Owen
She doesn’t know how beautiful she is.
It’s strange because to me it is so very obvious. She’s lovely, really. She’s perfect, but Lillian doesn’t seem to notice.
Her hair is the sweetest shade of dark red and it hangs down past her shoulders. She wears it down almost every day, and part of me hopes it’s because once, when she first started working here, I told her she looked wonderful with her hair down.
I haven’t seen it in a bun since.
Something’s bothering her, though, and it seems to be getting worse. I can’t quite pinpoint exactly what the problem is. There’s no one in the office who dislikes her. That’s not her style.
Lillian is always prompt, always polite, and always working hard. She has everything turned in on time or early, but usually early. She makes it to every event, every function, every party.
She really is the life of the office.
So what’s been causing her to feel stressed lately?
What’s been making her smile fade when she thinks no one is looking at her?
I wish I could make her smile, make her laugh. I wish I could give her a reason to giggle, to feel better.
How can I help her if I don’t know the problem, though?
Being a lawyer is easy. I just assume everyone is lying, one hundred percent of the time, and then I move on from there.
Lillian isn’t so black-and-white, though.
She doesn’t lie the way most people do.
She doesn’t make up stories.
She doesn’t deceive.
She doesn’t seem to have a reason to.
So I know that when I ask her what’s wrong, when I finally confront her and try to find out what’s bothering her, I need to be ready for the truth because that’s the type of woman she is. Lillian is the type of woman who is going to give it to me straight because that’s the only way she can give it.
“I didn’t know you were here,” she says.
“I can be quiet, or so I’m told.”
“How long were you standing there?”
“Don’t worry. If you were talking to yourself, I only heard the last bit.”
“Which bit?”
“The silliness bit.”
“Oh.” Is it just me, or does she sound a little disappointed?
“You seem sad,” I say, finally. Maybe now really is the perfect time to find out what’s been bothering Lillian. We are trapped together, after all. We’re stuck at the office and there’s a storm whirling around outside. No one is going to bother us. No one is going to interrupt.
Should I go for it?
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask.
“Not really.”
“Why’s that?”
“I just said I don’t want to talk about it,” she says. There’s no anger in her voice: simply bluntness. She’s straightforward, which is one of the reasons I think Lillian is a fantastic paralegal.
She cuts to the chase.
That’s vital in the world of law.
Lawyers are expensive and we charge by the hour. There’s no time for pussyfooting. I like my clients to get their money’s worth with me, so I’m straight with them about their issues and what they can expect.
My staff is the same way.
It’s this attitude, this dedication to sharing information, that has transformed the firm from a little run-down office I opened right out of law school to a booming business with a packed schedule.
I step the rest of the way into Lillian’s office and walk over to her desk.
“Well, I’m here if you change your mind,” I say, and I place a hand on her shoulder. Her body tenses for a brief second, but then she stands and my hand falls away.
“I won’t,” she says quietly. “But thank you.”
Then Lillian walks past me out of the office. Where is she going?
“Where are you going?”
“I don’t know. I need something to do.”
“We could watch a movie.”
“Nah. I’m not a big movie person, Owen. You know that.”
“We could work.”
“In the middle of a snowstorm? This is the perfect chance to not work.”
“We could play a game.”
I think she’s going to refuse my final offering, but to my surprise, Lillian pauses and then turns around.
“What kind of game?”
“A fun one.”
“Like a board game?”
“Like a learning game.”
“An educational game?”
“No,” I say. “It might be fun to get to know each other a little better. This would be a game where we learn about each other.”
“Like Two Truths and a Lie?”
“I was thinking more like Truth or Dare.”
“Is that so?” She says, and to my surprise, Lillian looks a little intrigued.
She looks a little surprised at the idea that I might want to play this sort of game with her, but she doesn’t look offended or upset. If anything, she looks like she just might agree.
Then, after a long minute of waiting, she finally nods.
“Okay,” she says. “But you have to go first.”