Page 1 of Reckless Temptation

1

SABRINA

Aquiet whimper sounded next to me near the end of Civ Pro, then a hurried scratch and scritch of a pen tip over paper.

“What'd she say?” Maxim whispered.

I held back a smile and slid my notebook more to the edge of the desk so my classmate could see the note I’d jotted down. Professor Angus often liked to keep us on our toes and toss out dates and important things to keep track of. Verbal reminders could be missed if students ditched class. With a deep disdain for technology—except where it “made sense”, in her opinion—Professor Angus preferred to lecture with peppered-in surprises, require handwritten reports, and add in mentions of random deadlines in person. While it would be easier to update things online, she stuck with her old-fashioned routine of telling us what we needed to know, usually without any preamble.

Her announcement of the upcoming law internship was just one more example of her tossing deadlines at us out of nowhere.

Tapping my pen at the note I’d penned, I emphasized what Maxim had missed. The poor guy struggled enough as it was. He wasn’t a native English speaker, and he dealt with a hearing loss. With that language barrier, he couldn’t read lips accurately, either.

As Professor Angus continued talking, I wrote some more.

June 15th

Start date for J&S internship.

Maxim breathed easier, nodding his thanks as he copied the notes.

“Several internships will open up over the course of your studies here,” Professor Angus said as she propped her hip against the desk down at the front of the small lecture hall. She crossed her arms as she skimmed her sight over the law students sitting here, all of us no doubt starving and ready to leave for the day.

I packed in a hard, tough schedule to get my bachelor’s in English in less than four years, and I thought those days had been long. The seven-to-six routine that kicked in for this L1—what we dubbed our first year of law school—was more grueling than I could’ve anticipated.

“But those opportunities are usually reserved for interested applicants to consider for the summer after your second year is completed.” She tipped her chin up, letting her pencil-thin gray hair slide back as she stared up at us seated among the rows of this old room. “This internship position is a new position offered by Lorsen & Spengler.”

I wrote what she said without looking down at my paper. Maxim could copy as he wished. Yet, as I let this news sink in, I struggled not to grin with anticipation.

“Lorsen & Spengler?” another student asked from the front row of seats. “Holy shit,” he added as a mutter.

“TheLorsen & Spengler?” someone else asked with no small hint of surprise.

Or maybe it was awe.

Lorsen & Spengler was one of the most prestigious law firms in the country. It was undisputedly the best law firm in all of Florida, holding on to that spot for over a decade now. Celebrities sought their representation. Mighty, powerful individuals all over the world would hire the top lawyers at Lorsen & Spengler.

Professor Lorsen taught Criminal Law here at the university, and it was one of my favorite classes of all. He was one of my favorite professors, fair to a fault and never prone to showing bias. That mattered for someone like me, fighting to belong here as a scholarship student.

Light laughter sounded in the row behind me.

“The?” Tiffany Lorsen joked. “You make it sound like we’re royalty or something, Jared.”

Keeping a blank face, I didn’t react to the queen, the diva, the socialite bully who probably wished she really were royalty. Tiffany Lorsen was a royal pain in the ass, as far as I was concerned, but everyone else here saw the perfect blonde as one of the best students to walk these halls. It sure didn’t hurt that she called Professor Lorsen her father.

“What she say?” Maxim asked again, nudging me.

I shook my head, not in the mood to relay the joke. It didn’t matter. Tiffany would always think she was better than the rest of us. Besides, I wouldn’t dare talk in class. No matter the thoughts of annoyance running through my head, I would be the obedient law student that I should be. Silent, observant, poised, and ready to take notes while I paid attention.

“The competition for this internship spot will be fierce,” Professor Angus intoned, not reacting to Tiffany’s antics, as used to them as she was.

Naturally. Of course, it will be competitive.

Everything that we could earn or work for in this program was one test or contest or another.

“The requirements to be in consideration for this coveted spot will be shared shortly.” She lowered her arms to tick them off with her fingers. “An interview, preview of your LSAT, your current grades and standing, a letter of recommendation, and successful performance and behavior at a trip to one of Lorsen & Spengler’s cases.”

Yes!An actual field trip? Now I wasreallygetting excited. As much as I was a book nerd and loved the purely academic side of law school, I was enthusiastic to get out there and see how it worked, to be part of the action in any small way I could be.

---