I returned to my work and kept my head buried in the memorandum the rest of the afternoon. By the time I finally finished, most of the office was empty. The large windows let in the sunlight as it passed from golden yellow to reddish-orange as it rushed down toward the Pacific. My body was tight from sitting all day, so I stood up and took a couple of paces up and down the hallway. A few paralegals were still working at their desks, but most of the associates had left for the day.

Stretching my legs, I could feel the blood rushing back into my muscles, easing the tension from my shoulders and my back. When I returned to my area, I felt considerably better and more relaxed. Then all of that disappeared when I saw Asher leaning against my desk.

“Are you done? Or were you just taking another break?”

I wanted to snap back at him, ‘Another? You didn’t even let me get coffee.” But I held my tongue.

“I’m done. Should I upload the file to the case folder?”

“Oh, there’s no need. It will be weeks or more before we have to file a motion, if we ever do. And we will rewrite it then, anyway. You can just delete it.”

It took all of my self-discipline to stop myself from screaming.

“You mean, I worked my ass off all day for nothing?”

He cocked his head to the side and his eyes dropped down.

“You haven’t worked it all the way off.”

I felt a surge go through me. On the one hand, I was angry. Not only had I worked hard all day for nothing, apparently, but then he just casually checks me out using a cheesy line? At the same time, though, it was exciting to see how his eyes ran over my body. There was a hunger in his gaze that was just barely hidden.

“Fine,” he said, quickly returning to a professional demeanor. “Let me take a look at what you’ve done. Follow me.” He turned on his heel and walked into his office. I was pulled along behind him, like a yacht’s wake.

The spare décor of his office was tinged pink by the setting sun that shone in as it dropped to the horizon. He said nothing as he crossed over to his desk and sat down. I took my own seat across from him and waited. He had apparently dismissed me entirely as he clicked around on his computer. He was completely focused, which gave me the opportunity to look him over without reservation.

He was impeccably put together. Even at the end of a long day, nothing was out of place. His hair, cut close on the sides and longer on top, looked like he had just come back from the salon. A slight five o’clock shadow had appeared on his face, giving a tinge of darkness along his cheeks and jawline. I saw his jaw muscles flex and relax as his eyes scanned from side to side.

It felt strange, sitting there while he read my work. I felt more confident with him looking over my body than my writing. After college and law school, I was used to my work being judged, but never by anyone who I was attracted to. It made me feel vulnerable in a way I hadn’t expected. I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. He was completely silent, pouring his eyes over my day’s efforts.

After what felt like an hour, but was in truth only a few minutes, he looked up. He held me in his gaze for a few moments. His face was unreadable. Finally, he spoke.

“Not bad. It should be shorter, though. You only need to say things once.”

“Ok, thank you,” I started, but he cut me off by raising his hand. I settled into silence again.

“You won’t be coming in to the office tomorrow morning,” he said.

What? I thought he had just said my work was ok. Was I being fired from an unpaid internship for no reason? My mind raced around trying to find an explanation and a response. But it was unnecessary because he continued.

“The arraignment is at nine a.m. at the criminal courthouse. Do you know where that is?”

“Umm, yes. Of course.”

“Good. Park at this lot and save the receipt.” He scribbled a note on a Post-it and tossed it across the table.

“Should I prepare anything?”

“No, the arraignment is pretty simple. She just enters a plea and we request bail. But I want you there.”

I nodded and got up to leave. The sun had sunk entirely below the horizon behind Asher. He was now even more in shadow and the light filling the office was slowly fading to a pale purple.

“I didn’t say we were finished. Did I?”

I froze in a half-standing position and then slowly sank back into the chair. He held me there with his eyes, though the rest of him was unmoving.

He reached under his desk with his right hand. I heard a button click. I turned around to see that the glass walls of the office had darkened. I could no longer see out into the hallway, but the window looking out toward Santa Monica and the sunset was still clear. Asher sat there, framed against the sky, while the rest of the room grew dark.

“Now that you have finished your work, we have some other business that was left unfinished.”