Exhausted and harried from a weekend of reliving over and over my conversation with the police, I went into the office early Monday. Mark was waiting for me when I got in.
“Morning.” I put my purse under the desk and booted up my computer. “Excuse me if I’m a little grumpy,” I said. “I’ve had a rough few days. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here this early, except for that time when you victimized the copy room.”
“I know. I wanted to get a jump start so we could go over the Riddick matter before our next meeting with Avery.”
I took a second look at him, trying to put the events at police headquarters out of my mind. He was dressed very GQ in a dark suit and light blue shirt with the same shade tie.
“Do you have a court appearance today?”
Mark grinned. “No, I just want to impress Avery with my professional look.”
“Well, you definitely look professional. Don’t worry; I think he’s always hard on associates. They’ve never fired anyone. You passed your screening when you were hired.”
He shrugged. “I hope so.”
After getting coffee for Mark and tea for me, we took the files into the conference room. Our meeting with Avery wasn’t for another hour, but clearly Mark needed this dress rehearsal to calm down.
He did a great job providing more than adequate answers to my mock questions. We were ready.
I leaned back in the chair. “So, tell me, how are things with Rena?”
He glanced up as if trying to place the question with what we were doing then smiled. “Good. Actually, really good. I like her.”
“Just think; I may be responsible for bringing a happy couple together. I hope it works out.”
“You hope what works out?” Avery entered the room and shut the door.
Mark and I both straightened in our seats.
“Good morning, Avery. Mark was just telling me about a young woman he’s dating.”
“Really? Well, I hope things work out, too.” He put on his reading glasses. “You two ready? Let’s get started.”
If Mark was nervous, he didn’t show it. He restated the directions we were given and how we approached the research. For the next thirty minutes, he discussed the applicable case law and appeals. By the time he presented our findings, I was impressed. He finished with a flourish by laying out all the signed documents in front of Avery.
Avery remained attentive throughout the presentation. Then he nodded and flipped through the documents. “Looks like you’ve done a lot of hard work. What about Glen Riddick?”
I frowned. “Who?”
Mark looked puzzled. “Who’s Glen Riddick?”
Avery shook his head. “Glen Riddick is Imelda’s husband’s grandchild as a result of a relationship prior to his marriage to Imelda.”
I sat up. “Avery, you never mentioned a grandchild. In fact, you said all the relations were on her side. How were we to know?”
Mark held up a file. “I have your notes here. There’s nothing about a grandchild.”
Avery shook his head. “I said from the very beginning we were trying to substantiate Imelda’s right to have the estate determined based on her early, but still valid, will. I would think one of the first things you would have done was look at Charles Riddick’s background to verify any possible claims from his side of the family.”
“Why would we?” I said. “You told us she only had nieces and nephews.” I was getting irritated. “Why didn’t you bring this up at our last team meeting?”
Avery just looked at me. “It’s called complete work.” He turned to Mark. “I don’t hold you responsible, Hollis, but, Mark, I’m surprised at you. Well, maybe not surprised, but I was hoping for more.”
Mark snorted. “Was I being tested? This is load of crap. All this time you said nothing.”
Mark’s eyes were unreadable but, judging from the tension rising off his shoulders and the red flush creeping above his shirt collar, he wasn’t happy.
Avery seemed unfazed. “Not tested in the sense you mean. I did want to see if you would take my word for it or take the initiative and question every premise. You failed. Isn’t that what you told me last time—that you wanted to show initiative? That’s the difference between a good attorney and a merely adequate one. Follow through.” He stacked the file folders. “So, where do we go from here? I’ve decided that, in the essence of time, I’ll contact Glen Riddick and obtain his signature.”
I felt more than a growing annoyance with Avery and increasing sympathy for Mark. “Avery, I should have caught this, too. I’ve done dozens of estate claims. I should have checked both sides.”
“As much as you’d like to be, Hollis, you’re not an attorney. He is.” He pointedly put the cap back on his pen. “Mark, I got your memo regarding the value of the Riddick estate and your ideas for exploring other accounts. I’m not going to say this again. Drop this. If you’d done your job and reviewed all potential estate claims, instead of speculating on some hypothetical supposition, you wouldn’t be sitting here with another assignment falling short. Triple D may have to rethink your contribution to the firm.”
Mark started to interrupt.
“No. Enough said.” Avery placed our work on top of legal file folders. “The administrative work that was done was done well. Unfortunately, not all work was completed. I’ll take it from here. Both of you wrap up your Riddick files and submit your hours. We’ll get together tomorrow and see where we are with our other cases.”
Mark passed me in the lobby and headed for his office. The slam of his door could be heard around the corner. I quickly went through my Riddick files and completed the summary billable hours sheet. I ignored the hushed murmurs of staff, who had clearly picked up on the loud voices. After an hour or so, I went by Mark’s office. He was gone. Needing to focus on routine work, I made up files and records for two new clients. After a while, one of the administrative clerks came to my office and asked in a whispered voice, “What’s going on?”
“If anyone asks, tell them you don’t know.”