Chapter 7

7

Wednesday

A shadow fell across Sasha’s open doorway, and she looked up from the email she was drafting. Ellie stood on the threshold, a mug from Jake’s in each hand.

“May I come in?”

“Absolutely, since you come bearing caffeine.” Sasha gestured for her to take a seat.

Ellie smiled and extended one of the mugs toward her. “Fair warning, I asked Jake for a black coffee for you, but he insisted you need to try this. He said to tell you to taste it before you pass judgment.”

Sasha took the cup and gave it a suspicious sniff. “What is it?”

“It’s an homage to autumn,” Ellie told her.

That sounded like a poem. She had nothing against poems. But she didn’t really care to drink one.

“Which means?”

“Sorry. He said you have to taste it before I tell you what it is.”

She huffed and took a cautious sip. The coffee was rich and strong, but not acidic and, darn, if it didn’t taste like autumn, slightly spicy. “It’s pretty good. What is it?”

“Jake said it’s a triple ristretto macchiato dusted with brown sugar and cinnamon. Whatever that is.”

“Basically, it’s a stronger, less bitter, espresso triple shot with a dot of steamed, foamed milk. And apparently, Jake felt compelled to dress it up to make it sweet and spicy.”

“So you like it?” Ellie gave her a hopeful look.

“Sure. Wanna why tell me why you’re here with a bribe?”

Ellie screwed up her face. “Well, I asked Naya the best way to break bad news to you, and she said to come bearing coffee and chocolate.” She slipped her hand into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a dark chocolate bar.

Sasha squinted at the wrapper. She knew that brand. “You just happen to have 80% dark chocolate on your person, Ellie?”

“No. This is from Naya’s private stash.”

Sasha cocked her head. “Naya doesn’t like dark chocolate. She thinks it’s too bitter.”

“She does,” Ellie agreed. “But she has this private stash on hand for you. It’s in a box labeled ‘emergency Sasha chocolate.’ She said she uses it the way that lion tamers use raw meat.”

“Delightful and so flattering,” Sasha said dryly.

“Does that mean you don’t want it?”

“Hand it over.”

Ellie snorted and pressed the bar into Sasha’s hand. Sasha unwrapped the bar, broke off a square and let it melt on her tongue for a beat. Then she washed it down with a sip of her ristretto, savoring the richness while she waited for Ellie to gear herself up to tell her whatever it was she’d come to say. But Ellie seemed unable to get the words out.

So Sasha took a guess. “Is this about Gray Simmons? Did you find something that hurts us?”

“No. My memo’s almost finished. He’s not really a member of CEO—more of a hanger-on. Seems he got involved after his divorce. He’s really bitter about being ordered to pay spousal support. Professionally, he’s had a string of warnings from judges in several courts about making frivolous arguments and two referrals to the disciplinary board.”

“Perfect. When we get in front of a judge, we can use his history of overreaching.”

“About that …,” Ellie trailed off.

The bubble of optimism rising in Sasha’s chest deflated.

“Yeah?”

“We’ve been assigned to a judge.”

“Who is it?”

“Macomber.”

“She’s good,” Sasha said. “She runs a tight ship. I’m surprised she got the case because she’s handling a massive monopoly trial right now.”

“Right, and Naya said that case is probably why the judge has already set a hearing date for us. She probably wants to get rid of the case. Maybe dismiss Simmons’ complaint and our counterclaim.”

“Maybe. Or maybe she’ll grant us judgment on the pleadings. The counterclaim is solid. If this is the bad news, I’m not so concerned.” She shrugged and sipped her coffee.

“That’s not the bad news.”

“Rip off the Band-Aid, Ellie.”

“The hearing’s the day after tomorrow.”

“This Friday?”

She nodded, wide-eyed. “That’s really fast, isn’t it?”

“It is. What else are you working on?” Sasha drained her mug in one long gulp and broke off another square of chocolate.

“I think the correct answer is I’ve cleared everything else off my plate.”

“Have you?”

“Not yet.”

“Go do that and then meet me in the small conference room.”

Ellie hurried out of the office. Sasha waited until she’d vanished from sight to let her head drop to the desk with a groan. There was no doubt Naya was right. Macomber absolutely wanted to get rid of this case, which meant she had until Friday morning to come up with a rock-solid argument why her counterclaim should be granted and Gray Simmons’ complaint should be dismissed.

Once upon a time, this challenge would have energized her. Now it exhausted her before she’d even started. She knew she’d get it done, but she also knew she’d be depleted all weekend. She hated that she wouldn’t be emotionally present for Connelly, who’d just been summarily fired. But she knew from experience she’d be a zombie.

Once this case was over, she’d make time to help her husband come to grips with his sudden unemployment. But now she had to focus, so she scooped up her files, undocked her laptop, and headed down the hall to her favorite conference room, the little one on the end where nobody would hear her blasting her pretrial playlist.

The remnants of the lunch Caroline had ordered in from Sasha’s favorite Greek place littered the table and the looping playlist had long since faded into background noise, the pulsing beat no longer noticed but still driving Sasha and Ellie forward. It was one of Sasha’s favorite prep tricks, inspired by her long-ago mentor Noah’s ritual of watching Braveheart before every trial. It kept the team pumped up, energized.

Ellie’s phone beeped and her laptop dinged simultaneously. Sasha lifted her head from the case she was reading and watched the junior attorney scan the notification.

“Gray Simmons got back to us about a meet and confer. He said he’d come here tomorrow morning so we can meet in person.”

“Sure, since he likes Jake’s coffee so much.”

Ellie gave her a puzzled look.

“I asked him what he was doing in the alleyway yesterday, and he told me he just happened to be in town for a meeting and stopped by for Jake’s coffee.” She snorted to make clear what she thought of that reason.

“It’s possible,” Ellie insisted. “Jake’s did make the Best of Pittsburgh list. It’s turning into a hot spot.”

“Maybe,” Sasha allowed. The recent press might make the purported coincidence less suspect, but she still didn’t trust Gray Simmons. And surely there was a decent cup of coffee available somewhere between McMurray and Shadyside.

“Let’s go over the facts one more time,” she told Ellie. “Then I’ll call Daniel and?—”

This time, it was her notification that chimed. She read the message and smiled.

“What is it?” Ellie asked.

“I reached out to a friend in the U.S. Attorney’s Office. If this case does wrap up the day after tomorrow, I want to get Boone on their radar now so they can be prepared to file criminal charges right away, if that’s what they want to do.”

“Hit them fast.”

“Exactly.”

They returned to their work. The next time Sasha looked up, she was surprised to see that it was past five o’clock. She blinked, yawned, and stretched her arms over her head.

“Let’s take a break. Stretch our legs, get some water.”

Ellie let out a sigh of relief and stood, but before they could make good on the plan, Naya popped her head into the room.

“Hey, Mac. Leo’s here.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. He’s talking to Will.”

“Huh. Okay.” She couldn’t imagine what her husband and her law partner could have to discuss.

“One other thing,” Naya told her. “I told Will about your hearing, so we’re moving the partners’ meeting from the morning to the end of the day Friday.”

“Boo. Does this mean no French pastries?”

“It does, but Will’s no fool. He said he’ll order an aperitivo from the Italian place where he threw that birthday party for his wife. They’ll send over something light but tasty.”

“That works, too. Thanks for thinking to move the meeting.”

“Sure. How’s it going in here?”

“We have a winning argument, but it’s going to come down to whether Macomber is willing to take the time to write a decision or whether she’ll dismiss both the complaint and the counterclaim to get us off her docket.”

“I think you’ll be okay,” Naya said. “I heard she took on an extra clerk.”

“Still got your finger on the pulse of the legal community, I see.”

“Always,” Naya told her, turning to leave.

Sasha stopped her. “Wait. Ellie and I are pretty much done here. I might sneak out with Connelly.”

“You should.”

“I meant what I said yesterday. I don’t want anyone here alone after hours. So please make sure you walk out with somebody. And spread the word to the others.”

Naya gave her a quizzical look. “What’s going on, Mac?”

“I’m not entirely sure. And, until I am, I’m serious—nobody stays alone here after dark.

Ellie nodded her understanding.

“Is this about CEO?” Naya pressed.

“It could be. There’s no evidence this group is violent, but similar groups have been. And they probably wanted hand-to-hand combat training for a reason. Just humor me until I know for sure.”

She held her friend’s gaze until Naya said, “I will. I promise.”