As Alan started to cross the room, he noticed through his large windows that Melissa was talking to someone at her receptionist station in front of his office. Although a file cabinet was completely blocking her face, he could see her skirt and her heels, and he was more than moderately impressed by the woman's lower extremities.
"Could I trouble you for a glass of water?" Kate Harris asked, jolting Alan out of his oblivion that was often induced in the presence of a truly beautiful woman. "I'm parched, after all this talking," she delivered, as if it were a joke.
"Not a problem," Alan answered. He wasn't sure he understood what was funny, but he was quickly learning that Ms. Harris was a little unusual. Not necessarily annoying, but unusual.
By the time Alan reached Melissa's desk, the woman with the sexy legs had left, but not without Alan catching a glimpse of her long brown hair as she got on to the firm's elevator. He wondered why she was talking to Melissa, and he hoped it was about him.
"Melissa, I'm taking Kate Harris on as a new client, could you get me the paperwork that I need?"
"That's what I'm here for," Melissa answered. She leaned into him, and Alan wondered what she was doing. "Does she really let her husband, like, spank her?" she whispered with an arched eyebrow.
"Were you eavesdropping, Melissa?" Alan asked sternly. "Technically, that's illegal. It violates lawyer/client privilege."
"No. Yes. Maybe a little," she answered sheepishly. "But technically, she's not your client until she signs these," she said, mischievously waving the papers she had already started to gather.
He didn't have the heart to tell her that she was wrong, so instead went to grab a glass of water for Ms. Harris. By the time he came back, Melissa was ready to hand him a thick stack of paper.
"Thanks. You look lovely today, by the way." He knew he shouldn't, but some days he couldn't help but egg her on.
"Oh, and Alan?" Melissa said. "A woman brought this by for you while you were in the meeting. She dropped a blank, white envelope on his stack of papers. "She was hot, too," she said, almost regretfully.
"Thank you, Melissa," he said, as he entered back into his office.
Ms. Harris looked up from her purse, where she was digging around quite vehemently. She dropped it, however, and accepted the glass of water from him. He set the documents on the tabletop between them, and slipped the envelope into his top desk drawer. As curious as he was, he thought it was a little inappropriate for him to open the envelope while the other woman was still in the room. And she was paying for his time.
"I'll need you to take these documents home, Ms. Harris and look them over. Your husband should probably read them through, also. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call me. Sign them, and then we can set up our next meeting." He was suddenly anxious to end the meeting.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Shore," Kate gushed as she gathered up the papers from the table. She was so excited about the case, even though she was under attack. "Maybe it turns her on," he thought to himself. "I'll be in touch," she said, as she opened up the heavy glass door that led from his office.
As soon as she was gone, he pulled out the crisp, white envelope from his desk drawer. He flipped it over as he began to open it, and noticed his name written clearly on the back, neatly and in blue pen.
Suddenly he felt intoxicated and slightly nauseous at the same time. He thought back to the woman he had barely seen, talking to Melissa and leaving Crane, Poole and Schmidt.
To him, the handwriting on the envelope was unmistakable.