“We will.”
She tilted her head, his hands working fast to button her up all the way to the top. “But why unbutton yours?”
“So I could do this.” He pulled one side of the hem on his shirt down so that it was uneven with the other. He then proceeded to button up his shirt as well, purposely leaving it off by a few.
Once finished, he retrieved his sweater and blazer, folding them over his forearm. She gawked at him, his perfectly cut abdomen now adorned ridiculously in a crooked shirt. “You can’t go out like that, you’re going to be introduced in front of the whole firm in like ten minutes.”
He grinned. “Oh, but I can.” He ran his hand over the scruff on his laser-cut jaw. “Don’t you know the benefit of having a Hollywood face? I can get away with pretty much anything.”
She glowered. “Rubbing it in, of course.”
“I thought you’d love to see me a little humiliated.”
“It’s not that. I can’t handle the secondhand embarrassment.” She covered her eyes with her palms. “Don’t go out there like that.”
He leaned in close to the side of her face, so close she could smell that pepperminty fragrance, so close she shivered at the breath wisping the shell of her ear. “Watch me.” He left, the bathroom door swinging shut behind him.
Perdie stood in front of the mirror, her buttons put to rights now. She shoved her shirttails into her pants forcefully, catching a glimpse of her face in the mirror. Her skin was glowing like a summertime lightning bug. Dammit, Carter.
“A not-so-friendly reminder that the annual winter holiday party is in two weeks.” Charles Joy stood in front of the room in a charcoal Armani suit with a hot pink shirt, his thick salt-and-pepper hair gelled in a side part. His accent was drawling, a backwoods Southern boy done good for himself. “Don’t roll your eyes. I expect all attorneys present and dressed with appropriate consideration to the formality and festivity of the event. I don’t shell out for top-shelf liquor for y’all to be a bunch of sticks in the mud. And Rita doesn’t work her dang butt off for y’all to show up in no damn blue jeans. But more importantly, it’s your job to give good face to the staff. Keep morale high.”
He cleared his throat, scrolling through the agenda.
Behind him, Raymond Schulz dozed on a chair, his balding head leaned to one side. He was a behind-the-scenes kind of guy while Joy handled all the face time with clients, attorneys, and staff, being the younger and more gregarious and wild of the two longtime named partners. Joy often had some of the more senior partners on his yacht for blowout parties where much cocaine was sniffed off many bare breasts. Perdie had never been to one, but rumors circulated.
“We have a new face in the crowd, so I’ll get on with the introductions,” Charles Joy continued. “We take great pride in being a firm of diversified legal pursuits, and we are more than pleased to announce our newest member, Carter Leplan. Carter brings the Fletcher Group with him, so when your bonuses come out with an extra zero next year, y’all can send your thank-you cards his way... Kidding, you know I sign the paychecks around here.”
The crowd of attorneys in the room craned their heads. Knowing what was to happen, Perdie’s blood pressure spiked. Inwardly she cringed, keeping her eyes straight ahead so they couldn’t wander over to Carter.
Charles Joy waved Carter forward. “Carter, come on up here, boy. Give us a few words.”
A smattering of applause punctured the room as Carter made his way to the front, confident as ever. Charles Joy went to shake his hand, giving his misbuttoned shirt a cursory double take with a furrowed brow, but he stepped back as Carter began to speak.
Carter stood with the ease of a motivational speaker. He opened his hands towards the crowd, giving full view of his shirt, his mouth upturned and relaxed. “Thank you so much. It really is a privilege to work with you all. I know from firsthand experience the level of talent at this firm. And I look forward to learning a great deal.”
Then he straightened up, appearing solemn, his mouth in a straight line. “As I’m sure you can tell, I’m a very important person.” He gestured to his mismatched shirt. The crowd tittered, the other attorneys clearly taken by his easy charm. “But uh...sorry, I was a little distracted this morning.” He rubbed his hand on the back of his head, his eyes fluttering to Perdie and then back. Heat crept up her cheeks. “But I promise you that my brief-writing skills are better than my shirt-buttoning skills.”
Perdie couldn’t believe it when the attorneys laughed. They laughed.
He lifted his hand to tip off a wave. “Find me on the fifth floor. My door is always open. Oh, and I have a bar in there fully stocked with whiskey, so...” He winked, earning a laugh from Charles Joy and another laugh from the crowd. From somewhere, someone even whistled. Carter gave an incline of his head and another smile. “Thanks so much, everyone. I truly am humbled to be here. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go fix my shirt now.” Applause and laughter broke out as he made his way back to his seat.
Charles Joy returned to the helm. “Thank you, Carter. I’ll be sure to check out that whiskey selection shortly. Onto our next order of business...”
Perdie’s phone lit up.
How’d I do?
The other lawyers whispered and their eyes darted Carter’s way when it hit her: none of them stood a fucking chance against Carter Leplan.
The day dragged with meetings until Perdie sat down at the conference table with the securities group. Her left leg bounced and she twirled a pen in her hand. Jennifer sat next to her, giving her the side-eye. Perdie stilled, tucking her hair behind her ear.
Frank Stetsel led the meeting, running down current cases and workloads for each attorney. Carter sat to his left, his brow furrowed, tapping studious notes on his tablet. Perdie struggled to keep from staring at him. Behind him, the long windows of the office overlooked the harbor and off in the distance the Ravenel Bridge stretched across the horizon. A picture too perfect.
“Let’s talk new business,” Frank said, and Perdie’s ears perked. “We are lucky enough to have Carter on our team, so we’ll get some of you assigned to the Fletcher Group shortly. Any other leads worth sharing?”
Perdie cleared her throat. Now was her chance. “I’ve got something, Frank.”
Frank’s eyebrows went up, and he nodded. “All right, Perdita. Let’s hear it.”
She smiled. “In the spirit of bringing new business to the firm, I have a potential patent case with the medical university against the Zelen Corp in regards to a children’s seizure drug—”
“Zelen Corp the pharma company?” Frank interrupted.
Perdie nodded. “That’s right. It’s a small company so it’s not the usual monster conglomeration. The plaintiff is someone I know personally. He’s sharp as a tack, would do well under scrutiny or even in front of a jury...”
But her voice trailed off as Frank crossed his arms, shaking his head. “Nope, nope. I’m telling you we won’t get anywhere with a patent case. And against big pharma? I don’t see how we could possibly invest the time right now. But I like that fighting spirit, Perdie.” He turned to face Bill Wagner, who had his pen in the air. “Bill, whatcha got?”
Before she could even process what had happened, Bill was already leaning forward, his fingers steepled at the table. “Two words for you Frank: Whistle. Blower.”
Frank nodded. “You have my attention, Bill. I’ve been wanting to get a good whistleblower case under our belts over here. For the publicity. Makes us look good. Like we’re in it for the cause.”
“That’s one word.” Her voice cut through the room. Everyone turned to her.
“Excuse me?” Frank raised an eyebrow.
“Whistleblower is one word. Or at the very best, it’s hyphenated. Hard to write a complaint if you can’t spell it.” A fire burned inside her belly at Frank’s easy dismissal, and the humiliation was even worse with Carter right there. Still, she kept on. “How can you possibly think a whistleblower case is a safer bet than a patent case when you don’t know anything about either? That’s, pardon the pun, patently poor judgment. This case is at the very least worth following.”
Frank let out a big sigh, rolling his eyes. “Look here, I’ve been around the block, and I know what I’m talking about. At the end of the day, we have limited resources and labor force. Now, if you want to challenge my judgment—”
