People generally see
what they look for, and hear
what they listen for.
-
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee

____________________________

"Turn it off. Turn it off," I croon sleepily as my hand sweeps out in the direction of the noise blaring from the alarm, missing it over and over as the beeping continues to torture me.

"Jesus, shut that shit off."

Shut that mouth of yours and go to work.

Jesus!

I throw the blankets away and rush towards the washroom. After relieving myself and washing my hands, I duck my head down to the faucet and slurp in gulp after gulp of cool water. The soothing sensation feels like Heaven. My mouth still tastes like shit. Yuck! Grabbing my toothbrush, I squirt a mammoth glob of toothpaste on the worn bristles and scrub the hell out of my mouth. I took a short shower, choose my clothes carefully. I have a court hearing today so I need to be the best in my appearance. My appearance has an enormous role in boosting my confidence. I applied some lip gloss and mascara. Makeup was never my thing and I know very well that I don't need it. I shoved all the necessary things into my briefcase before running for my Mercedes. I get inside the car, glance at my watch at 7:45. It's just a fifteen minutes drive to my office.

I arrived at Allison Firm nearly an hour earlier than needed, but that was fine with me, since I had a tote bag full of deliveries to make first. To begin with, I trooped to the basement and visited Harry's workroom. After placing the cup of coffee on the table, I left a baggie of cookies and a cheerful note for the janitor. I made my way to the neighbouring house next, where I left another cookie-filled bag with a cup of coffee to the security who smiled at me.

"Another case?" George, the security asks, nodding at the cookies. I nod with a smile.

"Take your share and give the remaining to your boss. I need him to be on my side today," I mutter, winking at him.

"You know the Judge will never fall for your cookies."

True!

Shut up.

I chuckle. "I'm sure one day he'll beg me for a cookie."

Edward Mark Johnson, the honorable Judge is none other than the guy whom I am trying to bribe with cookies and chocolates. I never fail to deliver his coffee and he knows to expect one along with some cookies or chocolates when I have a court hearing. He refuses to take it every time I bring him something to eat but I never stop.

Why?

It's always good to have a judge on your side.

C'mon, you know he won't fall for your bribery.

He will... One day...

I wave at George before walking back to my building. And then I move toward my office.

Only the partners have two offices while other attorneys have just one office. Working as an attorney was always my dream and starting a firm was just the icing on the cake. It's been a year since I started my firm and it's been damn successful. I have the majority of shares in this firm because I'm the one who started it while Cassandra, Adam and Ben are my associates. Cassy was my high-school friend while I met the others later through Cassy. Y

My brain works a bit quicker than most of them, maybe that is the reason why I started working as an attorney at the age of twenty-two while my friends were still in law school. My professional life is pretty badass, if I do say so myself. I worked in a firm for the first few years and then I started my own firm. I wouldn't say it was difficult because it wasn't. By the age of twenty-six I was listed in the top ten attorneys of the US and that really helped in the development of my firm. There was no difficulty in getting clients. My friends joined me at the firm after three months and it's been great so far.

From the quick peek I made through the glass walls into my outer office, my assistant, Amanda, hadn't arrived yet. I held my breath and slowly reached for the handle to the first door. It was locked. I unlocked the door and hurried through Amanda's work area to the door that led into my personal space.

I drew out a breath and quickly pulled the cookies from my bag. After arranging the cookies artistically on the corner of my desk, I place my briefcase and other files on my desk.

By the time my friends showed up forty minutes later, I had steaming cups of coffee ready for them.

Ben slowed to a stop in the doorway, blinking at me in surprise. "Oh," he said. "You're here already."

"Oh," I answered back, taking a cup of coffee. "You're late and I made you all coffee."

He glanced at the cup in my hand, shrugged, and stepped into the room, grabbing the coffee from my hand as he got closer. "My secretary makes horrendous, teeth-grating shit, and I never learned how to work the coffee maker myself."

I removed the steaming mugful I had sitting on my desk and brought it to my own lips for a sip, but Ben held up a hand.

"Now, wait a second here. I want to taste that. See which is better." I rolled my eyes because it was so typical of him to want to taste test everything first to make sure he had the best. When I handed the mug over to Ben, I pressed my lips together, waiting eagerly for his verdict as he took his first sip of the coffee I'd made.

"Mmm." He lifted his eyebrows and then lifted the cup I'd made. "We have a winner." He handed his cup to me to drink from and then settled himself in his chair.

"It's the same, moron," I mutter, settling on my seat. Ben shrugs.

"Whoa. What happened?" Cassy asks, stepping inside along with Adam.

"First of all, he stole my coffee. Second, I also brought cookies." I slid the bagful of cookies across the surface of my desk to him, and then while he drank and polished off the food, spreading crumbs everywhere, I explained what I'd done before he'd arrived. Adam and Cassy settled on their seats and listened to me talking.

When I was finished talking, I swiped all Ben's cookie crumbs off the desk and into my palm before tossing them in the trash. Then I sent Ben an eager expectant look. "Well?"

"Damn. I don't know how you're so intelligent but I am never firing you," Cassy announces, leaning against her chair.

Adam rolled his eyes. "You can't fire her anyway, she's your boss." He turned towards me. "I agree with your argument, it can definitely help the case but we need to do a little bit of digging."

Ben nods his head in approval. "Right."

An hour later, I was standing at my four-drawer filing cabinet, trying to organize three weeks of papers while Ben chatted on his phone with... Sabrina, I'm guessing. Or maybe it was Lina. It was hard to tell from what he said, but it was definitely a woman on the other end of the line, and he was definitely interested in another fling.

Adam and Cassy were working on the case we discussed earlier. It was a case against the senator's son which makes it even more important.

"Hello, Allison Firm, Amanda speaking ... Yes ... Okay ... I'll let her know. Thank you for calling. Have a fantastic day."

I raise my eyebrows after listening to Amanda. She looks quite happy today and that's strange because there's always a frown plastered on her face when she enters this building. I can't blame the girl, being a receptionist in Allison Firm is not easy. You need lots and lots of patience up your sleeve.

"She's annoyingly chirpy today," Cassy mutters, looking at Amanda.

"She's always chirpy," Adam retorts, leaning against his chair, swirling on it.

"Her boyfriend proposed yesterday," Ben mutters after ending his call.

"That explains the mood," Cassy says, marking something on the paper.

The intercom on my office phone buzzes. I sigh. Amanda says "Elizabeth has cancelled her appointment so your schedule is clear for tomorrow." A huge grin appears on my face after listening to the good news.

"Not fair," Cassy groans, resting her head on the table in front of her.

"It is fair," I argue, taking a sip from my coffee. "Stop whining and get back to work," I mutter.

I move towards my other office where I keep my daily planner. I grabbed a pen and my planner to cancel things. Though Amanda has the schedule, I still make one for myself. I cut off Elizabeth's name as I walked back to the main office.

"Well...you guys continue. I have a court hearing today," I mutter, grabbing my briefcase and other necessary things.

"Good luck," Adam mutters, smiling at me. Adam is the only one in our group who is married and he has a four-year old girl whom he adores.

"She won't need it," Ben mutters, his eyes fixed on the papers in front of him. I stuck out my tongue at him before walking out of the room.

******

"Good morning, Jay," I sing, pushing through the revolving doors of the luxury high-rise on 56th and Park, the place I call home.

The security or all-around good guy glances up and gives me a friendly smile. "Ms. Hart. Good morning."

Usually, the massive front desk is a bustling, busy affair. Starting at around seven, an army of well-dressed concierges will be smoothly facilitating the needs of impatient residents, as tiny dogs let out sharp, high-pitched bark.

Right now, the luxurious lobby is mostly silent, with just the lone overnight guy working the front desk, holding down the fort until the day guys arrive to handle the morning crush.

I hold up the box in my hands and waggle my eyebrows. "Brought you something."

Jay's smile grows wider, brown eyes lighting. "My wife says you're going to make me fat."

"One donut a day cannot cause much harm," I say, placing the box on his desk.

Only if you didn't add any poison to it.

Jay is already reaching inside the box, shaking his head in reverence as he lifts the sugary treat. "Warm and sweet."

Surveying the array of donuts and trying to decide if I'm in a chocolate kind of mood or if I want to risk the powdered sugar one. I reach for the chocolate as I set my clutch on the counter and check my watch, it shows 5:15.

Late again.

"How's Piper dealing with the pregnancy?" I ask, taking a bite of the donut and shifting my attention back to Jay, who's already polished off his donut and is contemplating a second. I nudge the box toward him.

What do you mean by dealing? Every pregnant woman gets a big tummy and after nine months the baby comes out.

"She's good," he says. "Excited that she's having a girl." Piper is his sister who's also a single mom.

"A girl!" I say, reaching across the counter and squeezing his massive forearm. "Congratulations, I hadn't heard!"

"Just found out yesterday," he says with a happy smile, apparently deciding that the occasion calls for another donut.

"Oh my gosh, I have the perfect baby gift," I say, nibbling at a piece of my donut. "I saw this adorable dress with a pink bow-" I stop when my donut is snatched away from me.

"Hey Jay!" Cassy greets, smiling at him and taking a bite from my donut.

"You're late," I mutter, trying to give her a scary look.

Oh...you don't need to try. You already look scary.

"I know. Everyone in this world is not fond of exercise like you. Anyway let's go," she replies, grabbing my hand and pulling me off for our run. I wave at Jay before following Cassy.

An hour later, Adam and Cassy are sitting on the floor with a towel each in their hands. Ben rolls his eyes, stepping towards me and pulling my ponytail. I hit him on the arm. "These two always suck," Ben mutters, smirking.

"Dammit," Cassy curses out loud. "This is too much exercise."

I sigh, settling on one of the couches. This is our daily routine, exercise from five to six. We started this six months ago and everyday Cassy and Adam are on the floor, cursing the machines and Ben.

"So how is your case?" Adam asks, raising his eyebrows. I shrug.

"There's three more hearings."

Bet you're going to lose.

No!

"Bye guys," Ben mutters, rushing out of the gym. He has a hearing today so he needs to be early today.

"We're leaving too. Enjoy your holiday," Cassy grumbles, glaring at me.

"Oh, I will." I wink at her.

What are your plans?

Sleeping...

Three hours later, a pigeon sitting on the ledge of the building cocked its head my way. Then it cooed out a sound. So I nodded to it, calling, "Good morning, bird." The pigeon flew away.

Stop scaring birds.

Shut up.

I wasn't a cold-weather person. Shivering once more against the cool November breeze, I shut the window and hunted up some yoga pants, a fuzzy sweater, and toe socks. It's past eight in the morning and I feel lazy. That's the problem of holidays, I feel extremely lazy. I shuffled into the room, still half humming, half singing the song stuck in my head.

"Johnny, Johnny," I murmured under my breath. "Yes Papa. Eating sugar? No Papa. Telling lies..."

No one complained about my awful tone-deaf pitch. No one told me the way I swung my hips, dancing along when I started up the coffee maker, was cheesy and ridiculous. And no one demanded I make them a cup of coffee as well. Because of course, no one else was around.

Which also meant no one could laugh at my cheerful behavior and tell me how cute it was. No one could snuggle with me as we shared body heat and rubbed noses before sipping from that first cup of the day. No one was here to keep me company at all.

I'm here! Did you forget me?

Shut up!

My jovial mood sputtered. Once my coffee was ready, I carried it to my room. My neighbor to the left, Dona, was taking her cat, Bruno, for a walk to the grocery store on the corner. Mr. and Mrs. Walker were holding hands and tilting their heads close together as they exited the bakery near my home, each eating chocolate scones.

Three hours later, I had more chocolate chip cookies baked than I could possibly eat in a year, or maybe I should say I shouldn't eat in a year. After that, I collapsed on the couch in the living room and turned on a movie.

Then I read a little. After that, I took a nap, ate a late lunch—or early supper, whatever—washed some laundry, and picked out a smart, responsible outfit to wear the next day.

Once I'd changed back into my nightshirt and crawled under the covers, then turned off my nightstand lamp, I settled onto my side and tucked a hand under my cheek. My gaze drifted through the darkened room where moonlight spilled across the floor and then my eyes closed.

Hey everyone!

Here's the first chapter. I know there's a lot of changes. 

Well...how many like chemistry? I have Chemistry exam tomorrow. Wish me luck, guys.

Don't forget to vote and comment.

Bye guys!

Allison ;)