Page 5 of Silver Fake

"Mr. Gordon," John says as his eyes narrow on Ethan. "You seem a bit flustered. Can you please share the status of your assignment?"

Ethan gulps visibly, his hands trembling as he flips through his papers. The silence stretches, and John folds his hands together, and I can tell that he's getting impatient.

“My apologies, Mr. Barton. I didn’t realize we would have to present our cases at this meeting,” Ethan says.

John pins him with a glare. “I sent out this agenda a week ago.”

Ethan swallows hard, clutching his papers tighter. "Yes, sir... I... uh... have been focused on working on the case. I've been... um... going through the details, cross-referencing facts, and... and... preparing the requisite documents." His voice grows softer with every word, and he avoids making eye contact with John. "I assure you, I... I am making progress."

John motions around the room. “Do you think everyone else in here had free time? Your colleagues are working on multiple cases at once. Yet you have one assignment and come unprepared?"

“I am prepared, I just left my notes in my office. I can tell you the gist of where I’m at with the case.”

“The gist.” John repeats Ethan's words like he's trying not to laugh. He glances over at Melissa, who just shakes her head and starts scribbling furiously in her notebook.

“Mr. Gordon, the 'gist' will not win cases for our clients.," John says in a stern voice. "The law is not about the gist. It is facts and data. I would suggest you learn to better manage your time before our next meeting if you don’t want this to be your last assignment with our team.”

Ethan glances at Melissa like he’s hoping she will save him from John, but she gives him her own hard stare.

"Ethan, this firm expects the utmost professionalism from each of its associates. Being unprepared for a meeting, especially one of this importance, is unacceptable," she states sternly. "Our clients trust us with their lives, their businesses. If we can't trust you to come prepared for a simple team meeting, how can we trust you with their cases?"

His face is so red he could be mistaken for an apple.

Ethan's voice is shaky as he responds, "If it would help, I could come by your office after the meeting, Mr. Barton, to discuss my progress in detail."

John waves his hand dismissively, not bothering to look at him anymore. "That won't be required, Mr. Gordon. Give Lisa whatever notes you have in that folder of yours. From now on, everything related to your cases goes through her before it comes to me."

Ethan snaps his head towards me, surprise written all over his face.

"Why should I report to Lisa?" His voice is laced with indignation.

John leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "Because, Mr. Gordon," he replies, his gaze fixed on Ethan, "Unlike you, Lisa knows how to give me what I want."

I feel my cheeks burn at John's words, and I quickly avert my gaze from Ethan's shocked face, focusing instead on the notes in front of me.

To be honest, John didn't say anything that I didn't already know. He has always treated me more like an equal than a secretary. His respect for my work and capability has given me the confidence to exceed my own expectations and become the best at what I do.

Most secretaries I know are more like babysitters, their work often trivialized and undervalued. But it's different with John. He relies on me, not to take care of his menial tasks, but to support him in doing what he does best - winning cases. He's smart, capable, and always in control, yet he acknowledges and appreciates my contributions. This dynamic has transformed what could have been a mundane secretarial job into an engaging and fulfilling role for me.

But still, to hear him openly voice his respect for my work in front of the whole team leaves me slightly taken aback, a warm flutter in my stomach.

Ethan keeps looking from John to me like he wants to say something. Probably argue that a secretary can’t do a better job than him. But the longer he hesitates to hand the paperwork over to me, the colder John’s icy blue stare becomes.

“Is there a problem?” John says to him.

“No, of course not. Here's the file, Lisa,” Ethan nearly tosses the file in the air, trying to give it to me. “I’ll email you the electronic copy.”

I nod. “Thanks.”

Fortunately, the rest of the meeting goes smoothly. Everyone seems to have a good handle on their cases, and after about twenty minutes, the team is dismissed to go back to work.

As the team starts filing out of the conference room, I gather my papers together and make my way toward John. We've established a quiet routine of debriefing after every meeting. It's a routine we've never really discussed, but it's key to keeping things running smoothly.

As I approach John, I give him a warm smile. "Good afternoon, John. How was Boston?"

I deliberately keep my tone light, but as soon as John's eyes flick up to mine, I can tell he knows that I'm really asking why he was late.

"It was busy," he says, his gaze far away in thought, presumably still focused on the meeting. He pinches the bridge of his nose before adding, "And we got held up at Logan."

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