Chapter 9
Piper
The clacking of thekeyboard was hard to get used to. I hadn't been in a work environment like here at Biggs Law Firm in a long while.
At first, the silence and clacking were annoying. When I worked as a maid, at least, I had Darren and Gretchen to talk to most days. Then the Durands popped up randomly. If the day was too quiet, I could always pop in my earbuds as I worked.
Here, I had Bethany. Mr. Biggs' red-headed paralegal.
"Hey, fax these over to the courthouse, will ya?" Bethany rolled over in her desk chair, her curly red hair bouncing around her shoulders. Then she slapped the papers on my desk with a smile.
"Sure, no problem." I took the papers and smiled in return. I turned my attention back to the computer, but Bethany didn't leave. She leaned her elbows on the edge of my desk, her face in her hands as she watched me. She watched me the way people did to zoo animals, with mild curiosity and a bit of boredom.
"Yes?" I drew out, arching a brow.
Bethany cocked her head to the side, staring at me intently. "What's your story?"
I sighed and turned back to my computer. "I told you. I got dumped here for work, and then that company went under. I liked it here, so I stayed."
Snorting, Bethany lifted her head off her hands. "Yeah, okay. But you've been here for a month now, and I don't know anything about you except that. Not where you're from. Anything about your family." She gave me a sly grin, wagging her brows. "If you have a boyfriend."
I smiled to myself.
"Or maybe a girlfriend."
"No, no girlfriend." I looked at her briefly. She wasn't going to let this go. Turning from the computer, I huffed. "How about this? After work, we can go down to The Croaking Parrot, get a drink, and I'll tell you all about little old Piper Billings. Okay?"
"Yes!" Bethany grinned triumphantly, smacking her hands on the top of my desk.
I flinched as the pens rattled in their holder, threatening to fall over.
"I'm going to hold you to that," Bethany pointed at me as she rolled backward away from my desk and back over to hers where the incessant clacking began again.
Sighing once more, I picked up the papers Bethany wanted me to fax and stood. The office at Biggs Law Firm was spacious but small. If that made sense. It was big enough to house my desk at the front of the office, where I played the guard to all those who wished to see Mr. Biggs. A row of chairs and an overly squishy couch worked as our waiting area where I kept it stocked with out of date magazines and that day’s paper.
Bethany's desk took up the other half of the central area. I tried to stay away from her desk which was more of a mess than Drake's bedroom. It was distracting to my maidly ways, but it would be hard to explain why I had such a cleaning fix. So, I stayed away.
The only fax machine in the whole building sat at the end of my reception area. Meaning, they all gave their faxes to me. It was part of my job, but still having them coming in and out of my space, just dumping whatever on my desk was kind of annoying.
Mr. Biggs himself had a large office in the back of the building with a door he kept shut the majority of the time. Occasionally, he'd come out to tell me something he needed done - files put away, papers faxed, or changes to his schedule. He was nice enough but worked a lot. I haven't seen him leave the office before Bethany and myself once.
Bethany talked more to me than Mr. Biggs did. I half thought he didn't like me, but Bethany had reassured me that was just his personality. Mr. Biggs could be charming when he wanted to be, but when he was working, he could be short-sighted.
The hours went by, and the clock ticked down to closing time. I felt each one of those minutes knowing I had to figure something out to tell Bethany to get her off my back. I couldn't tell her the truth, and lying to her would only complicate things.
"Piper," the front door opened, and the mailman came in with an armful of packages. "Got a big one for you today."
"Oh, yeah?" I grinned at Tony, a short, pudgy fifty-year-old man who flirted like he breathed. He was harmless and never pushed beyond a slight compliment here or an innuendo there. "I hope it won't give me any trouble."
Tony placed the package on my desk. "Oh, I think you can handle it."
I rolled my eyes, looking at the box. "Just like a man, promising a big night and only delivering an average size outcome."
Chuckling, Tony offered me his device to sign. "What can I say? I choose to be optimistic."
"Yeah, yeah. Keep dreaming." I signed the screen and handed it back, before picking up the envelopes next to the box. "Thanks, Tony," I said while sorting out the mail.
Tony left, and I walked over to Bethany's desk with her mail.