Mathis, and Silverman.
Sincerely,
Amanda C. Shipman
Pete folded the letter and tapped it against the top of his desk. He quickly picked up the phone to buzz his secretary.
“Yes, Mr. Sterdivant,” Donna answered.
“Donna, get Amanda Shipman on the phone for me, will ya?”
“Right away, sir.”
Pete waited a few seconds before Donna buzzed him back. “Mr. Sterdivant, no one is picking up the phone, and her voicemail did not pick up. I can call back later.”
“Just give me her number and I’ll try her myself later today,” he said with some irritation.
“404-555-6671.” Pete scribbled the number on a yellow sticky note and stuck it on the front of the phone. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Sterdivant?”
“No, that will be it for now. Thanks Donna.”
“You’re welcome, sir.”
Pete stared at the number for a few seconds as he hung up the phone. He knew that he would have to start interviewing for another paralegal immediately because he didn’t want to overload the others with Amanda’s casework. Unfortunately, for now, they would have to make do with who they had for the Johnson vs. Tyfish case. And of all cases, too, Pete thought, dumbfounded. Amanda couldn’t have left at a worse time. And the big question still remained unanswered—why did she leave?
Stephanie Walker, another paralegal, had been pulled from another attorney to work part-time on the Johnson vs. Tyfish case with Pam. Stephanie took a second glance in the full-length mirror and buttoned the top button of her grey wool suit. Her thin frame and poised walk resembled a ballerina about to take the stage on opening night. When she left the ladies’ bathroom, a rush of adrenalin ran through her. Enthralled at the idea of assisting on one of the firm’s largest cases made her both excited and tense. Her hands became clammy as she tapped firmly on Pam’s office door.
“C’mon in,” Pam called. She sat buried behind a mound of paperwork on her desk. She had just checked her messages and saw that Marco had called twice that morning. His persistence was flattering, but she did not have the time to respond to his overtures.
Stephanie slowly opened the door and was astounded at the amount of paperwork. “Miss Madison? Are you in there?” Stephanie joked.
Pam poked her head out from behind the stacks and gave a half smile. “Take a load off,” she said, pointing to the chair across from her desk. “So, you’ve been assigned to me part-time, eh?”
“Yes, Ms, Madison, I have.”
“Well now, tell me what you know about the Johnson vs. Tyfish case?” Pam demanded as she crossed her arms tightly across her chest anticipating her answer.
“Well, I just found out that I was assigned the case today, so…”
“So, what can you tell me?” Pam snapped.
“Well, not a whole lot. I mean, I know that our client is being sued for misappropriating $15 million dollars from his company.”
“Why is that all you know about the case?”
“I beg your pardon?” Stephanie asked with a puzzled look on her face. “Well, I just found out about it, and I haven’t had an opportunity to…”
“To find the time to pay attention to the details of the case?” Pam blared.
“Yes. I mean, no. That’s not what I meant.”
“What’s your name again?”
“It’s Stephanie. Stephanie Walker.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s right,” Pam snapped her fingers as she remembered. “Well, Stephanie, I’ve heard about you and I’m not impressed.”
“But I don’t understand what you mean.”
“From what I’ve heard, you don’t understand a lot of things, and I don’t have time to sit around and explain them to you.”
“But I don’t think…”
“No, I don’t believe you do that either!” Pam scoffed.
Stephanie watched Pam roll her eyes and pick up a piece of paper with one hand and the phone with the other and began dialing.
“Pete, this is not working,” Pam snapped.
“What’s not working?”
“Stephanie is not working,” she said accusingly.
Pam saw Stephanie’s face turn a crimson red. “Ms. Madison, please,” Stephanie interrupted. “I really want to work this case with you.”
Pam raised her hand, gesturing her to silence herself. Stephanie slumped back in her chair, wanting to melt right out of sight.
“Listen, Pam,” Pete yelled as he snatched his glasses off his nose. “This is a big case. And it’s going to take work bringing someone up to speed on it. Give Stephanie a chance. She’s a good paralegal.”
“Pete, I don’t want good. I want outstanding. I want impeccable. I want—”
“AMANDA!” he yelled into the phone like a wild man. “And unfortunately we don’t have her to give to you, because in case you’ve forgotten, she quit!”
“I realize that. But, trust me, this case is too big for me to have to work at bringing someone like her up to speed.” She eyed Stephanie disapprovingly. “Give me someone else. Find me someone who does not have to go through Basic Case Knowledge 101.”
Stephanie squirmed and wanted to run out of the office and forget this day had ever happened. She was so devastated by Pam’s belittling remarks that her legs grew as heavy as cast iron steel and her body felt paralyzed from the neck down.
“You’re insufferable, Pam!” Pete said.
“I know I am.”
“If you weren’t such a damn good lawyer, and if this wasn’t such a huge case for the firm, I’d tell you to work with who I gave you or go straight to—”
“You don’t need to finish the sentence, Pete. I love you too!” Pam hung up the phone and continued reading through her files without looking up from her desk. “Sorry, but this is just not going to work out.”
Stephanie sat there looking stunned, dejected, and ready to be cast aside.
Pam nodded at the door. “You may leave now. As you can see, I’ve got a ton of paperwork to sort through.”
First-Class Meal
Pam wheeled into the Collins’s estate. She thought how strange it was that Gerald had invited her to his home tonight. She wondered why he was so insistent that she meet a friend of his who was selling a business and wanted some legal advice.
“Sure, let’s schedule to meet at my office sometime next week,” Pam said.
“No, he really wants to meet as soon as possible.”
“How soon is soon?”
“How about tonight? My house for dinner?” Pam laughed before catching herself.
“What’s so funny?” Gerald said.
“Oh, nothing. I’m truly sorry. I just didn’t expect you to say that.”
“Well, will you be available?”
“Yes, of course I’m free. I’d love to come.” After all, Gerald Collins was one of the firm’s biggest and richest clients. Who in their right mind would refuse an invitation from him? “Well, it may be a good idea to bring in Bill as well. He’s known for drafting and negotiating some of the best contracts.”
“No, I’m sure you can give him whatever he needs. It’s not a huge deal.”
Then why the big urgency? Pam wondered. “Okay, Gerald, what time?”
“How’s 7:30 sound?”
“Okay, I’ll see you then.”
And now here she was, standing in front of Gerald Collins’s mansion and ringing his doorbell.
“Good evening, Counselor Madison.”
“Good evening, Edward.” Pam walked in and he helped her out of her jacket.
“Come right this way,” he said escorting her to the living room. This was the same place where she’d met Gerald’s handsome friend, Marco.
“Pam, I’m so glad you could make it.” Adrienne tried her best to waddle gracefully down the stairs. Her stomach had gotten a lot bigger since the last time Pam had seen her, but she looked just as radiant. Her pale blue silk dress hung loosely below her bodice
and flowed like a gentle sea breeze. Pam’s mind wandered for a few seconds, remembering her own brief pregnancy.
Gerald walked into the room and disrupted her moment of reflection. He was holding a silver tray of martini glasses. “All right, listen up, everyone. Edward made martinis and they are lethal!” He set the tray down and removed one of the martinis. “Cheers!” he said, laughing, as he raised his glass and gulped down two sips.” He shook his head as if he were getting a sudden rush of adrenalin. “Pam, are you having one?”
“Sure, why not?” She took one off the tray and took a long sip. “Wow, this is really good!”
“It’s an apple martini. Gerald here forgot to mention that,” Adrienne added proudly.
“Well, I’m the one who gave Edward the recipe, and you failed to mention that,” Marco added while making his surprise entrance into the room. He smiled at Adrienne.
“Sure you did, Marco!” Adrienne said, rolling her eyes at him.
Pam glanced up quickly and almost spilled her drink. There was the mystery man again. He always just seemed to pop up when she least expected it.
“Marco?”
“The one and only!” he grinned.
“Wait a minute, don’t tell me you’re…”
“I’m the prospective client,” he said before she could finish her sentence.
“But Gerald, you said…”
“Pam, I hope you’re not upset with me, but I did bring you here under a little bit of a false pretense.”
“But not totally,” Adrienne chimed. “Marco does have some business that he wants to discuss with you.”
Pam looked at Marco right through the core of his eyes. “Why didn’t you just tell me this over the phone when you called?”
“I tried to get you to meet with me but you refused,” he said, trying to sound victimized. “And since Mohammed couldn’t come to the mountain…”
“You arranged for the mountain,” she said, pointing to herself, “to come to you.” Pam took a long, hard sip of her martini, emptying the glass.
First Greg. And now this guy. These past two days of unexpected meetings had been more difficult than having back-to-back cases. Pam looked over at Gerald and Adrienne. “I don’t know, guys, I’m not getting a good feeling here.”
“Well, let’s discuss this more over dinner. Come on now, you are hungry, aren’t you?” Marco interrupted before Gerald or Adrienne could intervene.
Pam smiled slightly. “Oh, so there really is a dinner? I was beginning to wonder about that as well.”
“No, we love to eat around here,” Gerald joined in.
“Yes, especially Adrienne,” Marco quipped.
“Very funny. Ha! Ha! Ha! Well, I’m eating for two! What do you expect?”
“Are you sure there’s only one in there ?” Adrienne pinched him on the arm.
“Ow! Did you see that counselor? She attacked me. Can I sue her for pain and suffering?”
Pam smiled. The three of them together could put on a stage show, she thought. Marco did have kind of a fun sense of humor even though it was a little warped at times.
“All right, let’s go eat,” Gerald said. They all followed him down the winding hallway that led to the dining room. The oversized table for eight had been downsized to an intimate table for four. The place settings were the most beautiful bone china and Waterford crystal Pam had ever seen. The palladium window in front of the table offered a generous view of the rich gardens. A lovely white gazebo served as a gorgeous backdrop to the sparkling in-ground swimming pool.
“Hey, Adrienne, where’s my ziti and meatballs you promised?” Marco said as he watched Edward enter with lamb chops, roasted garlic potatoes, and spinach soufflé.
Edward looked at him tiredly. Really, Marco, you are so crass at times. “Sir, it will be out shortly, along with your sorbet that Madame Collins requested. Counselor Madison, may I get you anything else?”
“Get her a side order of the ziti, too,” Marco answered back.
Edward looked at Marco hopelessly. “Will that be all right, with you, Counselor Madison?”
“Yes, that will be fine, Edward,” Pam said, trying to contain her laughter.
“Very well, madam. It will be here very shortly.” Edward eyed Marco annoyed and returned to the kitchen.
Marco looked at Pam and smiled. He loved the way her eyes lit up when she thought something was funny. Pam felt his stare and looked back at him and caught him off guard.
“So, Pam, how is that case you’ve been working on?” Marco said, clearing his throat.
Pam cut into a small piece of lamb. “Not as well as this lamp chop is doing,” she chuckled as she placed it in her mouth and chewed it delicately. “But I’ll survive.”
Marco looked at her again with a small twinkle in his eye. Pam’s silk blouse was buttoned just above her cleavage, accented by a double strand of cultured pearls. Her silver-gray skirt outlined her hips like a mold to a sculpture. Marco couldn’t take his eyes off her. “I’m sure you will, Counselor.”
“So tell me, Marco, where are these papers you need for me to look over?”
“They’re in the living room. I thought you could look them over after dessert.” His mouth curved upward and opened slightly as he displayed the most perfect set of teeth Pam had ever seen on a man. Marco caught a glimpse of her fixation on his mouth and was pleased there was something about him that she did find attractive. Even if it was only his pearly whites.
Pam looked away from him, directing her attention to Gerald and Adrienne, who had gotten caught up in a seductive game of feeding each other. “Ahem, Adrienne and Gerald.”
“Ah, yes. Pam,” Adrienne said a little embarrassed at her and her husband’s table manners.
“Sorry, I guess we got a little carried away, huh, dear?” Gerald said, as he kissed his wife on the mouth.
“You two are something else,” Pam said, shaking her head and laughing. It had to be a white thing, cause black folks just didn’t act like that at the dinner table. “I just wanted to say that the food is simply delicious. My compliments to the chef.”
Gerald wiped his wife’s lipstick from his mouth. “Glad you were able to make it, Pam. So, how are things back at work for you now that your trial is over?”
“Couldn’t be better. What can I say? You saved my career and I’m eternally grateful.”
“We both are.” Adrienne squeezed his hand.
Marco looked at Pam with a devilish grin. “And I want to feel grateful, too. Come. Let me show you the papers. Perhaps we can have dessert in here while you look them over. Adrienne and Gerald won’t mind if we take our dessert in the living room.”
“Go right ahead,” Adrienne and Gerald sang in unison.
“I’ll tell Edward to serve dessert to you there,” Adrienne said as she watched the couple walk into the living room.
“So what do you think?” Adrienne whispered in Gerald’s ear.
“Too soon to tell. I mean, she’s not giving him any signals, you know?”
“Well, I think Marco is in for a run for his money.”
“Maybe. But in this case, for the first time, he’s in the race all by himself.”
Edward entered the living room and handed Pam and Marco strawberry sorbets.
“Thank you Edward. They look delicious,” Pam said.
“I can handle it from here, Edward,” Marco said, taking both of their dishes and placing them on the table.
He dipped Pam’s spoon into her sorbet and turned to feed her. “Here, try some,” he said.
Pam shook her head. Marco was unbelievable, relentless. Just wouldn’t take no for an answer. He reminded her of someone, but she couldn’t think who. She politely took the spoon out his hand and fed herself.
Marco smiled at her as if her reaction was no surprise. He shrugged his shoulders and picked up his own sorbet and began to savor it.
They were both silent. It was almost as if they were waiting to see who was going to say something first. Pam
looked up at Marco and smiled. She admired his self-assurance. She could see that he was definitely the kind of man who went after what he wanted. And right now he wanted her. A startled look cast across Pam’s face and she stopped eating. She had just figured out who Marco reminded her of. She dropped her spoon in shock.
“Pam, are you okay?” Marco asked, walking to his briefcase to get the paperwork.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Pam said. Relentless, won’t take no for an answer, and self-assured; all of that rang a bell. Astounded, she looked up at Marco, knowing right away that she was meeting a male version of herself.
Pam quickly took the papers from him and started to look them over. “You know what? On second thought, I’m going to skip dessert. I will take your papers back to my office and have a look at them there. I’ll return them to you with my comments via express mail.”
“But, I thought…”
“Marco, I appreciate your efforts, I really do, but I have to say your timing right now is not good. I’m just not interested in men. Period.”
Marco was stunned. “Oh, I’m sorry. Gerald did tell me you kept your personal affairs personal, but I had no idea that you were a lesbian,” he whispered.
Pam laughed heartily for the first time all evening. Her eyes lit up like a firecracker. “Oh my, I guess that didn’t come out right. I love men, really I do.” Used to anyway, she thought. “What I’m trying to say is that I’m not a lesbian. I’m straight—very, very much so,” she giggled.
He blew air into his cheeks and then released it. “Well, that’s a relief !”
“But, I’m not interested in a relationship at this time.”
“Who said anything about a relationship? I just want to be friends. Everyone needs those, right?”
“Listen, after I look over your business papers, you will technically be a client, and I make it my policy not to befriend or date clients.”
“Then give me back my papers,” he said, reaching for them. “Charge me for the time you’ve spent this evening. I’ll pay you and then we’ll call it even. Our business will then be over and we can become friends.”
A smile tickled her lips. Part of her wanted to keep it inside, but there was something about him that just made her want to let it go. “You’re relentless, you know that? You should have been an attorney. Which begs the question, what do you do for a living, anyway?”
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