Page 60 of Up In Flames
Oh, shit.
I closed the door and tried not to panic, but this felt an awful lot like being hauled into the principal’s office and being told you weren’t in trouble only for them to ask a million questions to try to get you in trouble. I’d been a bit of an asshole as a kid, but there was no reason for me to be worried now. I came to work, I did my job, I went home. Most of the time, I went home. Sometimes I stayed late because Will was working late and working kept me from worrying too much about him.
“Have a seat.”
I lowered myself into one of the chairs that sat across from his desk and waited for Simon to drop the blade of the guillotine. Me, dramatic? Never.
He kept his gaze trained on his computer screen for a few moments as he clicked away on the keyboard. “You’ve been with us for how long now, Oren?”
“A few months. Maybe half a year.”
“That’s right.” Simon turned his attention to me, and I did my best not to shrink under the weight of his gaze. “I don’t want it to go to your head or anything, but you’ve exceeded our expectations.”
“I have?” The shred of approval allowed oxygen to enter my lungs again. The tension I’d carried in here unspooled and I was able to relax.
“You work hard. You put in extra hours. Hours that are strictly unnecessary but haven’t gone unnoticed. And the work you’ve done is top notch. I realize our branch of law isn’t always the most thrilling, and I’ve lost talent to other more exciting types of practice before.”
“I have no plans to leave, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Simon grinned at me. “I should hope not. But, nevertheless, I’m going to give you a raise just to ensure we don’t lose you.”
Simon gave me a number that made my head spin.
“Are you sure?”
He responded by arching an eyebrow.
“Right, of course you’re sure. Sorry. I just—back in law school, I had to work twice as hard as my friends to get the same results. They’re gone now, but they’d have loved this.” I cleared my throat and managed to push my emotions away before I succumbed to them and ended up a babbling mess on Simon’s floor.
“But for the record, Simon, I like contract law. I don’t want to jump ship to more exciting things like criminal trials or family court. I never wanted to be some kind of hot shot personal injury lawyer or anything.”
“What did you want?” Simon asked, obviously intrigued.
“I’m afraid the answer is simple. I wanted to not be dead fucking broke. I had nothing growing up, and after being paraded around in court for a few years because of shitty, no-show parents, I noticed the fancy lawyers never had holes in their shoes.”
“And yet you don’t want to go into family law?”
“Hell, no. Nope. No thank you. The system is broken, but they’re going to have to call on someone else to fix it. I barely made it out alive the first time.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m glad you don’t want to go into family law. That means I might keep you around for a while yet.”
“I plan to stay for as long as you’ll let me. I hope my admission to that fact won’t affect any future raises you might want to give me.”
Simon shook his head. Smirking, he motioned to the door. “Get out of my office. Your raise will take effect retroactively to the beginning of the month. Now go close some loopholes or something. Oh, before you go, Klein brought in a few interns to work on his special project. I need you to do a favor for me.”
The firm’s senior partner, Adam Klein, wanted all their archived cases digitized. They’d been in business together for decades and many of their old cases were stored in dusty boxes in the basement. Even as organized as it was, having everything digitized would make searching for things easier. But it was going to be a hell of a job.
“Klein was going to show them the way to the records room, but he’s been called away. The interns are waiting in conference room B, which has been cleared for them to use. Can you show them the records room and get them started?”
“I’ll head down now and get them on it.”
“I appreciate that.”
“Thanks for the raise,” I said, then I slipped out of his office, leaving the door open.
I made a quick stop by my desk and grabbed my key card. The records room in the basement was kept secure with an electronic lock.
I led the three eager interns, first-year college students by the look of their fresh faces, on a quick office tour. Showing them where the lunchroom was, the bathrooms, Klein’s office, all the important places.
