Limiting Liabilities: Book Two - The Martinique Files

by Colette Alaine

  “What if I say tomorrow?”

  “That’s not much time,” she counters.

  “Why do you need time? Do you want to leave?”

  “I don’t know what I want, Billy. I don’t even know who to ask for advice.” She is exasperated with the whole situation.

  “Then I’ll give you some. Anywhere you go, you’re going to be a hit for a while. You had this great case with Billy Solomon and every one would kill to be in your place. You broke into the big leagues fast by being involved with bringing a tyrant company to justice. It was so good Billy even had to mention it and everyone knows he usually takes all the credit himself. We both know that you basically had the answer and I didn’t. You solved the case.”

  She is amazed at how he can become so neutral. “You’re pretty good at being a third party.”

  “I’m not finished. You’re the star for a while but now expectations are really high. You should be bringing in some clients. They forget how young and inexperienced you are and give you work above your head and they expect it to be really good. You’re overwhelmed and have no one to help you out. Sure, you may redeem yourself, but you’re always going to be held to a higher standard.

  “At BSF, I know where you are in your career and in your understanding of the law and the cases that come in. I know you can’t bring in business yet and I don’t expect you to even try. We’ll work on it together. You’ll work with attorneys you know. You may not be as experienced as the new guys coming in but you’re already here. You fit in and they have to work at it.

  If you leave, you have to start all over with those relationships. And you know, Tawny, you’re a star to the new guys coming in so they’re already in awe of you. Don’t think that they haven’t asked about you a few times while we’ve been discussing this deal.” Billy reveals a little about his interviews with the small firm partners.

  “Really? That’s pretty cool.”

  “Uh huh. They’re as enamored with you as they are with me. It’s crushing my ego and they haven’t even seen you yet.” He stops and looks at the floor. “Okay, I admit that was sexist. It just came out.”

  “You’re an employment lawyer’s nightmare. Or a dream come true if he’s on the other side.” Tawny sighs.

  “Forgive me?” He really means it.

  “Yes, I forgive you . . .again.”

  “Tomorrow you’ll have your answer, then?”

  “Yeah.” She is going to have an agonizing evening thinking through her decision.

  “Goodnight, Tawny.”

  Driving home, Tawny cannot focus her thoughts. Billy practically admitted he still has feelings for her. Nothing else matters. No matter what else she tries to think through, his simple ‘No’ when she asked if her work and the management committee pressure were the only reason he wants her to stay continues to come back to her. She analyzes that one little word over and over. It has to mean he is still interested. For some reason, that makes the answer to his question easy.

  But it shouldn’t. She cannot make such an important decision based upon a guy liking her. Why is it so exhilarating to her that he cares about her? She has spent the last seven months dealing with her emotions after he cheated on her. Why is this single word so important to her?

  She loves him. It is the only answer. This is what real love is. And it hurts so badly because that real love is right in front of her and she cannot have it.

  She should leave the firm. How can she live and work around this man and not have him? To watch him date other women will kill her. Every day will be an emotional roller coaster.

  But if she leaves, she has no chance with him. She knows he will move on and she will be just someone he went out with for a couple of weeks. It will be the end.

  Love hurts so much. Does she risk her career for the chance at love? Can she watch him with other women while she is waiting for him to acknowledge his feelings for her? Maybe it will never happen. Maybe the longer she stays around him the less he will want her.

  What decision is the right one? Trying to focus on the real issue is of the utmost importance. If she listens to Billy, it does not seem to matter where she practices. She will be successful anywhere, at least for a while. She can fail or succeed at BSF or at any other firm. Billy does know her work and even if he does not mentor her, he can make certain she has someone by her side.

  She has as good a chance of succeeding at BSF as anywhere. If she and Billy get back together, that will just be a bonus. She cannot believe she has fallen this hard for a man she cannot have under her terms. But fallen she has so now it is about figuring out whether or not it will ever happen and if it will ever work.

  After spending hours analyzing every aspect of the situation, no matter how she looks at it, staying with BSF is the right answer. The hardest part will be to be around Billy all the time. If she believes Billy, she will be busy with lots of good cases.

  ~

  Leaving Tawny’s office, Billy is less secure in himself than he has ever been in his life. He wants her near him. He cannot have her but he cannot let go either. With all the additions to the firm, she will be close by but not too close. He has to limit his liabilities when it comes to the devastatingly seductive Tawny Martinique.

  Billy’s attraction for his young associate has gone well beyond her physical beauty. She is so real. Honest and pure in her relationships and in her business dealings, it is difficult to imagine a more perfect woman. If he had just resisted the temptation last summer and maintained a professional relationship instead of caressing her breast on a Saturday afternoon, it may have turned out differently in time. Now they have a past together and he has really screwed it up. Despite their feelings, any future relationship will be complicated, maybe too complicated to ever materialize.

  His older brother, Joe, cautioned him last year, telling him to be careful with dating so many shallow women. He was afraid Billy would miss out on real love if he did not slow down, saying he would never even find the right woman if he did not stop dating the money chasers with the heavy make-up, short dresses showcasing saline-stacked breasts and stiletto heels. Tawny has the body he admires without the enhancing surgery and she does not need all the paint and six-inch heels to attract him or any other man for that matter.

  Delving into his feelings is uncomfortable for him but he cannot help doing it right now. No matter how much he tries to change his thoughts, he returns to his perplexing feelings for the girl in the office down the hall. Could Joe be right? Could the best relationship he could ever have be at his fingertips? Is he ready to seize the opportunity or is he just too afraid to wander in such a foreign territory?

  CHAPTER 7

  “H ow much of a raise are you going to give me?” Tawny enters Billy’s office before she even goes to her own the next morning. Although she has made her decision to stay, she is going to make him work for her answer just a little. Besides, she may be able to pull out more cash from him than he is planning to give her.

  She started work as a rookie two years ago with a nice salary of one hundred twenty-five thousand and got a standard four percent raise after the first year. Associates usually receive bonus money to complement their work the previous year. Billy went all out and gave her a fifty thousand dollar bonus check. She found out through the ever present grapevine that she received twice as much as the next highest paid associate at her level, a lawyer in the Securities department.

  “You’re up to a hundred thirty, right?” She nods in agreement. “I’ll give you five more.”

  “Ten.”

  “You got a huge bonus check last year,” Billy reminds her.

  “I think I deserved it.” She is not going to back down easily.

  “That’s why you got it. Another five thousand means you really got an eight percent increase instead of the four percent everyone else received. Reviews are in November and you’ll most likely get another four percent. That’s really good, Tawny.”

  “It is I agree, but you’re tr
ying to keep me here. Besides, I think saving your life is worth at least fifty thousand.” She is playing with fire right now.

  “You think fifty thousand was inadequate?” He is shocked.

  “No. I’m just saying that if you were dead, this firm would’ve lost a lot more than fifty thousand.”

  “That’s true,” he smiles broadly, then attempts to get serious again, “but we don’t pay bonuses that way.”

  “Thank goodness. I’d hate to have to save your life every year to get the extra money.”

  “Why do you need ten?” He ignores her quip.

  “It makes me feel necessary,” she responds honestly.

  “Five and we work together starting today. You split your time with me and Rebecca.” His announcement is such a surprise she cannot find words to speak. “I know that’s what you really want. It’s not the money.”

  Does she admit that being around him is what she really wants, to work his cases by his side? Is that what he wants or is he just placating her again?

  “Any reason I’m getting this offer?” It is a dumb question and she is fishing but she seriously doubts he is not going to provide the answer she wants.

  “Rebecca’s gonna figure it out sooner or later that she’s losing you. Today is as good a day as any to break the news. She’ll get right with it before the interns arrive next month. The less they know about the situation, the better for them,” he says, then switches subjects in order to say that what is done is done and they need to move forward. “We have to meet Ken tomorrow afternoon. He’s returning to Chicago. He had agency engineers here for two weeks testing the water and soil and now he’s meeting with the potential plaintiffs.”

  Tawny would like to ask more about Rebecca but instead follows his lead regarding Ken. “Is that normal?”

  “They asked him to check it out and he did. He’s hoping to avoid a lawsuit. City representatives have been briefed already.” Her eyes flash at being left out of the loop. “Don’t jump all over me! I can see it coming. I didn’t tell you because I found out you were interviewing. I couldn’t give you information until I knew you were staying.” Billy holds off her temper.

  “I haven’t given you my answer yet.” Billy looks directly at her and smiles. He probably knew last night she was not going anywhere. Now he just has to tidy up the details. Perhaps if she insists, he will give her the ten thousand but he is back in the game too.

  He let her know last night that his feelings for her were not completely gone. He did not really hide it from her. She is pretty sure he is not going to let her back into his personal life, at least not right away. Maybe working with her is better than watching her from afar. Despite her attempts to be aloof, he knows she wants to be with him but neither of them is ready for a relationship with the other right now. Working so closely together, they can figure out the mess together without getting intimate. It is the best solution.

  “Five and me. How can you resist?” Billy turns on the charm. It does not fool her.

  She fires back, “it should be a hundred and you!”

  “If you only want a hundred dollars I can certainly do that.” He pulls out his wallet. “I’ll even pay it to you myself in cash.”

  “Billy.” She pauses for effect and to decide what to say next. He replaces his billfold and gets serious. “Eight.”

  “Five.”

  She doesn’t answer for a few minutes. He does not push her. He is waiting for her to digest it. She wants a win over him and he needs to gain some control over her. Right now, she can read him like a book. She has an edge that no one has ever had with him and it is time for him to gradually loosen her grip.

  Deliberately crossing her arms and sighing deeply, she glares at him. “Fine. I’ll take five thousand and a better office.”

  “What?” Again, she maneuvers the deal.

  “Mine is so small and it’s the worst associate office on this floor. I got the best bonus and the worst office,” she flirtatiously whines. “Besides, it’s at the end of the hall next to Rebecca’s. If I’m going to work for both of you I should be closer to you.” She bats her eyelashes twice for the desired effect.

  And it works like a charm. “You have to remain in an associate’s office. No way can I move you into a larger partner office.”

  “That’s fine.” The perfect idea comes to mind and she tells him what will work. “Give me Nick’s when he’s made partner. That should happen soon with all the talk about it.”

  Billy is quick to respond. Almost too quick. It is as if he already had this in mind. “I’ll give you Mark’s because he’s getting Nick’s.”

  “Okay. You‘ve got a deal.” Tawny is glad this is over and she is happy with her decision.

  “Negotiating with you is almost worse than negotiating with opposing counsel,” Billy complains.

  She shrugs. “I think you were going to move me anyway. You just wanted to get more concessions from me. So now, you have to give up that advantage.” She does not miss his involuntary smirk. “Besides, I’m pretty sure you’ve kept me well within the second year associate salary range.” She watches his face but this time he does not reveal any insight. “Since negotiating is a big part of my job I’ll take your jab as a compliment. So let’s talk about Ken now that I’m back onboard.”

  Billy jumps right into his update. No need for him to discuss her place at the firm any longer, she figures, since he gave what he was going to give. “The parts per billion of hexavalent chromium in Chicago’s drinking water were .23 about eight months ago, which is about eleven times greater than what some consider safe. Now it’s 3.58. No one knows how it escalated so fast. It’s not something that’s regulated but that great of an increase came from somewhere. Probably illegal dumping and that means we get involved.”

  “Wow that is high.” Tawny’s thoughts whirl. “I’m concerned again about drinking it myself.”

  “When we meet with Ken, he’s gonna go through what his people found.” Billy ignores her concern. “I need you to spend today and tomorrow morning researching hexavalent chromium and explain it to me. I know you have a chemistry degree and I know some of it but it’s been awhile since I’ve dealt with chromium 6. I need an update and I need to know what you know about it.”

  “Sure. I scheduled a call with Aerrol Bank at ten. I can cancel it.” Normally, she would not provide him with her schedule but she certainly does not want to risk him catching her on the phone.

  Pushing papers to the other side of his desk, he asks her “how long will it take?”

  “An hour, two at the very most but I don’t mind staying late. I just wanted you to know it’s scheduled.” She falls back into associate mode and the two are more comfortable after the give and take on the salary and her job.

  “Finish it but push it as fast as you can. It’s not big money. Important client but no need to overbill them for something that can be resolved quickly.” Billy enhances his own role as mentor and as manager.

  “Okay.” She gets up to leave.

  “Tawny, when you respond to me like this I can work with you any day all day. When you play your hand, I back off.” He is being very honest with her to show her how well they can work together if they skip the antics.

  She understands his point. “I know. I’m just the one that’s so vulnerable here and I’m trying to hold onto what I’ve got.”

  “You’re safe here,” he reassures her.

  She nods. “Do you want a memo?”

  “I’d prefer one, if you can get it done.”

  “I’ll work on it as soon as I end the bank call.” She leaves his office to delve into the exciting world of hexavalent chromium.

  At eleven-ten Tawny hangs up the phone, having completed an informational conversation that will require some research and a memo to the Aerrol Bank group. But it will have to wait until after she meets with Ken Shelton tomorrow afternoon. Right now, she needs to prepare one for Billy.

  Spending the rest of the day reading every
article and blurb on the internet that she can find regarding chromium 6, she combines the research with her own knowledge. By the end of the working day, her rough draft is finished. Trying to decide whether to stay and polish it tonight or to come in tomorrow, she errs on the safe side and settles in for the evening.

  Calling for a pizza, she greets the delivery man at the reception desk. Paying him, she is ready to return to her tiny office and clean up the memo until she is satisfied. This way if she decides to make a change, she has a little time in the morning. Hopefully, it will stand up through the night and she can hand it to Billy before nine o’clock.

  “Planning on a long night?” Rebecca calls to her from her office as she heads to her own.

  “Not too long. Just want to finish this memo for Billy,” Tawny responds.

  “Bring the pizza in here. I want to talk to you for a few minutes and I want a piece. It’s been awhile since I let myself eat pizza.” Tawny does as she is told.

  Moving Rebecca’s stacks on her work table, Tawny opens the box and the two women dive into the Canadian bacon and mushroom pie.

  “Billy told me the news,” Rebecca says.

  Tawny opens the box and selects a piece. “He sure doesn’t waste any time.”

  “I expected it. I was hoping I was wrong but it’s okay. You should be doing more of his work. I just wanted to hold onto you one more year.” Rebecca has calmed down so much since being sent home for two weeks.

  Tawny sits down at the table with her slice of pizza. “How are you doing with everything? You’ve had so many challenges at one time. I don’t think I could handle it.” Tawny plays mother for the moment. She does not want to become a Rebecca. It’s that easy. She fights Billy so she isn’t ignored and used like Rebecca. Her biggest fear is becoming her mentor.

  Rebecca sits down at the table and reaches for some napkins. “I’ve stopped fighting Billy and I’ve stopped fighting myself. I’m not numb but I’m settling into a different role. I mean a part of me is fighting to keep my job. He says it’s good but I’ve never been an attorney he respects. He deals with me but he wouldn’t spend two seconds trying to keep me if I told him I planned to leave. He’s not treating me this way for any leverage. He’s just not impressed with anything I do. I’m totally expendable to him and I have to accept it.”