Biography
Author of I stand Corrected, Rewind, Balou Uncensored, Bienvenidos
a gatos anónimos, Pasarse cuatro
Pueblos and Sesenta segundos dan para
mucho, Patricia Asedegbega Nieto was born to a Spanish mother and a
Nigerian father in Madrid. As a child, she relocated with her family to Nigeria
and later returned to Spain, where she acquired her BSc and master´s degree.
She is currently living near Madrid with her family and her very
stubborn cat, Merlin Mojito.
LINKS
https://twitter.com/Patricias_Place
https://www.facebook.com/PatriciasUniverse
www.patriciascorner.co.uk
Blurb
When I grow up...
"You need a plan B," said Alicia’s
mother when at five years old
she told her what she wanted to be when she grew up. Thirty odd years later,
Alicia is on plan D: sharing a flat, no tangible savings, and working for
hateful Julia, whose sole purpose in life is to make her existence utterly
miserable. Good thing she has Oscar and the girls to make the long hours at
work bearable. But when a series of events tears the close-knit group
apart, putting friendships and motives under suspicion, will Alicia be able to
restore balance and set things right? More importantly, will she ever be able to upgrade her life to at
least plan C?
CHAPTER ONE
I glance at the clock on top of my desk, willing the time to
go faster. I have been painfully watching the seconds pass by all morning. In
five more minutes Oscar and the girls will be at the kitchen for our accustomed
tea break. He had sent a group message half an hour ago informing us when he
was taking his break and asked if anyone else was free.
I look nervously at the door, hoping Julia, my boss, won´t
choose that moment to open it for one more useless urgent request, when we both
know it can also be done three hours from now or even tomorrow. She has a knack
for being most inopportune, and if she gives me a task and I take my break
late, I´ll have to sit on my own as the others will already have returned to
their desks. We are only allowed ten minutes off outside our lunch hour—we
always add one or two more, though, as we feel time spent in route to the
kitchen should not be included— and we try to coordinate with one another so we
can take our breaks together.
The seconds tick so slowly. I can hear Julia on the phone
speaking in the voice she uses when she is talking to a client, the same voice
that would mislead anyone who didn´t know her into actually thinking she is
remotely human.
Just in time, I grab the handset and race to the staff
kitchen where Oscar, Emma, Amparo, and Carmen are sitting around the wooden
table staring hungrily at the cream-filled buns resting on a plate. We take
turns in bringing something to accompany the pot of steaming coffee the first
one to arrive makes, and I can´t wait to sink my teeth into what Carmen has
brought for us today.
“Ah, there you are!” Emma exclaims as I rush to pour a cup
of coffee. “We were only going to give you half a minute more before starting.”
The rest start tucking in, while at the same time trying to fill each other in
on their hectic days and how our bosses seem to have a goal of making our lives
even more difficult than necessary, if possible.
We work for Fernández & Associates. It´s the kind of law
firm where the lawyers bill their clients six figures just for answering the
phone. We have some of the most prestigious and wealthy clientele, both in
Spain and abroad. One of our departments deals with international law, so we
cater to all the legal needs of a lot of Spanish businessmen who own companies
in other countries, as well as foreigners who come to set up businesses here in
Spain. It was started by Sergio Fernández Castellón[1],
the father of our present senior partner, Alejandro. He wanted to provide very
personal service to his clients, so our policy has always been to have just
five lawyers, each heading a department. This enables them to have a very close
and direct relationship with each client. Now that Alejandro has taken over, he
is following the same philosophy and, as a result, we have clients that have
been with the firm for over thirty years. We accept new clients strictly on
recommendations and only on rare occasions.
The firm occupies three floors of a building located in Calle
Serrano[2].
The ground floor holds the reception area and conference rooms. The secretaries
and junior lawyers have offices on the middle floor. And finally, on the top
floor, where few venture except when summoned, the partners have what we like
to call their dens.
The five of us are “corporate personal assistants”, which is
an important sounding title that really means your job description is whatever
the boss wants, no matter how ridiculous it is. We all speak various languages,
have university degrees, and are known for our discretion—except during our
breaks, of course. There, we have no secrets from each other. But really, apart
from it being extremely interesting to know all that goes on with the other
four bosses, confiding in each other has really helped us on more than one
occasion to narrowly escape impending disasters that might otherwise have cost
one or two jobs. So our undercover network is of utmost importance to us and
probably to the firm as well.
I love a good gossip, but sometimes knowing what someone
else´s boss has done is important for me. I can then feel that I am not the
unluckiest person on Earth because I work for Julia.
[1] In
Spain, everyone has two last names; the first is the father´s first last name
and the second is the mother´s first last name.
[2] Also called
Milla de oro because it is where the most exclusive and expensive shops
in Madrid are located.
No comments:
Post a Comment
What do you think?