Jenny gently pressed her lips together, quietly epting Charlotte’s kindness
“Then thank <b>you</b>, Miss Riley.”
charlotte smiled.
“We’re off the <b>clock </b>now. Don’t call me “Miss Riley, it’s too formal, post <b>call </b>me Lottle or Charlotte, if you’d like.”
Jennyughed softly.
“Alright, Charlotte.”
charlotte picked a window seat and gestured <b>for </b>Jenny to sit.
“This pet has a great view–you can see the city lights.”
“Yeah.” Jenny sat across from her, still a little reserved.
“Onder whatever you like,” Charlotte said<b>, </b>handing her the menu.
Jenny <b>waved </b>her hands quickly.
“Yongo ahead, Charlotte. I’m good with amthing<b>.</b><b>” </b>
Sensing her hesitation, Charlotte nodded and took the menu back. She ordered a few signature BBQ dishes and some vegetables.
The raw meat was served quickly, and the staff handled all the grilling. When the meat was <b>cooked </b>and ced on their tes, Charlotte gave a polite thank–you. <b>and </b><b>asked </b>the server <b>to </b>leave them alone.
<b>“</b>Alright,” she said gently, “so what happened?”
Now that they were in private and the mood had settled, Jenny finally opened up.
“It’s nothing serious. I just got <b>scolded </b>by Miss Garcia today.”
“Gemma Garcia?” Charlotte asked.
Gemma was Jenny’s supervising attorney. Charlotte <b>didn’t </b>losow her well, but she had heard colleagues gossip about her. Apparently, Gemma’s moods were unpredictable–kind and gentle one moment, sharp and irritable the next. When she was upset, she often took it out on her assistants.
There had once been a guy who joined the firm on the same day as Jenny. After being scolded twice by Gemma, he had simply quit without warning. Since he hadn’t passed the bar yet and wasn’t officially inteming under the firm’s license, he could leave whenever he wanted.
But Jenny was different. She had passed the bar and was officially registered. She <b>had </b>toplete a full year of supervised practice before she could transferor leave. Which meant she couldn’t go anywhere until next April
Charlotte asked gently, “What did she scold you for?”
“There’s this difficult client <b>in </b><b>a </b>divorce case. She’s almost impossible to talk <b>to</b>.<b>” </b>Jenny sighed, frustration all over her face.
“I <b>asked </b>her <b>to </b>provide some evidence, but she ignored me. I called her, and she was really uncooperative. Then Miss Garcia red me, saying I didn’t know how tomunicate. The dient didn’t like the draftint I wrote–she kept demanding I Include a im for emotional damages. She wanted thirty thousand dors
“But the thing is, her case doesn’t even qualify for that kind <b>of </bpensation. There’s no basis for it. On top of that, thirty thousand is a high im amount, which <b>would </b>increase her court fees. I exined it to her<b>, </b>but she wouldn’t listen. She insisted <b>I </b><b>add </b><b>it </b><b>in. </b>I wasn’t sure what to <b>do</b><b>, </b>so I asked Miss Garcia
“And she just snapped at me.ald I had no brain, <b>that </b>I <b>called </b><b>too </b>much, and didn’t know how tomunicate.
“Then she called the client herself and exined everything–the exact same way I did earlier. After that, she rewrote theint herself. But the client still. wasn’t happy and made even more <b>ridiculous </b>demands.
“I told her from the start that the ellent was difficult, but she didn’t believe me. And when she got <b>annoyed </b>herself<b>, </b>she turned around and took it out on me. She called me into her office and yelled <b>at </b>me for ages. I was upset, so I tried to exin. But she said I was talking <b>back </b>and <b>then </b>yelled at me again.”
Jenny’s voice cracked, and tears welled up in her eyes again.
Charlotte grabbed <b>a </b>few napkins and handed them to lier.
“Hey, <b>It’s </b>alright. Don’t cry. If you want, you can transfer to work underme. I’ll talk to the supervisor.”
Jerry <b>looked </b>up at her<b>, </b>eyes wide
“Can I really <b>do </b>that?”
“Of course. You’re registered under the firm, not specifically under her. You can be assigned to any supervising attorney.”
Hearing that, Jenny gave a relieved, genuine smile.
“Thank you so much, Charlotte”
“Alright now—no more tears, okay? Cheer up<b>.</b>”
“okay.”
After dinner<b>, </b><b>chadotte </b><b>got </b><b>up </b>to pay the bill.
She had just taken a few steps when a couple came walking in from the other side.
“Charlotte Riley?” the man called, his eyes sparkling with amusement. He greeted her with a familiar smile.
charlotte nced ever, frowning slightly.
“Dollmow you?”