Bad Luck: Daylight Slumber

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh had been glued to his phone all night long, watching as alerts flashed across his screen. Although his entry into the race had been last minute, he'd spent so much of his free time campaigning and speaking and otherwise trying to get his name and message out to the public.

He desperately wanted to know how this effort had paid off.

And finally.

Finally the results had been announced.

He had lost. Lost!

When making the decision to run he'd told himself this outcome was the most likely. He'd told himself that he wouldn't be upset.

But he was.

Disappointment clenched his stomach as he showered and dressed disappointment suppressed his appetite, so that he nibbled disconsolately on a piece of toast, and then put it aside with barely a dent. Disappointment distracts himself so much that he didn't notice when he pulled sleeping pills from the medicine cabinet instead of his multivitamin.

He yawned continuously on the way to work, but chalked it up to how late he'd stayed up waiting for election results. He yawned a distracted, less than cheerful greeting to his coworkers as he trudged back to his office, flopping down into his chair with a sigh. He had a meeting with a client regarding being profiled by police (of the presence of condoms on ones person made one a prostitute then Sean had something to explain) but that wasn't until noon.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes...

[Niko Gallo]

Niko wasn't always a bright and energetic person in the morning, but most of the time he managed to be pretty perky by the time he made it into the office. Hot showers and a brisk walk tended to do that really well, from what he'd learned, so much so that he didn't even need coffee unless he'd stayed up late the night before. But having gotten used to seeing people in various stages of sleepiness at all hours of the day, he wasn't surprised when Josh gave him a sleepy 'hello' before retreating back into his office.

Granted, his boss spent a lot of time in his office anyway, but today seemed weird. He didn't come out at all, not even when people passed noisily through, talking to Janice mostly. By the time a quarter to noon came around, a client came in saying they were here for Mr. Bernstein, and with Damien and Janice busy... Well, he could help. Letting them sit at his desk for a few minutes, the Greek young man knocked on the door to his boss' office, listened, heard nothing, and knocked again.

"Mr Bernstein?" he called out, unsure if everything was all right or if he should go in. He didn't HEAR anything, but sometimes private phone calls were made quietly.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Mr. Bernstein?

Josh jerked away from his desk, mumbling to himself. "Hmmph? Yeah?"

He yawned and rubbed at his eyes, irritated at the disturbance but even more irritated as he returned to wakefulness only to realize that he had been asleep. He had been asleep. On the job.

He really shouldn't have stayed up all last night waiting for the poll results to come in.

He stumbled out of his chair and lurched for the door, prying it open and peering blearily out at his intern. "Sorry, Niko." He yawned again. Unbeknownst to the attorney his face was imprinted with the fabric of his suit (and a button) having rested on his arm during his unintentional nap. "What is it?"

[Niko Gallo]

Though his boss was often a little scruffy and somewhat disheveled, the young intern was still a bit surprised at seeing him look so... tired. There was even a fabric pattern printed on his face, and the outline of a button. Realizing that he'd probably been quiet a good while, Niko shook himself to snap out of the startled lull in conversation.

"Uh... you have a client asking for you," he said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder and glancing back at the person in question. "But if you're busy, I can probably ask Damien or Ms. Adams to take care of them instead. Or um, if you need a minute, I can get them settled in the conference room with some coffee."

[Joshua Bernstein]

A client.

In that moment, very few words seemed able to express his distress. Were he one to use profanity, he would have done so, but instead he blinked slowly, hoping that perhaps he had misheard.

"Ahhh...a client? Who is it? I hope I haven't kept them waiting too long."

He ran one hand through his hair, trying to smooth it into some semblance of normalcy. Too bad he didn't have warning beforehand; there was no time for a cup of coffee to perk him up.

[Niko Gallo]

"Nope, not at all." While prone to some exaggeration, Niko was pretty honest. If his boss had been asleep for long, he would have told him. "They just got here, said they had an appointment for noon. I think it's for your profiling case."

Having much less of a law background than anyone else in the office, the young brunette was mostly there for his exuberance and his way with people. He kept things cleaned up, sorted files, was able to find things through a combination of good memory and tenacity, and he had fun at his job without being... well, their last intern. He was still a bit fuzzy on a lot of the technical terms, and while learning, the Greek still often spoke plainly rather than in 'legalese'.

"Like I said, I can set them up in the conference room for a minute or three while you get ready." Implying grabbing some coffee, of course, but also meaning if the older man needed to grab his case files. "Is there anything I can get you while I set to it, Mr. Bernstein?"

There were still some files to be sorted on his desk, and since it was noon it was just about time for lunch. But both of those could be put off for a bit if his boss needed him at all. After all, he liked Josh - taking his lunch in an hour wouldn't be that big a deal if he could help out in the meantime.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh offered Niko a groggy smile. "That would be fantastic, thank you. I'll just be a minute."

He began scouring his desk for the necessary paperwork as his intern continued with an offer of more assistance.

"No, no," He waved one hand dismissively as he used the other to yank open his filing cabinet. He began flipping through folders, brow furrowed. "Just lead them to the conference room. I might have something for you to do after I get out, but I'm afraid I'm a bit...out of it right now."

[Niko Gallo]

"Sure thing, boss."

Closing the door most of the way behind him, Niko went back out to the main area and cheerily chatted with the clients for a moment, leading them into the conference room and offering them some coffee while they waited. He didn't mind keeping them company for a few minutes, and when Josh came by the younger man passed him a cup of coffee, too; black, just the way he preferred it. The attorney looked tired, after all - it'd be a good pick-me-up.

"If you need anything else," he offered quietly before leaving, "just let me know." He'd been sorting files at his desk, so he could hear if someone called from across the office. With a smile and a wave, the junior clerk left the conference room and closed the door behind him. There wasn't a ton of work left to do (not like when he first joined, hoo boy), but it was better to keep up on it when he could.