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FIVE

TALIA

“Morning, Olivia.” I juggle two take-out cups of coffee and my phone as I wrangle my handbag over my shoulder. “Oh, son of a biscuit.”

Olivia, the firm’s receptionist, vaults around her desk and catches my phone from cracking against the smooth tiled floor just in time. “I told you to stop buying me coffee. It isn’t necessary.”

“It gets me an extra stamp on my loyalty card.” I know she doesn’t have a lot of spare cash and her school tuition is draining her savings. “Consider it my treat.”

“You’re too kind.” She smiles. “I’ll bring your things to your desk.”

We walk through the main floor together. There are several desks dotted around the spacious area, with glass offices and a large boardroom on the left. The cream walls and abundance of plants make for a relaxing workspace, though the work is rarely relaxing.

We stop at my desk just outside of Eric Baker’s office, one half of Baker and Foley. The firm specializes in both corporate and private practice, and Eric heads up our private side. While I’m qualified in most areas, my primary focus and passion is medical malpractice and healthcare.

“How was your weekend?” Olivia asks.

“Same old.” She doesn’t want to know about my boring Saturday night watching Schitt’s Creek in my pajamas. “What about yours?”

“We went to the cutest little barn, just outside of Beaumont Ridge. They hold a honky-tonk night once a month. You and your girlfriends should go sometime.”

“Hmm, now that’s an idea.” If the four of us can get the night free together, we’d have to go check it out. I could use a night of dancing.

I pull out my laptop and set up my workstation. I work from home 50 percent of the time, but it’s always nice to see my colleagues, and I’ve certainly worked from the office more in the past year. The four walls of my home study lose their thrill after a while, and the firm isn’t far, located just outside of Nashville.

“I have a client coming in this afternoon at two. Could you make sure the boardroom is set up with refreshments and snacks, please?”

Olivia bobs her head. “Of course. Anything else?”

“Did the venue call about the gala?” Baker and Foley hosts an annual benefit, sponsoring a different local charity. This year, we’re supporting a program that helps rehouse survivors of domestic violence, and I’ve offered to help organize it. It’s next month and we’re putting together the final details.

They’re always fun events, and Tate would always get excited about dressing fancy for the occasion, making me strut around the apartment, and helping me pick a dress. This year I’ll be going solo. Again. Tate was supposed to come with me last summer, but more important things came up.

“Yes. They just need the final table plan from you and dietary requirements.”

“Perfect. I’ll send them over today.”

The morning flies by, and after two virtual meetings and a lengthy mediation session, my stomach demands lunch.

I poke my head into Eric’s office. “I’m headed out for lunch. Want me to pick you up anything?”

Eric looks up from the stack of papers he’s scanning. “A chicken sub and Coke. Here, take my card.” He reaches for his wallet, but I wave my hand.

“No, it’s on me. You got it last time.”

He dips his chin. “I insist.”

“I politely decline.”

He drops his credit card in defeat, sighing. “Fine, but promise me you’ll stop working past five every night. I can see when you’re online, you know.”

I grimace. Guilty. “I don’t want to fall behind, and with the holidays coming up…”

“Talia.” He levels me with a look. “It’s July. Christmas is months away. You work too much, and if you need help, we have junior associates and assistants to help lighten the load. Seriously, when was the last time you took a vacation?”

“A vacation? What’s that?” I joke, but he doesn’t find it funny. He’s a great boss, and he mentored me when I first joined the firm as a summer intern after my first year of law school. “I’ll think about it.”

“You have family in Texas? Why not visit?”