Present Day
 

Jessica  stood  at  the  window,  her  gaze  absently  traveling  over  the  high-rise  offices  of  the adjacent buildings in downtown Houston.  Her office, while not huge, was certainly large enough to compare with some of the executive clients she had.  One wall was comprised of nothing but glass, giving her an expansive view of downtown.  A view she once craved and even enjoyed.  She turned away from the sight, sitting down in her luxurious leather chair with a heavy sigh.  She hated her job.  Actually, she hated her life.  Twelve years she’d been fighting the daily traffic of this huge city.  Fighting it so that she could come here to Peters, Wells, Hancock and Bayer, a prestigious law firm whose clients included the most successful and powerful—in the oil and gas business.

 Her specialty was loopholes.  She’d written countless contracts with hidden loopholes, most to skirt environmental laws.  And she could find even the most inconspicuous loophole written by competing attorneys, saving he clients millions of dollars in the process.  She’d argued contracts with juries and judges, convincing them of loopholes, even if there were none.  She was good at her job, yet she hated it.

As HyoYeon had said, she had a cushy job with an outrageous salary. It allowed her to live in a very expensive condo surrounded by green in this city of concrete, a hike and bike trail and a golf course, both of which she enjoyed.  She was a small-town girl, still not used to the city  She doubted she’d ever embrace the city wholeheartedly, but it was where her profession had taken her.  Far from the s