Color Me Grey

by Michelle Janine Robinson

  “You need to lighten up, Bridget. There’s something wrong when the employee wants to be at work more than the boss. A long lunch won’t hurt. We’ve earned it. If it makes you feel any better, I’ll make sure it’s a working lunch. Okay?”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  STEPHEN P. MARTIN, ESQ.

  Brianna had heard that the associate she would be working with was black and young. She couldn’t wait to see what he looked like. It was the first time Bridget had ever gotten to work and found Brianna there before her.

  “What are you doing here so early?” Bridget asked, as if she didn’t already know the answer.

  “My new associate starts today. I wanted to be here early so I could make sure he was comfortable and got settled in okay.”

  “Now you know you need to stop. The only reason you’re here so early is so you can get first crack at a young black attorney.”

  “Okay, I admit it. But, hell, you gotta be on top of your game around here. You see, the vultures are already circling,” Brianna commented as she gestured toward Kimberly.

  “Let’s forget about Stephen Martin for a minute. How was your weekend?” Brianna asked.

  “It was pretty good,” Bridget responded. “I took my road test this weekend, and I passed! I love the beach and now that I have my driver’s license, I’ve been thinking of buying a little hooptie so I can get out of the Bronx on the weekends; maybe drive out to Long Beach. I go every now and then, but it’ll be a lot easier with a car than it is riding the Long Island Railroad.”

  “Ooh, you buyin’ a car!” Brianna squealed.

  “No, not buying yet; just looking. Between saving for an apartment and hopefully going back to school, I don’t have very much left over.”

  “If you’d listen to me, you wouldn’t have to worry about money so much. That Mr. McDonnell’s got his nose wide open for you. Everybody in the office can see it. That is, everybody except you.”

  “Brianna, I hope you’re not giving into the rumors about Mr. McDonnell and me. We work well together, but our relationship is purely professional.”

  “Purely professional, huh? I’ve seen the way that man looks at you and so has everyone else. There’s nothing pure about it.”

  Bridget was anxious to change the subject, quickly.

  “So—how was your weekend, Brianna?”

  “It was fabulous! Big Dick and I went to this wild party up in Harlem.”

  Just as Brianna was about to elaborate, David walked in.

  “Good morning, Mr. McDonnell,” Brianna gushed.

  “Good morning, Brianna. How was your weekend?”

  Bridget always dreaded David asking Brianna how her weekend was. You never could tell with her. Bridget fully expected Brianna to one day regale him with stories of her escapades, if she hadn’t already. After all, Brianna had started working at the firm before Bridget. Who knew what went on then, or even now? Bridget didn’t get too involved in the social lives of her fellow staff members, or the attorneys, for that matter; partly because she was so very secretive about her own past. She lived her life as though she were looking over her shoulder, waiting for someone to cart her off to prison. Yet, she still wanted the house with the white picket fence, the 2.5 children and the minivan. She wanted carpools and soccer games and play dates. She wanted all the things she never had growing up. She wanted a family.

  Somehow, though, Bridget had discovered you could run, but you couldn’t hide. Her job at McDonnell & Simpson was supposed to be an escape from the world she had known—an opportunity to see, first-hand, how the other half lived. Instead, her first day on the job, she met Brianna, a straight-up sister from the ’hood with edges so rough she needed an economy-sized pumice stone. Despite her rough edges, Bridget liked her. She had a kind heart. It was something you could see right away. So, although Bridget was careful about where and how she spent time with Brianna, she treated her with the utmost respect. After all, everybody couldn’t be ultra-conservative. Bridget breathed a sigh of relief at Brianna’s response.

  “I had a very nice weekend, Mr. McDonnell. How was yours?”

  “I worked most of the weekend, but I did manage to get in a little fishing.”

  “That’s nice,” Brianna responded.

  Before she left, she wished both Bridget and Mr. McDonnell a pleasant day. Even when she was being conservative, a bit of that which was uniquely Brianna shined through. As she turned on her heels to leave, Bridget noticed that Brianna’s lime-green pants were sprinkled with a touch of glitter. Bridget hadn’t even worn anything that flashy when she was walking the streets. Bridget viewed it as a life lesson; you can’t necessarily judge a book by its cover.

  Brianna had grown up with a mom and dad who adored her. She went to Catholic schools most of her life, while Bridget’s only job before this had been as a prostitute. Yet, if you asked any stranger on the street, most would peg Brianna as the former prostitute and Bridget as the Catholic school girl. It occurred to Bridget that maybe Brianna was doing exactly what she was doing— living out a desire to be exactly the opposite of what she had been growing up.

  Bridget discreetly glanced at David to see if there was any reaction. There was none at all. He barely glanced at Brianna.

  Stephen P. Martin had been so sheltered from the horrors that many African-American children in the U.S. encounter. He had grown up in a middle-class home in Marietta, Georgia. His father had been a dentist and his mother had been a dental assistant before she went back to school and became a dentist as well. In fact, that was how his mother and father had met. She had applied for a job at his father’s dental office and it had pretty much been love at first sight. Both his mother and father were committed to providing Stephen with an exemplary education. Therefore, it was no surprise that they made sure that Stephen stayed on top of his studies, provided him with music lessons; piano, guitar, even the saxophone. They were both committed to community service so they fostered the same in Stephen. However, it was a debate class in high school that first opened Stephen’s eyes to what his true calling was. He found he enjoyed expressing his opinion with great zeal and excelled in debate class. That’s when he knew that he would be a lawyer. Both Janice and Brian Martin couldn’t have been more proud.

  After graduating from Marietta High School, Stephen decided to venture North and attended Fordham University. Despite his parents initial misgivings about their only son living in New York City, they gave him their blessings. Initially, Stephen planned to return to Georgia to attend law school, but soon found New York offered him a change in lifestyle that he enjoyed. Where once sheltered by his parents and the Southern lifestyle, he now became enthralled with New York’s fast pace and countless possibilities.

  After graduating at the top of his class at Fordham, he went on to attend Yale Law School in neighboring New Haven, Connecticut. Before he even acquired his J.D., Stephen was pretty much guaranteed a position at some of New York’s top law firms. Despite offers from several firms, Stephen accepted a position as a junior associate at McDonnell & Simpson with little hesitation. He genuinely liked the lead partner, David McDonnell, and felt a kinship to the firm’s philosophies.

  Bridget was the very first person he met his first day as an associate at McDonnell & Simpson.

  “Good morning, Mr. Martin. Mr. McDonnell had a meeting outside of the office this morning, but he will be in around noon today. He asked that I get you settled in and answer any questions you might have. Would you like something to drink; maybe a cup of coffee or some water?”

  “No, thank you. I’m fine. But thanks.”

  Stephen wasn’t sure if the feeling in the pit of his stomach was first-day nerves, or due to the beautiful woman standing in front of him. Through his years in college and law school and his recruitment by different law firms, he found that he seldom got nervous about anything. Therefore, he had to presume that this feeling had to have something to do with her.

  From early on, Stephen’s parents had raised him to b
e as colorblind as a black child could be growing up in the South. Yet, the world is not a vacuum, so Stephen, of course, had had his fair share of encounters with racism. In fact, that was one of his criteria for picking a law firm; especially since he had options. He examined the ratios at the firms he interviewed with. Although he didn’t obsess over color in his everyday life, he was beyond capable of recognizing the obvious. And, he knew that color was a factor no matter where you lived and worked.

  The key was to find a good fit; someplace where it wasn’t an overriding presence. He believed he had found that fit with McDonnell & Simpson. Therefore, he was quite happy to see that the person Mr. McDonnell had dubbed his “right hand” was in fact an African- American woman; a beautiful, eloquent, poised, African-American woman. However, he wasn’t sure he was prepared for the stirrings he was having upon meeting her. If there was one thing he valued, it was his focus, and this woman definitely could cause an interruption of that focus.

  “Mr. Martin?”

  That’s when Stephen realized he had been daydreaming and hadn’t heard what she was saying; a virtual first for him. It would be the first in a series of responses that were so out of character for him. Yet, as time went on, he learned to relish his awareness of Bridget’s presence.

  “I’m so sorry,” he apologized. “I guess it’s first-day jitters. I was lost in thought.”

  “No worries,” Bridget responded. “No need for jitters. We’re going to take good care of you. Why don’t we head over to your office? I had one of the clerks set your office up, and our IT people have been in to get your computer up and running. I’ll let you get settled in and you can let me know if there is anything else you need that will make your office more comfortable. I won’t hover. I’ll walk you over and you can give me a ring, if there is anything you need. Brianna Ross has been assigned as your assistant. She is really good at her job, and I’m sure she will be willing to offer you a hand in any capacity.”

  Stephen wanted to say, “please hover, hover all you want,” but he was a professional first and foremost. Instead he just mentioned that he was sure everything would be fine.

  Stephen was more than fine. Over the months, he adapted well to the fast-paced firm and within a year, he had become invaluable to David and the firm’s clients. Bridget, too, took on more and more responsibility, including going to school to cement her ever-growing skills as a paralegal. As far as David was concerned, McDonnell & Simpson couldn’t function without both Stephen and Bridget assisting him at the helm, to the dismay of many of the attorneys at the firm. Many of them had tried to ingratiate themselves in David’s presence, but David had already decided who his star was: Stephen P. Martin. Unfortunately for David and his growing feelings for Bridget, however, that meant that Stephen and Bridget were spending more and more time together.

  “You two up for an all-nighter?” David asked.

  “Sure, David. You know I don’t have a life,” Bridget replied.

  David knew all too well that she spoke the truth. McDonnell & Simpson was her life; his as well. David wondered why Bridget didn’t date more. She was a beautiful woman. He couldn’t imagine most men not wanting her. Every now and then she would meet someone, go out with them once or twice, but nothing ever seemed to last beyond the initial week or so. She was gorgeous, intelligent, strong. In David’s fondest wishes, he allowed himself the luxury of believing that he was the reason she was still alone. After all, what did she need with a boyfriend when she had him? They went to dinner and parties together; they even shopped together—often under the guise that it was business-related. But David could tell that she enjoyed his company as much as he enjoyed hers. How- ever, it was clear that their relationship bore little resemblance to what it had been. Things had evolved and at this juncture, David wanted more than just her body, nor did he think she needed saving. He wanted her heart and he believed that one day he would get the balls to make that fact known. Until then, he would be her friend.

  “What about you, Stephen? You workin’ tonight or you keepin’ banker’s hours as usual?” David chuckled.

  “Naw, David, I’m burnin’ the midnight oil with you and Bridget.”

  “Another one with no life, huh?” Bridget commented.

  “No, not really, but I could be persuaded to have one under the proper circumstances.”

  Stephen’s attempt at flirtation had not been missed by either Bridget or David. With each passing month, Stephen had become more and more courageous in his attempts to make his feelings for Bridget known. What Stephen had come to realize was that he had to step up his game and just come right out and ask her out; not some business lunch or dinner, nor these late nights working by her side. He knew he would have to ask her to spend some one-on-one time with him soon or he might lose an opportunity he wanted very much. What was that line his father always used? “If you’re slow, you blow.” And, Stephen definitely did not want to blow this.

  Meanwhile, David silently stewed over Stephen’s obvious interest in Bridget. His irritation wasn’t at Stephen, however, it was with himself. He couldn’t understand why he couldn’t cut out the bullshit and tell Bridget how he felt about her. Now, it was pretty obvious, Stephen was probably going to beat him to the punch. David calmed himself with the thought that Bridget would never be interested in Stephen. He was way too inexperienced for her. But then he remembered how naïve Bridget could be. Stephen and Bridget were actually two peas in a pod; bright, knowledgeable, but often very inexperienced when it came to matters of life.

  “So what’s it gonna be tonight?” David chimed in. “Are we going with Chinese or pizza as our culinary treat for the evening?”

  “Definitely Chinese,” Bridget replied.

  “That okay with you?” David asked Stephen.

  “Whatever Bridget wants is fine with me,” Stephen agreed.

  The three worked until a little past midnight. Minutes before David was set to offer Bridget and Stephen a ride home in his Mercedes (and, of course drop Stephen off first), Stephen asked Bridget if she wanted to share one of the company cars home.

  “Sure, Stephen, it would be nice to have some company on the ride home. You want me to call the car?”

  “Thanks, Bridg.”

  So he is calling her “Bridg” now, David thought to himself when he heard the exchange. Since when did he start doing that? And why on earth would she say yes to sharing a car home? They lived in completely opposite directions. David did his damnedest to keep his jealousy at bay, but it was more than a little difficult. He thought of asking Bridget to stay and do some more work, but that would sound ludicrous. They had already worked late and there wasn’t one more thing that needed to be done before they returned to the office the next day.

  “Good night, David,” Bridget called as she left the office.

  “Good night. Oh, and Stephen, we’ve got a really busy day tomorrow.”

  Somehow David hoped that would influence Stephen to go straight home, to get a good night’s sleep. David knew that look on Stephen’s face. It was the same look he had each and every time he looked at Bridget. The same look he had from the very first time he laid his eyes on her. Stephen had it as bad as he did, and he didn’t even have the knowledge of her checkered past to taint his vision of her. Not that that made a difference to David in the slightest. Yes, David knew exactly where this was going and he was powerless to stop it.

  After that night, Bridget and Stephen were inseparable. They had lunch and dinner together, and Bridget did everything she could to make Stephen’s day as easy as she possibly could. For every miniscule matter that David laid in her lap to keep her busy and as far away from Stephen as possible, Bridget found a way to get both David’s and Stephen’s work done. Eventually, when David thought he had run out of ways to keep her pinned to her desk, he started sending her on ridiculous errands; trips to the dry cleaners, meetings with potential vendors. Anyone with any small degree of insight could have seen what he was doing.

 
Brianna recognized David’s vain attempts right away and couldn’t help but be amused by his efforts. It was fascinating to watch the way that both Stephen and David fell over themselves trying to get in Bridget’s presence. But, Brianna told herself that if she were a betting woman she would put her money on Stephen. Where Bridget saw David as her boss and a substitute big brother/father figure, she clearly saw Stephen as a bit more than that. The constant stops in the bathroom to check her appearance in the mirror; checking her hair and makeup and readjusting her clothing made it evident that she was in to Stephen. However, it was a chance blackout that blanketed New York City in August that truly brought Stephen and Bridget together.

  “I’ve got a meeting across town, but I’ll be back before you both leave. Bridget, if you could cross-check those Bates numbers that would help tremendously. And Stephen, I need you to go over that Gonzalez deposition.”

  “Okay, David,” Bridget responded.

  “Okay,” Stephen said. “Should I be checking the Manuela deposition as well?”

  “No, just Gonzalez for now. If we’ve got time when I get back, we can go over the Manuela deposition together.”

  “Okay. We’ll see you when you get back.”

  Heading across town, David couldn’t help but notice Stephen’s use of the word “we.” So, when did they become we, he wondered.

  “Get a grip, man,” David said to himself aloud. They’re working together. That’s all.

  David’s meeting went well, however, on his way back to the

  office, the city was suddenly hit with a blackout. One of the first blackouts in New York since 1977. The city was a mess, traffic was bumper to bumper and everyone was on edge. Yet, it wasn’t the blackout or the traffic that David was thinking of. All he kept thinking about was the fact that Bridget and Stephen were alone together in the office. Although they weren’t technically alone, there were definitely other staff members there due to the time of day. It was still afternoon. Nonetheless, the city had lost power and it seemed as though it was going to be out for quite some time. He wondered what was happening at McDonnell & Simpson while he was not there.