A Lot Like Love(52)

"Of course I'm not taking you seriously," she said in response to her opposing counsel's question. "We're talking about thirty million dollars here!" Instead of shouting, her voice had a laughing tone, which experience had proven to be far more infuriating to her opponents.

Not seeing any reason to waste another minute, she summarized her position with a few simple parting thoughts.

"Frank, this case is a publicity stunt and a shakedown. My clients did nothing illegal, and you and I both know I'll have no problem proving that to a jury. So there's no reason to discuss your ridiculous settlement offer any further. Call me when somebody sees a penis."

Taylor slammed her cell phone shut for emphasis. She slipped the phone into her briefcase and smiled apologetically at the elderly couple. They had their backs pressed against the elevator wall and were staring at her, mouths agape.

"Sorry about the whole 'penis' thing," she said, trying to make amends. "I guess I get desensitized to it." She shrugged innocently as the elevator announced its arrival at the twenty-third floor with a high-pitched ding. She glanced over at her grandparently co-riders one last time.



       
         
       
        

"It's an occupational hazard."

Taylor winked.

And with that, the elevator doors opened and she stepped out onto the busy office floor that awaited her.





TAYLOR LOVED THE sounds of a bustling law office. The phones ringing off the hook, the furiously righteous conversations that spilled out behind closed doors, the printers busily shooting out fifty-page briefs, the mail carts wheeling by as they dropped off court orders-this was all music to her ears. They were the sounds of people working hard.

And no associate-or so Taylor hoped the senior partners agreed-worked harder than she did. From the moment, now seven years ago, she had first set foot in the Chicago office of Gray & Dallas, she had done her best to make sure everyone knew she was an associate who was going places. And now the firm had sent her to Los Angeles to litigate a highly publicized class-action sexual harassment case involving one of the nation's most upscale department stores. She was fully aware it was a test to see exactly what she was capable of.

And she was more than ready.

That morning, Taylor strolled through the hallway to her office, gliding by her secretary's desk just as she had done every morning for the past two weeks since coming to Los Angeles.

"Good morning, Linda. Any messages?"

Linda sprung to attention at her desk. There was something about Taylor that apparently made others around her feel as though they needed to look busy.

"Good morning, Ms. Donovan," Linda replied efficiently. "You do have one message-Mr. Blakely would like to see you in his office as soon as you're available."

Taylor paused briefly. That was odd-she hadn't planned to meet with Sam that morning.

"Did he say what it's about?"

"Sorry, no, Ms. Donovan."

Taylor headed into her office as she called back a message to Linda. "Call Sam's secretary and let him know I'll be there in five minutes."

Then she poked her head back out the door and smiled at her new assistant.

"And Linda, remember-it's Taylor."





TAYLOR COULDN'T HELP but pause in the doorway to admire Sam's office before knocking to announce herself. It was a gorgeous corner office with a massive cherrywood desk and matching bookcases, plush cream carpet, and floor-to-ceiling windows covering two walls.

To her, the richly decorated partner's office constituted far more than a mere status symbol designed to impress clients and other lawyers. It was an indication of true success. And one day, in the hopefully not-too-distant future, she would have such an office of her own-the sign that she had accomplished the one primary goal of her adult life. 

Years ago, Taylor's parents had made sacrifices in order for her to get where she was standing on that Monday morning. Growing up in Chicago in a decidedly blue-collar neighborhood, her three rambunctious and not particularly academically oriented older brothers had gone to the local boys' Catholic high school. Taylor, it was first assumed, would similarly go to the local girls' school. But after seeing their only daughter's remarkably high grade-school aptitude test scores, Taylor's parents decided that she deserved the best education money could buy, even if that meant spending money they didn't have. So, in order to make the annual eighteen-thousand-dollar University of Chicago Lab School tuition payments (while still supporting four kids), her parents took out a second mortgage on their house and her father sold the 1965 Corvette Stingray convertible he had been restoring in the garage.

Deeply appreciative of these sacrifices, Taylor promised her parents that they would never regret the investment they had made in her education. This was a promise that guided her all through high school and college, and eventually on to Northwestern Law. It was a promise that still motivated her to this day. After law school graduation, Taylor had chosen to work at Gray & Dallas for the simple reason that it was the topranked law firm in Chicago and one of the best worldwide. It gave her a sense of pride to be part of such a machine.

And she would do whatever it took to succeed there.

Fortunately for Taylor, unlike so many of her law school classmates who had turned to the practice of law because med school was too hard and took too long to make any money, or out of family pressure, or because they simply couldn't think of anything better to do, she genuinely loved being a lawyer. From the moment she'd conducted her first mock cross-examination in her law school trial advocacy class, everything felt like it clicked into place.

And so, as she stood in the doorway of Sam's plush partner's office, she couldn't help but smile not only in admiration but also in anticipation of what she hoped was soon to come.

One day, Taylor vowed silently to herself. One day.

She straightened her suit and knocked on Sam's door. He looked up from his computer and smiled warmly in greeting.

"Taylor! Come on in."

She took a seat at one of the chairs in front of Sam's desk. In the style of all shrewd attorneys, the guest chairs were positioned six inches lower than Sam's own, giving him the advantage of looking down on his visitors.

"Settled in yet?" Sam inquired.

Taylor grinned guiltily at the question, thinking of the unpacked boxes scattered along the hallway outside the living room of the two-bedroom apartment the firm had rented for her. "Almost."

"Moving's a pain in the ass, isn't it?"

"It keeps me busy when I'm not here."

Sam studied her. "Yes, I've seen you burning the midnight oil already. You should take some time to settle in before your case gets going full throttle."

Taylor shrugged determinedly. For her, there was no speed other than full throttle. And Sam Blakely-the head of the litigation group in Los Angeles-was a man she very much wanted to impress.

"I just want to hit the ground running, that's all."

Sam had sharp, fox-like facial features that became even more pronounced as he grinned approvingly at Taylor's all-business style.

"Then tell me how the case is going."

Taylor eased back in her chair as she gave Sam her summary. "It's going very well. We have the call for our motions in limine this week-I think we'll be able to keep out nearly half of the EEOC's evidence. And one of their lawyers called me this morning to discuss a settlement."



       
         
       
        

"What did you say?"

Taylor tilted her head coyly. "Let's just say they understand we're not interested."

Sam chuckled. "Good. Keep me posted, and don't hesitate to stop by if you need any guidance."

Taylor nodded agreeably, appreciating Sam's hands-off approach to their case. So far since she'd come to L.A., he had been more than happy to let her take the ball and run with it-a management style she thrived under.

She assumed that would be the end of their meeting. But instead of dismissing her, Sam shifted in his chair as if he had more to say.

"Something else on your mind, Sam?"

His body language right then seemed a little . . . odd. She didn't know Sam all that well yet, so she couldn't read him like she could the partners back home in Chicago. She waited as Sam eased back in his chair and stared at her with a poignant pause, creating the dramatic buildup for whatever he was about to say. Like so many trial attorneys Taylor had come across, Sam appeared to believe in acting out his entire life as if in front of a jury.

"Actually, there is another matter on which I was hoping to get your assistance," Sam began carefully. "I know we only have you on loan from Chicago for the harassment case, but this wouldn't be a full-time assignment."

Taylor was intrigued by this lead-in. She was already working nights and weekends, so she figured this mystery assignment had to be a great opportunity if Sam thought she should squeeze it into her schedule.

"Is it a pro bono matter?" she asked.

Sam leaned back in his chair as he considered this question carefully, like a trapped witness at a deposition. "Well . . . not exactly. I'd call it more of a favor."