Chapter 65: Fame

The glass doors of the firm slid open and Damian stepped inside. For a brief moment the lobby was quiet, and then someone near the reception desk noticed him.

“Damian’s back!”

Heads turned, and within seconds the entire floor erupted. Employees stood from their desks. Chairs scraped against the polished floor as the sound of loud clapping filled the room and people gathered around the open space near the entrance.

A standing ovation!

Not even his past big victory had earned him this kind of reception.

Associates, assistants, interns, paralegals, even a few partners from the upper offices were on their feet, clapping loudly.

“Hell of a job, Hill!”

“Unbelievable performance!”

“You destroyed them!”

Damian walked forward calmly through the corridor of applauding coworkers. His expression remained indifferent, but his eyes slowly scanned the room. Some people clapped with genuine admiration while others clapped begrudgingly. There were even a few like Candice and Adrian who simply stood in a corner and watched silently, resentment and surprise burning together in their eyes.

At the far end of the floor, a familiar short man stepped forward and the applause gradually softened.

It was Victor Hale, dressed in his signature gray and red suit. He walked toward Damian with a smile that looked convincing to anyone watching and extended his hand.

“Damian,” he said warmly. “Outstanding work today.”

Damian shook his hand with a calm smile, the same one he wore at the last party. The cocky kind that screamed I did it.

“Thank you.”

Victor’s smile widened, but Damian’s eyes quietly studied him as they shook hands. He could feel the stiffness in Victor’s shoulders, the slight tension around his jaw, and the brief pause before he spoke again.

The man looked happy on the surface, but his body language said otherwise. It was just like Hazel had suggested when they first got the case. They had expected him to lose the case and lose his job with it. But now the opposite had happened. It was only natural that Victor was fuming inside.

Suddenly, Victor turned to face the crowd.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced, raising his voice over the room, “today we witnessed something extraordinary.”

More applause followed while Damian blinked in confusion. He felt strangely lost.

“A first degree murder charge dismissed at a preliminary hearing. That doesn’t just happen. Not in this city.”

People nodded. Some laughed in disbelief, and Victor gestured toward Damian.

“What Damian accomplished today has brought tremendous prestige to this firm. Which is why I have an announcement to make.”

The room grew quiet as Victor folded his hands behind his back.

“Effective immediately, Damian Hill has been promoted to non-equity partner of this firm.”

Buzz.

Silence.

Total silence.

It was not just everyone else. Even Damian was stunned. He knew a promotion would follow like Martin had promised, but he never expected it to come instantly, and certainly not as a double promotion.

Everyone stared in shock, frozen with disbelief. Promotions like that did not happen in the middle of the year. They certainly did not happen overnight.

Victor let the reaction settle before speaking again.

“This decision comes directly from headquarters. So I hope everyone welcomes our new partner with open arms.”

While the room was still shaken and people exchanged stunned looks, Victor turned back to Damian and shook his hand again. Damian was still dealing with the shock, but he quickly composed himself before anyone could notice.

“Congratulations, partner.”

His smile remained polite, but his eyes remained cold.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting.”

Victor Hale walked off toward the executive elevator without another glance. The room remained quiet for a second before two figures approached Damian.

The first was Clara Vance, head of the Compliance and International Affairs department. She smiled warmly and shook his hand firmly while giving him a deep look.

The first time she had noticed this young man was at the associate dinner. So when she heard he had been transferred to a new department and given a major case despite what happened, she assumed it was a class assignment meant to bury him. That day she quietly mourned the loss of a good looking lawyer from the firm. Yet today not only had he won the case, he had done it at the preliminary hearing.

How could a man be so good looking and still possess the brains to back it up?

Usually people only had one of the two.

“That was incredible today,” she said. “I watched the hearing.”

Beside her stood Martin Kessler, his thoughtful eyes fixed on Damian. There was a mixture of emotions within them, deep and tangled, so complex that Damian could not make sense of them. Slowly Kessler extended his hand and spoke firmly.

“Congratulations. That cross examination was surgical.”

Damian shook his hand.

“Thank you.”

Across the room, Eleanor Price leaned against a desk, watching quietly with her arms folded and her expression unreadable. She did not clap, approach, or attempt to congratulate him. She simply watched.

After Clara and Kessler finished speaking with him, the rest of the firm began moving closer. Associates, interns, assistants.

“Congratulations, Damian!”

“That was legendary!”

“Partner already? That’s insane!”

Several hands reached out toward him with familiar smiles he had seen before, and those smiles stirred memories of how these same people had begun treating him like air the moment they believed he had no future in the company.

Now they wanted to play buddy buddy with him?

He scoffed inwardly.

Damian did not stop. He did not respond. He walked straight past them, and the crowd parted slightly as he moved across the floor.

At a desk near the window, Clara noticed where Damian was heading and raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Damian reached the desk and gently took the woman’s hand. Without saying a word, he turned and began walking toward the elevators, still holding her hand.

She wanted to say something, perhaps to congratulate him, but she could tell he did not want to speak here, so she simply followed obediently while staring at him.

The entire office watched in silence, their eyes following his every movement until the elevator doors opened with a soft chime and Damian and Clara stepped inside.

To think this forgotten hero would stage such a massive comeback. Many of them felt regret stirring inside their chests as they realized they had failed to build a good relationship with Damian in the past. Back then he had been humble and friendly. But now he seemed sophisticated and unreachable in a way they could not explain. It felt as though an invisible barrier stood between them and the man.

“Clara is the only one who will benefit from his rise. We all fumbled real hard.” Someone sighed heavily.

“Not as bad as Candice.”

No one knew who made the comment because the entire room erupted in laughter, causing Candice, whose face was already burning red, to run away while Adrian hurried after her.

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