Hell-bent

[6] The Faithful Servant

"Sorry, what?" Helena's eye grew even larger, her oversized lashes casting a shadow which only further increased the depth of her stare. Angie chose to go on as if she hadn't said anything.

"I apologize for the deception yesterday," she paused thoughtfully, letting a small smirk play on her lips as if recalling a joke between friends, "I have admired your work from afar for some time, and I couldn't help but seek you out." Helena's look darkened and she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"That was quite unprofessional, don't you think?" Her scowl would have intimidated grown sumo wrestlers, but once you've lived in hell, very few things seemed intimidating anymore. Angie's smirk only grew wider and that seemed to unsettle Helena quite a bit.

"Unprofessional... perhaps. Unconventional, definitely. I got your attention, didn't I?" Helena did not seem convinced, but Angie had anticipated a degree of difficulty. If she was easy, Lucas wouldn't want her. She fixed her sight firmly on Helena and held the lawyer's hostile gaze. "Most people wouldn't do much digging into a successful young male lawyer. We just assume that they're as smart as they seem." She let out a bitter laugh. "I'm not most people, and I can't be the only one who noticed that Tobias Fischer's run of wins didn't start until you joined his staff." Helena looked like she was about to shrug it off, but Angie shook her head and smiled at the woman. "As a brand new associate, it's curious how often you attend trial. Of course, there has been very little coverage or attention paid to you, but there you are at his side. You must prep him well beforehand. Can't be whispering that by in his ear all the time." Helena crossed her arms firmly in front of her. She seemed to be debating how much to reveal.

"Have you been following me?" Angie just shrugged. She allowed her expression to soften.

"Helena..."

"Ms. Vlahos."  She corrected with a scowl.

"Ms. Vlahos, you are a phenomenal lawyer. You have a practiced intuition and far more empathy and humanity than all of the lawyers in Vegas combined. I'm sure you have your reasons for working under the shadow of a man like Fischer, but I'm hoping you will change your mind and join our firm as a name partner."

Angie walked around her desk, retrieved a document from her top drawer, and slid it towards Helena. The attorney confidently strode forward to examine the offer, lifting the document delicately, almost hesitantly, as if she half-expected it to literally explode in her face. Angie took the opportunity to drive her point home.

"I hope you will find our offer satisfactory. The document highlights terms, salary, benefits, and a bonus. If you have any concerns, we'd be happy to further negotiate." Angie wasn't about to admit that they would be willing to offer a great deal more if necessary, but they had purposely lowballed Helena. It was a test to determine how attached she was to her current employer. If they were lucky, more information would emerge during negotiations. Angie was confident that in the end, the plan would work. Helena continued to read the document slowly, her eyes darting back and forth across the page and her plump lips set in a firm line. Angie found this to be a good sign. She wouldn't read the offer if she wasn't interested, right? Halfway through, Helena suddenly looked up and stared silently at Angie.

"Concerns..." she breathed out. "Yes I have concerns. I've never even heard of you people. Are you the only partner here, or just the only one important enough to have their name on the door? If you are so accomplished, why have I never seen you before? I am more than a little skeptical of this offer, Ms. Dale, and whatever it is you are up to, I intend to get to the bottom of it." Angie should have been nervous, but she had anticipated a little push back.

"Of course. I could go into details about the firm myself, but we both know you are about to return home to do your own exhaustive research on us, so I'll save us both the time and simply wait for you to arrive at your own well-informed conclusion." Helena seemed surprised that Angie wasn't fighting to convince her to stay. Angie reached over to a neat stack of business cards and handed one to Helena, who took it reluctantly. "My office number is on the offer, but here is my personal number as well. Please let me know as soon as you have made your decision. I'll have my secretary..." she quickly glanced down at the notepad she had used earlier, "...Phyllis walk you out." She put in a call as Helena carefully slid the document into her handbag, hoping the demon remembered her name from earlier. Sure enough, the ponytailed woman emerged back from around the corner as if she had just been standing there the whole time, which she actually might have been. Angie reached out for a farewell handshake, and when Helena met her eyes she sensed a strange emotion flash across her irises. It wasn't nerves, but perhaps... fear? Whatever it was it had quickly been replaced by determination as Helena regained her confident demeanour, straightened her jacket, and followed Phyllis out through the door without another word.