Greater Love

by Robert Whitlow

  “That’s not true—,” I protested.

  Julie cut me off with a wave of her hand. “Not now. The good news is that we passed the bar exam. Congratulations!”

  Julie leaned forward and gave me a big hug.

  “Let’s go back to my office and catch up,” she said. “Shannon, please tell anyone who calls that Tami and I are in a conference.”

  “What if it’s Maggie?” the secretary asked.

  “Put her through. She’ll want to know Tami arrived in a blaze of controversy.”

  Julie’s office was identical in size to Maggie’s but exquisitely decorated. I sat in a comfortable leather chair.

  “I’m so excited you’re here,” Julie said, closing the door. “Don’t let Shannon’s negative attitude get under your skin. I can understand why Peter bolted from the marriage. What did Dabney say to her?”

  I repeated the message.

  “I don’t disagree with her,” Julie said thoughtfully. “My big question would be whether Shannon has changed. She needs a new wind, whatever that means, to blow across her life. And those boys of hers need a spanking. She brought them to the office for a couple of hours one day last week before taking them to the doctor for a checkup. I was ready to rip off a tree limb and break it on the backside of the older one.”

  “You believe in spanking?”

  “Not beating, of course. But a kid needs to experience enough pain to communicate the need for a change in behavior or attitude. Shannon’s boys need to know there are limits.”

  I told her about the cereal incident.

  “Exactly what I’m talking about. I bet you never did that to one of your ten brothers and sisters.”

  “There are five of us.”

  “Whatever. Maggie hired Shannon because she felt sorry for her and saddled us with the rehabilitation project. I mean, she can do the job; it’s just the personal drama that goes along with it.”

  “You didn’t help make that decision?”

  “Don’t start trying to create division between Maggie and me. We’ve got to be unified to make this work.”

  “I know. I just wondered—”

  Julie cut me off with a wave of her hand. “And don’t take everything I say literally, like you do the Bible. Maggie and I talked in advance about hiring Shannon, and I came over from Atlanta to sit in on the interview. Shannon worked as a temp for the district attorney’s office, and Maggie saw she had the skills to be a one-woman support staff. That’s what we need, even if we have to put up with the fallout from Shannon’s personal life. None of that caught us by surprise. We assumed the risk, and except when her little hoodlums are on the premises, it’s working out fine.”

  “Will I be giving her work to do?”

  “Sure. She’s lightning fast with dictation and knows the accounting software like a programmer. Every two months the books are reviewed by an outside accountant to make sure she’s not stealing from us.”

  Not being able to trust someone who worked for me was a new thought to me. I suddenly felt naive.

  “What have you been doing at the office since you moved down here?”

  “Helping Maggie. There’s not nearly as much research to do as we had at Braddock, Appleby, and Carpenter, but some cases have to be fine-tuned, and I’ve streamlined her process. You’re going to like Maggie. She’s more like you than I am.”

  “That would be easy. We’re not anything alike.”

  Julie smiled. “Nice try at sarcasm, but you’re way too indirect and gentle.” Julie held up a brown arm. “And I’ve spent a lot of time at the beach working on my tan.”

  “Are you still seeing Joel?”

  “No, he moved to Seattle about six months ago and got a job working for a movie production company. It was a fun relationship, but both of us were ready to move on.”

  “That’s another way we’re different. I couldn’t be so casual about romance.”

  Julie held up her right index finger. “At least I was only seeing one man at a time. You’ve held this love triangle together with Zach and Vinny longer than one on a TV soap opera. Does Vinny still have the short end? If he doesn’t have a chance of success, shouldn’t you cut him loose so he can try in vain to find happiness with another woman?”

  “In vain?”

  “Compared to you.”

  The phone buzzed, and Julie picked it up.

  “Okay, put her through.”

  She set the phone on speaker. It was Maggie.

  “How many did you win?” Julie asked, pretending to turn a steering wheel with a drunken look on her face.

  “Two out of six were dismissed on motion. The others are set for trial, but I should be able to get a plea agreement on all of them. The clients are mostly kids. No repeat offenders.”

  “Not yet. Did Shannon tell you Tami is here?”

  “Yes. Where is she?”

  “Sitting here waiting on me to put her to work. We’re on speaker.”

  “Hey, Tami,” Maggie said. “Congratulations on passing the bar. Julie called me with the news last night.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I talked to the presiding superior court judge. The general swearing-in will be scheduled later this week. Would you and Julie want to be part of that or do it privately in chambers?”

  “My parents want to come so the big ceremony would be best for me,” Julie said.

  I hadn’t thought about it. Graduation from law school had been my time to celebrate with my family. Asking them to drive five hours to watch me raise my hand and repeat a simple oath to uphold the Constitution and obey the court didn’t seem necessary.

  “It doesn’t matter to me,” I said.

  “Tami can’t wait to file suit against one of Joe Carpenter’s clients,” Julie said. “I’m sure he was hiding in his office and felt the ground shake beneath his feet when she arrived in town.”

  “We’ll do both of you at once,” Maggie said. “And Joe Carpenter isn’t hiding in his office. He was in court this morning.”

  “Mr. Carpenter doesn’t handle DUI cases,” I said.

  “I know, but this wasn’t a DUI-only calendar. He had a hearing on a motion for reduction of bond. It caught my attention because of the amount. He asked the judge to reduce the bond from $1 million to $250,000. The judge lowered it $500,000. Mr. Carpenter and his client seemed pleased.”

  “What was the charge against the defendant?” Julie asked.

  “It was a conspiracy charge, probably some kind of white-collar crime.”

  “Was the defendant’s name Paulding?” I asked, wondering if the developer had gotten into more trouble.

  “No, it was Hacker, Hackney, something like that. Whatever his name, he has enough money or unencumbered property to post a large bond. Hey, I’m getting in my car. I’ll be at the office in about fifteen minutes.”

  “I’ll make sure Tami is busy by the time you get here,” Julie said. “I hope it’s okay that I gave her permission to address us by our first names.”

  I heard Maggie laugh. “I don’t want anyone calling me Ms. Smith until I’m sixty.”

  “You didn’t mention Sister Dabney stopping by,” I said when the call ended.

  “That’s too good a story to waste on a phone call. The Dabney debacle, as I’m going to call it, will be the subject of a long lunch that will end with your first disciplinary write-up. I predict within one year your personnel file will be at least an inch thick.”

  I returned to my office and then remembered I’d forgotten to mention Zach’s invitation for dinner. Instead of going back to Julie’s office, I sent her an interoffice e-mail:

  Zach wants to take Vince, you, and me to dinner this evening to celebrate our passing the bar exam. Okay?

  Within a minute after I sent the message, I received a reply:

  Sure. Wouldn’t miss the chance to see you drink champagne. And if this is a sneaky scheme to set me up with Vinny, I’ll play along, but I’m not going to steal him away from you. He’s still my favor
ite in the Tami Sweepstakes.

  I called Zach. He’d talked to Vince, who liked the idea of a celebratory meal.

  “Vince and I will pick you up at Mrs. Fairmont’s house at six thirty,” Zach said. “Tell Julie to meet us at the restaurant about six forty-five.”

  “You’re coming together?”

  “Yeah, we’ll be at the office until then. There’s no need to drive an extra car.”

  After we hung up I confirmed with Julie, who replied immediately.

  This is going to be soooo much fun.

  I hoped she was right.

  10

  I HEARD MAGGIE’S VOICE IN THE HALLWAY FOLLOWED BY A KNOCK on my door.

  “Come in,” I said.

  The former assistant DA was dressed for court in a dark blue suit and black shoes. She had a smile on her face.

  “Still believe God wants you to work here?”

  Coming from her, the question sounded different than if Julie had asked it.

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Meet Julie and me in the conference room in five minutes so we can get organized.”

  “Don’t make us wait,” Julie said, sticking her head in the door a couple of minutes later.

  I grabbed a legal pad and followed her into the conference room. Maggie was sitting at one end of the table with a laptop in front of her and three stacks of files beside her right hand. She glanced up when we entered.

  “Do you own a laptop?” she asked me.

  “Yes.”

  “Can you use it a few days for work away from the office until we buy you another one?”

  “Yes, I’ll bring it with me tomorrow.”

  “I told you Tami is a team player,” Julie said.

  Julie flipped open an ultralight computer.

  “It will be easier if we exchange typed memos,” Maggie said. “I’m sure that’s what you did at Braddock, Appleby, and Carpenter.”

  “All day, every day,” Julie replied.

  “I spent a lot of time earlier this week reviewing my caseload,” Maggie continued. “Julie has been helping with all the divorce cases, and once she’s sworn in all that business will flow through her. She’s met most of the clients who’ve hired us thus far, and I think we can make a smooth transition with the rest.”

  “We’ve taken a few high-end cases,” Julie added. “Assets of several million that are worth fighting over, along with the kid issues, of course.”

  “How do you get the clients?” I asked.

  The concept that someone would actually phone a law office was still a bit of a mystery to me.

  “Mostly women I met when I was working at the DA’s office,” Maggie said.

  “How?” I asked.

  “People who served on juries and liked what they saw. Witnesses I interviewed for cases. Things like that. When their marriages crashed they looked me up. I guess they figured if I could prosecute criminals, I could go after their husbands.”

  “And we’re also representing a handful of men,” Julie said brightly. “That will be a fun change of pace.”

  “I’m not that interested—,” I said.

  “Your only involvement in the domestic area will be to focus on the financial records,” Maggie interrupted. “Julie says you have a knack for that sort of thing.”

  I gave Julie a puzzled look.

  “Don’t pretend you’re dumb. You were a whiz at secured transactions and the complex business issues Bob Kettleson gave you last summer.”

  “We’re all learning,” Maggie said. “I’ll continue to handle the criminal cases since that’s my comfort zone. And we’ll be opportunistic about bigger cases, which will be either hourly work or on a contingency. However, the key to long-term success as a lawyer is finding a niche and developing a high level of expertise in that area.”

  I’d heard the same basic line from Oscar Callahan. Maggie put her hand on a stack of files.

  “Tami, until you find your niche, I’m turning the miscellaneous files over to you. As you work on different types of cases, you’ll have a chance to see what interests you.”

  “And I promised Maggie you wouldn’t commit legal malpractice while learning,” Julie said. “Don’t let me down.”

  “But you’ll supervise me?” I asked Maggie.

  “As much as I can, but a lot of these files represent work that came in because of an existing client. I would have turned away this extra business as outside our areas of interest and expertise except I knew you were coming and needed something to do.”

  Maggie slid the files over to me. I quickly read down the labels and saw everything from a bailment action against a country club to a zoning request before the city of Savannah. Without a senior lawyer to lean on, I felt overwhelmed.

  “I’ll check your billing,” Maggie said. “It wouldn’t be right to charge a client for every minute of the time you spend figuring out what to do. But don’t worry; I’ll keep a separate file of your actual hours so Julie won’t be able to accuse you of slacking off.”

  Julie narrowed her eyes. “I’ll still accuse you, but I may not be able to make it stick.”

  “And other research projects will surface,” Maggie said to me. “Do you have any interest in doing appellate work?”

  “I like writing briefs, but Julie is a better writer than I am. Her memos last summer were great.”

  “Not good enough to get me a job offer.”

  “That’s not the reason—”

  “Did Mr. Carpenter tell you why they offered you a job and not me?” Julie shot back.

  “No.”

  “Zach didn’t give you a clue?”

  “He’s an associate.”

  Julie pouted. I fidgeted in my seat. Maggie broke the awkward tension.

  “Whatever happened in the past, the three of us are in this together now. We’re the first all-female firm in the history of Savannah. People inside and outside the legal community are watching us. Some want us to succeed; others would be glad if we failed. But if we work hard and do a good job for our clients, there’s no reason why we can’t prosper and have a good time doing it. I’m looking forward to the future.”

  Julie’s face brightened. “Good speech, Coach. We ought to put our hands together and yell ‘Team!’”

  I returned to my office with the thick stack of files and Maggie’s final instructions ringing in my ears that my first priority was to make sure we weren’t about to miss a time deadline or statute of limitations. Fear produced a burst of adrenaline. A couple of hours later I turned down Julie’s invitation to go to lunch because I was in the middle of researching the deadlines and notice requirements in the materialman’s lien case. It was an area of the law in which particularity of language developed hundreds of years ago in England still held sway in the United States.

  “Do you want me to bring you something?” Julie asked.

  “Uh, any kind of salad would be great.”

  I reached for my purse.

  “No money necessary; today is on me,” Julie responded. “When you get a paycheck you can buy me a drink.”

  “Of iced tea.”

  “With a shot of hard lemonade. See you in a bit.”

  I was creating the forms for the lien when Julie returned and placed a clear plastic container of food on my desk.

  “It’s mixed greens with oriental chicken and a sesame dressing,” she said.

  I lifted the lid. It looked and smelled good.

  “Thanks. I’m almost ready to file the lien for a concrete company that didn’t get paid for paving the parking lot at a new convenience store.”

  “Oh, that’s my client,” Julie said.

  “Yours?”

  “I met the owner’s son at a bar. When he asked for my phone number, I gave him the one here at the office. When he realized this was a law office, he asked if I could help him out. He’s in the business with his father. I asked a few questions, and we ended up talking about the claim so long that he forgot to ask me out.”

  “W
ould you have said yes?”

  “No, but it would have been a painless rejection. I can stick a knife in a man’s heart and pull it out, causing only a minor, momentary discomfort.”

  “I wouldn’t mind representing a concrete company,” I said. “Maybe I can meet with the son and his father.”

  “Sure. Set it up and leave me out of it. The son had cement under his fingernails. I’m sure the father is as bad, or worse.”

  After Julie left, I munched my salad, surprised at how excited I was about marketing my legal services. I guess it had to do with building something that could be concrete to me—a law practice.

  BY THE TIME I MADE SURE WE WEREN’T IN IMMINENT DANGER OF committing legal malpractice, it was late afternoon. I was tired, but it was a good kind of fatigue. Julie poked her head in my door.

  “Shannon’s gone. You can come out now.”

  “What?”

  “I know you didn’t want to face her again today. Don’t worry. By tomorrow her kids will have driven out any memory of your connection to Dabney.”

  “I doubt it. People don’t forget Sister Dabney.”

  “True,” Julie admitted. “But maybe Shannon won’t hold it against you. Hey, you’d better go home now if you want to change clothes before dinner and plaster on your makeup the way Zach likes it.”

  “What are you going to wear?” I asked.

  “Nothing that will embarrass you or distract the men,” Julie said, straightening her shirt. “This is your tea party. Zach set it up because he wants you to see that he’s a better candidate for your hand in marriage than Vinny.”

  “Whatever.” I laughed.

  “So, don’t worry,” Julie continued. “I only express my honest opinion when we’re having girl talk. Guys have to be kept in the dark.

  They can’t handle the truth.”

  AT MRS. FAIRMONT’S HOUSE I GAVE THE ELDERLY WOMAN A QUICK summary of my first day on the job while I heated up supper. Tonight, she didn’t remember meeting Sister Dabney. When her memory of the present day dulled, Mrs. Fairmont could more easily remember names and faces from the distant past than recent contacts. When I gave her the goods news about passing the bar exam, she gave me a satisfied nod.