Chapter 3

Arthas left the entrance hall and stepped into one of the three elevators, pressing the button with the number four on it. He ran his fingers over his eyes and took a deep breath before he regarded himself in the slim mirror that was built in the right wall of the elevator cabin.

He looked good as always. His suit and his tie sat perfectly, he didn't look tired nor was his skin too pale. He had dark circles beneath his eyes and no wrinkles on his face. He looked much younger than he was. He didn't look like a thirty-seven years old family father, instead, he looked like a businessman who recently turned thirty. He looked good for his age.

Arthas waited until the elevator reached its destination and the doors were opened and then left the cabin. He met a few of his co-workers when he walked through the corridor which walls were white and which floor was covered by a blue carpet. He greeted all of them properly, most of them with their surnames but he also greeted some of them with their first names. Those who worked for the company for at least ten years and those he was friends with were greeted by him with their first names.

He reached the end of the corridor and stepped into a familiar huge room. The walls were also white and the floor was covered by the same carpet like the corridor Arthas had just passed. There were dozens of desks arranged in three rows. There was a computer with at least two screens on each desk, lots of documents laid on most of them.

Most desks were occupied at the very moment Arthas had arrived in the room. Most of Arthas' co-workers sat on their seats and did their work.

Only a few didn't sit on their seats or were not present. Those who didn't sit were either talking to their colleagues about something or were bringing files and documents to another desk. Everyone was busy working and no one was idle.

The situation was just like Arthas preferred it. No one was wasting time or disturbing the others. He didn't mind if his co-workers would talk to others for a few minutes or make short pauses. He tolerated it as long as it didn't get out of hand. He was not as strict as his father but he was not too yielding either. He didn't allow his co-workers to do what they wanted. Everything had to run smoothly without any disturbances. As long as this was guaranteed, he didn't mind his co-workers joking around a little and having fun from time to time.

Arthas didn't have the time nor the desire to great every single co-worker, so he greeted them all together loud enough that everyone could hear him. He received greetings from everyone and had everyone's attention when he walked through the room. He came to the door at the end of the room and opened it without knocking. His sight fell on the woman behind the desk made out of pinewood.

She had crimson hair, bilious green eyes and a beautiful face. Like usual, she wore a white blouse with long sleeves and a black skirt that barely reached to her knees. The first two buttons of her blouse were open so that her cleavage was exposed.

The woman hung up the receiver the moment she caught sight of Arthas, her crimson red lips formed a happy smile. It was clearly visible that she wore makeup and lipstick. "Good morning, Mr Menethil. I'm so happy to see you."

"Good morning, Selania. How are you doing?"

"I'm good. How about you?"

"Could be better. You know how the situation is at the moment. We have not enough co-workers for the number of clients we currently have. We even had to refuse some clients which we never did before. I feel bad about refusing them, especially because they will go to our competitors, but we cannot accept them at the moment. We don't have the time and manpower for more clients. We have too many already."

"We can only hope that things will get better as soon as the new employees start working," said Selania. "You worked so hard in the past months. You need some time to relax. You deserve it."

Arthas snorted annoyed. "The situation will be anything but relaxing when the new employees arrive. Most co-workers will still have to work longer than usual. But at least they won't have to work as long as they do now. There might be days on which we have less to do than usual but I wouldn't count on it."

Arthas walked over to his desk and put his briefcase on the left side, then he turned around and looked back at his secretary and continued.

"We have to hold our course if we want to prevent our competitors from passing us. I want our company to stay the most successful and most popular law firm in the city. Lordaeron has always been number one since my father founded it fifty years ago. I don't want that to change. I begrudge Quel'Thalas to be the number one. After all the cases Sylvanas Windrunner made so difficult for me, not to mention the ones she won undeserved, I will not allow her company to become the number one."

"I bet that bitch only won these cases because she bribed the judges. Maybe she offered them her body...," Selania said. Her lips formed a mischievous grin.

Arthas raised an eyebrow at Selania's mean words. "I would be careful what you say about her. It might be fine when we are alone but you shouldn't say something like that when we are not. You know how quickly gossip can spread. If a wrong person hears it, it's not unlikely that the entire company will know what you said. The chances are not too low that the public will find about it. You should know how talkative some of our colleagues are, especially the women. I do not want to have another scandal... The previous one cost us so much, so I don't want it to happen again. Is that clear?"

Selania nodded and looked ashamed at her crimson red fingernails. Arthas was not sure if she would take his criticism to her heart or if she would forget about what he had said and continue to act as she usually did. No signs of shame could be seen on Selania's face when she looked up after a few moments. "Yes, it is, Mr Menethil."

Arthas gave her a small smile. "Good."

"I'm sure you will win the next case against Windrunner. You are by far the best lawyer of the city," Selania complimented, a small flirtatious smile could be seen on her lips.

"I hope that I don't have to face her in the future. She is also a pretty good lawyer and she has been a thorn in my side too often for my liking. Hopefully, she won't represent the clients that are involved in my future cases. Unfortunately, she is very popular which means that most people who will not go to us will go to her company. We usually meet in the courtroom when there is a big civil process," explained Arthas.

"I will help you whenever I can, Mr Menethil. Just tell me what I have to do and I will do it. I will do anything for you." Arthas didn't miss the way she pronounced the words anything and you. It was obvious that she wanted something from him. He knew it since the first week she had started working and her behaviour had not changed over the past three years. Selania was not only an arse-licker but also someone who would do anything to get a salary increase or other benefits. She would do anything for money, Arthas was sure of that.

Arthas had told her more than once that he didn't appreciate the way she behaved but she had never changed her behaviour no matter how often he had reminded her to not do the obvious flirting and all the other inappropriate stuff. All he could do was to ignore her flirting as best as possible.

He could caution her but even that wouldn't help him because Selania knew he wouldn't fire her. He didn't have the time to find a replacement not to mention that his company was already lacking workers. Selania may not be the fastest and most efficient worker but she always did her tasks. He was dependent on her support, otherwise, the amount of work would overwhelm him.

"I appreciate your help, Selania. I will tell you when I'll need your help."

Selania smiled at him and nodded but said nothing in response. Arthas turned on his computer and logged into his email account. He read the emails he had received and then looked at his secretary. "What's on my schedule?"

"Your first appointment is in one hour. Ms Winterhorn likes to talk to you about her case."

"As talkative as she is, I bet this appointment will take at least two hours."

"Probably."

"Do I have any other appointments today?"

"Yes. Two more to be exact."

"When and with who."

"You have an appointment at half past eleven with Mr Strongjeck. The last appointment is at fourteen o'clock with Mr Greenscale."

"Thank you. Is there anything else I need to know?"

"Yes, there is something. Ms Whisperwind sent us the documents you asked about. I allowed myself to print them so that you can sign them and I can send them back to her."

The ghost of a smile could be seen on Arthas' lips. "Give me the documents, I'll sign them right now."

Selania grabbed a stack of documents from her desk and walked over to the desk of her boss, leaning forward to place the documents right in front of him. She remained in this posture, strands of her hair fell in her face but that didn't bother her. What bothered Arthas was the unwanted view he had when she stood there like this. It was too obvious that she did that on purpose. Arthas had a perfect view of her low neckline because she wanted him to see her huge bosom. Arthas caught himself staring at her curves even though he did not want to.

He averted his gaze and looked at the documents ashamed. He felt guilty for accidentally ogling another woman. He was loyal to his wife, he truly loved her and he would never dare to cheat on her. He was not like some of his friends and co-workers who ogled other women in the absence of their wives. He didn't do such things. He would never dare.

"Where do I have to sign?" he asked eventually.

Selania leaned forward even further and stretched her arm out, pointing at a certain line. Arthas signed the document and put it aside, regarding the next. Selania showed him again where he had to put his signature. They repeated this until all documents were signed. Arthas handed them to his secretary wordlessly, watching her returning to her desk after she had stayed in front of his desk for almost two minutes.

Selania went to the printer and scanned the documents. Arthas averted his gaze from her as soon as she leaned forward and pointed her rear in his direction. He had to admit that she had a well-formed ass but he had no desire to take a closer look at it no matter how sexy it looked like. There was only one woman he ogled whenever he wanted. That woman was no other than his wife.

Arthas looked up from his computer as soon as Selania had walked away from the printer. She sat on her chair and was typing on her computer, making Arthas assume that she was writing an email to Tyrande Whisperwind. Arthas looked back at his computer and continued what he had started the previous day. He was doing research for his newest case which involved a man who got caught stealing expensive gems and necklaces out of a jeweller's store.

Arthas was so absorbed in his work that he didn't notice Selania asking him a question. He didn't notice her coming closer, only when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder, he recognized her. He startled, his elbow came in contact with the rightmost picture on his desk. The picture would have landed on the floor and the glass frame would probably have been shattered if Selania wouldn't have reacted quickly and caught it with one hand. She regarded the picture for a short moment before she put it in the middle of the desk. "That was close."

Arthas was more than just impressed by her quickreflexes."Woah, that was impressive, Selania. How did you do that? I have never seen a person reacting so fast."

Selania couldn't help but smile at the compliment. "I'm getting trained in martial arts since I was a little girl."

"You never told me that you are capable of martial arts. Why didn't you?"

"You never asked."

"Well, I could have come to this conclusion by myself. It is obvious that you are doing sports because you are more muscular than the average woman. Anyway, I assume you wanted something from me."

Selania smiled but didn't dare to say what had just come in her mind. Instead, she pointed at the cup she still held in her right hand. "I just wanted to offer you some coffee. I made some for us and for Ms Winterhorn."

The mention of Arthas' client made him look at the watch on his wrist. It was almost nine o'clock. "Why not? Thank you, Selania."

The redhead gave him a small smile when she put the cup in front of him. Arthas didn't miss the way she swayed her hips when she returned to her desk and sat down. His gaze fell on the brown liquid in the cup before it wandered to his computer. He grabbed the cup and brought it to his lips, taking a sip. He typed with only one hand while he drank his coffee. Once the cup was empty, he put it aside and continued to type with both hands.

He only averted his gaze when he heard knocks at the door. "Come in," he shouted loud enough so that the person in front of the door heard it. The door was opened a few seconds later and a familiar man stepped in. Like Arthas, he wore a black suit but he didn't wear a tie around his neck. His grey hair was short, his face was wrinkled and shaved. The man was almost sixty years old.

"What can I do for you, Marwyn?" Arthas asked.

"I wanted to inform you that Ms Winterhorn has arrived, Arthas."

Arthas gave him a nod. "Bring her to room 117 and tell her to wait for me. Offer her something to drink and eat. The usual stuff. Make sure she lacks nothing. I will arrive soon."

Marwyn nodded. "As you wish, boss." The old man left the room and closed the door behind him as soon as he received a thankful nod from his boss. Arthas finished the paragraph he had started and saved the document, getting up from his chair. His gaze fell on his secretary. "I assume you have enough tasks to do."

The redhead nodded. "I do, Mr Menethil."

"If you are finished earlier then you can ask Uther, Falric or Marwyn if you can help them. If they have nothing for you then come back to me. If I'm still in an appointment, you can take a break in the meantime. Keep in mind that you don't have to work longer than written in your contract."

"I don't mind working longer for the company, especially when I can help you. You are working longer than all the others, I wouldn't mind staying an hour longer if it would mean that you might leave the company building before twenty-three o'clock," she replied.

Arthas didn't know if she really meant it or if she had just said that to impress him. He didn't ask her about this and just took her by her word. "It's your choice, Selania. You don't have to but I appreciate your willingness. I try to have everything done before twenty-two o'clock, but you know how it is these days. I often stay longer than I've planned."

"I hope things will change for the better once the new employees arrive. They will need some time to get used to everything but they will make things much easier and less stressful for us once they start working."

"I hope the same," Arthas said. He picked up a folder from his desk and turned off his computer. He walked to the door and opened it but he didn't walk through it yet. He turned his head and looked at Selania. "If something important happens, don't hesitate to inform me. You know that you can come to me at any time, even when I have an appointment with one of my clients."

Selania nodded. "I know. If it's very important, I will come to you directly. Otherwise, I will go to Mr Lightbringer or to your sister."

"You can go to Marwyn and Falric as well. They are my advisors after all. Just like Calia and Uther. Anyway, see you later."

Selania gave him her brightest smile. "See you later."

Arthas left his office and crossed the room where his co-workers were working. He took the rightmost elevator and arrived on the first level, the walk to the room didn't take him too long. He opened the door without hesitation and entered the room, spotting a familiar woman. It was a drakonid, a half-dragon. Her skin was covered by blue scales, horns came out of her forehead. She turned her head the moment Arthas entered the room and looked at him.

"Greetings, Ms Winterhorn," Arthas said when he walked over to her and stretched his hand out, offering her a handshake. The drakonid took his hand and shook it. "I think I told you more than once to call me Jeyzline, Mr Menethil."

Arthas sat down on an empty chair and put his folder in front of him. "Very well, Jeyzline. In that case, feel free to call me Arthas."

"As you wish."

Arthas' gaze fell on the cup of coffee and the snacks that stood next to Jeyzline's left arm. "Do you need anything else besides something to eat and drink?" he asked politely.

The half-dragon shook her head. "I'm good."

"Have you told your tenant what I told you last time?"

"I did but he still doesn't listen to me. He doesn't give me the money he owes me nor does he move out. I have the impression he does everything in his power to get on my nerves. He bothers me whenever he can. I'm not sure how long I can bear this terror." The drakonid sounded worried and she was very nervous. Arthas had the impression that she was even scared.

"What exactly does he do?"

"You mean besides glaring at me dangerously and not greeting me anymore?"

Arthas nodded.

"He stamps his feet on the floor so that I can always hear him. He also stamps down the stairs whenever he leaves the house. He does that on purpose. He always turns on the music way too loud and sometimes he even sings. Sing is the wrong word in this case. His voice is horrible and the problem is that he always stays up long which means I always hear him when I go to bed. I'm not the only one who cannot sleep. My children need sleep too. Damien's class teacher told me that he has problems staying awake in school. He wouldn't have this problem if my damn tenant wouldn't behave like an immature child."

Arthas took a deep breath and ran two fingers over the sides of his nose, his eyes were closed for a short moment. "It seems that we have no other choice than to accuse him. "He no longer just refuses to pay you, now he also disturbs your peace. Have you thought about calling the cops?"

"I did but..." Jeyzline stopped, insecurity was reflected by her eyes.

"But what?" Arthas dug deeper.

"I'm afraid that the cops wouldn't be able to do much and that my tenant would do new things. I'm afraid that I only make things worse."

Arthas gave his client a warm and confident smile. "I understand you, Jeyzline, but you don't need to be afraid. The cops will probably warn him when you call them the first time and if you call them again, they will arrest him if he didn't change his behaviour in the meantime. You can trust the police and don't need to be scared. From what you told me about your tenant, I don't believe he will be violent. You could ask a friend or a relative to stay for a few days or weeks in case your tenant will do something unexpected."

A loud sigh escaped Jeyzline's lips. "If my husband would still be alive, I wouldn't have this problem. Typhon would have dealt with Mr Kenvenz. Mr Kenvenz had never done such things when Typhon was around. He had respect for him. Mr Kenvenz's misbehaviour began shortly after Typhon's death six months ago."

"You never told me what happened to your husband," Arthas said quietly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Jeyzline was still visible sad. "It's still too early for me to talk about it. It was hard enough to explain to my family what happened."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't feel comfortable. But keep in mind that I'm always there for you in case you need me. If you need to talk to someone, feel free to come to me."

"That's nice of you, Arthas. But I know how busy you are. It's not easy to get an appointment with you these days so I don't want to bother you with my problems. I have been seeing a therapist regularly for the past five months. She does her best to help me cope with the past. I appreciate your offer but I think I don't need it."

Arthas handed her a handkerchief and watched her wiping away the tears that were running down her cheeks. "I hope your therapist can help you in the long run."

"I'm convinced she can. She is really good. She is one of the best in the city and not too expensive. She is a good and smart woman."

"Who is she? Maybe I know her."

"Her name is Tyrande Whisperwind."

Arthas smiled. "Ah, Tyrande. Yes, I know her. Believe it or not, she is also one of my clients. Please don't tell anyone that I told you that. Because of data protection and so on. I don't want to get in trouble."

Jeyzline returned his smile. "Don't worry, Arthas. My lips are sealed."

Arthas' smile became wider. "Good." He cleared his throat and checked the documents in his folder again. "As I said earlier, you should call the cops if he makes more problems. You should also ask a friend or a relative if they can stay in your flat for a few days or weeks. I would suggest you to finally accuse him. We gave him the change to solve things peacefully but he refused, so we have no other choice than let the judges speak. Not only has he violated the tenancy agreement but he also harasses you. That's inexcusable. We have to take legal actions, otherwise, he will never stop."

The half-dragon nodded. "You are right. It will never end if I don't do anything about it."

"You should go to the police as soon as you can. I can accompany you if you want."

"That would be great. I'm afraid I will be too nervous to say anything."

Arthas gave her a small smile. "I will accompany you for sure then. Let me see when I will have time." Arthas took his phone out of his pocket and checked his schedule. "We could meet at the nearest police station at eight o'clock tomorrow. I think I have to postpone my appointments a little but that's no problem. My secretary will take care of everything."

"That would be great," responded Jeyzline. Relief and happiness were reflected by her scaly face.

"Perfect. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

The half-dragon shook her head. "Not at the moment but thanks for asking."

Arthas pointed at her empty cup. "Do you want more coffee or some snacks?"

Jeyzline shook her head again. "No, thank you." She looked at the watch on her wrist. "I wish we could talk a little longer but I have to go. My therapist may be a patient woman but I don't want to let her wait for too long. I will rather be punctual this time."

"Alright, I will bring you to the elevator. Normally, I would bring you to the exit but there is so much work waiting in my office. I hope you don't mind if I don't bring you to the door this time."

"I don't really mind. My sense of direction might not be the best but I'm still able to find the way out of this massive building," Jeyzline replied.

Arthas pointed at his phone. "You have my number, just in case you get lost," he replied jokingly.

The half-dragon smiled but said nothing in return. She got up from her chair and so did Arthas. They left the room together and Arthas brought her to the elevator, winking her goodbye before the doors were closed.