A glass of wine in hand, Jayne Morgan stood out on the small hotel balcony, admiring the view of downtown Chicago. Despite the coolness of the evening, the thirty-four year old felt quite comfortable in just the skirt and blouse she wore, warmed within by her drink and the thought of a job well done. The latter of which, the short-haired redhead was certain, was going to reap significant dividends come Tuesday morning when she returned to New York and the offices of Sherman, Brown and Grant. Consideration for a partnership suddenly seemed a very real possibility.
And yet, less than forty-eight hours before, the associate had imagined a much different outcome to the case she had come to Chicago for. In fact, she had truly believed she was looking at a disaster in the making, with an equally detrimental effect on her career.
Three days ago, Nathaniel Brown, the senior partner whom she had accompanied on a major product liability case, had been stricken with appendicitis, warranting hospitalization and immediate surgery. That in itself had been enough to cause her concern but not overwhelmingly so. The real catastrophe, at least in her mind, occurred when the trial judge decided he saw no reason why, as second chair, she couldn't complete the case on her own. Despite her urgent request, he refused to grant a continuance and would only agree to a one day delay to allow her to prepare her own final summation.
Jayne was a competent attorney, but this case needed much more than simple competence. What it needed was someone of Nathaniel Brown's experience. That was the reason why their client had flown them out to Chicago in the first place. Based on just the facts, this case could easily go either way. It was Brown's brilliance in final summation that they were counting on to turn the tide.
Yet somehow, despite her trepidation, Jayne had managed what had initially seemed improbable if not impossible and won the case on her own. Now she felt like celebrating.
"If I was back in New York, I know how I'd want to celebrate tonight," Jayne thought as she took another sip of wine, a warm rush filling her breasts as it went down.
Normally, with the case completed, Jayne would've taken care of any paperwork right afterward, then caught an evening flight home. But Nathaniel preferred not to fly at night and had told their client that any paperwork would be delivered the day after the trial concluded. So, despite the change in counselor, that was what the client still expected.
Of course, even if she were already winging her way back home, Jayne reminded herself, there was the small fact that she had broken up with her boyfriend, Brian Cassidy, early last month. Even so, it wouldn't be all that hard to find an acceptable substitute, at least for a few hours. One night stands really weren't her norm, but that didn't mean she didn't occasionally indulge.
In fact, the euphoria of her surprise win, coupled with the wine in her system, was making her consider heading down to the hotel bar to see what entertainments might be found there. She'd had a few drinks there last night while attempting to marshal her courage, and noted a few not unworthy prospects. It was unlikely that any would be able to do the things that Brian used to do for her in bed; but then again, whatever their talents, it had to be better than those satisfactions available through her own hand.
"I would have to have forgotten Bob on this trip," Jayne laughed softly as she drained the last of her wine and opened the sliding glass door that led back into her room.
A new smile filled her face and a familiar tingle formed between her legs as she recalled the pleasures her 'battery operated boyfriend' usually brought. Then the smile faded a bit with the thought that in the last few weeks she hadn't even had time for that.
"Well, that ends tonight," Jayne said to herself, making up her mind as she stepped into the spacious room.
Finding the already half empty bottle of wine that she'd left on the room's small table, Jayne decided that it might not be a bad idea to have something to eat before she stepped out in search of companionship. There would undoubtedly be a few more drinks before the night was over and the last thing she needed was to have them on an empty stomach.
Quickly locating the menu for room service, Jayne sat herself down in the comfortable love seat and looked to see what seemed appetizing. She had only gotten half way down her choices when a knock at the door interrupted her. Not expecting anyone, she laid the menu aside and got up to see who it might be.
Opening the door, she found a young, attractive brunette standing on the threshold. An inch shorter than her own five foot six, the twenty-something girl had her hair tied back in a tight bun and wore a dark business suit and skirt not dissimilar to the ones Jayne normally wore herself. She had to admit, however, that the woman in front of her looked a lot better in it than she ever did. The outfit appeared to be custom tailored, designed to accentuate the generous curves of the body beneath it while still presenting a professional appearance. Thin black metal-framed glasses completed her ensemble.
Only a few heartbeats had passed since Jayne had opened the door, but in that short span the young woman's expression underwent a dramatic change. What had originally been a warm, inviting smile transformed into a look of confusion.
"May I help you?" Jayne asked.
The girl, whose name Jayne would later learn was Jocelyn, didn't immediately respond. Instead, she shifted just a bit to the right so that she could look past the older woman at the number on the open door. It was only when she had satisfied herself that she was indeed in the right place that she turned her attention back to Jayne.
"I'm supposed to be delivering some papers to a Mr. Brown," she said, glancing down for a moment at the small leather case under her arm as if to emphasize her task. "This is his room, isn't it?"
"Yes it is," Jayne replied, "I mean it was," she quickly corrected herself.
After Nathaniel had been hospitalized, it made no sense to keep two rooms, so Jayne had closed out the reservation on her own and had moved into Nathaniel's. It was the better of the two and since she was now, however reluctantly, first chair, it seemed only fair.
The girl in the doorway seemed even more confused by the answer to her inquiry, so Jayne suggested she come in and she would explain further. She had no idea what papers Nathaniel might have been expecting, but with him unavailable she had an obligation to see what they pertained to.
Once she had closed the door behind them, it took Jayne only a bit over a minute to explain what had happened to Nathaniel Brown. She also identified herself as Mr. Brown's associate and assured Jocelyn that whatever papers she was supposed to deliver to Nathaniel could instead be delivered to her.
The look that now filled Jocelyn's face was one that Jayne instantly recognized as indecision. Having once been her age and just starting out, Jayne understood her situation.
"Why don't you give your office a call?" Jayne suggested. "I'm sure they'll tell you it's okay to leave the papers with me."
Jocelyn seemed to think about it a few moments, then reached into her jacket and took out a cell phone. She started to scroll down for what Jayne assumed was the number of her immediate superior but then stopped and put the phone back in her inner pocket.
"I lied; I don't really have any papers to deliver," she unexpectedly said.
"I don't understand," Jayne said.
"I'm not here to deliver any papers," Jocelyn repeated. "I have ... I had an appointment with Mr. Brown."
"What kind of appointment?" Jayne asked, thinking that this was becoming stranger still, her tone reflecting her confusion. "Was he going to represent you on some legal matter? Perhaps I can help in his place."
"It was more personal than legal," Jocelyn said after a bit of hesitation, the smile returning to her face.
That confused Jayne even more. From the way she'd referred to the senior partner, she was certain Jocelyn had never actually met the fifty-two year old before, so what was going on?
Jayne took another long look at the young woman, her eyes focusing on what she'd failed to notice earlier, a flaw in her impeccable attire. Jocelyn had the top three buttons of her white blouse open, giving a clear view of the not unimpressive breasts beneath it. That might be fine in a bar after work, but not while on the clock, so to speak. Unless of course it was a much different clock that Jocelyn was on.
Realization hit Jayne like the proverbial ton of bricks, the reason Nathaniel Brown had planned to stay in Chicago over the weekend now abundantly clear.
"I'm going to go out on a bit of a limb here," Jayne said, sure she really wasn't going out that far, "and suggest that Mr. Brown was actually hiring your services and not the other way around."
"That would be a fair assumption," Jocelyn replied with a knowing grin.
"Well," Jayne said after a brief pause, "I'm glad we got that cleared up."
