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My cocktail beckons and I chug it down, sputtering slightly as the potent alcohol burns the back of my throat. “Should I cancel the trip?”
She ignores that. “You’ll meet the client tomorrow, so make a powerful first impression. Wear good jewelry and heels are fine. Simon is tall, so he won’t mind. Red lipstick if you have it. He respects women who can stand up for themselves—usually.”
Mindlessly curling my hair around a finger, I muse about wardrobe when I should be concentrating on the facts of the case. Rebecca has moved on and I hurriedly refocus.
“You’ll have plenty of work to do while you’re out of the office. Have a tech set up your laptop with VPN. It will be your lifeline to the firm. Video meetings will help too. Make sure you can report on progress every day. You need to maintain a firm, visible presence while you’re in Paris.”
We see the waiter in the distance and Rebecca catches his attention. Once we have refills, she takes a sip, then leans forward. “Show you’re dedicated to the firm and the case and you can work without supervision. I’ll try to schedule the meetings first thing in the morning to mitigate the seven-hour time difference.”
“And the other complications?”
“Hayden is one, as I’m sure you’ve guessed. More in terms of your selection as partner. The bad news is the partners decide long before the case ends. But he’ll try for every plum he can pluck. The other is, because of the election cycle, Greenberg is pushing to clear it up or bury it quickly. News of the pending charges will hit the papers tomorrow.”
Why haven’t they leaked already?
Rebecca must be a mind reader. “The papers are planning front-page splashes with stories, commentary, and reactions on at least two inside pages.”
I can picture theTribune. Huge headline and photos on their broadsheet front page. Stories about the investigation, the campaign, lots of background on the candidate, a piece where the rest of the field comments. Then an editorial on the op-ed pages. Maybe a political cartoon. TheSun-Timestabloid format will be just as comprehensive in a more compact form. “Collusion?”
“Cooperation.” Her forehead wrinkles, brows touching. The corners of her mouth turn down.
“Keeping him from making incendiary comments is going to be a job in itself. We want as little coverage as possible while we work on clearing him—if we can. The damage to his reputation is a gift to the other contenders. He’s been the front runner, the poster boy for the party.”
In two swallows, the Jabberwock has disappeared. I order another, then, still hungry, I pop more bread and cheese into my mouth.
“Hey, guys. Didn’t get the memo.” Hayden pushes into the tufted leather booth and reaches for a pickle, almost knocking me to the floor. “Uncle Tyler thought you might be here, Rebecca. Said it’s your usual watering hole.” His stress on “uncle” makes my blood feel like ice water.
“A casual afterwork drink.” Rebecca’s voice is flat.
Hayden reaches over and taps her legal pad. “Sure you aren’t strategizing?” The twinkle in his eye shows malice, not amusement. “By the way, I met Laney this afternoon. She’s a cutie.”
“Laney?” The name is unfamiliar.
With a leer, he says, “Our legal researcher. Fresh out of her paralegal program.”
The server comes by with my third drink.
“Are you running a tab?”
Rebecca nods.
“Two Satan’s Whiskers. Need to play catch up with these two.” His smirk makes my skin crawl.
“How appropriate.”
He snickers. My snarky comment bounces off his crocodile hide.
Before the drinks guy can take off, I hold up a hand. “I’d like to order something to go, please.”
Pad out, he looks a bit like a bird, head to the side.
“Shrimp cocktail with no sauce, and the apple salad. Just put the shrimp on top of the salad with the dressing on the side.”
“You got it.”
Hayden puffs out his chest like a pouter pigeon. “Me, I have a date as soon as I finish these truly spectacular drinks.”
“Drinks named just for you.”
