[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
spent far too much time focusing on what she was up to. It had been that way since . . . well, since as
long as she could remember. Thank goodness she was above such petty nonsense.
Payton got to her office and closed her door behind her. She set her briefcase down on top of her
desk and took a seat in the well-worn leather chair. How many hours had she logged in that chair?
How many all-nighters had she pulled? How many weekends had she sacrificed? All in her quest to
show the firm that she was partnership material that she was the top associate in her class.
Through the glass on her door, she could see across the hall to J.D. s office. He was already back
at his own desk, in front of his computer, working. Oh, sure, like he had such important matters to tend
to.
Payton pulled her laptop out of her briefcase and turned it on, ready to start her day. After all, she
had very important things to focus on, too.
For starters, like how the hell she was ever going to get up at 4:30 tomorrow morning.
Two
I SEE YOU broke your own record.
Payton peered up from her computer as Irma walked into her office, waving the time sheets Payton
had given her earlier that morning.
I get depressed just logging in these hours, her secretary continued in an exasperated tone.
Seriously, I need to be assigned to a different associate. Someone whose weekly time sheets aren t
as long as Anna Karenina.
Payton raised an eyebrow as she took the stack of time sheets from her secretary. Let me guess
another recommendation from Oprah?
Irma gave Payton a look that said she was treading on seriously dangerous ground. That sounds
like mocking.
No, never, Payton assured her, trying not to grin. I m sure it s a wonderful book.
At least four times a year Irma made the pilgrimage out to the West Loop to sit in the audience at
Harpo Studios and be in the presence of Her Holiness the Winfrey. Irma took all recommendations
from the TV maven lifestyle, literary, and otherwise as gospel. Any comments in the negative by
Payton or anyone else were strictly taboo.
Irma took a seat in front of the desk as she waited for Payton to sign off on the completed time
sheets. You d like it. It s about a woman who s progressive for her time.
Sounds promising, Payton said distractedly as she skimmed the printout of the hours her
secretary had entered.
Then she falls for the wrong man, Irma continued.
That s a bit cliché, isn t it? They call this Tolstoy guy a writer? Payton quickly scrawled her
signature across the bottom of the last time sheet and handed them back to Irma.
This Tolstoy guy knows about relationships. Perhaps you could learn a thing or two from him.
Payton pretended not to hear the comment. After years of working with Irma, the two of them had
developed a comfortable, familiar relationship, and she had learned that the best way to handle her
secretary s not-so-subtle remarks regarding her personal life was simply to ignore them.
You ve seen the evidence of my lack of free time, Payton said, gesturing to her time sheets.
Until I m through with this trial, I m afraid Tolstoy will have to wait. She pointed. But if Oprah
happens to know of a book about responding to subpoenas for corporate documents, that I would be
interested in.
Seeing Irma s look of warning, Payton held up her hands innocently. I m just saying.
I tell you what, Irma said. I ll hold on to the book for you. Because after this month, I suspect
you ll be able to give yourself a bit of a break. She winked.
Payton turned back to her computer. Despite Irma s repeated attempts to engage her on this subject,
she didn t like to talk openly about it. After all, she didn t want to jinx things. So she waved aside the
remark, feigning nonchalance.
Is something happening this month? I m not aware of it.
Irma snorted. Please. You ve only had this month highlighted in your electronic calendar for eight
years.
I don t know what you re talking about. And stop snooping around in my calendar.
Irma rose to leave. All right, all right, I know how you are about discussing this stuff. She
headed toward the door, then paused and turned back. I almost forgot Mr. Gould s secretary
called. He wondered if you re free to meet in his office at one thirty.
Payton quickly checked. Works for me. Tell her that I ll come by his office then. She began
entering the appointment in her daily planner when she heard her secretary call to her from the
doorway.
Um, Payton one last thing?
Payton looked up distractedly from her computer. Yes?
Irma smiled reassuringly. You re gonna make it, you know. You ve earned it. So stop being so
paranoid.
Despite herself, Payton grinned. Thanks, Irma.
Once her secretary was gone, Payton s thoughts lingered for a moment. She glanced over at the
calendar on her desk.
Four weeks left. The firm s partnership decisions would be announced at the end of the month.
Truth be told, she was feeling fairly hopeful about her chances of making it. She had worked hard for
this long hours, never turning down work and now she was in the homestretch. The finish line was
finally in sight.
Payton felt her heartbeat begin to race as she gave in to the excitement for one teeny-tiny moment.
Then, not wanting to get carried away just yet, she calmed herself and, as always, got busy with work.
" " "
A FEW M INUTES before 1:30, Payton gathered her notes and her summary trial file folder for her
meeting with Ben. She wasn t sure exactly what he wanted to meet about, but she guessed it had
something to do with the trial she was about to start next week. As the head of the firm s litigation
department, Ben stayed on top of all cases going to trial, even those with which he wasn t directly
involved.
As was typical, Payton felt slightly on edge as she prepared for the meeting with her boss. She
never knew what to expect with Ben. Despite the fact that he had never given her any indication that
he was disappointed in her work to the contrary, he consistently gave her the highest marks in her
annual reviews she felt that, at times, there was some sort of awkward undercurrent to their
interactions. She couldn t quite put her finger on it, she just got a weird vibe now and then. He ran hot
and cold with her; sometimes he was fine, other times he seemed a bit . . . stiff. Stilted. At first she
had assumed this was just part of his personality, but on other occasions she had seen him joking
easily with other associates. Interestingly, all male associates. She had begun to suspect that Ben
while never blatantly unprofessional had a more difficult time getting along with women. It
certainly wasn t an unlikely conclusion to draw. Law firms could be old-fashioned at times and
unfortunately, female attorneys still had a bit of an old boy network to contend with.
Nevertheless, because Ben was the head of her group and thus a key player in the decision
whether to make her a partner Payton resolved to keep trying to establish a more congenial rapport
between them. After all, she liked to think she was a relatively easygoing person. With one exception
(and who really counted him, anyway?) she prided herself on getting along well with pretty much
everyone she worked with.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]