The office was refreshingly silent and the light of the new day splashed over the walls in a mural of yellow and gold. At my desk, I lifted my contract out of the top drawer and began to read. It was all very standard stuff, but given my profession, I wasn’t given to signing things without going over them first. My old Parker fountain pen–a graduation gift from my late grandparents–sat in its display box in my bag. I’d brought it in especially for the occasion. They would have been so proud of me. Proud of the solicitor, anyway. Maybe not so much the soliciting. “You’re awfully eager this morning,” Sadie chirped. I jumped in my seat. “Jesus! You scared me.” “Oops. I thought you’d have heard me.” She gestured to the garment bags she’d dragged in. “Dry cleaning. Bane of my life, seriously.” “How many suits does he need for one ball?” “Oh, these aren’t Joseph’s. They’re mostly for Yves. If I don’t sort it, he’ll turn up reeking of whiskey and socks.”
