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guilty."
    Elle chuckled again. "Oh come on, it won't be that bad. Do your bit, brown nose a few CEOs. Who knows, you might impress someone."
    "And you'll be doing the same?"
    "Hell no. I'll be drinking in a corner."
    "That sounds like a better plan," I agreed.
    A tiny smile appeared on her face. "So did you hear?"
    "About what?"
    "The Wrights case is a go."
    My eyes widened. "No way. That's awesome!"
    "I know right? It's going to be kind of novel actually doing something worthwhile, instead of just helping companies shit on one another day after day."
    I nodded. It was exactly the kind of case I'd always wanted to work on. A David and Goliath class action suit between a group of Average Joes and a pharmaceutical giant. It felt like our own little Erin Brockovich moment.
    The situation was horrible. Wrights had hidden the side effects of one of their antidepressants from the general public. The drugs worked fine on most people, with one notable exception. Pregnant women. It was only after several years that someone began joining the dots between the drug in question and the spate of juvenile health problems that followed. Now there were thousands of affected children out there, suffering everything from physical abnormalities to heart conditions. More than a few had died from their complications. It made me angry just thinking about it.
    Beyond the chance to do something good, the case was also great publicity for the company, which meant it had the attention of the suits upstairs. There had never been a better opportunity to prove myself.
    "Anyway, I have to run these to Freidburg," Elle said, gesturing to the pages in her hand, "but I'll catch you later, okay? Don't even think about sneaking home. I'm not sure I can sit through this one alone."
    I raised my hands in defeat. "Okay, okay."
    The day chugged along at an agonising crawl. Law isn't nearly as glamorous as it appears on television. Behind every dramatic hour in court there are hundreds of hours of paperwork.
    At six o'clock, an office wide email went out calling everyone to the upstairs boardroom. We always hosted our gatherings in-house. For a company the size of Little Bell, appearances were everything, and we'd spent a lot of money making sure we could entertain with the best of them. With the tables cleared away, the band in place, and the bar and canapés laid out, the whole place had the classy but vaguely sterile feel of an expensive wedding reception.
    Most of my colleagues were already there when I arrived. Seeing everyone standing together in one place really emphasised the gender imbalance in the company. There were jackets and ties as far as the eye could see. We had a few women on every floor, and a couple had even made it to the lofty ranks of Partner, but the firm was still very much entrenched in the old way of doing things.
    Despite my earlier reservations, I decided I couldn't get through the evening without a least one drink, so I snagged a glass of champagne on its way past and then set out in search of a friendly face.
    "You made it!" Elle said, as I found her at the other end of the bar. She was chatting to one of the new junior associates, a friendly young guy named Miles.
    "You sound surprised," I replied.
    "Well, this morning you did look a little like you might keel over at your desk."
    "What, and miss all this?" I asked, gesturing dramatically to the room.
    "It does have a certain... unique charm," Miles said, wearing a bemused smile.
    "First time?" I asked.
    He nodded.
    "You're working under Alan right?"
    He nodded again.
    Elle and I shared an eye roll. "Has he taken you to run the executive gauntlet yet?" she asked
    "I don't think so," he replied.
    "Well, don't worry, he will," I said. "He likes to start grooming his flock early."
    He gave a nervous little laugh. "I'm not sure I like the idea of being groomed."
    "Me either," I replied. "Certainly helps if you want an actual career though."
    His brow furrowed. "What do you mean by