Page 4 of Getting the Grinder
I once did body shots of tequila off the navels of every woman on a college cheerleading squad. I was twenty-two, and it was a contest between me and a teammate to see who could do more shots. I won and then passed out on the bar floor. But I was up and at ’em again the next day.
I’ve never been the fastest player on the ice or the best shooter. But whatever team I’m on, I’m always the hardest worker. Up earlier than everyone else to get in an extra workout. Staying late at practice to keep running drills. It’s how I keep my place on the team.
My motto when I was younger was “work hard, play harder.” Now that I’m approaching thirty, though, I like my downtime. I read books and drink a lot less alcohol. And apparently, I hang out with puppies in bathrooms at bachelor parties while others are partying.
Works for me.
Chapter Two
Mara
* * *
“I know your workloads are heavy, but I can’t get the board to even consider lifting the hiring freeze,” my boss Gayle says. “We’re going to have to stay selective about which cases we can move forward with.”
I exchange a quick look with Jayden, the attorney I work alongside every day in the Cuyahoga County state’s attorney’s office. The two of us handle nearly all of the criminal cases in the lowly traffic division, but we’re both too stubborn to do what our boss is suggesting.
The cases that take the most time and resources for us—things like driving under the influence and hit-and-run—are also the hardest to get convictions for. With our department down several attorneys and staffers, we could lighten our workloads by not charging as many of those cases.
But fuck that. I didn’t take this job so I could bust the balls of people who were driving ten over the speed limit. I’m here to get drunk drivers off the streets.
“Mara, can you stay?” Gayle asks me when the meeting ends.
I sit up straighter, running a hand down my light-blue button-down shirt. It hasn’t even been a year since I made the switch from working at a soul-sucking corporate law firm to this job, and even though I know I’m doing good work here, it’s still nerve-racking to be singled out by my boss.
“How’s it going?” Gayle asks me once we’re alone.
I smile. “Good. Jayden and I make a great team. Missy is amazing, too.”
The assistant Jayden and I share, Missy, has worked in this office for twenty-seven years, and she’s the glue that holds us together. She knows all the things Jayden and I are still learning.
“I noticed you and Jayden are putting in a lot of hours.”
She sounds less than thrilled about it, which is...unexpected. Our workload is intense, and the only way we can keep up is by staying late most nights and coming in on Saturday mornings.
“We have a good system.” I deflect her question because I’m not apologizing for the extra hours.
Her dark eyes soften. “It takes time to dispo cases as quickly as people who have been here for a long time. You and Jayden are both young attorneys, and I don’t want you burning yourselves out. I wish I could shift more resources your way?—”
“We’re good,” I assure her, lowering my brows. “I guess I should only speak for myself, so ... I’m good.”
She nods, smiling softly. “I’m going to talk to Jayden, too. I want to tell you face to face that I’ll be culling your filings for now. It’s something I’m going to start doing for every division, not just yours. I don’t want people in my office consistently working sixty-plus hours a week. It’s one thing if there’s a big trial, but you and Jayden have been doing it for months.”
My stomach turns as I think about our office declining to charge on slam-dunk DUI cases. I start to protest, then clamp my mouth shut.
“Go ahead,” Gayle says, looking amused. “I don’t expect you to agree with me all the time.”
“Can we decline more light traffic cases? I don’t want to decline felonies to make room for misdemeanors.”
“Of course. My only mandate is that you lighten the load so you can manage it in fifty hours a week or less. I want the two of you to decide what to drop, and you know I’ll stand behind your decisions.”
I breathe a little easier. “Okay.”
“You’ll also be working some domestics with Bruce.”
My brows fly up in surprise. “Me?”
“You’re ready. And Bruce is a great teacher.”
