He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Thank you.”
She seemed a little surprised, but she didn’t back away from him, simply handed Fergus his coffee and bagel, too, then leaned her hip against her car and sipped her own coffee.
Fergus raised an eyebrow. “Well, Madam Attorney, it seems this court is now in session. Why have you requested our presence this morning?”
“Not that I wouldn’t be happy to have you request our presence every morning,” interrupted Cam.
She smiled then looked all around her. Apart from themselves and a couple of unattended parked cars, the lot was empty.
“I’m about to tell you something that no one else knows. Absolutely no one. Telling you this gives you both the power to completely destroy my career.”
“I would never hurt you or your career. Never ever,” said Cam. Surely she couldn’t imagine he’d do anything to harm her? He might have only just worked out he loved her, but she must know he cared for her and would protect her with his own life.
“You have my word of honor that I won’t betray your trust,” said Fergus seriously.
Sierra nodded and stood up straight. Cam guessed she was putting her court attitude on as if it were a garment so that she could speak clearly and without emotion. What the fuck is upsetting her? Has someone threatened her? I’ll kill the motherfucker if he has.
“Did you know that John Glover Roberts Jr. was appointed Chief Justice of the United States at age fifty?”
Huh? What the fuck has that to do with anything? “No. If that was taught at school I wasn’t listening that day,” said Cam.
“Me either.”
“That wasn’t a pop test, it was to put a few facts into perspective. Most Supreme Court judges are about age fifty when they’re appointed. In less than two years I’ll be thirty. I’ve set my thirtieth birthday as the deadline for me becoming a partner at Bailey and Bond Attorneys at Law.”
Okay, that made sense. “You’re a damn good lawyer. You’ll do it,” he said.
“I think Sierra means that something has come up that could prevent her from achieving her aim,” said Fergus.
“It’s nothing new, just the whole gender thing. There’s still an entire realm of older white males who think a woman in a career is just using it to fuck her way into the CEO’s bed, so he’ll marry her and she can quit working. That her work isn’t a career in itself, just a means to an end. The glass ceiling is very real in many occupations, and law is one of them.”
Yes, he’d seen that in hospitals, with some of the best female doctors and surgeons being passed over for promotion and the job given to a less able male.
“I have an invitation to a Gala Celebration on Friday. For me, these events are not about eating an exquisite meal, drinking a glass of five-hundred-dollar champagne, and listening to a boring speaker tell me how he wonderful he is. For me it’s about arriving early, leaving late, and not even sipping the fantastic wines, but spending every available minute moving through the crowd, meeting people who can help me advance my career. To stay on top of my job, to get cases that are winnable and will make the company money, I have to see people and be seen. I have to be there where all the rich old men are, meeting them on their own terms.”
“We understand that. We respect your desire to succeed, and we know you’re completely capable of succeeding. But there’s more, isn’t there? You wouldn’t have told us your dream if we weren’t to be involved in it somewhere,” said Fergus.
“That’s right. This gala is one where the most-senior men bring their wives, even their young adult children, and flaunt them as trophies. ‘Look at me. I’m Mr. Big Money Attorney and this is my beautiful wife and my perfect little princess daughter,’” she said in a voice dripping with enough sugar to send an ordinary person into a diabetic coma.
Cam smiled. “So this year you will arrive with two incredibly handsome, well-dressed men, who will treat you like their perfect princess instead? Should we hire tuxedos with black ties or white?”
Fergus nodded. “Or maybe one of each for variety?”
Sierra laughed. “You’re willing to do it? It won’t be easy for you. It’s all about me and my job.”
“Of course. And if you tell us who the most important people there will be, we’ll even Google them so we can have some suitably honeyed words to offer them should we be permitted to speak,” teased Fergus.
“Why don’t we hire a room at the hotel where the gala’s being held so we can all get beautified on the spot, and stay as late as you wish without worrying about having to drive home again,” said Cam. And I can sleep with you for the rest of the night as a bonus.