"You should really ask Penelope," said the young man standing in front of me. His suit was less expensive than Lancaster's, but still looked higher than what my salary could afford. The name plate on his desk read Tom Oliver and his desk had a window position.

"Penelope?"

"Penelope in legal. She was good friends with Juliet, I think. I didn't like Juliet much."

"How come?"

"A couple of promotions came up at work a month ago. I emailed both of the account managers about them. Anyway, Juliet emailed me back, saying she wouldn't give someone like me the time of day, and I shouldn't waste my time applying."

"Did you ask her what she meant?" I inquired, making a note of the strange email, which sounded fishy to me.

"No. I was too taken aback. I don't even know what she meant by 'someone like me.' I guess I figured she didn't like gay guys," said Tom.

"Did you consider complaining to someone else? Possibly her superior?"

"I thought about it, but I got an interview for the other promotion; and the next week, I was offered the job. I didn't think anymore of it. Plus, Juliet congratulated me in person later, and told me I was the perfect choice."

"Didn't you think that was weird after her email?"

Tom nodded. "At the time, I thought she was being sarcastic. I just said thanks and figured I'd forget all about her email. Maybe she believed I was better suited for the job I got."

"Do you have a copy?"

"Of that email? Yeah, I do. I downloaded it at the time and stuck it in my PITA folder," he said, reaching into his desk drawers.

"PITA?"

"Pain in the ass."

"Could you email that to me as well?" I asked him, handing over my business card in return for the copy.

"I would if I could find it. I can scan and print it."

"Perfect." With the print of the scathing email tucked in my bag, along with my notes, I found Penelope next. Her desk was ensconced in a shady spot, far away from the glossy, light-strewn offices the executives worked from. Her head was bent over a stack of typing, which she seemed engrossed in as I approached.

"Penelope?"

"Just a... oh, Lexi. Hi! I didn't realize you were here. Let me just hit save... done!" She smiled up at me. "What are you doing here? Did something happen?"

"No, all's fine. We're just conducting a few interviews."

"We?"

"My partner and I."

"Well... great. What can I do to help? Do you need someone to take you around? I know pretty much everyone here."

"That's kind of you, but I'm almost finished."

"Would you like a coffee? We just restocked the kitchen, and if you're lucky, there will be some cookies left."

"No, thanks. I was hoping to talk to you again for a few minutes."

"Well, sure. Grab that chair. I'm almost due for my break. What can I help you with?"

"I'm trying to get a sense of Juliet's working life. Most people seem surprised about her arrest."

"We all were, at first. You know, I think we still half expect her to just walk back in. I suppose people are being nice because they have to be about a senior executive." Penelope clapped a hand across her mouth. "I can't believe I just said that. I feel awful."

"Juliet is very senior."

"Yes, she was only a year or two away from making VP."

"I heard there was a promotion in her department available recently?"

"Yes, but I don't think it's been filled yet."

"Were there many applicants?"

"I don't work for Juliet, and she never mentioned it, so I don't know," Penelope said quickly with a shrug. She turned to her stack of papers, shuffling them into a neater pile, apparently rapidly losing interest.

With Penelope quickly shutting down, I changed tactics, hoping by focusing on Penelope, I could encourage her to be more talkative. "What do you do here?" I asked.

"I'm a paralegal."

"There's a legal department?" I looked around, and the nearest desks appeared vacant.

"I wouldn't call it a department. There's just the company lawyer and me. I help out by looking over contracts for employees and sometimes other stuff too."

"Sounds interesting."

"It's easy more than interesting."

"It must get hard to be a working mom."

"It is. I don't have a lot of help; and it wasn't easy finding a job that I could fit around my son's school. The aftercare program isn't the best, and summer camp is so expensive."

"Doesn’t his dad help?"

"Sure, when he can, but he has a demanding job; so mostly, it's just me."

"You don't have family to help out?"

"No. Sorry, what does this have to do with Juliet?"

"I was just curious. My friend, Lily, is going to be a mom soon, and I never really thought about what it was like to be a working mom."

"Is your friend married?"

"Yes, to my brother."

"I hope he helps out. It's easier when two of you are working together than being a single parent."

"I think they'll be okay. I never really thought much about school terms and vacations and childcare."

"I'm not sure anyone really does until they have to. I was a stay-at-home mom for a few years, and it was only when his dad and I split that I had to look for a job. I never thought I'd be in the workplace again. I wanted to be a homemaker and always be there for my son. Do you know who offers jobs to lawyers who take a five-year career break and need to leave at two-thirty every day? No one."

"You're lucky to find a part-time job that allows you to do that."

Penelope sniffed. "Yeah, lucky."

"It must be nice to work with a friend."

"Who? Oh, Juliet? Sure, it's nice to know someone."

"And have lunch with," I added brightly, thinking back to my temping days when no one wanted to have lunch with me. Come to think of it, I didn't have anyone to lunch with now on a regular basis.

"We didn't socialize much at work."

"At least, you can discuss being moms together. That must help."

"Juliet is not a mom."

"I mean a step..."

"Hardly the same thing," Penelope cut in.

I sucked in a breath. This wasn't going well. "How did you get the job?"

"Juliet recommended me for the position. I interviewed, and they offered it to me on the spot."

"That's great!"

"Well, I'm just so lucky to be overqualified and cheap," Penelope snipped. "So what did you want to ask me about Juliet?"

"Could you show me where her office is?" I asked, deciding I'd exhausted my time with Penelope.

"Oh, sure. Come this way." Penelope walked around the desk and motioned for me to follow. I did, admiring the cut of her business suit. The jacket was tailored well, accentuating her slim frame. The skirt was a knee-length pencil and she wore very high heels that made her calves look incredibly toned. She didn't wear any jewelry except for a pair of small gold studs. She looked very chic and more expensive than I would have thought someone on a paralegal's part-time salary could afford. I caught the scent of perfume, light and floral, as she walked past me. It smelled familiar.

"That's a great suit," I told her.

She smoothed a hand over the jacket, her mood lightening at the compliment I paid her. "Thank you. Don't buy cheap, I say. Buy once and buy good. I will admit, however, that I got it on sale."