The Corporate Ladder

Dev Patel put on his leather tie and wore his tailor-made suit to complete his outfit. As the 24-year-old left his apartment, his girlfriend wished him the best and gave him a peck on the lips. “Good luck, babe! I know you’ll take over the whole firm!” she said, not knowing just how right she would be. Today was Dev’s first day as a Trainee Solicitor at Cummings & Ryder LLP, a high-end law firm in the centre of London. Long corporate hours, wining and dining at networking events and working in a team full of ambitious, career-driven people just like him were just a part of what he was looking forward to in this new chapter of life.

Dev hadn’t always been the closest with his girlfriend though. Dev was insatiable but Aisha had always been a prude that left him disappointed a little too often. He sometimes felt like he stayed with her out of inertia, though that initial spark had been long gone. In his heart of hearts, he couldn’t help but think he could’ve done better.

Upon reaching the massive corporate building stretching 10 floors, he greeted the receptionist: “Good morning! This is my first day as a Trainee, I think I’m meant to see Shannon for my induction?” Dev gave his most charming smile.

“Hi there, I’m Sofea! Nice to meet you! If you take a seat in the waiting room I will ping Shannon over!” Sofea was a Pakistani woman about the same age as Dev. She wore a loose blouse in a soft pastel hue, perfectly complementing her bubbly personality. While not showing much skin, her blouse failed to hide her buxom figure. Paired with a tailored grey pencil skirt, a flashy belt cinched her waist to accentuate her hourglass figure. Her sleek black heels elongated her slender legs, clicking as she guided you to the waiting room. Dev didn’t realise how glued to Sofea’s perfect ass his eyes were until she closed the door behind him, snapping him back to reality.

Man, if I wasn’t with Aisha…

Shannon finally came to meet him. She is about a decade older than Dev but hid her age incredibly well. Shannon possessed an imposing presence as she strided towards Dev, her fiery red hair cascaded in waves around her shoulders. Dressed in a cream pantsuit, a deep valley showed between the buttons of her suit jacket where her large, perky boobs propped up her outfit. Those must come in handy in negotiations. Pausing to greet Dev with a firm handshake, Shannon's piercing gaze conveyed confidence as she prepared to guide him through his first day at the firm.

Shannon: “Ah, you must be our new trainee. Welcome to the jungle, Dev! As you know, I’m Shannon, a Partner of the firm and the Head of the Department you'll be joining.”

Dev: “Thanks, Shannon. It's great to be here!”

Shannon: “So, Dev, ready to dive into the wild world of Property Litigation? This is obviously your first seat, so you’ll be stuck with me for the next 6 months! After that, you’ll rotate to the next seat, which I believe is Family Law. There’s a lot you’ll be helping out with, so we’re glad to have you.

“You’ll be helping me and some of the other solicitors and associates of the department with case preparations, bundling, legal research, drafting documents and so on. Of course, I will be here to help but you should try to figure it out on your own as I find that’s the best way to learn.

“Quick rundown of the team: we have Gabriella our secretary who, despite her young age, is quite knowledgeable and always eager to prove herself to the big leagues. We also have Susanne, a paralegal who has been at the firm longer than I have, so if in doubt you can always go to her. There’s also Lucy, who’s an associate, and Emma, a solicitor… a female-led department as you can tell. Just don’t hit on all of us at once, handsome!” She laughed to herself.

“Finally, Rose is another trainee who was in Property Litigation before you for 6 months, and she has just now moved to the Family Department. I’m sure she’ll be in contact for a handover meeting soon enough.

“To start off, you can get set up at your desk, go through some mundane induction training and then I’ll email you some work I’m doing on the Specter file. Think you can handle that for now?”

Dev was overloaded with information and expectation, but he had always been good at looking confident and on top of things even if he wasn’t. He really did fake it til he made it. “That sounds just great to me, Shannon!”

Shannon: “Just try to familiarise yourself with everything first. I’ll catch up with you later, I’ve got 3 meetings between now and lunch. Just look out for my emails, like I said.”

Dev: “Absolutely, I'm eager to learn and contribute as much as I can!” He knew he wanted to be on her good side if he was gonna work up the corporate ladder.

After some more back and forth, Shannon guided Dev to his desk where he set up his computer.

After completing some induction training, Dev saw an email pop up from someone named Rose…

To: [email protected]

Subject: Meeting at 11?

Hi Dev,

I hope you're settling in well on your first day at the firm. My name is Rose, the trainee that joined just before you. I was in Property Litigation for the last 6 months, and just rotated to my Family Law seat. I’d like to do a handover so I can get you up to speed on some of the ongoing caseload.
I also have something else important to discuss, and I believe it would be beneficial for us to meet as soon as possible. I understand this may seem vague, but I assure you it's worth your time.
I’ve booked us a meeting in Conference Room 8 at 11 am today, hope that works for you.
Looking forward to meeting you there.
Best regards,
Rose Steward
Trainee Solicitor
Cummings & Ryder LLP

What could she be talking about? Well, I guess there’s only way to find out.