Whitefish, Montana

Chapter One: The Meetings

"Travis Hansen. And you are?"

Jessie reached her hand out towards him. He gave a firm handshake; Jessie tightened her grip.

"Jessie Aldaine. Hopefully I'll be your new paralegal." 

Travis gave her a quick smile and motioned for Jessie to follow him. He led her from the front entrance, down a hallway, and into his personal office. The smell of charcoal and rain lingered in the room and struck Jessie.

The room was large, with two windows facing the mountains. Jessie looked at the blue haze hanging over them as she took her seat.  

"So, let's get right to it. What made you move to Whitefish?"

"The scenery. And I was tired of the busy city life in Sacramento. I needed a change of pace." 

Travis turned his head and squinted his eyes.

"Sacramento." He repeated, now looking down at Jessie's resume. "You were only there for two years after college. You got tired of it that fast?" He seemed to be questioning Jessie's dedication. 

"It was a dangerous city. I've heard it's much safer here." Jessie said. This was true; Whitefish had far less than half of the crime rate of Sacramento, another plus of living in a sparsely populated state like Montana. 

Travis gave a half-smile. "I have already taken the liberty of calling your former boss. He said you were the hardest worker he had. He was sad to see you go." He smiled again at Jessie. She noticed he had extremely white teeth and a large gap between two on the right side.

Jessie crossed her legs. She told Spencer not to say anything special about her. 

"I tried my hardest, just like I'll do here, sir." 

Travis stood up and reached his hand out. "Can you start Monday?" He flashed his white teeth. 

Jessie stood and placed her hand in his. "That would be great. I'll see you then." 

He looked Jessie up and down as they shook hands. "I can't wait to work with you, Jessie."

"I can't wait to work for you." She smiled for the first time during the interview. 

Jessie could feel his eyes watching her as she stood from her chair, waved goodbye to him, and left his office. Her heels clicked on the tile floor. 

"Have a great day, Miss." The receptionist gave Jessie a warm smile. 

"Thank you. I'll see you Monday." Jessie smiled back at her. 

"Oh, that's great!" The receptionist exclaimed as Jessie shut the firm's door. 

Jessie waved through the glass door at her. She slammed her car door shut and dialed her phone as soon as she got in.

"I don't know how you expect me to be a goddamn paralegal. You know I dropped out of law school after the first year." Jessie sighed. 

"Jessie, breathe. You and I both know you can do this. You were chosen for this assignment for a reason. Plus, we have actual paralegals on standby to help you with anything you might need. You knew what you were getting yourself into whenever you took this job." Spencer said.

Jessie didn't know though, as this was only her second assignment as a federal agent. Field agents were not sent on their first assignment alone. They always shadowed a more experienced agent. The experienced agent would show them how stings play out in real life and not just in training. 

"Figure it out, Jessie. Call me when you have actual important, helpful details to share." The phone beeped, signaling the end of the call. 

Jessie looked up and at the window of the firm. "Hansen Law Firm" The decal in the window peered back at her. She shifted her car into reverse and pulled out of the parking lot. There was barely any traffic around, which was a big change to her. Spencer told Jessie that this town would be sleepy during the summer months; he wasn't kidding. All the tourists and vacationers visiting their winter homes to ski had long gone. Jessie wondered how busy it would be in the coming winter months.