Tanya had returned from the UCLA law library just before noon to make herself available for lunch with Ethan. Out of a list of twenty cases and five articles, all of which I had confirmed with the law librarian were available, Tanya came back to the office after three hours with only one article and three cases. Given Coco’s displeasure with Tanya’s motives for joining our firm and the fact that Javier and I had both noted that Tanya’s work left much to be desired, I needed to give her a formal warning that if both her level of professionalism and quality of her work did not improve she would find herself out the door.
“Tanya, where are all of the other cases and articles on my list?” I asked, leafing through the scant files she’d delivered.
“Well, I, um, I couldn’t find them all,” she stammered, looking to the door impatiently.
“Did you speak with the librarian whose name is clearly marked right here?” I asked, pointing out the librarian’s name on the notepad. “She had everything printed out for me. Did you even look at this sheet?”
“Well, obviously, I looked at it since I found some of your cases,” she replied with a huff.
“Tanya, don’t speak to me that way if you want to continue to work here,” I said, anger rising. “While we are busy and need the extra help, I won’t hesitate to replace you in a heartbeat.”
“I didn’t mean any disrespect. It’s just that, in my haste to get to UCLA and back before lunch, I guess I missed your note,” she explained.
“Tanya, this is not the first time that your work has been subpar,” I said frankly. “When Coco and I hired you, we made it clear that we expect a high standard of work from you.”
“I’m sorry. I will go back to the library after lunch if you want, but I have to run,” she whined.
“No thanks, I will have a courier pick up my materials. Tell me what has you in such a rush that you neglected your work,” I said, dreading her response.
“I have lunch with Ethan,” she stated confidently.
“Lunch with Ethan is not part of your job description,” I informed her. “We were crystal clear with you that we were offering you the opportunity to become a great attorney, not to become a wife. This is not a place to find a husband. Ethan has a lot of work on his plate and you can’t be chasing after him.”
“I’m not. He’s the one who has been asking me out,” she said, throwing a manicured hand up in the air defensively. “Look, I cannot help it if he and I are attracted to each other.”
“I don’t care what you both do after hours, but if you can’t keep your one-night stand out of this office, then I’ll have to let you go,” I said frankly.
“I can’t believe I’m telling this to my boss, but we didn’t just have a one-night stand. We are dating,” Tanya said, looking down awkwardly.
I sat there dumbfounded. I couldn’t believe that Ethan would lie to me about Tanya. It was one thing if he made the mistake of sleeping with her, but to date her and to carry on their little romance in my law firm was something I would never tolerate.
“I really have to run or I am going to be late,” she said, walking out of my office briskly. I could not believe that he had jumped with wild abandon into a relationship with a subordinate after he pronounced his eternal love for me. After Tanya left with Ethan, I immediately relayed the information to Coco by email. She was out of the office taking care of burial arrangements for Lucky on her lunch hour. In typical Coco fashion, she quickly told me that I was jealous of Tanya and was as much in love with Ethan as he was with me. Unimpressed with her diagnosis of the situation, I deleted her email. It was not worth dignifying with a response.
After he had returned from a long lunch with Tanya, Ethan met with Coco and me in the boardroom to discuss our files. We agreed to a détente so that the work could get done. The meeting uncovered that between the three of us we had carriage of 143 matters. We were happily surprised that, in the short time since our firm’s birth we had managed to nurture a growing and successful practice, and we were yet to make any draws from my capital contribution. To our collective delight, Coco also announced at the meeting that, to demonstrate her commitment to the growth of the firm, she was matching my capital contribution with part of her newly inherited fortune from Lucky.
“We need to talk about Armand,” I said to Ethan as we wrapped up the meeting.
“You don’t need to worry, Joely. He is being taken care of,” Ethan said reassuringly, even smiling lightly. “The commitment hearing is in two weeks, and I have managed to keep Antonia at bay.”
“I know and I’m grateful for everything you’ve done,” I said, my anger at Ethan dissipating. “However, I need Coco to assist you on this one.”
“Joely, I can handle it. Javier has been helping the case from a litigation perspective, too,” Ethan said.
“I know, and I respect the abilities of you both, but I need Coco on this one,” I told him gently. “My mother has been going crazy and Coco has a natural ability to communicate with her in a manner that Sylvia understands.”
“I can handle your mother,” Ethan said, suddenly defensive.
“That’s the problem. Your relationship with my mother is adversarial at best,” I said. “I’m not asking you to step down from this. I’m just asking you to work with Coco on it.”
Ethan stared silently at his file list for several minutes before answering.
“Not a problem. I understand how delicate this situation is and I don’t want to make it any more complicated than it has to be,” he said thoughtfully.
“Speaking of complicated, we need to vacuum-seal all information relating to this. We cannot have any leaks of any kind, especially not to the media,” I said, hardening my tone. “With the paparazzi setting up indefinite residence outside our doors, I need you and everyone on the case to be extra careful. Nobody can find out that my father has lost his mind.”
Suddenly, as if on cue, we heard feet shuffling outside of the boardroom and saw flashes of shadows piercing through the gaps underneath the conference room doors. My heart skipped several beats as I began to panic. Both sensing and sharing my fears, Ethan quickly jumped to his feet and walked briskly towards the doors, opening then to discover that no one was there. He quickly walked out of the boardroom and scanned the backroom space where Tanya was quietly seated at her desk in the middle of a phone call. Upon hearing a commotion, Coco and I left the boardroom to listen to what was transpiring in the reception area. Standing out of view so as not to be drawn into their spat, we saw Ethan and Chip inches away from a boxing match.
“What are you doing here?” Ethan asked Chip angrily, barely letting Chip get past the office threshold.
“Good afternoon to you, too,” Chip responded. “Does Joely still work here? If not, you really should take her name off the letterhead. Otherwise you will find yourselves in another ethics predicament with the California State Bar.”
Unable to get any work done in the chaos, Tanya and Janice rushed to stand behind Ethan. Coco and I used the opportunity to back up our long-time friend as well.
“Speaking of ethics problems, have you found a licensed lawyer to take care of your client for you?” Ethan seethed.
“That’s why I’m here, to let the good lawyers of Zeller, Hirohito and Berg know that one of my partners from Mavis’ litigation group, who is licensed in California, will be assisting me,” Chip said, straightening his lapels for emphasis.
“A simple email would have done the trick,” I said. “Why send a monkey to deliver the message?”
“Ah, Joely, you still have a job!” Chip said with mock surprise. “Lucky for you we’re not in New York.”
“Why is that, Frito-Lay?” Coco chimed in, leaning against the reception desk with her arms crossed. Tired from standing in her four-inch crocodile pumps, Janice sat down on the couch in the waiting area, beckoning a reluctant Javier to join her.
“You must be Coco, the one I had the pleasure of speaking with a few weeks ago,” Chip said. “Pleasu
re to meet you.”
“It’s all yours. You haven’t answered the question,” Coco advised.
“If we were still in New York, no judge would have tolerated Joely’s antics. She would’ve surely been suspended or disbarred,” Chip said confidently.
“Thanks to some dirty judge in one of the partner’s pocket, no doubt,” I said. “You’ve given us notice, so you can leave now.”
“Joely, I wouldn’t come all this way outside of Beverly Hills for that reason alone. I also came to serve you with our notice of defense. Since this silly estate challenge was deemed to have legs by your liberal, West Coast, kangaroo-court judge, Mandy has no choice but to defend,” Chip advised as he handed us his documents.
“Thanks. We’ve been served. Now leave,” I said sharply, already exhausted by Chip’s personality.
“Hey, Chipwich,” Coco said. “If you were afraid of squaring off against Joely, you had better be terrified of facing me.”
“Why is that?” Chip asked smugly.
“Because, Chip, not only have I never lost a case,” Coco said, moving from her spot at the reception desk to approach him, “I eat idiots like you for breakfast.”
“Save your samurai warrior grandstanding for someone who can be intimidated,” Chip said. The way he was backing away from Coco betrayed his confident tone. “You all may think that Rita’s evidence is some smoking gun, but it’s her word against Mandy’s. Furthermore, you have no evidence beyond some old letters from Ivana which predate the second will.”
“Don’t bother responding to him. His boastfulness becomes more grandiose when he has a shaky case,” I advised Coco, putting an arm out to restrain her from engaging in a debate with Chip. “Given his proclamations that he’s already won, we can easily surmise that he has no leg to stand on.”
“Think what you will, but at the end of the day, Joely, I know you stole my file and have inside information that you would not otherwise have,” Chip said.
“First, you have no proof of that, so unless you want me to haul your ass back in front of the judge who is more than happy to tear you a new one, I suggest that you take that sad song off of repeat and find a new threat,” I said, rolling my eyes at his idiocy. “Second, you are only making such wild allegations because you have something to hide. You know that your client committed fraud.”
“I’ve said repeatedly that I have disclosed everything,” Chip countered, hands jingling in his pockets nervously.
“Even if your allegations against me were true, which they’re not, I know nothing more than you. So, since you have repeatedly proclaimed that your client has nothing to hide, what could I possibly know that her own attorney doesn’t?” I quipped. Chip looked at me confused.
“I think that you’re done here,” Ethan, sweeping an arm out to show Chip to the door.
“I’ll enjoy taking your already sinking ship down. Listen, if you want to join a real law firm,” Chip said, handing Tanya his card, “you can always give me a call.”
“Screw you,” Ethan said, shoving Chip out the door.
Tanya rushed up to Ethan with a wide smile. “Thank you for defending me like that.”
“It was nothing,” Ethan replied, glancing around uncomfortably. “I’m not going to let that asshole poach anything or anyone from this firm.”
“Certainly not me,” she said dreamily.
“Uh. Sure. Whatever,” Ethan said, still avoiding Tanya’s eager stare.
“What do you mean ‘whatever’?” Coco laughed. “You wouldn’t let your girlfriend go to work for the competition, would you?”
“Girlfriend?” Ethan exclaimed. “What girlfriend?”
“Tanya,” Coco stated.
“Coco, leave it alone,” I said, trying to extricate Coco and myself from the ticking time bomb that was about to explode.
“Tanya’s not my girlfriend,” Ethan stated firmly.
“It’s ok, Ethan. I told Joely that we’re dating,” Tanya replied, bouncing on her heels.
“You work fast, Little Miss Matrimony,” Coco said, rolling her eyes. “Don’t think you are becoming a partner here though. Dating Ethan doesn’t do that for you.”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Ethan shouted over Coco.
“What are you saying, Ethan?” Tanya asked, her voice dropping in surprise.
“We slept together once. That’s it,” he said with a shrug. “We’re not dating.”
“I don’t understand. You’ve taken me to breakfast, lunches, even dinners — if that’s not dating, what is?” she asked with wide eyes.
“I was being nice because we have to work together,” Ethan said quietly.
“Ethan, you should know better than to shit where you eat,” Coco said, smiling.
“Coco, don’t go there, or I’ll open up Pandora’s box,” Ethan warned, quickly wiping Coco’s self-righteous look off of her face.
“Ok, sure, let’s keep our focus on Tanya’s box, then,” Coco laughed.
Javier rushed into the office breathlessly, just in time to join Coco and I in the peanut gallery.
“What’s going on?” he whispered urgently.
“Shh, just watch,” Coco replied.
“Coco, let’s get out of here. This really does not involve us,” I said, grabbing at her arm to leave.
“No, we are staying to watch the fireworks,” she replied as we watched Ethan being stared down by Tanya.
“I’m sorry if you got the wrong impression, but I am not looking for a commitment. I thought you were up for a good time and since we have only ever talked shop when we grabbed a bite, I figured that we were on the same page,” Ethan explained, looking lost.
“I would never have slept with you if I thought you weren’t serious about a future with me,” Tanya shrieked.
“A future with you? I don’t even know you!” Ethan exclaimed, his eyes bulging comically.
“Then how could you sleep with me?” Tanya sobbed, falling back into the reception sofa in hysterics. Javier left to get a box of tissues and water, while Coco leaned against the wall looking pleased.
“Well, you’ve been swooning all over me since we met, so I figured that was what you wanted,” he explained, edging on frustration. “Listen, we really don’t need to air our dirty laundry here. Why don’t we go someplace quiet and hash out this misunderstanding privately.”
“I think that is a great idea,” I said, trying to encourage them both.
“Ethan, just get her out of here and don’t make things worse. We don’t need a sexual harassment lawsuit,” Coco said.
“Tanya, does that sound ok? Will you join me for a bite and we can smooth things out?” Ethan asked, using a gentle voice to guide her. “I don’t want things to be awkward between us seeing as how we are going to continue to work together.”
I wanted to slap Ethan silly. Just as I had found another reason to fire Tanya, I was now put in a position of having to continue to employ her. Having pulled the plug on the soap opera, Coco returned to her office.
“Ok then, Tanya. Have a good night with Ethan,” I said. “Well … not too good a night. Also, take the next few days off to recuperate and we’ll get you working on some interesting files.”
“Oh, ok,” she said, mopping at her nose with a tissue.
“See you tomorrow Ethan,” I said.
“Ethan, are you ready?” Tanya asked, reaching out her hand for Ethan to hold without shedding a tear. Tanya’s waterworks display had an on-off switch, apparently. As Tanya led Ethan toward the elevators, I could not help but feel pity for him, knowing that once a woman like Tanya gets her hooks into a man, she would never let go without inflicting some serious damage.
CHAPTER 17
Détente Entr’acte
Days raced by at the speed of light. Coco, Ethan and I had become delirious with excitement and were shocked at how our firm was thriving. The three of us toiled relentlessly on existing client matters, while trying to filter the charging floodwaters of new clients whose cases c
ame in daily. The ranks of paparazzi stationed outside of our building swelled with the recent death of a famous pop star whose disinherited family had sought our services.
With our partnership on a meteoric rise, one could have easily assumed that our fragile friendships — vulnerable as a result of the recent turmoil in our personal lives — would be falling apart. But the opposite was true. Ethan, Coco, Javier and I were more than simply civil to each other; we were social. If we were not busy wining and dining prospective clients, we were all having lunch or dinner together as a means of providing ourselves with a break from the frenetic work pace we had set for ourselves. Blake’s overtures to win me back had been relegated to his back-burner, as he ensconced himself in Esty’s case trying to build rock-solid arguments of undue influence and fraud against Mandy Chalmers. Ethan had even gone so far as to speak civilly with Blake. Even Tanya, who had returned to the office after taking a week off to reconstitute herself when Ethan rejected her once and for all, was pleasant to work with and exhibited a keen willingness to learn estates law. Since Tanya’s newly initiated resolve to serve our clients translated into a dramatic improvement in the fruits of her labour, both Coco and I were willing to give her a second chance to prove herself. Tanya’s obsession with Ethan had waned. We only occasionally caught her forlorn gaze drifting in his direction. Alas, this affable milieu was not meant to last — the day of Armand’s commitment hearing proved one of our most difficult as a team.
The day of the proceedings arrived without much fanfare. I was grateful that Armand came to our offices without questioning why he needed to meet with a judge. Armand was easily convinced that the financing arrangement for his newest film required court approval, so he was more than happy to comply with our instructions. Sylvia was medicinally sedated to combat her hysterics, which had been triggered by the desperate fear that Armand’s diminished mental capacity would ruin her fortune. Ethan, Coco, Armand and I arrived at the courthouse armed with Dr. Soundtree’s report and five other medical reports clearly stating that Armand was mentally incapable of managing his financial affairs. We were prepared to mount defensive arguments against Antonia in case she attempted to derail our motion to have Armand declared mentally incompetent and to appoint me as his guardian, pursuant to his power of attorney.
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