It has been two weeks since I moved out.
Obviously Jenna was outraged and complained that she wanted to move out too but Allen firmly said no.
At first, he didn't want me to leave but after my mother kept insisting that I learn how to be independent and find a decent boyfriend, he reluctantly let me go.
And thank god I left because life in this apartment has been amazing.
Its in a high end area in east London near Canary Wharf. I'm on the 10th floor with a gorgeous view of River Thames. Whats even better is that I don't have to pay rent or any utility bills. Allen was adamant I don't pay for anything.
I don't need to have a car because everything is in walking distance, including the Barrett Law Firm and every other major corporation.
I passed the virtual interview last week and today is my first day of work. I'm not surprised I was hired on the spot because I went to the London Institute of Law (LIL), one of the most prestigious and private law schools in the world. I could basically be hired anywhere without going through the major interview processes.
Apparently the reason they needed to hire an associate was because the branch opened three weeks ago and they were still in the process of staffing. No one even knows who the managers and directors are so everybody will be new which is good for me.
I decided to wear a white blouse with black slacks, with simple black flats. I kept my hair down but clipped it at the back so my bangs could neatly frame my face.
Grabbing my work bag and purse, I locked the apartment and left the building.
It was a twenty minute walk to the law firm. Some may say thats a far walk but I enjoyed walking. In all honesty, I was a terrible driver, more specifically driving in London. Because I grew up in the States and moved here when I was 15, I had a hard time adjusting to the lanes.
I grabbed a coffee at this cute little coffee shop I discovered my first week in the area and instantly became a member.
Busy Knees Coffee and Bagels. It had a weird name but the bagels and coffee were good and the prices were not too bad. I had to start saving instead of spending too much.
I set myself with the goal to save $50,000 by the end of the year. By the end of next year, I should be able to help pay off the debt as long as the interest rate doesn't keep getting higher.
Sipping my coffee, I made my way towards the law firm. The building was located right next to the walkway to River Thames.
This could be a great place to have lunch.
I entered the building surrounded entirely by glass and went up to the reception desk.
"Hi, I'm here to pick up my badge. My name is Lena Andrews."
"Hey Lena, here you go. Your department is on the 5th floor," the red-headed receptionist said, handing me my badge.
"Thanks," I replied and made my way to the elevator.
Surprisingly, the building was pretty empty with only a few people walking here and there. I pressed the 5th floor and scanned my badge.
The elevator was pretty fast and opened its doors to a grey themed lobby that had a clearer view of the river and surrounding buildings.
As I walked in, a young lady approached me with a smile.
"Hello, my name is Elle. I don't know if you remember me but I'm the recruiter for the London office and I conducted your interview. Nice to meet you Lena," she said in a soft tone.
"Yes I remember you Elle. Nice to meet you," I said, extending my hand.
She shook my hand and smiled again. "The director was supposed to meet you personally but he had unexpected guests visit so he had to tend to them. However, I'll show you your work area and then you can go in and introduce yourself. Our director was assigned to transfer here last week from the Paris office but he actually flew in last night so he's still adjusting. Please reach out to me if you need any help."
"Thanks so much Elle," I exclaimed with a smile.
Wow. Everyone was so nice here. I haven't encountered anyone remotely rude since I've entered this building. But I guess I shouldn't say that until I meet this new managing director.
Elle led me through a long hallway to this tiny corner office.. It was a quiet little corner, kind of like a cubicle, but had glass walls and a view of the city.
It was cute. I loved it.
"This is your office. You will be working under this office's Attorney but he's on vacation right now so you'll meet him next week. For now, I suggest you go meet the director and he'll give you your tasks for this week. His office is down the hall."
"Sounds good. I'll go introduce myself right now then."
"Alright you're all set. Good luck."
She waved and left back to the lobby.
I placed my bag and coffee on my new desk and looked out the window.
It was so peaceful and calm outside.
I grabbed my phone and took a picture.
I should probably go and meet the director.
Placing my phone in my pocket, I grabbed my badge and made my way to the directors office.
It was literally a one minute walk. Usually the director would be on their own floor surrounded by other department heads so it was weird why their office was on the same floor as mine.
The plaque on the door said managing director but had no name listed.
It was odd that nothing was setup, considering this company was so well-known.
I lightly knocked on the door and waited for a response.
After a few seconds, the door creaked open but a little brunette boy walked out, sending me a cheeky smile.
Maybe this is the wrong office?
Or maybe this was the directors kid?
"Nate, get back in here," I heard from inside the room. It was a woman's voice.
The director must be a woman and she brought her child to work.
Well that makes sense considering she flew in last night. Maybe she couldn't find someone to watch her kid.
"Okay," Nate exclaimed, suddenly grabbing my hand and dragging me into the room.
My eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the room because it was so light compared to the really dark hallway.
"Oh my god let her go Nate," the lady said in a high tone.
Nate let go and I took this change to rub my eyes.
My vision cleared and I was faced with two men standing by a bookshelf, a woman holding a baby, and Nate running around the desk in the middle of the room.
Yeah so the director is definitely not a woman,
I awkwardly stood there as they all looked at me with curious eyes.
"Sorry, I can come back later," I quickly said, reaching for the door handle.
"No no its fine," one of the men standing said as he left and went to grab a paper on the desk. "Elle must have told you I flew in last night so I'm a little disorganized at the moment as you can see."
This must be the director.
"Yeah no its fine. She said you had guests but told me to introduce myself after getting situated."
He examined the paper in his hand and walked around the desk towards me.
"You're good. I'm Asher Barrett, the new managing director of the London office. I was previously managing the main office in Paris but I had some loose ends to tie here so I decided to work here for a while."
Oh my god. This is Jenna's boyfriend.
I was just joking when I said I would be working with him. I can't believe he's the director.
I wonder if he knows who I am.
But Jenna acts like we're not sisters so I wouldn't count on him knowing me.
I gave him a forced smile and extended my hand. "I'm Lena Andrews, the new legal associate. Nice to meet you."
He shook my hand. "Likewise."
He had a kind smile. He genuinely looked like a nice person. I wonder what he was doing with someone like Jenna.
"I am Nate," the little boy said, suddenly hugging my legs.
Asher chuckled and nodded his head. "Yes, I almost forgot to introduce you to my friends."
"Friends?" I questioned, raising my brow.
He turned around and waved the man and woman with the baby to come closer.
I totally forgot they were in the room.
Now that I looked closer at them, I recognized the man.
I think his name was Jared Cunning. He was the billionaire from Rhode Island and he managed the Cunning Corporation.
"This is my best friend Jared Cunning, his wife Juliana, and their two kids Nathaniel and Vivianne—"
"It's Julia, Nate, and Vivi. Asher just likes to get on my nerves," Julia interjected, scowling at Asher.
"Nice to meet you guys. I think my father was at your wedding. I can't believe you got married when you were 18," I said in astonishment.
Jared suddenly lowered his gaze while Julia sent me an awkward smile. "We actually called off the wedding back then. We got married when we were 23."
Oh shit. I had no idea about that.
"Uhm sorry I didn't know," I said in a low tone.
"Girl its fine," Julia said in a warm tone, suddenly walking up to me and intervening her arms with mine, her baby in her other arm. "I like you Lena. We should visit Asher more often."
"Please don't," Asher exclaimed sarcastically, playfully ruffling Jared's hair.
"Get off of me," Jared said, grabbing his hands.
"By the way, who is your father?" Julia asked. "Only family friends were invited to that wedding. Your father must be well-known."
"Well he's actually my step-father. You might not know him because he's only well-known in the UK. His name is Allen."
"Hmmm. Yeah I don't know any Allen's. Must be Jared's fathers friend," stated Julia.
"Yeah. Allen Kensington. He wasn't close with my father but they did business together in London," said Jared, picking up his son.
"Wait Kensington?" Asher blurted out, looking between Jared and me.
"Yeah. I think your father hates him," Jared said distractedly, fixing his son's hair.
I was really hoping he didn't connect the dots but everyone knew Allen only had one daughter. And if it wasn't me, then it was obviously Jenna.
Asher looked at me surprised. "You're Jenna's sister?"
I awkwardly nodded my head. "Step-sister."
He let out a confused laugh and shook his head. "She never told me about you. Jenna said she was an only child."
"That's because she hates me. And technically she is an only child."
"Why didn't you change your last name? Because if you never told me, I would have never known."
"Because I didn't want to," I said a little defensively.
"Small world huh," Julia said, trying to calm down her now crying baby.
"Yeah its crazy," Asher said with a small frown.
Why is he frowning?
He actually looks a little angry. Or maybe that's just my imagination.
"Sorry to interrupt but Vivi is getting fussy. We should get going," Julia said, running her hands through the baby's hair.
"Yeah, I got work to do. I'll visit again before I leave," said Jared, patting Asher's back.
"Alright. Thanks for visiting guys. I'll try to visit Rhode Island when I have time," said Asher, shaking hands with them.
"Bye Lena, nice meeting you," Julia exclaimed, giving me a light hug.
"Me too. Safe travels."
Asher walked them out while I stood by the door and watched them leave.
"Sorry about that. Jared is my best friend and he was in town so he wanted to stop by," said Asher, reentering his office and walking to his desk.
"No worries. I totally understand," I replied, still standing by the door. "Elle told me my boss will be coming back next week so is there anything I can do right now?"
He took a seat at his desk and waved his hand at me, indicating that I sit down.
I took a seat in front of his desk and patiently waited for him to respond back to me.
"There's a lot of stuff to set up this week so I'll have you look through all the contracts and documents to annotate and take notes on. Your boss is Luis Knight and he'll be managing your training and assignments," he stated, passing me a stack of files. "For now, you can work on these and give them back to me once you finish."
I took the stack of files and nodded my head. "Thank you. I'll go back to my office and start working on these."
"No problem. If you need help with anything, feel free to—"
A gentle knock at the door interrupted him.
He looked up at the door and frowned. "Who is it now?" He muttered to himself, standing up and walking towards the door.
Another knock made him walk faster, quickly passing by me.
"Give me a second! I'm coming."
I heard the door open and I took this chance to stand up.
"Zanny! I've missed you. It's been so long," I heard Asher exclaim. "Come inside, I'll introduce you to our legal associate. She went to the same law school as you."
I gently picked up the files and secured my phone in my pocket. I heard the door close as I turned around.
As soon as I got a clear view of who 'Zanny' was, I dropped the files in my hand.