mr. Chantry Three has a client coming in and requested that you sit in and take notes, and prepare whatever documents he requires. I hope you didn’t have anything planned for this evening…?” The glint in her eyes said she hoped she was canceling a date that I’d been looking forward to for a long, long time.
I wasn’t about to tell her that I did have plans; she would gloat too much, so I lied! “No, I am free this evening. Please tell Mr. Chantry that I will be pleased to sit in on his meeting.” I forced a smile to my lips and Astrid frowned. Score one for me! Not for the first time I swore I was going to get even with the snotty witch. Of course, it is illegal to run over someone when they walk in front of your car in the parking lot! But, I would find a way, and soon!
As the offices of Chantry, Chantry, and Chantry cleared out for the weekend, I remained at my desk amid stares from the others. I knew exactly what they were thinking, and they were right. Astrid Butterfield was being vengeful yet again, and there was nothing I could do about it that wouldn’t get me shown to the door. I’d worked too hard to earn my position of respect among the legal secretaries, so, I put on my fake smile and waited until Astrid left to relax. I moved to the reception desk to greet Mr. Chantry Three’s client and escort him to the youngest Chantry’s office.
If I had to work late I was glad it was for this particular Chantry. He was handsome to a fault, and he filled out a suit nicely in all the right places. If I daydreamed about an office romance, which I would never act upon, Chantry Three was the object of my fantasy. When I brought the client into his office, Chantry Three stood and walked around the desk to shake the man’s hand. He made a bit of small talk, but rather quickly brought up the subject for the meeting. The client was nearly positive he was going to be arrested at any time, and he wanted Chantry Three’s opinion on what he should do if the inevitable happened. When Chantry Three asked if he was guilty of the charges, the man crossed his arms over his chest and admitted he was guilty. Mr. Chantry nodded, and told him to refuse to answer any questions without his attorney present. They talked longer, and Chantry seemed to think that mitigating circumstances would make the Judge more lenient if it came to a trial. With the trend leaning toward plea-bargaining, he didn’t think the client would actually do time. Did I mention that my job is very interesting?
After showing the client to the door, I returned to my desk to type up the notes of the meeting and put them into a paper file as well as in Mr. Chantry's client files on the computer. Our files are properly protected with firewalls and passwords, which are changed on a weekly basis. It doesn’t mean that we cannot be hacked, but that we take precautions to keep that from happening.
Mr. Chantry came to my desk a few minutes later and I nearly drooled when I saw that he’d taken his suit coat and tie off and unbuttoned his collar and rolled his shirtsleeves up to his elbows. “Thank you for working late, Jodi. It was good of you to volunteer this morning when I told Astrid to see if anyone was free, although I can’t understand why a young woman who is as beautiful as you are didn’t have plans for the evening!” Astrid again! The lying witch! She
I saw her coming toward my desk ten minutes before it was time to leave for the day, an evil smile on her face, and I knew that I was not going to like whatever it was that she had to say. Ever since Astrid got a promotion that made her my boss, she enjoyed taking every opportunity to rub it in my face that she was the one given the pay raise, the private office with her name on the door, and the perks that came with being the office manager in a large law firm such as ours.
“I’m so sorry, Jodi,” she said, looking at me with an expression that said she was anything but sorry. “Mr. Chantry Three has a client coming in and requested that you sit in and take notes, and prepare whatever documents he requires. I hope you didn’t have anything planned for this evening…?” The glint in her eyes said she hoped she was canceling a date that I’d been looking forward to for a long, long time.
I wasn’t about to tell her that I did have plans; she would gloat too much, so I lied! “No, I am free this evening. Please tell Mr. Chantry that I will be pleased to sit in on his meeting.” I forced a smile to my lips and Astrid frowned. Score one for me! Not for the first time I swore I was going to get even with the snotty witch. Of course, it is illegal to run over someone when they walk in front of your car in the parking lot! But, I would find a way, and soon!
As the offices of Chantry, Chantry, and Chantry cleared out for the weekend, I remained at my desk amid stares from the others. I knew exactly what they were thinking, and they were right. Astrid Butterfield was being vengeful yet again, and there was nothing I could do about it that wouldn’t get me shown to the door. I’d worked too hard to earn my position of respect among the legal secretaries, so, I put on my fake smile and waited until Astrid left to relax. I moved to the reception desk to greet Mr. Chantry Three’s client and escort him to the youngest Chantry’s office.
If I had to work late I was glad it was for this particular Chantry. He was handsome to a fault, and he filled out a suit nicely in all the right places. If I daydreamed about an office romance, which I would never act upon, Chantry Three was the object of my fantasy. When I brought the client into his office, Chantry Three stood and walked around the desk to shake the man’s hand. He made a bit of small talk, but rather quickly brought up the subject for the meeting. The client was nearly positive he was going to be arrested at any time, and he wanted Chantry Three’s opinion on what he should do if the inevitable happened. When Chantry Three asked if he was guilty of the charges, the man crossed his arms over his chest and admitted he was guilty. Mr. Chantry nodded, and told him to refuse to answer any questions without his attorney present. They talked longer, and Chantry seemed to think that mitigating circumstances would make the Judge more lenient if it came to a trial. With the trend leaning toward plea-bargaining, he didn’t think the client would actually do time. Did I mention that my job is very interesting?
After showing the client to the door, I returned to my desk to type up the notes of the meeting and put them into a paper file as well as in Mr. Chantry's client files on the computer. Our files are properly protected with firewalls and passwords, which are changed on a weekly basis. It doesn’t mean that we cannot be hacked, but that we take precautions to keep that from happening.
Mr. Chantry came to my desk a few minutes later and I nearly drooled when I saw that he’d taken his suit coat and tie off and unbuttoned his collar and rolled his shirtsleeves up to his elbows. “Thank you for working late, Jodi. It was good of you to volunteer this morning when I told Astrid to see if anyone was free, although I can’t understand why a young woman who is as beautiful as you are didn’t have plans for the evening!” Astrid again! The lying witch! She
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