AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“God don’t tempt me. Thing is that you don’t make partner by taking weeks off whenever you get sick. If I want to impress those two boys in charge, I need to show that I can work through anything.”
Kat pursed her lips, letting out ahmmthat sent the message that she didn’t approve one bit.
“Last thing I want is for you to work yourself into an early grave, C.”
My coffee ready, I grabbed my purse and threw on my coat.
“It’ll be fine!” I said, opening the front door to leave. “I’m sure it’s nothing!”
“Famous last words!” she called out as I shut the door and stepped out into the hall.
Kat had a point. Whatever weird issue I’d been dealing with, it didn’t seem to want to go away. Plan was to try to power through it, and if it got worse, I’d see a doctor then.
An hour later I stepped into my office to see my officemate, Ana Montanez, seated at her desk on the far side of the room. Ana was petite and pretty, with deep brown eyes and a head of curly, dark hair. We’d joined Benson & Silver at the same time, becoming fast friends as we learned the ropes together of what it took to survive at one of the biggest law firms in the city.
“There she is,” Ana said with a smile as I came into the office. “The woman who stared one of the richest families in New England dead in the eye and got them to blink.”
Ana was referring to my case with Lily Baker, the college student being accused of assault. The case had wrapped up just as I’d hoped it would, with me sending a few strongly worded letters to the family’s attorney, letting him know that Lily wasn’t about to be pushed around, not with me at her side. All communication had been said in the most professional of legal manners, of course.
Whiteford, Smith and Stone, the other firm, had wasted no time getting in touch and letting me know that their client wouldnotbe pursuing the original charges. I’d called their bluff. But that wasn’t good enough for me. After checking in with Lily and letting her know the good news, I confirmed that we could have a case against the guy who’d touched her at the bar. She’d been more than happy to go to battle. Good news for me; I loved fighters.
“Oh, stop,” I said, easing into my chair and turning on my computer. “I mean, by all means, tell me what a great attorney I am. But at the same time…oh, stop. You know?” I laughed.
“Hey, you know what life at this firm is like—there’s no room for people with small egos who don’t pound their chests and announce it to the world when they score a win. You took on WSS, turned the tables on them, and managed to get their client on the ropes. Shit…” Ana sucked her teeth and shook her head, as if trying to wrap her head around the idea of it. “You might have caught the attention of you-know-who.” She pointed up, referring to Melissa Benson and Mark Silver, the two partners.
“I don’t want to get ahead of myself,” I said. “Plus, I’m practically doing this pro bono. Not sure if Melissa and Mark are going to be too thrilled about me putting so much effort into a case that’s bringing nothing into the firm.”
“You’re bringing prestige into the firm. Not to mention that you’re doing the right thing. It’s the details, you know?”
“I know. But at the same time, you can’t pay a salary with the right th—”
I didn’t get a chance to finish, my phone buzzing in my purse.
“Sorry, one sec.”
Ana nodded and turned her attention back to her computer. I took my phone out of my purse and checked the screen. The call was from an unknown number. Not a chance I was going to waste my time on some spam call. I hit silent, setting my phone down on my desk.
It buzzed again, this time with a text. I turned the phone toward me and read the screen.
This is Connor O’Leary. Let’s chat.
My heart skipped a beat, my eyes going wide, my blood running cold.
“Uh, you OK over there?” Ana asked.
I cleared my throat, trying to think of what to say. What was I supposed to tell Ana, that the Irish mobster I’d hooked up with a few weeks back was calling for a little chitchat?
You don’t need to lie. Just keep the important details to yourself.
“Gotta take this,” I said. “I’ll be in the conference room.”
“OK…” Ana trailed off, and I could tell she’d been left with more questions than when she’d started.
Without saying another word, I hurried out of the office with my phone and into the adjacent conference room, the space where Ana and I took calls when we didn’t want to bother the other person.
I held the phone in my hand, staring at the text message on the screen.
You know, you don’thaveto call him back. You can just delete the text, block the number and be done with it.
