Chapter b49 /b

Charlotte figured that bif /bbthe /bjob at S&bG /bworked bout/bb, /bshe would move into that apartment. It would makemuting easier, and living alone would give her bpeace /band bquiet/b.

There would be no more awkward run–ins bwith /bher dad and Xena. She bcould /bfinally benjoy /bsome independence.

At S&G Law Firm, Charlotte bwas /binterviewed by HR and Yvonne, the head of the litigation department.

With ba /btop–tier degree and three years of experience under her belt, Charlotte answered every one of Yvonne’s technical questions with ease.

It was clear Yvonne was impressed. The firm offered her exactly what she had hoped for: a base sry of fifteen thousand, plus a cut of her case

fees.

As bthe /binterview wrapped up, Yvonne smiled. “Miss Riley, we’ll see you tomorrow.”

Charlotte returned the smile. “Looking forward to it.”

The whole process went smoother than she expected. She thought they might try to lowball her on the sryb, /bbut the offer came without resistanceb. /b

After she left, Yvonne stood by the window with a small sigh.

“What a shame,” she murmured. “I actually liked her.”

On her first day, Charlotte was shown around by the HR assistant, Lucy rk, who helped her get acquainted with the team.

S&G’s main office was massive. The departments included Business Development, Litigationb, /bNon–litigation, Finance, and Human Resources.

The Business Development team focused on bringing in clients.

The Litigation department handled court cases.

Non–litigation took care of things like contract reviewb, /bcollections, and legal consulting.

Finance and HR worked just like they would in any otherpany.

Each department had a supervisor. Charlotte’s interviewer, Yvonneb, /bwas the litigation department head. She was also a practicing attorney, probably bin /bher mid–thirties, with a sharp bob and an unmistakable b“/bboss womanb” /bvibe.

There were bover /btwenty practicing attorneys at bthe main /bboffice/b. Aside from bthe /bdepartment headsb, /bevery two attorneys shared an office.

Charlotte was paired with a male attorney in his early bforties/b.

bJust /bas she finished organizing her workspaceb, /bYvonne walked in with a slightly apologetic look.

“Charlotteb, /bnormally each attorney has a paralegal or intern assigned to them,” she exined. “But two binterns /bjust finished their programs, and we haven’t hired recements byet/bb. /bbSo /bfor nowb, /bbyou’ll /bbbe /bflying solo. Hope bthat’s /balrightb./bb‘ /b

Charlotte nodded with a calm smileb. /b“No problem. bI /bcan handle bmy /bown casesb./bb” /b

“Greatb,/bb” /bYvonne said before bheading /bout.

The man at the other desk finally looked up from hisputer. b“/bHey there. I’m Max Zimmer. Looks blike /bbwe’ll /bbbe /boffice buddies.”

“Nice to meet byou/bb,/bb” /bCharlotte breplied /bpolitely.

At lunchtime, one of the male associatesb, /bclearly prompted by the supervisor, stirred up chatter bin /bthe group chat. bHe /bsuggested that the new hires should treat everyone to dinner.

There were two new hires.

One was Charlotteb. /b

bThe /bbother /bwas Jenny bYoung/b, a new intern who bhad /bbjoined /ba few days earlier.

Charlotte wasn’t sure if this was actually ba /bworkce tradition or bjust /bsomeone messing with herb. /b

She quietly basked /bbMax/bb, /bher office–mate, if bthis /b

was something bthe /bfirm usually did.

Max shook bhis /bhead. b“/bNope. This bisn’t /bba /bthing here.”

Charlotte stared at the message on her screenb, /bbdeep /bin thought.

b+25 /bBonus

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