See Me(48)

“Barney will get over it. He’s always tense before trial.”

Yes, but… Maria shifted in her seat. “The thing is, I heard that Barney was going to let me be lead counsel on this case.”

“Where did you hear that?” Jill held her chopsticks at half-mast. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re a brilliant associate – but you’re a little short on experience for Barney to saddle you with that kind of responsibility.”

“Rumors,” Maria said.

“I wouldn’t put much stock in rumors. Barney enjoys the limelight too much, and he has a hard time ceding control – not to mention credit – to even the most senior associates. That’s one of the reasons I transferred to labor and employment. I figured I’d never be able to move up, or even get the courtroom experience I needed.”

“I still can’t believe you were able to transfer departments.”

“Lucky timing. I told you I was in labor and employment for a few years before I started at the firm, right?” When Maria nodded, Jill went on. “At the time, though, I wasn’t sure it was what I really wanted to do, so I took a chance and tried insurance litigation. I worked with Barney for nine months and practically killed myself before I realized it was a dead end. I would have left, but it just so happened that the firm was building up its labor and employment practice and needed me.”

“Unfortunately, I’m kind of stuck if this doesn’t work out. Unless we start doing criminal defense.”

“You could always change firms.”

“That’s not as easy as you might think.”

“You haven’t been looking, have you?”

“Not really. But I’ve been beginning to wonder if I should start.”

Jill scrutinized her as she reached for her glass. “You know you can talk to me, right? About any concerns you have. While I’m not a partner, I do run my own department, which gives me some clout around here.”

“I’ve just got a lot on my mind right now.”

“Hopefully, you’re talking about Colin.”

The mention of his name brought more memories from the weekend, and she changed the subject. “How’s Paul doing?”

“He’s fine. I had to give him the cold shoulder for a couple of days as punishment for the date, but he got over it. We went to Asheville over the weekend for some wine tasting.”

“That sounds fun.”

“It was. Except, of course, there’s no ring yet and the biological clock is still ticking and time is growing short. Pretending that everything is okay hasn’t worked yet, so maybe it’s time to try a new strategy.”

“Like what?”

“I have no idea. If you have any foolproof plans, be sure to let me know.”

“Will do.”

Jill had another piece of sushi. “What do you have lined up this afternoon?”

“Same stuff as usual. There’s a lot of prep work to finish for the trial. While trying to keep up with everything else, of course.”

“Like I said, Barney expects a lot from his associates.”

And Ken expects something else. “It’s a job,” she said.

“Are you sure everything is okay? Even with our lecherous managing partner?”

“Why would you ask?”

“Because you went off to that conference with him, and I’ve known him longer than you have. And remember – I know exactly how he operates.”

“The conference was fine.”

Jill gave her the once-over before finally offering a shrug. “Fair enough,” she said. “The point is, I’m sensing that something else is bothering you.”

Maria cleared her throat, wondering why it suddenly felt as if she were being interrogated.

“There’s really nothing to say,” she answered. “I’m just doing the best job I can.”





The days that followed were too busy for the luxury of daydreaming, with Barney storming into her office every half hour asking her to examine additional details or to make calls, notwithstanding her work on other client matters. She barely had time to leave her desk, and on Wednesday afternoon, while working on a draft of Barney’s opening statement, she failed to notice the way the sunlight began slanting through her windows, or the departures, one by one, of her colleagues. She stared at her MacBook screen with singular concentration until a knock at her office door startled her. She saw the door slowly swing open.

Ken.

With a jolt of panic, she looked through the open doorway; across the hall, Lynn was no longer at her desk. Barney’s office was dark, and she couldn’t hear anyone else in the hallway.

“I noticed that your lights were still on,” he said, stepping into her office. “Do you have a few minutes?”

“I was just finishing up,” she improvised, hearing a trace of uncertainty in her tone. “I must have lost track of time.”

“I’m glad I caught you then,” he said, his voice smooth and controlled. “I wanted to finish the conversation we started last week.”

Maria felt a thud in her chest and began collecting the pages on her desk before slipping them back into their folders. The last thing she wanted was to be alone with him. She swallowed. “Is there any way we could do this tomorrow? I’m already late and I’m supposed to have dinner with my parents tonight.”