Chapter 6 - CHAPTER SIX

DOMINICK

I looked up and was momentarily blown away by her beauty and amazing curvy body. She has the most vibrant green eyes I've ever seen. I feel like I could see the Amazon forest through her eyes. She has a cute button nose that fit her face perfectly with freckles lightly dusting face. For a second, I wondered if she had freckles in other parts of her body.

She was dressed in a suit jacket and a pencil skirt which accentuated her boobs and her butt. The heels she wore did wonders for her legs, I could stare at them all day long.

Alas! Anything I've been thinking is not possible. She's my friend's sister, an internship applicant, a spoiled princess who would never give me time of the day. Not to talk of our the differences in our ages, she's 11 years younger than me!

I shook my head and remembered why I was here. I looked at her again and saw that she was nervous, wiping her sweaty hands on her skirt.

'Have a seat'

'Thank you sir.' She sat and stared at her fingers on her laps

'What's your name?'

'Phoe.. Phoe.. Phoebe Jackson, sir.' She stammered

Annoyed, I said; 'You're here for an interview, Miss Jackson, so stop staring at your fingers, stop stammering, straighten up and look at me!'

She did as I instructed and I could see some spark lighting her eyes.

That's better, I thought.

'Now, let's start again.' I continued, 'Who are you and why are you here?'

'I'm Phoebe Jackson, a third year pre-law student at New York University.' She replied confidently with her head held high. 'I'm interested in family and divorce law. I'm going to specialise in that field when I go to law school.'

'Why did you choose that specialty?'

'It has always been my passion to help the most disadvantaged people in the society who are women and children and the law doesn't favor them. When I become a lawyer, I'll make sure I do everything in my power to protect these people and defend them.'

'As you can see in my resume, I've been volunteering in a women's shelter. Most of the women there are running from domestic abuse from the hands of their husbands, sometimes with children. I give them advices in how they can proceed legally, protect themselves, their kids and punish their abusers'

I nodded,amazed by the contents of her resumè.

'What an admiring pursuit', I commented. 'Luckily, K2 Law Firm has an excellent team of Family and Divorce lawyers with me as the head', I saw her eyes widened at my declaration, guess she didn't know who I was.

'In my resume, you'll see letters of recommendations from Professors Winston and Duvall.' She said, regaining her composure.

I looked them over and both professors complimented her and extolled her virtues.

I asked a few more questions and after I was satisfied, I let her go.

The remaining 19 candidates did their interviews and they went back to their various houses

After the candidate left, we took a short break. When the break was over, myself and the team of lawyers deliberated on who to choose. Out of the 30 applicants, we'll only be choosing 5 people to be our interns.

After two hours of deliberation, we made our choices. Unfortunately, DJ's sister, Phoebe was not amongst them. Her performance at the interview was top notch and one of the best, but I can not forgive lateness without any valid excuse. But she made it on the waitlist, she might still have a chance.

'Miss James', I called, indicating to one the Human Resources staff present. 'Send emails to the chosen applicants and await their replies. If any of them are unable to carry through with their internship here, choose the next person on the waiting list. Do you understand?'

'Yes sir'

'Good day to you all.' I stood up, grabbed my suitcase and my secretary followed me out. I checked my clock and it was already past 5:00pm.

'Dorcas, you can go home now.' I said to my secretary trying not to yawn. If I'm this exhausted, she must be too. The least I could do is let her go early.

'Are you sure, Dom?' She's the only one apart from Tristan in the law firm that calls me by name, only in private though

'Yes, I'm sure I can manage a few hours without you.'

'Thank you, Dom.' She packed her stuff and left.

I went into my office, I still have a few things to do before I call it a day and go home. Despite, the increasing load of cases on my desk, I was unable to concentrate and my thoughts kept going back to Phoebe Jackson.

I can't believe I had such a visceral reaction to a girl that's extremely younger than me and my closest friend's little sister. I rubbed my face with my hand, feeling like a creep.

Now that she didn't make the cut, I don't think we'll ever meet again. New York is a very big place. I can't help but have lingering feelings of regrets because I might not see her again.

I looked around my office and I don't think I'll be able to do anything else today. I called my driver, Jonas to bring the car around. I stood up, left the building and entered the car.

'Good evening, sir.' Jonas greeted me.

Jonas is quite young to be a driver, he's only 22. I helped to finalize his mom's divorce from her abusive father. I even paid his mom's hospital bills after she was beaten to a pulp by her husband. That was three years ago, I offered to sponsor him through university, but he refused, saying he had to take care of his mom and three sisters. I gave him this driving job because I wanted to make things easier for him and he's responsible so I'm sure I won't regret it. Trauma has a way of making you responsible and older no matter how young you are I would know that.

His mom's is one of the pro bono cases I handle unbeknownst to most. I prefer that most people see me as a hard, impenetrable man than someone who defends the less fortunate for free. It's the least I can do, considering I know how it feels to be in that kind of situation.

We got to the underground parking lot of my apartment. He parked, the came around to my side to open the door for me despite me telling him of several times. He gave the key and said his goodbyes.

'My regards to your mom and sisters'.

'I'll be sure to tell them, thank you sir.'

I made my way to the penthouse, exhausted. I hope my housekeeper, Alina cooked some of her Russian delicacies for me. I never knew I loved Russian food, but beggars can't be choosers, she's my only chance at home-cooked meals and I appreciate that. She always cooks for me and keeps it in the fridge. She's another of my pro bono cases. I helped her to gain custody of her child and prevent her deportation when her visa expired.

I entered my apartment, welcomed by the clean air and scent of jasmine from the soap used to clean the apartment. I walked over to see that Alina has done her magic again. I ladled some soup and placed it in the microwave.

While I was waiting for the food, I took my bath, freshened up. I heard the microwave ping, I took my food out and ate.

I yawned then went to bed earlier than normal. I hope I get more than three hours of sleep.

Surprisingly, I woke up after six hours of sleep, six! My good mood soured when I remembered whom I was dreaming about, Phoebe Jackson!

She must have been the reason I slept so long. I'm way in over my head!