“Mr. Pike, please,” he corrected her. Anna blushed a shade of red something awful. Steph secretly basked in the glory of her embarrassment.
“My apologies, sir,” Anna cleared her throat.
“Now your code is 4611, and I wanted our other paralegal here for this to understand what happens when billing is wrong,” he began.
“I’m sorry, what’s wrong with my billing?” Anna questioned as if she was perfection sitting in his chair.
“You billed the wrong hours to the Graham case and they received an astronomical invoice. I know because you both billed the same amount of hours but your figures are off. They have their retainer fee along with 80 billable hours at $240 an hour. The invoice billed from code 4611 was for $450 an hour. I don’t understand where the difference came in at. But a mistake like this typically costs the firm a client. This is why I wanted you both present! You must be absolutely certain when submitting your billing to accounting. Accounting isn’t responsible for double checking your work! Now if this happens again, from either of you, consider it your last day employed here. You’re dismissed,” John barked.
Steph and Anna both rose from their seats to leave, but John spoke up, “Not you Ms. Allen!”
Anna blushed red again as she left the office with her nemesis in a position she wanted to be in desperately; alone with the CEO. John waited for his door to close before he spoke to Steph.
Steph returned to her seat with apprehension. Anxiety crept up on her as she waited for John to tell her what he found wrong with her work. He sifted through the rest of the documents, set a few pages to the side, and when he finally landed on what he was searching for he looked up at her. Her hazel eyes locked onto his in wonderment. She couldn’t tell whether he was angry, disappointed, or ecstatic. His expression was unrevealing as she held her breath.
“Relax, Steph,” he smiled.
She couldn’t until he told her why he kept her behind.
“I’m sure that whatever issue there is with my work, I can correct it!” she blurted out anticipating the worst.
“There was nothing wrong with your work,” he told her. Steph exhaled a huge sigh of relief and relaxed into her seat. Her hands rested on her forehead.
“I didn’t realize how nervous you were. I apologize for that. I only wanted to tell you how wonderful your work was. Your margin notes for case prevalence was brilliant,” he applauded her.
“Thank you, Mr. Pike,” Steph sighed.
“So tell me what made you come to Pike Legal?” he asked.
“I got my Criminal Justice degree and your company was on the job board in my advisor’s office. I took a shot in the dark and Mrs. Cartwright called me in.”
“That seems so textbook,” John sat back in his chair disappointed.
“Well the honest answer is I come from a shit neighborhood. I got out of a shit relationship. And my degree was my way out without my friends grieving over my corpse. Forgive me for my candor. I try not to bring my baggage into work with me, Mr. Pike,” Steph clarified for him. She didn’t want to come across as too prim and proper, like Anna.
“Now candor is something I appreciate,” he leaned forward in his chair. “I know the kind of life you’re talking about. I came from a similar place. I want to help you get a bit further, if you’ll let me.”
“What do I have to do?” Steph wondered curiously.
“A few special assignments that may need a more delicate touch than I can afford. Do you know who Amanda Dahl is?”
“Of course I do,” Steph replied excitedly.
“Well she has a tell-all book coming out and we’re working the kinks out of the deal between her and the publisher,” he waited to see what her reaction would be. Steph didn’t move. She sat there waiting for more details. “I really just want to know your thoughts about potential obstacles we could face as her attorneys and how we should handle them.”
“But I’m not a lawyer, Mr. Pike,” Steph had begun to think he wasn’t in the right state of mind.
“And that’s precisely why I want you on this! All of these lawyers around here think that they know it all and when it comes down to it, deals like these … well, the devil is in the details. I don’t want a single opportunity missed. I don’t want a single question unanswered. I know you’re the right person for this job because of how meticulous your work has been. I know you’ll put the time and energy necessary to get this done. You’ll be working this case directly with me and Amanda, as she’s a close friend of mine and I don’t want this being muddied up by senior associate opinions. So what are your thoughts so far?”
Steph didn’t know where to begin so she just rattled ideas off the top of her head, “Well when you say tell-all, what specific industry are we talking about?”
“Music and film,” he answered quickly.
“Okay, so do we have a finished manuscript or are we still in editing? What’s the progress and estimated release date?”
“A few weeks until its release so long as we do what’s expected of us,” he liked how her mind was working the process. “And I don’t have a copy, but she’s willing to drop one off as long as you sign a nondisclosure.”
“That’s fine seeing as I don’t fall under attorney client privilege,” Steph agreed to the terms of the assignment and asked John a few more questions. She resolved to put together a preliminary report for them to tackle issues that may arise and all of their possible solutions. Nothing was to be left to the unknown.
Ideas were tossed around for a while longer between the two until there was a light tap on the door. John seemed frustrated that they were interrupted but he got up to answer it. Anna was puzzled as to why Steph was still in his office. She handed him some paperwork and tried to step in but John stood firmly in her way.
“I’m sorry, but this is a private meeting,” he cocked his head to the side so Anna would stop looking over his shoulder; “I’ll have accounting review these and get back to you. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“No sir, Mr. Pike,” Anna blushed yet again as she turned to walk away. Her anger toward Steph was building. She believed Steph had a vendetta against her since the day they met, especially now since she got to work one on one with John.
John shut the door to get back to his discussion with Steph. They spoke about the case for a little while longer, but eventually they got back to talking about the neighborhoods they left. They were kindred spirits in that sense. The rough upbringing they had survived made them adapt to the business world differently than the others around them. That was the connection they felt. They both came from a place that people in their work environment didn’t understand. The education from the streets coupled with their extensive knowledge of the law made them formidable in any deal they went into. Mrs. Cartwright had it right when she picked Steph to interview for the position. She had it right when she offered her the job. Steph had no idea at the time where it would take her, but it seemed like she was on the right path to a brighter future. Suddenly, everything she’d ever been through made sense. It was preparing her for this moment. She was ready to embrace change.