WILL BRIDGES: The Salvation Case

Men Of Pride & Ego

(L&J LAWS)

It was early morning, and Bridges was getting ready for work. He pulled out a baby blue shirt and a crisp black suit from his closet.

As he scanned his tie collection for one that would match his outfit, he thought about the week-long vacation he had just returned from. He needed to get to the office early to catch up on what he had missed.

Dressing quickly, he headed out the door. The morning air was crisp and fresh, and he felt a sense of anticipation as he walked to the subway station.

His car had been broken down for over a month, and he had been relying on the subway to get around.

It had its pros and cons - he liked being able to people-watch and observe the city around him, but he didn't always enjoy the stares and attention that came with being a celebrity.

To avoid any unwanted attention, he would often wear a face mask on the subway.

Today, he made his way to the office, feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the day. He was determined to catch up on everything he had missed.

He was about to enter the office when he suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to get breakfast for himself and Lambert. He didn't mind running the errand, though. He just hoped Lambert wouldn't be too upset with him.

As he entered the office, he immediately noticed that the atmosphere was off. Everyone was silent, and the tension in the air was palpable. What had happened while he was away? Rephrasing, what was going on?

Thankfully, he saw his secretary, Laurie, rushing out the door. He called out to her, and she turned around, looking lost and flustered. "Mr. Bridges!" she exclaimed, clearly relieved to see him. "I'm glad you're back. There's been a lot going on."

"What's happened?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

Laurie took a deep breath. "It's complicated," she said. "This morning, ‘J’ showed up at the office, demanding to speak with you.”

"J?" Bridges said, surprised.

He knew that J was the silent and anonymous partner of L&J Laws, the firm that Bridges worked for. J was rarely at the office, and he usually communicated with the team by email.

Exaggerating! He hadn't shown up for almost six years. To see him in person was definitely out of the ordinary.

Laurie seemed to sense his confusion, and she quickly explained. "J said that he has some important information about the company, and he wants to talk to you in person," she said. "I tried to get him to wait, but he was insistent.”

“It's alright,” Bridges said, walking away from her, on his way to the top floor to meet J.

As Bridges headed to the first floor, where Lambert's office was, he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. He knew that something big was about to happen, and he wasn't sure if he was ready for it.

When he arrived at the door, he knocked and heard Lambert's voice call out, "Come in!"

Bridges opened the door and was greeted by a sight he wasn't expecting. Standing next to Lambert was a tall, imposing figure.

Bridges tried to get a good look at the man's face, but he was standing with his back to him, facing Lambert. "And who is this?" Bridges asked.

Lambert smiled. "This is J, my business partner," he said. "J, this is Bridges. He's our top lawyer."

The man turned around, and Bridges was taken aback by what he saw. The man's face was covered in a white mask, with only his eyes visible. The rest of his features were obscured.

As Bridges spoke, he noticed a flicker of surprise and dread flash across the man's eyes. It was as if he hadn't expected to be recognized. But Bridges was always good at reading people's expressions, even if they were obscured.

He kept his own face unreadable, though his heart was racing. "Don't worry," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Your privacy is safe with us, Mr. J."

The man let out a small laugh. It seemed as if he was enjoying this exchange, and Bridges couldn't help but feel a bit unsettled.

"I trust that I can be safe in my own company, Mr. Bridges," the man said, his voice dripping with arrogance.

Lambert watched the exchange with growing unease. It was clear that these two men had a history, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

The tension in the room was palpable, and Lambert decided it was time to intervene. "Gentlemen, please," he said, stepping between the two men. "We have more important things to discuss. Let's focus on the matter at hand, shall we?"

The man in the mask looked at Lambert and nodded. "Very well," he said, his voice cold. He turned his attention back to Bridges. "Shall we continue?"

Bridges didn't like the way this was going, but he didn't want to show his discomfort. He felt like he knew this man but the stubborn man refused to take off the white cloth from his face.

Mr. Lambert met the gaze of James Luther, his partner. "Meet Attorney R. Bridges," he said, gesturing to the man in the mask. "He's our ace lawyer."

James nodded and offered a brief, polite smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, though his tone was cold and businesslike.

Lambert turned back to Bridges "And you are aware that Mr. James Luther is my partner and the ‘J’ of L&J Laws?" he asked.

Bridges nodded, refusing to move any inch of his body or utter a word. He didn't know why but he was pissed at the man's appearance and guts.

After the introductions, Lambert turned to James. "So, out of the blue, you came in today saying you wanted to see Attorney Bridges, and he's right here."

James nodded, his expression still unreadable behind the mask. He turned to Attorney Bridges and said, "From now on, I want to be kept up to date on every case you take."

Attorney Bridges scoffed. "Who do you think you are, prying into my privacy like that?" he said, his voice full of indignation. "I'm not going to do that!”

Lambert could see that the tension between the two men was rising rapidly, and he quickly stepped in.

"Gentlemen, please," he said, trying to sound authoritative. "This is neither the time nor the place for such discussions. I suggest we all take a few minutes to calm down before we continue."

James and Attorney Bridges both looked at Lambert, their expressions still hostile. But after a few moments, they both seemed to relax slightly.

"Fine," James said, his voice still hard. "We can discuss this later. I need to be somewhere urgently and please, Mr. Lambert, do call me.”

James stood up and left the office and soon, the building entirely.

Attorney Bridges stood up, his face awkwardly cool but inside, he tried to hold down his anger.

"I will not be spoken to in such a manner," he said, his voice shaking with indignation. "I am a shareholder in this company, and I will not be disrespected by you or anyone else."

Lambert looked at him in surprise. "Bridges, I didn't mean to upset you," he said, trying to defuse the situation. "Let's just calm down and talk this through."

But it was too late. He had left the office anyway. Lambert heaved a sigh, he knew those two men wouldn't get along for some reason.

Bridges was just too perfect and James hated the perfect ones while, James was just so full of himself and Bridges hated it when anyone thinks they could control him- Bridges.

Ignoring Lambert's attempts to calm him down, Attorney Bridges walked into his office and shut the door behind him.

He was determined to regain his composure. After all, he was a perfectionist, and he couldn't afford to show any weakness, especially not in front of his junior assistant.

The junior assistant, sensing the tension in the air, spoke carefully. "Good morning, Attorney Bridges," he said, trying to sound as neutral as possible.

Bridges looked up at the junior assistant, waiting for him to speak. Ivan remained silent, clearly nervous.

Finally, he broke the silence. "I brought a case last week that I've been holding onto," he said. "I wanted to make sure you were back from your vacation before I brought it to you."

Bridges didn't care about the assistant's nervousness or anything he was saying. He just wanted to get to work. “You go work on it by yourself,” he gave the instruction which gladdened Ivan's heart.

“Thank you so much. You're my idol. That's why I love you." Ivan blurted out the words without thinking.

Bridges glared at him, his eyes shooting lasers of disapproval. The junior assistant quickly shut his mouth and bowed before leaving the office.

As he walked away, he couldn't contain his excitement. Ivan felt like he had been given a great opportunity, and he was determined to prove himself worthy of it.

But as he made his way down the hall, he realized that he had just made a terrible mistake. He had called Bridges "my idol" and "love you."

He cringed at the thought of what Bridges must be thinking of him now. Though it was all true, he admired Bridges and had been his idol for seven years now.

Bridges was one of the major reasons he applied to work at L&J Laws but no one knew.

Upon realizing the mistake he had made, Bridges called his secretary, Laurie, and gave her an order. He told her to tell Ivan to make a copy of the case he brought. Once the case was copied, she was to send the copy to him.

He ended the call immediately.

But then his phone rang again. It was his mother. He sighed and turned off the phone.

Bridges was hard at work, rearranging and organizing files. He stumbled across an old file and opened it. Inside, he found a faded, brown picture. It was a photo of him and a man, an old friend.

He stared at the photo for a long moment, memories flooding back to him. He picked up the phone and called the man in the picture. "Barry," he said, "I miss you."

He tucked the photo into his pocket and put the file away. He couldn't stop thinking about the old days.

Bridges sat back in his chair and let his mind wander. The photo of his father brought back a flood of memories.

His father had always been his biggest supporter, though he was so strict and was a perfectionist. He was exactly the reason why Bridges lived his life as a perfectionist as well. He wanted to resemble his father.

And Barry had been a source of wisdom and guidance, always there to offer a word of advice or a shoulder to lean on. Both men had played such important roles in his life, and he missed them terribly.

He took out the photo of his father and Barry, and looked at it longingly. They were both non-existent now.

Just then, his secretary, Laurie, called his office line. "Hello, Laurie," he said.

"Uncle Charles is here. He says he needs to see you," she said, sounding weird.

"Let him in," he said. As he put the phone down, he wondered what his uncle could possibly want.