Page 29 of Indiscretion

It almost seemed too good to be true. So I dug deeper. “Can you tell me about a difficult case you worked on?”

Naomi nodded and told me about a capital murder case she was part of at the DA’s office. A guy had been indicted for killing his boss, whom his wife had been having an affair with. Midway through the trial, new information came to light that pointed to the wife as the murderer and not the husband who was currently mid-trial. The state subsequently dropped the charges against the husband and indicted the wife, only to have the husband take the stand and confess to the murder. Naomi explained all the complications of the case, including double jeopardy, spousal privilege, and tainted evidence. She even cited civil-procedure rule numbers that she clearly had memorized.

The more she talked, the harder it was to remember it was a bad idea to hire a woman I was attracted to. “What kind of salary are you looking for?”

She frowned. “I made fifty-five thousand at my last job. But I’m hoping for more here because the cost of living is higher than in Virginia.”

Fifty-five thousand with all that experience? Margaret had a lot less, and I’d paid her more than eighty grand. I knew attorneys who paid good paralegals well into six figures. The cost of living was more in New York, but it wasn’tthatmuch more than living outside of Washington, DC. Why did everything about this interview seem too good to be true?

“When would you be able to start?”

“Immediately. I’ve been doing some temp work through an agency, but it’s a day-to-day-type deal.”

Someone was going to snap this woman up with all her experience. I was tempted to hire her on the spot, yet something held me back. “It sounds like you’re more than qualified, but I have a few more people to interview. Can I let you know in a day or two?”

She smiled. “Sure. That sounds great.”

I stood and walked Naomi to the door. “Thanks for coming in so late in the day.”

“No problem. Thanks for taking the time after you were apparently bamboozled into interviewing me.”

Awkwardness set in as we stood in the lobby, or at least I felt it. I wasn’t sure how to say goodbye. I suppose it might’ve been because I didn’t reallywantto say goodbye. While I was busy mulling over stupid shit in my head, Naomi stuck her hand out.

“Thank you for considering me.”

I clasped. “I’m assuming your number hasn’t changed from when you gave it to me at the wedding?”

“No, it hasn’t.”

“Great. I’ll be in touch soon.”

Naomi opened her mouth like she was going to say something more, but then pressed her lips together. Eventually, I opened the glass door that led from the lobby to the hallway. “Thanks again for coming.”

She took two steps out, but stopped abruptly and grabbed the door handle. “Wait! There’s something I need to tell you.”

This can’t be good.“What’s up?”

“I wasn’t fully honest about why I’m looking for a paralegal job.”

“Okay…”

“It’s not that a paralegal job is less stressful. Well, it is, but that’s not why I’m no longer practicing law. I actually loved my job at the DA’s office.”

“Okay…”

She took a deep breath and looked into my eyes. “I’m working as a paralegal now because it’s the only job I’m allowed to do. I was disbarred.”

***

“What the fuck, man?”

After a half hour of sitting at my desk and staring at the wall, I’d finally picked up the phone and dialed Ben’s cell.

He sighed. “You need someone, and Naomi is great at her job.”

“Which job would that be? A paralegal or an attorney? Oh wait, she can’t practice anymore becauseshe’s been disbarred?”

“She told you, huh?”

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