So she did care. I could tell she cared that they weren't even talking about getting married. I couldn't believe it. That was as close as my mom would ever come to admitting anything negative about any of her golden children, but it was something. Sure, it was totally immature of me to be glad that Travis was in a little bit of the doghouse, but hey, did I ever claim to be mature? "Sure, I'll do the baby shower." Just the thought of my mom sitting there being unhappy that her first grandchild was going to be born out of wedlock was a good enough reason for me.
"Great. I'll pay for everything, as long as you set it up."
I decided to forego my "never take money from my parents" mantra for this one occasion. "Okay."
"Thanks, Shannon."
"Sure." Who knew? Maybe this was an olive branch from my mom. Her first step toward acknowledging publicly that I was actually her daughter. Well, maybe not that far. She'd probably tell everyone at the party that I was the caterer. But still, it was a good start.
I bid farewell and hung up the phone. I smiled. I just might be able to have some fun with the baby shower after all.
The phone rang again. "Shannon McCormick."
"It's Noah."
The warm bubble swelled up again, and I leaned back in my chair. "Hi."
"Are you free for dinner tonight?"
Some of my glow faded. "I'll be at work until ten." By the time I got back from cleaning myself up, I would be way behind.
"Tomorrow?"
"Red Sox game with the firm."
He was quiet for a moment. "How about I stop by while you're at work? I'd really like to see you."
Okay, I was in heaven. My life was perfect. I still couldn't believe it. Noah and Shannon. A couple. I wondered how we'd tell my family? Would Noah want to announce it, or would we invite everyone to his condo for a dinner party and tell everyone there? Or would he want to tell Ray first and then make the rounds? "That would be great."
"Okay. I'll be by around eight or so?"
"Great. I'll tell security to let you up. Thirty-third floor."
"Right."
"And Noah?"
"Yes?"
"I don't recommend the stairs. Use the elevator."
I was still laughing when I hung up the phone.
Chapter Twenty-One
My good humor lasted until I checked my voicemail and got a message from Missy that she was home sick. Yeah, right, allergic to Otto. She was more likely following through on her threat to quit the firm after she'd seen Otto scream at me during the casino outing.
As wonderful as it was to have Noah sniffing around my skirts, I did still need to make a living and keep my job. Which meant not allowing a third-generation attorney and Yale superstar to quit on week two. Somehow, I doubted that would go over too well with my probation. I buzzed Isabel. "Can you get me Missy's home number and address, please?"
"Sure."
Excellent. Blaine had actually allowed Isabel the thirty seconds it would take her to retrieve the information for me. Probably a direct result of the peep show I gave him. Not ready to admit it was worth it, however.
A light tap sounded on my door. Crap. I still looked like hell. "I'm on a call."
The door opened, and Hildy slipped inside. "Isabel said you were free."
Seeing as how my phone was hung up and my hands were full of makeup, I couldn't exactly call Isabel a liar. "Hi."
"You look like hell."
I was startled by that response. Hildy was always the tender, supportive type. "Thanks."
"Well, you do." She sat down in my client chair. "I was stopping by to see how you were doing after Friday night, but I guess I have my answer."
"Actually, I got locked in the emergency stairwell and had to walk down to the lobby. Thought it was the bathroom."
She pursed her lips. "I talked to Missy on Friday night. She's pretty shaken up. I think we might have lost her."
I decided to swallow my pride and apply my makeup in front of her. "I'll take care of that."
Hildy continued to sit there, saying nothing.
Finally, I set down my makeup and looked at her. "What?"
"Have we lost you?"
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Are you going to leave?"
I blinked at the genuineness in her voice. She cared? Really cared? "Not at the moment."
Hildy nodded and scooted forward. "Shannon, this isn't an easy place for women. We both know that. It takes a special woman to make it here. Someone who is strong and talented and smart, who can blend in and make people happy while still carving a place for herself. Women like that owe it to other women to fight, so as to clear the path for them."
I frowned. No wonder Missy had run away screaming. This wasn't exactly warm and fuzzy stuff.
"Don't you know what I'm saying, Shannon? You're one of those women, and we need you."
I stared. "What?"
"You have the right personality, and with your family's connections, you have all the credentials to make it to the inner circle. You need to stay here."
I frowned. "I've never heard of a social director making it to the inner circle." I didn't really like the reference to my family's connections. Perhaps I should tell Hildy I was a black sheep and publicly disowned.
Hildy laughed softly. "No, not as a social director. As an attorney."
My gut tightened. "I'm not an attorney."
"Easily remedied. Go to law school at night and continue to work here during the day."
"I work at night too." Stupid thing to say, but I was too floored to actually address what she was suggesting.
"Only during the summer. You could work around it the rest of the year." Hildy leaned forward. "This is what I do, Shannon. I look out for women who can make a difference. You're one of those women."
I had no idea what to say. My first response was the same as usual to anyone who suggested me being a lawyer. No, no, and no.
But this was the first time anyone had suggested it in a way that actually made me feel good. Be a lawyer because you're the best, as opposed to be a lawyer because you suck and are an embarrassment in your current job.
I realized suddenly that Hildy was studying me. When I looked at her, she smiled. "Let's go to lunch this week and talk about it. I have connections and could still get you into school for this fall."
This fall? But I didn't want to be a lawyer. "I haven't even taken the LSAT."
She smiled. "My husband is the head of admissions for one of the law schools in town. I have ways of persuasion." She winked then, and I almost fell off my chair. Hildy making a sex joke?
She rapped her knuckles sharply on the desk, then stood up. "I'll have my secretary talk to Isabel and set up a lunch."
"Um..."
"First step, go home and change your clothes." She smiled and left quickly, but not so quickly that I didn't have time to speak up.
I'd had an opportunity to tell her there wasn't a chance in hell I was going to follow in her footsteps and become an attorney, but I'd said nothing.
I leaned back against my chair. Wow. Hildy thought I was something special. It was the most bizarre feeling. I mean, Max had always claimed to think I was special, but he was my boyfriend so he had to if he wanted any action. But there was no ulterior motive for Hildy.
Which meant, she really believed what she'd said. That I had something to offer.
How about them apples?
I couldn't wait to tell Emma. And Dave. And Phoebe. I smiled. And Noah.
But first, I had other things to take care of. Not that I was going to jump on the Hildy locomotive, but now that she'd brought it up, I certainly didn't want Otto to take the choice away from me.
Which meant I needed to kick some serious butt on this memo.
And then change my clothes.
And then find Missy and reel her back in.
And be back in my office by eight so I could be here when Noah came by.
Yes indeed, I had quite a full day planned. And
for the first time in my life, the word "attorney" wasn't a dirty word. Well, maybe a little, but it was looking a little bit brighter.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I tried calling Missy from my cell phone for the seventeenth time as I stood outside her apartment door. Still no answer.
So I knocked on the door. "Flower delivery for Missy Stephens."
I heard the television volume shut down. "Hello?"
I repeated my intro, and felt guilty for lying.
The lock clicked and Missy opened the door. Her mouth dropped open in astonishment to see me on her doorstep. I smiled. "I lied. I have no flowers." Come to think of that, flowers would have been a good idea.
Note to self: the next time I have to track down an MIA intern at their apartment, bring bribery. "Can I come in?"
She wrinkled her nose. "I'm sick."
"Really? You look like you just got back from a run." When she frowned, I added, "The sweaty clothes and running shoes give it away. Let me in. You stood me up for our meeting today, and my feelings are hurt." I wondered if Missy had an eating disorder. She already weighed about six pounds and could hardly afford to be burning calories on a run.
The corner of her mouth curved up. "No, they're not."
Actually, my feelings had been hurt more than once today, but it had nothing to do with Missy. "Of course they are." I gestured to the inside of the apartment. "May I?"
She sighed and opened the door. "Fine."
It was great to feel welcome.
I stepped inside and decided I wanted an apartment like this when I won the lottery. Apparently, Emma wasn't the only one who had parents willing to support their children in high style. Then again, if I was in law school, my parents would be begging to spend lots of money to support me.
The difference was that I wouldn't have accepted it.
"So, you're here to convince me to stay. It's too late," Missy announced. "I've already decided."
I ignored her and walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. "Got a boyfriend?"
She frowned and stood in the doorway. "I'm not changing my mind, Shannon."
"So, that's a no, huh? I don't have a boyfriend either, but I'm hoping." Oh yes, I was hoping. I'd even brought a couple condoms in my purse from home with me. I'd never considered having sex in my office, but now that my true sexual nature had emerged, who knew what I'd be tempted to do? If Noah started something...well...who would I be to discourage innovation?
But, back to the present. A present I had to remedy if I wanted to seriously consider Hildy's suggestion. Which I didn't, but I wasn't about to let Otto make my choices for me. Besides, with any luck, he'd be dead by the time I graduated from law school anyway. "Why don't you want to come back?"
Her mouth dropped open. "Because of what Mr. Nelson did to you. It was horrible, and no one seemed to think there was anything wrong with it. I can't work in that kind of environment."
I narrowed my eyes and studied her. Did she need Supportive and Loving Shannon, or did she need Cold Hard Truth Shannon? She was very wimpy, but I'd been giving her the love since she started. It was clear how well that wasn't working.
So I took a risk. Besides, after being battered to hell by Otto, I wasn't really in a touchy-feely mood. "Do you want to be an attorney?"
Missy rolled her eyes. "Of course."
"Where? At a big firm, or doing public interest work for a government agency making eighteen thousand dollars a year and waitressing at night so you can pay rent?"
She lifted her chin, and for the first time, I saw the generation of Yale trained attorneys in her eyes. "I'm going to work at a big firm and make partner."
Exactly the answer I was looking for. "Then you need to realize there's an Otto wherever you go. Whether it's Boston, or New York or anywhere. All big firms have old school attorneys who bring big bucks and connections to the firm, and they can get away with anything. If you leave M&S, you'll have to find another job. And when you run into an Otto there, are you going to quit again? You'll run out of firms pretty soon, and you won't make partner." Okay, so I'd given her the combo. The painful truth delivered in my gentlest tone. I didn't quite have the cold hard nature, you know?
Missy's eyes were wide, and her face was stretched in shock.
I leaned back on the couch. "Ask anyone in your family. That's the way of the profession, Missy. Learn to deal with it, or find another career." I crossed my fingers behind my back and hoped that the stunned look was a good sign. I was totally screwed if she didn't come back, and I knew it. I sat up. "You met Hildy. She's nice, right?"
Missy nodded mutely.
"See? You can be nice and still succeed. The trick is to stay out of the way of the Ottos, and if you have to work with them, don't screw up."
She lifted a brow. "How did you screw up with the casino?"
The truth? "I knew he'd be pissed, and I did it anyway. I pushed my luck."
"But it was the right thing to do. It was fun."
"I'm not my own boss. I have to play the game." Like Hildy said. Hmm...had she lodged herself in my head? It seemed much easier to talk about the Otto fiasco now that I had Hildy humming along that I was talented and valuable. Amazing what that can do for one's emotional stability. "You'll have to play the game, too. No matter where you go."
Her lower lip stuck out in a pout. "I don't like it."
"Then don't be an attorney in a big firm." I sat up for the zinger. "But if there's any chance at all you want to work for a big firm, then you need to suck it up and learn how to succeed. Nothing bad is going to happen to you this summer. That's my job, to make sure of that. But you can use this summer to keep your eyes and ears open. If you're observant, you should be able to figure out what it's really like to work here, and you'll be able to find the attorneys who would be good mentors, because there are some nice ones." As I said it, I realized it was true. I spent a lot of energy dissing attorneys, but I had to admit that Hildy wasn't the only nice one there. "Then you can make your choice as to whether you can handle it." I met her gaze. "Trust me, you are safe this summer. It's a no-risk opportunity for you." I would have mentioned the paycheck as added incentive, but from the look of her palace, I doubted she was worrying about footing her own bills. "So, what do you think? Are you suddenly recovered from the flu?"
She still looked annoyed. "I don't know. I have to think about it."
I cursed under my breath, but kept my face serene. "Well, give me a call when you decide, or if you want to talk more." I tried to send her brain vibes not to quit, and then I let myself out.
I had no idea what she was going to do. But I knew that if she chose not to come back, I was going to lose my job.
I bit my lip as I waited for the elevator. Regardless of my long-term goals, I had worked damned hard for the last three years. I was good, and I didn't deserve to be fired. I closed my eyes and tried not to think of what my family would say if I got fired from a job that wasn't even worthy of me.
Come on, Missy. Don't let me down.
Chapter Twenty-Three
I swung by the lobby at seven thirty. Van came on at seven. He was there as usual, and I felt a rush of relief at his welcoming smile.
"Hey, Van." I leaned on the counter and grinned.
He took in my corporate attire. "Back to the old Shannon, huh?"
Nice. I'd forgotten that he'd seen me in the slut outfit. "Yeah, that was a mistake."
He tilted his head. "What happened?"
As if I wanted to go there. "So, there's a guy coming in about a half hour named Noah Quinlan. Go ahead and let him up." I couldn't keep the smile off my face when I said it, and Van lifted his eyebrows.
"New guy?"
I shrugged, but I couldn't stop smiling. "Hopefully."
Van leaned back in his chair and studied me. "This is the first time you've ever been interested in anyone other than Max. Maybe it really is over with him."
I grinned, my heart racing at the thought of Noah. "Believe me, I hav
e eyes for no one but Noah now. I've known him since I was born practically, and now..." I felt my face turn red.
Van met my gaze. "Slept with him already?"
"Shut up!" My cheeks felt like they were burning, and I threw a pen at Van.
He looked startled. "I was kidding. You really did?"
How in the world had we gotten on this topic? This was way more personal than Van and I ever got. But now I had to explain, or he'd think I was a slut. "He's my brother's best friend. I've known him for twenty years. But now that we're both single, well, it makes sense, you know? We already know everything about each other." Well, not everything, but Noah knew me very well.
I was suddenly so grateful I hadn't made a fool of myself with Van, crossing the lines of friendship with him. I needed Van so much, and if anything had happened between us, there was no way I could have talked with him about Noah. And Noah…Noah had been my crush for two decades. Van was still handsome, and still a necessary part of my life, but Noah… Noah was Noah.
Besides, if Van had actually been interested in me, he wouldn’t be looking so amused by my love life. There'd be some sort of tension from him…but there wasn't.
Which was fine. I didn't want romantic tension with him.
We were great.
Van looked amused. "You don't need to explain yourself to me. I don't care what you do with who."
I frowned. What was that about? I didn't have anyone in my life who didn't pass judgment on me in some way. I wasn't quite sure what to do about that. Maybe my feelings were hurt.
He shoved a clipboard across the desk. "Fill in his vitals here, and I'll send him up. Does he have a key?"
"No. So can you call me once he's in the elevator?" I jotted down Noah's info, still undecided on what I thought about the fact that Van didn't care what I did. But why should he care? And why did I care whether he cared?
"Yep."
I handed him the clipboard. "Okay. Thanks, then." I hesitated, feeling like I needed to conclude the conversation in some way, but then someone else stopped to ask for directions, so I left.
One More Kiss (A Too Many Men Romantic Comedy / Chick Lit Novel) Page 14