Chapter Text

The air in the office is thick by this time of day. Not the thickness of tension or anxiety that comes in early mornings - it’s the kind of thickness that settles in the aftermath.

Enough that most of the associates are working with their jackets off, draped over the backs of their chairs.

Not enough that Amber Glenn has to take her jacket off. No heat is ever enough to make that happen.

It is, however, enough that she’s not in her typical rigid, perfect posture.

She’s leaning back in her chair as she goes over her briefs and the basic information of the new client: Kaori Sakamoto, the new CEO of Sakamoto Incorporated. 28 years old - the same age as Amber - but far less experienced in her field.

She sighs and brings a hand over her eyes.

New CEOs are always so clueless.

She sits up and hits the button on the intercom.

“Kamila, what time is my meeting with Kaori?”

“...”

Amber sighs before replying. How typical.

“You didn’t schedule it, did you?”

“I’m so sorry, Amber. I’ll contact her assistant right now.”

"No need, you’re relieved.”

Kamila pauses for a second before answering.

“I’m sorry?”

Amber almost wants to roll her eyes, but she knows Kamila is watching her through the glass pane door separating them. She turns her head to look at her.

“You’re relieved. 3 days to clear out your stuff.”

She hangs up on the intercom, buttons up her suit jacket, and briskly grabs her black briefcase from where it was perfectly sitting on her desk.

She spares Kamila a brief glance as she heads out.

No smile. No nod of acknowledgement. No glare. Just a glance.

Kamila’s eyes are written with an unspoken plea. Don’t fire me.

Amber keeps walking. As she rides the elevator down to the lobby, Amber dials a number.

“Hello?”

“Afternoon, Ami. It’s Amber. I know Kaori’s in town. Would I be able to meet with her today? It’s important we finalize the contract.”

“Oh, Amber! Of course, Ms. Sakamoto was wondering when you’d be meeting her.”

Amber grimaced slightly.

“My apologies. My assistant never ended up contacting you. So sorry for the inconvenience.”

She hated apologizing. It meant admitting she did something wrong; failed at her responsibilities in some capacity.

Ami huffed a breath of laughter. Dismissive. As if she could tell how Amber felt. As if it were ridiculous.

“No need to apologize. It’s no inconvenience at all. Your assistant is fine, it happens to the best of us!”

“Right.” Amber paused for a beat before continuing.

“I’ll be at the building in 30 minutes. Could you set up a conference room?”

"Of course.”

“Great. I’ll be there in 30.”

Amber hangs up the phone before Ami can reply. Her mind lingers on what Ami said as the elevator slows near the lobby.

Happens to the best of us.

Amber lightly scoffs as she stuffs her phone back into her pocket.

************************************************

“Miss Glenn!”

Kaori is smiling brightly at Amber as she walks into the conference room. It’s sleek, modern. It looks newly renovated. Amber brings out her hand to shake Kaori and Ami’s hands.

“Please, just call me Amber. I’m your lawyer, not your teacher.”

Kaori, somehow, looks all the more pleased at that.

“Amber, it is!”

Amber nods in response and takes it as her cue to begin setting up. She sits down in the chair across from Kaori and takes out her folder. Kaori continues to ramble on.

“You’re too humble. I mean, you aren’t just any lawyer, Amber, you’re the best lawyer in the country. Rumour has it you’re on your way to becoming the youngest senior partner ever. Suuuuper serious about your work.”

Kaori flashes Amber a mischievous grin before starting again.

“Speaking of your work, Ami told me what happened with your assistant. Hope you weren’t too harsh on her. I mean, I know your standards and-”

Amber cuts her off with a polite smile.

“Kaori. Let’s just focus and go over the contract.”

Kaori laughs under her breath, but concedes.

“Straight to business. Alright, yes. What’s the deal?”

Amber slides the folder over and rests a pen on top of the contract.

“20 million - four million each year for five years. This initial transition period will be your roughest.”

Kaori hesitates as she looks over the contract. The money is the main point of hesitation. It’s a hefty price. Amber knows it is, but she knows what she's worth.

“Look, you know every other corporation in the country is out for you, but only I know exactly how they’ll act and what they’re looking at. You know with certainty, under my care, that nothing will go wrong.”

Kaori looks briefly at Ami, as if searching for advice. Ami shrugs her shoulders and offers her insight. Insight from her previous years serving as the assistant to Kaori’s father.

“Ms. Sakamoto, your parents left as much in the company’s savings so you could be covered specifically by Amber. The financials are no issue.”

Kaori nods her head and smiles as she picks up the pen, signing her name in a brisk motion.

“Well, you better be damn good at your job then. And under this contract, you’ll be handling…”

Amber interjects with a small smile.

“Everything. You’ll have the smoothest five years with me.”

Amber thinks back to something she saw when surveying Kaori’s file.

“Out” lesbian woman. Not really out, not anymore. She just didn’t make an effort to hide it when she was in college. She’s removed that bit of information from all her current public accounts. That’s not enough, though. Even if not in this instance, corporations will use that against her.

Well-kept secrets usually aren’t the things that hurt high-profile people in transitioning stages; it’s the things they don’t make an effort to cover that they can’t take back.

Amber wants to make a point of that to Kaori.

“Just don’t go sleeping around with women. Public image scandals actually happen to be the hardest to control - the media is another animal to control.”

Kaori laughs.

“I don’t sleep around, Amber!”

Suddenly, she pauses and sits up in her chair, slightly paler than she was a split second ago.

"Women? How do you- I mean. What makes you think- “

Amber lets her corporate smile fall into a more natural smirk. She spins the pen Kaori just used to sign the contract in her left hand and moves to get up.

“I know everything about my clients. It’s my job to.”

Amber picks up the folder with the newly signed contract and files it into her briefcase with practiced ease.

"It also means other people might as well. I’ll send Ami some tips tonight to prevent information and background leaks. Just be careful, yeah?”

She buttons her jacket, runs a careful hand through her hair, and flashes a smile to Kaori and Ami before heading out of the conference room.

************************************************

The city has settled into a new kind of urgency by the time Amber’s done at the office. The urgency of New York nightlife. Cars honking at reckless drivers who come alive at 9 PM, groups of college students excitedly heading to nightclubs, the occasional police siren wailing through the streets.

In the office, the air has settled into something colder, slower. Most of the associates have started filtering out by this time. Only the ones who have something to prove are left. Or the ones with no life.

Then there’s Isabeau Levito.

Junior associate. True to her New Jersey roots, she graduated from Princeton in political science. Unfortunately, Princeton didn’t have a law school. She’ll always whine about the fact that she had to go to Columbia for law school, but everyone at the firm knows she secretly loves it to death.

She loves the bustling city life. The lights, the noise, the crowds. That landed her in Chock & Bates Corporation, even though she had offers from firms in New Jersey.

She’s also Amber’s favourite associate, even though Amber would never admit it herself.

The first time Amber asked her why she chose Chock & Bates, Isabeau lied and said what the logical person would have said. Chock & Bates was the best firm in the country. She’d be stupid to pass it up. She said it with a shrug and bashful smile.

The second time Amber asked her why she chose Chock & Bates, it was after a company party. The air of the office was much like it was tonight. Colder, slower, but filled with the aroma of rich champagne.

Associates were starting to head out with enough of a buzz that they slung their coats over their shoulders rather than putting in the effort to shrug them back on.

Amber sat across from Isabeau. They weren’t drunk, but had enough to be loose. Enough to be honest and ask questions they usually wouldn’t. They were laughing about some paralegal who tripped over the chairs earlier and faceplanted into the arms of Madison Chock herself. Ilia Malinin - his face had turned red, resembling Harvard Crimson, and he sputtered incoherent, slurred apologies to her.

Madison had reassured him it was fine. He was still panicking until Evan stepped in and similarly reassured him. It was only then that he, kind of, calmed down. Some other paralegals dragged him out of there before he could embarrass himself more.

“God, that was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen here.” Isabeau wiped at a tear falling from her eye as she tried to contain her laughter.

Amber hid her grin in her hand and looked back up at Isabeau with curiosity.

“Speaking of. Here. Why? And don't tell me it's because 'It's Chock & Bates.' I know that's not it.”

Isabeau shrugged and opened her mouth, as if she were about to launch into the same reasoning she had given Amber a few months ago. She closed her mouth and paused, looking over at the view of New York’s bustling city life from the 30th floor of the building.

“I dunno. I just couldn’t leave, I guess.”

Amber hummed, satisfied.

Isabeau cocked her eyebrow.

“You? You’re a Texas native. Why New York?”

Amber shook her head.

“It’s Chock & Bates. That’s enough of a reason.”

Isabeau nodded, looking back out at the city view.

“Yeah. Sounds more convincing coming from your mouth than mine.”

The city view from all those years ago is largely the same as tonight. Maybe a few more lights from a few more buildings, but the ambience is the same.

Isabeau lets herself into Amber’s office without knocking.

“Isabeau, what did I say about letting yourself into my office without letting me know?”

Isabeau plops herself down on Amber’s sofa and lets her eyes wander around the office without responding.

“Isabeau.”

Isabeau finally looks at Amber. She narrows her eyes for a second before rolling them and sighing.

Reason number one why Isabeau is Amber’s favourite: she isn’t afraid of anyone.

“How am I supposed to let you know when you just fired your assistant. Again. For like, the 2nd time this year. For the…I-don’t-even-fucking-know-th time within your career!”

Amber doesn’t flinch.

“She’s forgotten to schedule two times this week. She botched the draft for a housing court filing. She does the bare minimum on good days.”

Isabeau doesn’t raise her voice, but doesn’t miss a beat.

“Your bare minimum is asking a lot from people.”

Amber shakes her head.

"Then I need an assistant who can handle it.” She moves to grab her briefcase, clearly not wanting to continue the conversation.

“You will.”

Isabeau replies with a softer tone. One that seems genuine, almost hopeful.

Amber pauses. “Why do you say it like you’re hoping?”

Isabeau chews her bottom lip and looks away from Amber.

“I recommended one of my friends to Madison. To replace Kamila.”

Amber groans.

“Your friend? Fantastic. Now, when I fire her, you’ll be five times more upset than now. I’m just ecstatic for that confrontation in…about a week.”

Isabeau doesn’t look nervous when she responds.

“10 times. If you fire her. And I don’t think you will. Check your email, I sent you her resume. It’s pretty damn good.”

Isabeau finally gets up from Amber’s couch and heads back out the door. Hands lingering on the handle before turning back towards Amber.

“Just have a little trust in me.”

She winks at Amber and finally lets herself out. The glass door closes with a light thunk, and Amber lets a breath of disbelief out through her nose before navigating her way back to her desk and firing up her laptop.

She logs into her email account and opens the resume Isabeau was talking about.

She shakes her head as she leans back in her chair.

“Unbelievable. ‘Damn good’, huh? Does she want to do psychology or law? This is all over the place.”

In truth, it was a pretty good resume.

But for Amber, “pretty good” just doesn't cut it.

Amber imagines she won’t last a day.