Page 1 of Partner Pursuit
Chapter One
Jacket on the back of the chair. Check.
Desk lighton. Check.
Now, Ms. Willems, your mission, should you choose to accept it: Get out of the office on the sly.Audrey snorted silently at her ownbadly-playedmovie line. She stuffed the Save the Childrent-shirtshe’d gotten from a Central Park Zoo benefit in her Tory Burch brown leather satchel, added as many legal pads as could fit, and plumped the bag to look like it held at least four case files. She casually leaned the bag against the side of her desk, in view of her open officedoor.
The excited chatter of the exiting assistants filled the hallway. She typed up the Popflicks engagement letter and then entered Popflicks as a new client into the law firm database.Yes.Her pulsequickened.
The office was now quiet. She put an uncapped red pen in the middle of a legal pad on her desk. It looked like she’d be right back.The scene called for something more. If only she had a permanently steaming cup of tea. She poured a bottle of water into a glass.
She should depart boldly, but leaving early was frowned upon by the partnershippowers-that-be. They might even think she needed another assignment. She definitely did not. She had just landed Popflicks. She had stayed until 11 p.m. every night this week.Okay, so I’m not always very good at saying no.But now was not the time to say no to a partner—not when she’d been working so hard for seven years, her life on hold. Now that she was in the homestretch, she could practically see “Audrey Willems, Partner,” embossed on her law firm’s businesscard.
She’d promised Eve that she wouldn’t stand her up—again—tonight.Best friends were supposed to be reliable. Especially when she’d promised said best friend and neighbor to be the guinea pig for her new cateringbusiness.
The towering stacks of papers on her desk made her hesitate.But…Promises to Eve. Promises to herself, her career. Promises to the senior partner. She couldtaste-testfor Eve and then review the files…The mental image of her laughing with Eve morphed into her pale face lit by a fluorescent lamp reading a legal opinion.Her shoulders slumped.
She peeked out her doorway. No one was in the hallway. It was clear. With theMission Impossibletheme song running through her head, she snuck down the carpeted hallway and darted into the rarely used interior stairwell. Better odds to escape unseen than to chance the elevator. She jogged down several flights of stairs. So far, sogood.
She was a few steps from thetwenty-fifth-floorlanding when the hardsnick-crackof the crash bars sounded below on her left. The metal door swung open and the wiry figure of Lawrence Malaburn appeared. He leaned against the emergency exit door as it softly clicked shut behind him. Audrey stopped short, gripping the cold railing withonehand.
“Audrey. I didn’t realize you took the stairs.” Malaburn raised his face, and his thin lips pursedslightly.
Malaburn.Her least favorite partner. Eight months of working for him had made her seriously consider ending her law career. Demanding and critical, he’d brought her to tears more than once—in the office, but not in front of him.It was every working woman’s motto to never let them see youcry.
Note to self: Do not take the stairs.
Second note to self: Never let them seeyou sweat.
“It’s my exercise for the week,” Audrey said wryly. Maybe even forthe month.
He waved for her to precede him down the cement stairway. Audrey stepped forward, her skin crawling. He was just about breathing on her neck. How about leaving the space of one step behind someone on the stairs? The jerk didn’t even practice common courtesy. No way was she going to make small talk with him fortwenty-fivemore floors.She quickenedherpace.
He matchedher steps.
“Yes, well, this is fortuitous. I was just thinking of you for an assignment. It follows up on that research you did a few years ago, so it shouldn’t take too long. Could you fit it in?” Malaburn said, his nasal voice bringing back memories of hislate-nightcalls with constant changes.
When hell freezes over. Or when I don’t already have a full caseload. Same thing.
“Thank you for considering me. I’ll check my schedule and let you know,” Audrey said, forcing a polite, measured tone into her answer.
“Stop by my office tomorrow. ..ornow?”
“I’m on my way to ameeting.”
“Thentomorrow.”
They’d reached thetwenty-third-floorlanding. Her chance to exit, get rid of him. Suddenly, she felt the heat of his body next to her. She tensed—way too close—but then he reached past her and slapped at the crash bar. Only after the metal door slammed behind him did she let out the breath she’d been holding. She shook her head. Rules, girl, rules.He needed to go through the assignment partner. That was the protocol to ensure work was assigned evenly. She would not be in his officetomorrow.
The cement block walls of the staircase mocked her.Stop thinking about him.She was about to defend the Popflicks litigation. Her Hen Bank case was busy, and its success crucial tothefirm.
She jogged down the stairs and pushed open the exit door. This staircase exited separately from the lobby, on the other side of the building. Total bonus. She checked to confirm no law firm colleagues were in sight and stepped into the sauna that was Manhattan in the summer.
She merged into the throngs of suits heading for the subway station. Black sedans weredouble-parked, waiting to pick up the office building escapees. Her phone buzzed. Watching where she was going, so she kept pace with thefast-movingcurrent of New Yorkers, she read the text from Winnie:Need to talk ASAP. Just stoppedby office.
Sheside-steppedout of the herd and stood off by the curb. Winnie was wasted as a lawyer; she should’ve been in CIA intelligence.
She texted back:Escaping. Promised Eve dinner.Why?
