Page 109 of Partner Pursuit
She called Betty to accept. Betty sounded thrilled and recommended taking at least a month off before she started at Popflicks, stating there was nothing like that free time between jobs once you had a new job lined up. Betty suggested Audrey start in eight weeks, since she probably had to give two weeks’ notice and the office was closed anyway for the week between Christmas and New Year’s.
Then Audrey called Winnie and asked her if she wanted to join her at Popflicks. She told Winnie that Betty had mentioned previously that a lawyer in the department had transitioned to the business side of things so that was an option, if Winnie decided she didn’t want to stay in law. Winnie was shocked, but also excited—for both of them. Shesaidyes.
Audrey walked into the senior managing partner’s office. She was nervous. Her feet didn’t make a sound on the rich red carpet. A black leather couch sat by one wall. Square mahogany chairs faced the partner’s desk. Hard wooden seats, with no cushion; they were not comfortable to sit in, but she couldn’t quite believe he’d chosen them for that purpose. She’d never been to his office on the spur of the moment before. He looked a bit surprised. Guarded. She supposed senior partners knew that unprompted visits could meanbadnews.
“Do you have a moment?”she asked.
“Of course. Do you have questions about the financial aspects of being apartner?”
“No.” She rushed out the words: “I’m resigning. It was a very difficult decision. I was offered a position as associate general counsel of Popflicks on Saturday and I’veaccepted.”
His face didn’t betray any emotion. “Are you sure? You’ve worked very hard to make partner, and we view you as a tremendous asset to the firm—both for your legal acumen and your ability to work well with others. We don’t want to lose you.” He leaned into his argument, as if relishing a good fight. “Is it the compensation? We’re in lockstep here which makes it difficult for us to maneuver, but certainly we can consider it.”
“The compensation is good, especially with the stock options, but it’s more the lifestyle.” She’d been surprised to find out she’d be making more money atPopflicks.
He looked slightly relieved that it was not just better compensation. “I’m not sure that the general counsel work/life balance is that much better than a law firm.” He paused. “Remember that in a law firm, you do have colleagues who can helpyouout.”
That wasn’t what just happened with my planned vacation.But she didn’t want to raise that and look like she quit for that reason. She wanted to leave on good terms.
He said, “Also, you’re still the outside counsel. You can say no. You can set parameters. If you’re the inside counsel, you don’t have that choice. You’ve got one client and you need to support that client.”
But I do get to call outside counsel for help, and then I’m the client.Maybe he could see that that line of argument was not winning.He stood.
“We were on that one case together. And I remember our discussing: how did this happen? How could it have happened? And I was relieved I was being called in to fix it, and not the one who was responsible for it. But if you’re the inside counsel—” He sat in the chair next to her and leaned in. “You’re on the hook. You’ve got the potential liability. There’s a reason why you may be paid more. As the outside counsel, I’ve sometimes wondered how my client did something so foolish. When you’re the inside counsel, you’re on the front line. You’re the one responsible.” There was a reason he was the senior managing partner of the firm. She worried about liability. But she’d only have liability if she was responsible or involved. And she wasn’t going to make a decision that conflicted with the law. She was confident aboutthat.
He said, “It doesn’t usually start as a direct conflict. Or so I’ve learned while defendingwhite-collarprofessionals. Few have bad intentions. It starts as: we need to get business done. What’s the risk tolerance? Isn’t this a judgment call? What’s the risk of liability? And the risk tolerance moves down the sliding scale.”
Audrey thought about how to respond. Outside, it was snowing. The weather channel had been predicting a blizzard with possibly five feet ofsnow.
“Yes,” she said. “I do understand that—especially based on thewhite-collarcases I’ve done. I’m well aware of that risk, so that will help. I’m truly excited for this new opportunity. It was a hard choice because I worked so hard to become partner here and I’ll miss all my colleagues, but I don’t think I can passthis up.”
He nodded. “I wish you all the best then. It’s been a true pleasure working with you, and we will really miss you. You are a role model to many of the associates and partners here, and I was expecting you to have quite a positive impact on thisfirm.”
Touched by his gracious good wishes, she shook his hand and saidthankyou.
She stopped by Whitaker’s office to tell him she was leaving. He looked sad. “I’m sorry to hear that. You’re one of the good ones. I’ve been telling them for years that you can’t hire thoroughbreds and then treat them like workhorses.” He smiled suddenly. “We can have a joint departure party.”
“I’d like that,” Audreysaid.
As she walked out of his office, she checked her gut to confirm that she still felt it was the right decision. She did. She had loved working here, loved the challenges and the camaraderie, but if she could have that type of legal work at Popflicks, in a warm and nurturing environment, with a life outside of the office? She was going to grab that opportunity with both hands.
Chapter Sixty-One
The snow was falling thicker now, blanketing New York City in white fluff. Outside in the garden, white snow covered the tops of the branches of the elm tree, contrasting with the underside of its dark boughs, as if outlining each limb and shoot. Even through the cloudy sky, the warm lights beckoned from the windows of neighboring houses, Christmas tree lights sparkling through the swirling snowflakes.
Audrey stood in her purple and blue cotton pajamas, gazing out her sliding glass door at the snowfall in her backyard. At least two feet had piled up against the sliding door. Watching the flurries, she felt that excitedlittle-kid-on-a-snow-dayexhilaration.
She’d allowed herself to sleep in; management had sent out an email last night saying the offices would be closed for the expected blizzard, after the mayor announced no school today and the closure of the subway. She didn’t have much work anyway; all her cases had been reassigned, and she was just cleaning out her office and transferring any case files and relevant knowledge to her colleagues. Colette was picking up the bulk of her work. Colette seemed shocked—and sad—that she was leaving. She’d suggested they meet for lunch every few months.
She felt at a loss because normally she’d have work to do, but now she didn’t. She couldn’t visit friends, except Eve and Pete, because the subways were closed. Eve had just accepted a position as the executive pastry chef at a new restaurant that Chef Burns was opening up in Williamsburg. Eve was excited and abuzz figuring out her first menu. Audrey was thrilled for Eve. Maybe she should see if they wanted to meander later in Central Park and work up an appetite to sample more of Eve’sdesserts.
She couldn’t help but think of Jake. Today would have been a perfect day to spend with him. She would get dressed and go to his house. She expected that the lifestyle demands of her new job would be more similar to those of his career. With the next month off, she had time to spend with him, although she was thinking of traveling for a bit—she wanted to visit Australia. But still, she’d be around when she wasn’t traveling. It would be different this time. She hadn’t changed jobs to get him back; but their relationship andbreak-uphad made her realize that thelaw-firmlifestyle wasn’t what she wanted. She sat down on the bed and bit her lip: did she dare? Butterflies fluttered in the pit of her stomach. What if her workload hadn’t been the reason he’d broken up with her? What if it was an excuse? Also, he’d been wrong—he needed to be the one to recognizethat.
She didn’t have to decide yet. The first thing was to shower and get dressed. She couldn’t do anything in her pajamas. As she pulled her clothes out of the drawer, she found a fishing lure she’d bought Jake after that terrible blind date discussing fly fishing. She had thought it would be a funny present. It was a bright blue feathery lure. She found string and tied it to the lure. She put on her coat and boots and then opened up the sliding door of her balcony, with difficulty because of the heavy snowfall. Her boots crunching in the snow, she stepped out and tied one end of the string to her balcony railing and then lowered the lure into his yard, so that it was hanging in front of his glass door, bright blue against the snowy white background. It looked like a bird flying there. It should catch his attention. She felt more hopeful now that she’d done something. Baitedherhook.
She went back inside, took off her coat and boots, and left them to dry near the heater. She put on a black turtleneck and black pants—her New York armor. Then she ate breakfast, but she didn’t have much appetite. Too nervous at the thought of goingover.
She’d put on somemake-upfirst. She looked in the bathroom mirror as she applied mascara. She couldn’t believe she was wishing a water bug would appear, giving her an excuse to goto Jake’s.
