sure to mention my name, and tell her I'll take care of any and all expenses promptly."
Lonnie nodded. "Okay. Thanks so much. Is she a friend of yours or...?"
"Yes, Meijing and I are friends, in a manner of speaking. I'd call her myself, but I think you should do this. You'll make a connection that way."
Lonnie nodded again, probably too eagerly, but what else was new? "But you shouldn't cover her expenses."
Macey smiled. "Oh, don't worry, Twit and Bell will be paying in the end, but in the short run, we can't have Meijing worrying about money." She rolled her desk chair over to the minifridge near the plate-glass window. She grabbed a Snapple for herself, and one for Lonnie, and rolled back to her desk. "Now, the next issue is: do you think you would have time for an extra project? And please, be candid about your time constraints and previous obligations."
"I'd love a project!" Lonnie offered, too quickly to appear candid about her constraints and obligations.
"Oh, terrific," Macey said, and sighed with relief, which was uncharacteristic of her usual fortress-like demeanor. Could it be that she was the only person at Twit & Bell who Macey Green considered a friend? Warm self-approval flooded Lonnie's chest, as she waited to hear about the latest project.
"Okay, now this would have to be done very discreetly, and kept between the two of us." She held up a small spiral notebook and lowered her voice. "In this notebook, I have outlined several hypothetical case scenarios." She flipped open to the first page. "You will see that I've listed a group of citations next to each scenario." Lonnie nodded. "Each citation correlates with a real, precedent-setting case that is documented in The Black Book. Are you familiar with The Black Book?" Lonnie nodded again, recalling the fat legal encyclopedia in question. "Wonderful," Macey said. "What I need is for you to look up each citation and write down the name of the case it references. Does that make sense?"
Lonnie processed her assignment. "Yes, I understand."
"I realize it's not glamorous, and believe me, I would do it myself if I didn't have too much on my plate as it is." She set down the notebook and refolded her hands. "Let me know your thoughts, Lonnie."
Well now that she mentioned it... Lonnie thought the assignment was a little strange. It wasn't that it would be difficult, but it just seemed odd. After all, if Macey had written down the citations in the first place, wouldn't she know what cases they referred to?
"It's not just that I'm too busy," Macey amended. "I trust you; you are obviously very intelligent." Lonnie felt her cheeks glow with a proud, rosy pink. She trusts me. She thinks I'm intelligent.
"I'd love to help. If I can. I mean, I'll see what I can find."
"Great." She sighed again, sounding relieved and grateful.
Lonnie stood to go, with her Snapple in one hand and the spiral notebook in the other. Macey asked, "By the way, how much longer are you going to be with us?"
"Well, I was hoping to line up a teaching position for next fall," Lonnie replied. "But so far there's been no word. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere yet."
She'd meant the last part lightheartedly, and was surprised when Macey muttered, "I doubt I'll be here that long." Then she motioned to the notebook. "Let me know what you turn up."
"Yeah, sure, of course. By the way, when do you need it done?"
Macey thought for a second, and said, "How does the end of next week sound? And, Lonnie, remember what I said. We have to keep this confidential, so it would probably be a good idea not to have that notebook lying around." Macey's tone was back to cool and businesslike, but when her blue eyes locked with Lonnie's, they betrayed a certain urgency.
"Okay. I'll just go put this in my bag right now."
"Now don't leave on my account." It was Lunther Bell. And he was slowly pushing the door all the way open. Except Lonnie remembered shutting it. Did she leave it ajar by mistake?
The door
Lonnie nodded. "Okay. Thanks so much. Is she a friend of yours or...?"
"Yes, Meijing and I are friends, in a manner of speaking. I'd call her myself, but I think you should do this. You'll make a connection that way."
Lonnie nodded again, probably too eagerly, but what else was new? "But you shouldn't cover her expenses."
Macey smiled. "Oh, don't worry, Twit and Bell will be paying in the end, but in the short run, we can't have Meijing worrying about money." She rolled her desk chair over to the minifridge near the plate-glass window. She grabbed a Snapple for herself, and one for Lonnie, and rolled back to her desk. "Now, the next issue is: do you think you would have time for an extra project? And please, be candid about your time constraints and previous obligations."
"I'd love a project!" Lonnie offered, too quickly to appear candid about her constraints and obligations.
"Oh, terrific," Macey said, and sighed with relief, which was uncharacteristic of her usual fortress-like demeanor. Could it be that she was the only person at Twit & Bell who Macey Green considered a friend? Warm self-approval flooded Lonnie's chest, as she waited to hear about the latest project.
"Okay, now this would have to be done very discreetly, and kept between the two of us." She held up a small spiral notebook and lowered her voice. "In this notebook, I have outlined several hypothetical case scenarios." She flipped open to the first page. "You will see that I've listed a group of citations next to each scenario." Lonnie nodded. "Each citation correlates with a real, precedent-setting case that is documented in The Black Book. Are you familiar with The Black Book?" Lonnie nodded again, recalling the fat legal encyclopedia in question. "Wonderful," Macey said. "What I need is for you to look up each citation and write down the name of the case it references. Does that make sense?"
Lonnie processed her assignment. "Yes, I understand."
"I realize it's not glamorous, and believe me, I would do it myself if I didn't have too much on my plate as it is." She set down the notebook and refolded her hands. "Let me know your thoughts, Lonnie."
Well now that she mentioned it... Lonnie thought the assignment was a little strange. It wasn't that it would be difficult, but it just seemed odd. After all, if Macey had written down the citations in the first place, wouldn't she know what cases they referred to?
"It's not just that I'm too busy," Macey amended. "I trust you; you are obviously very intelligent." Lonnie felt her cheeks glow with a proud, rosy pink. She trusts me. She thinks I'm intelligent.
"I'd love to help. If I can. I mean, I'll see what I can find."
"Great." She sighed again, sounding relieved and grateful.
Lonnie stood to go, with her Snapple in one hand and the spiral notebook in the other. Macey asked, "By the way, how much longer are you going to be with us?"
"Well, I was hoping to line up a teaching position for next fall," Lonnie replied. "But so far there's been no word. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere yet."
She'd meant the last part lightheartedly, and was surprised when Macey muttered, "I doubt I'll be here that long." Then she motioned to the notebook. "Let me know what you turn up."
"Yeah, sure, of course. By the way, when do you need it done?"
Macey thought for a second, and said, "How does the end of next week sound? And, Lonnie, remember what I said. We have to keep this confidential, so it would probably be a good idea not to have that notebook lying around." Macey's tone was back to cool and businesslike, but when her blue eyes locked with Lonnie's, they betrayed a certain urgency.
"Okay. I'll just go put this in my bag right now."
"Now don't leave on my account." It was Lunther Bell. And he was slowly pushing the door all the way open. Except Lonnie remembered shutting it. Did she leave it ajar by mistake?
The door
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