| |
N
ew York City: the place where dreams would come true. The streets were filled to the brim with people crossing paths, each on different roads to life with different dreams to grasp. The city was pretty much drenched in rain; the water dripped down from the corners of the pavement.
The wind started to pick up pace as it flooded through the trees. The weather in the city was almost as unpredictable as the toxic ex you just had to let go of. Rainwater would fall from the sky and sneak up on you just when you'd made sure you looked your best.
The streets that were layered with concrete were glittery with the rainwater that had just landed upon them about an hour ago. The busiest street on the Upper East Side was lit up like it was Christmas already. The lights were strung across the lampposts, and the tiny caravans offering street food were decorated too; fairy lights were flung upon their roofs, shining under the roaring rain.
This was what made the place so special. Even on days you'd feel your emptiest on the inside, all it would take was one step into the streets and you'd be reminded of how large the world around you truly is, how you’re never really alone.
The city was great, but it was nothing like the place Angela Melrose had grown up. She was pushed straight from the arms of subjective warmth and silence into the storm of honking cabs, rude convenience store owners, and a little too touchy bosses. It was safe to say that it had taken Angela more than a little while to adjust to the way things worked in the city.
It had all started when she was taken on by none other than Stanford, a full-ride scholarship for a girl in a small town, she almost felt like she was about to have a heart attack. At the age of twenty the rise to the top had started, and she had no idea what she was walking into. Angela's whole life was thrown into chaos, and somehow it was all worth it in the end.
It wasn't perfect. The thought occurred to her as she rushed through a mob of teenagers with skateboards pressed to their backs. She swore under her breath as she realized that she had left her umbrella at home. Music could be heard blaring from bars across the street on both sides as cars and buses drove by. Men and women held on to their umbrellas tightly placed in their palms; it was New York, after all, and rain was something that came as naturally as the fear of getting mugged or stabbed in the street. This was just how it was here.
Christmas was nearing, they were at the beginning of December, and the temperature had already started to drop. People were holding coffee cups and sought any place that offered something warm to drink and wrap their palms around or even seek refuge from the cold outside.
Angela couldn't care less about the way the place looked as she rushed with the crowds on the Upper East Side, along the pavement buildings layered with glass from the top to the bottom, the skyscrapers that stood tall hovering over her head, corporate masterpieces. The street was double-sided and decorated with shops offering various services, from coffee shops to bars and pubs and even large convenience stores; it was all there, and it looked beautiful under the colorful fairy lights hung from shop to shop, their ceilings drowned in light and color. This was exactly what one needed in the winter when depression would often seep into one's skin unexpectedly.
Her light hazelnut-brown hair had been swept up into a ponytail, but that didn't save it from starting to get drenched with rainwater falling from the sky. She had gotten used to it by now. She whispered under her breath as she heard the loud honk of a cab from across the street. She thought about hailing a cab, but as soon as she raised her arm towards the street, the driver zoomed past her, causing splashes of water to drench her clothes once again; she cursed quietly as she held her breath and spoke to herself.
“Great, this is just great!”
She took a deep breath before she began to rush through the street once more; she had stuffed her hands into the pockets of her coat, and she knew that she just had a couple of blocks to go. Rainwater had started to fall from the sky; she felt like her heart was heavy; there were moments where she felt like she needed a break. Being the strong woman with the weight of the world on her shoulders, she felt as if she needed a moment to just take off the layers of armor pressed to her skin and breathe, but the city was crawling with law firms ready to take advantage of poor families. It was all about the money. She recalled the day of her graduation when some of the biggest firms in the city rushed to her feet. She had been in the position to become one of the most famous lawyers working under law firms as Simon and Maxwell stood on top of the world.
She remembered the day she stood up to some of the largest firms in the country and told them she was going to do her own thing. She was told that it was never going to work out, and here she was.
Angela took a sharp turn towards the left into a rather dark alleyway away from the bustling street full of people on all sides; she started to pick up her pace; as she made it through the alley, she took the first opening on the right, and before she knew it, she was staring straight at the rather beat-up building across from her.
She had made up her mind on what she was going to say to Sandra the second she would step into the building. She could still hear the city sounds in the distance, and as she stood there by the rather narrow alleyway; she lifted her head slowly and saw the top of the building, and her eyes met with a billboard. It was a little wonky from the sides, but it still made her smile as she read the words printed across it.
“Melrose Gateway”
She still didn't know what to say whenever she was asked why she chose the name. She didn't know the reason behind it. She just knew that she couldn't go with a corporate name for her own firm; she wanted to be miles away from the bloodsuckers and the organizations she knew were feeding on the worst times that people seemed to face.
Angela didn't waste more time standing outside the building; she pushed herself towards the glass doors leading into the place she would otherwise consider to be her home. There was a tiny elevator just a few steps away from the door, and she instantly stepped into it without even looking twice; she knew the place as well as the back of her own hand. Before she knew it, the elevator was making its way up towards the fifth floor.
As soon as the metallic double doors of the elevator opened, she was right where she needed to be. The place was never quiet; Sandra was walking around screaming at a bunch of kids chasing each other by the reception desk across the main hall. The waiting area was full as always; Angela made sure to smile at every single person she passed by. There were old women sitting with children clinging to their laps, teenagers with one too many piercings, and men who stared at the ground shyly.
One look and she guessed what each person in the waiting area wanted from her, and she knew she could solve all their cases within a day. It was always a racist landlord, a rich playboy not considering consent, or a pregnant teen running from strict parents. The cases repeated themselves, new faces but the same old problems. The city was filled with filth, and it was mostly the good people the filth would end up rushing towards.
Angela's eyes were glued to the glass door before her just across the hallway. It had her name neatly painted across the front in cursive on a black plate. She pushed the door open, and as soon as it shut behind her, it took away all the noise from the hallway with it. She exhaled and immediately placed her bag on the huge glass desk in the middle of the room. The blinds were shut, but that didn't stop the light outside from creeping into the room.
The office wasn't exactly huge, and it wasn't even fancy; brown wooden bookshelves were placed on either side of the room. In the middle was the huge desk, and right behind it was a wall-sized window.
Documents were piled up in the center of the desk. She had barely even taken a seat when she heard it, the signature double knock, and she knew who it was already. Sandra never waited for a reply. The woman was the powerhouse of the firm and much more than just a receptionist. She pushed the door open and came rushing inside.
She was a dark-skinned woman who always wore floral prints and yelled at the children who came to the office. Her voice was heavy, and her heart was pure. She had been by Angela's side ever since Angela had decided to start the firm. The woman knew every habit of Angela's, and most of all, she never allowed Angela to end up slacking; even if the case was impossible to crack, the woman pushed Angela to the point that winning would be the only option left and nothing else.
Angela stared up at Sandra from the desk as she spoke up; one look at Angela's face and she had already read that something was wrong.
"What are you thinking? Whatever it is, I am assuming it has nothing to do with the clients in the waiting room across the hall?"
A shy smile appeared on Angela's face; she knew she couldn't hold it in anymore, and so the words came spilling out of her mouth right away.
"Okay....so before you protest, just hear me out.”
She raised an eyebrow like a little kid who had just messed up and was trying to cover it all up. Sandra stood there for a few moments; she crossed her arms over her chest and spoke after a few moments of silence.
“I’m listening.”
The woman genuinely looked scared as she folded her arms over her chest and gave Angela a look of disapproval. Angela took a deep breath before she finally spoke up, afraid of the reaction she was about to get.
“I know that you have been practically carrying half the weight of my cases anyway, and since we barely get huge cases these days, I was thinking, how would you feel about completely taking over for a month or so?"
Angela noticed the way the woman's eyes went wide; for a moment, she stared at Angela like she had lost her mind. A few moments were spent with her being left in complete shock until she finally spoke up.
“And what exactly led to this brilliant idea of yours?”
Angela gulped right before she dropped the bomb on the woman, knowing very well what was going to happen next.
“Well, I was actually thinking about stepping away and taking a break for a month or so; you know, it's just all been exhausting lately...."
Before she could even finish her sentence, she was instantly cut off by Sandra; the woman slammed her hand onto the table as she made sure to look Angela dead in the eyes.
"What exactly makes you think we don't have as many clients in need with serious cases? Have you seen the reception area? It's crawling with people...."
She paused for a moment and stared up at Angela. Angela picked up on the sign right away, and she didn't even wait for the woman to go on. For even a moment, she spoke up right away.
"Come on, Sandra, I see the same faces every day. Don't you think that I need a break? It's the same old cases repeated day after day, and you know that you can handle them so well now you don't really even need me around."
The woman crossed her arms over her chest once more; she narrowed her gaze and made sure that she was staring straight at Angela; she didn't even say a single word; instead, she put a finger up as if she wanted Angela to just sit there and wait. Angela didn't really know what was going on; she had expected some sort of a fight or for Sandra to blow up on her, but this was not the reaction that she was expecting.
She sat there and watched as the woman before her hurriedly left the room; the glass door slammed shut, and before even had the chance to think twice about what was going on, she could have sworn that not even a single second had passed by when the door was flung open once again. She looked up from her desk, but this time, Sandra wasn't alone. Footsteps followed her into the room, and Angela squeezed her eyes together, trying to figure out what the woman was up to.
Before she knew it, she was met with a boy who looked to be in his late twenties. A beanie was clinging to the back of his head; it was a moment from slipping and falling onto the floor. She could tell that his hair was overgrown; the light shade of golden-brown strands made their way to his forehead. He was fiddling with his thumbs, and she sensed the anxiety practically spewing from his body. She raised an eyebrow as she tried to make sense of what was going on.
The kid had a rather loose dark-colored hoodie clinging to his back paired with black jeans; his eyes were focused on the ground. Angela got a clear sense that he didn't want to be spoken to, and so she took pity on the poor boy; she turned to face Sandra, who was still standing by the door staring blankly at the wall. Angela sighed loudly; she tried her best to be subtle as she gestured towards the boy in the center of the room and spoke.
"Um.... Sandra, would you like to explain exactly what is going on here?"
The woman cleared her throat, and Angela could have sworn she noticed the boy had physically flinched when she spoke up. She hadn't seen a client like this in a while; she didn't know how to assess the situation without having clear context. She waited and watched until finally, Sandra took a step forward further into the office; the woman spread both her hands out openly, gesturing towards the boy, who was standing in the middle of the room before she spoke up.
"Angela, meet Toby.... this young man has been waiting in the reception room since five in the morning, and he refused to leave until he got to see you."
She still didn't get what was going on; the boy, whose name was apparently Toby, refused to look up or meet her eyes at any given moment. Silence filled the room for a few moments before Sandra took another step into the room and spoke; her voice had a hint of sarcasm laced in it with the addition of what looked to be anger, but Angela was used to it; she didn't really mind it she just wanted to know what was going on with the boy in her room. She paid attention to every word that left Sandra's mouth.
“Toby here says he wants to sue none other than Haywire Industries....”
The woman trailed off, but even if she was going to say anything at all, Angela wasn't sure she would hear it; she was too busy trying to make sense of what was already said. A sudden silence filled the room, and Angela didn't know if she had heard it right.
The name Haywire Industries echoed in her mind, and as she stared at the boy in the middle of the room with wide eyes, she didn't know how to react. This was one of the largest corporations in the country, supplying more than half the population with goods and services. She took it as a joke as she stared between Sandra and the boy who was standing in the middle of the room. She gulped until she finally gathered the courage to say anything at all.
"Come on; you have to be kidding me. Sandra, is this some sort of a joke to get me to stay?"
It wasn’t until she was met with dead silence in the room that she knew something was wrong. She looked over at the boy, but he seemed to be stuck in the same position; he wasn't moving at all. Her eyes moved towards Sandra, and she could tell that the woman was having all the fun in the world. Sandra saw the look of panic written all over Angela's face, and she smiled as she went on.
"So, Toby here wants to set up a case against the company, and he won't share the details with me, but I'm sure he'll tell you all about now that you're here and apparently you're looking for a real case."
She could feel the sarcasm rolling off the woman's tongue, and it almost made her blood boil, but she didn’t say a single word. She turned towards the boy in the corner of the room, and she tried her best to keep her voice as low and calm as possible as she spoke in a calm manner.
"Um...Toby, is this true? Do you really want to sue Haywire Industries?"
As expected, the boy didn't say a single word; instead, he simply nodded his head slightly. She expected him to stay that way, but to her surprise, after a few moments of silence, he spoke up.
"I want them to suffer, and I know I can trust you to help me."
It was in that given moment Angela knew whatever this was....it wasn’t going to end well.
This was the start of something new.... not necessarily something good, though.
