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I used to enjoy being a lawyer. I once had so much love for it. But just like life always does, it takes and takes. I lost all the things I loved. First, my childhood. Then, my relationship with Richard and my best friend. It didn’t stop there, though. It crushed my passions, too, one by one. I was never the most optimistic of people, but at least I had something I cared about. For my life’s finale, it allowed a no-good piece of shit to take away my life. It will not take my freedom to choose how I will spend my afterlife.

Even if it’s in Hell.

I turn my attention back to the man in front of me. He lifts one of his perfectly shaped brows and points out, “You said three reasons, that was two.”

“Oh, you’re right.” I deliberately left off the third so he would have to play my game. I lift up the third finger and add, “Three, in the little time I’ve come to know you, I realize that I don’t like you.” I smile prettily at him. I mean it, too. Since I’ve met him, he’s been nothing but an annoyance.

Weirdly enough, he smiles back at me. I see it has finally clicked for him. Good. Over my already-dead body will I be his lawyer.

“Wrong answer,” he gently says, a glint of humor in his eyes.

What happens next makes me despise him even more. They were right when they said the devil comes in a pretty package.

He stands and walks around his desk until he is right beside me. I tilt my head back to look at him. He leans down until his face is merely two inches away.

“I’ll give you one last chance. Hell or me?” he warns softly. My heart is beating faster at his proximity. His dark brown eyes never lose contact with mine as he waits for my answer. I lean forward, leaving only an inch between us. From this distance, I can smell him. He smells expensive, like he belongs in a Dior ad with Johnny Depp.

“Hell,” I reply with a stubborn smirk.

He shakes his head slowly and grabs my hand. The world flickers away. One second, we are in his office, and the next we are in the courtroom I just died in. I’m sitting in the chair next to the defendant, and the judge is requesting the verdict. I look around and see the Grim Reaper in the corner of the room, next to the jury box.

The corner of his mouth lifts and he winks. He mouths, ‘Enjoy Hell’.

Then, he disappears.

Shit.

5

STUCK BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD CASE

In hindsight, I really need to think things through more. Hell is not a fun place. I have been here for what I think is a month and I can’t do this anymore. I tried to stand my ground for as long as I could, but if I’m here another day, I’ll go insane.

Whoever claimed Hell is a pit of fire is a lying liar and I hope they are suffering in Hell for their deceitful sins. Hell is so much worse. My version was created to personally torment me.

That rat bastard.

I know it is kind of ridiculous that I chose Hell, but I really thought my days of working were over. The idea of being the Grim Reaper’s lawyer may not seem horrendous, but it would be awful for me. I was so close to quitting and moving on to do something that would mean something to me. That would make me find my passion in life, like the legal field used to do. Every day I went to work to represent these criminals, I felt like my soul was dying. To do the same job for God knows how long would be like holding myself underwater, and guess what? Everyone who is held under water long enough ends up drowning.

The Grim Reaper placed me in an excruciating Hell. I’m living out the day I died, repeatedly. I wake up, get dressed, eat my breakfast with my mimosa, and go to the office. Once I’m there, I curse out my boss, then I head over to the courthouse. I present my last witness and rest my case. We both give our closing arguments and the trial ends with the jury finding Mr. Reynolds guilty of murder.

This happens, over and over again.

Every.

Single.

Day.

I can’t even change what I ate, what I wore, or where I went. It’s like I’m on autopilot, but fully aware of what’s going on. So basically, my Hell is being a lawyer and dying because I’m a lawyer. He probably finds this comical.

Ha ha ha! Mr. Reaper. You are so funny. Please quit your day job and become a full-time comedian.

After ten days, my stubbornness left, and I have been pleading to him ever since. I don’t even know if he can hear me. I am assuming not, because he has yet to retrieve me. So, I think this is it. This is the rest of my afterlife, and all I can think about now is how much I despise him.

Just as I start to come to terms with my fate, everyone in the courthouse freezes. We had just gotten to the spicy part where my client had the gun raised at me. I look around and realize I have control over my body.

Hallelujah!