Hers was a face he saw traces of in depositions, at the annual holiday party. It was one he tried to forget. And the last one he expected to see in his city tonight. Months out of law school, Joshua Phillips earned the only position open that year for new graduates at Quincy, Norman and Associates. Proud, he strutted into the gleaming offices on his first day with something to prove and a list of objectives the length of his arm. Instantly, he fell love. He heard songbirds. The recirculated air felt crisp and clean. The break room coffee tasted sweeter. Every unfamiliar face smiled just for him. Three boring days of filing discoveries for senior associates dragged him back down to earth, but it was a night of barhopping that caused him to miss the 6:50 bus. As he rushed across the courtyard, he spilled coffee on his tie — fortunately, he stored extras in his desk drawer. And the prettiest girl he’d even seen held the door for him. Judging from the green stripe in her black hair and the worn down Converse she scuffed over the immaculate marble floors, Joshua figured they came from the same worlds.
