The Recruiter by Alexander Mukte

Author:Alexander Mukte
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781952030017
Publisher: Three to Five Publishing, LLC.

27

Ori and Leslie heard soft footsteps approaching. They turned to see Professor Raziel. “Leslie,” Ori said, “will you excuse me? I need to take care of some things.”

“Of course,” Leslie said, and she then shifted her gaze to the professor. “Hey.”

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” asked the professor. Leslie nodded her head in agreement and let the moment become quiet again as they appreciated the view.

Something told her that the professor knew what Ori brought her out here to discuss. So, after a few moments, she confessed, “I don’t know if I can do it. I can’t be him.”

“Of course not,” Professor Raziel said simply. “Your task isn’t to be like Ori and do things the way that Ori did. Your job is to do things the way that Leslie would do them. Trust yourself; we do.”

“How are you so confident? We’ve just met,” Leslie said.

“You and I may have just met, but I know much more about you than you think,” he said as he glanced over in her direction. “I know about the shining legal careers of your parents and grandparents, which inspired your own.”

Leslie said, “Well, yes.” She then waited to see what he had to say next.

Professor Raziel looked like he was gauging how much to say, then continued, “I also know that when you were fifteen, you had a friend who was three years older than you who got in with the wrong crowd. She was arrested for selling drugs.”

“Allegedly,” Leslie interrupted, as if she were currently defending her friend. Then, with a tentative smile, she added, “And what did your research say about that?”

Professor Raziel said, “I know that you got your friend out of trouble without your family finding out. Your friend had a public defender with very little experience to speak of. You fed this attorney an extremely well-crafted argument, with pictures, cue cards, and highlighted legal precedents. That was the first criminal defense case that guy ever won.”

Leslie realized her mouth was ajar. That was not what she expected him to say, and she had to work to collect herself. Professor Raziel continued, “I particularly liked the legend that you created for him. What was it? Lines that were highlighted using a pink marker were anticipated rebuttals and lines highlighted in green marker were key points that would put the prosecution on their heels? Your empathy is an asset; never underestimate its importance. What made you so driven to help her?”

“She was a friend of mine, like family,” Leslie said.

The professor watched her face, and after a moment probed, “There was more, wasn’t there?”

“She had a good heart.” Leslie sighed. “I’d known her since middle school. She lived in the apartment complex down the street. We walked to school together every day. Not many people knew that she had a disability, and she was very trusting. Some people saw that she was easy to influence and manipulate and took advantage of her,” Leslie said, shaking her head. “She was pretty, and in my neighborhood, it was common for older guys to use silly young girls.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.