Burn for Me

by Lea Coll

  “I didn’t want to worry you.”

  I got this crazy, out of control feeling, knowing my mom had gone through something so serious, so life altering, and I’d no idea. “But we want to be there for you.”

  “Yeah, Mom. That’s not okay. We want to know what’s going on with you guys in the future,” Kristen said.

  “It ended up being nothing, but it brought your father and me closer. It made me realize that my relationship with my family and friends were what’s most important. That’s why we have weekly family dinners now.”

  Guilt tore through me that I’d missed all of the family dinners lately. I didn’t care what was going on at work; I’d attend in the future.

  “I wanted to do things that make me happy. Life is too short.” She leaned closer, placing a hand on mine. “And I never thought you’d believe you couldn’t have a career and a family. If anyone can have it all, it’s you, Ashley. You’ll break through any glass ceiling and obstacle you encounter. I’m so proud of the person you’ve become.”

  Her words brought tears to my eyes. She’d bragged about my grades and awards in the past, but this was different. She wasn’t proud of a letter or a certificate; she was proud of me as a person.

  I looked at Kristen to see if she was upset, but she was smiling at me. “Don’t worry; she tells me she’s proud of me for pursuing my own business.” Then she looked at our mom and pointed at her. “The next time you have a health scare, you tell us. We want to be there for you.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed, guilty that I couldn’t be there for my mother when she needed us the most. That she wouldn’t let us be there for her.

  “Agreed. Now we have family dinners one night a week. Right now, we’re doing Thursdays because that’s the only night Kristen doesn’t have class, but if that doesn’t work, we’ll figure out another night.”

  “Thursday is fine. It’s only an issue if I have a jury trial.” I could go to work earlier or work through lunch if I had to.

  “Good, it’s settled. The whole family will be together every Thursday night.” My mom left the room.

  I exchanged a look with Kristen. “Who knew, huh? Our parents grew up too.”

  She laughed. “They sure did.”

  As amazing as my mom’s words were after all these years, it was still hard to believe her complete turnaround. I’d believed I couldn’t have it all or that I needed to work hard to achieve the next thing and the next thing. Could I choose a path that made me happy, whatever that might be? It seemed too easy.

  THE NEXT MORNING, I ARRIVED at work early to prepare for the meeting with Kings Construction. I was supposed to be there as an observer, but I wanted to make sure I was prepared. I wanted to know everything there was to know about the business and what their needs were.

  “Hey, what are you working on?” Logan asked.

  “Research for the meeting today. I had Kelli copy the file.”

  “I thought we were just there to make James King look important. Hey, you hire our firm and we’ll have five attorneys at your beck and call.”

  I laughed. “I’m pretty sure you’re there because you know him, but I have no idea why they need Sadie or me. I’m just grateful we’re included.”

  “Eye candy,” Logan said with a smirk. “Our attorneys are hotter than Cal Gray’s attorneys.”

  “Cal Gray doesn’t have any attorneys right now.”

  Logan’s eyes narrowed on me. “How do you know who’s working there now?”

  Shit. My mind scrambled for a way out. “Everyone knows that. He hasn’t hired anyone since the other two partners retired.”

  “I don’t want to know what goes on there. I’m just happy not to be working there.”

  I fidgeted with the files and pens on my desk, pretending to organize my already immaculate desk. He would not be fine with me working there. Should I tell him now? “Logan, I—”

  Sadie popped her head into my office. “It’s time. Are you ready?”

  Frustrated there was no time to tell Logan about his dad, I said, “Let’s go.” I grabbed the file, notebook, and a pen to follow him into the conference room.

  When we got there, one of the partners, Charles, was already seated at the conference table. Then Richard walked in with James King, introducing us to him. We’d just sat down at the table when the phone intercom rang. When Richard pushed the button, Kelli’s voice rang out, “Is Ashley in there? Judge Erb wants to know why she isn’t in court.”

  Panic filled me, and I scrolled through my trial calendar on my phone. “I have nothing on my schedule.” Missing a court date was something every attorney worried about. And for it to happen in front of the managing partners and a potential client was the worst timing.

  “It’s McClellan vs. McClellan, Emergency Hearing for Custody,” Kelli said.

  Richard said, “Tell him she’s on her way over. Thanks for letting me know, Kelli.”

  His face was tight as he asked, “Want to tell me why you’re here and not in Judge Erb’s courtroom?”

  Had Ms. McClellan filed the motion on her own like she’d threatened? I opened my mouth to say something, when he interrupted, “Never mind. You better run to court and come up with a good reason for the judge. We’ll discuss this when you’re back.”

  Kelli handed me the file when I rushed to her desk. “Here it is. An emergency hearing was requested yesterday by our office. You weren’t here, so Logan signed your name to the motion.”

  “What?” Why the hell would he file an emergency hearing without telling me? I was angry, but I didn’t have time to worry about it. I needed to handle this case first and ask questions later. I quickly flipped the file open and walked to court. As I read through the motion, I saw that a hearing was requested because there’d been some sort of altercation at the visitation exchange on Wednesday. Logan knew Ms. McClellan called me weekly with requests for an emergency hearing.

  She thought if she could slander her ex enough, the judge would give her immediate custody and everything that came with it, child support, the house. It was possible Logan didn’t recognize the name, but he still should have warned me and placed the hearing on my calendar. Did he want me to miss the hearing?

  The motion stated that her ex had called her names in front of the children, threatened to leave the state with them so she couldn’t see them again, and grabbed her arm when she tried to refuse visitation that night. I sighed, frustrated. There was no way to know if she was telling the truth. Not when I hadn’t been the one to speak to her. I needed to come up with a plausible excuse for the judge as to why I missed the hearing. Unfortunately, the best excuse I had was the truth. If it meant throwing the other attorneys under the bus in the process, it couldn’t be helped.

  I rushed through security and the building until I arrived at the courtroom. When I opened the door, the judge, court clerk, the McClellans and Mr. Mclellan’s attorney turned to watch me walk in. My face felt hot. I was sweaty, and completely out of breath from my rush. My focus was on the judge.

  “Ms. Cook, glad you could join us. As you can see I have nothing better to do than wait around all morning for you to show up,” Judge Erb began.

  “I’m so sorry; Your Honor. An attorney filed this motion when I was out of the office yesterday and no one placed the hearing on the calendar.”

  Judge Erb looked at his courtroom clerk with a raised brow.

  “Judge, we called her firm and spoke with her secretary, who scheduled this on her calendar,” the clerk said.

  Had Kelli lied to me? She seemed genuinely upset about it.

  Judge Erb directed his attention to me. “Ms. Cook, I don’t know what’s going on at your firm but you better get a handle on it. I don’t tolerate lateness in my courtroom. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Your Honor, I’m so sorry for the mixup. May I have a few minutes to speak to my client about the facts of this case?”

  Judge Erb sighed. “Yes, Ms. Cook. Show up late and ask for more time. I have nothin
g else to do today.” He stood up, causing everyone to rise with him. “You have fifteen minutes and you better be at that trial table when I get back.”

  “Yes, Your Honor. Thank you.” I breathed a little easier but still felt a little shaky. I’d seen judges react much worse to absent or late attorneys.

  “Ms. McClellan, let’s talk outside.”

  As she followed me out, she said, “I can’t believe you were late to court. You’re the most unprofessional—”

  “I am so sorry that I was late, but we have fifteen minutes to discuss your case so that I’m prepared to handle this hearing for you. Fifteen minutes. I’d be happy to discuss what happened once the hearing is over, okay?” I tried to soften my voice because I was sure it was scary to stand in the courtroom, wondering where your attorney was.

  Her lips were drawn tight. “Fine.”

  “What happened on Wednesday?”

  She went through the exchange, how they yelled in front of her kids, told me he threatened to go to court if she didn’t hand the kids over, how she tried to usher the kids back in the van, and he tried to stop her by grabbing her arm. When she had refused, he threatened to move the kids out of state.

  I wasn’t sure how much of what she said was the truth, but suggesting a neutral party to facilitate visitation could only help the situation.

  “Ms. McClellan, maybe the best outcome for today would be coming up with a neutral party who could handle the exchange for visitation. That way, you won’t need to speak to Mr. McClellan. For now, all communication goes through your attorneys. These altercations make both you and your husband look bad.” I spoke softly and gently, trying to get through to her. None of what she described was a healthy situation for her kids. “The judge has to do what’s in the best interest of the children and this isn’t working.”

  She nodded.

  “I know you want a decision today, but these things take time. Let’s agree with Mr. McClellan and his attorney so that we can avoid a hearing. I’m telling you, these facts will not place either of you in a good light. You refused to abide by the court order; he tried to stop you. If we charge him with assault, he can file a motion for contempt for violating a court order. In the future, he should call the police if someone is refusing to hand over the kids, not take it into his own hands. We can place that on the record if you wish.”

  She deflated. “Okay.”

  I sighed, relieved. I still had to deal with Richard and Logan when this was over, but at least some good would come out of today. This needed to happen months ago. Their kids didn’t need to listen to constant bickering.

  The other attorney spoke with Mr. McClellan and once they assented, we placed the agreement on the record. I walked slowly back to the office, dreading the thought of dealing with the partners when I had no idea how this happened. I couldn’t understand why Logan didn’t talk to me or place the hearing on my calendar.

  The fact that it happened when we were supposed to be in a meeting with Kings Construction couldn’t be a coincidence. It was almost like he’d done it on purpose. But why would Logan want to screw up my chances at work? Unless everything he’d done was calculated to get the job. As soon as I thought that, I dismissed it. Logan wasn’t vindictive. But I had to get to the bottom of it.

  When I returned to the office, I burst into Logan’s office, throwing the file on his desk.

  He took one look at me and said into the phone, “I’ll call you back.” Then he asked me, “What happened?”

  “Why don’t you tell me? You signed the Emergency Motion for Immediate Custody.”

  “What are you talking about?” Logan opened the file.

  “Ashley,” Richard said from the doorway. “We need to talk to you in the conference room. I’ll tell the others you’re here.”

  Great. They were going to fire me.

  When he’d left, Logan said, “Ashley, I didn’t—”

  “I don’t have time to talk, but if you know what happened, you’d better tell Richard. Your name is on the motion. The hearing never made it on my calendar, which was conveniently scheduled during the meeting with James King.”

  He flipped through the motion to the signature page. “I don’t remember signing this, but I signed a stack of paperwork yesterday.”

  “I need to go deal with this.” I didn’t know what to tell them. I didn’t have any more information than they did, other than Logan’s name on the motion.

  Charles, Don, and Jillian were already seated in the conference room when we walked in. Jillian’s face was tight with disapproval.

  “Want to explain how you missed a court date?” Richard asked as soon as we’d sat down. “I want to know the story in case the client calls to complain.”

  This was more nerve-wracking than any trial I’d ever had. I needed to persuade them it wasn’t my fault, but I was taking full responsibility for the mistake. “I heard about the emergency hearing at the same time as you. The client called yesterday when I was out of the office. Logan signed the motion, but the hearing was not on my calendar. I haven’t had a chance to discuss it with Kelli.”

  “Find out why it wasn’t on your calendar and get back to me,” Richard said.

  I nodded, relieved I wasn’t going to be fired yet.

  “And Ashley,” Richard said as I started to get up and leave. “You can’t afford any more screw-ups.”

  I wasn’t involved in the filing or scheduling of the motion or hearing, but I didn’t want to argue with Richard until I had all of the facts. I had no problem accepting responsibility when it was my fault, but I didn’t think this was.

  “Where’s Logan?” I asked Kelli after finding Logan’s office empty and his briefcase gone.

  She pulled up his calendar on her computer. “He just left for a pre-trial conference.” Then she lowered her voice, “Did everything go okay?”

  “I wasn’t fired, yet,” I said.

  “That’s good.” She seemed genuine, but I couldn’t be sure.

  “What happened yesterday? Why didn’t you call me about the McClellan case?”

  “The client called in a panic and I didn’t want to give her your cell phone. Ms. McClellan would call you every day if she got a hold of it.”

  “That’s true.” That was the last thing I wanted—the firm giving out my cell phone number.

  “At the time, the only attorney here was Sadie. She talked to her and calmed her down. She prepared a motion before she had to leave and told me to place it on Logan’s desk and to have him walk it over to the judge because she had a doctor’s appointment or something. Logan was the only other attorney coming back to the office.”

  “So, it was Sadie that talked to the client?”

  “Yes.”

  “Huh.” Maybe I was wrong about Logan’s involvement, but he’d signed the motion and hand-delivered it to the judge. Surely, he’d reviewed it before signing and filing it; especially if Sadie hadn’t even seen the finished motion. And wouldn’t he think I’d need to know about it, especially if the hearing was scheduled during an important meeting?

  “That’s all I know. The hearing was not on your calendar or anyone else’s—I checked.”

  “Did you take a call from the court to schedule it?”

  “No, I didn’t. I would have placed it on someone’s calendar. It could have been Sadie’s secretary, Stephanie.” Then she snapped her fingers. “Stephanie has access to every attorney’s calendar. We all do. That way if a court calls anyone can schedule.”

  “Okay, I’ll ask her.” My stomach was twisted up in knots. I didn’t want to believe that Logan or Sadie had sabotaged me. It could have been an honest mistake, but I didn’t think so. How could Sadie forget she’d filed an emergency motion? Or did she give it to Stephanie to handle and assume she’d passed it on to Kelli or me?

  Except when I talked to Stephanie, she hadn’t taken a call from the court either. That meant it had to be Sadie or Logan. I knew Logan way better than Sadie and he’d never done anything
like this.

  All I knew was that my head was throbbing. It was my case and I needed to get to the bottom of this.

  LOGAN NEVER RETURNED TO THE office that night, but I’d gotten a text from him asking how my meeting went. I didn’t respond. I wasn’t sure what to think and I didn’t want to go off on him if it wasn’t his fault. I wanted to have all of the facts first. I felt bad for bursting into his office today.

  If it was Sadie, why would she go to these lengths to get a job? It reminded me of another student I went to school with who told her boss she’d taken the bar and passed. When the list of those who’d passed was posted in the Daily Record, the truth came out; she hadn’t taken the bar, much less passed. I didn’t know Sadie that well. Who knows what she’d do to get this job.

  If it was Logan, that meant our whole relationship was a lie. I rubbed my arms, feeling a chill as I walked home. How could I be so wrong about him? The idea that he’d do something like this to me didn’t seem right. I couldn’t reconcile it with how he’d treated me.

  When I put my key in the door, my phone buzzed.

  Emma: girls’ night? Ran into Logan at the courthouse

  I sighed, relieved to have someone to talk to. Ashley: Yes

  Emma: Great. Stella’s hosting

  That was a surprise. I’d never been invited into Stella’s family’s home and we’d been friends since kindergarten. Even though she’d since bought a little cottage, she never invited anyone over. I suspected her parents’ were hoarders, but Stella laughed it off when I asked her about it.

  Ashley: Okay. I’ll change and meet you over there. Need to take Bailey out too.

  Emma: K

  An hour later, I pulled into Stella’s short driveway. She lived farther out of town than my parents, in a cottage on a little plot of land. I parked behind Emma’s Corolla and passed by Samantha’s old truck on the way to the porch.

  I knocked and Stella came to the door with a huge smile on her face. “Hey, girl. Welcome to my tiny abode.”

  As usual, just being around Stella and her upbeat mood helped. “Hey.” I stepped inside the entryway. The girls were already seated in the small living room to my left as I walked in. “Last one here, I see.”