" Good morning Mr Mali", I said, still sitting, not even giving a shit about what he might think or how he would feel, " to what do I owe this August visit?"
" Good morning Dan…. Oh, Mr Davis. I'm sure Galinda must've informed you that you'll be training under me", he said, looking as dashing as a character out of a fictional book, his hair neatly tucked, his suit nicely worn, with the bridges as straight as the owner.
" Yes she did", I said, looking up at him, and I hated it. It felt as if I was little, as if I was technically a child looking up to him. I should've really stood up, now I regret it.
" Okay. I have a case by 11:00 AM, so Galinda will help you prepare everything I would be needing for the case".
" Okay sir", I brought my face down immediately, opening my laptop and peering into it with no reason in particular. I had expected him to leave after delivering his message, but he still stood there for what seemed like two minutes, staring at me as I stared into my computer.
" Is there any other thing you'd like me to do?" I asked, not even looking up from my computer.
" No, don't mind me, continue with whatever it is that you were doing", he said and slowly walked out. He definitely wanted to say something else. It was clear, if not he could've rang me or told Galinda to deliver the message. He was acting really really weird, unlike the Hakim I knew, but I was too sure that it was another tactic of his, a more matured way of getting into my mind and bullying me again, and I definitely wasn't going to give him a chance to do that.
" Oh, he wants to you to attend to court with him today?" Galinda asked after I told her what he said.
" I think so", I replied, unconsciously scanning her black and white Louis Vuitton couture gown and handmade black Prada shoes and wondering how the hell she was able to afford such expensive clothing with the averagely high mediocre salary she received at Lawsa law firm, and I could only come to the conclusion that she had a sugar daddy. She might be fucking Hakim, but I really doubt that Hakim would be generous enough to spoil her with a couture gown that was usually insanely expensive. The price of just one dress was probably enough to get a Lamborghini.
" Okay, I'll hand you all the documents he'll be needing, and you'll meet Stiles for any digital or onscreen files that he might also be needing", she said, sounding friendly as always. She might be leading a luxurious life, but she surely didn't allow that to get into her head.
" Okay, thank you", I said as I followed her into the file room, a large storage room at the end of the hallway, with tall shelves that were almost touching the ceiling, stacked completely with boxes of files. The room was kind of eerie, smelling of papers but not smelling of dust, which was indeed awkward because the smell of paper and dust always went hand in hand, like ham and burger. It was evident that the room was always dusted and cleaned, and the dim sunlight that penetrated through the little window into the dark room gave it a sense of being alive.
Thankfully, the files that Galinda wanted to get was on the first shelf, very close to the door. She bent a little bit as she brought out the box, peering into it as if she was searching for her diamond engagement ring. She rang her fingers across the files before heaving and bringing the whole box out.
" He'll definitely be needing everything in this box", she said, handing it to me. I carried the box from her and almost stumbled on it's weight. It was heavy, as heavy as a weightlift, and she carried it like an empty box? While wearing heels? Mehn, who the hell said that women were the weaker sex?
" Wow, how did you easily carry this?" I asked as we stepped out of the room.
" What do you mean how? With my two hands of course", she said, and I couldn't tell if she was actually oblivious to my question or if she was pretending as if she was.
" I mean, it's heavy, so how were you able to carry it so easily. Even I am having problems holding it up right now", I said, straining my voice to show how serious I was and she laughed, that hearty, comfy laugh that made me realize that she was a good person.
" Oh please, by the time you spend up to a month with Mr Mali, you'll get used to it. He should really consider bringing a towing van each time he has a case, at least the van would contain everything he needs", she was still smiling.
" But then, what's all these for?" I asked, looking at the files that were separated into different big envelopes, with phones and gadgets that were housed in a ziploc bag, even a wine glass. " What's the use of all these in court?"
" Oh my dear, Mr Mali is always meticulous with his cases. He cares for every single detail; a finger print on a plate, the DNA left behind on a spoon, the sweat on a pen, the handwriting on a paper, everything", she said as we walked back along the hallway, gliding like the model that she never became.
" And what's the use of all that in a bribery and embezzlement trial?" I shouldn't have asked, it would make me seem like the amateur that I really was, but I did anyway.
" My thoughts exactly, but Mr Mali has a way of making everything connect. He can get his proof from even the most unlikely thing, that is why he is so good", she said, a bell of admiration and admonishment ringing in her voice.
I rolled my eyes, wondering how good he actually was. I mean, he shouldn't be that good, right? Back when I was still in law school, we used to hear tales about him, he was famously the undefeatable lawyer who handled every case swiftly, and what made him more popular was that he was so good even though he didn't attend Harvard law school, granting him the nickname " The Bulldozer". Most of my classmates literally scorned him even though nobody knew who he actually was, but I had been impressed by him, the bulldozer, and that was one of the reasons why when we started applying to law firms, I chose to apply at the law firm he worked, I wanted to train under him. I should've made further inquiries, I should've looked him up, I was just one step away from googling him before turning in my application, but I didn't. How could I have ever imagined that the so called bulldozer that I had looked up to was no other person but Hakim? The world sure is a small place.
Galinda led me to the elevator and we both went to the 27th floor. She walked into an office complex with chairs and desks and people talking continuously on their phones and typing away on their computers.
" Stiles?" She called, moving to one of the desks at the far end corner, and when the Stiles guy raised his face to glance at who was calling him, I froze; he was Cole.