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Published on 15
th
September 2009http://www.m-ybooks.co.uk
AN ANGEL’S KISS
ByVincent Cobb
CHAPTER ONE
Tom Metzler had recently graduated with honours from Harvard Law School and beenrecruited directly from College into the Law Firm of Harrison and Freedman, of Lexington Avenue, New York. One of the largest New York legal firms, they employedupwards of one hundred lawyers and twelve partners. It was a prized appointment,offered to only the top two from his class, and, with hard work and diligence, Tom wassure it could lead one day to a Partnership.At twenty-two years old Tom had an air of confidence that bordered on arrogance, whichwas characteristic of his youth and educational achievements. Of average height and build, his classic bone structure and blonde hair drew more than his fair share of admiringlooks as he viewed the world through lazy blue eyes that disguised a razor sharp intellect.His deceptively casual but beautifully cut Armani suit reflected his status as an up andcoming legal recruit. Rather surprisingly, considering his good looks and air of easycharm, Tom was a loner. He had few friends, certainly no girl friend, and although heassured himself that this was would only distract him from his overall career goals, insidehe felt, at times, very lonely. Sometimes, especially late at night after yet another evening spent poring over legal papers, he longed to enjoy the glittering nightlife of NewYork City, socialising with his peers and flirting with the pretty women he regularlynoticed.In reality he worked twelve hours a day, often six days a week, to fulfil his quota. He wasabsolutely exhausted when he staggered out of the building each night, with only enoughenergy to eat before stumbling into bed in a state of near collapse. On the occasionswhen females did attract his eye he was too weary to take it any further. One of the legal
assistants recently asked him out to dinner with her; she was quite beautiful in her ownway and Tom was certainly tempted to take her up on her offer. However, his stutteringattempts to liaise with her had ended in disaster and he was fast developing a reputationin the office as a legal drone. Smarting from the encounter and embarrassed by his lack of social skills he had shrugged philosophically, and immersed himself further in his work.So now, here he was, alone in the City of London completing an assignment to deliver alegal brief, together with an affidavit, to the Justices Temple in the City of London whereit was required for an International fraud trial pending at the Old Bailey. Hand deliverywas not unusual for high profile cases, even though it was 1988; some papers were justtoo valuable to be consigned to airfreight. In this case, one of the defendants was anAmerican Citizen and the affidavit Tom was entrusted with confirmed that he had previously been involved in a similar scandal in the US. Art Neston, one of the senior litigation partners at Harrison and Freedman, had specifically chosen him for the task,and Tom was determined to be as efficient as possible.In addition to the thrill of being singled out for an assignment by a man he respected,Tom was making the most of his first time in England. The Chambers in London werecovering all expenses and he had flown business-class enjoying the free champagne andin-flight entertainment before arriving at a top London hotel in Park Lane where he wasnow staying. Delighted to be in London, he crammed in as much sight seeing as he could,visiting galleries and museums and seeing streets and buildings that he recognised frommovies. Already the Christmas lights were up and the shops were ablaze with seasonalcolour enticing people to come in from the cold grey streets to spend money. The onlydisappointment was that, as usual, he had no one to share the experience with.
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