Devil's Advocate Read online

  Translation: clients with deep pockets.

  Ash’s spirits took a nosedive at the revelation the newcomer was both female and competent. Two things she definitely was not looking for in a competitor. “Shit.”

  Ash didn’t even notice she’d said that out loud, but based on Jenna’s grim nodding, the paralegal was in complete agreement.

  Once Jenna headed to her cubicle, Ash returned to work with a heavy heart and troubled head. The pace that had been smooth and steady at the start of the morning became painful and plodding as Ash’s brain picked at this latest threat to her plans.

  How did this always happen?

  It seemed every time Ash was on the verge of getting ahead, something snatched the victory away. Her dad’s injury on the construction site where he’d worked when she was twelve had only been the beginning. The pain medication he’d been prescribed had seemed like a miracle until it snarled him in addiction and eventually robbed him of his life. She’d forfeited a college scholarship because her family couldn’t afford for her to leave home, spending years at community college instead.

  Winning the mock trial competition six years ago, along with the coveted summer associate position that entailed, had felt like a turning point, but maybe it would end up as another disappointment in a string of them. What good was a position at a prestigious firm like McGill and Harding if Ash would always be passed over for someone with a better pedigree? At thirty-eight, she was running out of time to move to another firm before age discrimination reared its ugly head. She’d never expected to work in corporate law for so long—certain she’d be doing more to right the world’s wrongs by now—but with a partnership so close she could feel it brushing her fingertips, Ash couldn’t picture going anywhere else.

  “Ash.” Jenna was back in Ash’s doorway, her harsh whisper brimming with urgency. “It’s time.”

  “What?” Ash wasn’t sure how long it had been since Jenna had left, but it was definitely long enough to have no idea what the woman was talking about.

  “What’s-her-name. You know, the new girl. We need to go right now.” Jenna didn’t bother with formalities, yanking Ash out of the chair and force-marching her to the break room, where they had a clear but unobtrusive view of the elevator.

  They arrived just in time for the ding.

  Lawrence Cooper, an equity partner who had emerged from his mother’s womb already middle aged and lacking even a trace of humor, stepped from the compartment first. His face was bright red and a sound that in any other person might be described as laughter burbled out of him as if he was having some kind of fit.

  Ash’s eyes darted to the defibrillator mounted beside the first aid kit on the break room wall. This had all the makings of a medical emergency. Would restarting Coop’s ticker give her a leg up in the partner race? It was worth a shot.

  Just as the elevator doors started to slide shut, a petite woman with blonde hair stepped out. Though her face was obscured by a potted palm, Ash could plainly see she was wearing black stilettos at the ends of her shockingly bare legs, which stuck out from a shiny red cocktail dress with a slit on the side all the way up to god-knows-where. Ash blinked, but the spectacle remained unchanged.

  “I thought you said the new girl was coming.” Ash cringed at how much like a middle schooler she sounded, but she couldn’t stop herself from asking, just as she couldn’t seem to stop gaping at a fifty-something year old man guffawing like a possessed lunatic while grasping the arm of a woman half his age.

  “Get a load of that,” Jenna whispered out of one side of her mouth. “Mr. Cooper brought a hooker to the office.”

  “I don’t think that’s a prostitute.” To be fair, Ash wasn’t certain of this, but she’d noticed the woman in the red dress was clutching a briefcase much too feminine to belong to Lawrence. Plus, there was something about her neat but no-nonsense manicure that gave off business-woman vibes. “I think that’s the new girl.”

  “In a cocktail dress? She looks like she’s doing the walk of shame.” Jenna shook her head, jaw slack. “Maybe I should transfer to the New York office if this is their way of life. Clubbing until work starts.”

  “Sounds like my idea of hell. The less any of us have to do with New York, the better.”

  Jenna hefted her shoulders, clearly not in agreement but not wanting to argue. “I’m sorry I ruined your morning by getting you all worked up for nothing.”

  “What do you mean?” Ash’s head swiveled so as not to miss Coop and Cocktail Dress as they whisked by, still yukking it up.

  Jenna hooked a thumb over her shoulder. “You clearly have nothing to worry about when it comes to Caitlyn Brewster.”

  Ash drew in a breath so sharp it nearly sliced a hole in her esophagus. “Who did you just say?”

  “Caitlyn Brewster,” Jenna repeated, making the edges of Ash’s vision go black. “That’s the new girl’s name. I just remembered.”

  The air seeped out of Ash’s lungs. What were the odds the world contained more than one short, blonde Elle Woods lookalike who went by that name? A woman so conniving she would use any dirty trick to get ahead. Even seduction, as Ash herself could attest, and judging by what she’d just witnessed outside the elevator, little had changed in six years.

  Ash could only sum it up one way. “Fuck. My. Life.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “I can’t believe what a good sport you’re being.” Larry Cooper raised his arm, but before his hand could hit Caitlyn’s shoulder, he dropped his appendage, a hint of concern crossing his ruddy face. “Are you sure you don’t want me to go out there and explain the situation?”

  “Explain it how?” Caitlyn shook her head at the man who was technically her boss but whom she’d known since she was a child. “You doused some poor woman from the DA’s office with a full cup of coffee in the lobby as she was rushing to court, and I just happened to be the same size as her and willing to loan her my suit to score some points?”

  “We don’t want to get on the DA’s bad side,” Larry said, still chuckling. “I would’ve offered her my suit, but that was not going to help.”

  Caitlyn raised an eyebrow at the lawyer’s unfashionable tan suit and made a face. Larry was a brilliant divorce attorney, but he lacked a single shred of style. “It’s lucky for all of us I’d just picked up Sadie’s homecoming dress from the tailor on my way to work. Imagine how much more of a stir it would’ve made if I’d arrived at the office on my first day wearing nothing but your trench coat.”

  “I still can’t get over little Sadie being old enough to go to a homecoming dance.” Larry wore that wistful expression older people tended to get when they realized a child they’d known was all grown up. At the age of thirty, it was a feeling Caitlyn was just starting to become familiar with, especially where her baby sister was concerned.

  “She may technically be old enough to attend, but not in this getup. My father might not care if she goes to the dance looking like she’s being paid by the hour, but I do.”

  “She might be ready to move back into the dorms after a couple weeks of living under your rules,” Larry joked.

  “Thanks again for agreeing to bring me on board here on such short notice. I know it wasn’t easy.” Caitlyn smoothed the wrinkles from her sister’s dress as she lowered herself into a chair across from Larry’s desk, trying to be mindful of the indecently high slit. “I had no idea Sadie’s anxiety had gotten so bad until Moorehead Academy called and said she wouldn’t be able to live on campus again unless she got it under control.”

  “Your father’s still out of the country?” The man couldn’t entirely disguise the disgust on his face.

  Caitlyn nodded, sharing his disdain. “And her mother got remarried to some oil tycoon billionaire who hates kids. They’ve shuffled her from one boarding school to another for years. Poor kid. She’s only sixteen.”

  He shook his head. “She’s lucky to have a sister like you who would drop everything and move home so she could continue to at
tend school.”

  Yeah, lucky, Caitlyn thought. Of course, it would’ve been a lot luckier if they’d both had a father who gave enough of a shit about his kids to cut his sailing time short and come home to take care of things himself. But that’s not how it worked in the Brewster household.

  “I couldn’t have done it if the firm hadn’t been so flexible about offering me a transfer.”

  “Well, your uncle—”

  Caitlyn held up her hand. “Do you think we could keep that connection strictly between us?”

  “Your uncle?”

  Caitlyn nodded. “I went through all the standard hiring procedures when I first started, and in the five years I worked in New York, no one managed to figure out I was Bertie’s niece. I’d rather keep it that way.”

  “Yes, of course.” Larry’s expression lacked understanding, making it obvious if he’d been related to someone like Cuthbert Harding, he’d have shouted it from the rooftops. “Now, about your unorthodox entrance this morning. How should we handle it?”

  “I vote for letting it be.” Caitlyn plucked at her unfortunate attire with her index finger and thumb. “I’ve always found with office gossip, once you let it loose, you can never rein it in. If you try to explain what really happened, they’ll twist the story into us having a threesome with the DA in the parking garage. Next thing you know, squirrels will appear, and probably clowns, and unicycles. I don’t know about you, but I do not need that headache on my first day.”

  Larry slapped his knee, looking like he hadn’t laughed so hard in ages. Caitlyn knew she was laying it on a little thick, but making people laugh could be a secret weapon. Between her over the top humor and her small size, most people underestimated her. That gave her a tremendous advantage. Let the entire office think she was a ditz. It would make it that much easier for her to run rings around them.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Caitlyn caught a streak of brown passing quickly by the glass wall of Larry’s office. It was a nutty shade of chestnut that teased Caitlyn’s memory, like a comb working out a tangle, slowly and painfully.

  Who was that?

  There was something she was missing and shouldn’t be, like a word on the tip of her tongue. Her mind filled with foreboding, but her body simultaneously lit up with a sweet anticipation, the type she hadn’t felt in ages. Not since swearing off romance in favor of getting ahead in her career. One thing was certain. The bald man standing in front of her had not caused the sudden tingling in her clit.

  So, who the hell had?

  Caitlyn turned her head to see if she could get a better look at the woman who’d gone speeding past, but she was long gone.

  Settling into his chair, Larry plastered on his serious face, the one that signaled it was time to get down to business. “Caitlyn, we’re glad to have you here, but I’m sure you’ve been made aware this isn’t the firm’s best year. The economic climate—” He cleared his throat, suddenly uneasy. Caitlyn had noticed a superstition surrounding the word recession, like the way people avoided saying Macbeth in a theater. “Bottom line, by bringing you on board, we’re limiting the number of partnerships we offer this year.”

  Caitlyn wasn’t surprised. She’d heard the Boston office was struggling. Under any other circumstances, she never would have made the move, but there wasn’t much choice. Still, she had to ask, “Limiting by how much?”

  “The truth? It’s not public knowledge quite yet, but we’re only offering one. There are eight fifth-year associates vying for the promotion.”

  “Eight?” Caitlyn swallowed. It was worse than she’d thought. Eight lawyers fighting for one partnership slot would be a bloodbath. Thank goodness becoming a permanent installation at the Boston office wasn’t on her radar.

  Larry offered an encouraging smile. “It’s not as bad as it sounds. Between you and me, you only have one true competitor.”

  “Me?” Caitlyn’s eyes widened. “No. I have no interest in a partnership in Boston. As soon as I’m able, I’ll be heading back to New York.”

  “Are you sure?” It was possible Larry had never heard a young lawyer say they weren’t interested in a promotion before.

  “Positive.” Caitlyn was going to leave it there, but curiosity got the better of her. “Okay. Tell me more about this one true competitor.”

  “I knew you’d change your mind.”

  “I still don’t have an interest in being made partner unless it’s back in New York,” Caitlyn admitted, “but I’ve never backed down from a challenge. I might want to have some fun while I’m here, so tell me who I have to beat.”

  “Her billable hours are legendary. Unless you’re truly a superhero, you won’t one-up her on that front.”

  Inwardly, Caitlyn smiled, appreciating that even someone who’d known her as long as Larry was quick to underestimate her. Hopefully, Miss Legendary Billable Hours would do the same. Caitlyn had never lost at anything in her life.

  Well, there had been the one time, six years ago. But that was different.

  “You have something she doesn’t have, though.”

  “What’s that?” Caitlyn had to wonder, if Cuthbert Harding wasn’t her great-uncle, would Larry be telling her these inside tips?

  “Your connections. We’re always on the hunt for whales.”

  And to answer her own question, he was telling her all this precisely because of who she was, and who her family was. That was the very reason she’d chosen New York to start her career, to earn her own reputation outside the shadow of her family. Yes, she’d ultimately gone to work for the family firm, but she’d done it on her own merits. Unease seized her gut as she wondered how much longer she would be able to make that claim.

  “I thought whale hunting was Uncle Bertie’s domain.”

  Larry’s eyes darted around the office in an odd display of nervousness. He leaned closer to his desk, lowering his voice. “This can’t get out, but your uncle has taken a step back recently. From the day-to-day operations.”

  “Retiring?” Caitlyn frowned. Not a hint of this rumor had reached the legal circles in New York, or competitors would be circling the firm like sharks smelling blood.

  “No, no.” Larry shook his head with a little too much force, grimacing as something seemed to pop in his neck. “Just a well-deserved uh… slowing down, let’s say. Temporarily.”

  “A slowing down that has left a lot of potential business from connections I might have on the table?” Caitlyn was pretty sure she already had the answer to that.

  Larry offered a smile that was half grin and half smirk. “Reel them in and you’ll be a shoo-in for partner.”

  “I told you. I have no plans to stay. But even so, I do like to win.” Caitlyn was already running through the mental contact list of potential clients she could pursue. “I guess I should find my office and settle in. I’ve got to get started on smoking my competition.”

  As Caitlyn rose, Larry did the same.

  “I admire your determination,” he said. “But you haven’t even asked the name of your illustrious opponent.”

  Caitlyn gave her head a tilt. “And ruin the fun? Give me a week and I bet I can guess.”

  “Knowledge is power,” he countered.

  “So everyone tells me.” Stepping out of Larry’s office, Caitlyn shrugged. “Okay, go ahead and point her out so I know who I need to send my assassins after.”

  “That’s her over there.” Larry pointed across the office to where a woman with long, dark brown hair stood with her back to them. Her well-tailored suit was a deep, rich navy blue, fitted to perfection in a way that enhanced every curve. Not that the woman’s curves seemed in need of much improvement. Even without seeing her face, Caitlyn felt that same niggling of memory she’d experienced earlier, along with a physical jolt that almost stole the breath from her lungs.

  I know her, Caitlyn thought. I’m sure of it. The wheels in her brain spun but failed to produce a result.

  “She’s tall,” was the best response Caitlyn could
manage. “And a snappy dresser.”

  She didn’t used to be.

  Caitlyn sucked in a breath as the gears finally clicked.

  It was her. The only person in all of Caitlyn’s life who’d ever gone up against her and won.

  “Ashley Tanner.” It was Larry who said the name out loud, but it was already echoing through Caitlyn’s head before he’d uttered it.

  Ashley Tanner.

  It was the name that danced through Caitlyn’s head late at night when she was exhausted and let her walls down. The one that haunted her and wouldn’t let go. The memory of their one brief but sizzling kiss would traipse through her mind at three in the morning when her brain decided to torment her by second-guessing every decision she’d ever made. Every pleasure she’d given up.

  How had Caitlyn not anticipated Ash would be here? McGill and Harding had offices in multiple states, but Ash was a Boston girl. It should have been obvious she would choose to stick close to home. And yet with all the craziness surrounding her last-minute move, Caitlyn hadn’t registered the possibility until she was standing in the middle of the office.

  In a red satin party dress that barely covered her… assets.

  Dear God.

  Had Ash seen her dressed like this? Of course she had. How could she have missed it?

  Mortification swept through Caitlyn like a category three hurricane. It quickly amped up to category five as Ash turned and stared right at her from across the sea of cubicles.

  Caitlyn clenched her fists, wanting desperately to bolt, to hide under one of the desks until Ash had gone home, or at least until someone could bring Caitlyn a change of clothes.

  But it was too late. They’d already made eye contact.

  All Caitlyn could do was lift her head and face the situation with the confidence of a woman who didn’t know the meaning of the word humiliation.

  In other words, lie.

  Luckily, she’d gotten a lot better at that since the last time she and Ash had clashed.