Hi, my name is Abigail. I currently work full time at a law firm in Manhattan, New York, where I'm a "legal assistant". This is just a fancy way of saying I'm a secretary — I book appointments, answer phone calls, send documents, and do whatever asked of me by the many attorneys and partners that come through the office every day. It pays well and I've been working hard to try and secure the promotion to paralegal that my boss Ricky has flaunted on so many occasions. Ricky is technically my bosses' boss, but I typically find myself interacting with him instead whenever I have issues or need something that has to be approved (such as larger office supply purchases).
For the most part, Ricky is a compassionate boss who genuinely wants the best for me within the company. I've gotten to know Ricky more and more over the years, and he has come through on so many occasions for me that I consider him a true friend.
It's important to know that while I live in a good part of the city, and the law firm is also in a good part of the city, travel requires going through some rough areas. I recall one night when I pulled overtime because the night time assistant was running late due to family issues (the law firm prides itself on being available 24/7). I had just left the office and was on my way home after an overly exhausting day when my car suddenly stalled on a residential side street that just so happened to be in the not so good part of town that wasn't well lit. Everything looked in order, but the car simply wouldn't turn over. The ordeal was fairly terrifying, but Ricky answered his phone from a dead sleep and rushed over to take me home. He would continue to do things like that — my car always seemed to give out on me at the most inconvenient of times.
There were other characters at the office, too. Jim was a well spoken chinese man in his early thirties who worked as a personal injury attorney at the firm. There was also Annie, a young accountant eager to make a good first impression at her first accounting job. Our duties often intertwined, and we often found ourselves working together on many occasions. We just so happened to live on the same street, and we sometimes carpooled to work together on days where we were ready at the same time and one of us didn't feel like driving. She's a good kid — I say kid because she's barely out of her teens, and she does good work, don't get me wrong. It just sometimes seems like she's distracted and in her own world on the occasions we have to spend hours working with boring spreadsheets together.
I digress. There were other characters like Pam, Devin, Beasley — but they mostly just waved when walking past or seldomly came to ask that something be done. Being mostly an office job, this meant we'd occasionally have parties when a big case was won, or a senior attorney had a birthday. I don't really feel either way about these parties — they mostly focus on the big players of the company and I find myself mostly just lounging around on my own with those little cheese crackers. You know the ones? They put a literal piece of cheese on a cracker, but it still tastes good nonetheless. Fearing liability for any incidents, the firm usually didn't serve actual drinks unless the occasion was special enough to warrant.
It eventually came time for Ricky to turn 30 (sidenote: why are these attorneys so young but already so successful?? I should've just become an attorney instead of their underpaid secretary). Given Ricky's seniority at the company, this was one of the companies they put that extra amount of effort in. This means they had professional caters and a band — the whole nine yards. Seriously, he's one person. Why is he so important?!
Anyway. The party was to occur on a Sunday after work hours at a hotel just near the law firm. The firm booked a huge banquet hall and invited many partners to the gathering. They seized the opportunity to not only make it about Rickys' birthday, but about how well they were doing as a firm. Typical bragging rights, I suppose. They weren't wrong — they were a staple of the area and never had a shortage of business. I find myself not going to many of these because of what I said earlier. I just find myself alone and that doesn't make for the best Sunday night. Regardless, given how many people were going to be there, I felt it important to show face. Becoming a paralegal would be a huge jump for me and would mean my own office instead of just having a desk in open space. I'm not complaining, but it sometimes just feels like people are staring at you. It's difficult to explain.
The day at work came and went. Nothing really notable happened, and it was evident that a lot of the attorneys working that day were zoned out and simply waiting for a night of free drinks, food, and hours of schmoozing. I'll never understand why men find this so important, or how they manage to stand around for hours without lacking a topic of conversation.
I spent a few hours after work putting on some makeup and ensuring I looked as professional as possible. This was my chance to make a strong impression with the people that mattered, and I couldn't afford to spend several more years working in my current role. Being exhausted from a day of mind numbing multitasking, Annie and I carpooled together. She had the luxury of having the day off, and was able to come to the party with a fresh mind. We talked throughout the ride but my mind was elsewhere — on marketing myself for paralegal.
Annie and I hung out for a little while once we got there, but eventually split. She was simply social and wanted to embrace the party aspect of the party, while I simply wanted to make good impressions with people.
It was roughly eleven PM when I had just gotten done talking to an attorney who has been with the firm for a few decades now. I felt a light hand tap my shoulder and turned in confusion to be met with the familiar grin often worn by Ricky. He said he wanted to spend some time with me, that he wanted to get to know his legal assistant better while he had the chance to hold casual conversation without worrying about something that he needed done.
He was the one person I didn't need to market with since we already work together frequently, but he still had a big say in my future within my company. Having already had a chance to speak with most of the people I wanted to, I did my best to destress and went with Ricky. He truly did want me to excel in the company, and took me to meet some of his friends who just so happened to be people that I'd need to market to anyway. Ricky seemed even more pleasant than he usually did, and said nothing but good things about me to these people. Geez, was I glad I went.
It was about midnight when the party started to wind down. I had already found myself several pastry tastings throughout the night, but was feeling confident and excited and wanted something to suit the mood. Ricky usually isn't the type to drink, and neither am I, but I do indulge on occasions. Ricky and I went to the bar — he simply got himself a soft drink while I got a cocktail. I'd had to pee since around the time Ricky pulled me aside, as I stressed I drank more water than I'd care to admit prior to the party. He finished ordering the cocktails as I went to the little ladies room.
It felt great to finally release what I was holding in, and I was ready to end the night with some drinks. I found Ricky back at the bar and we went off to a quiet table in a corner of the hall. Ricky and I had some nice conversations during this time. This was unusual for us — while we spent some time together, it was always business or passing pleasantries. We never really sat and simply talked with each other. Ricky explained how everything was going great absent one thing. His girlfriend had left him weeks earlier, which I guess explains the subtle change I had observed in his attitude predating the party. It was a sudden breakup that left Ricky heartbroken on the inside, with no real outlet to share his feelings. His position doesn't afford him the position of seeming weak to people, and that was something he understood.
I genuinely felt bad for Ricky, but there wasn't much I could do. Annie told me she was seeing someone, and I didn't really know many of the other girls around the office. I wasn't interested in a relationship myself so found myself unable to try to set something up for him.
