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She sighed. “I want to tell you to leave, to say fuck it. But if you do, they win.”
She had a point. The fire in my belly burned hotter at the thought of making Andrew and Gerald eat their words. “What would you do?”
A vicious smile curved her lips. “Me? I’d take it all on. I’d rub it in their faces. And—“ She clamped her lips shut.
“And what?”
She shook her head. “You don’t want to hear this.”
I rolled my eyes. “I can handle it.”
“Well, if I were you, I would definitely try to find out why Andrew Markman is so determined to help.”
* * *
I went backto my office and got out all the files on the Bankman deal. Between electronic due diligence materials and printed copies, I had hundreds of hours worth of review. We typically had multiple junior associates whose sole responsibility it was to go through all the materials with a fine-toothed comb, but now it would just be me, and I would be looking for a needle in a haystack. Anything to convince the target company not to back out. There was nothing in the term sheet, but maybe something existed in an ancillary document. It was definitely a stretch.
Andrew came in at one point, looking sweaty and gorgeous from the gym. My stomach still flipped at the sight of him but I studiously ignored him.
“Need help?” His hair was damp from his workout and I couldn’t help but scan him. The tilt of his mouth was just right, the arch of his cheekbones still made my mouth go dry. I narrowed my eyes, hating that he still turned me on.
“Nope,” I said with a pop. I was surprised he would even offer but I didn’t comment.
“Alright. I’m going home then,” he said breezily.Of course. Now that he had partner in the bag, he didn’t need to stick around.
I wanted to give him the finger but at the last second I went with a polite wave. He snorted a laugh and left.
An hour later I found it. In a version of the term sheet that had been executed but for some reason only existed in hard copy. My heart sped up. If this was a real amended term sheet, then there was no way the target company could back out now. But if I circulated the file, outside counsel would use the time to discredit the document. I chewed my lip. We needed a call, needed a big reveal. But how to get on a call without giving away the details? Melanie would take my call, especially since she was setting up an interview for me, but would I be able to convince her to take a meeting without giving her the details? Before I could psych myself out, I dialed her number.
“Hey, Margo. How are you?” She picked up on the second ring. I liked Melanie. She was straightforward and sent us drafts on time. And she was already a partner, even though she was my year. Her firm was known for making the highest number of female partners in M&A.
“Hey, Melanie. Just chugging along through the draft agreement.” It was possible she didn’t know her client wanted to kill the deal, and I wanted to play it cool.
“I’ll be looking forward to the day this is done. The timeline on this deal has been crazy accelerated.”
She sounded annoyed and I hmmed my agreement. This was my moment. “That’s why I’m calling. I’m starting to lose track of where we are on everything with how the timeline has moved up. And now Spencer is pushing us to turn things even faster.” I let frustration at my client creep into my voice, knowing she disliked him after how he had behaved on a few group conference calls. “Can we set up a quick call tomorrow, lawyers only of course, just to flip through the checklist?” There. Totally nonchalant, nothing to worry about.
“Yeah, absolutely. Let me send some times over after we hang up.”
“Great, thank you.” I wiped my sweaty palms on my sweater. It was done.
“Oh and Margo, the hiring partner is really excited to meet you. I’m glad you’re applying.”
“Thanks. I’m excited about it too.” I tried to sound enthusiastic, because Melanie’s firm was a good one, but thoughts of my conversation with Cynthia poisoned me.
“A little surprising Andrew also applied this week, but you definitely have nothing to worry about, since I’ll be recommending you.” She gave a small laugh.
“Wait, Andrew applied?” My voice sounded distant, even to me. My heart raced.What the hell was he doing?
“Oh, I assumed you knew. He mentioned you were sharing an office. Anyways, I shouldn’t have let that drop.” I heard the frown in her voice. “Nothing to worry about it.”
We exchanged pleasantries and I hung up woodenly, before slumping back in my chair.
Andrew was applying to the firm I had chosen, after he had ripped the promotion from me? He was doing this just to mess with me. He didn’t need a new job. The thought made me clench my fists. I was not going down without a fight.
43
Margo
