Anything You Can Do(69)
Bailey didn't think she'd ever been more sober in her life.
*~*~*
"That just doesn't sound like Bailey," Gordon protested, signaling the bartender to bring them two more beers. "Her ethics are like everything else about her, black and white. Why, she jumped all over me one time because I pulled an uncanceled stamp off a letter. "
"Evidently they shade into gray when it comes to winning," Austin said, dragging one finger through the condensed moisture on the outside of his beer mug. He'd felt a night on the town and a few drinks would be just the ticket to clear Bailey's treachery from his mind. However, the beer tasted as bitter as his thoughts, and he found he would prefer to be at home by himself where he didn't have to make conversation.
Gordon shook his head. "No, I just don't buy it. You need to talk to her, give her a chance to explain."
Austin signaled for a fresh beer. Maybe this one would taste better.
He lifted it to his lips. It didn't. "Explain what?" he asked. "That she knocked my career in the head for the sake of winning, that she'll represent a client she knows is a fraud just so she doesn't have to admit defeat?"
Gordon laughed, an action Austin felt was totally inappropriate considering the seriousness of the situation. "Lighten up," Gordon said. "I seriously doubt that your career's ruined because you didn't get our firm. And I certainly don't think Bailey's so dumb or so spiteful as to base her career decisions on a chance to score a point in this endless contest you two have going." Gordon shifted on his stool to face the mirror behind the bar. "To tell you the truth," he continued, raising his beer in a salute to the reflections, "I'm glad it didn't go. I like things the way they are, and I sure don't want to have to work as hard as you do."
Austin scowled at the images in the mirror, one radiating sunshine even in the dark bar, and the other—himself—adding to the gloom. Okay, he had to admit, maybe Gordon was right. Probably he was right. Okay, so his friend was definitely right. So why did he still feel lousy?
He tilted his glass from side to side, watching the bubbles float around, examining the thoughts floating around in his mind. "I guess maybe it isn't the merger that's bothering me the most. That sort of lost its critical aspect when I found out the old grouch refused to hire me because of his own skewed perception of the ingredients for a successful firm, not because of my lack of qualifications. I guess the important issue here is Bailey's lack of morals in that asinine lawsuit."
Gordon nodded slowly. "Interesting," he said. "If this was just any lawyer we're talking about, you wouldn't be angry. You'd be excited about ripping their client to shreds, presenting your client with a real coup."
That was true, Austin had to admit. "But Bailey isn't just any lawyer. She's—" He halted in midsentence, swallowed hard. She's the woman I love, he'd almost said. And even as he choked back the words, he knew they were true.
Good grief! What on earth could he do now? Setting aside the more obvious problems like their constant competition, how could he love an unethical attorney? His career, his life, were built on the preservation of justice and equity. How could he love someone who apparently didn't know the meaning of those terms? True, he admired her courage and her determination to win, but not when it meant dishonesty, a breach of ethics.
"She's what?" Gordon asked impatiently.
"Huh?"
"Bailey. You said she isn't just any lawyer. So what is she?" The smug look on Gordon's face suggested his friend had a good idea of the gist of his unfinished sentence.
But Austin was having enough trouble facing the knowledge himself; he wasn't ready to admit it to Gordon just yet. "She's pushy," he said. "Pushy, irritating, arrogant." He hesitated again, at a temporary loss for adjectives. Brilliant, exciting, sexy, and fun were the only ones that came to mind.
"Yes?" Gordon prompted.
Austin sighed as images of Bailey danced through his head—Bailey's sweat-damp, exultant face after a run; Bailey expertly taking down the detective at the deposition; Bailey, sassy and sexy in that horrible wig at the bar; Bailey's ivory skin in the moonlight after they made love. Damn!
"She has the morals of a television evangelist," he growled, more to convince himself than Gordon.
Gordon shook his head. "You're wrong. I don't know what's going on, but I do know you're wrong. You've made a judgment based on circumstantial evidence."