Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 89553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
“Obviously, I don’t want to push you onto a path you’re not comfortable with,” she says. “But my alma mater has an evening program where students can attend law school on a part-time basis. It does mean the whole thing takes longer, but you might want to investigate the program.”
“Oh, really? Where did you go to college?”
“Fordham.”
My eyes nearly pop out of my head. “Fordham? Well, there’s no way I’d ever get into a program at Fordham.”
“Why not?” she asks.
“Well, because . . . that’s an elite school, and—”
“I’ve seen your grades. I’ve seen your work. You’d need to sit for the LSATs, but don’t write yourself off. Don’t count yourself out before you’ve even tried.”
“Even if I did, in some magical fantasyland, manage to get into Fordham, I could never afford it. No offense, but my salary pays my living costs and not a lot else. Certainly not enough to be able to handle Fordham Law’s fees. Or even the repayment plan on those fees.”
I expect her to agree with me and accept that I’m not the right person to mentor. She’ll understand it would be a waste of time. But she doesn’t.
“Like I said, the firm has created this program to enable women to get to more senior positions. We have the financial means to do that. I’m not saying we’d be able to pay for the entire tuition, but depending on your LSAT score and the college you get into, we’d definitely consider paying a portion of it. And, of course, you’d have a job here as a lawyer guaranteed when you graduated.”
My jaw hits my knees. “You’d give me a scholarship or something?”
“It depends on the circumstances—as I said, your LSAT and the program you get into would be factors—but we’d consider it. I would advocate for you. And obviously I could help you source other financial aid if I can. I know a lot of people in this city.”
It feels like there must be a huge catch. Maybe she’s mistaken me for someone else. Maybe my file has been mixed up with one of the other paralegals. “And you know that I went to U-Mass?” I ask, just in case she’s confused me with someone else.
“I do. My husband went there. Go Beacons!”
I raise my fists in the air like I’m gripping pom-poms.
“This has come out of the blue,” she says. “And you might have other priorities. But maybe it’s worth some consideration.”
“You’re right, it is a surprise. But I’d definitely like to look into it.”
“Why don’t you do that,” she says. “Then get some time in my diary in a couple of weeks, and we can talk about it. There’s no pressure, so if you decide that going to law school is not for you, that’s fine. I can still support you in your current role, if that’s what you want.”
“Thank you.” I kinda want to hug her. Just the idea that she’d look at me and think I was worth having a meeting with about my career is more than I could have ever hoped for. The fact that she wants to mentor me and thinks I have potential? I can’t remember anyone ever thinking I had potential. At school, I was constantly compared with Katherine, and I always came up wanting. With my parents it was the same. I’m sure at some point or other they tried to be supportive and encouraging, but I just can’t remember. Sharon picking me out of my colleagues and saying I get to be the one feels slightly uncomfortable—like a gorgeous dress you find in the sale that’s slightly too small. You know that if you just lost five pounds you’d look like a million bucks. But right now, I want the dress, no matter the extra five pounds. I’m excited-slash-terrified. But my heart is full of hope.
Chapter Twenty
Hunter
It’s almost six thirty and I still haven’t heard back from Lucy. Does she have me blocked or something? We were on good terms the last time we saw each other. Or so I thought. I’ve been slammed at work the last few weeks. Not that thoughts of Lucy haven’t crossed my mind. They have. Every day. I just haven’t acted on them. The stakes haven’t changed. We can’t start what we can’t finish.
As I head down the fire escape stairs of my building, my phone starts to vibrate in my hand, and Lucy’s name flashes up. Thank God.
“Lucy! I messaged you hours ago.”
“I’m at work. I have actual work to do at work. I don’t spend the day playing Candy Crush Saga like you.”
God, I’ve missed this girl. I can’t shake the grin off my face. “Good to hear your voice, Lucy.”
“Anyway,” she says, sounding slightly flustered, “I just got the message about Katherine and Ed being in town. Did you know about this?”