Side Bet Bluff

Part 6 - Monday Evening

When it was all over I went back to my office and grabbed my briefcase and put my diplomas and my framed print of Muhammad Ali standing over a K.O.'d Sonny Liston in a cardboard box. I ran into Allison in the lobby, and I had a sneaky suspicion that she had been instructed by a certain lascivious sex slave of mine to wait for me. Allison was carrying a small file box with her personal items. She told me that Jenny had been let out long ago and Karen was nowhere to be found. Since I was now phoneless, I suggested we start walking towards my place as there was both a bank to deposit our severance checks and a cell phone store along the way.

Now that it was just the two of us, I got her to open up a bit more. Well, not really. She still refused to call me anything but "Mr. Jennings," or occasionally "Sir." She admitted to taking public transportation in, and that she shared a townhouse with three other women. I couldn't imagine. The last time I shared a place with more than one person was when I was an undergrad, and Aaron and I shared a two bedroom apartment with two other guys (which we all vowed never to do again). Oh, and her last name was Grimsley, which I discovered by stealing a glance at her severance check, sitting atop of her things in her file box. Not a very attractive name, I must admit. I also got a glance at the amount of her check. I really, really, really hoped that wasn't four months salary, even after taxes. If it was, well, no wonder she had three roommates.

As we approached the phone store I asked Allison if she needed a new phone. She informed me that the paralegals didn't have their phones provided by the firm, though she'd be completely lost without her cell. With four people in the same house, they had decided to use their cell phones as their only phone and had never had a landline installed. I asked if she'd call Jaycee and ask her to meet us at the store and she jumped at the chance. She didn't just dial Jaycee's cell number, she immediately programmed it in. See? Jaycee'd known this girl for all of a couple hours and now she was Allison's new best friend. I found her side of the conversation a little humorous.

"Hi Jaycee? It's Allison. ... Uh-huh ... Yes, he's ... Yes ... Ummm ... No, it's just us ... Yeah ... Oh Jaycee, stop ... no, really ... ... yeah ... Ummm ... Jayyyceeee [in a petulant whine] ... please ... no ... no, I didn't mean ... [gasp!] No!, I ... what? ... really? ... no, I couldn't. ..."

By this time we were standing in front of the store, but I didn't want to go in until I discovered if Allison was going to be able to actually invite Jaycee to meet us.

"You promise? ... really? ... ok ... yes ... yes, I'd like that. ... Ok, I'd love that. ... yes ... yes ... ok." And then she held her phone out to me. So no, and no more than four words in a string together.

"Hey Jaycee"

"Hey, where are you?"

I laughed. "They took my phone. We're at the store two blocks down on Buchanan getting me a new one. Allison was supposed to be telling you this information."

Allison gasped. "Sorry, sir." She seemed quite upset that she'd failed me. I waved her down.

"And you want me to come down? I can, I was just going to straighten up a little after taking my nap. We spilled quite a lot of massage oil on the floor last night, and I'm still trying to figure out how that happened."

"I'll probably be here a while, these places work on glacial time. So if you want to come down, you can. We'll be here."

"If it's optional, I think I'll stay and do some things up here. I'll let you spend some quality time with Allison, your next employee."

"Jaycee," I said exasperated.

"Ok, I won't bring it up again. But you know I'm right."

"I'll call you when I'm done." And I turned off the phone and handed it back to Allison.

"Um, sir?" she asked. "Would it be ok if I programmed your number into my cell?"

I looked down at the cheap phone in her hand. It looked like the giveaway phone from several years ago.

"Allison, would you like a new phone?" I asked.

"Oh no, sir. I couldn't let you do that."

"Of course you could," I answered.

"Sir, Mr. Jennings, really, I just ..."

I leaned in close to her. "Allison? Jaycee told me you'd walk through fire for me."

Allison face turned beet red. "She said that?"

"Yes, and I've found that Jaycee is almost always right about those sorts of things."

"Ummm, well, she is very smart."

"So, if I insisted on getting you a better phone, you'd let me, right?"

"Ummm."

"Is your cell phone plan through this company?" I asked.

"Y-Yes."

"Good. Then it's settled. Let's go pick out our new phones."

I decided on getting both of us the store's latest and greatest model. It had some brand new features I was intrigued about. Allison kept protesting that it was too much, but I pushed her into it anyway, and paid the amount to upgrade her service plan up front for a year. That way Allison would continue to make the same monthly payments as before, maybe less since she now had unlimited texting instead of pay as you go.

By the time we got out of there it looked like we were going to be late meeting the others because I still needed to drop my stuff off at home. Allison and I walked back to my building, playing with our phones' new features. She was finally smiling when she looked at me. That alone made my purchase of her phone worth it. The silent staring was starting to freak me out.

When we walked into the building I got a visitor's pass for Allison and told the security guard on duty that we'd need a cab in five minutes. We went up to my place, entered, dropped our stuff in the entryway, got a quick kiss from Jaycee in greeting (yes, both of us), and away we went. I offered my arms to both ladies and surprisingly Allison took one.

Ten minutes later we walked into Pip's in much the same position (the ladies had switched sides). Several of my fellow associates were also there, along with both Karen and Jenny. Unfortunately 'Buddy Boy' was among the crowd, and he was being disgustingly aggressive with Jenny.

"Come on, you know you'd love to see it. Custom leather upholstery, all the latest gadgets, and it will go from zero to sixty so fast it'll knock your dress right off, leaving you in just your dripping panties."

"I'm not in the least bit interested," Jenny replied. "You, sir, are rude, uncouth, and outright vulgar."

"You don't have to play hard to get any more, Jenny-girl, the old rules are gone. We can be together now, just like you've always wanted," Buddy practically drooled in her ear.

"Look, Jenny," said Karen trying anything to come to her friend's rescue. "Our friends have arrived."

"Oh yeah?" Buddy said, looking forward to more women to hit on.

"Yes," Jenny said pointing at me. "I'm sure you'll excuse us."

Buddy turned around and gaped at me. "Billy Boy?"

"Sorry, ol' Buddy Boy. Do you mind if I take your seat? Thanks." And I put my hand on his upper arm and strongly pulled him away from Jenny.

We quickly surrounded Jenny to insulate her from Buddy, with me standing protectively behind her.

Jenny turned partially toward me and placed her right hand on my chest. "Your timing could not have been better," she sighed. "I was getting quite frustrated at his heavy-handed manner." And with that she rested her head next to her hand. Not knowing what to do I put my arm around her and hugged her tenderly. Allison smiled at me.

"What a jerk," Jaycee said. "He saw me earlier at the office and I thought he was going to trip over his tongue."

"How did he ever keep his job?" asked Allison.

"Oh I can tell you that," piped in Karen. "There were two clients who were just as inane as he was. They were in some kind of boasting competition and neither of them ever clued in that Buddy was nothing but talk. Maybe they weren't either. But they kept sending him business just for the opportunity to have their joint meetings and try to one up each other."

"There's got to be more to it than that," I said.

"Not so far as I can tell," Karen lamented.

"Well, we'll see just how he fares on his own," I said. "For now, let's turn our talk to brighter things, like to friends we can lean on in troubled times."

"Some of us are doing more leaning than others," quipped Jaycee.

Embarrassed, Jenny removed herself from my chest. "Sorry, Jaycee."

"Oh, don't feel bad. I was just teasing. He sure is a comforting rock to cling to, isn't he?"

Now I was beginning to be embarrassed. "I meant," trying to change the subject, "that we'll be leaning on Karen. She's the rich one, remember?" Allison, Jenny, and Jaycee all laughed and turned to look at my former legal secretary.

She shook her head. "I've worked with gold diggers my entire life, but this is the first time I've been their target," she joked. "I must say, it feels rather ... empowering. Which of you lovely morsels can I nibble on first?" Allison blushed and looked down. Jaycee leered at Karen and gave her a wink, and Jenny laughed out loud, then quickly brought her hand up to cover her mouth and stifle it. In the two years I'd seen Jenny, that was the first time I'd seen her make an audible laugh.

Just then Adam Goldberg came over to talk with me. Adam had been the most newly named partner in our office, holding the position for just two months. He was a decent sort, if a little self-involved (I know, I know, all corporate lawyers are self-involved).

"Will, Buddy was saying something about you having a harem," Adam started. "I decided I should check this out with my own eyes."

"Good idea," I returned. "Anything Buddy says should be verified before taken as fact."

Adam laughed and then placed his order with the bartender. I made introductions all around. The only one Adam appeared to recognize was Jenny.

"I'm surprised to see you down here so quickly," I said. "I thought you partners would be going over the details of your partnership agreements for the next week to determine who gets how much and all that."

"Well, there are partners and there are partners," Adam lamented. "As a junior partner, my partnership agreement was much more like an employment contract."

"Really?" I said surprised.

"I hadn't even seen the blasted thing until today."

"How is that even possible?" I asked.

"I know," Adam said shaking his head. "You'd think a guy who makes his living working on contracts would actually, you know, negotiate his own. But when you've put in eight years for one goal and they finally hand it out to you, it's not like you're going to turn them down. It pretty much removes any leverage you have."

"I guess that makes sense," Jaycee said. Adam was taken aback that someone besides me talked, giving Jaycee a look that showed annoyance that she intruded.

"But you'd never even seen your contract?" I prodded to get Adam back on track.

"That's right. I requested to take a look at it a couple weeks ago. I was actually laughed at. Can you imagine?"

"It would appear the haves and have-nots exist at every level of a law firm," chimed in Jenny.

Once again Adam seemed annoyed. "Yes," I added. "We were all talking earlier about the overly restrictive rules regarding interactions between the lawyers and staff."

"Well, those rules are necessary," Adam said. "We need strict professionals there, not people whose primary purpose is to find a husband."

"I thought almost half the attorneys in your office were women?" Jaycee inquired.

"Half of the associates are women," Adam said, as if that required no further explanation. I wasn't going to touch this topic. Adam could dig his own grave. When Jaycee gave him a blank stare he continued. "While it is true that more women are entering the profession, they rarely have what it takes to achieve success in the field. The extra hours and constant need to attend to clients interferes with a woman's biological drive towards settling down and raising a family. There are, or I should say were, only two female partners in our office, compared to eight male partners."

"So you're saying that women are not cut out for the legal profession?" Jenny asked, rather icily too.

"Not as an absolute rule, but generally, yes." He was met with frosty stares by the ladies, even Allison.

"Adam," I argued. "Even you must admit that Glenda and Cathy are the two most impressive lawyers in the firm, present company included. And Cathy does have a husband and a kid."

"I think that only proves my point further," Adam said. "Only truly exceptional women can overcome the natural obstacles to such professional success."

"Anyway, that has nothing to do with why I came over," Adam said while turning back to me. "Glenda has noted in our partner meetings how you have been slowly convincing her of the turn in the market and I had to ask ... how long ago did Mr. Beck tell you?"

"Actually, I told him when I first met him two and a half years ago," I said. "Of course, he already knew. And he filled in a lot of missing pieces or gave me data to back up some of the assumptions I was making. I just wish I had been able to convince Glenda a lot sooner, or that Glenda had convinced the rest of the firm for that matter."

"Uh huh," Adam said, clearly not believing me. "And when is the market going to rebound?"

"It isn't," I said. Adam blinked at me, still not believing me. "Well, the stock market will shortly go on an upwards bump for a few months based on government spending and the promise of better financial statements from trimming so many payrolls plus some unfounded inflationary worries, but financial rebounds always happen much earlier than an economic one. The economy will have a "W" shaped recovery. And the financial market is never coming back to the point it was, not with the kinds of pricing and profit ratios we got used to over the last decade. At least, I truly hope it doesn't. The whole thing was a giant Ponzi scheme built on credit."

Now he was looking at me like I had two heads. He didn't even say another word to me; instead he just shook his head and wandered off.

"Is that true?" asked Allison.

"About the market? Yes."

"We're never going to find new jobs, are we?"

"Never say never," I tried to comfort her. I decided not to share the firm's offer to move up to New York with this group. I didn't want to run the risk of my former fellow associates overhearing.

"This city added a lot of legal jobs over the last six to eight years in what was just a temporary spike to take advantage of this credit bubble. But just because it's going to go back to about the same level of jobs as there were doesn't mean we won't get two of them. I'll be happy to be one of your references. And when a potential employer calls me up I'll tell them they'd be a fool not to hire you for a nice, fat salary." That got a small smile back onto her face.

"So, William," said Karen, "do you have a plan on how to get one of those rare jobs?"

"Mr. Beck certainly sounded like he was going to make me an offer, though it would take a truly special offer to get me to move to New York. There was a reason why I stayed here when most of my classmates headed off to the bigger markets. I happen to really like this town. If Glenda hooks up with another firm here I think she'll ask if I want to go with her. I shouldn't just wait around for that to happen, though. I'm going to hit the phones tomorrow, touch base with some of my old classmates at other firms as well as with the clients I spent the most time with. Maybe I'll even find myself going in-house somewhere."

"In that case, maybe I can give you a hand," Karen said. "I know more about your clients than you do. I'll try to see what's available for us."

Us?

That conversation repeated itself several times in the next hour as different people from the firm stopped by the popular watering hole to commiserate.

In between I returned to my attempts at getting Jenny and Allison to use my first name. I was finally successful with Jenny, though I think the two cosmopolitans she drank may have been the key factor. Allison still stubbornly held fast to calling me Mr. Jennings.

The most entertaining event of the hour was a visit by the aforementioned other female partner, Cathy Flannery, master litigator, who was hopping mad over the day's events. She was making all kinds of statements regarding suing the firm for breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, civil conspiracy, and constructive fraud. She had been brought in not too long ago in Glenda's plan to beef up the litigation team, and it sounded like some big promises had been made to get her. Now that those were torpedoed, Cathy was in a fury.

In ten minutes at the bar, she'd downed three shots, gone through a list of some partners' least flattering attributes, and even shouted a couple insults across the bar at people looking at her in a manner she didn't like. That provoked the unexpected reaction of vociferous applause from Karen and Jaycee. Cathy seemed pleased with that, but then showed some surprise to see me smiling at her from within her cheering section. Finally, after apparently getting most of the rage out of her system, she sighed, announced she was going home to her son, and left. She was a very intense woman.

"I can't believe she's got a kid," commented Jaycee.

"He's a beautiful little boy," said Jenny. "You should have seen her with him at the fall social. She was wonderful with him; quite the opposite of her work demeanor."

As it was getting on towards dinner time, Jaycee asked (after getting my permission) the others over to my place for a home-cooked meal. Karen and Jenny claimed to already have plans for the evening. Jaycee wouldn't let Allison escape, though. I clued in that Jaycee had already invited Allison over during their phone conversation in front of the phone store.

We made our way out to the street and said our goodbyes. "Jaycee, it was so wonderful to meet you today," said Jenny. "You must promise me that we'll get together the next time your master grants you permission."

"You betcha," said Jaycee. "I'll give you a call tomorrow and we'll chat. And don't think that just because you're weaseling out of dinner tonight I won't get you to Will's dining table soon."

"Are you sure? I might not want to leave," she teased. "And I do apologize for tonight, but I must go and console my mother. She's convinced that I'll never be able to find another job and will end up destitute on the streets," she laughed.

"Ok, Boss," said Karen. "I'll call you tomorrow morning and we can brainstorm who to call."

"Boss?" I asked.

"Always my boss," Karen answered.

Jaycee decided Karen's response deserved a hug from her. Don't ask me why, I don't know.

"Now, Jaycee," lectured Karen. "Don't keep William up too late tonight. He's got a big day tomorrow."

"Don't you worry about our William," Jaycee said. "He'll knock me out cold and still wake up hours before I regain consciousness."

Karen and Jenny smiled again and waved farewell. Allison was back to looking at me agog. I swear, that woman took everything Jaycee said way too literally.

Jaycee, Allison and I walked back to my building in the cool evening air with Jaycee driving the conversation and looking extremely well put together in that winter overcoat — thank you again, Rebecca. Jaycee had me laughing and Allison blushing and stuttering the whole way, mostly by questioning Allison's sexual experiences, followed up by giving her advice on how to please a man. I almost ordered Jaycee not to keep embarrassing Allison, but I was enjoying it too much.

When we got back inside my apartment, I noticed that Jaycee had turned the heat back up to where I had raised it for her two days ago, to better make her comfortable in no clothes. I eagerly shed my shoes, jacket, and tie, while also aiding Allison out of her heels and jacket. Jaycee excused herself down the hall. Allison and I made small talk in Jaycee's absence, with me promising to drive her home when dinner was finished.