Exposed (Rosato & DiNunzio #5)(7)

“I didn’t know!” Mary was getting more upset, which even Bennie could see, since the girl wore her emotions on her sleeve. As well as her arms, her legs, and her face. And neck.

“Understood. So I get why you took the meeting—”

“—of course, I would—”

“—and it’s too bad that you learned something Dumbarton would be interested to know, namely that one of their subs is about to be—”

“You’re not going to tell them, are you?” Mary interrupted again, like she always did when she got excited, which Bennie let go. Her office was at the end of the hall, and she beelined for it like a finish line.

“No, I think I can keep it to myself consistent with my obligations. But don’t tell me another thing about the case. Decline the representation by letter.” Bennie stopped outside her office, hoping they’d spoken the last word. Her deposition today was critical, in a securities fraud case in which she was going after the CFO of a Fortune 500 accounting firm.

“I can’t decline the representation. It matters to me, and I really want to take it.”

“Why? You’re already so busy.” Bennie didn’t get it. Mary represented every mom-and-pop business in South Philly, and her practice of small-matter, state-court cases complemented Bennie’s own big-matter, federal-court practice. It was why Bennie had made Mary a named partner, as hard as it was to give up control, her favorite thing in the world.

“It’s personal.”

“This is business.”

“Business and personal can be mixed.”

“No, they can’t.”

“They can for me,” Mary shot back, more firmly. “The plaintiff is one of my oldest friends from the neighborhood. I can’t not represent him. I already accepted.”

“So withdraw. It was an honest mistake. You didn’t know you had a conflict.” Bennie noticed Mary’s jaw tilt upward in a determined way, which could be a problem.

“I don’t know anything about Dumbarton and have never worked for them. It’s not unethical.”

“Of course it is. Read the rules. I don’t make them.”

“But think about it. You said they have twenty-six subs. Are we conflicted out of all of them?”

“Yes.”

“That can’t be.” Mary frowned more deeply. “Are we conflicted out of all of the subs of all of our clients?”

“Yes.” Bennie was pretty sure she was right, but she’d double-check later.

“But as applied to Dumbarton and OpenSpace, it’s a technicality.”

“Mary, we’re lawyers. Technicalities are our business.” Bennie would have laughed if she had time. “How can I make this any clearer? Dumbarton and OpenSpace are in the same corporate family.”

“But this isn’t about a corporate family, this is about a real family. My family.”

“Are you saying that this plaintiff is a family member? Although that wouldn’t cure your conflict of interest.” As a technical matter, Bennie wanted to add, but didn’t.

“We’re not blood-related, but I know his family and he knows mine. We couldn’t be any closer as families. My father was even in the meeting, and so was his father.”

“Your father was in a consultation with a new client?” Bennie had never heard of such a thing, but didn’t criticize, since she wasn’t supposed to do that anymore. On the contrary, she had to hand it to Mary, who practiced law her own way. You couldn’t argue with success. Up to a limit. Then Bennie noticed Judy Carrier coming down the hallway toward them with her big smile and spiky pink hair.

“Morning, guys!” Judy waved as she approached. “I made muffins!”

“Good morning,” Bennie and Mary said politely, a split second apart.

Mary returned her attention to Bennie. “That’s my point. It’s not weird that my father was here. I grew up with the plaintiff and went to his wedding. I went to his wife’s funeral and—”

“Hey guys!” Carrier interrupted, arriving. “Did you not hear that I made muffins? Actual banana-nut muffins! I’m like a housewife without the house and the wife!”

Bennie and Mary fell suddenly silent, but Judy bubbled over.

“Also look at my new jeans skirt! How cute am I?” Judy spun around with her arms outstretched. She had on a hot pink T-shirt that matched her hair and a faded jeans skirt with an embroidered peace sign.

Mary managed a smile. “Very cute.”

Bennie did a double-take. “I owned a skirt exactly like that. I made it from my bellbottoms. It had a white peace sign, too. Where did you get that?”

“At a vintage shop on Pine Street.”

“Vintage?” Bennie looked at the skirt more closely. “My God, I think that’s my skirt!”

“Seriously?” Judy’s eyes flew open, an incredulous blue.

Mary burst into laughter. “How funny is that?”

“Not funny at all,” Bennie said, but it was a little funny, so she forced a chuckle. She didn’t mind getting older. She was happy with her life and viewed herself as an elder of their tribe. The only problem was that the young-uns didn’t always listen.

Judy must’ve picked up their mood. “Are Mommy and Daddy having a fight? Please tell me that you still love me and it’s not my fault.”