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One

THE ALARM CLOCK went off at 5:30 am

Payton Kendall lifted a sleepy hand to her nightstand and fu She lay there, snuggled in a herself these first, and last, few seconds of the day that she could call her own Then—suddenly re—she jumped out of bed

Today was the day

Payton had a plan for this —she had set her alarm to wake her a half hour earlier than usual There was a purpose for this: she had observed his daily routine and guessed that he got to the office everythe first one in the office, she knew On this

In her mind she had it all worked out—she would act casual She would be in her office, and when she heard hiet so,” she would say with a s else, he would know exactly what that smile meant

He’d be wearing one of his designer suits, the ones Payton knew he had hand-tailored to fit him just so “The man knoear a suit,” she had overheard one of the secretaries say while gossiping by the coffeemaker in the fifty-third-floor break rooe to follow up the secretary’s cos about hiht to keep so carefully hidden

Moving with purpose, Payton sped through herroutine How much easier it must be to be a man, she reflected not for the first tis to shave They didn’t even have to sit to pee, the lazy bastards Just shower, shave, whah, Payton suspected, he put a little ht hair of his certainly required product of some sort And, from what she had personally observed, he never wore the same shirt/tie combo twice in the same month

Not that Payton didn’t put some effort into her appearance as well A jury consultant she had worked with during a particularly tricky gender discrimination trial had told her that jurors—both men and women—responded more favorably to female lawyers ere attractive While Payton found this to be sadly sexist, she accepted it as a fact nonetheless and thus eneral rule to always put her best face forward, literally, at work Besides, she’d rather hang herself by a pinky toe than ever let hi but her best

The “L” ride into the office was quiet, with far fewer passengers riding this early in theup as Payton walked along the Chicago River the three blocks to her law firlinted off the river, casting it in a soft golden glow Payton s; she was in that good of a mood

Her exciterew as the elevator rose to the fifty-third floor Her floor His floor The door opened, revealing a dark office hallway The secretaries wouldn’t be in for at least two hours, which was good If all went as planned, she had a few things to say to him and now she would be able to speak freely, without fear of the two of the overheard

Payton strode with confidence down the corridor, her briefcase swinging at her side His office was closer to the elevator bank; she would pass it en route to hers Eight years it had been since they had moved into their respective offices across the floor from each other She could picture perfectly the letters on the nameplate outside his office

J D JAMESON

My, how the mere mention of that name made her pulse quicken

Payton rounded the corner, grinning in anticipation as she thought about what he would say when—

She stopped cold