Thursday Thoughts # 97
from The Seamless Web by Joe Eliseon:
"the firm of-----(lawyers)-----occupied seven prestigious floors high in a prestigious office building on a prestigious block on Park Avenue, each successive floor more prestigious than the one below. Jack's office was on the forty-fourth floor, the top floor, the most prestigious floor of them all; the floor with the thickest rugs, the darkest panelling, the deepest chairs, the biggest offices and the most voluptuous receptionist in all Manhattan. Winded and almost breaking a sweat already, Pete stepped unsteadily from the top of the formal staircase onto forty-four reception and there she was- owl-eyed, raven-haired, wasp-waisted - Diane DeVito."
Read that a couple of times.
Done that?
Right. Let's ignore the stunning receptionist completely and focus on Pete, who is winded and almost breaking a sweat after Jack's demand to "get up here now! NOW!"
Why is Pete winded and sweaty?
Why does such an outstandingly prestigious building not have a whole fleet of elevators?
Or even one elevator?
Several hours later: I've read further and discovered the building does have elevators, Pete's boss Jack is a whacko, but somewhere in his telling off of Pete he mentions the elevators and asks why Pete didn't use one, and of course Pete replies that he thought the stairs would be faster. So now I'm wondering if Pete is a little stupid and why is he a lawyer because aren't they supposed to be smart? To understand all that legal mumbo-jumbo that is designed to specifically confuse us more common mortals?
Anyway, I'm still reading because so far it's better than I thought the story would be. Pete is a junior in the firm and juggling the demands of two seniors who are both demanding he work exclusively on the cases they've presented him with and poor Pete barely gets time to blink, let alone work on the necessary research he needs to be doing to present his findings and/or reports "right now!"
It's a long tale with 84 chapters which are mercifully reasonably short.
"the firm of-----(lawyers)-----occupied seven prestigious floors high in a prestigious office building on a prestigious block on Park Avenue, each successive floor more prestigious than the one below. Jack's office was on the forty-fourth floor, the top floor, the most prestigious floor of them all; the floor with the thickest rugs, the darkest panelling, the deepest chairs, the biggest offices and the most voluptuous receptionist in all Manhattan. Winded and almost breaking a sweat already, Pete stepped unsteadily from the top of the formal staircase onto forty-four reception and there she was- owl-eyed, raven-haired, wasp-waisted - Diane DeVito."
Read that a couple of times.
Done that?
Right. Let's ignore the stunning receptionist completely and focus on Pete, who is winded and almost breaking a sweat after Jack's demand to "get up here now! NOW!"
Why is Pete winded and sweaty?
Why does such an outstandingly prestigious building not have a whole fleet of elevators?
Or even one elevator?
Several hours later: I've read further and discovered the building does have elevators, Pete's boss Jack is a whacko, but somewhere in his telling off of Pete he mentions the elevators and asks why Pete didn't use one, and of course Pete replies that he thought the stairs would be faster. So now I'm wondering if Pete is a little stupid and why is he a lawyer because aren't they supposed to be smart? To understand all that legal mumbo-jumbo that is designed to specifically confuse us more common mortals?
Anyway, I'm still reading because so far it's better than I thought the story would be. Pete is a junior in the firm and juggling the demands of two seniors who are both demanding he work exclusively on the cases they've presented him with and poor Pete barely gets time to blink, let alone work on the necessary research he needs to be doing to present his findings and/or reports "right now!"
It's a long tale with 84 chapters which are mercifully reasonably short.
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Interesting.
ReplyDeleteI have been in buildings where the elevators are slow. Slow to arrive, slow to move. And suspect that Jack is too busy pandering to his bosses to think clearly.
Elephant's Child; Jack is the boss, the top cocky; Pete is the poor individual without time to put a thought together.
DeleteAt the most, Pete had six flights. I was trying to think of a joke, along the lines of one flight short of a......, but I can't.
ReplyDeleteJoanne; probably six flights is beyond his capabilities since he never seems to have any time for things such as aerobic exercise. I know it would take me quite a while to get up six flights.
DeleteI'm a bit lost but that is common these days.
ReplyDeleteMerle..........
Merle; probably you'd understand by reading the book; I sometimes have trouble understanding something unless I read it for myself.
DeleteLawyers are supposed to be smart; lawyers should be smart...but, sadly, many aren't! Our justice system so often proves this to be so.
ReplyDeleteLee; I imagine they're smart enough to get through law school and pass their exams, but once they're affiliated with a firm, they may have to do things the firm's way and that's where trouble could start, if they're not allowed to think for themselves, but have to follow protocols and so on.
DeleteFor the first five years of my working life I was a legal secretary for a Gympie law firm, River. I enjoyed the job and those five years.
DeleteAnd then for about 12 months I worked for a law firm in Tewantin (via Noosa) and for another for a similar period of time in Townsville in the mid-90s. They didn't match the experiences and personalities of my first job. :)
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ReplyDeleteOh dear, I think I'd have given up after that paragraph!! I assume it gets better as you read on . . .
ReplyDeletejabblog; it is better, but Pete is spinning a web of deceit and wrongdoing that I fear may end his career.
DeleteI agree with Lee...while we think of lawyers as being smart that doesn't mean they use common sense. I have several lawyer acquaintances and while I consider them to be good lawyers, they are quirky types that often do things I question. I think all people are smart in specific areas and not-s0-smart in others.
ReplyDelete