Good thing my leg hair grew in the same color as my legs, despite the dark hair on top of my head.
“Sorry, sorry,” I said breathlessly as I rushed in, keeping my head down.
“You’re fine,” is all my boss said.
I wasted no time getting set up in my little perch of a corner. And once I logged into my laptop, I pulled up a blank Word document and titled it with the date, time of the evening, and the simple word of ‘minutes’.
Just like my boss wanted.
“All right,” my boss said after my eyes connected with his, letting him know that I was ready, “the meeting is open for business. Larry. Where are we on the movement of goods?”
My fingers flew across the screen, even though I never heard that phrase before.
Movement of goods?
What kind of goods did we move?
“Shipments went out last night to our clients,” Larry’s voice said from across the table. “I have heard from three of them, with the other two expected to be heard from by tomorrow morning.”
“And they’re satisfied with their purchases?” my boss asked.
“To my knowledge, but you know we always give seventy-two hours before we lock in deals.”
My boss grunted before pivoting. “Daniel. How are we on the court cases coming up? Do we know the judges personally?”
Daniel, one of the big wigs on the financial board, spoke up. “We know half of them. Two of the four. The two we know already work with us, as per usual. The other two we don’t know simply because they are new to their jobs. One is just breaking in with her first ever court room production, and the other transferred in and was elected by the populace.”
I peeked up and saw my boss nod. “Good. Let’s make sure they get gift baskets from us. Let’s make a good first impression. Never hurt anyone before a court date.”
My eyes dropped back to the Word document, and I kept typing away.
“I have a question,” Robert, one of the partners at the firm, said.
My boss, Joshua Langley, simply held out his hand. “Go ahead, Bob.”
He leaned back in his chair. “We still have that unpaid invoice.”
That made my ears twitch.
They’d been talking about this invoice for the last quarter.
My boss’s ears turned red. “You’re kidding.”
Mr. Dahl shook his head. “We’ve tried everything. And the last attempt we tried? Both the phone and the email have been cut off.”
“Jesus Christ,” my boss growled.
“Suggestion?” a new voice to the financial board asked.
“All ears,” my boss muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
“This is why law offices sometimes have their own in-house counsel. I’m sure it wouldn’t take much to dig up an address. Why don’t we deliver a bill from temporary hirable in-house counsel stating that the invoice is to be paid, or further action regarding the contract that was signed will officially be taken?”
My boss chewed on the inside of his cheek as Adam, the other partner to the firm, spoke up. “It’s not a bad idea at this point. We’ve given them an entire quarter.”
My boss groaned. “They’re also our largest client.”
I spoke before even realizing what I was doing. “That doesn’t mean they get to skirt the rules. Especially not if you’re skirting your own rules for them. The least they could do is step up to the plate with what you’re already giving.”
