EMPIRE: The Rise of A Queen

Chapter 3

The rest of the weekend was calm with not too much to do other than help dad pack up boxes. Money or not, doing the simple things like packing up your own s**t when you move is something mom always stuck with everytime we moved and now it stuck with us as well. Now I can think that it had something about moms secrets and not wanting anyone to see her witchy stuff. That was one of the reasons why I felt like it was better for me to pack up moms things after she died. I put two boxes in a storage and when we moved to LA I sent them to be kept at a safety box until I could pick them up.

I slowed down as I rounded the corner of the skyscraper that held my new office. When I had talked to one of the heads of the firm, Hillary Milton, she let me know that we had parking spaces in the basement and that I could just take anyone that said ’Associate’. I felt weird by the fact that I would be the youngest person in the firm with ’less’ education. In sweden you start studs the law program right away and don’t do the bachelor degree first. So I saved a lot of years even if I had to studs like hell to pass the bar sight the lag system in Sweden and America are so different. It’s not like I take crap from anyone anyway. I got here just like everybody else and if they have a problem with that they have no idea who they’re messing with. I’m not saying that I’ll go full on witch on them but I might teach them a lesson or two. Age doesn’t matter, experiences yes but by the time I was twenty I had gone through more than any of the entitled thirty year olds will. Many of these lawyers are like me, born and raised by a wealthy family the difference is that I still had to make my own way and my parents didn’t donate a wing to the school library to get into college because I partied away my time in high school. I worked hard, got good grades and worked part time while I studied. When I was high school we got to start a small company just to get a feel of being an entrepreneur. Me and my friend Jennifer started a business where we helped the power grades with their school work. I went really good so we ran that all through our university years and hired more people and it’s quite successful by now. I sold my share of the company to Jennifer's boyfriend when dad and I was moving so now they run it together. I saved and invested enough so that I could buy my car and of course I have my trust fund but I don’t like to take from it until I need to. Like if something happens or I see a new business opportunity worth investing in.

Just as I put the car in park and turn it off I hear a loud horn echoing in the garage from a huge black SUV. I guess that I took his usual spot, ops. The car drives off around to the other side as I gather my bag and get out of the car, looking it before walking towards the elevator. I get in and just as the doors are about to close I hear a guy yell.

”Hold it!” I put my hand between the closing door to keep it open just a little while longer. ”Thanks” Says the man that entered. He was tall and well built and made that Armani suit look even better, if that is even possible.

”No problem.” I answered the man with a smile, he didn’t return it.

”You couldn’t take both my parking spot and the elevator from me at least.” The man that looked about thirty snarled.

”Sorry but Hillary told me that there weren’t assigned parking spaces among the associates so take it up with her.” I explained to the man but he didn’t seem so happy by my presence at all.

”You’re new? The one from Europe?” The man sounded more friendly now but I didn’t buy it though.

”Yeah, I’m Kendra Lewis.” I introduced myself. 

”Aha..” he said with his face glued to the phone in his hands. 

”And you are?” I asked trying to turn things around, I didn't want to be hated on my g first day. 

”Henry Prescott. Soon to be partner.” he said the last part extra proud like it would impress me and give him respect. 

”Sorry about the parking spot, I really didn’t know.” I apologized.

”Just don’t let it happen again.” He said as the doors opened and he walked out.

That wasn’t the start I had imagine to have but it’s just one guy. I can do this. I walk to the front dess and wait for the lady that’s on the phone to hang up. She looks up to me and hold up a finger as she ends the call by connecting the person to whoever they needed to get in touch with.

”How can I help you miss?” She woman says with a smile.

”I’m Kendra Lewis the new associate, I have a meeting with Hillary Milton.”

”Of course Miss Lewis, just have a seat and I’ll get Mrs Milton for you.” She said before she pushed a number on the speed dial and spoke into her headset. ”Miss Lewis is here to see you.” And then she hung up and kept taking calls. I did as she had said and sat down on one of the chairs in the lobby while I waited and soon I could see Hillary walking down the hallway.

”Kendra!” She said happily and held her arms open for me to hug her, I did but couldn’t help but notice some of the staff looking at us. ”Come on, let’s show you around.” She said and we started walking the halls. ”On this floor are the partners and conference rooms, one floor down are all the others offices and the floor under that is the archive. If you need any files or information just find Wanda, she works miracles.” She said with grace as we were walking towards the stairs to the offices. ”Here is family law and to the right is legal aids.” She pointed around the office space and kept walking. ”Here is corporate and over here is your area, criminal.” I look in the spaces and noticed an empty office to the side, an actual office and not a cubical which I thought I was getting and we were walking straight towards it. ”This is your office. I know it’s not a lot but..” I cut her off.

”No, this is perfect. Thank you Hillary.” I said sincerely.

”Well I’m not going to keep you. Get settled and then talk to Henry over there and he’ll get you a case to bite in to. He's head of the department.” Hillary said and walked out of my office. My face fell once I looked over and the name she had just said all fell into place. Henry Prescott, the jerk from earlier. I put my briefcase down behind the desk and took a deep breath before walking over to Henry's office. Just as I was gonna knock on the door he spoke to me. 

"Are you going to get in here or stand out there all day?" his tone of voice was as irritated as it had been when he first spoke to me in the elevator. I took a few steps into the office and saw him sitting with a bunch of files in front of him.

"So I understand that Hillary gave you a tour of the place?" He asked, not even looking up at me.

"Yes she did. She said you handled all the cases." He looked up me briefly but soon returned to the papers on the desk.

"Yes, I don't have any small cases for you to take right now. But I have one that you could join in on. It's not much to do but it's something." He said, sounding bothered by my presence.

"Anything I can do to help." I said cheerfully, I was not letting him put me down. I will do whatever I can to change his mind about me. Just cause he's bitter doesn't mean I will be.

"Go down to Wanda and ask for ever case file we have on Long highway and meet me in conference room three upstairs." I must have looked confused as he looked up at me before speaking again. "She'll know what Long highway means." he briefly said before waving me off.

I walked away and let out a breath I didn't even knew I holding. Walking with easy steps, smiling to the people I meet along the way to the archive. Once I reach my destination I look around for Wanda. When she pops her head out between the shelves my mind is blown. All I imagined was an 60 year old woman with glasses on a string around her neck, librarian feeling. But I've never been so wrong in my entire life. Wanda was a beautiful woman, around 28 years old maybe and tall and fit body. She could be a model if she wanted to.

"Hi! You must be Kendra, Mrs Milton told me you were gonna start today. I'm Wanda." she said cheerfully as she practically bounced over to me.

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you Wanda. I'd love to stay and chat but Prescott wanted me to get all the Long highway case files and bring them upstairs. He said you'd know what it means." I said with a smile hoping she knew what it was, half of me didn't trust Henry enough to believe those files even existed.

"Long highway? Did he say how much?" Wanda asked nicely.

"All of them." I simply said and her expression grew fast into a state of shock.

"All?" she sounded shocked at the fact that he wanted all of them. 

"That's what he said. Why? How many is all? And what is it?" her reaction peaked my interest.

"About five carts filled with boxes. It's all the cases that involve domestic violence." my facial expression must have said it all about my frustration about how I was supposed to get them all up there. "Don't worry, I will help you. Plus I have an elevator in the back we could use. Unless you wanna carry them all one by one up those stairs?" the joke was obvious in her voice which made me laugh lightly.

"Help would be nice." I answered her with a smile. I really liked this girl.

We gathered all the boxes and filled three big carts and took them up, while we chatted friendly.

"which room?" 

"Three, where now that is." I laughed a little as it was my first day and I had been here what? Two hours? She smiled back to me and lead the way to conference room three, Henry was already there and preparing for whatever was going to happen. I thanked Wanda as she went back to her archive.

"All the Long highway cases Mr Prescott." I said with a big smile, something that probably angered him even more. 

"Good. Well you might as well be helpful and go for a coffee run. Three with milk and three black. Got that?" He didn't even wait for me to answer before he walked away from me.

He was treating me like an assistant. Who does he think he is? I get that he's pissed that I took his usual spot but I'm a lawyer not his slave. Sure I'm new to the firm and hazing is a thing but I don't do coffee runs. I collected myself and went outside the building and looked around for a coffee shop. To my luck there was one just a little bit down the street. I ordered the coffees and skillfully balanced them back upstairs. As I put them on the table Henry looked up at me, irritated that I managed to get back before the meeting started. He was about to dismiss me again but as he picked up one of the coffee mugs the lid came off and he spilled coffee all over the place. I might have had something to do with it but it's not like could prove I had cast a spell on him right? I turned around and said I'd get him some paper but I tried to muffle my giggles while walking away. I suddenly hit something, or rather someone.

"I saw that." the person I had walked into said, I knew that voice without looking up. That voice and the man it belonged to had taken over most of my thoughts the past days. Marcel.

"Marcel?" I said confused as to what he was doing here at my place of work.

"Kendra Lewis, what a coincidence." he answered not sounding as surprised as I was.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him. 

"A case. Conference room three?" he asked and pointed to the room I had just walked out off.

"Me too, so you're a lawyer too?" I was putting my best flirting skills to the test, cute face, touching my hair, gently gracing his arm and all that stuff. 

"Guilty. So I guess we'll be seeing a lot more of each other. Just don't pull that coffee thing on me and we'll be good." I froze at his words, had he seen me cast that spell? How could he have known?

"What coffee thing?" I tried to sound innocent, not wanting to admit to doing magic since that is one of the golden rules. At least according to my moms books. Exposing our magical world can have severe punishment.

"It's okay, I'm a wizard too. To the human eye no one could tell it was you." he winked at me. He was like me, a witch or in his case a wizard. I had never met anyone other than my grandmother of our kind and that it was the man that I had dreamed about since we meet two days ago was just a bonus. A very hot and sexy bonus.