Practice Makes Perfect(60)
Payton entered the final stretch of her eight-year quest to join the prestigious elite of those fortunate few Ripley & Davis lawyers who had been elevated to the rank of partner by keeping two promises she had recently made.
First, she won her trial—thereby upholding her vow to the jury during her opening statement that she was certain that after hearing all the evidence, they would find her client not liable for sexual harassment.
As was tradition whenever one of the litigation attorneys had a trial victory, when she got back to the office after court the other members of the group dropped by her office to offer her their congratulations. All except J.D., that is.
He stayed in his office the entire afternoon, with the door shut.
“What’s gotten into him?” Irma asked when she stopped by on her way out, with a nod in the direction of J.D.’s office. “Are you two fighting again?”
“I don’t think he’s talking to m—” Payton stopped, having caught the implication of Irma’s question. “What do you mean, are we fighting again?” She and J.D. had always been so careful not to air their disputes in public.
Irma threw her a look. “The administrative staff is the eyes and ears of this institution, Payton. We know everything.”
Payton sat upright in her chair. “You talk about us?”
Irma shrugged unconcernedly. “Yes.”
Payton folded her arms across her chest. “Well. And what do you say?”
“Mostly now we talk about you two battling it out for partner.”
“You know about that?”
Again, Irma shrugged unconcernedly. “Yes. We even have a betting pool on which one of you will make it.”
Payton’s mouth dropped open, shocked to find her arduous career struggles the subject of tacky, meaningless office gossip.
“I can’t believe you’re participating in this, Irma. It’s so distasteful. Who’s ahead in the pool?”
“It’s pretty much falling along gender lines.”
Payton smiled with satisfaction. “So I’m in the lead then. There’s—what—like two male secretaries in the entire firm?”
“Well, some of the junior associates are in the pool as well. And by some, I mean all of them.”
Payton rolled her eyes. “I suppose all the partners, too?”
“Strangely, no,” Irma mused. “None of the partners seem to know anything about you and J.D. not getting along.”
Payton scoffed at this. “It’s not so strange, really. Half the partners here don’t seem to know anything unless it’s spelled out in a memo some poor associate had to sacrifice her entire weekend drafting.”
Now it was Irma’s turn to be surprised. “That sounded awfully disgruntled for you.” She nodded approvingly. “I like it.” With a wink, she turned and left.
Payton sighed. Note to self: bite tongue more frequently.
And find out which junior associates had the audacity to bet on J.D.
If it was Brandon, she’d kill the kid.
THE SECOND PROMISE Payton kept was the one she had made to Chase, that they would sit down and talk as soon as her trial was over. The sit-down took place at Chase’s apartment, but the talking was mostly on Payton’s end.
Chase took the breakup well. He even laughed when Payton said she had his best interests in mind just as much as hers, seeing how she was thoroughly convinced she was far too difficult a person to ever make him anything other than utterly miserable.
In truth, any thoughts she still may have held that things could work with Chase pretty much ended the moment she kissed J.D. She had no idea what was happening between them lately, but clearly (as evidenced by their little tryst on her kitchen counter) she had no business dating anyone else until she figured it out.
The next day at work, she was on her way to see Laney to deliver the bad news that, alas, the Perfect Chase was no more, when she heard J.D.’s voice calling her name. She turned around and saw him halfway down the hallway, approaching her.
“Ben asked to see both of us, right away if possible,” J.D. said. “Apparently there’s been some development in the Gibson’s matter.”
Without further word, he coolly breezed past her and continued along the hallway to Ben’s office.
Payton followed behind him, making no attempt to catch up. If that’s the kind of game he wanted to play, so be it. The two of them walked the entire way in silence.
When they got to Ben’s office, they found him on the phone. He signaled that he was wrapping things up and gestured for them to wait outside. J.D. walked to the window at the end of the hall, turned his back to Payton, and checked out the view outside as he continued his silent treatment.
Payton was tempted at first to simply ignore him, but then she changed her mind. J.D. was beginning to seriously piss her off and she had every intention of letting him know that. She briskly walked up to him.
“Are you really not talking to me?” She kept her voice low, so that they wouldn’t be overheard.
J.D. glanced sideways at her. “I’m just giving you your space, Payton.” He turned back to the window.
“You’re being an ass.”
“And you’re playing games. How’s Chase these days?” he asked sarcastically.
“Fine, I guess. Chase and I aren’t seeing each other anymore.”