Page 30 of Partner Pursuit
She called her back.“HiMom.”
“How are you doing?”
“Good.” Her mom’s voice warmed Audrey.
“How’s work? Are you atworknow?”
“No, I’m working from home today.” She stared at the pile of cases on the table in front of her. Highlighters,Post-itnotes, pens, all ready to go.
“And howiswork?”
“I won a pitch for a new case onThursday.”
“That’s wonderful. Marjorie’s daughter was promoted to managing director. I was just telling Marjorie about your case last year when I got to watch you argue in court and win. That was so thrilling.”
“That’s impressive that her daughterisa MD.”
“A partner at a law firm is just as impressive.”
Butterflies churned in the pit of her stomach. Her mom didn’t mean to add to the pressure, but she did. “How’s your work going?”
“It’s great.” Her mom waxed on enthusiastically about the people she was meeting and the research she was doing. She couldn’t wait to introduce Audrey to her new friends. “But I think Benedict is trying to sideline me while I’m here.” Benedict was her department rival.
“How?”
“My teaching schedule for next year is a nightmare. He volunteered to do scheduling, and I think he planned it so I would have less time to write andpublish.”
“Did you confronthim?”
“Not directly. I asked him nicely to reschedule some of myclasses.”
“What about alerting the department head? He wants you to publish, for the benefit of the department’s reputation.” Audrey leaned forward, her elbow on her dining room table, her head propped inherhand.
“He hates to be bothered with these details. I’ll try to get as much published this year as I can. As you know, you can only depend on yourself to get it done. So, how’sEve?”
“Good. We have a new neighbor in the brownstone next to us.”
“I hope he’s a quiet one, not someone who’s going to throw a lot of parties and play music at all hours.”
Audrey swallowed her laugh. “He had a party his first night, but it was reallyfun.”
“You went to a party at his house already?” hermom asked.
“Eve and I were eating dinner at the balcony, and we were invitedover.”
Her mom said, “I was worried you’d be working too hard. But it is only six months until the decision, so you need to focus on that. You’ll have the rest of your life to go to parties and travel.”
That’s what Audrey kept telling herself. That once she was partner, it would be better. She would have more control of her schedule; she had to believe that. Tiny slivers of doubt made her shiver. She wasn’t going to regret going to Jake’s party or the concert. But she wasn’t going to tell her mother about the concert either. Instead, she reassured her mom that she was focused on work. They talked for a bit longer, and then Audrey’s doorbell rang. The postman announced she had a package over the intercom. She said goodbye to her mom and ran downstairs to get it. She quickly opened the package and readthenote.
Dear Audrey,
I might start planning my next vacation based onTravel, Surf, Cook—I’ll just need to bring the soundtrack.
The coloring book was certainly a thoughtful gift. And different. I can’t say I’ve received a coloring book as a gift before. I could never stay inthe lines.
I found you this fairytale coloring book—guaranteed to reduce stress!
Cheers,
