Drowning in Legal Jargon

September 26, 2023 - 2:15 PM

Lin Zhang stared at her laptop screen, eyes glazed over, as the email notification blinked insistently at the bottom corner of her monitor.

New Message: URGENT - Review Immediately

She sighed, already regretting whatever awaited her. With the slow, resigned movements of someone walking toward their own execution, she clicked on the attachment.

86 pages.

Single-spaced.

Dense legal jargon formatted in the most soul-draining way possible.

Lin exhaled through her nose. If corporate suffering had a physical form, it would be this document.

She scrolled to the first page, skimming the opening line with the same enthusiasm as someone being forced to read the nutritional facts on a cereal box.

"This agreement, hereinafter referred to as 'the Agreement,' shall constitute a binding and enforceable contract between…"

She already wanted to die.

September 26, 2023 - 2:20 PM

Lin leaned back, cracking her neck. It was too early in the day for this.

She grabbed her coffee cup—lukewarm now—and took a sip, only to grimace. Bitter. Just like her mood.

Fine. Time to focus.

Her eyes trailed down the endless paragraphs of corporate nonsense.

Clause 1.1 – Something about "mutual liability in the event of unforeseen arbitration."

Clause 2.3 – An unnecessary expansion of "non-disclosure responsibilities in perpetuity," which essentially translated to: You can never speak of this agreement, even from the afterlife.

Clause 5.6 – A nightmarish tangle of words that might as well have been written in an ancient, forbidden dialect.

She stared blankly at the screen. Did anyone—anyone at all—actually read this garbage?

She doubted even the lawyers who wrote it fully understood what they were saying.

Lin tapped her fingers against the desk, debating the best course of action. She could:

Suffer in silence and read every mind-numbing clause. Roll the dice, skim recklessly, and pray she didn't miss anything important. Fake her own death and move to the mountains.

Option three was looking pretty good.

September 26, 2023 - 2:30 PM

Her focus wavered. She was only on page 12.

Twelve.

She glanced at the time. Fifteen minutes had passed. That was it?

She groaned, rubbing her temples.

This wasn't even the hard part of her job—just the most tedious. The kind of work that slowly eroded a person's will to live.

Lin glanced at the window. The city skyline stretched out in the distance, bathed in warm afternoon light. People were outside right now. Living. Breathing. Enjoying their freedom.

And here she was. Drowning in legally mandated corporate misery.

She scrolled down another few pages. More clauses. More unnecessary fluff.

Her eyelids felt heavy.

She blinked.

The text blurred.

No. Stay awake.

Lin sat up straighter, taking a deep breath.

She reached for her coffee again. Still bitter. Still lukewarm. She drank it anyway.

She would not let an 86-page document defeat her.

September 26, 2023 - 2:45 PM

Progress.

Sort of.

She had forced herself to trudge through another dozen pages. Her brain felt like it was slowly melting.

Then, finally, buried under a mountain of redundant phrasing, she found it—the asset transfer clause Zhao had asked her to check.

And, of course, it was a trap.

Lin exhaled sharply. Amateurs.

If Zhao had signed this as it was? He would've been screwed.

She flexed her fingers before cracking her knuckles.

Time to clean up someone else's mess.

September 26, 2023 - 3:10 PM

By the time she was done, she had condensed 86 pages of bloated legal nonsense into a single, efficient summary.

She proofread it twice. Adjusted a few sentences.

Then, finally—finally—hit send.

She leaned back in her chair, stretching.

Another corporate disaster averted.

And William Zhao?

He had no idea just how much he actually needed her.

| September 26, 2023 - 3:15 PM

Lin barely had time to breathe after finishing that legal nightmare before Lily appeared at her desk, holding out a fresh coffee.

"Here. You look like you're about to throw yourself out a window," Lily said, grinning.

Lin took the cup with a grateful sigh. "If I had to read one more clause about arbitration, I might've."

Lily perched on the edge of the desk, sipping her own drink. "Corporate law should be classified as a form of torture."

Lin huffed a laugh. "Agreed."

| September 26, 2023 - 3:18 PM

Lily waved a hand dramatically. "Anyway, enough about work. I came to share some actual news."

Lin raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Lily smirked. "I have a date tonight."

Lin took a slow sip of coffee. "Tell me about this poor soul."

Lily laughed, nudging her. "He's cute. Works in finance. Good conversationalist. No visible red flags so far."

Lin smirked. "So you haven't stalked his socials yet?"

Lily gasped. "Of course I did! I'm not reckless."

Lin chuckled, shaking her head. "Where's he taking you?"

Lily grinned. "Fancy steakhouse. The kind with dim lighting and overpriced wine."

Lin nodded approvingly. "Solid choice."

Lily leaned in. "You sure you don't want me to set you up with someone?"

Lin gave her a pointed look. "Lily. I just blackmailed a billionaire's wife before lunch."

Lily choked on her coffee. "What?"

Lin smirked. "Exactly."

Lily shook her head, half laughing, half exasperated. "I worry about you sometimes, Lin."

Lin took another sip of coffee, completely unbothered.

"You should worry about your date surviving tonight instead."

| September 26, 2023 - 4:05 PM

Lin had just finished another round of emails when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye.

Lucas.

He strolled up to her desk, looking completely casual, but Lin's eyes immediately dropped to the plain paper bag in his hand.

Lucas set it down on her desk like it was a bag of takeout.

"Delivery for Zhang," he said, voice flat but amused.

Lin smirked. "That the special order?"

Lucas exhaled. "Yeah. Your brilliant 'gold coins in a paper bag' idea went off without a hitch. Nobody even glanced at me."

Lin leaned in, lowering her voice. "Vivian herself drop it?"

Lucas scoffed. "Hell no. Some courier did. She wouldn't risk getting her hands dirty."

Lin wasn't surprised. Vivian Zhao was too careful to be caught.

Which was fine.

Because Lin already had all the leverage she needed.

| September 26, 2023 - 4:07 PM

Lucas crossed his arms. "So, what now? I just walk around carrying a million dollars in gold?"

Lin smirked, tapping the bag lightly. "I'll hold onto it."

Lucas frowned. "Zhang—"

Lin tilted her head. "You trust me, don't you?"

Lucas let out a slow breath, then grunted. "Yeah, yeah. Fine. You're better at hiding stuff anyway."

Lin picked up the bag, weighing it in her hands.

She'd stash it at the farm later—somewhere no one would ever find it.

For now?

She just smiled. "Consider it safekeeping."