Lunchtime and an invitation

Lunch was scheduled for an hour, so you and the rest of the interns on both sides of the case filed down from the stage along with all the other lawyers in the building and headed out into the lobby. Someone had set up a long table with assorted sandwiches from a fancy deli, along with snack bags of chips, muffins and a variety of drinks.

You, Gemma, Sabrina and Eric were all finishing up filling your disposable plates when Amanda, the intern with the considerable chest, came over to you and tapped your arm politely. “Hi,” she said. “I was wondering if we could have a quick settlement conference over lunch?”

“Oh,” you said, glancing at the others. “I didn’t think we were at that point yet, but we can take a minute to do that.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean the whole team,” she said. “Just a quick check-in, one-on-one, then we can report back.”

You raised an eyebrow and slowly looked back at your girlfriends and Eric. All three of them were giving you raised eyebrow, fast-nodding smiles, and for once you were pretty sure it was for the same reason.

“Alright,” you said. “Have a spot in mind?”

“Let’s go up to the balcony?” she suggested. The lawyers who weren’t eating standing up in the lobby were heading back into the hall to grab seats.

“Sure,” you said. “I’ll meet you up there in a minute, let me just grab my drink.”

She smiled and nodded, heading back into the hall towards the balcony stairs.

“Why the hell are you guys looking at me like that?” you asked in a whisper once Amanda was gone.

“Because she’s cute,” Gemma said.

“Because she likes you,” Sabrina said.

“Because she has gigantic, massive… eyes,” Eric started, and then switched gears when both Gemma and Sabrina looked at him. “Wait, why are you two encouraging him?”

“She asked for a settlement conference,” you said. “Not to sneak off and canoodle.”

“I’d sneak off and canoodle with her,” Sabrina snorted.

“Ditto,” Eric said.

“Just go see what she wants, love,” Gemma said quietly, smirking at the other two. “If she has an offer, great. If she wants your number, give it to her.”

“Alright,” you sighed, shaking your head. “I’ll see what she wants. And maybe try and figure out where they’re going next with their case. Just make sure you guys adjust our witness lineup before we’re back now that we have Garland’s piece already sorted.”

“We will,” Sabrina said. “Just go, don’t keep her waiting.”

As you were walking away, shaking your head to yourself, you just barely heard Eric. “So… why are you two both OK with him getting flirted with?”

The stairs up to the balcony were a little old and tight, and they creaked on pretty much each step as you climbed them quickly. The main section of the balcony was slightly slanted just like the floor below, allowing for bench seating in mild tiers, while the wings that followed along the side walls were flat and had some tables and chairs. Amanda had picked one of those tables looking out over the hall, so you went to join her.

“I wish I knew if this place was having a concert before I leave the city,” you said, making conversation. “It seems like a great venue.”

“It is,” Amanda said. “I’ve seen a few here.”

“You go here?” you asked.

She shook her head and smirked a little. “Grew up in the city,” she said. “I was sneaking into College concerts from my sophomore year though.”

You had a feeling you knew what assets she used to get by bouncers or distract doormen, but you didn’t say anything. She told you about a few of the bands she’d seen in the venue, and you traded a couple of light stories about bands that came through your University.

“So,” you said once that topic of small talk wound down. “Settlement conference?”

“Oh, yeah, no,” Amanda said. “That was just to get you up here to eat lunch with. Seriously, I’ve been stuck in an office with those four for too long. Maeve is awesome, but the other three are… ugh. Thomas is a brown-nosing know-it-all, Samantha thinks everything is a cutthroat competition so she’s a bundle of raw nerves, and Tucker is, well… Tucker.”

“Exactly how many times has he asked you out without asking you out because his ego got bruised the first time you said no?” you asked.

Amanda snorted and smirked. “Do you want the total, or the daily average?”

“Point taken,” you chuckled. “So, why me, then?”

“Because you seem normal, and nice,” Amanda said. “I mean, the two girls on your team don’t seem weird or mean but are kind of… scary pretty. And the other guy gives me whiffs of Tucker.”

“Just whiffs,” you said. “But you’re not wrong. Gemma and Sabrina are both really great, though.”

“Well, maybe I’ll have lunch with one of them tomorrow,” Amanda smirked. Her overall cute face was served well by the expression. “But are you seriously telling me the worst you’ve got is a ‘whiffs of Tucker’ guy in your office.”

“Oh,” you laughed. “Yeah, no. We had this guy named Andy - nice enough, but a complete stoner and nepotism hire. Deadweight from day one, and he ended up getting canned.”

“Alright,” Amanda said. “Not the worst, but definitely getting there.”

You sighed, shaking your head. “Look,” you said. “I don’t mean to be a One-Upper here, but I’m warning you now, if you make me talk about Joy you will be One-Upped.”

“Samantha went to HR to try and get Maeve and me fired by saying she could smell that we were on our periods and were refusing to do anything about the odour,” Amanda said.

“Did it end in a lawsuit?” you countered.

“No,” Amanda said, then realised what you were implying. “No,” she repeated.

You sighed again, trying to decide what you would and wouldn’t tell her - you weren’t going to give away anything that would hurt the Firm, but you were more than happy to do some light gossiping. “So, the first thing you need to know about Joy is that she was the daughter of a Senior Partner…”

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