Justified – Story 1 in the Unbreakable series
Disclaimer: Characters belong to the writers & producers of Hawaii Five-0. My own characters belong to me :-)
Rating: K
Pairing: Steve/OC, Steve/Danny (friendship - no slash)
Author's Note: Finally, we get to meet Dr. Abbott. She has a great story on her own, but we'll only find out bits and pieces as Five-0 finds them out (otherwise, that would be boring, right?) Hope you enjoy! Please keep comments & reviews coming! Updated chapter.
"So as we compare the different methods, note that the accelerated depreciation methods permit companies to take a greater expense in the early years of an asset's lifecycle. What issues might come up when a company chooses to use one of the accelerated methods like double declining balance?" Dr. Julia Abbott asked her class.
Silence. It was so quiet, Julia imagined she could hear crickets chirping. Typical, she thought. Not one of my students has read the chapter or prepared for class. I could have spoken Swahili for the last hour and a half and they would have just sat there and written down doodles and swirls in their notebooks.
The students started to stir and pack up their things. Julia looked at the clock over the door, and noticed two men standing outside the lecture hall. Odd, she thought. They weren't students of hers, and they looked too out-of-place on campus to be grad students. Besides, the class after hers was a French literature class, and they definitely didn't look like the French lit type. Five minutes left, and her students were antsy. Late to class and early to leave. She sighed.
"Okay, to answer my own question, the primary issue is that there will then be what we call permanent differences between depreciation expense on the income statement, and the depreciation permitted by the IRS. And you know that the IRS is going to be very interested in any differences between financial statements and tax returns, so don't mess with the Feds. Don't believe me? Ask Capone," Julia continued.
A few of her students responded with a slight chuckle. At least they weren't all dead, she reasoned. "Please be sure to read Chapter 7 in depth and practice some of the end-of-chapter problems. I am particularly fond of exercises 7-8 and 7-15. I dream about them at night. I picture myself on the beach, solving problems just like those. Grading problems exactly like those while I'm grading the midterm. That right there is a not-so-subtle hint, for those of you who don't get my sense of humor."
Julia smiled at the few who appeared to be listening. "If you do get my sense of humor and get stuck, drop me an email or better yet, make an appointment during office hours. I'm terribly lonely during office hours. I sit and play Angry Birds endlessly hoping you'll stop by. Some of you, I have yet to spend quality time with, and if you're not sure if that applies to you, please take a look at your quiz score from today. If it's below a 70, you should be spending lots of quality time with me. I'm even more hilarious in office hours. And I have fresh-brewed decaf Kona coffee. So please write, visit, tweet, text, call…." More laughs. They always woke up at the end of the lecture.
"Thanks everyone, see you Thursday." Julia turned to start erasing the white boards. A handful of students came up to ask questions as the two men filed in past the streaming students headed to their next class. Julia packed up her briefcase and grabbed her cell phone as she answered the students' queries.
"Hey Josh, I have something for you in my office for your research project. Why don't you hang tight and walk back with me?" Julia asked one of her students as the others left. She stood for a moment and waited for the two men to come up to the table. She noticed their holstered guns first, and then their silver badges.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
The shorter of the two had combed-back blond hair and a fitted button down shirt with a tie loosely around his neck. Definitely a cop and not a Fed, she thought. The only people she knew who wore ties without a jacket were cops, but usually only on the mainland. The taller man's short brown hair accentuated his angled face. His open button-down shirt and t-shirt barely hid his muscular arms, and as her eyes lingered slightly over his physique, she noticed how broad his chest was. She glanced back briefly at his face, trying to mask her attraction. He stood back slightly, his arms folded, his blue eyes intent on Julia. As much as she wanted to look away, she forced herself to return his intense look. She picked up her briefcase expectantly.
"Are you Dr. Abbott?" the dark-haired man asked in a soft, but commanding low voice.
"I am," she paused, taking a calming breath. "I have a very brief appointment with this student who needs to get to his next class. Why don't you gentlemen come down to my office with me, and we can talk there?" Julia offered. Before either man could answer, she walked around them and out of the lecture hall.