LISA
Deja vu.
It is that moment in which you feel that you have done something or experienced a particular situation before. You think a lot about where and when it happened. You try to remember, but the memory does not come. The details are hazy and it's almost as if you're numb to an experience you were presumably a part of. It is like being in a place where you have never been in your life, but you feel that you were there, and suddenly, as if nothing happened, your brain sends a signal that the environment is familiar to you, and not only the environment, everything that is in it, such as people, objects, situations that happen within that particular site. Quite strange about Deja vu, there are people who believe that they are experiences from past lives, which are reflected in the present during some moment of your own life.
I will never understand déjà vu. I've certainly experienced it before, many times, but right now, there's nothing fuzzy and no tingling sensations. This is not a forgotten experience. It's one I remember all too well. And it's an experience that I really hoped I never had to live again.
"I am going to be fired?" I ask in disbelief.
“I'm so sorry, Lisa, but we talked about this. Three strikes and you're out. Alex Rivas plans to sue the company,” my boss says with a slight frown.
“He is an asshole and a sexual offender. What did you expect him to do?
“He came here for the defense, not the prosecution! You were his lawyer; You were supposed to help him!
"Assholes like Rivas should go to jail," I sneer.
As Rein stands up, the scowl on his face becomes even more menacing. He is a good boss, he always has been, and also a good man. He gave me a chance when no one else did. I really hate to be letting him down right now. But what can I do, I just have to see it
"I want you to answer a nice question. Why did you become a lawyer, Lisa?" he ask me.
Lifting my head, I look directly into his dull blue eyes. The answer to his question is second nature to me now. It's something I've always known, I've always believed. The answer was very clear to me, I didn't need to think about it too much.
“I did it to stand up for justice, to make a difference, to help people.”
“Well, Rivas is also a person. You're a lawyer, dammit. Every human being has a constitutional right to one, whether guilty or not. I didn't ask you to take it out.
It was a lost cause. There was a witness and a lot of damning evidence. But was it really necessary for him to share information about the case with the prosecutor in charge? he asks.
"I am obligated to share evidence with the prosecution."
"Really? Information protected by attorney-client privilege?
"I didn't think they would catch me!" Shout.
Rein's right eye twitches.
“Yes, I'm done, Lisa. I can't do this anymore,” he says defeated before falling back into the chair.
Queen, please. I promise it won't happen again,” I start.
"I don't think so. What if you have to defend a murderer, huh? A rapist? Would you be able to do it and give it your all without feeling guilty and wanting to do the right thing?" Rein asks again.
I bite my bottom lip but don't respond. He already knows the answer to that question. So why answer him? It's even a little silly to tell him.
Rein sighs. “Every lawyer faces this dilemma, Lisa. We all go through this, and we do our best to do our fucking job. When you do shit like this, it's pretty clear you don't have what it takes, and don't look at me like that, you know I'm telling you the truth."
I clench my fists.
"I have what it takes," I say quietly.
“Think about a career change, Lisa. Become an activist, a philanthropist. I understand your need to help people, but it seems that being a criminal defense attorney is not for you."
"Are you still firing me?" Asked.
He nods grimly. I can't believe what I see, the image of him as a good and great person of him is fading right now.
“I'm sorry, Lisa, but there's nothing I can do. Those above are furious. Rivas was a major investor in the firm. You're lucky I was able to talk him out of suing you for misconduct. I wanted to see you disabled for a long time"
I nod repeatedly. I guess I have to be thankful for that. I don't regret what I did. It just sucks that I got caught.
"Okay. I know you did everything you could. You're right, maybe I'm not cut out to be a lawyer. I'll leave."
"I'm so sorry, Lisa."
I give him a shaky smile before leaving the office. I enter the elevator in a daze and go down to my office on the third floor. Part of me registers the dirty looks some of my coworkers give me. They've never really liked me. I'm too brash, too loud, too bold. I have never belonged to any of them, and now I have to go.
Oh god, Noel. What am I going to do with Noel?
"I heard that you were finally cut off."
I look up and see Richter Grace. She became a partner a few months ago and has been insufferable ever since. He is a jerk, as his name implies, with an inflated ego. He wishes he could wipe the smirk off his face.
Richer. Go away," I say dismissively.
He laughs, walking over and standing in front of my desk.
“It was just a matter of time, Lis,” she replies with a giggle.
I grit my teeth and mentally count to ten, so as not to yell at him and throw a stapler at his head. I am not small or short in any sense, so the nickname does not allude to that. The jerk shortened Lisa to Lis for some inexplicably annoying reason.
“Seriously, you don't leak confidential information about your clients and you don't expect to take on the music,” she continues.
"I'll maim you," I threaten.
