Page 12 of Apparently, I’m A B!tch

Chapter7

Nikki

Friday morning

“Well done you two,”Maggie praised us as she leaned on the polished mahogany table. “The perfect way to end the week, don’t you think?”

The whole office, minus our receptionist, was gathered in L&K’s brightly lit boardroom at the far-right end of our T-shaped office. It had frosted glass separating it from the rest of the space, and at the other end was a breath-taking view of New York’s concrete jungle. Natural light filtered in, rendering the florescent lighting useless. Only one wall was actual plaster, and it held the single piece of actively used technology within the room: the flat-screen TV that was used to introduce and analyze cases.

On cloudless days, this place could be unbearable. Despite our central air conditioning, the sun would shine through and practically melt everything in here. But on overcast days, like today, it was pleasant enough.

Harvey nodded at Maggie and his father from the leather seat across from me. “Oh yes. We don’t often get to tie up our cases at the same time, let alone on a Friday, with both of us squaring away another win. What’s the tally now, Nik?”

I took in a breath and stopped myself from rolling my eyes. Harvey Sr. and Maggie had smiles on their faces and were watching me.

“We’re still even.”

We were tied with the same number of case wins for the year, with his being high-profile and mine being small-time offenses. My losses outweighed his, though, which was something that grated on me. Being an associate, it meant I took on more cases, usually the ones he didn’t want.

Harvey Sr. made a noise in his throat. “Isn’t that something? I don’t remember two defense lawyers having such a strong winning streak within the same firm, do you Mag?”

She shook her head. “It was just not a… oh, how do you younger people put it, Jake?” But before he could pipe up, Maggie burst out with, “A thing! It just wasn’t a thing. Did I get that right?”

A polite laugh sounded around the table, and I had to duck my head to make sure she couldn’t see my face. I wasn’t going to be a bitch today, not to anyone. I was determined to turn over a new leaf. People would see me differently. I was going to be someone they wanted to spend time with, just like my friends and family back home, just like when Tristan and I worked side-by-side.

I was going to be nice, and they were going to stop calling me “The Cutter”, and Tristan wasn’t going to dread seeing me at his art class on Sunday. It was going to happen.

“Oh, you know,” Harvey’s voice pierced my thoughts. “With murder cases where there is an obvious weapon and motivation, they can be a real challenge, but I did what any good lawyer would do. I buckled down and did the research, worked with the forensic reports and scoured previous cases. The answer was right there in front of me, and after I presented it to the jury it didn’t seem feasible that my client could’ve murdered his wife.” He raised his hands in mid-air, giving himself a high-five, and everyone, including Kelly, started to clap enthusiastically. Someone whooped.

I couldn’t fight it. I eye-rolled.

And, come on. How could I not roll my eyes at that? Harvey had done it again, taken another win that should’ve been credited to Kelly. Claiming HE did all the research, contacted forensics, did the reading… the nerve of this man. I had to tighten my lips and focus on my open laptop to keep from saying something in front of the whole team.

Nice Nikki. I wanted to be known as Nice Nikki. Not Nik The Cutter or Nikki The Bitch.

I didn’t want to be the nasty, overwhelming bully who made every other employee fear for their job. Or the unnecessarily cruel asshole who tore down Tristan’s attempts to run a business.

I didn’t want to be that Nikki. I wanted to be nice.

I didn’t always have this problem.

While growing up in North Chicago, with my wonderful-yet-brutally-blunt Greek family, I remembered the community accepting us for who we were. We were honest. Always. Regardless of the situation. And if my opinions hurt someone’s feelings, I either didn’t know about it, or was totally ignorant of the pain I might’ve inflicted.

Now though, when I thought on it, the sense of reassurance I had could be traced back to my equally blunt sisters, mother and father. There was safety in numbers, and we were a team. My family believed it was better to be honest than to lie, so I lived by that mandate, in blissful unawareness, treasured for the person I became.

It took years of living as a broke student in Manhattan, studying criminal law, before the obvious unfurled around me.

People thought I was a bitch.

But understanding their dislike and avoidance didn’t suddenly force me to change. I mean, what could I have done? Altered my DNA? Go back in time to kidnap my younger self? Study the ways of people-pleasing families who always managed to disappoint each other?

My family were who they were, and I was who I was. And I found Tristan, Lilly and Uncle Henry. They knew me. They accepted me and my unfiltered voice box.

But… I had to admit. Being hated was a pain in the ass.

The fact that it doubled my workload was one thing, but to have done what I did to Tristan? Said those hurtful things after all the years of support and unwavering friendship he’d given me?

Enough was enough. I needed to try. I needed to be different. I needed to become Nice Nikki.