The Arcane Trilogy: Better Call Paul - Book 1

Chapter 5: The First Job

Throughout the last month, Paul had developed quite an interesting habit. He had a lot of free time on his hands, which was not something he had a lot of when working under a councillor, so he relished in his momentary downtime. This habit consumed many hours of the day. He would simply watch the work being done on his soon to be office. The workers would often ask if there was anything he needed or if there was a problem, but Paul would reassure them, stating he simply wanted to watch the process. He found it almost therapeutic. He would brainstorm ideas of how to present himself, advertise his services and the theme of the firm's design, all whilst looking at the birthing procedure of his future. He ended up spending more and more time there as the month drew on, setting up a little makeshift desk to write down ideas that popped into his heads, often sharing lunch with the workers.

Towards the end of the month as Paul was deep in thought, a fair voice shook him from his contemplative state, jolting him ever so slightly.

"Mr Goodbrook?" Asked the voice with a hint of hesitation.

Paul spun around and was momentarily stunned by the sight in front of him. A full head of deep chestnut hair flowing over a smooth tanned face with a set of enchanting blue eyes to boot. Paul had to yank himself back into focus to speak to his first potential client. Scaring the first one away with peculiar looks wouldn't be the best start to his business.

"Y-Yes that's me. How can I help miss...?" Replied Paul with a brief stutter which Paul silently cursed himself for fumbling out.

"Josephine Rosby, but most people just call me Josy." She answered offering a hand for Paul to shake. Her touch was silky soft, and Paul felt as though he could almost melt away with her touch, but he remained composed.

"Well then Josy Rosby, nice to meet you." He said with a smile, hoping it didn't look as stupid as it felt. "I would offer you a drink and seat in my office but as you can see, that's a bit of a work in progress." Finished Paul as he gestured to the construction work going on in the background.

"Oh, that's okay." She answered with a slight smile. "I actually just wanted to ask if you could speak with someone. I'll pay you of course but I'm guessing it won't be what you would normally want out of a case." Explained Josy, peaking Paul's interest.

"Well, who need do I need to have a chat with then?" asked Paul.

"My father. He won't listen to reason. I've spent the last two weeks organising a new home for him that's just as good as his current one, but he is persistent in staying exactly where he is." Explained Josy with a sigh.

"Why does he need to move?" Asked Paul, as he raised an eyebrow to which Josy huffed in an almost tired manner, moving her hands to her hip. Paul once again had to resist the urge to appreciate her slender figure.

"Because the 'Hightower Estate Agency' have gotten approval for renovating his entire housing block. They didn't say what for, but they offered a settlement figure of 15,000 gold cogs to each of the residents. The others have said they will agree to it, but they all need to agree otherwise they can't start renovations for obvious reasons." She finished looking back up at Paul, her stunning eyes catching Paul off guard for a brief moment.

"Why did you come to me with this?" Asked Paul, drawing a slight look of confusion from Josy. "I mean, don't get me wrong I'm happy you did, it's just that there are lawyers up there who are in a far better financial position than me who have a lot more experience. Wouldn't they be a safer bet, or is there more to this nefarious scheme that I have yet to see?" Asked Paul with a subtle smile, drawing a slight chuckle from Josy.

"No, no. There's no scheming going on here. I just wanted someone who wasn't one of them you know. I'm pretty sure that Councillor Salo is a primary shareholder in 'Hightower Estate Agency', so If I hire someone from up there, what's to say they don't try and extort us even further by citing some 'fine print' we 'failed' to read. They have already caused us enough grief by dropping this on us. The less I have to speak to them the better." Rambled Josy. Paul gave her a moment to recover from her mini rant before she continued. "You seem like an okay person. I heard about that Councillor Hoskel trial. That the owner of 'The Proud Lioness' was actually responsible for causing the fire and the accused Councillor Hoskel. I may not know Hoskel, but that doesn't seem right to me." Continued Josy with a soft look returning to her gaze. "You get stuff done. So, I thought you'd be the right person for me." Finished Josy as her gaze met Paul's