Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

Jordan

I rapped on Callahan's open office door. "You wanted to see me?"

"Finally." Callahan checked the time on his shiny Rolex. "I'm on my way to court, then class, but I wanted an update on this Flex Gym lawsuit. Are we about ready to wrap that up? Because I want you on some research for this class action. It's getting even bigger than anticipated."

"We're still doing discovery for the case."

"Still?" He scoffed. "It's not that complicated. Either get it dismissed or settle it."

"Mary Ann can't afford to settle. She told us that from the beginning."

"She can't afford to lose in court either, and, frankly, we don't have the time to waste any more resources on a client like this."

"A client like this?" I asked, unease prickling.

Callahan packed his briefcase, giving me an impatient look. "We brought in Flex when we were a small firm. We'd never take them now because their retainer isn't worth the bother. We've got much larger fish to fry. This class action could be huge. We win this and it'll bring in more prestigious cases."

"Flex may be a small business, but they're still our client. They deserve our best."

Callahan leveled a look at me. "Remember when I said this case was a test, Jordan?"

"Yeah, of course. You wanted to see how I handled practicing law."

"It wasn't just about how you practice. It's a test to see if you make the right calls. You need to know when to put a case to bed and shift your focus to other priorities. I need you on this class action."

"Put it to bed? I haven't even deposed the plaintiff yet." I'd scheduled the depos for him and his witness for tomorrow, but I didn't want to tell Callahan in case he told me to cancel them. "It's still early in the case, and Ellis called to tell me about a promising lead."

I outlined the history regarding the earlier FitnessMaster model and the possibility that if Ellis tracked down more complaints, we could shift liability to the manufacturer.

"That's a long shot, Jordan. You'd need a lot of documented cases to take on a manufacturer."

"But that's the plaintiff's problem. It could get us the leverage to get the case against Flex dismissed, or if we have to settle, to negotiate it in Mary Ann's favor."

Callahan pinched the bridge of his nose as if I were a trying child. " Mary Ann, huh ? Sounds like you've gotten too close to the client."

"I see her as a person. That's not a bad thing."

"No, but it'll hinder your ability to make objective decisions."

I disagreed. I'd seen how Ellis talked to Mary Ann, and his soft touch had been comforting and reassuring but still professional. You didn't have to be a cold-hearted dick to represent your clients. But maybe you had to be one to put profit first, which Callahan obviously was.

He didn't care about Mary Ann because her gym didn't bring in enough revenue. He cared about the bottom line. Which is why I pulled out the only card I had left to play.

"Who knows? If we can determine the manufacturer is at fault, maybe we can bring you another class action."

Callahan's lips quirked. "Well, all right. Now you're thinking like a corporate attorney."

Once, that sort of praise would have given me a high to last the whole week. Now? I wasn't so sure I wanted to think like a corporate attorney.

"Does that mean you'll let me continue to work the case?" I asked.

Callahan ushered me out of the door, briefcase in hand. "You've got one more day. Work this angle, but if you can't find the evidence it's a manufacturer issue, you need to pull the plug and move on. This class action has to be our top priority."

He swept past, leaving me in the hall without a second look.

Much the way he was content to leave Mary Ann's needs behind in favor of bigger paydays.

Frustration welled up, but I pushed it down, knowing that I didn't have time to storm off. The clock was ticking on finding Mary Ann an outcome that didn't result in losing her husband's business.

His legacy.

I knew how important that was to her. Austin would have been devastated if his uncle's store had been put in this position. So I pushed down the anger and frustration and disillusionment to deal with later.

I headed to my cubicle in the bullpen, pulled out my phone, and alerted Ellis, Clay, and Vic that we'd be pulling a late night to chase down every lead, every scrap of information possible. If there was a way to win this case, we had to find it—and fast.

Six hours later, I was fried, short-tempered, and done with the childish bickering between Clay and Victor.

"That's such an idiotic line of inquiry," Vic said with a sneer. "You can't just bring up the man's infidelity to get him to perjure himself."

"Why not? If he does that, we've got leverage."

I groaned. "Clay, that's not the most ethical way?—"

"Screw ethics. We're on a countdown here. We get the win, whatever it takes. Right?"

I tilted my head, taking in his expensive haircut, his tailored suits, the wealth he wore like a second skin. "You know, I think you have a future in corporate law."

Clayton had been giving me dirty looks most of the night, clearly displeased with the development that Ellis and I had gotten together. He didn't dare say anything though, not when I had the power to recommend him for a future internship—or not recommend him.

But how he straightened, pride puffing him up. "So you want to go with my strategy, then?" he asked, shooting Vic a smug look.

"No," I said.

Beside me, Ellis muffled a snort in his hand. Victor smirked, amused, but he'd been nearly as annoying as Clay today, looking for every opportunity to poke and prod at his ex-fiancé. Surprisingly, he hadn't shown Ellis even a fraction of the hostility he had earlier in the school year.

On a break, Ellis had told me that Vic caught Clay in the act of hitting on El—and had seen Ellis push him away—so Victor had placed his anger squarely on the right man.

It had raised my estimation of Victor's intelligence, but I'd still never like the guy.

"What's your great idea, then?" Clay demanded of Victor. "I don't see you contributing anything of use."

Victor huffed. "I went over the equipment inventory and inspections, and you can see that everything is above board."

Clay scoffed. "That won't win us the case."

Ellis hummed thoughtfully. "Was there a FitnessMaster Pro-1 on the list, Vic?"

"Yes," Victor said slowly, "but it was marked as recalled and removed two years ago."

Ellis deflated. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Ellis had made more than a dozen calls to area gyms, and we'd gotten exactly zero complaints about the FitnessMaster2000. Which made our best lead—and the only one that had swayed Callahan—a dead end.

"Damn it." I tossed down my highlighter, which I'd been using while I scoured every note for pertinent facts, and ran my hands through my hair. "If we don't find something, Mary Ann is going to lose."

"Maybe we should settle," Victor said tentatively.

"Mary Ann can't afford that," Ellis said, voicing my thoughts. "It'll be the end of Flex Gym."

"I refuse to give up," I said. "I know we'll find something. We just need more time."

Everyone fell silent. They all knew that time was the one thing we didn't have.

I shoved my chair back and stormed out of the room, needing air. My chest was tight, making it hard to draw breath, and my brain was mush from the hours of examining and re-examining the meager evidence.

I paced the hall like a caged tiger, restless and useless.

I didn't even notice Ellis until he put a hand on my arm. "Jordie."

"This is the part I'm usually good at," I said. "Discovery. I find the evidence. I find the loopholes. I build a strategy."

He nodded. "I'm sorry my lead didn't pan out. I was so sure there was something to the similarity of his injuries and the first model's recall."

"Your instincts were good, and maybe if we had time to explore it more..." I sighed and shook my head. "I just hate that Callahan is putting a deadline on this, like Mary Ann doesn't matter just because she's not a big client. Everything's about the bottom line."

"Well, this is a corporate law firm," Ellis said. "Did you really expect different?"

"No. I don't know. I've never seen this side of it. Mostly, I worked in research and fact-finding. I've never seen how they treat their clients or how they prioritize them, and I don't fucking like it."

"You're strung tight, Jordan, and we're not accomplishing anything in there except the urge to strangle Clay and Vic."

I barked a laugh. "That would be some stress relief, at least."

"There are other ways to blow off steam," Ellis said, voice coy.

I shot him a look, not sure if he was trying to be suggestive or not. As much as I loved El, loved that our relationship had grown beyond friendship, I wasn't in the right frame of mind for sex.

"The gym," he said with a laugh. "I just meant we should go take you through a workout. You can get some of this frustration out of your system, and it might help clear your mind. We all need a break or we'll be useless at the deposition tomorrow."

"Yeah, you're right." I quirked a smile. "Maybe you should be leading this case."

"Yeah, right! I don't even know how to write a motion to dismiss," Ellis said. "You better stay on so that when we win Mary Ann's case, we know how to actually make it official."

I bent forward to kiss his forehead, reminded of one of the many reasons I loved this guy.

"Thanks for believing, Ellis, even when I don't."

Ellis shrugged a shoulder. "It's not over until it's over, right?"

"Right." I just wished I could be as optimistic as Ellis. Despite my argument with Callahan, maybe he'd been right. Maybe settling was the best path forward. But by putting a deadline on us, he'd all but ensured it was the only one, and that left a bad taste in my mouth.

One that wouldn't go away no matter how many coffees I pounded down.

Maybe Ellis was right, and I needed to purge my demons another way.

"Let's go tell everyone to pack up. Then we'll go to the gym." I checked the time. "Except, isn't it closed?"

Ellis grinned. "Lucky for you, I have a key."