See Me(96)

Maria was overwhelmed. “I don’t have employment law experience…”

“I understand, but I’m not worried. You’re smart and driven, and you’ll pick up on it faster than you probably imagine. The one caveat is that we’re probably not going to be able to match your salary from the get-go, but you’ll have more flexible hours, and just by joining on day one you’d be on the fast track to becoming a partner.”

“When are you thinking of leaving?”

“Four weeks from Friday,” she said. “We’ve already leased and furnished an office a few blocks from here; all the paperwork is filed.”

“I’m sure there are others out there who are much more qualified. So why me?”

“Why not you?” Jill smiled. “We’re friends, and if I’ve learned one thing in this profession, it’s that work is a lot more enjoyable when you like the people you spend your days with. I’ve had enough of Ken and Barney to last a lifetime, thank you very much.”

“I’m… flattered.”

“So you’ll think about it? Assuming you and Leslie hit it off?”

“I don’t see why I wouldn’t. What’s Leslie like?”





The partners finally filed out of the conference room around three p.m., all of them looking grim. Barney immediately holed up in his office, clearly in no mood to talk. The same went for the other partners; one by one, office doors were closed. Like most of the employees, Maria decided to leave a few minutes early, and on her way out she noted that the remaining staff members acted both nervous and scared.

Jill had called her again after speaking with Leslie and confirmed plans for the three of them to have lunch on Wednesday. Jill’s enthusiasm was infectious, but the upheaval was also causing Maria some trepidation. Changing jobs, changing her practice area (again), and joining a start-up still felt risky to her, even if staying here suddenly seemed even riskier.

What she really wanted, she realized, was to talk to someone other than Serena or her parents. Climbing into her car, she found herself driving past Evan’s house and the gym, searching for Colin’s car before winding her way to Wrightsville Beach.

The bar at Crabby Pete’s was mostly empty. She was climbing onto a stool before Colin finally noticed her, and she watched his surprise slowly give way to something more reserved.

“Hi, Colin,” she said quietly. “It’s good to see you.”

“I’m surprised you’re here.”

Staring at him standing behind the bar, she thought to herself that he was one of the handsomest men she’d ever met, and felt the same pang of regret she had on Saturday night.

She sighed. “I’m not.”





The bar was a good place to talk; the physical barrier between them and the fact that Colin was working kept the conversation from becoming too serious too quickly. Colin briefed her on the fight with Reese and Evan’s insistence that the whole thing had been rigged. Maria told him about the dog they’d helped their parents adopt, along with the crisis at the firm and her new career opportunity with Jill.

As was typical, he listened without interruption; as always, she had to draw out his explanations and thoughts; but when the time came for her to leave, he asked a waiter to cover for him for a few minutes so he could walk her to her car.

He didn’t try to kiss her, and when she realized he wasn’t going to, she leaned in and kissed him. As she tasted the familiar warmth of his mouth, she found herself wondering why she’d felt it necessary to take a break from him in the first place.

At home, the exhaustion of the day finally taking its toll, she fell asleep quickly. She woke to a text from Colin that thanked her for coming by and told her that he’d missed her.





Tuesday, the mood at the office was worse than it had been on Monday. While the partners seemed determined to act in a business-as-usual kind of way, the withholding of information was wearing on everyone else. There was little question that most of the office had begun to imagine the worst, and rumors began to fly. Maria heard whispers about layoffs – many of the employees had families and mortgages, which meant that their lives might just become a lot more complicated.

Maria did her best to keep her head down and concentrate on work; Barney remained quiet and distracted. The necessity for focus made the hours pass quickly, and when she finally left the office, she realized she hadn’t thought about the stalker at all.

She wondered whether that was good or bad.

On Wednesday, the lunch with Leslie and Jill went even better than Maria could have hoped. Leslie was in many respects a perfect complement to her best friend in the office – just as lively and irreverent, but also nurturing and thoughtful. The idea of working side by side with them began to seem too good to be true. After lunch, when Jill popped over to report that Leslie had been equally enthusiastic about the meeting, Maria felt a wave of relief. Jill also walked her through their basic offer, including her salary, which was significantly lower, but at this point Maria didn’t care. She would adjust her lifestyle accordingly.

“I’m excited,” she told Jill. She wondered what – if anything – she should reveal about her stalker or the fact that she and Colin were tentatively back together, and then she realized that she hadn’t even mentioned the fact that they’d been broken up.