His first instinct was to throw them into the fireplace and light a match. Instead, he dropped the packet onto his dresser to spend the rest of the evening there.
Next morning, he spread the papers out on his bed to get a better look at his competition.
Marti sure had lofty ambitions, going for some of the most high-profile and widely-known law offices in her quest for employment.
Not that she wasn't good enough for them — Julian had no doubt she'd make a worthy addition to any law firm.
He just wished she'd set her sights a little bit closer to home.
Well…maybe he could steer her in the right direction?
Yes, he could make a list too, to replace the one he stole earlier. But his list would have law firms no more than ten miles from each other.
He knew several off the top of his head, and wrote those down.
He chuckled, recalling his own first attempt to convince a preferred law firm to hire him fresh out of law school. He'd been young and green, but hid his inexperience well behind a tenacious spirit and a zeal for justice.
The doorbell rang downstairs, bringing him back to the present.
Crap, that could be Marti dropping by.
Julian scooped up all of the papers off the bed and shoved them into the most convenient spot: the back of a dresser drawer. Then he casually descended the stairs and prepared to greet his girlfriend at the door.
But it was only some kids selling cookies, and he bought a box just to get them off his doorstep.
He put the box of cookies away in a kitchen cupboard, his mind still on the papers he'd stolen from Marti.
He really should give them back. It was such a petty and juvenile thing to steal someone's employment applications!
He hated the way he'd handled things. Poor judgment prompted by a desire to hang onto someone who may or may not want to be hung onto.
Julian inhaled deeply, mulling it over. It really was not like him to behave that way. He preferred to keep his deviousness and ingenuity reserved for his legal career — and keep his personal life nice and simple.
But his life hadn't been simple since the day Marti Perkins walked into it.
Her papers could stay hidden in his drawer for now. Maybe he'd give them back. Or maybe she'd just forget about them…
He almost laughed. Fat chance on that.
Where were they?
Marti pulled out the entire drawer and dumped it upside down on her bedspread. She even shook the drawer for good measure. But her employment applications were nowhere in sight.
This was nuts. How could a stack of papers just disappear?
Marti took a deep breath to calm herself down. There had to be a logical, reasonable explanation for why her papers were missing.
Maybe her roommate Savannah knew something about it? Marti would go ask.
Savannah Monroe and Dan Patch stood across from each other at the bar-style counter, sharing a pile of M&Ms that was spilled on the surface between them.
Several candies were separated from the pile in a somewhat crooked line. Savannah took two from the middle of the line.
"Hey, now — I'm alphabetizin' those," Dan admonished playfully with his slight accent, filling the gap in the line with two new pieces.
Savannah giggled at his silliness and popped the candy into her mouth. "Hi, Marti," she greeted.
"Tasting the rainbow?" Marti quipped.
Dan got the joke, but the implication was lost on Savannah.
"Actually, that's Skittles," the petite brunette corrected quite seriously. "Which are nowhere near as good as M&Ms, by the way."
Marti gave her a placating nod. "Clearly."
Savannah just smiled and ate three more.
"Hey, Savannah? You didn't happen take any papers out of my bedside drawer, did you?"
"I haven't taken anything out of your drawer," her roommate answered. "Why? Is something missing?"
"I can't find that stack of applications I printed off."
"Maybe you left 'em somewhere else," Dan suggested.
Marti shook her head. "No, the last time I had them, they were in the drawer by my bed. Now they're gone."
"That's weird," Savannah offered unhelpfully. "Who would steal job applications?"
Other than maybe someone pulling a mean little prank on her, Marti couldn't imagine.
She sighed. "Thanks anyway, guys."
She had one hour to spare before cheer practice, so she went back to her room, sat down with pen and paper, and racked her brain to come up with a duplicate of her missing list.
But it was no use; she could barely remember a handful of the names she'd written down before and now she was late for cheer practice.
She threw on her uniform and shoes and sprinted to the gym. She snuck in the door behind everyone and slipped flawlessly into the formation, trying to pretend she'd been there all along.
"Where've you been?" Lewis complained, lifting her in the air.
"Sorry, I got sidetracked." She shifted her weight to gain the leverage needed for that particular movement and was quickly back on her feet and stepping into the next one.
"Everything okay?" her base asked in concern this time.
"Yeah, fine," she answered abruptly. It was dangerous to talk while practicing, as their moves required intense concentration to perform them without stumbling and getting hurt.
"Nice of you to join us, Marti," Vanessa called out from the front of the gym. "Back row, tighten up your line — you're crooked."
Marti forced herself to give 110% during practice. Coach Lodge tended to be extra tough on them after public performances, and the Boosters party the other night had definitely fired her up.
