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Though getting married hadn’t done me any favors, since I was thrice divorced, I hadn’t given up on love yet, even if most of the time it just felt like love was one of those things that only happened in the movies or television, that it didn’t really mean anything, wasn’t actually real. It was just something to make people feel better about their boring lives, and the butterflies you felt when you met someone new were just excitement, just chemicals.
And so far in my experience, all love resulted in was hurt feelings, broken hearts, and alimony payments.
So that was how I approached my work, too. I figured that usually, things didn’t work out, that usually, people weren’t good, and those people who stayed together forever were the exception. My parents had been together until my father’s death, but they were never exactly happy together. They weren’t happy with me and my three brothers, either. They wanted us to be powerful and successful so that they could have our money, so that we could support them and give them the good life they felt they deserved. But they didn’t really care about us.
It was hard to learn to love another person when you never really had that growing up, and I guessed that was part of the reason that no one I’d married had worked out.
Well, that, and I’d been cheated on by two of my three wives.
Magda grunted as she passed me and I grinned, never one to back down from a challenge. I made it past her again and looked behind me. She was struggling to keep up, flagging, and eventually as I rounded the corner of the sidewalk, she doubled over, bracing her hands on the bench to steady herself. I couldn’t help laughing. She’d gotten the best of me yesterday, but not today, and I felt victorious like I did right after a big win at the courthouse.
* * *
After a showerand dressing in another of my three-piece suits, I made it back to work.
Magda was already in her office even though it was only eight-thirty and Richard wasn’t there.
I knocked on her office door and entered without waiting for her go-ahead. After all, I owned the entire building along with Richard, so I owned her office, too, whether she liked it or not. She enjoyed pushing my buttons, so I was going to push hers back and see how she liked it.
And she definitely didn’t like it, scowling at me as I walked in. But it was time for her to learn who was the boss here. Spoiler alert, not her.
“I’m busy,” she said, and I shrugged.
“You’re about to be busier,” I told her. “I need you to make this Martinez case your priority.”
“I makeeverycase my priority,” she said smugly, and I rolled my eyes.
“Okay, but you can’t win this one without me, so you’re going to have to make room for me to come in here and work with you. Or you could come to my office. We could even work on neutral ground if you’re too scared.”
She raised a groomed, black eyebrow. “Scared? What makes you think I’m scared of you, Mr. Brentwood?”
“I decide whether or not you make partner.”
“Along with Richard,” she corrected.
Richard seemed to like Magda for reasons I couldn’t begin to understand. He seemed to likeeveryone, though. He was one of those annoying guys with a bright personality who gave everyone a chance and believed the best in every case. In fact, maybe that was why he liked Magda so much. As mean and ruthless as she acted, she had a bleeding heart, especially for the woman in the case that we faced.
I smiled.
“Yes, exactly.Alongwith him, which means we both have a say. It has to be unanimous, which makes me the deciding factor in this case. So, as you can see, itisall up to me.”
If looks could kill, with the way she was glaring at me, I’d be dead and turned to dust by now.
“What, you ran a little faster than me this morning and now you’re all puffed up?” Magda taunted. “Maybe you managed a little sprint but you’re still a worn-out old man.”
I put a hand to my heart dramatically. “Oh, no, a girl who’s fresh out of law school and still wet behind the ears thinks I’m old. I guess I might as well get my affairs in order.”
Her comments about my age did sting, especially since I tried to keep myself in shape, but I wasn’t going to let it get to me. Not from a young brat like her. I didn’t know exactly how old she was but she was probably barely old enough to drink.
“I knew you weren’t partner material. You know what partner even means? Partner is someone who shares tasks and works together with others for the betterment of the company, so you fail before the test even starts.” I shrugged. “I’ll be taking the case by myself, since I’ve seen all I needed to see and my mind is made up.” It was high time little miss self-important be put in her place. She needed to learn some humility and to follow the rules and take orders like everyone else.
She seemed to be under the impression that she was untouchable for some reason and I had to put an end to that.
“Besides, you were never going to win this case,” I told her again. “Not without me, anyway.”
“You don’t even know me,” Magda snapped back. “So stop pretending that you’re the only lawyer in this office who can win a case. I can do just fine on my own.”
“Like I said, I knew you weren’t partner material,” I continued, my face going blank. “So, I’ll just take these now.” I took a step toward her, staring into her angry, flashing blue eyes that were brewing up a storm.
