Shafted [ONC 2022]

Rendezvous

"Good afternoon, welcome to Turner, Braxon and associates," she greeted with a smile—an expression that morphed into a gape the moment she laid eyes on Rukiya. They stared at each other silently for a moment, as though exchanging a secret message before Rukiya turned away to hang up her coat. For her part, she seemed unphased.

"We have an appointment with Brigid Turner," Rukiya said simply. "It's under Warrick and Reyes."

The receptionist cleared her throat and gestured to the navy overstuffed couches. "Of course. Please have a seat." She smiled again, but this time it was shaky. "Can I offer you some coffee while you wait?"

"No, thank you," Rukiya answered without missing a beat. She crossed one leg over the next and pulled out her cellphone. Her aloofness clashed with the fear rolling off the young secretary, and the tension in the room spiked to a suffocating degree.

Kadin put on a friendly smile, feeling like a bystander observing an impending train wreck. "I'm fine, thanks."

"I'll see if Mrs. Turner is ready to see you. Excuse me." The receptionist gave one last strained smile and left through the door flanking her desk.

He leaned a little closer to Rukiya and lowered his voice to a whisper. "You know her?"

"Something like that." She breathed a sigh through her nose and continued scrolling through her phone. "Don't mind it."

The receptionist returned and put on another nervous smile. "Mrs. Turner will see you now. Right this way."

They followed her into a narrow hall line with doors, each bearing a gold plate with someone's name on it. They stopped at the one on the very end. Brigid Turner, Senior Associate, was embossed on its gold plate.

The receptionist stepped in and held the door for them. "Please, have a seat."

Brigid Turner sat behind a wood desk laden with books and files, her face pinched into a look of consternation as her eyes roamed a document. A pair of round glasses sat on her nose, the ivory of their frames matching the color of her frilly blouse.

The picture window behind her afforded a view of 1st and Bowton, and the light streaming in illuminated the bookcases that dominated the walls on either side of the desk.Kadin sat in one of the two armchairs in front of the desk and tried not to feel intimidated by the oppressive nature of the office. It had a very closed-off feeling he didn't vibe with. It felt like the bookcases were leaning over him, judging him. He didn't consider himself dumb, but this office made him feel that way.

"My apologies for the wait." Brigid pulled an iPad and apple pen from her desk. "Wendy gave me a short version of what happened, but I'd love to hear your version of events. Please be thorough. I need all the details."

Kadin exchanged a look with Rukiya and kicked off the recap of their nightmare in the elevator. Reliving it was worse than he thought. With everything else going on—his interview, starting a new job, setting up his living space—he hadn't had time to reflect on it.

"Neither the emergency nor the call buttons worked?" Brigid asked.

Rukiya nodded. "That's right."

"And you tried calling downstairs and to maintenance and got no answer, correct?"

"Correct."

"Mmm. Continue."

Rukiya picked up where Kadin left off and outlined the rest of their time in the elevator up until the firefighters pulled them out. "The shaft was full of rust. I wish I'd taken pictures."

"No need." Brigid pressed the butt of her pen against her cheek. "I'm going to take some time, dig a little deeper into this, but based on this information alone, I'd say you have a solid case. Are you going to get millions? Probably not, but I believe it's worth pursuing. I won't take up anymore of your time. Just leave a contact number with Lindsay, and I'll get back to you in due time."

"Thank you for your time," Rukiya said as she stood.

"It was no trouble at all. Do give Wendy my best."

"Of course."

Kadin followed her out to the front desk, where Lindsay was waiting for them, along with another of her nervous smiles.

"Please leave your contact information here." She passed the clipboard to him first and busied herself with tapping away on her keyboard.

Rukiya stood beside him, her attention out the window. When he passed her the clipboard, she penned down her information, then immediately turned to leave.

"Wait, uh Rukiya!" Lindsay called.

Rukiya paused halfway to the door, her shoulders bunching close to her neck.

"Can I... speak with you for a moment? Privately. Please. I swear it'll only be a minute." She cast a look at Kadin as though begging him to leave.

"Kadin, do you mind waiting for me outside?" Rukiya asked. By the tone of her voice, she was going to kill this woman and bury under this law firm.

He shrugged a shoulder. "Sure." Anything over witnessing a murder.