Fuck. I’m late. It’s probably why I left my apartment wearing the one shirt I own that has a missing button. I smooth down the fabric over my breasts. It’s definitely noticeable. I flip down the visor and slide open the mirror. Great, it’s very noticeable. I groan and twist around to try to find a better blazer or a scarf in the backseat, but the seatbelt clicks into place. Frustrated, sweating, and now very, very late, I free myself of my restraint and find an ugly cream-colored blazer crumbled beneath the underside of the passenger seat. I bring it to my nose and inhale and thank the universe that it doesn’t smell.

I’ve worked at Morgan & Miller since my time as a summer associate during law school. Environmental law has always been my passion, but big law is how young lawyers actually build power to make change. Mergers and Acquisitions might seem boring to most, but to me, it’s how I’ll change the world. I’ve been on the partner track for the last five years, and this year is finally my year. Unfortunately, they’re only promoting two junior partners this time. If I don’t get it now, I risk death-by-senior-associate, and no one wants that.

The deal I’m working on now should secure my future. If I can secure the deal, that is. Big clients are always a big risk. Egos can quickly upend a contract negotiation that seems perfect. But with a tight deadline, I need one more major client to prove my worth. And the Phoenix deal is the biggest client I’ve been given point on so far. 

I don’t know if I believe in fate, but if I did, this would be it. I smooth the collar of my blazer. It feels like my entire life has been building to this very moment, this exact week. I can almost feel the future I’ve always dreamed of within my grasp. All my hard work, all the long nights working, all the weekends lost to my career, it’s all about to pay off. And once I’m a partner, I can really make a difference.

As long as Michele Morgan doesn’t see me half-dressed and ten minutes late in the hallway.

The elevator is on my side today, and there’s a few people away from their desks. I make it to my small office with little incriminating interaction. I even have just enough time to set up my laptop and take a sip of my coffee when I hear footsteps.

“Good morning, Meghan,” Michele says.

“Good morning,” I say. I button my blazer while still trying to catch my breath.

“The new transfer will be down shortly. He’s just wrapping up paperwork with HR.”

“Oh, right…thanks.” 

“You didn’t forget, right?” Her eyebrows raise into her hairline.

“No, of course not. Long night reading contracts. Sorry, just waking up still.” I hold up my clear coffee tumbler as proof. 

“Okay, well…maybe drink it all before he gets here or something. You seem off. We received fifteen more boxes from Phoenix’s firm this morning, and there’s a client meeting at noon. You’ll have to get him up to speed quickly and put him to work.” She taps her hand on my desk and offers me a tight smile that suggests she’s already annoyed and unwilling to accept anything less than perfection.

“Will do,” I say. I watch for her to turn the corner before I hurry off to print copies of the documents I need before this guy gets here.

It’s not that I forgot. I definitely remember the conversation where Michele offered me point and explained that I’d get help with whatever I needed. It’s exciting to prove myself and mentor others—another sign that becoming a partner is deserved and that my career is working out. It’s just that I vaguely remember the new guy’s name and certainly didn’t remember to have Clara mark his start date in my calendar.

As usual, Clara’s missing, and there’s no paralegal to be found. Luckily, the printer isn’t busy, and I’m able to make everything I need without waiting. Incompetence would be a poor first impression, and the client is coming in today. To be put in M & A then to help with a high-profile deal right away? This guy is probably some legacy whose parents got him into Harvard, who will be hyper-critical of me if I show up unprepared. I love my law firm, but that doesn’t change the fact that no one can be trusted, and everyone’s opinion matters. If I’m anything less than the best, someone will find out, and I’ll be passed over. Transfer or not, everyone is a threat, and no one can be underestimated.

I drop the stack of papers as I round the corner, carrying too much and all at once. I’m impatient in nearly everything I do. I stare at the mess, considering leaving it on the floor and finding a paralegal to take pity on me. If this is how my day is starting, I’m not so sure my patience will survive through lunch. 

“Er, I can come back later,” a man says.

I bend down to scoop up the scattered papers and nearly drop them again when I stand straight and turn around to see who’s speaking.

The man is handsome. Tall, maybe a foot taller than me. His sharp brown eyes peer down at me like he can see through my skin. I should look away but can’t. I swallow my nerves.

Everything about him is harsh. Maybe it’s his height, the way he towers over me, that brings out a sharp hollowness to his face. It casts a menacing shadow across his defined cheekbones. His full lips are pursed slightly, almost in disapproval. And his jawline clenches as he assesses my too-long stare.