TWO
Paige stood in the door to her office and looked around. It all
looked perfectly normal. Her cubicle was empty, and everyone else in
the office was busy working. She recognized most of them, which meant
that very little had changed here. As usual, there were people there
she didn't recognize. Probably clients.
"Paige," said Sharon Grimes, coming over from a desk near Paige,
"it's great to see you. Since you left us, you never come around any
more. How's it going at the new job?"
"New job?" asked Paige, not knowing what Sharon was talking
about.
"Yeah, with that lawyer," said Sharon. "What's his name?
Carlson? I gotta say, if he had offered me that kind of money, I'd
have taken it, too. Personal executive assistant to one of the most
prestigious law firms in San Francisco. That's quite a coup."
"Well, what can I say," said Paige. "You have to take the
opportunities that come your way."
"So, what brings you back to our small corner of the world?"
asked Sharon.
"Oh," said Paige, trying to be as nonchalant as possible, "just
on my lunch hour and thought I'd stop in and say hi. Like you said, I
don't get back much."
"Well, you're welcome here any time, you know that," said
Sharon. "Grimes made social worker since you left."
"Grimes?" questioned Paige. "He can't even fill out the forms
right? How did he rate a promotion?"
"Politics, as usual," said Sharon. "I swear, if his nose was
any farther up the boss's butt people would start mistaking him for a
hemorrhoid."
"Please," said Paige. "He IS a hemorrhoid."
The two girls just giggled at the joke. Grimes was probably the
least liked person in the office and was continuously the butt of
jokes around the office.
"I was just wondering," said Paige, suddenly seeing an
opportunity, "did you ever get any of my, uh, boss's business cards?
You never know. He might be able to help out here some time."
"Did you forget?" asked Sharon. "That was one of your
conditions of taking the job with him. That he did some pro bono work
from time to time to help out. He was reluctant at first, but he's
really come through for us."
"Oh, yeah," said Paige, "guess I forgot. Can I see one of his
cards? We got some back a while ago and they were misprinted. I just
want to make sure you didn't get any of them."
"Sure," said Sharon, moving over to her desk. She opened a
drawer and removed a business card from a stack she had in the drawer.
"We got some new ones in a couple of weeks ago. I think they're
right. I didn't check them, but they looked the same as the last ones
we got."
Paige took the card and looked at it. "MICHAEL CARLSON,
ATTORNEY AT LAW". It also had an address and phone number on it.
Paige didn't recognize either, but figured it wouldn't be hard to
find. Lawyers were usually easy to locate.
"Well, they look right," said Paige. "I guess we got all of the
bad ones."
"I'll bet the printer was upset," said Sharon. "He'd have to
reprint all of them at no cost. That couldn't have made him happy."
"You could say that," said Paige, casually putting the card into
her pocket.
As a social worker, she had learned a few things about human
nature. Like business cards. Most people didn't give them a second
thought unless they needed them for an address or phone number. And
after handing out so many each day, it became accepted behavior that
the person you gave it to would just naturally keep it. She was
betting Sharon wouldn't even notice that she hadn't returned it.
"Well," said Paige, "I guess I'd better get going. My lunch
hour is over soon and I don't want to be late getting back to work."
"Okay," said Sharon. "Next time, come by so we can spend some
time together. There's a whole lot of gossip you need to catch up on.
And I'm just the person to catch you up on it."
"I'll bet you are," said Paige, smiling. "I'll call and we'll
set up a lunch date."
"Great," said Sharon. "Don't wait too long, though."
Paige left the building and walked to her car. She looked at
the lawyer's card and got out a map to find the location. It wasn't
far away and she decided to risk going by the office. It was no
wonder that whomever had answered the phone earlier hadn't known her.
Apparently, she had taken a job with this Carlson some months ago.
She drove to the address on the card and parked in a parking lot
next to the building. A sign showed that the lot was reserved for
employees and clients of the law office and she figured she wouldn't have any trouble parking there; seeing as she supposedly worked there.
The sign on the front of the building read "CARLSON, MATTHEWS, &
SINGLETARY, ATTORNEYS AT LAW". It was a four-story building and there
was a security guard sitting at a desk in the lobby. As she walked to
the desk, the guard looked up and smiled at her.
"Miss Halliwell," said the guard, whose nametag read "Jim", "I
thought you were on vacation this week."
"I am, uh, Jim," said Paige. "I just needed to stop in and, uh,
pick up something from my desk. I shouldn't be long."
"Take as long as you like," said Jim. "Mr. Carlson isn't in
right now. He's in court all day on a big case. I'm sure he won't
mind if you stop in for a second."
"Thanks, Jim," said Paige. "Did, uh, did Mr. Carlson decide to
move his office yet?"
"I didn't know he was thinking about it," said Jim. "As far as
I know, his office is still on the fourth floor where it always has
been."
"He said he probably wouldn't," said Paige. "He, uh, well, he
said he was thinking about it. I guess he decided against it.
Thanks, Jim."
"Any time, Miss Halliwell," said Jim.
Her conversation with Jim had gained her a lot of information.
She knew what floor her office should be on. If she was Carlson's
personal assistant, her office should be right next to his. That
would make things easier. No one would think it strange if they saw
her in there.
But something about Jim's conversation bothered her. He had
called her "Miss Halliwell", not "Miss Matthews", which was her name.
Or, at least, it used to be her name. Apparently, she had taken the
name "Halliwell" when she had moved in with Piper and Phoebe.
She had no trouble finding her office. In fact, her name was
neatly stenciled on the door. The door was locked, but she found a
key on her key ring that opened it easily. Once inside, she locked
the door and began to look around.
Her search on the computer proved very fruitful. She was amazed
at some of the bookmarks in her web browser. There were sites listed
that she didn't think she would be able to access normally. With a
little searching, she found a list of websites with corresponding
passwords in her desk.
"Not very smart, Paige," said Paige out loud. "Leaving a list
of your . . . my passwords lying about so anyone can find them. You .
. . I should really be more careful."
She spent much longer looking around than she had planned to.
Most of the time was spent on the computer looking up information. As
she found things that she felt would be beneficial, she printed up a
hard copy of the information. She would need it to show her sisters.
As she was printing up another page, there was a knock at her front
door.
"Miss Halliwell?" questioned a man from outside the door. Paige
recognized the voice of Jim, the security guard. "Are you okay in
there?"
"Oh, us yes," responded Paige, picking up the printed pages from
the printer and shoving them into her purse. "Hang on just a second,
will you?"
She looked around to make sure that the office looked the same
as when she had entered. Satisfied that it did, she walked over and
unlocked the door. Jim stood outside, his hands on his hips.
"I was getting worried," said Jim. "You've been up here for
nearly three hours. I thought you might have had an accident or
something."
"Oh, no, nothing like that," said Paige, forcing a smile. "I,
uh, I just got involved in something and lost track of the time.
Thanks for checking on me. I am supposed to be on vacation, aren't
I?"
"Exactly," said Jim, smiling. "I'm just glad you're okay. I'd
hate to think you had gotten hurt or something."
"No, not at all," said Paige. "I guess I'd better get going."
"Don't worry about the door," said Jim, unclipping the keys from
his belt. "I'll get it."
"Thanks," said Paige. "I'll see you when my vacation is over."
"Okay," said Jim.
Back in her car, Paige looked over the pages she had printed up.
She wasn't sure how much of it would help them, but at least they had
some idea what was going on in the world. She could only hope that
Piper and Phoebe might be able to come up with some ideas.
Paige stood in the door to her office and looked around. It all
looked perfectly normal. Her cubicle was empty, and everyone else in
the office was busy working. She recognized most of them, which meant
that very little had changed here. As usual, there were people there
she didn't recognize. Probably clients.
"Paige," said Sharon Grimes, coming over from a desk near Paige,
"it's great to see you. Since you left us, you never come around any
more. How's it going at the new job?"
"New job?" asked Paige, not knowing what Sharon was talking
about.
"Yeah, with that lawyer," said Sharon. "What's his name?
Carlson? I gotta say, if he had offered me that kind of money, I'd
have taken it, too. Personal executive assistant to one of the most
prestigious law firms in San Francisco. That's quite a coup."
"Well, what can I say," said Paige. "You have to take the
opportunities that come your way."
"So, what brings you back to our small corner of the world?"
asked Sharon.
"Oh," said Paige, trying to be as nonchalant as possible, "just
on my lunch hour and thought I'd stop in and say hi. Like you said, I
don't get back much."
"Well, you're welcome here any time, you know that," said
Sharon. "Grimes made social worker since you left."
"Grimes?" questioned Paige. "He can't even fill out the forms
right? How did he rate a promotion?"
"Politics, as usual," said Sharon. "I swear, if his nose was
any farther up the boss's butt people would start mistaking him for a
hemorrhoid."
"Please," said Paige. "He IS a hemorrhoid."
The two girls just giggled at the joke. Grimes was probably the
least liked person in the office and was continuously the butt of
jokes around the office.
"I was just wondering," said Paige, suddenly seeing an
opportunity, "did you ever get any of my, uh, boss's business cards?
You never know. He might be able to help out here some time."
"Did you forget?" asked Sharon. "That was one of your
conditions of taking the job with him. That he did some pro bono work
from time to time to help out. He was reluctant at first, but he's
really come through for us."
"Oh, yeah," said Paige, "guess I forgot. Can I see one of his
cards? We got some back a while ago and they were misprinted. I just
want to make sure you didn't get any of them."
"Sure," said Sharon, moving over to her desk. She opened a
drawer and removed a business card from a stack she had in the drawer.
"We got some new ones in a couple of weeks ago. I think they're
right. I didn't check them, but they looked the same as the last ones
we got."
Paige took the card and looked at it. "MICHAEL CARLSON,
ATTORNEY AT LAW". It also had an address and phone number on it.
Paige didn't recognize either, but figured it wouldn't be hard to
find. Lawyers were usually easy to locate.
"Well, they look right," said Paige. "I guess we got all of the
bad ones."
"I'll bet the printer was upset," said Sharon. "He'd have to
reprint all of them at no cost. That couldn't have made him happy."
"You could say that," said Paige, casually putting the card into
her pocket.
As a social worker, she had learned a few things about human
nature. Like business cards. Most people didn't give them a second
thought unless they needed them for an address or phone number. And
after handing out so many each day, it became accepted behavior that
the person you gave it to would just naturally keep it. She was
betting Sharon wouldn't even notice that she hadn't returned it.
"Well," said Paige, "I guess I'd better get going. My lunch
hour is over soon and I don't want to be late getting back to work."
"Okay," said Sharon. "Next time, come by so we can spend some
time together. There's a whole lot of gossip you need to catch up on.
And I'm just the person to catch you up on it."
"I'll bet you are," said Paige, smiling. "I'll call and we'll
set up a lunch date."
"Great," said Sharon. "Don't wait too long, though."
Paige left the building and walked to her car. She looked at
the lawyer's card and got out a map to find the location. It wasn't
far away and she decided to risk going by the office. It was no
wonder that whomever had answered the phone earlier hadn't known her.
Apparently, she had taken a job with this Carlson some months ago.
She drove to the address on the card and parked in a parking lot
next to the building. A sign showed that the lot was reserved for
employees and clients of the law office and she figured she wouldn't have any trouble parking there; seeing as she supposedly worked there.
The sign on the front of the building read "CARLSON, MATTHEWS, &
SINGLETARY, ATTORNEYS AT LAW". It was a four-story building and there
was a security guard sitting at a desk in the lobby. As she walked to
the desk, the guard looked up and smiled at her.
"Miss Halliwell," said the guard, whose nametag read "Jim", "I
thought you were on vacation this week."
"I am, uh, Jim," said Paige. "I just needed to stop in and, uh,
pick up something from my desk. I shouldn't be long."
"Take as long as you like," said Jim. "Mr. Carlson isn't in
right now. He's in court all day on a big case. I'm sure he won't
mind if you stop in for a second."
"Thanks, Jim," said Paige. "Did, uh, did Mr. Carlson decide to
move his office yet?"
"I didn't know he was thinking about it," said Jim. "As far as
I know, his office is still on the fourth floor where it always has
been."
"He said he probably wouldn't," said Paige. "He, uh, well, he
said he was thinking about it. I guess he decided against it.
Thanks, Jim."
"Any time, Miss Halliwell," said Jim.
Her conversation with Jim had gained her a lot of information.
She knew what floor her office should be on. If she was Carlson's
personal assistant, her office should be right next to his. That
would make things easier. No one would think it strange if they saw
her in there.
But something about Jim's conversation bothered her. He had
called her "Miss Halliwell", not "Miss Matthews", which was her name.
Or, at least, it used to be her name. Apparently, she had taken the
name "Halliwell" when she had moved in with Piper and Phoebe.
She had no trouble finding her office. In fact, her name was
neatly stenciled on the door. The door was locked, but she found a
key on her key ring that opened it easily. Once inside, she locked
the door and began to look around.
Her search on the computer proved very fruitful. She was amazed
at some of the bookmarks in her web browser. There were sites listed
that she didn't think she would be able to access normally. With a
little searching, she found a list of websites with corresponding
passwords in her desk.
"Not very smart, Paige," said Paige out loud. "Leaving a list
of your . . . my passwords lying about so anyone can find them. You .
. . I should really be more careful."
She spent much longer looking around than she had planned to.
Most of the time was spent on the computer looking up information. As
she found things that she felt would be beneficial, she printed up a
hard copy of the information. She would need it to show her sisters.
As she was printing up another page, there was a knock at her front
door.
"Miss Halliwell?" questioned a man from outside the door. Paige
recognized the voice of Jim, the security guard. "Are you okay in
there?"
"Oh, us yes," responded Paige, picking up the printed pages from
the printer and shoving them into her purse. "Hang on just a second,
will you?"
She looked around to make sure that the office looked the same
as when she had entered. Satisfied that it did, she walked over and
unlocked the door. Jim stood outside, his hands on his hips.
"I was getting worried," said Jim. "You've been up here for
nearly three hours. I thought you might have had an accident or
something."
"Oh, no, nothing like that," said Paige, forcing a smile. "I,
uh, I just got involved in something and lost track of the time.
Thanks for checking on me. I am supposed to be on vacation, aren't
I?"
"Exactly," said Jim, smiling. "I'm just glad you're okay. I'd
hate to think you had gotten hurt or something."
"No, not at all," said Paige. "I guess I'd better get going."
"Don't worry about the door," said Jim, unclipping the keys from
his belt. "I'll get it."
"Thanks," said Paige. "I'll see you when my vacation is over."
"Okay," said Jim.
Back in her car, Paige looked over the pages she had printed up.
She wasn't sure how much of it would help them, but at least they had
some idea what was going on in the world. She could only hope that
Piper and Phoebe might be able to come up with some ideas.