My name is Gerard Hildebrand and I work for Rhodes & Admon, one of the top law firms in town. I'm 27-years-old, single and have no kids. I don't want to sound arrogant, but I never think about settling down as my career as a barrister is soaring. All I do is work, really, and the days I actually do have off, I just sleep and eat at home. There's no room in my life for a relationship at all.
"Yo!" I could see it was Jackson Vaughn, my closest friend and colleague, through my office door as it was glass. It was also a dead giveaway in which he never bothered to knock on the door- Jackson's as rude and crude as they come, but he's actually a nice and smart guy. As a result of his "charm," you could call it, and his handsomeness, he's popular with the women in the firm. He's got a new woman at least twice a week. "Dude, weren't you supposed to take the day off today?"
"Why would I do that?" I sighed, looking through the papers of the class action suit I'm working on. A lot of the time he's a pest, but unlike your standard pest, he goes away if you show indifference to him long enough.
"Um, I don't know... so you can get laid?"
I almost choked on my glass of apple juice that I have every morning. "Excuse me?"
"When a man and a woman fall in love, sometimes the man puts his pe-" Jackson began in a tone coated in mockery.
"Of, for God's sake, cut it out!" I growled at Jackson's cynical immaturity. He snickered in some sort of triumph- rats; I should not have paid any attention to this... cockroach at all.
"Jesus, you're such a prude, Gerry!-"
"Gerard." I corrected, as I despise being called Gerry. Though I hate to admit it, he's right... sort of. When I'm in a relationship, there are periods where the poor girl won't get rest, but outside of one, I'm relatively chaste. Just the mere mention of sex in any crude or direct manner will make my cheeks a little pink. It's quite pathetic, but...
"I get why you don't want to be in a relationship-"
"Never said that," I denied, trying but failing to focus on the same page I've been on all this time because of that pestilential Vaughn.
"Whatever. Listen to yourself! You're wound up so tight you're like a corkscrew. I'm saying this all in the spirit of companionship, brotherly love and honesty- you need to-"
"-Get laid, yes, you've told me that at least a hundred times over the last week."
"Do you ever let me finish my sentences, Gerry?"
"I'm due in court next week, Jackson. I have to read this."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll let you in a sec... but seriously, there's no need to be embarrassed. Everybody has a "dry" period. Well, except for me, of course."
I'm glad that somebody out of the two of us is amused. I couldn't help but smile a little bit at his over-the-top confidence. In truth, I envied that about him... sort of. The only place I'm highly confident is at work, since it's important in lawyer-to-lawyer "gamesmanship" and to reassure my clients. "Did you actually want anything other than to annoy me?"
"I thought it would be nice of me to give you first dibs," Jackson excitedly told me; like he was making an announcement of some kind. I knew it was just another one of his juvenile jokes or whatever, so I didn't reply. Unfortunately, he took this as a sign of intrigue, and continued. "Y'know, on that incredibly hot accountant that started two weeks ago. God, you should see her. She's an eleven out of ten! Just looking at her is like..."
Please stop talking, Jackson.
Jackson plonked himself down on the two sofas opposite to my desk- that's usually reserved for people that aren't a waste of time, like clients. "Anyway, her name is Ashlee Lulling... but guess what?"
No really, I beg of you.
"I saw her eye you. Y'know, the eye. Like the "Holy Cow Look How Hot Jackson Vaughn Is!" eye."
"So I look like you now? Despite me being brown-haired, you being a blond, and me being green-eyes, and you being blue-eyed?"
"You should be flattered. I'm a hit with the ladies, you know," Jackson shrugged smugly. "Anyhow, you should go for Ms. Lulling. If I were you... oh, boy..."
"What else do you want?" I answered, giving up on the notion that he would get back to work.
"Tina Underwood," Jackson laughed at his own comment, probably thinking he's funny. Okay, it was funny the first time, but he's completely killed it by repeating it about a thousand times.
I sighed for the hundredth time this week, shook my head for the thousandth. "Alright, get out. Ms. Lulling is hot, duly noted. With that, I'm sure I'll win my class action suit."
"How many of your clients are single, hot women?"
"Get. Out."
Jackson snickered again and finally left my office. I'm beginning to wonder if he actually does any of the work Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Admon dumps on him. It's a miracle he's still employed.
*********
It was now 1:20pm, and surprisingly, Jackson is late to our daily outings to for the one-hour break. I can't wait any longer, so I grabbed my coat, keys and wallet. Just when I was about to get up to leave, I heard a soft knock at the door. Okay- just now, I have ruled out Jackson in an instant. There's no way he'd knock. "Please come in," I permitted; straightening up my green tie. The door opened slowly, and in timidly came a beautiful, long-haired brunette woman. I could tell she was younger than me, but probably not by that much. My heart skipped a beat... her expressionless face gave her ocean-blue eyes an ethereal gaze that stabbed through my chest and grabbed my heart.
Unlike most of the women in the firm, she wasn't a bunch of well-placed twigs in overpriced sacks that were their dresses. She wasn't as robustly voluptuous like say, Marilyn Monroe, but just enough that gazing at her curves made me feel... tantalised. I hate to say it, but the first thing I wanted to do was stand behind her and glide my hands over those delicious curves. She didn't smile nor frown; it was like her soul had been sucked dry out of her. If she didn't blink, she could have been the world's most beautiful zombie.
"What is it?" I asked her as gently as I could. I'm genuinely puzzled. Her left hand was balled into a fist, and she appeared to be carrying no files or whatever.
She loosened the fist, and on the palm of her lovely hand was a crimson USB. She stared at me, I stared at her. She brought her outspread hand up higher, so that I would hurry up and accept it.
"Thank you," I tried to smile, in spite of those striking yet oddly hollow blue eyes carving into me. "What's on it?"
She looked nervous, which was the first emotion I saw in her throughout our little meeting. She never looked me in the eye, ever. Making sure I took it out of her hand, she scuttled off out of my office and almost bumped into Jackson on the way out, who was probably ogling her backside the whole time. I swear he had hearts floating out him, and stars in his eyes, like a cartoon character.