Balance (The Balance Series Book 1)

by Janelle Stalder

  I had almost been hit by the son of the man I was about to start an internship with on Monday morning.

  Yup.

  That was my life.

  But that was Friday, and now it was Monday, and I wasn’t going to dwell on the horrible event anymore. I’d texted Amanda and Blake that night when I’d gotten home so they wouldn’t worry, but had only told Amanda about the near-death experience when we’d gone for coffee Sunday morning.

  I looked down at my phone, cringing again as I re-read her text.

  Me: No…no Banks to speak of.

  Amanda: just make sure you watch out for their cars…I hear they can be dangerous.

  Me: I’m never telling you anything again.

  Me: Ever.

  Amanda: Laaav you!! Have a good day xoxo

  I sighed, slipping my phone back into my purse.

  “Miss. French?”

  My head snapped up as I pointed at myself, staring back at the receptionist. She was actually looking at me.

  Her brows pulled together. “Are you Miss,” she glanced down, “Vivian French?”

  “Y-yes, that’s me,” I stammered, stumbling as I stood and walked over to her.

  She gave me a polite smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I’ll need you to sign in here, please,” she said, motioning to a clipboard. I grabbed the pen that was attached to it by a long cord, scribbling my name down on a list as she slid a visitor’s badge across the counter to me.

  “You’ll have to use this for now, until we get you your own. Should take a week or so,” she said.

  I nodded, grabbing the piece of plastic as though I’d never seen such a thing in my life.

  “That will let you in the copier rooms and anywhere else that’s locked,” she informed me.

  “Great, thanks.”

  “Once you take a photo, we can have an actual employee pass made up for you.”

  Ew. I hated taking photos. “Oh, okay,” I said.

  “Margaret will be your supervisor while you’re here. She’s in charge of all the interns.” She stood up, her glasses sliding down her nose as she looked over the top of them to the room behind her. I looked too, though I had no idea what we were searching for.

  The office itself wasn’t at all what I had pictured. Where I stood was a small, tiled area with the chairs and reception desk, but behind it were dark, hardwood floors, and warm caramel walls. The space was filled with cubicles, but not those grey ones you see in movies. These were brown and lower, the tops of them featuring windows that let you see the person at the desk beside you. It wasn’t nearly as claustrophobic as one might expect.

  The receptionist turned back to me. “I don’t see Margaret, so I’ll have to page her. Just give me a moment.”

  “Sure,” I said, stepping to the side.

  She sat back down, the phone in front of her already ringing off the hook. Looking over apologetically, she slipped the headset onto her head and started clicking away. “Banks and Sons, please hold.”

  My shoulders slumped. That page wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. It was already after nine, and I hadn’t done a single thing except write my name on a list. I flipped the visitor pass in my palm, feeling a slight twinge of disappointment creeping in.

  No, don’t do that, I scolded myself. This was supposed to be a new and exciting time in my life. I was going to intern here and learn a ton of stuff, and then I’d complete my schooling and become the most successful female prosecutor in the city.

  Why intern at a defence attorney’s if I wanted to be a prosecutor? Simple; because to be the best, you had to know how both sides worked. And what better way to have a peek at the other side than at Banks and Sons? They represented the worst of the worst. To be honest, I had a hard time understanding just how they could stand it.

  I wasn’t here to judge though. I was here to learn, even if that meant having to deal with the lowest of lows society had to offer. If I ever got to deal with them, I thought, glancing back at the receptionist.

  With a sigh, I turned, ramming right into a hard chest, my body rocking backward as I let out a pathetic squeak. Two strong hands gripped my arms before I could fall flat on my ass. Heat exploded in my face before I even looked to see who it was. How many people had just witnessed my epic fail? My face burned hotter at the thought.

  Slowly, I looked up to see two dark grey eyes staring down at me with amusement. It was the same dark haired boy that had also almost run me over with his car three nights ago.

  Kellan Banks.

  I could not believe my luck, or lack thereof. A smile spread across his wide mouth as he read the horror on my face.

  “Hello again,” he said in that same beautiful voice.

  Speech seemed to elude me once more in this man’s presence. What was wrong with me? I had never been so tongue tied in my life.

  “It seems we just keep running into each other, don’t we?” he said with a chuckle.

  “Apparently,” I mumbled back, horrified.

  “I’m Kellan, Kellan Banks.”

  I just nodded. There was no way I could say ‘I know’ without looking completely lame.

  “Are you working here, or were you looking for someone?” he asked, his eyes still dancing with suppressed laughter.

  I had to make a good impression with this man, so I pushed down my embarrassment as far as it would go, and mustered up my regular composure. Or a fake imitation of it.

  “I’m Vivian French,” I said more confidently. “I’m here for a summer internship that starts today. I was just waiting for Margaret,” I explained, quickly glancing over at the preoccupied receptionist.

  He followed my look, nodding. “I’ll go find her,” he offered.

  “Oh, that’s okay,” I said instantly, horrified that he was going to go out of his way for me.

  He held up a hand. “It’s fine. I know where to find her. Why don’t you go take a seat at one of those desks by the windows, whichever one’s empty. She’ll be over shortly.”

  I nodded and started walking toward the desk, without even thanking him or saying goodbye. It only dawned on me as I was halfway across the floor that I had left without another word, and again my face turned red. I was a perpetual tomato around this guy.

  I came to the desk he’d pointed out and felt a little better seeing how nice it was. I seemed to be pretty much out of the way, making it possible for me to avoid further embarrassment for the duration of my stay this summer. If the universe would be so gracious as to allow such a thing. My record up to this point didn’t bode well for my chances.

  Sitting at the desk while I waited for Margaret to arrive, I heard several sets of footsteps behind me. I turned slowly to see three girls standing there, all about mid-twenties. I smiled politely up at them, immediately feeling the hostility coming from their end.

  “Hi, my name is Stacey,” said the girl at the front. She was shorter than the others and clearly held the leadership role amongst the three of them. I fought the urge to roll my eyes right in front of them.

  Apparently I wasn’t done with high school after all.

  This had to be a clique within the office, and I had already somehow offended them.

  “This is Kim,” she pointed at the tall, thin one with the short blonde hair before I could say a word. “And this is Clair,” she pointed at the third girl. She was a little plumper than the other two, and had the mean-girl scowl down to perfection.

  I smiled politely at all of them, wishing they’d just go away already.

  “I’m Vivian,” I said. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m just starting my internship here.”

  They were unmistakably taking stock of me as I shifted in my seat beneath their scrutiny. I didn’t know what they were thinking, but I could tell already it wasn’t good. Most girls, for whatever reason, seemed to dislike me right away when they first met me. I didn’t know what it was, but Amanda was sure that most saw me as competition.

  Little did they know, I had no interest in
competing for their guys. Dating was of no interest to me at this point in my life.

  The silence between us was killing me.

  Clearing my throat, I said, “Kellan told me I should just wait here for Margaret.”

  Immediately I saw this was the problem. As soon as Kellan’s name was said, the one named Stacey’s eyes went slightly tighter. Geez, did she really think I would go after a Banks? Girls could be so stupid sometimes.

  “Well, welcome to the firm,” Stacey said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Good luck with Margaret.” The other two snickered as they walked away. I guessed Margaret wasn’t someone to look forward to. Oh well, every job had its ups and downs.

  Someone moved the chair behind me and I saw another girl sitting down at the desk beside mine. She smiled at me. “Hey, I’m Lily, are you Vivian?” she asked with a friendly voice. I breathed a little easier. No hostility coming from her.

  “Yes, I am. You can call me Vi. It’s nice to meet you.” We shook hands.

  “So what did you do to upset the law groupies?” she asked nodding in the other girls’ direction. I smiled at that, deciding I was going to like Lily.

  “Not sure, but it might have something to do with Kellan Banks?”

  She nodded her head and said “Ah!” while holding up one finger as though she’d just solved a mystery.

  “Yes, that definitely makes sense,” she said with a laugh. “I’m an intern here for the summer too. I’ve been here for the last two summers while I go to college,” Lily explained as we sat at our desks. “Ashley and I will keep you safe, don’t worry.”

  It was such a relief to have met someone who was nice.

  “Who’s Ashley?” I asked.

  “She sits on the other side of you there. She doesn’t usually come in till about ten, you’ll meet her later. Have you met Margaret yet?”

  “No, she’s supposed to come here and give me stuff to do I think?”

  “She’s probably busy with her morning coffee ala vodka. Ash and I like to call her Cruella de Vil. You’ll know why when you see her,” she said with a wide grin. “She’s pretty uptight and all around horrible, but lucky for us by noon she forgets she’s even at work.” It looked like this job was getting better by the minute.

  Suddenly a tall, thin lady with white hair came stumbling towards us. This must be Margaret, I thought, because she definitely looked like Cruella de Vil. Lily winked at me when I shot a glance her way, confirming my assumption.

  I had not been prepared though for the stench of alcohol that wafted off this woman. Why did they even keep her here? She was pretty brisk as she outlined my tasks for the day, but she wasn’t too bad. It was clear she had no real interest in working, and therefore made us do all the crap work in the office.

  “We have high expectation levels here at Banks and Sons,” Margaret said after dropping a stack of folders on my desk. “even from our interns. I expect you to be on time each day, and complete the tasks you are assigned. Are we clear?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” I replied.

  She grunted, turning and walking away as though she no longer had time for me. I swivelled in my chair, letting out a slow breath.

  This was going to be interesting.

  He paced the cell, waiting for him to arrive for their two o’clock meeting. He hated this place. He hated the smell, the people, the dirt and grime in every corner. Most of all he hated being away from them. Their smell, their eyes, their hair and long legs, it was all he could think about when he tried to sleep at night.

  The longer he stayed in here, the more he felt as if the walls were closing in around him. There had been many nights since the initial arrest where he would wake-up gasping for air in this box they tried to call liveable. It disgusted him.

  The thought brought him back to that first night, when he had originally come to him. He thought he had won the lottery when he had walked into his holding cell. Even after he realized what he was getting into, he was still happy, because he knew before long he would be out again. He’d owe him for the rest of his life, but that was better than staying in this God awful place. At least he would be out on the streets where he could fill his thirst.

  He’d be very careful with his first when he got out, it would be special.

  The guard could be heard coming down the hall, so he fixed himself up quickly in the cracked mirror on the wall by the solitary toilet.

  Only a little while longer and he’d be free.

  Lily and I were so busy most of the morning that we didn’t really talk again for that first hour. At ten Ashley came in, and she was just as nice as Lily. I could already tell from the looks we were getting across the room, that Stacey and the other two viewed us as some sort of rival clique. It was so childish.

  Unlike the three of them, who oddly looked the same with their matching blonde highlights, the three of us were a nice contrast to each other. Lily was tall and thin with short spiky blonde hair and big brown eyes. She had dimples in each cheek that made her look angelic whenever she smiled. She had just turned twenty-one, and seemed as dedicated to the law as I was.

  Ashley was twenty and smaller with bigger hips and olive skin. She had the hourglass figure most girls wished for. Warm chestnut hair fell just below her shoulders. She was only considered a part-time intern, which was why she started later than us, and didn’t seem to take her job quite as seriously, but we both listened to the same bands so we had lots to talk about. We all hit it off, chatting easily as the morning flew by.

  At noon we took a break and headed for lunch. The cafeteria was on the opposite side of the front foyer. Our heels clicked loudly as we made our way, and for the first time that morning, I was starting to feel like a legit adult.

  “Good morning, ladies,” an older gentleman said from behind a tall desk by the main doors.

  “Hey, Murray,” Ashley called out, sending him a huge smile.

  “You two have a new member?” he said, his friendly eyes landing on me. I couldn’t help but return his smile.

  “Haven’t you met the newest intern to the prestigious Bank and Sons?” Lily said with mock-outrage. She gripped me by the elbow, dragging me over.

  “That I have not,” he said. “I must have missed you this morning, Miss. My apologies.”

  “You should apologize,” Ashley teased. Leaning on his desk, she looked over at me. “Murray here is the only thing that brightens my morning.”

  “Amen to that,” Lily said from my other side. Murray chuckled.

  “He’s the doorman and security guard all in one, so if you ever need someone to walk you to the car, you make sure to get him off his lazy butt,” Ashley said, winking at me.

  “Noted,” I said, looking to him.

  “I am here whenever you need me,” he said happily.

  “Murray, this is Vivian French,” Lily said. “She’s already made enemies with Stacey and the crew, so that makes her our new hero. Praise her as she is due.”

  His laughter rumbled over us, and again I couldn’t help but go along with this man.

  “Rightly so,” he said. “An enemy of theirs is a friend of mine. Now you girls go and have some lunch, you all need meat on your bones. And try to stay out of trouble while you’re at it, yes?”

  “No promises, old man,” Ashley said, tapping his desk as she walked away.

  I followed along, looking back at him with one last wave. “It was nice meeting you,” I said.

  “You too, Miss. Vivian.”

  The cafeteria was your typical office cafeteria. A coffee, snack, and pop machine occupied one wall, and a long counter ran along the other. Two women with hair nets and obvious hygiene problems stood on the other side of the counter serving people as they lined up. The food itself looked edible, which was comforting. The rest of the room was filled with round tables that were slowly beginning to fill up.

  “I’m starved,” Ashley said as we made our way through the line. “How was Cruella this morning?”

  “Suffi
ciently impaired by about nine fifteen,” said Lily.

  The three of us chuckled as we grabbed some food. We sat down at our own table and began stuffing our faces. Or, at least, I did. I wasn’t used to not snacking throughout my mornings. My stomach had started to growl by ten-thirty.

  “So our new little friend here managed to piss the groupies off already, huh?” Ashley asked, her gaze rounding on me. “How did neither of you tell me this already?”

  “I’m not a hundred percent sure,” I said, “but I think it had to do with the fact that I spoke with Kellan Banks this morning.”

  Ashley’s eyebrows shot up toward her hairline, her lips forming a perfect ‘o’ before splitting into a grin. “Kellan, huh? Yes, they would get mad about that. I think it is their mission in life to bag one of those boys. God help them,” she said almost seriously. “The boys, of course.”

  “Well I have no interest in any dating, so they needn’t worry,” I said, taking another bite of my lasagne. I glanced up to see them watching me with strange expressions. “Wha?” I asked around a mouthful.

  “Don’t kid yourself, girl. You might be eighteen, but you’re not blind, or stupid. Those boys are gorgeous, any girl would go for them,” said Lily.

  “I’m not really interested in dating at the moment,” I explained, pausing. “Wait, there’s more than one?”

  They both laughed.

  “Yes, young grasshopper, there’s more than one. There are three to be exact, all sinfully hot just like their father,” Ashley answered.

  “Huh. I’ve only ever heard about Kellan.”

  Neither of them seemed to be surprised. Apparently the two younger sons spent most of their time in Ireland with their mom, or other parts of Europe. Kellan worked here, but still kept a pretty low profile. Both Dermot and Kellan were working on the big ‘Eastside Rapist’ case, so the two younger sons had recently come over to help.

  The case was the biggest thing in the news right now. Thirty-four year old Brian Connor was charged with twenty counts of rape and aggravated assault. It was a disgusting case, but Dermot was representing the man. It had to be quite a challenge, considering the prosecution had a pretty solid case from what I’d seen on TV.