Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine, and no profit is made from these stories. (But I do have fun writing them: )

Claire Kincaid sat on a chair in the ninth floor hallway, absentmindedly drumming her fingers on the plastic armrest. With each glance at the clock, her nervousness became more pronounced; she was last in line, and it seemed as though each interviewee who went in before her took longer to reappear than the last.

I'm going to have the dry heaves if this isn't over soon, she thought. To say that she wanted this job was a huge understatement.

She had been in the District Attorney's Office a few months, and so far she had done the kind of work only relegated to novice ADAs. But she was beginning to grow tired of losing her weekends to night arraignments, and when she learned that Ben Stone was in need of a new assistant she jumped at the opportunity. She had even asked for – and received – a letter of recommendation from Judge Thayer, despite her desire to never have contact with her former boss again. If that didn't make Stone take notice, nothing would.

But now Claire was beginning to wonder if she had lost her mind. She had heard rumblings about Stone's reputation for being difficult with his assistants, but the other candidates for the job – all of them more experienced than herself – made it sound so much worse.

"Paul Robinette was with him for five years – that has to be some kind of record," one of the ADAs seated next to her had said. "I heard that he once reduced Erica Stohlmeyer to tears."

She had dismissed those remarks as attempts to make her more nervous going into the interview, increasing her competitors' chances of being hired. Still, it wasn't something that she could completely ignore; she knew that the successful candidate would become Stone's ninth assistant. But she tried to put such worries out of her mind, thinking instead of why she wanted this job.

It was impossible to be a lawyer in New York without knowing who Ben Stone was; he had been responsible for the prosecution of dozens of high-profile cases, attaining the status of legend. He was also a front-runner for the top job when the time came for Adam Schiff to retire. Despite Stone's rumored quirks, the position of his assistant was considered to be a plum one; it had been a launching pad for the careers of several successful defense attorneys.

Claire glanced at the clock again, sighing heavily; it had been ninety minutes since the last person was called. Just when it seemed like she'd never get her chance, two shadowy figures appeared in the window of Stone's office door.

"Thank you, sir. I'll be in touch," Stone said from inside. A thirtyish male ADA emerged from the office, shooting Claire a glance as he walked by.

Then Stone appeared in the hallway.

"Miss Kincaid," he said, peering over his reading glasses at her.

"Yes," Claire responded, smoothing the wrinkles in her skirt as she stood up. She was surprised at how tall he was; for some reason he looked much smaller on the evening news.

"I'm Ben Stone," he said, shaking her hand. "Please come in."

finis