by Carsen Taite
“And let me guess, lots of billable hours.” He waved a fork between her and Daniel. “You’re both billing for this lunch, right?” Before she could answer, he added, “And I appreciate that you brought this kid along to soften me up with his whole gamer vibe, but I don’t think you people understand where I’m coming from. I don’t need you to know every little thing about my business, but I do need you to care about it as much as I do, so you can protect me from people who will try to destroy what I’ve built. That means I need to see some passion. I need to feel like you’re really on my side and not just viewing these lawsuits like a cash cow. You should know that Worth Ingram was not my choice, and if the board hadn’t picked your firm, we wouldn’t be sitting here today. Jerry Stoltz doesn’t know the first thing about how Leaderboard works, and I doubt he even cares. He thinks I’m some jerk kid who made too much money too fast and probably deserves to get sued.”
Well, that was a lot to unpack. Wynne took a deep breath before diving in. “I think you’re brilliant. And no, I’m not just blowing smoke up your ass. I understand how Leaderboard works, and that’s why I’m working on your case.” She pointed at Daniel. “Daniel here is an intern. Part of how we become a top-notch law firm is to find the best talent and groom young lawyers by letting them participate in groundbreaking work. In addition to law, Daniel has a special interest in all things tech, so I brought him along, not only because I thought he would speak your language, but as a benefit to his real world education. We are not billing for his time at this lunch.” She purposely didn’t look at Daniel as she spoke, knowing her last pronouncement would shock him. “No matter who made the decision to hire us, the intent was the same—protect your interests, right?”
“Yes, but—”
She cut Braxton off, hoping she wouldn’t regret it later. “Then let us do what we know is best. You have experience with programming and building a business from the ground up. We have experience and expertise in helping our clients keep what’s theirs and not letting anyone interfere with their success. Rhea Hendricks is an interference. Let us do what we do best and neutralize her. But I can promise you this—ignoring her will not achieve that.”
Brax looked like he wanted to protest, but she kept a level stare at him, daring him to challenge her and hoping he wouldn’t call her bluff.
“I guess you’re right.”
It wasn’t a ringing endorsement, but it would have to do for now because Wynne knew she’d pushed him as far as she could without risking losing his business. “I’ll show you that we are. Just give me a chance.”
At that moment, the waiter showed back up with the bill, and Wynne grabbed it before Brax could. “I’ve got this, and no, it won’t show up on your next statement.” She produced her firm credit card and waited for the waiter to withdraw before making the pitch she’d come here to discuss. “I promise we won’t get in the way of your business, but it would be really helpful for our initial answer to the lawsuit and discovery to have a sit-down with anyone who worked on the Leaderboard algorithms. The sooner the better.”
Brax was already out of his seat. “I hear you. Let me talk to my team and I’ll be in touch. I promise I’ll get back to you before the end of the week.”
Wynne watched him leave certain she’d blown the meeting, but not at all sure what she could’ve done differently to win him over. She recognized Brax’s vague “I’ll be in touch” for the delay tactic it was. Could Stoltz be right? Was Brax really considering ditching the firm to hire someone else to take over? It was hard to believe he’d sever ties with them so soon, but he struck her as the impatient type, unlikely to want to wait for the firm to catch up to him.
The image of Campbell shaking Brax’s hand flooded her awareness. Had Campbell been at the restaurant today to meet with Brax? Was Hart and Dunn vying for his business? The idea that they’d schedule a meeting right in front of her seemed ludicrous, but she wasn’t ready to dismiss it completely. Hart and Dunn had a good reputation in the Austin tech community, and they had the resources to handle top tier litigation.
“Are you ready?” Daniel asked, already out of his chair.
Good question, she thought, wondering if she was indeed ready to do battle to keep Brax’s business. She’d worked hard to help Braxton launch his success, and she wasn’t about to cede her position as counselor to anyone else, especially not an all fluff, no substance lawyer like Campbell Clark. She stood and led the way to the car. She was ready to do battle to keep her client, and nothing and no one was going to get in the way.
Chapter Five
Campbell burst into Grace’s office after lunch, only to find her on the phone. She paced in the doorway for a few moments before she motioned to Grace to join her and Abby in the conference room when she finished the call.
“What’s all the fuss?” Abby asked as she took a seat.
“Wait until Grace is here.”
“Sounds mysterious.”
Campbell merely nodded. She’d barely been able to contain her excitement since she’d met Braxton Keith at lunch. She’d gone directly from the restaurant to the nearest coffee shop and spent the last hour sketching out some notes about how to win Leaderboard’s business. Her brainstorming had been interrupted by a text from Braxton, and now it was time for a brainstorming session with Grace and Abby to round out her plan.
“I’m guessing lunch went well,” Abby said.
Campbell opened her mouth to say that she wasn’t going to let Abby pry it out of her, but Grace burst into the conference room at that moment.
“Thank God you’re here,” Abby said. “I can’t get her to tell me a thing.”
“I wanted you both to hear the good news at the same time.”
“Good news?” Grace said, her eyes bright with hope. “I love good news.”
“I know you do, and that is why I’m happy to say that we have a meeting with Braxton Keith. Tomorrow.”
“Wait, what?” Abby leaned forward. “Was that the business Justin was drumming up for you? How does he know Braxton? It’s impossible to get a meeting with him.”
Campbell held up her cell. “Not impossible. It’s a done deal. The meeting anyway. We get one shot to convince him to ditch his current law firm.” She set the phone on the conference table, turned it so they could read the screen, and watched Grace scroll through the text exchange she’d since memorized.
Cool meeting you. Might be looking for new lawyer. Interested?
Definitely. I think we’d be a perfect fit.
Board meeting tomorrow. I’ll send you some papers to review. See you at nine a.m., Leaderboard HQ.
We’ll be there.
Grace looked up from the phone. “Wow.”
“I know,” Campbell said. “I get it’s not a lot of time to prepare, but look at it this way, we’ll be fresh.”
“What are the papers he’s sending?”
“Sent.” Campbell reached into a box by her chair and pulled out copies to pass around. “Leaderboard is being sued by country music’s very own Rhea Hendricks. She claims she lost a role in an upcoming Joan Baez biopic because her ranking fell between the time she entered talks with the studio and the time to ink the deal. Claims they yanked it from her and gave it to whatshername, that chick whose ranking soared when it came out that she was sleeping with that guy who was the first runner-up on The Bachelor.”
“Are you speaking English right now?” Grace asked.
“Oops, I forgot your aversion to reality TV.”
Abby tapped her phone. “Plus, Grace isn’t on Leaderboard.”
“Grace isn’t only not on Leaderboard, Grace isn’t sure what Leaderboard is,” Grace said.
Campbell gave them the breakdown Justin had given her. “So, basically it’s all driven by an algorithm that’s proprietary. If Brax has to disclose anything about the development and use of the algorithm, then anyone can use it to develop their own program and his business will crater, which makes him extra cautious about how this case is h
andled.”
“Brax, huh?” Abby said. “How did you happen to meet him?”
“Justin met him at a South by Southwest session, and they hit it off. Now they’re bros and we have a way into the kingdom that is Leaderboard Inc.”
“Who’s their current law firm?” Grace asked.
“Worth Ingram. I get the impression he’s not impressed with their grasp of the coolness factor of his platform, and it may be they don’t even understand its potential. Anyway, he’s not happy with them. He told Justin, Justin arranged for us to meet, and the rest is history.”
“History in the making,” Grace said. “If we’re going to put on a show for the board meeting tomorrow, we’re going to have to work all night. Let’s make a list of what needs to be done and split up tasks.” She didn’t wait for an answer before she started jotting notes. Campbell loved that about her. Grace might be a bit more practical than she liked, but she could be counted on to organize like a boss, and Campbell was happy to let her be in control of that part of the process.
Abby punched the keys of her laptop. “I just downloaded the docket sheet for the lawsuit. Looks like they’re still in the really early phases. The lead attorney for Leaderboard is one of the partners at Worth Ingram. Jerry Stoltz.”
“I know him,” Campbell said. “We were up against their firm last year in a product liability case. He’s an ass. An old school ass at that. Brought a bunch of first year lawyers to all the depositions with him to act as his own personal entourage. I bet his monthly billing to Leaderboard is astronomical.”
“I’ll start reviewing the pleadings and make a run at creating a defense strategy,” Abby said.
“I’ll put together an initial budget,” Grace said. “It’s going to be loose without knowing a bunch more details, like how many witnesses on either side, etc., but I have no doubt we could come in under whatever Worth Ingram is charging.”
“Let’s float some flat fee options,” Campbell added. “And maybe a hybrid flat fee and hourly rate. I’m sure Worth is charging at least three fifty an hour, and they’ll never go for a flat fee. If we get this lawsuit, we have a chance at getting all of Leaderboard’s business.”
Grace made a note. “Good plan. On it.” She looked up from her notes. “And you’re in for the big presentation, right?”
Campbell smiled. All three of them were smart, but they each had specific strengths. Abby was the brilliant legal mind, Grace was the brilliant businessperson, and her job? Well, she was the front woman, the put-on-a-show and convince a client that not hiring them would be the biggest mistake of their lives. She loved the pressure of coming up with a personalized presentation, but she wasn’t sure she’d ever had less than twenty-four hours to do so. She mustered confidence she didn’t quite feel and announced, “On it.”
* * *
“What happened at lunch?” Jennifer asked as Wynne walked past her desk.
Wynne paused. She could tell Jennifer was worried, but she wasn’t sure how to answer. Lunch had been hours ago. She’d gone straight from there to another client’s office to interview a witness. “Nothing bad. At least I didn’t think so. What’s up?”
“Not sure, but there’s a board meeting at Leaderboard tomorrow, and Braxton called to say he wants a presentation on the status of the case. I went ahead and moved around your appointments so you can make it.”
“Won’t he want Stoltz instead?”
Jennifer glanced at her boss’s office door and dropped her voice to a whisper. “He specifically said he wants you to give the presentation.”
A loud voice bellowed through Jennifer’s phone intercom. “Is she back yet?”
Knowing she was the “she” he was referring to, Wynne motioned to Stoltz’s door. “I got this.”
A moment later, she was standing in front of Stoltz’s desk, hoping that by not sitting down she could make this meeting as short as possible.
“I need to know everything that was said at this little meeting you had with Braxton.”
Wynne heard his derisive tone and resisted the urge to point out he’d forced her to have the meeting, sending her rather than going himself, but instead she cut to the chase. “He thinks we’re antiquated and not capable of understanding the worth of Leaderboard. He thinks that mindset will negatively affect how we handle this case, and he’s worried we won’t adequately protect his interests.”
“He told you all that?”
“Not word for word, but that’s basically the gist of what he had to say.”
“Well, that’s ridiculous. It’s pretty clear you bungled the meeting. Didn’t I tell you to meet with him and soothe him over?” He waved her off. “Never mind. I’ll show up tomorrow and have a few choice words with the board. Thankfully, there are cooler, wiser heads responsible for the company than that hotshot who thinks he knows everything.”
Wynne had a vision of Stoltz schooling the board while Brax seethed in the background. The board might ultimately elect to stick with their counsel, but their relationship with Brax would be permanently damaged, which would make it impossible to provide him with effective representation. It would only be a matter of time before he figured out how to ditch them. She had to find a way to compromise Stoltz’s desire to put the kid in his place and their need to keep Leaderboard’s business, because if the business went away, she was certain Stoltz would lay the blame on her. Bye-bye partnership.
An hour later, she snuck away to the break room for some much needed coffee and ran into Seth.
“Hey, stranger,” he said. “Someone’s been busy lately.”
“Don’t even. Busy isn’t the word I’d use to describe the whirlwind around here.”
He handed her a mug from the cabinet and, without having to ask, popped her favorite K-cup in the Keurig. “Please tell me something to take my mind off the mind-numbing interrogatories I’m having to comb through since the new crop of associates is too busy studying for the bar exam to be bothered helping me out.”
Wynne looked back over her shoulder and, satisfied no partners were in sight, recounted the details of her lunch with Braxton.
“And he just left things like that?”
“That’s how Braxton is. I can’t tell if it’s an eccentricity or if he just likes to keep people guessing.” The Keurig sputtered the last few drops into her cup and she reached for it like a lifeline. “Whatever’s going on, it’s keeping me here all night because suddenly we’ve been called on the carpet.” She took a sip. “Board meeting tomorrow at Leaderboard.”
“Agenda?”
“‘A report on the case,’ but who knows? I’ll plan for everything and see what happens. Stoltz says he’s going to do all the talking.”
“Oh, that’ll win them over for sure.” Seth’s voice was laced with sarcasm. “I don’t have anything going on tonight. Can I help?”
For a second, Wynne considered taking him up on it. They rarely had the chance to work together, and the prospect of a late night cram session with him brought back memories of pulling all-nighters before exams. But she needed to work from the office, and if Stoltz saw her pulling in another senior associate to help, he’d view it as a weakness. She’d put a few of the junior associates to work and do the heavy lifting on her own. “I’m good with this stuff, but I do have a question about something slightly related.”
Seth leaned in. “Spill.”
“You’ve got a pal who works at Hart and Dunn, right?” At his nod, she continued. “Have you heard any rumors that they’re making a bid for Leaderboard’s business?”
He shook his head. “What makes you think that’s a possibility?”
“Today at lunch, Braxton stopped to chat with some guy I’d never seen before and Campbell Clark was sitting at the table with him. And Braxton’s definitely unhappy with Stoltz. The timing has me thinking that maybe Hart and Dunn is making a move on Leaderboard.”
Seth laughed. “That sounds so dirty. But I don’t think you saw what you thought you did. I guess you haven
’t heard. Campbell Clark quit her job at Hart and Dunn. Not too long after the reunion in fact. She and Grace and Abby are starting their own firm. I don’t even think they’re up and running yet. I heard about it from my pal that works at Hart at the last ABA happy hour…”
Seth kept talking about other gossip he’d learned while drinking with his pals, but Wynne was playing catch-up, struggling to process his news. Campbell was in her fifth year with Hart and Dunn, likely on the same kind of partnership track as she was. Had Campbell seriously given up that kind of tenure to strike out on her own? What was it like to be able to throw your career progress to the wind and start over? Wynne shuddered at the idea of giving up everything she’d worked so hard to earn and start from scratch. Definitely not a path she was interested in taking, but why did she care that Campbell had?
She didn’t. Campbell Clark and her career weren’t any concern of hers. Especially now that she knew Campbell wasn’t competition for Leaderboard’s business. No way could a fledging firm of three lawyers provide the level of legal services that Leaderboard’s business demanded.
Later that night in her office, she took a break from preparing for tomorrow’s board meeting and let her fingers stray over the keyboard of her computer. The very first item returned on her Google search was an announcement in the local bar journal heralding the formation of Clark, Keane, and Maldonado. Before she could think about the rabbit hole she was plunging into, Wynne clicked on the link and read the short announcement, and then clicked on the link to the new firm’s website, and then clicked on the link for Campbell’s bio. And then she stopped clicking, mesmerized by Campbell Clark’s caramel eyes staring back into hers with searing intensity. Campbell was stylish and beautiful and completely captivating. And it took every bit of Wynne’s willpower to close the website and get back to work.
Chapter Six
Campbell leaned across the console of the car and pointed to the sign up ahead. “Turn left into the parking lot. Right there.” She jabbed her finger at the window. “You’re going to miss it.”