Chapter 1
Ada
Friday
I glanced at the clock on the wall and groaned, scratching the back of my neck as I counted down the hours until the weekend. My desk was piled high with documents from the case file I was working on. One of the things they don’t tell you about when applying to law school is that countless hours of your life that are going to be sucked away doing endless amounts of research. I looked around my office at the shelves of books lining the wall across from me and sighed.
Snow was falling outside the window in graceful white tufts that floated down like confetti in the parking lot. The cars were all dusted in a fine white powder and edges of the glass tainted with crystalline frost.
Fuck, it’s going to be cold outside, I thought to myself dismally.
I was interrupted by the sound of knocking on the door and I turned reflexively. My paralegal, Leslie, poked her head inside apologetically. “Excuse me, Mr. Hillis, sorry to interrupt, but Jon Hansen is here to see you.”
Aw, shit.
Jon Hansen, also known as Hard-ass Hansen, was the lead partner on our case – and most importantly…my boss.
“Alright, send him in,” I told her with a smile. Crap, what’s this about?
She nodded, pursing her lips together slightly, and held the door open for the executive to come inside. I sat up taller in my seat and cleared my throat, hoping to make a good impression.
I hadn’t had much interaction with upper management since I’d started here a week ago. It was pretty much a boy’s club; they were a gruff no-nonsense sort of crowd. That didn’t bother me. I’d dealt with men like that before. As long as I stayed out of trouble, we would get along just fine. I just kept my head down and continued with my work while trying not to rock the boat.
“Adam!” Mr. Hansen greeted me from the doorway. He had thick, coke-bottle glasses that balanced precariously on the end of his nose and a friendly face. I’d been told not to let that fool me, though; he was a force to be reckoned with in the courtroom. I pushed my chair out from under my desk and stood up to shake his hand.
“It’s nice to see you, Mr. Hansen. Is there anything I can do for you?”
The old man smiled, taking my hand in his to give a stiff handshake. “Not at all, son. I just came down to say hello. I hear you’re doing well for being so fresh out of college.”
I chuckled nervously as he released my hand and sat down on the edge of my desk. “Thank you, sir. It’s certainly been a learning experience.”
“Good! I’m glad to hear it. All your paperwork seems to be in order. We can probably schedule the Johnson case for a hearing in January.”
“Sounds perfect.”
“Have you got any traveling plans for the holidays?” he asked me conversationally. “My wife and I are headed up to Buffalo with the kids. In-laws,” he added by means of explanation.
“No, sir. I’ll just be visiting with family.”
“Good man,” he told me while glancing down at his watch. “Listen, it’s almost four o’clock; why don’t you go ahead and take off early, enjoy the weekend? Get in some Christmas shopping while you’re at it. Everything here seems to be in order. I think you deserve it.”
“Oh, well… Thank you. Are you sure?”
He nodded. “Go on, I insist. Enjoy the break. We’ll see you back here first thing Monday morning. I’ve got an interesting case that came across my desk earlier I’d like you to have a look at.”
“Sure thing.”
Jon smiled, the skin around his eye crinkling around the edges behind his glasses. “Keep it up, son. You’ve got a bright future ahead of you.”
Without another word, he turned on the heel of his shoe and walked out the door toward his office. As soon as he disappeared from my line of vision, I exhaled a sigh of relief and wondered, what was that about?
It was an odd exchange, but I shrugged it off, grateful it had been a casual visit instead of being reprimanded and told I was messing up already. Glancing down at the papers on my desk, I decided to take the man’s advice and start the weekend early.
I could already feel my spirits rise as I gathered the documents I’d be needing and put them neatly in a pile before clipping them inside my briefcase. The clean leather case had been my first real splurge after graduating. I clicked the shiny gold latches closed and picked up the handle before retrieving my wool coat off the rack.
As I slipped my arms into its sleeves, Leslie turned her head and smiled through the open door. “Heading out, sir?”
I smiled, taking the briefcase with me, and closed the door to my office behind me. “Afraid so, Les. Do you have anything for me before I go?”
She nodded absent mindedly as she flitted over to the post-its on our message board. The rim of her desk was lined with seasonal decorations, and she had a jar for Secret Santa stashed away over to the side. She briefly scanned the post-its before pulling one off that was placed beneath my name.
“You had a call from…Max Butler. He left his number and asked for you to call him back at your earliest convenience.”
I smiled at the mention of my college friend and took the paper from her. “I will, thank you. Have a great weekend.”
“You, too, sir.”
I liked Leslie. She was detailed and efficient. As far as secretaries go, she didn’t ask a lot of questions, either, which was a valuable asset given our particular line of work. I waved goodbye to her and strode out into the parking lot.
Crisp, winter air nipped at my nose as I wrapped a scarf around my neck and headed toward my car. My faithful Escalade was parked in the lot beside the building. I pulled the keys out of my pocket and unlocked it with the clicker before sliding into the driver seat. Using the wipers to brush away the residual snow, I carefully backed out of the parking lot on onto the open road. Luckily, I was getting off in time to avoid the five o’clock rush so there wouldn’t be much traffic, but then again, you can’t be sure.
A few blocks into the drive, my cell phone began to ring. I glanced down and saw Dad’s name flash across the screen. I rolled my eyes and hit ignore, telling myself I’d call him later.
When I got home, there was an open spot waiting for me right beside the door, which almost never happened. I took it as a sign and parked, grabbing my briefcase from the back and walking up the condo’s entryway. Some of my neighbors had gotten into the holiday spirit with wreaths of holly hanging from their doors or pictures of Santa plastered in the windows.
I didn’t really feel the need to go all out like that. What I really wanted was a drink.
My front door swung open as I unlocked it and stepped in from the cold, shedding the coat and briefcase as soon as humanly possible. I walked over to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water. Max’s note poked out from the pocket of my coat, reminding me that I should call. I couldn’t help but grin. I pulled out my cell phone and found his number in my contacts before hitting send. It rang a few times before he answered, “This is Max.”
“Hey, man! Long time no see,” I told him happily. “My secretary left me a message saying to call you. What’s going on?”
“Not much. I just called to see how the new job was going and if you needed a ride to the Christmas party tomorrow.”
Crap.
“Augh…” I sighed in defeat. “I completely forgot about that. Yeah, if you don’t mind giving me a ride, that would be a lifesaver.”
I hadn’t seen the guys from our fraternity, called Men’s Club, since I had graduated in the spring. They’d sent out flyers and email reminders about the party over the last few weeks, but I’d been so involved with starting the new job that it had completely escaped me.
“No problem; I’ll swing by your place tomorrow morning,” he told me happily. “We want to get an early start; it’s a two-hour drive at least.”
“Alright, sounds good. I’ll see ya then.”
“You, too, bud. Take care.”
“Bye.”
I hung up the phone and let out a tired sigh. Double crap.
The Christmas party shouldn’t have been a big deal—it went with the territory—but the idea of leaving for the day wasn’t as exciting as it should be. I was really looking forward to relaxing. Since I was the chapter’s president, I was obligated to take part, though. It hadn’t been that long since my graduation, and in many ways, I still felt like a fish out of water—floundering, trying to figure out what I’m doing. That’s why I was excited to see Max; he kept me grounded.
Yeah, seeing Max will be good.