Aloysius Lionel "Li" Washington Ch 01
Celtics Rookie MVP hooks Boston fan
Author's Notes: This is an imaginary work of fiction. Currently three chapters have been written and edited. References to specific schools, firms, and athletic teams are coincidental to the story. The fictional law firm described in this story is the same at which Mark Eagleheart, a protagonist in "Steven and the Noble Savage", works. ("Steven" is another story previously published on Literotica. Mark is not a major character in this chapter.) As is typical in my stories, character development and description precede sexual activity--so it's a slow burn. All characters engaged in sexual activities are over 18, as should be any reader where local law so requires. Β© 2023, all rights reserved. Brunosden
Lionel was sitting uncomfortably in a conference room in Washington D.C. He was one of a dozen "summer associates" at RansomWalker (sometimes known by opposing counsel as the Ransomers--perhaps with a few additional pejorative adjectives). It was the first day of a twelve week "apprenticeship"--really a twelve week recruiting marathon for top performers from the top law schools in the US--a summer of wining and dining, memo writing (really test taking) and mutual "does he/she fit?" trials. Everyone in the room had intellectual power--and had used it to succeed at university and at law school. The summer was an audition for their next phase.
Lionel had done well at Harvard. He was in the top 5% (Harvard had stopped ranking decades before, but it kept certain traditions from which this status could be inferred.) And this group attracted recruiting sharks from the top firms of the world. The summer would be a quasi-bribe--a lark of shows, dinners, athletic events; and it would be well-paid: about $3000 per week. The summer salary seemed impressive, but Lionel was going to graduate with about $150,000 in student debt. If given a permanent job offer, his salary would be high--but he would be expected to devote 24/7 to the firm--in an attempt to "bill" at least 2800 hours per year, far more than the average 40 hour summer week.
Lionel was a prize because of his intellectual achievement, but also because he was black, had humble origins, and had played professional basketball for three years after graduating from UNC, before an injury/illness moved him to the sidelines. He had been a top pick by the NBA, and in his first year, had proven himself the b-ball star that he had been groomed for all of his life--from the concrete courts of NE Washington, to the scholarship to the Gonzaga Prep, to UNC, always a top basketball contender. Thus, he was a celebrity as well as an achiever.
He was very tall, 6-11, with athletically-defined muscles (but not a body-builder), very talented, and handsome. For his size--if not for his intellect--he would be a commanding figure in any courtroom. But, he had the intellect to match--graduating magna UNC and expecting something similar at HLS. And he had achieved a bit of fame already.
During his brief period as a rookie b-ball player, he (or his agent) had been approached by dozens of potential distributors of athletic equipment, skin and hair treatments, underwear/sports apparel, and even one automobile manufacturer (which had backed off when they realized he really didn't fit into their new mini-electro-vehicle). He was photogenic. He was young, clean and handsome. He was a star: NCAA MVP, All-State, March Madness MVP (twice), first round NBA pick (the Celtics) and NBA rookie of the year. So he was in print and media all the time.
Then, the health bomb had hit. He fell during a game after a foul at the beginning of his third season. He was out of the game. Later, he was examined for a routine game injury, using advanced imagery. A tumor was detected, on the bone of his right shoulder which had broken in the fall. It was later diagnosed as a rare metastatic bone cancer. His days as a player might be over--and remarkably sooner than anyone had anticipated. That was his dunking arm! He was in for at least a year of chemo and therapy. Then, maybe, just maybe, he could regain his remarkable shooting abilities and aggressive style.
Lionel didn't wallow. He quickly regrouped.
He took the LSATs, applied to law school, and was accepted. He went all-in for the therapy and worked out religiously. At the end he had lost a little weight and probably was just as muscular as before--but perhaps a bit more cut because he had skimmed off the fat. He continued to work out and practice, but spent the next two years trying to be "just a law student" despite his professional sports stint: a student without special privileges, with his nose to the grind. He studied hard, did well, and here he was at the cusp of his second career.
He had licked the disease, at least temporarily, but no team would touch him because there could be a relapse at any time, and he was uninsurable. So it looked like he was going to be a lawyer--and he would be a very good one, he thought. Even if, God forbid, the disease returned--and even if he lost his arm, he could still lawyer.
He had been somewhat of a celebrity at Harvard--a professional basketball player of towering height in law school! With a commanding physical presence and baritone voice. But everyone assumed he was average (or worse) intellectually. He had proven them wrong. He was one of those rare great athletes with academic credentials--and a killer instinct. He wanted to be a litigator. And of course at this stage of his life, he imagined himself as a "black" knight in shining armor vindicating the wrongs being perpetrated on the lower classes, his people. Harvard fed his ego and his ambitions--and he was soon on his way to stardom again, albeit in a very different life.