When they reached the desired floor, the two girls walked towards their department. Alice walked ahead with a confident gait, naturally not afraid of anyone and not embarrassed, which can not be said about Emily. The girl was limping on a twisted leg and missing one of her heels, her fingers clutching at her bag in excitement. The department had been working for a long time, and it was more like an anthill. Separate glass-enclosed offices, where 5-6 people sat in each, and where did the girl go? What to do? After all, she was the only trainee who was late. Amy almost walked past her when Alice stopped outside one of the offices.
"Emily!
The girl blinked and didn't know what to do next.
— What's a?" Alice laughs, opening the door to the waiting room. "Come on in." - Invites her with a hand gesture, but enters first, where he already greets the girl sitting in the waiting room.
"Mrs. Kim," she jumps up, still not experienced, but trying to please.
Alice's good-natured smile never leaves her face, but she keeps turning around to see if Emily has come in or not. "Come on, hurry up!" She adds a little impatiently, and walks into her small office.
Amy follows, glances briefly at the reception area and the receptionist, and sees the sign on the door: "Deputy Chief of Legal Department," and she swallows involuntarily and enters, filled with excitement.
— I can offer you these sneakers, or these shoes, - Alice pulled out two pairs of shoes from the bottom shelf of the closet and evaluated the image of the new girl, thought about it. He hands her a pair, and she hesitates to take it.
"I'm sorry," Yi says, and lowers her head. — I've made you uncomfortable…
— What inconvenience?" Come on, change your shoes, you need to go to work, if you don't want to get fired, well, come on, " he puts his shoes at her feet and turns around, goes to his workplace.
— Thank you! She grabs her shoes, clutches them to her chest as if they're something precious, how well they've worked out, and Amy hopes this isn't the last of her luck for today.
— And this, - Alice is already sitting in the chair, interrupting the documents. "You're an intern, aren't you?" Then, don't you think Damian said something about this- " he starts to mumble at the end of his thought, as if he's not talking to the girl, but to himself. "That's why you need to see Mr. Lawson now.
"Mr. Lawsen?" Emily asks, starting to think of everyone she's seen at the interview before.
- Yes, Deputy General Director. Tell Sarah to walk you out, " the girl says, nodding at the door, indicating that she can go. — I'll go see him myself soon, " she adds, but it's a little quiet now, and Amy doesn't hear it because she closes the door behind her.
Wow, she was incredibly lucky today! Hadn't God already taken pity on her because of her morning's failures? How friendly this Alice was! The girl once again looks at the door behind her, reads the name and position plate several times, turns around and puts the shoes offered to her on the floor, changes her shoes.
"They fit," she breathes with relief, and after admiring her legs for a while, she looks up at the secretary. Sarah, interested in the newcomer's behavior, sat in her seat all the time, chewing on a pencil and watching the girl.
Just as Emily looks up and is about to ask a question, the girl gets ahead of her.
"Come on, I'll take you to Mr. Lawsen's."
On the way, as always, Emily was terribly worried. More precisely, the excitement has not gone away since the morning. She was a little afraid of the unknown, new people, and her superiors, who were clearly about to reprimand her, and she would get off easily, because they could easily say that she was fired before she had time to pass the probationary period. She lost a whole year after her studies, and couldn't find a place to stay when her classmates were already working in their specialty for a long time. Well, of course, because many people have good connections, unlike her, not a wealthy girl from the small town of Bangor, which has a population of only 13 thousand human. Apart from her mother, who could not help her, she had no one else, so she had to spin around on her own. And now the almighty heard her, finally giving her the opportunity to get into such a big company, so she, well, can not miss this chance!
"Mr. Lawson will probably be displeased —" Sarah didn't like the girl's taciturnity, so she started the conversation herself.
— What?" - A little did not hear her girl a little perked up.
"I'm telling you that Damian can tell you off right now, so be strong," he slaps the girl on the shoulder, and she swallows the nonexistent lump that prevents her from breathing properly. — He's a dreadful prig and bore in this respect.
The elevator doors open and the girls head down a long corridor toward the Deputy General Manager's office.
When she's almost there, Sarah stops, and Emily repeats after her. "Don't be fooled by him, he's f*****g the office floor…
— What?" - The girl is surprised, starting to get even more nervous. That was all she needed. Will he molest her? "He'll be -" He stutters and blushes.
— Ahh. - The girl immediately calms her down. "Not in that sense! It's just that you'll know when you see it… This man with a perfect figure, face and brain… Therefore, every girl in our office considers it necessary to hang on to him, and he, as a lover of women and s*x, does not refuse! Sarah clicks her tongue and shakes her head, lips curling to the side. — That's why I say don't fall for it, don't count on it for more than a night, good luck!" He pushes her closer to the door and leaves without thinking.
What? Who did she find anyway? What other likeness of the main character from the book fifty shades of grey? And now what awaits her?
After handing out assignments to the interns, Damian went about his own business, of which there were quite a few. He was no longer expecting anyone, but suddenly the personal file of the girl who did not come came under his hands. He looked at her picture again. Some kind of nondescript or something, too ordinary. Mostly girls, making such photos, try to look as good as possible, making themselves almost professional makeup, styling and putting on haute couture clothes. And this, quite ordinary, nondescript mouse. But here, if he can't imagine himself in a serious relationship next to the girls on which his p***s usually got up, then what's in the house for him do you need just such a mouse? Here is such an ordinary or something? No, that won't do either. Why would he need one? What's the use of it? Don't push don't ... don't talk? When did he ever talk to them at all? Before moving on to the fun part for everyone?
"Oh," he sighs and pushes the gray folder away from him. - Damian Lawsen come to your senses! He leans back in his chair and pushes his feet closer to the wall. — What are you even thinking?" What kind of breadcrumb? He slaps his hands to his head, trying to shake off his strange thoughts.
The answering machine on his phone goes off, and Damian is startled by his secretary's voice.
— What?" He walks back to the table, moving closer.
"Miss Fox is here to see you."
"What Miss Fox?" Mr. Lawsen frowns.
"Intern Emily Fox. She's in the waiting room right now. A serious voice says.
— What... - groans tiredly, not immediately realizing who is rushing to him. Frowning and wearily closing and opening his eyes, among the pile of papers he finds the same gray folder-Ahhh... - His voice changes to a more snide one. "Well, let her come in, since she's here.
The girl came in almost as soon as Brittany reported to Damian. Mr. Lawson was sitting in his chair, his expression unreadable, and he was already imagining how he was going to scold her. Almost immediately, it was obvious that she was very worried, and he, like a true sadist, in terms of work, only took advantage of this. This was how a person's resilience and readiness for any difficulties were tested, but she apparently failed this test.
"And?" said Damian, after a long silence. Now he felt like a professor at a university, because this was the silence that hung when a student did not know the answer to a question, and all this because of his laziness and stupidity. — What do you have to say for yourself, Miss Fox?"
He stared at her intently, mostly with distaste? Or not, it's a little milder than disgust… Pity? Those two interns had been happily completing his assignments all morning, always trying to come into this office again to make eyes at him and play games. Their whole appearance showed that they were not dressed up in such a way for nothing, they say, look at us, Mr. Lawsen, and this one did not express anything with a single bill. From her wardrobe, only her shoes seemed more or less presentable. Light brown hair pulled back in a bun, almost no makeup, because she wanted to put on makeup, but because she was late, just this I didn't have time, but Damian didn't know that, so he already had time to take it personally.
"I..." he says, lowering his head and squeezing his eyes shut. Right now, because of this strange pressure, she can't really see it properly, let alone the rest.
"What are you mumbling about?" Damian's voice is harsh and personal. He sighs wearily, rubbing his forehead with the palm of his hand. — What does a person like you do in this company? You're late on the first day of your probation, and not even five minutes late. So, now you're standing in front of me, looking like a scarecrow, you can't say anything in your defense, and you're a lawyer, you have to have a loose tongue in the first place, and a lawyer must be very disciplined and approach everything with special responsibility. Is not it so? "Telling her off like a guilty puppy, and she was the best on the flow, and she knows what responsibility is.
The girl's lips begin to tremble and she is about to cry.
Alice needed to consult Damian about the latest legal issues. Lucas had recently allowed her to work, and then only on the condition that she would be in plain sight, that is, in his company. Of course, the girl loved and knew her job, but still with some questions it is better to be safe and consult with a more experienced person in this business. Now she was walking into the waiting room of His Majesty Damian Lawson with a huge folder in her hands, humming to herself the melody that her husband had infected her with earlier in the morning, and for some reason she was thinking about this girl who had fallen right in front of her eyes. Of course, that she was late and Damian might have scolded her for it. It was probably because of this that she couldn't get this girl out of her mind.
After knocking once on the door of the reception area, Alice came in, giving the secretary a smile.
"Hey, Brittany! Damian's in his room now, isn't he?
"Get out!" It's very close, and they both flinch as they look at the door.
"Yes," she stammers, answering Bree's question, even though it doesn't seem to matter after the deputy's furious voice. A teary-eyed girl runs out of Lawsen's office and into the waiting room. Yes, that girl is Emily Fox.
He sniffs and wipes his eyes nervously with his hand. She was about to run away from here, but Kim immediately stops her.
— What happened?" Emily? He tugs at her shoulders, and she just whimpers and shudders. "Bree?" She turns to her secretary. - Sedative and water…
Before Alice can finish speaking, the deputy's voice is heard in the answering machine microphone.
"Brittany, tell that tearful fool that she's fired!" Let him hand in his pass and never come here again! This makes Emily cry harder than ever, and Alice opens her mouth in outrage.
"Whooooo?!" — What's that? " she screams, her brows drawn together in a menacing frown. - Oh, you... asshole... - Almost grits his teeth and sits the upset girl on a small sofa. "Don't worry, no one's going to fire you, but I'll deal with him now, wait.
"Damian Lawson! Alice bursts in. The man who was standing with his back to her at that moment turns around, startled by this determined look.
— What are you doing?" - Blinks his eyes and moves away on a mobile chair to the side, out of harm's way, as they say.
— Why is there a girl crying in the waiting room?" Why did you make her so hysterical?! What did she do? With every step he took, his friend's exasperated wife moved closer to him, which didn't make him happy at all. — And why is she fired?"
— What's that supposed to mean?" She was actually two and a half hours late, and not just for nothing! — He says in his defense, but feels that this will not help him.
"So what?" Isn't this a systematic delay?! She didn't even have time to get used to it! Why did you have to yell at her?!
— Because if she's so late on the first day, what happens next?" Why do we need such lawyers? "Now it seems Damian is as lost as that mouse was just a short time ago.
— Did you even find out the reason why she was late?"!
"What's the difference?" She's got what? Did someone die? Or what?! Why should I be lenient with such a clumsy person?
- The girl is overexcited! I was on my way to work from hell! Caught in a traffic jam! Then I twisted my ankle and broke my heel! Do you have any idea what that meant to her?! — Stop it! " she snapped, pushing harder each time.
— Why are you yelling at me like an angry lioness?" - From hopelessness freaks out a man jumping up from his seat. — What kind of women's solidarity is this?! Did you get that out of her already?" Did she tell you about the broken heel?"
— She broke it in front of me, you i***t!"
Damian goes quiet almost immediately. There's a brainstorm going on in his head, and he probably knows he's overreacting after all. After all, it was possible to make do with a small reprimand, but for some reason he yelled at the poor girl so much that he fired her and brought her to tears. Ah, and it occurs to him that he's seen those shoes somewhere.
— What?" The girl grins triumphantly. "Got it?"
— Then take it for yourself. If I agree with her like that. He clicks his tongue in disgust. After all, I don't want to admit defeat at all. "The protector.
No, Alice and Damian were good friends, but this attitude, the girl could not stand. She scowls at the man who's trying to walk through the ground like a wolf with its tail between its legs.
- A judge must rely on the law, but can also make a decision based on inner conviction. Humanity and humanism. A good lawyer should have those traits, right? - After her words, the guy turns around, wants to say something, but at this time, the girl already leaves the door, leaving him alone. Frustrated and defeated.
— What the hell is going on?" - Shaggy hair on his head and slams the palm of his hand against the wall.