Chapter One
It had been a slower day as I stared out the window watching the city lights flicker.
I couldn’t still believe I landed the intern position.
There was at least a stack of applications lined up on the desk when Mr. Nelson sat across from me. His other partner, Mr. Murdock and Miss Page, the P.I. that shared the office space, listen to my answers from the doorway.
My hands were sweating as I rubbed them on my dress pants. Mr. Nelson looked up from my resume, “Miss Taylor. I see you went to college and got your bachelors degree in history in 2010. With high honors.”
“Yes, sir.” I responded.
His eyes shifted back to the resume that held little accomplishments.
I prayed that he wouldn’t judge me by being older than most interns they probably hired.
Mr. Nelson directed his gaze at me quizzically. “What were you planning to do after you graduated?”
Great this question always made me shrivel up and die.
“To be honest, I wasn’t sure at first,” I stated knowing I took off four years with my sister to find ourselves. During that time, I held down a job bar tendering. But as time went on, I wanted more for myself and I decided to further on my education. My cheerleader of a sister believed I make one of the best lawyers in this damn city….
“Until I realized I wanted to be a lawyer and I was going to apply for law school,” I stated with a flicker of happiness.
And then the incident occurred and I gave up 10 years to start my life. The thought slipped through my mind, but I forced myself to stay focused. They didn’t need to know that.
My lips pulled down as I continued to explain, “But reality set in and I found it to be overwhelming expensive.”
“Why the change of mind?” Mr. Murdock interrupted and my heart jumped at his stoic posture. For some reason I found it a lot easier to answer Mr. Nelson.
“I saw your ad looking for an intern and I figure it wouldn’t hurt to try. I could get the experience and see if I really like this line of work before going into debt.”
Mr. Nelson nodded his head with excitement laced in his voice, “Do you have any experience with computers? And how are you at answering calls, taking messages and handling correspondence?”
“I have the basic knowledge of computer software programs. And as for the phone, I have developed good communication and customer service skills when working in the food industry.”
Mr. Nelson looked over to Miss Page, who smiled and then to Mr. Murdock.
He stood against the wall tapping his cane lightly in pensive thought. I couldn’t read him with his impassive expression and that made my stomach knot up.
Slowly his lips curved up and he gave a nod of approval. Mr. Nelson slapped the table in delight, “Fantastic. For right now you will be helping Karen handle the phones and scheduling. For the past weeks we’ve been swamped.”
I nodded my head still not believing it. I needed him to say the words.
“We’ll do a test run for three weeks. Don’t worry you’ll be fully paid.” Mr. Nelson added, “Congratulations Miss Taylor you’ve executed the interview.”
The breath I was holding inside released in relief. “Thank you, Mr. Nelson,” I shook his hand.
When I turned my head to his partner, Mr. Murdock smiled before going back to his office. As for Miss Page, she walked forward and shook my hand, “Congrats. Now Katherine let’s run over some details while your here....”
“Katherine?”
“Hmm, yes?” I rotated my chair back to Mr. Nelson.
Shuffling papers from under his arms, he asked, “Can you please make copies of all of these and have them on my desk before court tomorrow?”
“Of course, Mr. Nelson,” I stated and I watch him make a face.
“Katherine you can call me Foggy. You’ve been here over five months now.”
“Sorry, it’s a hard habit to break,” I smiled taking his stack of papers. Plus I liked keeping with formalities. “Will you be needing a copy for Mr. Murdock too?”
My eyes glanced over to the dusty braille machine. I think I only used it twice.
“That won’t be necessary. Matt is working on a different case right now so he should be in tomorrow.”
Mr. Nelson yawned as I asked, “Will Miss Page be coming too?” All I knew she had been in and out of the office theses past weeks.
“I’m not sure,” Mr. Nelson stated. “Do you want me to wait with you until your done copying those papers?”
I shook my head firmly, “No this is going to take awhile.” I pointed to the door, “Go get some rest so you can be sharp in court.”
Mr. Nelson hesitated and I added, “As soon as you leave I will lock the door and I have my pepper spray just in case.”
“Okay,” he finally caved in. “But if you need me, I’m only a phone call away.”
I nodded my as Mr. Nelson left the office door and he called out, “Goodnight.”
“Night,” I locked the door behind him and turned back to the copy machine with a nervous sigh.
Yes, I was well aware that my life could be in danger after signing a fifteen page contract. To keep everything they said in discretion. To not call the police without authorization from one of the firm members. I even had to prepared a will just in case.
Scary, right?
Feeding each sheet one by one, time passed by faster than I thought. But I didn’t mind. It meant I didn’t have to be home alone for too long.
My eyes started to prickle at the thought.
A sudden rattle of the door made me gasp as I spun around at the person behind the frosted glass. My mind frozen in fear as my hand reached for the pepper spray.
Who the devil could be at the door?
