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Chapters (68)
  1. Partner Pursuit
  2. Copyright
  3. Dedication
  4. Contents
  5. Chapter One
  6. Chapter Two
  7. Chapter Three
  8. Chapter Four
  9. Chapter Five
  10. Chapter Six
  11. Chapter Seven
  12. Re: Whitaker retirement party
  13. Chapter Nine
  14. Chapter Ten
  15. Chapter Eleven
  16. Chapter Twelve
  17. Chapter Thirteen
  18. Chapter Fourteen
  19. Chapter Fifteen
  20. Chapter Sixteen
  21. Chapter Seventeen
  22. Chapter Eighteen
  23. Chapter Nineteen
  24. Chapter Twenty
  25. Friday, New York City
  26. Chapter Twenty-Two
  27. Chapter Twenty-Three
  28. Chapter Twenty-Four
  29. Chapter Twenty-Five
  30. Chapter Twenty-Six
  31. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  32. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  33. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  34. Chapter Thirty
  35. Chapter Thirty-One
  36. Chapter Thirty-Two
  37. Chapter Thirty-Three
  38. Chapter Thirty-Four
  39. Chapter Thirty-Five
  40. Chapter Thirty-Six
  41. Subject: Deposition of Plaintiff in James case
  42. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  43. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  44. Subject: Mentors Found
  45. Chapter Forty-One
  46. Chapter Forty-Two
  47. Chapter Forty-Three
  48. Chapter Forty-Four
  49. Jake: While you’re stuck at work, think about this: I thought you might want to do a yoga session while I’m surfing in Santa Teresa. Should I book?
  50. Chapter Forty-Six
  51. Chapter Forty-Seven
  52. Chapter Forty-Eight
  53. Chapter Forty-Nine
  54. Chapter Fifty
  55. Chapter Fifty-One
  56. Chapter Fifty-Two
  57. Chapter Fifty-Three
  58. Chapter Fifty-Four
  59. Chapter Fifty-Five
  60. Chapter Fifty-Six
  61. Chapter Fifty-Seven
  62. Chapter Fifty-Eight
  63. Chapter Fifty-Nine
  64. Chapter Sixty
  65. Chapter Sixty-One
  66. About the Author
  67. Acknowledgements
  68. On any top-ten list of best Sunday plans, today’s brunch with my former crush and his new girlfriend would rank number eleven … hundred. Times five. But I couldn’t say no. We’re still friends.

As they sat down, Audrey explained her latest argument. Whitaker didn’t leave, even though Malaburn looked pointedly at him. Whitaker was like a craggy eagle presiding over the meeting. The clients loved her argument and wanted to use it. Malaburn sank lower into his chair.

“Did you just come up with this?” the client asked. Malaburn’s head whipped around to face her.

“I just refined it with Gene,” Audrey said.

Malaburn looked down.

The meeting ended, and Audrey slipped off to her office to revise the brief, excited to add the argument. When she finally finished writing the revised brief, she emailed it off to Malaburn and called the car service. Another late night, but worth it.

As the black sedan sped up Madison Avenue, Audrey looked up from her iPhone out the window. The shops were closed, but their windows were brightly lit. Some stores still displayed bright summer fashions, but others were showcasing clothes with the more muted tones of green, gray, black, red and orange as they shifted to the upcoming fall season. Summer was coming to an end, and she had spent most of it in the office.

To distract her from her morose thoughts, she checked her email.

To: Audrey Willems

From: Jake Miller

Date: September 22

Subject: Go Women!

I asked my dad about that case. An all-women team pitched for that engagement and won it. You might want to mention that to the powers-that-be.

Cheers,

Jake

She smiled. That was sweet of Jake. It wasn’t exactly a romantic email, but it was even more touching and significant because it was supportive. The car cut across the Central Park 66th Street transverse, and she looked out the window at the entwined trees reaching towards the sky behind the stone walls.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Audrey, Eve, and Max sat in a booth in their favorite brunch place in Tribeca, where they’d been meeting since they’d all first moved to New York after college. The white-washed wooden shipboard siding and a worn wooden sign with a picture of a black and white cow swinging above the counter gave it a homey-farmhouse-in-Vermont vibe. With scents of pancakes cooking, butter sizzling, eggs frying, warm bread baking, and hazelnut coffee brewing, the restaurant was like a warm hug. Max had found it only a few blocks away from his apartment.

Audrey stirred her tea. “So that’s it. I feel like there are hints that something is going to happen, but then it doesn’t.” The waiter set down their brunch plates.

“It sounds to me like something would’ve happened after the jazz club if his sister hadn’t needed him. And then it was just bad timing that he was traveling for work for two weeks.” Eve signaled the waiter for a coffee refill. “Clearly he likes you, or he wouldn’t keep coming by.”

“He likes you, but you’re in the friend zone,” Max said, his brown eyes sympathetic.