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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.

“What if you were about to go on vacation and a theatre called you and offered you the role of a lifetime?” Audrey asked.

“Okay.”’ Penny nodded, her gaze meeting Audrey’s. “I can see why you’re a good lawyer.”

Chapter Sixty

Chapter Sixty

As Audrey walked into the office on Monday morning, Gertrude met her with a stack of pink telephone slips (“all congratulations,” she said) and handed her another bouquet of flowers. Her office looked like a flower shop.

She was really going to do it. She was going to accept the Popflicks offer and resign from Howard, Parker & Smith. After seven years of striving so hard for this? To give it up? She took a deep breath. Maybe she should spend another night thinking about it. No. She’d learned a lesson: pick her partner and her employer carefully. If she’d been on trial the week the British had called, the firm would’ve never pulled her off her trial to fly to London. They would’ve substituted another associate. But the firm didn’t consider her vacation time to be as important as a client’s needs. She wanted a workplace that respected life outside work. That belief underlaid the informal, inspiring atmosphere of Popflicks. And she wanted a boss like Betty, who believed in her and challenged her—for example, insisting that she do the cross-examination. She’d be part of senior management at Popflicks as opposed to a junior partner here. On the negative side, she might be the uncool workaholic.

She called Betty to accept. Betty sounded thrilled and recommended taking at least a month off before she started at Popflicks, stating there was nothing like that free time between jobs once you had a new job lined up. Betty suggested Audrey start in eight weeks, since she probably had to give two weeks’ notice and the office was closed anyway for the week between Christmas and New Year’s.

Then Audrey called Winnie and asked her if she wanted to join her at Popflicks. She told Winnie that Betty had mentioned previously that a lawyer in the department had transitioned to the business side of things so that was an option, if Winnie decided she didn’t want to stay in law. Winnie was shocked, but also excited—for both of them. She said yes.

Audrey walked into the senior managing partner’s office. She was nervous. Her feet didn’t make a sound on the rich red carpet. A black leather couch sat by one wall. Square mahogany chairs faced the partner’s desk. Hard wooden seats, with no cushion; they were not comfortable to sit in, but she couldn’t quite believe he’d chosen them for that purpose. She’d never been to his office on the spur of the moment before. He looked a bit surprised. Guarded. She supposed senior partners knew that unprompted visits could mean bad news.

“Do you have a moment?” she asked.