Valerie and Milan loaded up Milan's freshly purchased wardrobe into the waiting car. The chauffeur doing his very best to arrange the stacked bags into some functional form in the back of the car.

When they'd gotten everything stuffed away as tidily as they could, everyone got back in the car.

Valerie had the audacity to throw her head back against her seat and sigh like she'd just tended to a garden in the scorching sun. Milan looked at her with ill concealed amusement. 

"You tired, boss?" She jokingly asked the woman who in return opened one of her eyes and smiled. Sitting up and patting Milan's thigh quickly. "Hell yes, but you look amazing. So, it's all in a good day's work! Please take us to Nicoletta's now, love. Thank you for the pitstop." Valerie changed gears mid sentence and spoke to the driver.

He gave her a nod and began to pull off from the street curb in seconds.

Milan watched out of the car's window like this was the first time she'd been downtown before. 

It felt different.

She was wearing an outfit that felt like something a rich mogul would wear. In car she knew cost more than a hefty life insurance policy.

Valerie's words stuck with her. There was more to life than what Milan was experiencing right now. Her life was more before Ramses, and it shouldn't have slowed so severely because she'd gotten wrapped up in him.

She didn't know how deep she'd gotten. 

Once I help him, I'm gone for sure.

Milan told herself. She appreciated Valerie's I Have A Dream speech for sure, but she would always feel she owed Ramses's a solid. Especially after finding out he killed Chrisanto because he threatened her life. 

She always kept owing this man.

One more solid. She swore she wouldn't be around for him to save nothing else for her.

"Nicki's coming up!"

Valerie sing-songed from beside her. The excited sentence snapped Milan out from the gloom and doom cloud she'd let find itself over her head. Righting herself in the seat of the car, Milan couldn't help but wring her hands together in her lap. She was nervous as fuck. 

The car turned into a parking lot of a huge sky scraping building. The shadow of the place darkening the inside of the car as they found a space to park. When they did, she heard Valerie sigh again, she grabbed Milan's hands and smiled at her warmly. 

"You have nothing to worry about, babe. You're not the one on trial. Remember?" She asked Milan rhetorically, before patting her hands again. The chauffeur opening her door allowing the woman to slip out perfectly. 

Milan nodded at Valerie's words. 

She was right. She wasn't the one trial.

But why the fuck do I feel like it?

Milan wracked her brain as she too slipped out of the car and onto the ground. She looked at her appearance and thanked God once again for a brown complexion that didn't pale even when she felt she was about to throw up.

Valerie lightly ghosted her hand over Milan's forearm, guiding her softly towards the receptionist in the middle of the lobby. The lobby was a boring gray scene. It almost didn't differ much from the parking garage they'd just left.

The receptionist was a olive-toned blond guy. He looked up and saw the women waiting. He completely ignored their smiles at first, looking at his computer screen like he looked through them rather than at them. Not fixing his lips to even greet them.

Valerie and Milan stepped closer to the desk. He still paid them no mind, and it was only when Milan loudly cleared her throat that the man slowly panned his gaze upwards to them.

He let out a short breath before he tightly smiled, "How can I help you two ladies? Are you here for the group job interview?"

Milan cocked her head at the question, slightly off put by him asking that. She wondered would he have asked that if they were of any other complexion. 

Especially after he looked at us like we were the scheduled custodians.

Valerie gave a snooty little laugh that was reminiscent of Paris Hilton, she sat her Tory Burch handbag on the desk. "No, I was hoping you'd buzz us up to the top floor. The Yolkovich Practice. We're friends of Nicoletta, thank you."

The man sputtered a little, almost as if he was going to ask another question.

Valerie simply put her hand up which stopped the man in his tracks. His mouth still open. Her polite smile never left her face.

"She's expecting us. Please do your job." Valerie emphasized sweetly. 

The man did not try to protest again and gestured towards the elevator in the far corner of the room. 

Grabbing her purse and tugging Milan along towards the elevator, Milan couldn't resist the urge to turn around a flip the receptionist off. She reveled in his face turning the color of a ripe beet. 

Valerie may be with the nice-nasty, but I ain't. 

She laughed at herself in her head. The elevator opened for the women and they were immediately hoisted up to the top floor where Nicki resided. 

"How are you so calm in situations like that?" Milan asked Valerie in a hushed tone, Valerie was absently looking through her purse as they walked into the office space. It was a complete 180 degree difference from how the ground floor looked. 

Everything in the office was bathed in rose gold light. The furniture and every office piece seemed to follow a lovely light color scheme that screamed girly chic. Lawyer girly chic. Elle Woods's best if you will. 

There were small groups of people sprinkled around the room. Some at desks with computers, some were typing with type writers. Others were at tables animatedly discussing whatever was on the millions of stacks of paper around them.

It was like a small hustle and bustle was normal. Milan wondered what her life would've been like if she'd went to college and pursued law. 

"Baby, I'm married to a very rich white man. I've learned how to knock one down a peg for sure." Valerie answered, a smirk on her face as she said it, sliding her purse on her shoulder as she did so. 

Milan followed the woman to an room with huge glass doors on it. Although we could see Nicki right through the glass, Valerie still proceeded to knock softly. When Nicki looked up, a bright smile spread across her face as she rose from her desk and came to greet the women.

The office was obviously soundproofed because when she did open the door, the sound of girlish squealing immediately overtook Milan's ears. Valerie began the same pitch of squealing as they hugged each other tightly and rocked in a circle briefly before letting go. 

Nicki was dressed in a dark gray pant suit that was tailored to her slight figure perfectly. Her hair was bone straight which complimented her sharp features very nicely.

Valerie then stepped back and pushed Milan forward, Nicoletta smiled at her and extended her hand to shake like they'd never met before.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Miss Cozart. I've heard wonderful things about you." She told her and all Milan could do was smile and nod.

She was wildly overwhelmed by her surroundings right now.

Nicoletta took no offense and opened her office doors wider so they were able to come in. 

Inside the office, it followed the outside color scheme, but bolder. Now instead of soft golds and creams, the small love seats in front of Nicoletta's desk were a vibrant tangerine. The paintings on the walls were abstract splatters of deep crimsons and gold glitter. All of the warm summer tones made Nicoletta look like a goddess.

This office was truly her element.

As Milan and Valerie took a seat in front of the desk, Nicoletta walked over to small stainless steel mini fridge. She opens it and takes out a can of sparkling fruit juice, she holds it up as if to offer us one.

Milan declines, but Valerie enthusiastically nods her head. Nicki throws the can to her with a laugh. The can perfectly lands in Valerie's lap. Nicoletta grabs her own beverage before going to sit behind her desk.

It was perfectly modern, glass topped. Milan was definitely in love with the whole aesthetic of the office.

"So," Nicoletta started, opening her can and taking a sip before continuing, "first and foremost, how are you ladies today?" 

Valerie gave a dramatic sigh, slapping her thigh. "Oh why I'm so glad you asked! I can't wait to tell you what Luca did—"

"Aht. Not you. Our new friend." Nicoletta butt in. Valerie playfully rolled her eyes before taking a sip of her drink as well and turning towards Milan, gesturing for her to go on.

"Well, Valerie took me on this amazing shopping spree to get rid of my jitters about coming here today. I... have never done anything law related before." Milan nervously let on. She was normally such a confident person, but for some reason being thrown into the professional world today was giving her a severe case of culture shock.

Nicoletta beamed when she mentioned the shopping spree. "Yeah, I'll have to give myself credit on that one. I... knew that you'd be nervous coming in. Hell, nobody really likes to talk to lawyers. However, I know I had to really track you down to get you here and I want you to know I appreciate you trusting me."

Milan looked at Valerie and the woman nodded in agreement. 

"It's true! I was playing devil's advocate... 10 out of 10 would recommend by the way..." Valerie revealed next. 

"Thank you. I told Valerie that I have never worn clothes like these. I really appreciate your kindess." Milan emphasized. Nicoletta lightly admonished her by shaking her head, "Don't worry about it! Like I said, you're doing my client a favor... and speaking of the client, it's time to get to business. Do you mind if Valerie stays in the room?" The dirty blonde woman went on.

Valerie looked at Milan and smiled, "No hard feelings at all if you say no, babe. This is your call."

After being around her for the past 5 hours, Milan had grown fond of Valerie's presence. 

"She can stay." She told Nicoletta, and Nicoletta just nodded. Taking some glasses out of a case on her desk and putting them on. She took out a binder and flipped through a couple of pages.

"So, let's begin, how did you first meet Ramses "Pharoah" Young?"