Limiting Liabilities: Book Two - The Martinique Files

by Colette Alaine

  A taxi pulls up to the entrance and Jaclyn is quick to claim it. Grabbing Tawny’s hand and pulling her toward it, she does not intend to let her drunk roommate succumb to anyone’s pleasure tonight.

  Drew reluctantly lets go of her waist while Billy casts a disapproving glance his way.

  CHAPTER 13

  M onday morning the office is all abuzz. Tawny arrives a little earlier than usual in anticipation of meeting the new attorneys joining the firm. She is not alone. Following Mark into the parking garage, he waits for her to get out of her car.

  “I see I’m not the only one who wants to stake out my territory,” Mark jokes.

  “It’s so weird, isn’t it? Having Brandon on board still doesn’t feel right and now we’ve got an entire firm joining us.”

  “Brandon’s not a great example but I know what you’re saying. It’ll be interesting to see how Billy gets them under his control.” Mark wonders the same thing as Tawny. “I hope it doesn’t mess with my partnership tract. You know I’m supposed to be made the offer at the end of next year.”

  “I bet it won’t. I think, if anything, Billy will still lean toward us for a while. You know he’s not big on all of this kind of change, especially when he’s managing it.” Tawny attempts to reassure him.

  “Are you nervous?” Mark displays his fear.

  “Some. You know that you’ll be working with Billy on his cases. I’m kind of free game. I know that I do some work for Brandon but a lot of it is research. He rarely brings me in on any other aspect of his cases. When Danny and Trent find out if they’ve passed the Bar Exam they’ll need to be assigned to an attorney,” she unnecessarily explains the plans for the two interns in addition to Dudley, who is attached to Rebecca.

  Tawny has also been wondering where she will fall. The three summer interns were offered associate positions and they will be doing much more of the research at the beginning of their careers. That is really what Brandon and Rebecca need. Like her, Mark handles much of his work by himself and if he wants a second opinion, he consults with Billy and Nick. Now that there are two more new partners in the department, Brandon has his pick of advisers. It sure won’t be Tawny and probably not Mark.

  It does not take Billy long to figure out that Brandon has been treating Tawny more like a research assistant than an associate. He does not like it and tells Brandon the same. He also assures her it is only temporary until the interns are full time associates. Of course that will not be until August of next year but he does have all three interns logging in a few hours a week during the school year.

  Billy believes that working during the year is a great way to accustom them to the life they will be living after the Bar Exam. Mostly, their work is not critical to any case. It is just helpful to have them stay apprised of the goings-on in the firm. If the three interns spend a few hours a week in the office doing short research projects it will not be such a shock to them when they start full time. All of the jitters and basic learning are over without causing much commotion in the department.

  If Tawny researches some for Brandon and does occasional work on Billy’s cases it leaves her with plenty of time to handle her own cases. Trouble is she has not brought any clients into the firm so she does not have any of her own. Billy’s plan was for her to take over some of Brandon’s more minor matters but he refuses to let go of anything. Mark and Nick control Billy’s smaller cases so that still leaves Tawny without a go-to partner, especially since she does nothing for Rebecca anymore.

  For a time she thought she might be Nick’s exclusive associate, which would be a good fit but she heard through the grapevine, Linda to be exact, that Nick’s wife did not want him working so closely with the sultry siren. Billy protests but Nick’s marriage is not strong anyway and Billy does not add to the problems.

  Hoping that she will get some work from the new partners and can get comfortable with them as quickly as possible she really wants to be connected with one partner or two if that works for her and for them. And for Billy. He hinted that Barbra Cardwell may be looking to leave the stricter rules of a large law firm and that would be an opening for Tawny to take over her work. For now, she will just have to see how the cards fall.

  With Mark by her side, they enter the elevator to the lowest of the top five floors and stop at their offices to drop off their briefcases. Lingering outside of hers, it is only a few minutes before Nick shows up. He motions for them to join him in his office.

  “Big day.” Nick’s first words convey his sentiment.

  “Nerve racking day.” Mark wrings his hands.

  “Any of them here yet?” Nick wants to know.

  “We haven’t seen them but it’s early,” Mark says as they hear the ding of the elevator doors opening.

  Watching with anticipation but also trying not to be too obvious, the three attorneys spy one female and three males exist and head toward the offices.

  “The attorneys,” Nick remarks as he sees the direction they’re headed.

  “The associates at least.” Mark again provides details.

  “The partners will probably come a little later, if nothing else to establish that they’re partners and have some leeway. I’m surprised the paralegals and legal secretaries aren’t here yet. Linda beat all of us in today and you know she’s foaming at the mouth,” Nick rarely relays his feelings but it is all coming out this morning.

  “Small firm support help isn’t going to show up any earlier than they have to. If they don’t get paid they ain’t gonna be here. I have friends who deal with hourly employees. They want to get paid for every second they’re in the office. It’ll be different for them when they realize their job depends upon them getting the work done, even if they have to stay late or come early and not get paid for it,” Mark sums up the situation as he sees it.

  “They’ll get overtime,” Tawny reminds him.

  “True but most of them want to get out of the office.”

  “I’m afraid they’ll spend time on Facebook or Twitter or just emailing and instant messaging all day.” Tawny’s heard her own stories from Dave, who works for a small firm and sees the abuse first hand.

  “If Billy catches one of them, that’ll be the end of all the social networking,” Nick states the obvious.

  “That should scare them to death,” Mark agrees. “Speaking of which, here comes the boss.”

  Billy strides into his office but does not miss the trio gathered inside Nick’s. Instant messaging Nick, he tells them to go to the conference room and to grab any of the old group along with them. Telling Linda and Brandon that Billy wants them in the room, both drop what they are doing and come along. A few minutes later Rebecca enters.

  “This is exciting.” She speaks the first words.

  “Nerve racking.” Mark is still unsure of this change.

  “That too,” Rebecca agrees as they restlessly pace around the room.

  Ten minutes later Billy enters with the full staff following behind him. Looks like the three other attorneys arrived early this morning. Polite greetings are exchanged as everyone either takes a seat at the conference table or in one of the chairs placed around the room. They try to look at each other but this is so uncomfortable. Everyone is ready for Billy to speak.

  “Welcome to all our new folks. I think the first thing we should do is introduce ourselves. I’m gonna make Brandon start since he didn’t have to do this when he joined. Then we’ll just go around the room.” Billy sits at the head of the table and hard telling what he is going to say once they’ve all blurted out their names.

  “Brandon Harper, partner.” He looks at Nick who is sitting next to him.

  “Nick Mattucci, partner.” Oh, Tawny can almost feel how good it is for Nick to finally say it.

  “Tawny Martinique, associate.” What else is she going to say? This is so cold but since Billy started with Brandon, he set the tone.

  “Mark Malone, Billy’s associate.” Mark is claiming his place.

  “Re
becca Moore, partner.”

  “Linda Carlson, department administrative assistant to Billy.” So Linda’s a little worried too. Sounds like she just gave herself a promotion. Tawny notices Billy’s eyes grow wide but he does not correct her. He is getting a good dose of his group’s concerns.

  “Sam Barker, partner.”

  “Allan Finch, partner.”

  “Bob Touhy, senior associate.”

  “Tony Barr, associate.”

  “Franklin Russell, associate.”

  “Barbie Cardwell, associate.” Barbie? What happened to Barbra, Tawny wants to know as she stares at the short, plain-faced woman. She definitely looks more like a Barbra and nothing like a Barbie.

  “Duncan Carmichael, associate.”

  Peggy Staples, Donna Stewart, Bindi Bellows, Frannie Carter, Lulu Sampras, Tina Frankel and Jalisa Samson identify themselves as paralegals and legal secretaries.

  “Jerome Bond, Human Resources.”

  “Wow, that was the coldest way to greet each other I’ve ever seen. We’re going to have to thaw some of this ice. I was hoping you’d tell us about yourself, but we’ll wait to do that at lunch. Linda has arranged for us to dine together in the firm’s private dining room. We have a separate room for lunch meetings and I want all of you there at noon,” Billy announces noting the rigidity of this group.

  “Excuse me, Billy.”

  “Barbie?” Billy is a little taken aback.

  “I’ve already made lunch plans and can’t make it today. I’m sorry.” Tawny can feel the anger rising inside of Billy but instead of erupting, he gives it to her straight.

  “Well, Barbie, you’re going to have to change those plans and be in the dining room at noon.” Barbie is shocked. “As I was saying we’ll get to know each other as time passes. I want us to integrate as quickly as possible because we have a lot of work to do. We’ve hired three interns that will become associates late next summer as long as they pass the Bar Exam and they will relieve some of you of the more mundane research projects. Until then I need all the associates researching for all the partners.” Billy excuses her as if she never spoke. He really has no time for pettiness.

  Tawny notices the tension in every associate and paralegal as Billy puts Barbie in her place. He is setting the stage and she did wonders to help him. The two new partners, Sam and Allen, as well as Bob, the senior associate hoping to become a partner, attempt to hide their amusement. Either they are thrilled that Barbie is being put in her place or they cannot wait to see her work on Billy.

  “I have three new cases that need working and I will give each of the four new associates a portion of them. You’ll learn how I do things and how I expect work to be done. Mark and Tawny can give you whatever advice you need. They’ve both learned my style and comply with it. Nick and Rebecca will do the same with their cases. Nick has worked with me since he graduated and he’s also adapted to my style. Rebecca is a corporate attorney and works with banks and other corporate clients. She’ll let you know what she needs.” Billy continues to explain how it is going to work in his department.

  “Billy?” Again the shrill voice sounds and Billy looks at Barbie with disdain at being interrupted.

  “I’m not finished, Barbie. I don’t want to be interrupted.”

  “I don’t think you can tell me what I can do on my own time and I’ve already made lunch plans so I will not be attending the lunch today in the dining room.” Wow! Tawny barely has a moment to move her head from Barbie to Billy.

  “Then you can join your friend now because you’re fired. Jerome, please escort Barbie to her office to grab her purse. Linda, call security to escort Barbie out of the building.” Billy loses no time in dismissing the annoying woman.

  Linda and Jerome immediately stand up and Linda goes to the conference phone and dials. The others in the room are so shocked they just stare at Billy or at Barbie.

  “You can’t do this to me!” Barbie has found her voice. “You have a reputation against women. I will sue you.”

  “I have a reputation for running a tight ship. If anyone else does not want to follow my instructions please leave now.” No one budges.

  Security arrives quickly as if they’ve been waiting for this summons. Barbie is beside herself and starts swearing at Billy and the two partners she has evidently tormented for years. Billy says nothing and only waits for her to leave the room. They can hear her until she gets into the elevator, threatening a lawsuit the entire time.

  “I also want Tawny and Mark to work on Sam, Allen and Bob’s work. Bob, I understand you have several of your own cases.” Billy picks up where he left off as if nothing happened. And probably to him, nothing important had.

  “Yes, I do.” Bob is pleased that Billy knows he is working like a partner without being one.

  “Great. I tasked the partners to be ready to hand off work as soon as possible so we will start right away. Barbie’s work on my case will be done by Tawny and her work on Nick and Rebecca’s cases will be done by Mark. This won’t be a permanent set up for any of you but to integrate fast, we have to work with each other from the get go. Does anyone have any questions?”

  No one dares to say a word. Any questions can certainly wait. They have heard about Billy Solomon and now they are going to experience all of him in one powerful blast. This is definitely going to be a change from their comfort zone.

  “Okay, then. Jerome should be returning momentarily and he will get you started with your introduction to administrative policies. My department policies are also included. Don’t worry it’s not much. It only details how I like files set up and the like. The rest of you can return to your offices until lunch. I believe that’s when HR will release these fine folks. Again, welcome aboard.”

  As the older group gets up from the table Tawny notices how pleased Brandon seems to be. Finally, he is seeing the order and organization he’s been waiting for Billy to implement. It is as though he’s been expecting it. They must have discussed it before Brandon joined several months ago. Billy certainly knows how to surprise.

  No one speaks as they return to their offices. Life will certainly be different from now on.

  Lunch and the week following it run as smoothly as Billy had hoped. Tawny and Mark receive their assignments from Sam, Allan and Bob Monday afternoon and diligently work on them during the week. It goes relatively well. They use Billy’s method and get the work done. Duncan, Franklin and Tony find adjustment to Billy’s style difficult at first but after spending late hours working on his projects, they start to understand how he wants it presented.

  All three new associates utilize Mark and Tawny’s expertise to make sure they do not disappoint their new manager. All this fraternizing brings the associates closer together very quickly, just as Billy planned.

  Tawny spends a little time with the two new partners. They are also trying to get things right for Billy. It is all about Billy and he is loving it.

  “How’s work with Sam and Allan going?” Tawny looks up from her desk as the man everyone fears and desires to please strolls in her office and closes the door.

  “Good. They said they like what they see and it was what they wanted. I’ve actually done more for Bob. He’s got two really great cases. Sam and Allan’s cases are pretty far along and so they had less to do. One is almost ready for trial and Franklin is deep into that one. He’s kind of freaking out trying to get your work done and stay on top of this case.” Tawny shares a little information.

  “I know. I gave him the least amount of my work but I think the others loaded him up. He’ll be fine. He’s a perfectionist and he needs to let go a little earlier. If he does he’ll have enough time without having to practically spend the night here.” Billy does not miss much. He understands an associate’s fear and uses it for his good as well as their own.

  “So, Billy, who am I going to primarily report to? I thought it might be Nick but now I’m not sure.” Tawny’s been spending too much time trying to figure this out.
She might as well just ask him outright.

  “Me.”

  “What?”

  “You’ve been on my case all year so it’s me.” Tawny is so surprised she does not know what to say to him. “That’s actually why I came by. See we’re so in sync with each other. I thought about it a lot and you and Brandon are never going to work. You’re too close to Nick and to be honest, he’s been a good attorney but he can’t bring in business. He’ll be working my cases most of his career, which is fine but why pair you with him when you’d be working my stuff anyway? Franklin is glued to Allan and I’m not messing with it. Mark’s also too close to Nick so Mark will pair with Sam and Bob until he makes partner. Tony will also work with them and eventually be the associate for Mark and Bob. Sam’s gonna get Trent. Duncan will work with Rebecca and train Dudley part time and the rest of the time he’s gonna work with Brandon and, who’s the other one?”

  “Danny.” Tawny helps him out as he goes through his personnel plan, still shocked that he is making her his primary associate.

  “Danny, Dudley and Duncan. Sounds like a comedy routine. I know I’m gonna mix ‘em up. Anyway, that left the best associate for me. I’ve got Nick and you doing my work.” He waits for her to speak.

  “I’m really surprised.”

  “And?”

  “I’m happy,” she says a bit timidly.

  “Good. I was hoping you’d want it to be this way. Since you’re my one and only full time associate, you get to be at my beck and call again.” He grins at her.

  “Well this time I’m okay with it.”

  “Which means we’re flying to Florida Monday morning to see Ken. He’s in the land-based lab and he needs us down there to go through this case up here. Apparently, he’s got some issue with the underwater lab and when I discussed this pairing with him he told me if I hadn’t done it this way, he would have fired me.”

  “Yeah right. But I do love Ken. He’s so good at what he does. He’s the nicest guy I know. What do I need to do to prepare before we leave?” Tawny is not going to disappoint him.