Page 4 of More Than A Boss

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Typical Monday morning fiasco, Allie grumbled to herself. She had never been an early morning person, and now, coupled with the nine-to-five confinement, the struggle was real! She raced out the door, spilling her to-go coffee down her black slacks as the locked door slammed shut on the strap of her satchel, requiring her to dig for her keys to reopen the door. With the door unlocked, she considered changing into a clean pair of slacks, but glancing at her watch made the decision for her and that was a big, fat NO! Off to the races, she thought. She barely had time to feed the cat. Another thing to add to her list of promises to self, besides going to bed at a decent hour, was to set the alarm a half hour earlier. This wasn’t the first time she had to admonish herself for her lack of time-management skills.

“Come on, Bessie,” she said to her wagon, “let’s hit it!”

This afternoon, Casey was picking up Allie’s mom, and they were coming into the city to take her to lunch. As children, Casey’s family had owned the neighboring farm down the road from Allie’s, and they had been like extended family since they were in grade school. They had shared many outdoor adventures growing up in the country and pretty much had an idyllic childhood; that is, up until Casey and Sam had lost their parents when they were still in high school. After that Sarah had taken Casey and her brother Sam, into her fold. When Casey had given birth to her daughter, Clare, it was as if she were one of their own. Allie and Casey could almost tell what the other was thinking without saying a word. Allie counted this friendship as one of her biggest blessings. Her mom was always game for an outing with the two of them, so they were sure to have a great time at lunch.

Casey had relocated when she married Charlie, her second husband, and now she lived about an hour away. They didn’t get together as frequently as they used to, so Allie was excited to catch up with the latest happenings. Phone calls helped, but it just wasn’t the same as seeing someone in person. Everyone was so busy in their own lives. She missed her friend but realized it was just as much her own busy lifestyle as it was Casey’s that kept them from visiting as much as they would like.

Going over her day, she knew she had several hours of work ahead of her before she could think about her lunch date, so she needed to focus on the pile sitting on her desk. Joe, the security guard for their building, greeted her with his usual broad smile.

“How is my favorite girl today?” he asked, his dark eyes sparkling from warm brown skin.

“I am splendid, Joe! My mom and best friend will be coming to pick me up for lunch and we will probably go to our favorite diner. The one with the world’s best homemade pies! Should I bring a slice of apple back for you?”

Joe looked pensive then responded, “Well, the thing is my wife has me on a diet, doctor’s orders, but if one were to surprise me with a slice of pie it would have to remain our little secret.” He winked at her with a big, cheesy grin.

“Got it.” Allie smiled and winked back.

She continued to the elevator and rode to the ninth floor, which opened right into the huge law offices of Smith, Dunn, Rogers, and Browne. The firm occupied the entire floor, with rented office space for storage of archived files on the floor below. The doors swished quietly open into the luxurious penthouse offices. Appearances were everything when convincing clients to entrust their lives and legal woes to a firm. The luxury implied success and inspired confidence. Allie always felt a slight thrill and sense of pride when she stepped into the office. There was a hushed ambience that belied the actual busyness of this thriving law firm.

After unloading her satchel in the side drawer of her desk, she went to make sure there was a pot of coffee brewing. Someone had beat her to it, and the aroma of fresh beans filled the air. Next, she knocked on Zane’s office door to see if he was ready for a quick briefing about the forthcoming day. They usually met first thing on Monday mornings to go over any new cases and review pending litigations, motions, depositions, or whatever else was on the docket. Responding to her light knock, he called for her to enter.

Ignoring the slight flutter in her stomach, Allie poked her head in the door. “Are you ready for me yet?” Zane gazed at her with those piercing blue eyes, crowned by dark brows and thick, almost black hair. It was a striking combination. He had taken off his tie and the first several buttons of his white shirt were undone with the sleeves rolled up, his navy, tailored suit jacket thrown casually over the back of his chair. The dark hair peeking out from the V of his shirt was sexy indeed, Allie thought.

A platinum-banded wristwatch contrasted with his olive skin and the dark hair on his strong forearms.

“There is one more phone call I have to return, then I’ll buzz you. It will probably take me about fifteen minutes. Could you bring the Havers case file in with you? I’m a little troubled by a discovery I made over the weekend, and I’d appreciate your take on it.”

Allie jokingly said, “Don’t you ever take a day off? Man cannot exist on work alone.” He just crooked his lip up slightly and began dialing his phone, effectively dismissing her.

She sat down at her desk and pulled her notes on the Havers file, glancing through them to refresh her memory. Not that her memory needed much prompting. This case was one of the most disturbing cases in Allie’s brief career.

Their client, Will Havers, had been charged as a co-conspirator in a money-laundering scheme. He was accused, along with his brother-in-law, of laundering over five million dollars for a Mexican drug cartel. Despite a vast amount of evidence that he was set up by his brother-in-law, it was determined at the preliminary hearing that the prosecution had enough evidence to proceed to trial. Their client pled not guilty and was currently out on a million dollars bail, awaiting the trial scheduled for mid-January.

Much of her present workload revolved around this case: Finding and interviewing witnesses, gathering important details, clarifying information provided, also reviewing arrest reports and the information the prosecution would use against him had become all-consuming.

The difficult part for Allie, and she was sure for Zane as well, was that they believed in Will’s innocence. She also thought the evidence clearly proved it. Will had a beautiful wife, Camilla, and three small children under the age of five. His family meant the world to him. He had been a broken man in their initial interview. His justifiable fear of losing all that mattered had left him shattered. That Will was an innocent pawn of his brother-in-law, Christian Silva, seemed obvious. Christian, in fact, having been singled out as the mastermind of the operation, was being held without bail, awaiting trial for his part in the drug smuggling and money laundering.

Will had been subpoenaed to testify against his brother-in-law in the upcoming trial. Will’s small chain of convenience stores had been a perfect cover for the laundering of Silva’s drug money. Naively, Will had handed over management of three of his stores to his brother-in-law, only to be blindsided when the indictments were handed down. It had been a two-year undercover operation conducted by the FBI.

Twenty minutes later, she was sipping her steaming cup of coffee, patiently waiting for her boss to look up from his computer to begin their work together. This gave her time to glance around the office, again noticing the lack of personal mementos. No photographs, no trophies, no knickknacks. Very strange, she thought. Also annoying for Allie, since she had a very curious nature and liked to know what made a person tick.

In all honesty, they made a great team. Allie’s natural curiosity, coupled with her problem-solving skills and intelligence, had proven her to be an invaluable asset to the company. Zane preferred her to Annika, the other office paralegal, and would almost throw a tantrum if Allie wasn’t available. Some of the staff were more sensitive to his moodiness, which sometimes created hurt feelings and drama, which Zane had no patience for. Allie crossed her slim legs, her bouncing foot the only visible sign that she was restless. Finally, Zane looked up and really saw her. Her heart skipped a beat as he smiled, the lines fanning out around his eyes, making him seem softer and more approachable.

“How was your weekend?” he asked.

“Pretty good, despite the rain,” she grinned. “The best part was being at the barn with my horse both days and having my two nieces join me on Sunday. They are horse crazy to say the least. The apples didn’t fall far from the tree there,” she said. Ursula and Fiona had joined her for chores on Sunday morning and, as a reward, had hopped onto the two horses bareback and ridden around the indoor arena, much to their delight. Before riding, they played with the horses on the ground, encouraging Mel and Jeb to push a large plastic ball around the arena, with the dogs joyfully barking and running around as well.

“Thank you for asking.” She smiled warmly, revealing slight dimples.

He felt a jolt in response to her smile, which he quickly tamped down. Part of Allie’s charm was her complete unconcern with how beautiful she was. She had no idea of the effect she had on him. He observed that her long’ thick hair was pulled back in a ponytail today. Her slender build, soft brown eyes, and flawless complexion were a distraction at times, but he respected her as a competent professional paralegal in his office and tried to keep those thoughts to a minimum.

Currently, she had her reading glasses perched on top of her head. Her skin still held the glow of her golden tan from the summer. She had a graceful yet fragile quality, which belied her true strength from adhering to a healthy lifestyle, which included horseback riding, walking, and barn work, things he had discovered over the last few months of working together and through office chitchat. She much preferred the outdoors over a gym. Zane found himself studying her more intensely without realizing it, his eyes roaming over her every feature. Allie felt herself start to squirm a little at his appraisal.

“And you?” she inquired.

“Me?”

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