BooksBarbecue
Back Partner Pursuit Save as PDF
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.

Jake looked like he wanted to say something, but then he nodded and started pedaling.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

It was back to work on Sunday—back to reality after Saturday night’s enchantment. Audrey felt like she’d dreamt it—until the end. The end was in line with her usual luck in dating. Something seemed about to happen, but then disaster.

An email from Genevieve reported that Mrs. Rothman was obsessed with the articles showing Pierre and his wife no longer attending social events together. Mrs. Rothman had reached out to another friend in common. That friend had just been in Paris on vacation and inadvertently bumped into Pierre’s wife, Laila. Laila looked healthy and was just about to leave for the south of France with the grandchildren. Laila had asked after Mrs. Rothman, seeming to indicate she was sorry for her husband suing John.

It seemed as if there was no issue other than money. Colette was right. She should stop chasing false premises and focus solely on the legal arguments.

Winnie knocked on her door and entered, shutting the door behind her.

“Did you hear about our firm’s failed pitch to Peters Securities to defend their money laundering litigation?” Winnie asked. “White & Gilman won it—and Tim worked on it.”

“I heard. I can’t believe White & Gilman beat us,” Audrey said, her tone serious. “I’m sure the partnership was counting on that business. Peters Securities was one of our main clients. We’ve been their outside litigation firm for years. And now we’re not. It’s bad.” The atmosphere on the litigation floors of the firm had felt tense as the news had filtered down.

“Is Tim upset?” Winnie asked.

“Hard to tell with Tim. Stiff upper lip and all that.”

“You should be careful what you tell Tim. I don’t trust those two. I see him and Colette together a lot now.”

Audrey nodded. She had noticed that too, but her concern was more their allying against her for partnership than the loss of Tim as a romantic prospect—especially given her zingy flirtation with Jake.

Audrey mused, “Maybe they get the best of Tim and me if they make Colette a partner.”

“Colette’s not the best of both of you. They just get a smart woman. And she doesn’t care about mentoring young associates. Nor does Tim. They should’ve pushed Colette to next year for partnership. I understand that she was a star during her clerkship, but still, next year, she would’ve been a shoo-in.”

“She wouldn’t have come here if they hadn’t agreed that she was still on the same partner track timeline. She’s good at negotiating, you’ve got to give her that.”

“They get the best of Tim and Colette if they make you a partner. They get a smart woman who’s also collegial like Tim. You should think of it like that,” Winnie said.