Chapter
Three

Nicole Sosa blinked a few times as she tried to read her emails. She looked at the time and saw it was 10:00 p.m. But as a midlevel associate at Peters & Gomez, she wanted to stay a step ahead of the competition.

Miles Patterson sat two offices down, and she could hear his grating voice. She hated leaving the office before him. They were the same year and both gunning for the partner track. The sacrifices she’d made were enormous, but in the end, wouldn’t it all be worth it? She hoped so.

No matter how hard she worked, Miles always seemed to be half a step ahead of her. His father, a retired federal judge, was buddies with several of the senior partners, so Miles got his pick of the best assignments while she had to fight and claw for each small thing. Her reviews had been stellar, but she couldn’t help but feel that when the time came, Miles would make partner first even if she deserved it more.

As a fifth-year associate, she had at least three more years before she would be considered for partner, and she needed to shine on the MPC case. A case to which both she and Miles had been assigned. Of course, she would be managing the document review team, while he had somehow scored the more prestigious deposition preparation team.

But tonight she was preoccupied with the latest decision of the court. She reviewed the court order that appointed the twelve members of the PSC. Ethan had tasked her with diving into their backgrounds. It always helped to know the opposing counsel and identify any potential weaknesses. And it was never a good idea to underestimate a plaintiff’s lawyer. Especially ones like these, who were the top attorneys from the most renowned firms in the country.

She enjoyed the challenge of being on the defense side, but she also hadn’t had any choice in the matter. She had over two hundred grand in student loans from Emory she had to pay off. Getting a job in Big Law, as it was known, had been a necessity.

“What’re you up to, Sosa?” Miles stood in her doorway with his arms crossed. He always called her by her last name.

“Researching the PSC members.”

“Anything exciting?”

“Not yet.” She studied him carefully. His movie-star boy-next-door looks had gotten him far in life. He wore his blond hair short, his eyes were as blue as the ocean, and he always wore tailored suits. Unlike hers, which she bought off the clearance rack at Macy’s. She was on a tight budget because of her loans.

“Did you draft the document review protocol?”

She was immediately suspicious of his question. Why did he care about the protocol? He wasn’t going to be the one managing the review team. “Yes. I sent it to Ethan for his review. Do you want to join my team?” she asked, knowing that document review was beneath him.

He let out his typical boyish laugh. “You know me, Sosa. I’m the best at getting out of document review assignments. Remember when we were second years and that huge doc review came in late on a Friday for the Martinez case?”

Did she ever. Miles had suddenly developed an acute case of food poisoning. “I do. I also remember seeing pictures of you partying on Facebook later that weekend when you were supposedly deathly ill.”

He grinned, showing the dimple in his right cheek. “That’s the difference between you and me. You’re the rule follower, but you don’t play as smart as you could. It’s not too late to learn how to game the system here.”

But he didn’t understand. Gaming the system only worked for those who had connections and could make power plays because they had family to fall back on. Unlike her. “I’ll just keep being myself, Miles. I work as hard as I can, and that’s all I can do.”

“The word among the associates is that the MPC case is going to be our biggest of the year. All the associates are posturing to get on the team—even if it’s just to do the grunt work.”

“It’s high profile and big exposure. I got the sense that Ethan is going to be very hands-on.” He’d called her into his office earlier and reiterated what the stakes were. She wouldn’t forget his words. “I know you’ll put in the time and effort, Nicole, to get this right. We cannot drop the ball.”

“I’m just glad that you and I already have our spots on the team locked down. Working for Ethan has been one of the best moves I’ve made.”

Miles liked to take credit for helping her get her first assignment from Ethan. Maybe he had opened the door, but Nicole believed her work ethic was what kept her in Ethan’s good graces. “We’ll have to wait and see how much infighting there is, but I’d prefer to keep my head down and stay out of it.”

“Of course you would, Sosa. Drama is not your style.” He looked at his fancy watch. “It’s late. Why don’t we get out of here? Want to go grab some food?”

Miles always had an angle, but what had become clearer to Nicole over the years was that Miles was also lonely. “No, I’m beat. I think I’m just going to call it a night.”

“At least let me walk out with you. Since that woman got shot downtown, they’re asking us to walk out in pairs. Especially at this time of night.”

She could say a lot of things about Miles being pompous, but at the end of the day, he had been raised right as a southern gentleman, and she was grateful for his offer. “Thank you, that’d be great. I still can’t believe one of MPC’s employees was shot. Their office is just down the street.” Just the thought of it was enough to make her check her locks twice tonight.

“I know. Last I heard, they’re calling it a robbery gone wrong.”

“I can’t imagine she would’ve had that much of value on her. People don’t carry much cash anymore.”

“It’s awful. But it’s downtown Atlanta. You always have to be careful around here.”

Nicole nodded, but she couldn’t help thinking that she had much more to fear from the man standing before her than any random criminal lurking in the night.

Kate was accustomed to working long hours—coming in early and leaving late. Today was no exception. She rubbed her eyes and saw that it was past ten o’clock, but even though she was tired, her anxiety level was making her uneasy and restless. She didn’t want to go home. As long as she was at work, she felt like she maintained some control over her life, the case, everything.

After she’d made the transition to plaintiff’s work, she definitely enjoyed her job much more. No one in her life had any clue that she still dealt with bouts of loneliness and depression—not even her closest friends. She put on a brave face and got the job done and had never told anyone about her struggles with depression.

When she took on huge cases like this, it tended to amplify her emotions. The highs were very high, but the lows were incredibly low. Another reason she didn’t want to leave. The office was more of a sanctuary for her than her home.

“Kate.”

She looked up to see William Kirk—her mentor and one of the senior partners—standing in her doorway.

“William, you’re working late.” He didn’t look tired, though. His dark brown eyes were still filled with energy. He was known as a health nut and took incredible care of himself.

“We had a big brief in response to a motion to dismiss to file. I wanted to stay here until I made absolutely sure that we made the deadline.”

“I’m glad you made it.”

He walked in and took a seat. “That brief has been taking all my time and attention today, but I did see the court’s order hit my email. I wanted to congratulate you on getting a spot on the steering committee. I think you’re ready for the lead counsel role. I hope you’re going to throw your hat into the ring.”

“Absolutely.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

William had thirty years of experience under his belt, and he’d taken her under his wing from day one when she lateraled over from her old firm. “The clerk says we can submit supplemental information, although it’s not required. Any advice on what I should include?”

“Honestly, you can submit an additional statement, but I think Judge Freeman already has a good idea who he’s picking. And from what I’m hearing through the grapevine, you hit it out of the park at the application hearing.”

She felt her cheeks redden, as she wasn’t used to such praise. “Thanks for that, but I just did the best I could.”

“Regardless of whether you’re lead counsel, though, we need to start putting together our internal team. Since you’re on the committee, we’ll have control over a large chunk of work. Even more so, if you make lead. You can have your pick of associates for your team, but we should talk about additional partner staffing.”

She knew that on a case like this, at least one other partner would be included. They always had to have coverage, and one person wouldn’t cut it. But there were some people she’d much rather work with, and one person she really didn’t want to deal with at all. “I think you know my feelings on that subject.”

“I hear you, and I know what you’re thinking, but Bonnie has extensive experience in this type of litigation. You don’t have to be best friends with her. It’s all about winning the case.”

She and Bonnie had butted heads since Kate arrived at the firm. Bonnie was a few years older, and Kate had hoped that Bonnie would be her mentor. But she couldn’t have been more wrong. “Anyone else you’d like to recommend?”

“Adam. He’ll be a good counterbalance to Bonnie. I think the three of you would represent the right mix of skills and experience. Of course, they’re your cases, so it’s your show.”

“But you know I value your opinion.”

He smiled. “And I know you’ll pick the right team. I trust your judgment, and I want you to take control and lead this thing from start to finish. You don’t need me looking over your shoulder. We want everyone to see that you did this on your own.” With a final nod of encouragement, he stood and walked out, leaving her alone.

William was right. It was time for her to step out of her mentor’s shadow. She wondered if she should have told him about Ellie, but it was too soon. First Landon had to find the answers she so desperately needed.

The next morning, Landon sat in a Midtown coffee shop bustling with action and waited for Kate to arrive so he could update her on where his investigation stood. He watched as person after person dressed in a suit rushed in and ordered their fancy coffee drinks. It seemed, by the puzzled look on the barista’s face when he’d ordered, that Landon was the only one in the joint who liked regular coffee.

No way could he imagine having an office job. He thrived on being out in the world, doing things, and would go stir-crazy otherwise.

He’d been talking to a bunch of his sources and doing good old-fashioned investigatory work. It was one of the many things he liked about his job. The pace was slower than being in the military, but he enjoyed being able to solve difficult problems.

When Kate walked in, she brought a huge ball of energy with her. He knew the long hours she worked, but she didn’t appear tired—just the opposite. Wearing a black no-nonsense skirt suit and white blouse, she looked ready for the courtroom.

“Good morning.” She smiled. “I’ve got to grab a latte first. Are you good?”

“Yeah. I got here early and have already had two cups of coffee.” He looked down at the file in front of him, which he’d been reviewing in anticipation of the meeting.

After a minute, she joined him at his table by the window with a large cup in hand.

“How’re you doing?” he asked.

“A lot of that will depend on what you’re going to tell me.”

“I’ve got a source inside the police department. Unfortunately, though, they don’t have any new leads on the shooter. The garage surveillance tape shows a man dressed all in black leaving the garage shortly after what is believed to be the time of the shooting. No indication of a tie to gang violence, and definitely not a crime of passion.”

“What does all of that tell you?”

She wasn’t going to like where he was going with this. “It screams professional. The guy knew where the cameras were. He was careful to avoid them. He shot Ellie out of range of the video camera, so the actual shooting isn’t on tape. This type of guy is a paid pro.”

Her eyes widened as he spoke. “So you still think MPC is involved in some way.”

“Well, I know the shooter wasn’t a random criminal or a street thug.”

Kate paled, and he had to remind himself that she was a lawyer. This world was totally foreign to her, but he felt right at home. As a former Ranger, he’d seen his share of violence. Enough to last him a lifetime.

“I’m not sure what to do with this information,” she said quietly. “I still have such a hard time believing that someone at MPC would put a hit out on Ellie Proctor. I mean, isn’t that what we’re talking about here?”

He nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about, but there are a lot of missing pieces I’m still working through.”

She picked up her cup but didn’t take a sip. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot. Ellie said I needed to look at the testing documents. I’m going to have my team really focus on those as we start the document review.”

He wasn’t so sure about that. “Do you really think MPC would willingly turn over incriminating documents?”

She drummed her fingers on the table. “As attorneys, we’re ethically bound to turn over relevant documents.”

“You need to consider that this might not be like your normal cases. If I’m right about Ellie, then MPC won’t have any qualms about hiding evidence.”

“Hopefully, with enough documents, we can put the real picture together. Sometimes with huge corporations, there’s so much data that even if they wanted to hide something, it could still come out, given the nature of how lawyers have to collect and electronically review the documents.”

“You get the lead counsel role so you can shape the case, and I’ll keep working this investigation.” He didn’t want her directly involved in his work at this point. Not while he was still unsure about the level of danger.

“About that. There are ethical rules involved in attorneys using private investigators. I want us to stay aboveboard on all of this.”

He was seeing her feisty side now. “You realize the whole point of using a PI is to work in the shadows?”

“I don’t have any problem with that, but I need to make sure we’re not skirting the law. I want to figure out the truth and win these cases, but I still have to play by the rules. That’s important to me.”

“Roger that.”

She cocked her head to the side. “There’s that military thing again. How long were you in?”

“Fifteen years.”

“What branch?”

“Army, with about nine years as a Ranger.”

Her eyebrows rose. “That’s impressive. I guess being a PI is pretty boring in comparison.”

“Sometimes boring is better than the alternative of Iraq and Afghanistan.” He wasn’t about to get into a conversation about the wars he fought in and how it had impacted him. But Kate’s straightforward and honest approach made her easy to talk to. Eager to turn the topic away from himself, he shifted direction. “And what about you? How long have you been doing the lawyer gig?”

Her eyes immediately lit up. It was evident how much she loved her work. “I’ve been a lawyer for thirteen years. I did three years on the defense side before making the switch. I made partner five years ago.”

“Any thoughts on whether MPC’s lawyers could be dirty?”

“No. I went to law school with their lead attorney. He just landed MPC as a client for this case. I know he isn’t dirty. There’s no way.”

He feared Kate was too trusting for her own good and chose to see the best in people. Not a useful quality for a PI. “What’s his name?”

“Ethan Black, from the firm Peters & Gomez.”

He jotted that info down on his notepad. He’d take a closer look at Ethan to see if Kate’s confidence in her friend was justified.

She looked down at her watch. “Anything else? I’ve got a conference call at nine.”

“No. But I’ll let you know as I find out more.”

She reached across the table and touched his forearm. “Thank you, Landon. I appreciate all your hard work on this.”

“You’re welcome.”

Kate stood up and walked out of the coffee shop. He had a lot of work to do to figure out just how corrupt MPC was and how far their deception went, but one thing was clear to him.

Kate Sullivan was one of the good guys.