Page 83 of Feel It in the Air

Holy shit…

“Margeaux Finnegan,” Percy continues. “That was some sharp thinking, young lady, and I like where your head is at.”

I’m speechless. My tongue is heavy, feeling like a cinderblock as I try to form words. Because…holy shit.

It’s a loophole’s loophole if there ever was one. One that exists, that few know about, and for good reason. Because patent law exists in its form for a reason. For fairness. But there are always exceptions. Not that Dexter, who taught me about this loophole, has ever managed to get something past the review board on the grounds like a device is “lifesaving” and therefore the IP should remain patented longer than its allotted twenty years.

“Th-thank you. It’s a long shot, but I thought it might be worth a try.”

“It’s a very long shot. Very, very long. And I won’t lie, I don’t have high hopes that they’ll approve it even once reviewed, but sometimes you just get lucky, don’t ya? And you might just be our new lucky charm.”

I don’t know what to say. Internally I’m screaming, doing the Irish jig that my father does every time he gets excited about something or is looking to make my mother laugh. Externally, I’m trying to keep it all level, knowing all eyes are on me. Including Gus’s. Gus’s very proud, very loving eyes.

You have my heart…

“So, because of that not so little win, I’m now putting you on a new project, Margeaux. I want you to see what else we might have that could qualify for this. Maybe there’s nothing, but who knows? That’s your priority number one now. Use Aaron and Teresa for whatever you need.”

“What? I don’t handle IP. I specialize in tax law,” Teresa spits out.

Oh, now it’s tax law…you were M&A a couple of weeks ago…

“I am aware, but you can still pull whatever files Margeaux may need,” Percy tells her. A chill settles over me, Teresa’s eyes boring into me. But I don’t have time for her pettiness. I have a new project. “With that said, the real reason I called this huddle was I wanted y’all to be the first to know—well, second, I suppose behind Auggie and Gus—but more importantly, I wanted to tell y’all face-to-face.”

Everyone stills, the hush in the room becoming deafening as we wait for him to continue.

“As I said, I know I was gone longer than I anticipated. And during that time, I had a lot of moments to evaluate a number of things. And one of those things is just how much I’m missing out on being away from family. Being close to both my girls, as well as those grandbabies, these last few weeks was a real blessing for Betty and me. So, I’ve decided that it’s time that I hang up my hat and retire from Hayes, so that we can be closer to them.”

Retiring…

I rock backward, the physical blow of the news catching me off guard. Me and everyone else based on the chatter that kicks up around me. Eyes flicking to Gus, I try to read him, but it’s tough. He’s got his suit of armor on, plastered-on smile firmly in place, gaze squarely on my boss.

But I can still see it, in the very corner of his eye. This was new to him this morning as well, and he’s not sure how he feels about it. Not sure what it means.

“Okay, okay,” Percy says, holding out his hands, trying to calm the group. “I know there will be lots of questions. Auggie launched a thousand of them at me this morning. And you can too when we meet one-on-one to catch up this week. I will make y’all the same promise I made him—I will not leave you in the lurch. In fact, this is potentially an opportunity for many of you to take on some new challenges as we figure out what the future of this department looks like. But for now, I have taken up enough of your time, especially with all of us crammed in this little room, so let’s get back to it.”

The room starts to break, conversations kicking up. Percy stops just short of the door, snapping his fingers, everyone’s attention back on him in a split second for whatever his additional thought is.

“Oh, I hear that the baby Jesus has been found! One of the Conrad kids absconded with him, so the Nativity Lighting will be held tonight. I expect to see y’all there.”

A final nod, and he exits, the group dissolving for real this time, everyone breaking into small groups and conversations about the bomb that was just dropped. My head is spinning, trying to make sense of all of it—both my new project and the idea that my boss is retiring. The man I came here to work for.

Making my way out of the room, I try to focus on the good. Percy just put me in charge of a new project. My very own project. Holy shit.

A few of the senior associates stop to congratulate me, and I thank them, trying to be as gracious as possible, the party still raging inside me. Because this is a big deal. This is what I’ve worked for. What I spent all those hours at my internship for.

Now I need to continue to prove myself. That I am the woman for the job.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Gus grab Percy, and the two of them head back to Percy’s office and close the door. My heart sinks a little, wanting to run over and celebrate with him.

At least until I remember that he’s still not boyfriend Gus. He might not be boss Gus anymore, but he’s still colleague Gus, and these two coworkers are still not a couple. Publicly. Hell, we still need to put a plan in place on how to out ourselves. I floated a couple of ideas over the weekend, but Gus said he wanted to talk to Percy first. Something I can respect.

“I’m not pulling files for you,” Teresa snarks, pushing past me. “My clerking days are done.”

I choose to ignore her, knowing that I am better off without her help.

“Happy to do whatever you need,” Aaron tells me. “Although you should know, the copy machine and I aren’t friends, so there’s a chance that if you put me in charge of that, the document will get eaten.”

I look at him quizzically, not quite sure if he’s joking or not. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You should be more concerned with what Percy’s retirement means for us,” Teresa barks. “And if there’s going to be a reorg.”

“It’s legal—how do you reorg legal?” Aaron quips. “We’ll get a new head of the department, and they might change up some assignments. We’ll all still be lawyers.”

Teresa huffs, her annoyance rising like mercury in a thermometer at not being taken seriously. “Well, I for one want to make sure that my future in this department is solidified. Depending on what they decide, they could name a new Senior Associate. They haven’t done that in the ten years I’ve worked here. And if this is a chance for advancement, then I’m going to take advantage of that.”

I have no doubt you’re going to try…

Biting my tongue, I return to my desk, not wanting to engage in this conversation any more than I have to. Nothing good is going to come out of Teresa talking about advancing her career. What I need is a distraction. Grabbing my phone, I tap it to life, noticing I have a text. From Gus.

Gus

Congratulations, pretty girl. See you, and that sexy brain of yours, at the Nativity lighting