Please excuse the first version of this story. I literally lost 2/3 of the story when I posted it: no one's fault but mine. I beg your forgiveness. This is the full story. It should make much more sense now. I hope you enjoy it, to err is human to forgive is divine.
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"Hey Rube, can you get me that Jenkins file?"
Lucky Ruby McNair had her back to the man who asked her the question. It was so infuriating! Rube as in 'hick' as in 'redneck' as in 'marry your cousin.' Yes she worked at the most "integrated" or "diverse" or "affirmative action" law firm in Chicago but seriously! Why did she have to be the token "apple pie American girl?" Sure, the red hair, freckles and big tits made her look like she was from the sticks, but she actually was from Chicago. She was born in Fuller Park of all places! Yes born to a single mom in Fuller Park, quite a childhood. Ruby worked her ass off to get out of there with her mom. She was a smart girl and somehow she dodged the gangs, the poverty, and the despair and was accepted to the University of Chicago. She worked even harder there and when she received her BA and was accepted into Law School Ruby thought her life had turned a corner. Unfortunately, it was at that time her mother died in a home invasion.
It made Ruby work even harder. It was no surprise to anyone that after graduation Ruby went to work at Jones and Adams LLP. They did all types of law and had the most diverse staff in all of Chicago. When Ruby was hired there were six senior partners. Of course, there was Jason Jones IV as well as John Stone (nephew of Adams). Then there was Meredith Jefferson, the first Black person and female to be hired. Another woman Susanne Typlinski, Jerome Issacs, and Harold Yung rounded out the seniors. Ruby loved working there except for the nickname of Rube. Sure, there was plenty of office politics like any other law firm but at Jones and Adams LLP, they really respected hard work above all. That did not mean you couldn't sleep your way to advantage there. Susanne had chosen that route. Yes, she was a brilliant family lawyer, but she made sure she was on the fast track by sleeping with the right partners.
Meredith Jefferson on the other hand had chosen the nose to the grindstone approach. Since no one hired Black people at the time at the top firms, Jones and Adams had had the pick of the Black graduates from the law schools. Meredith was top of her class with all kinds of offers from across the country. Yet she wanted to stay in Chicago and believed she wasn't just going to be a token minority. It had turned out that way and now she was the matron of the firm, guiding the young lawyers of all genders in their way. She was married to Fredrick and had two kids.
Ruby dreamed of the day she would be a partner, and she could get rid of her nickname. To achieve this, she had no social life and just billed hours like there was no tomorrow. By the time she was thirty, she was a junior partner.
This is when she received her first invite to lunch with Meredith. Ruby had no idea why a senior partner would want to have lunch with her. She worked for one of the partners in business law and hardly even saw the seniors. Ruby was always polite but never tried to suck up to anyone. Then one of her colleagues told Ruby that this was normal for newly minted juniors to have lunch with Meredith. Her advice to Ruby was to pay close attention to what Meredith said and then do what she said.
Lunch was interesting. Meredith explained to Ruby how she could advance to partner. First off keep working hard and billing all those hours, this was a given. This also was easy for Ruby she wanted to be rich and secure. Secondly, Meredith advised Ruby to be more social. This was a problem, Ruby invested everything into work or school and had been doing so since she was six. She had no interest in idle chit-chat or small talk beyond the minimum to be polite. Meredith made it clear that networking was vital to her prospects for promotion. Business contacts that were only business was fine but there had to be more. Ruby figured she could start going out for drinks and lunches not that she seemed to have much choice, but the final point Meredith made was almost too much.
"Ruby you need to get married. At least you need a steady relationship. Law firms like that, it softens the image of us as just greedy vultures preying on every conflict and tragedy. Think about it, all those charity events we support and the jr. hockey and basketball teams we sponsor. I married my "trophy husband" Frederick because someone had this same discussion with me. It was made very clear that I would go no further without a spouse. So, Fredrick and I make sure we are seen and make the rounds, social and married- simple."
Ruby had never even considered this. She did not hate men but had grown up with no father and many of her friends also had no father in their life. Getting too close to men did not seem like a sensible choice to Ruby. Sure, they had their uses but don't get too close you could, actually most likely you would, get burned. Burned, pregnant, or unhappy or all of the above. The "trophy husband" thing though intrigued her.
"What do you mean Frederick is your "trophy husband?"
Meredith smiled as a warmth spread out from her pussy to the rest of her.
"I was 35 and billing more hours than anyone else at the firm. I thought I had it all figured out and senior partner was in my future. I grew up in Chicago like you but in Englewood. I suspect our feelings about men were very similar growing up and into adulthood. Then I was told to marry one! Wow, what a shock to the system. So, I just did what I always do with a problem work, at it until I figured it out.
Frederick was a cornerback for the Bears. He wasn't a superstar, but he was good, very good. Unfortunately for the Bears when he had his second concussion he listened to the doctors and "retired." He was already one of the most sought-after bachelors in Chicago at that point so when he took a job at Morgan Park High School as the assistant football coach it just made him hotter. Frederick was one handsome man and what else would you call a guy ten years younger than you? If it was the other way around I would be the "trophy wife." He is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he has more than looks. He is a great husband to me and father to our two kids. Honestly, it is the best thing that ever happened to me."
Ruby was speechless. The rest of lunch was just about the technical issues of being a partner and Ruby listened closely but didn't say much. At the end of lunch, Ruby made sure to thank Meredith for her words of wisdom and went back to work in a daze.
Two weeks later Ruby had an envelope on her desk when she arrived at work. It had a message on the outside. 'You should attend this on our behalf. Meredith.'
