December 2, 2016
4:00 pm
Harrison, Fink, & Timberlake, Attorneys at Law
598 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY
“He finally let you out of his site?”
“Don’t get me started.” I tap the point of my pen on the desk before turning back to the computer screen. “He acts like I’m going to shatter if the wind blows too hard or something.”
“Hey, you’re lucky he cares so much. It’s like pulling teeth to get him to pay an inkling of attention to me, or my caseload.”
“I pay attention to it,” I half mumble, before glancing at him. “And you’re doing a great job. Don’t worry about them. They’re halfway out of this as it is, getting ready to retire and give their fuckin’ kids their shares of the business. As soon as Neil passes the bar, he’ll be taking Barry’s place, the same goes for Joey Harrison. I’ll be the most experienced one, and you’ll be partner in a year or so. I promise.”
I smile for him, because he deserves one from me. Thank God for Peter, because without him, I doubt I would have survived my first week back here. He’s great, a younger version of myself, and has as much, if not more law talent than I did at his age. He was hired right after Maggie resigned, and has worked night and day to make his place here known. He’s workhorse, just like Maggie was, only he gets a lot more respect from the other partners. In a way, he’s taken her place. We have lunch in my office or down the block most days, and split a four pack of Rangers season tickets Barry gave me. I guess he might as well be my best friend, because aside from him, I don’t associate with anyone else outside of work besides Tyler.
It’s still not the same though.
There’s no one like Mags.
To be honest, I don’t think about her as often as I thought I would. I guess because the effort it took me to rehabilitate myself from surgery took almost all my energy, and time. Whatever was left went to rebuilding my relationship with my nephew, because without that, I knew I wouldn’t have a chance of gaining his respect back.
It’s been great, having him at the house. I didn’t get the pushback from Benjamin that I expected when I told him what my plans were. He’s seemed to soften slightly after my surgery, and told me if having Tyler at the house was best for the two of us, then he would make sure to get him there. Yes, I was shocked, but I can tell how thankful he is that he didn’t have to lose both of his children. We haven’t become close by any means, but we understand each other better than we ever have before, and I guess….that’s a good thing.
When I was first allowed to go back home, Tyler helped as much as he could around the house, and made sure to take me on as many walks as he could while I regained the rest of my strength. I rehired Matilda to handle the tasks that he couldn’t and it’s been a really long road. It took five and a half solid months of hardcore rehabilitation before the doctor begrudgingly allowed me to start working a few days a week at the firm. It’s been almost a month now, and I’m finally starting to feel like myself again. My breathing can be a little funny at times, I still use an inhaler and need a cane to help me walk, but I’m getting there. I really am. My doctors are hopeful that by the spring I’ll be able to ditch the cane and the inhaler.
I’m proud of myself.
“Anyway I just came to tell you, Barry told me that he wants you to help me with that Pepsi Cola contract case.” He flops the paperwork down on my desk. “That actor wouldn’t budge with a settlement so it’s going in front of a judge. The problem is that his lawyer is really good, and Barry thinks I might need your insight.”
“Yeah, he told me in the meeting this morning.” I drag the paperwork forward and skim the front page of the deposition. The header makes my eyes go wide, and I start to cough, quickly reaching for my inhaler to ease the tension in my chest.
“J, are you all right man?”
“Fine…” I pump the inhaler and regulate my breathing again, before looking back at the page.
Bryson Gill (Wallace, Akerman, and Dawson) v Pepsi-Cola Inc (Harrison, Fink, and Timberlake)
“Shit.”
She made partner. I feel the smile crack at the corner of my mouth. I want to be proud. I want to call her and congratulate her because thats the kind of friends we always were. Then I remember that she didn’t call to tell me, and I have to remember that we don’t speak, that we haven’t seen each other, and that we’ve both moved on.
“Why don’t I believe you?”
I stare up at Peter, and shake my head. “I just…it’s nothing. Don’t worry, we’ll work through it together and get the job done, like always. I’ll come to court with you.”
“Thanks, I um…”
“Peter, it’s Friday, why don’t you take off? I’ll see you at the game tomorrow night right? I’ll bring Tyler.”
“Oh yeah, sure.”
He gazes at me with more uncertainty, but when I don’t say anything else, he leaves my office, quietly closing the door behind him.
What are the odds of this? Well…I mean, it was probably inevitable. Her firm is the biggest entertainment firm in the city, and we’re the biggest litigation firm. It’ll be interesting I guess…seeing her work for the other side. I hope I can keep my composure and not hand the whole damn case over to her. No, I won’t. I have to be the lawyer I’m supposed to be, because this is a big case. If it wasn’t, Barry never would have asked for my assistance, because Peter is a strong lawyer and very reliable.
That means I have to give a hundred percent, every minute I’m in the courtroom with her. I have to play hardball, like I’m notorious for. It’s what our clients pay for. When it comes to Maggie though, I’m a mess. I’ve always been. She’s always had me wrapped around her finger, that hasn’t changed despite the fact that we haven’t spoken, and she’ll realize that quickly the minute we’re in that courtroom together.
I have no idea what to expect, but I’m not even worried about the case. I realize now more than even that I really want to see her.
“Sir.” Shelby’s voice comes over my speaker phone.
“Yes, Shelby?”
“Hannah is on line one.”
I sigh heavily. “Put her through.”
“Hey you.”
Her voice comes on the line immediately, and I quickly pick up. “Hey.”
“Are we still having dinner?”
It’s been a month since I said we were through. I wanted to tell her right after the surgery, but I just…I couldn’t. I was a mess after Maggie walked away and I was too weak to deal with anything else. I continued my charade with her for weeks after that, until I couldn’t take it anymore. I told her I wasn’t ready to commit to her and I didn’t want to be with her anymore.
She didn’t believe me.
She still doesn’t.
She’s relentless, calls me every day, and yeah, we have dinner a couple of times a week. I say that it’s just as friends, but she doesn’t see things my way. Not at all. She's still convinced that we’re going to get married, that I’m just confused and need some space for awhile. Benjamin has kept a careful distance from the situation, only casually reminding me once in a while that I’m not getting any younger and he’d like to have some more grandchildren before he dies.
“I guess so.”
“Great.” I can hear her grinning. “Thai on forty ninth?”
“Burgers on fifty second, and I’m not compromising tonight.”
She huffs loudly. “Fine, whatever. I’ll see you in twenty?”
“Forty five.”
“Okay, text me when you’re close.”
I hang up without a response. In a way, the separation has been good for us. She realizes that I need to do my own thing, and indulge every once in awhile even if it’s against my doctors orders. It’s keeping me sane, and it’s also the only way I can tolerate her for more than an hour at a time. We don’t talk about Maggie, or Tad. He doesn’t do the show with her anymore. She’s been given the gig solo and is doing very well with it. Tad is making his rounds on a different network, and I guess there’s rumors of relocation to give him his own show, but I don’t get into specifics with Hannah about it. The only question I really have is about Maggie’s situation when it comes to him, if she’s still going to get married, and if so, does that mean she’s going to be moving to Los Angeles?
I’d really like to know, but it’s not like I’m about to call her, or ask my ex fiancé about it either.
I’m just stuck. I’m always stuck when it comes to Mags, it seems. I don’t date random, mindless women like I used to though. There’s only Hannah a couple of times a week, and I guess that’s only because I like the attention and that I control her now instead of her controlling me. She’s so desperate to get me back that she’ll go wherever I want, watch whatever I want, and back off whenever I want her to. It’s been great, but I know it’s not healthy for me. I have to just…move on, but I’m afraid to be alone. I know I’ll have Tyler, but…but it’s not the same as being in a relationship. I’m a wimp. I need that I guess.
Or maybe I just miss Maggie so fucking much, that I’ll take any type of relationship in my life to try and make up for it.
The only problem is, nothing I do seems to work. There’s still this gaping void inside of me, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to change that. Seeing her in that courtroom may fill it, but just for a short time. Then she’ll be gone again, and I’ll be back to square one.
I wish Fay were here. I wish she were here every single day. She’s the only one that would be able to give me the advice I need.
I miss her more than ever.
I take another half hour to get my paperwork sorted out for Monday morning before I finally get my coat and start to head out of the office. The phone on my desk starts to ring as my hand touches the door, and I decide to let my voicemail pick it up.
You’ve reached the desk of Justin Timberlake. I’m currently out of the office but please leave a detailed message and the time of your call so I can get back to you. Have a good day.
Beep…
“Hey Justin. I heard you were back at the office and figured you might still be there now, but I guess you have a life. Go figure.”
My heart skips a beat.
Mags.
“So listen, I got the deposition today. I wanted to touch base with you before we get into formalities, because this is a big case, and we have a history…”
I race to my desk and snatch the phone up. “Maggie?”
“Oh…” She sounds shocked that I answered. “Justin? I…um…”
“I’m here.” I try to hide the breathlessness in my voice. “I saw the deposition a little while ago.”
“Crazy right?”
She doesn’t sound uncomfortable. Actually, there’s a slight tone of laughter in her voice. It helps me to calm down, to ease into our conversation, and remember that this is Maggie and she’ll always be a friend to me no matter what. “I guess it was inevitable given how many deals go sour in the entertainment industry these days.”
“Yeah, I guess so. How um…how have you been?” she asks.
I sit back down at my desk and run a hand through my hair, contemplating what to say, trying to figure out my emotions, and keep them at bay if they start to get out of hand. “Better…you know, it’s been a lot of work to get back to all of this. I’m still going to therapy twice a week, but it’s not as intense as it’s been the past five or six months. My doctors say I should be back to normal by next spring.”
“Wow thats…that’s really great, you know?”
“Yeah.”
Silence blankets our conversation. I try to come up with something good to say, but all I can really think about is how beautiful she probably looks today, and how great it is to hear her voice after all these months. It takes everything in me to hold back an ‘I miss you’
I really do miss her.
“So uh, what about you?” I force it out. “When’s the wedding?”
“End of the month, God willing.”
My heart sinks, and despair fills the gaping void inside of me.
She’s still getting married.
“This case has taken over a lot of my free time, but I told my boss, you know, Tad and I have been planning the crap out of his, and now with his new contract and everything, we really have to get the wedding out of the way so we can get on with everything.”
“New contract?”
“Yeah….he just signed a deal with CBS for a new daytime talk show. It’s being filmed in LA but I mean, I think the change will be good.”
I swallow hard. It’s really happening. “So you’re moving?”
“Yeah.”
“What about the partnership?”
“Well the crazy thing is, they’ve been meaning to start up a second chapter of the firm in LA. They want me to head it up, so it’ll be another step up in my career. So I get a wedding and a promotion all in one. Pretty sweet deal, right?”
I guess it is, but she doesn’t sound as excited as she should. “That’s really great, Mags. I had no idea. Hannah hasn’t mentioned a thing.”r32;
“Oh… you and Hannah are still…”
“No. No we’re just friends,” I chuckle, nervously. “I told you I was ending it with her.”
“So you’re back to playing the field?”
“Not really. I spend most of my time with Tyler, and I take Hannah to dinner a couple of times a week. We’re friends, and it’s weird, but whatever. My life has been too much of a clusterfuck to dwell on how superficial she is.”
“Your dating habits are the most fucked up thing I’ve ever heard about.”
I laugh at her. “I know they are.”
“So will I see you at the courthouse on Monday or is one of the executive lawyers handling this one?”
“I’m sort of co handling the case with one of them. I’ll be at the courthouse, probably without him so he can do some other research. It’s better I argue the terms of this since I have more experience.”
“You probably shouldn’t be telling me your strategies,” she laughs.
“Probably not, but you’re not just anyone.”
“Justin…”
“So are we stuck in a conflict of interest here?” I say it quickly.
She sighs a little. “Normally I’d say yes but we’ve always been friends Justin, and we’re adults, I’m pretty sure. I’m not going to pass this case on to one of the other partners. Bryson is a temperamental piece of shit, and I’m the only one he’ll listen to since the Pepsi contract started to be a problem. We have a chance at beating this thing if I’m in charge, especially if it’s against you. No offense.”
“None taken. So you’re not going to scratch my eyes out in court?”
“You should know by now that I burn people from the inside out, not the other way around,” she laughs. It’s the one i’ve missed. The one from countless happy hours and lunches holed up in one of our offices. The one that made me fall in love with her the very first day she walked into Harrison and Fink.
Something inside starts to ache.
“So it’ll be more like a challenge,” I counter. “Like a game?”
“Yeah. Like the final puzzle in Wheel of Fortune.”
“With or without Vana?”
She contemplates this for several moments. “Without Vana but with the really annoying beeping music that makes you lose your concentration.”
“So we won’t be able to concentrate?”
“Oh I’ll be able to concentrate, but I’m willing to bet you won’t be able to take your eyes off of me.”
I snort out a laugh. “Oh? Cocky are we?”
“I know my client better than Pepsi does.” Her tone grows slightly more serious. “And that means I know him better than you do. Your client is in the wrong, Mr. Timberlake.”
“We’ll see,” I smirk. “Game on. But I’m warning you, this is one of the biggest cases on our books. I’m not going to go down without a really big fight. Whoever loses, is going down in flames.”
“You’re forgetting something.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
“I know your game better than you know mine. I’ll see you Monday, Justin.”
I’m slightly dumbfounded but it doesn’t keep the smile from spreading across my face. “See you Monday.”
She hangs up.
I’m screwed. I’ve lost this case before it’s really started. How do I know that? Because I taught Maggie everything she knows about working a courtroom. Her strategies are my strategies, and I’m sure she has a few tricks up her sleeve that I can only begin to guess at. It’s time for her to shine, and after her last big loss I know she’ll do whatever can to win and throw it in Harrison and Fink’s faces.
I should be angry about this. I should call Hannah and cancel dinner so I can pull an all nighter, plotting Maggie Dawson’s ultimate demise.
I won’t do any of it, though. I just don’t care if I lose this case, or any other case for that matter. I’d rather see her succeed, and be happy.
Because if she’s happy, I guess I can be happy too, even if she’ll never love me the way I love her.
Story Tags: Be the first to add a tag to this story
