Page 17 of Legal Attraction

Rand opened his mouth and then closed it again. Fair enough. He stood as well. “Thank you for coming in earlier than expected. As you can imagine, there is much to do today…”

Mr. Goldstein held up a hand. “We will let you get to that. Joe from security has a few more things to go over. I believe everyone else is finished here.”

They filed out of the room leaving Joe, their head of security, a man who seemed much more like a mob body guard than an attorney’s security team. He was tall, burly, thick and perpetually frowning. Rand had wondered on more than one occasion if the guy had a diamond studded tooth.

ChapterNine

Coral was ready for her first day of work. At least she looked ready. Inside, she couldn’t be sure. The trip to the Mediterranean had not been as relaxing as she’d hoped. Sitting alone at a hotel was certainly meant to give her time to let go of all the cares that plagued her. But it had instead given her time to think about them. And then of course the attack. And Rand. She smiled. At least there had been Rand. Even if he hadn’t called, she was happy she’d met Rand. It was a mildly unusual name. She’d been tempted to Google “Rand Attorney.” But had stopped short of stalking. She hadn’t had much time either. And now, she needed to focus on her first day on the job.

Goldstein and Smithson had been high on many third-year law students’ lists. It was a smaller boutique firm with high powered clients and excellent compensation. The starting salary base was more equivalent to a third or fourth year start base, and they didn’t publish their bonuses. That typically meant they were generous or at least comparable to the industry standard. But she hadn’t been interested solely for the compensation package though it was intriguing. She was in it for the long-term partner opportunities. She would have the chance to steer the firm’s activities toward more public service and direct some of their pro bono work.

And for the escape. She couldn’t ignore, even to herself, the reality that she was hoping to get away, for as long as possible, from the royal life on the isles. If she could get to the point of some of the others, where she stopped in to visit, made appearances for big events, and then otherwise ignored the place, she would be happier. And more emotionally stable. It was going to be an awesome first four years at her law firm at least, she predicted. That’s what her parents had agreed to, without complaint, they would say nothing about her living and working in the United States.

The longer she spent outside the country, learning and exploring and challenging herself, the better queen she would be when the time came.

She climbed into her ordinary looking car without any security detail following behind and made her way through the quaint town outside of Richmond, Virginia, to Goldstein and Smithson.

Parking was simple enough. They had their own spaces. And hers was already there and waiting for her, with her name on a small sign. “Reserved for Coral Anastas.”

She stepped out of her car. The firm housed itself in what looked like a stately mansion home in the deep south. But as soon as she stepped in the front door, it was obvious the building was modern in every way imaginable. It just looked old. And deep with money. The thick mahogany wood detailed every finish. Gold light fixtures. Thick heavy drapes. It looked to be thick and full of tradition.

But as she entered the second set of double doors, a small beep surprised her. The receptionist stood. “Hello. You must be Coral Anastas?” She held out her hand. “It’s good to see you. I’m Gladys Bellam. If you could please hold your purse and bag out to be inspected?”

Three men dressed in black suits with ear pieces entered and without a word, searched her things. One of them pulled out her toiletry case she carried with her everywhere, It was her mother’s insistence that she have a sewing kit, first aid and emergency defense measures with her no matter where she went. Included in the case was of course instant communication with her local royal security team as well as a quick pepper spray and a lipstick that had a blade attachment. She felt so much like a spy movie but it had been her mother’s criteria and at that point, Coral would have agreed to almost anything for a drama free exit from the royal world.

“Oh that?” She laughed. “That’s courtesy of my mother.”

They were messing with the items in an oddly thorough manner. When one grabbed the lipstick, she called out. “Be careful with that…”

But he’d already flipped the blade. He raised his eyebrows at her but said nothing, just sheathed it again and returned it all to her.

Gladys smiled again, and the door to Coral’s right buzzed. “You can go in now. Welcome to Goldstein and Smithson.”

“Thank you.” She nodded to the other men, but they were filing out through the door they’d entered, not the same place Coral was heading. Trying not to feel unnerved, she lifted her chin and walked into the main office area of her new law firm.

As soon as she stepped through that door, a woman waved her over. “Coral Anastas?”

She nodded.

“Here’s your packet of new hire information. Please go into conference room four with the others.”

“Thank you.” She followed the woman’s nod and stepped into a room with three other people. The man lifted his head and smiled immediately. His grin was wide, his eyes sparkling, his hair perfect. He was dressed impeccably in a designer suit that hung on him like it was made just for him. He could have been the most handsome man she’d ever seen and that was saying something. But his friendly nature took the edge off. As it was, he sort of gave off a guy next door vibe and she liked him immediately. He reached a hand over to pull out the chair next to him. It was thick and hand carved wood. It looked heavy but he had no trouble adjusting it for her.

“Thank you.” She smiled back.

The other two women in the room were less friendly but at least not antagonistic. She’d heard that law firms could be competitive like law school had been. So far, she was not getting anything like that from them. She sat down and opened up her packet.

The man at her side held out his hand. “I’m Trey Cruthers. This is Mel and Jaden.”

“Great to meet you. I’m Coral Anastas. I guess this means we are all starting today?”

Trey nodded. “And they did say to finish as soon as possible. We had a five second orientation.”

Coral checked her watch.

“Oh, you’re not late.”

“We were just all really early.” Jaden turned to the next page.

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