BEGIN
From Create Your Own Story
It is a bright and sunny day. Unfortunately, you have to be inside. The life of a working woman is never easy, and it gets harder as summer approaches. Sometimes, you think you should have chosen a career as a gardener or a dog walker, or anything to get you outside, really. But the pay as a property lawyer is better than the pay for dog walkers, and to tell the truth, it can be exciting sometimes, so you suffer through.
You hear footsteps outside your office, and you hurriedly turn away from the window back to your desk. No time for daydreaming! The Sobe vs. Sobe case needs to be wrapped up, and you could get a raise if you handle this one well.
The footsteps stop at your door. You hear a knock. Without waiting for an invitation, your boss opens up the door. He has a troubled look on his face. "Melissa," he says. "Can you come to my office?"
Your heart starts to pound. This can't be anything good. "Uh, sure."
The two of you walk down the hall to his office. He closes the door behind you, and sits down at his desk. You sit facing him.
"One of our oldest clients, Mr. Carl Von Furchtsam, passed away three days ago. His will states that he is leaving his property to his younger brother, Walfreid. Unfortunately, we don't know who he his, where he is, or if he's still alive. The one thing we know is that he's not living in the country. Mr. Furchtsam immigrated years ago from Romania. In fact, Mr. Furchtsam owned a castle there, in Schlechter Vielfrass. He inherited it after he came to America, but I presume it's where his family lived, and they might still be there. Unfortunately, our attempts to reach them by telephone have not been successful, and the government won't help us contact him. We've been told that the mail system is not reliable either, and so we'd like to send one of our own people to find out about Walfreid. I want you to go. I know you're busy on the Sobe case, but Michael can take it on."
Your mind is spinning just thinking about it! You could take what's essentially a paid vacation to rural Europe: see a castle, get out of the office, and, oh yeah, do a bit of work too.
But, there's the Sobe case. You like Michael. In fact, he's your best friend at the office, but you don't want even him to take all the credit for your work!