Broken Glass: An Alicia Jacobs Novel (The Alicia Jacobs Chronicle Book 1) Read online

  Broken Glass

  An Alicia Jacobs Novel

  By Amanda Thurston

  Copyright information

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright 2015 Amanda Thurston Smashwords Edition

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author

  Acknowledgements

  This book truthfully I never expected to happen. I have had an issue with my writing for a long time. This time I am please. I know this book is not perfect, I know there are errors and that it will not be for everyone. I am happy, It makes me feel accomplished! Now onto the people who helped me.

  Kim Hughes - You were my best friend for sixteen years. You made me smile, laugh, cry, encouraged me every day. Thank you for being an amazing and special part of my life. This book, hell this series is dedicated to you.

  Destini Richlin - My amazing and talented best friend. You pushed me for years to write! Hey! I did it! Thank you so much for the amazing cover. The cover art to this book was designed by Destini Richlin. Her website is : http://visualdestini.com/

  My online, and offline friends and family- Thank you so much for reading this, pushing me, making sure I did not give up like I had so many times before. Without you this book would not be here. You all know who you are, and you put up with me posting paragraph after paragraph at you.

  To my readers- Thank you for buying my book, reading it and tolerating my writing style. I hope that you enjoy the book. I have tried to create a fun, witty, and unique world that will draw you in and excite you. I know that some of you will not like it, or have critiques of my writing style. I completely understand and respect that opinion. Please read and review if you like. Thank you!

  Prologue

  Generally, when someone tells you that you are fired, it’s considered a bad thing. However, I truly did not care. At this point I had been working for the same law firm for six years and I was tired of being treated as if I was a second rate citizen just because I am female.

  I honestly did not have many complaints about the firm. The job itself made me happy, the sexism and misogyny not so much, but I felt I handled it pretty well. I was after all the only female lawyer in the entire firm.

  I don’t know why Barker and Pale had not hired any other female lawyers. There were other female staff, secretaries and a few apprentices that were following the more successful lawyers.

  I was one hell of a lawyer too. I was smart though, I took cases I believed in. I had a few apprentices myself, one of them had been hired on. He had moved on to another firm since then and from what I had been told he was doing very well. Most of the apprentices that shadowed at our law firm didn’t stay. While Barker and Pale was an extremely successful firm for some reason the turnover was very high.

  This was probably in part to their sexist hiring standards. I had watched many a female apprentice come into Ross and Pale and some lawyers that had passed their bar exams with high scores. None of them had been hired, a few of them went on to be very successful at other firms, just none at Ross and Pale aside from me.

  I had to work really hard in Ross and Pale to get to where I was. It had been difficult when I was informed I was being let go, it was like watching all of that hard work go down the drain. Part of the reason I had even gone as far as I had was because of Ross.

  I had been working there for a few years and I had really been happy here. I prided myself in being different. I took cases I knew I could win; I took cases I believed in. That was just how I practiced law. I was not going to be like every other lawyer out there and take whoever paid the best, guilty or not. It had paid off too.

  I only had lost a couple cases the entire time that I was employed. I am not bragging or anything, but I was pretty pleased overall with my success. I could definitely owe some of my success to the law firm. I owed the fact that I was a lawyer in the first place to my girlfriend Jen.

  Without her, I would have never met the charismatic senior partner in Barker and Pale. He had been in a coffee shop discussing a case that he was working on with one of the other partners. I had overheard what they were discussing, and being the nosey know it all I was back then I thought I should offer my opinion.

  Amazingly, he had listened. Now any normal senior partner would have told me where to go and how to get there. He didn’t he smiled up at me as he sipped his coffee listening to my opinion as if it mattered.

  When I finished, he smiled at me and told me that I should go apply at his law firm. He handed me his card and invited me to have coffee with him. I had sat and we had talked for hours about the case that he was working. It had been an amazing experience and very eye opening for me as I was fresh off the bar.

  I had gone into his firm the very next day. Armed with my resume, a file folder of various academic achievements and a letter of recommendation from one of my professors.

  Ross Pale, interviewed me personally. At first it was like we were just having a normal conversation, just as we had at the café. He would on occasion ask me questions regarding my employment experience. Mostly it seemed he was interested in getting to know me as a person.

  It was an interesting way to be interviewed by a prospective employer. He seemed like he was gauging my character as a whole. He had done that somewhat in the café, but now he had more information to work with.

  He finally got down to business about twenty minutes into the interview. He then started asking me the hard questions. He presented me with a few different case files to look over. Then, he had me tell him how I personally would have handled the case. He seemed to want to know what direction I would pursue.

  I was honest, a few of the cases I would not even touch as they violated my personal moral code. This, seemed to interest me. He found it intriguing that I would not bend on my own personal set of morals. Apparently, most lawyers would. Especially if there was a lot of money involved.

  Money was great, but it was not the reason I was interested in law. My own sense of justice wanted to be able to make a difference. So that dirty people, like the ones Jen had faced would not be able to get away with murder.

  Granted at the time that Ross had hired me, I had no experience. I was fresh out of the bar exam myself and had no real knowledge of anything other than what I had been taught in school. You get very little experience as a lawyer until you actually go out there and start practicing. Ross knew this, and as soon as I was hired within days he had a case for me.

  I admit that first day I was nervous and terrified. The courtroom is a daunting place, whether you are a lawyer, a witness, or the person on trial. Ross was very understanding of this and had gone with me to all of the meetings, the trial itself and was very supportive. He really seemed to have my best interest in mind. It was a refreshing comparison to his partner.

  Paul barker was the bane of my existence, and the reason that I was getting fired. He had made my life difficult the entire time I had worked there. Since I had turned him down, he had treated me a
s if I was lower than him in every manner. He couldn’t stand the fact that I had turned down all of his sexual overtures. Then there was my job performance. Paul hated me for that.

  Mostly because of my success, as one of the head partners, Paul Barker was not quite as lucky and he had it out for me because of it. He had not won a single case in the past six months, his own stupid fault for taking cases he could not win. Not a single case won, I mean seriously how bad is that.

  One of the cases he took, had been offered to me, I could have won it. However, Paul stepped in like the ass he was, and took it over. It was great having a misogynistic loser for a boss. He was one of the reasons I was fired, well he was the only reason.

  Apparently being female and attractive made for bad bedfellows in large law firms. Not to toot my own horn, but I really was not that bad looking. Not tall, by any means at about 5’5” and not slender, I was curvy. There is nothing wrong with being curvy at least not in my opinion.

  Overall I was pretty pleased with how I had grown up I loved to wear skirts and slacks that accentuated my smooth round hips. I wore many blouses and button down shirts, professional jackets, things that made me look attractive but professional.

  I was all about my professional look, I did not want to be underestimated. No one wants to be judged based solely on their appearance. It happens, that does not mean we have to like it.

  I have long curly red hair about waist length I took care in making sure it did not frizz up, especially since I wear it down usually. I could hold my own, with the normal folk but I was no Tyra Banks.

  I took care with my appearance, wearing moderate to light makeup, lip-gloss, eyeliner things that would accentuate my natural features. My pale skin could not handle the darker makeups, I kept my eye makeup light except my eye liner, I accentuated my almond shaped green eyes, they were my favorite feature.

  I had been looked down on many times by Paul, and some of the other men employed by the firm. Paul was probably the worst, he took every chance he could to sneer at me. Whenever I wore a skirt I could feel his eyes trained on my ass. He was a lech, plain and simple.

  Truthfully the place was full of men who believed women belonged in the kitchen. Feminism did not exist at Barker and Pale.

  Of course my set of moral codes probably did not help either. Paul had always pushed me to take the high paying cases. These cases usually involved lying, or laundering. The fact that I would not take on these cases seemed to make the guys look down on me. Except Ross of course, he had always seemed to agree with me. I was not in law to work for the bad guys. Paul hated that about me.

  I couldn't help but be sad though, I had developed a good repertoire with my clients and because of a contract I signed when I was first hired, I couldn't take any of them with me. I had earned these clients too, I went above and beyond the call of duty for a lawyer, finding them lodgings, making sure that their witnesses were safe if it was a dangerous trial.

  I had some serious make you or break you cases that I had successfully represented. I was proud of my accomplishments, and the fact that I never went back on my personal code. Just made me feel that much better. I knew I was going to have a hard time finding a firm that understood me. I knew that leaving the firm was going to be hard on my career in more than one way.

  Leaving the firm was going to hurt. I had made friends here; the support staff was amazing. My secretary had become one of my best friends. She had tried to quit when she found out I was getting fired but I could not let her do that. She really was a pretty damn amazing woman and had put up with a lot from me.

  Finding a job as a lawyer was a lot easier than finding a job as a secretary. Even if she had followed me to wherever I went next, I could not guarantee her a job.

  She had kids, I could not let her jeopardize her position like that. It would be wrong of me. I explained this to her and she had hugged me crying into my shoulder. I patted her shoulder and promised we would keep in touch.

  We had gone out for drinks before, and I had her cell phone number and email address. We could still be friends; we just would not be working together anymore. She had held me when I cried over the few cases I could not win. Reassured me that my closing arguments were good. She had listened to every rant and rave I had. She was definitely a friend, not just a secretary.

  After packing up the contents of my desk, which consisted of a picture of my girlfriend and a few knickknacks, I looked around my office. I felt a wave of sadness fill me as I looked at my empty desk, I had worked so hard here. I had become a good lawyer here. I had learned so many things in this office, and had been supported by some pretty amazing people. All in all, it had been an incredible experience, despite the few bad eggs.

  It hurt to know that this would be my last time in this office as a lawyer of the firm. It was a nice office, I was going to miss the comfortable and plush couches as I pored over legal documents and case files. The soft colored walls that had always made me feel like this was my second home. I had my own small bathroom so that I could prepare before court.

  The grey rug that I had paced until it was threadbare. As I recited my closing arguments, tried to figure out what I was missing. There were so many memories.

  This office had become something special to me, I was going to miss it. I was going to miss this firm as a whole. I had been very happy here. Paul had to ruin that for me. I made my way down to the office at the end of the hall. I knew where Paul would be. Paul was lazy, plain and simple, he would be sitting behind his desk as always.

  The only time Paul would drag his ass out of that chair was to get food. I peeked through the slightly frosted glass and sure enough Paul sat behind his desk looking every picture the pathetic male he was.

  He was round, and I mean round, the man looked like he was due to pop out triplets any day. Probably all the booze and cheeseburgers he ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner of every day. He had no care for his appearance. His tie was loosened and hung around his neck sloppily and there was a stain on his shirt, probably ketchup.

  I sighed combing a hand through my unruly red locks. He had always picked fun at my hair, calling me a ginger, and telling me that they were soulless, all that did was drive me to flaunt the coppery locks proudly. It drove him nuts, he hated that he couldn’t get a rise out of me. That made it worthwhile for me. I loved seeing the pissed look on his face when he saw that his insults didn’t bother me.

  The last thing I wanted to do was walk in his office and hand over all of my hard work and just walk away. What choice did I have?

  They fired me on a technicality, I had not met the caseload requirements for the company. I spent too long on my cases making sure that each client was well and truly represented and that they reached the proper resolution. I filed paperwork like a pro, met every witness personally, and I didn't over charge them.

  I made my clients happy, every single one of them, without resorting to getting on my knees with my mouth open. Paul had once made a comment that he suspected me of satisfying clients in another way. I had proved him wrong time and time again, I made my clients happy with my hard work.

  He had hated that I did not charge the same rates as everyone else, and that I did my job. He had been heard commenting numerous times that my naivety made me a poor lawyer. Statistics and client satisfaction proved otherwise. I guess in his eyes, I was a shitty lawyer, I could handle that.

  I knocked on his door quietly hoping he

  would not notice. Unfortunately for me he was waiting for me, he was pleased that I was leaving the firm. He had always seen me as competition. I could not really be considered competition when I was better than him.

  Something the other partner Ross Pale had pointed out to him numerous times much to his disgust.

  Paul had been pretty pissed when Ross had told him this, and it only made him gun for me even harder. He was pleased as if I had served him a piece of pie in lingerie. That was disturbing in itself, I knew he wanted in my pants. Even now he eye
d me with the same undisguised lust, however now there was a touch of hatred mixed in.

  When I had first been hired at Barker and Pale, I had been young, naïve and impressionable. I was only 23, I didn’t know much about the world. The only job I had prior to schooling was a long term job at a department store. It really was not much of a work experience, but it kept me fed, and let me buy the necessities I needed while I was in school.

  When I walked into Barker and Pale and saw this amazing rich looking office with its high vaulted ceilings, large executive desks and plush couches, my jaw dropped. What an opulent place to work. I was lucky that I had been hired! I felt overwhelmed and pretty humbled by that. Paul had walked up with Ross, the other partner and had shaken my hand with a big smile.