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

  Later on that day, when I was finishing setting up my things in my new, but small office Ross had come in and leaned against my desk. He had given me a smile as he watched me unpack what little I had brought. I prided myself on my organization skills, I had brought note pads, pens, folders and other basic office supplies.

  He had laughed and looked at me with a more than friendly smile as he had pointed out that the office supplied everything we needed. I had blushed, and he had walked over sliding his hand down my back as if to reassure me.

  His hand had not stopped at my back, he had the audacity to pat my ass and tell me if I NEEDED anything, anything at all. To come to his office, that his office door had locks.

  I had immediately turned him down flat by pointing out the picture of my girlfriend, and a flat out thanks, but no thanks. He had left pissed, scorned and with his manhood not so intact. He had hated me since. Add to that how good I was at my job, well I was screwed

  I had Ross on my side, for a while at least. He had known what happened between me and Paul. He had pretty much told Paul it best not happen again. Which of course only made Paul hate me even more.

  When it came to Paul, I had more strikes against me than any baseball player had ever seen. No matter what I did, it was never right. He was set in his ways and he did not like me. He wanted to fuck me sure. I had a feeling that if I had ever had sex with Paul, it would have been either angry and violent. Or really bad, or maybe both!

  Still, the idea of having sex with Paul, was revolting at best. It was time to think of less nauseating topics.

  Ross Pale was the senior partner in the firm who had hired me. Prior to his heart attack last year he had seniority in the firm in all aspects including decision-making. When he got sick he was still the senior partner but Paul had taken over with the pretense of returning that seniority to Ross.

  However, since his health was unstable he had been easily maneuvered by Paul to fire me. He had been handed a pile of papers, mostly statistics and charts when he was in the hospital and Paul was visiting. He had glanced over them and just signed them trusting Paul would do his job, boy was he wrong.

  He had been very upset when he found out that one of the papers was to terminate me, but because he no longer held seniority he was unable to change the situation. He had written me a shining letter of recommendation and had apologized numerous times.

  I told him I was okay with it, honest, I could find another job. He had smiled, and told me if I even needed his help, just to ask. He really was probably the best boss I had worked for, and a damned fine lawyer to boot.

  I dragged myself from my train of thought and stepped into Paul’s office and gave him a big smile. He looked up at me smugly from his desk not even trying to pretend that he was not happy to see me go. He was loving every second of this, until he saw my face that is.

  He could not hide it as his face fell a bit seeing the smile on mine. He leaned back, staring at the pile of files in my hand, his smile faltering for a second before coming back full mast.

  He knew I hated having to pass my clients off to him. He would not treat them as I felt they deserved, both of us knew that. He also would overcharge the hell out of them, just because they were my previous clients.

  “That is all of your files both current and previous caseloads I presume.” I nodded and walked over dropping them unceremoniously on his desk. I had no reason to put on airs in front of him anymore.

  Paul glared up at me not hiding the hatred on his face. I had made him look like a fool too many times with the success I had in his firm. He had been out manned by me and resented me for it. Now, he was saddled with a bunch of extra work, with clients he knew nothing about.

  He did not want these clients, nor did he care about them. To have extra work just plain pissed him off, but unfortunately he thought he was smart by forcing me to give them to him. I don’t think that he had realized just how many cases I handled. His problem now.

  He gave me a lecherous sneer as he looked me up and down checking out my chosen outfit for the day. I had dressed conservatively or so I felt.

  I was sporting a curve hugging knee length skirt; it was a simple shade of black. I bought it because of the design along the seam, it had silver beading along the seams which made it sparkle slightly when I walked.

  My sweater was a soft cashmere in a royal blue, it made my eyes seem a brighter green. My hair fell down my back in thick ringlet waves so that when the light glinted off of it, it seemed like burnished rubies. It was one of my more feminine business outfits, I wore it when I didn’t have to appear in court.

  However, with Paul sneering at me like a lech, it made my skin crawl. Not such a pleasant sensation It made me wish I had worn slacks and a business suit jacket. Not that it would do much good, he had made multiple comments on how my slacks did great things for my ass. I told you he was a pig.

  Once he was finished eyeing me like the pig that he was he looked back at the stack of files I had dropped on my desk. Pretty sad that he was so focused on checking me out that he didn’t even really notice the files.

  He was now realizing that mistake as he looked at the pile of extra work I was bringing him and really began to understand the depth of my contribution to the firm. He had asked me to include the notes I had taken for each of the clients I was working with. I had politely declined and told him to do his own damn leg work. This only further incited his ire, he hated to work.

  I looked down at his desk and could not help but smile as I saw the disarray. Many of the folders had scattered across the top of his desk, papers and memos spread out and mixed up. It looked as if I had managed to knock his pen off his desk.

  Part of me wanted to see if the buttons on his shirt would pop open when he bent to pick them up. I was surprised his shirt could contain his gut. I had no intention of sticking around though, so I would have to continue wondering I guess.

  He would probably just get another pen out of his desk instead of taking the effort to get his pen.

  It was time for me to make my exit, I looked down at him and smiled.

  “Have a great fucking life Paul, maybe with me gone you might win a case.”

  He snarled and moved to get out of his chair but he could not move fast enough. I could see his stubby legs struggling to push his weight up out of his chair. He grunted because the chair apparently was not wide enough for him anymore and his ass had gotten stuck in it. Served him right.

  By the time he had gotten up I had already turned and walked across the burnished wood floor, my heels clicking loudly on the floor. The only other sound in the room was his frustrated grunting noises as he tried to catch up with me. He paused in the center of the room to catch his breath before scurrying on his stubby legs towards the door.

  He howled infuriated as I slammed the door in his face and ducked into Ross’s office which was right next door. Ross heard the noise and looked up with a laugh. He loved that I pissed Paul off so much, he wasn’t very pleased with Paul’s actions.

  He patted my back affectionately and told me he was going to miss me. He handed me my letter of recommendation, I shook his hand and I smiled, I would miss him too, but I had to move on and pissing Paul off had pleased me to no end. It was going to be hard leaving Ross. I felt at this point that I owed him so much. If he had been like everyone else, and had ignored me. I would not be the lawyer I was today. I owed him so much, and now I was leaving him to Paul. I hated that.

  He and I would keep in touch, I knew that. He would email me, or call me. Ori would him, there would always be contact there. We were more than boss and employee; we were friends too. At least that is what I hoped.

  I grabbed the box from my office and went to the elevator, the letter of recommendation from Ross at the top of it. I stepped into the elevator the pleasant ding filling the air, a feeling of sadness filled me that it would be the last time I entered this office. It was going to be hard, and I would struggle, but I would find a way to move forwar
d in my life. I always had come ahead despite the adversity I had already experienced.

  Jen screamed, the man charged at her and with a roar she lashed out, blood splattering across her. She reeled back and lashed out again, and again, until his body was nothing but a pile of steaming flesh. Anger and rage filled her, how dare he hurt this innocent child, then attack her.

  She tore into him with her teeth, his screams of pain filling her ears filling her with a surge of victory and bloodlust.

  She could feel so much rage, bestial energy just filling her up as if she was an empty coffee mug. She didn’t think that she was going to be able to contain it much longer. She roared and lunged hot salty blood filling her mouth as she tore into the man.

  The bloodlust took over and she could hear, or see nothing but red. She kept tearing and biting and clawing, the wailing of the child behind her gone as she indulged in her baser nature. When her eyes refocused and she looked at what she had done, she reeled back. This was bad, she needed to get in touch with Alicia, as soon as possible.

  Chapter One

  So, finding a job was not proving to be as easy as I had expected. It had been a week since I had been “relieved of my position” at Barker and Pale. I was no closer to finding a job than I had been the day I left. I had gone to all of the offices local to Barker and Pale the day I walked out. My resume and letter of recommendation in hand, I had been greeted by a friendly smiling secretary who told me that someone would get back to me soon.

  The predictability of a law office was definitely something that bored the hell out of me. I had considered doing something more exciting law wise, but I needed experience before I could become a violent crime lawyer. Not to mention, the violent crime lawyers were not paid as well. Granted it is not like I was hurting financially.

  I just loved my work and I wanted to get back to it as quickly as I could. I loved the leg work, I loved reading the cases, hearing the testimony. I did my own research, I read up on the laws related to my cases. Hell, I had investigated instead of hiring a PI. I loved solving mysteries and bringing them to fruition. That was what I loved about being a lawyer. Every case was a new and exciting mystery. Except for the ones that involved big businesses, those bored the hell out of me. It was all about who had more money and was better at posturing.

  One of the things that I had wanted to try was private investigation. If I was not able to find a firm that would take me on as a lawyer. Maybe it was time to head back to school and broaden my horizons further. I loved solving mysteries, hell I might be a better PI than I was a lawyer. It was fun to think about, but for now I needed to focus on finding a job.

  I had dropped my resume as well as a list of cases that I had represented and won. I guess my overconfidence was coming back to bite me in the ass. It probably did not help that I went there the same day that I had been relieved of my position. I leaned back against the cushion of my couch and sipped my coffee. It was time to start canvassing the smaller firms perhaps. There were plenty of law firms in Columbus I was sure to find something eventually.

  The remainder of the day was uneventful, I made a few follow up calls and spoke to a few secretaries, and some receptionists. They were as helpful and original as ever.

  They all gave the same canned answer “Someone will get back to you soon if there is an open availability.”

  Apparently the bigger law firms were already well staffed, not surprising the big firms generally paid considerably more than the smaller ones. That or they were blowing me off, I hoped that it was just that they were not in need of a lawyer. The jobs at large law firms were fought after with as much vigor as a person trying to get the best deal at a black Friday sale. You were lucky to come out with all of your teeth intact! I had been to a black Friday sale once, after seeing a woman trampled by the crowd, I offered her my card. That had been a fun case.

  However, lawyers fought with words not physically and I was sure that Paul had decided to contact anyone he thought I might be interested in working for. It was great when your former boss black listed you, I guess it was partially my fault for what I said to him. I just hope he had not made it to sound as if Ross was not mentally sound due to his health. Ross was a good lawyer and man, and did not need Paul making his life harder. Paul was good at twisting the truth, he was just not good at not getting caught doing it.

  I wasn’t stupid, I knew that Paul had done whatever he could to blacklist me from the competition. Now it was my job to prove to the competition that I was someone worth having. That I was a lawyer that could make Paul fall to his knees if we ever ended up in a courtroom together. I knew I could, I was just better at my job than he was. I just needed an office that was willing to let me prove it. That was the challenge.

  I logged onto my computer later that evening and put my resume up on a few sites. The Internet was a strong recruiting tool for any employer. It was also a great way to put myself out there to be found. I had built myself a website earlier this week, I had been given advanced notice that I was going to be fired.

  Paul had no choice in that, it was in my contract after all. For now, until I found a new firm I was going to offer my services as a lawyer freelance. I would call attention to my ability and the fact that my rates were lower than most lawyers out there. I answered a few emails, nothing job related unfortunately, just my aunt checking in on me as she did once every few months. My aunt was pretty good at checking in on me, most of my remaining family ignored me and had since I was 16.

  My aunt, she was a different story. At least once every couple weeks she would send me an email asking me how I was. She knew about Jen and our relationship. She knew about me getting released from my contract and everything else that was going on in my life as of now She was contacting me this time to tell me about a law firm that she knew of in my city. Apparently her hair stylist went there when she needed legal representation and they were hiring. At least there was some sort of a lead. I thanked her and went about answering the rest of my emails.

  After I finished on the computer I settled down to watch some television relaxing with my feet up on the coffee table. What was it with people liking reality TV? The shows were so lame, there was no plot and little humor. I guess some people just enjoy watching others humiliate themselves, but me, I enjoyed a good story. Before long I drifted off to sleep, dreaming of success in a big law firm, making lots of money and having lots of happy clients. Ah, Pipe dreams are wonderful huh?

  The loud shrilling of a phone ringing woke me up, rubbing sleep from my eyes I blearily searched around for my phone and grabbed it shoving it against my head. Trying to get the sleep out of my voice before I spoke, I cleared my throat a couple times before speaking.

  I answered with a rough sounding. “Hello?” The voice on the other end was quiet and low whispered “Alicia? Its Jen, I am in trouble.”

  I bolted upright as my girlfriend’s words filled my ears. “Baby? What’s wrong?” I replied and she stuttered and starting crying “I've done something really bad baby, really bad.”

  I sat upright and leaned forward grabbing my cold coffee and sloshing down some of it to get the gravel out of my voice. “OK Jen, tell me what’s going on, and don't leave out anything.”

  I put on my lawyer voice and readied myself for whatever it was she needed to tell me. Had she cheated on me? Was she leaving me? Did she get fired? We definitely could not afford to lose both of our incomes. Her income was not nearly as much as mine as a reporter but it was enough to pay the bills. I took a deep breath steeling myself for the worst. She knew I was getting fired, maybe she didn’t want to be with me anymore. I could feel tears filling my eyes. God, I hoped that wasn’t the case.

  It could be something work related too. I loved my girlfriend but she was an odd duck, she always took on the hard jobs and when I picked on her about it she would laugh and brush me off. She was a hard worker though, I had to give her that. She had been on some pretty dangerous jobs lately, the last one had been a serial ki
ller case. She had gone to the prison that he was in numerous times in the past months to interview him. I was pretty sure that her editor had been pleased with her for that one though. So it couldn’t be that right?

  I steadied myself preparing for the bad news hoping that it was not as bad as I was imagining.

  Jen sniffled on the phone and whispered.

  “I killed him, I didn't mean to I swear it was an accident, he came running at me and I just lashed out.”

  Now, when my girlfriend tells me that she has killed someone, you would think it would panic me. However, my girlfriend was not exactly normal, she was a werewolf.

  Yea, yea, yea, I know. Werewolves, vampires, fairies, witches, they don't exist. Ha ha, bullshit. They are all definitely very real as are angels and demons. Surprise! Welcome to the world that nobody knows about. It shocked me at first, too. However, a lot of the myths tied to being a werewolf were just that, myths. This was something I had learned after living with Jen in our small but comfortable rental for the past five years. You learn a lot about a person when you spend just about every day with them.