Chapter
Nineteen

Nicole’s team had been feverishly screening all the documents about Acreda. Just as Ethan had instructed, she’d pulled together three of her best young attorneys to review those documents, and they’d made their way through about a third of the data in a week, as they were all working fourteen-hour days—herself included.

She was in the process of reviewing the latest batch of documents that had been flagged for her review when her fingers stopped cold on the keyboard. It was another email from Ellie Proctor to fellow scientist Pierce Worthington. She’d looked at so many documents now that she was completely immersed in all the relevant MPC employees and what they worked on. She reread the email a few more times. The body of it was highly disturbing.

Pierce,

Please look at the lab results again for the latest Acreda tests. Its effectiveness in treating all the various types of tumors is off the chart, but I worry that may make our Celix problems much more challenging. You know the powers that be want to move forward on Celix ASAP and these test results may give them the ammunition to do so. I need you to be completely sure about the results, but I want to keep these close to the vest until we have a better handle on how the testing will be used by the decision makers. We can’t afford to play with people’s lives.

What did this even mean? It was clear that this document was one hundred percent responsive to the plaintiffs’ document requests. They didn’t have any basis to withhold it, but she needed to bring it to Ethan’s attention right away.

Was this what Ethan had been hiding from her? She intended to find out.

She sent the email to the printer and hopped up from her desk. She grabbed the printout on her way to Ethan’s office.

“Is he in there?” she asked his assistant.

“Yes.”

Nicole knocked loudly.

“Come in,” Ethan said.

She walked into his office and shut the door behind her.

“Uh-oh.” He looked up at her, putting down the piece of paper he’d been reading. “What did you find?”

“You need to read this email about Acreda.” She placed the document in front of him and let him have a minute to digest its contents. She watched him closely as he scanned the page. His face paled.

“I’m not sure what this means, Nicole.”

It was clear to her what needed to be done. “We have to turn this over, Ethan, right? Just like we should be turning over those other documents I brought you a month ago.”

“Nicole.” He raised his voice. “I think it’d be best if you remember your place. You’re an associate, and I am the one running this case.”

She refused to back down. If she didn’t show she had a backbone right now, what would he think of her? That she would be willing to roll over? No. “I don’t care if you are a partner, Ethan. I’m also a member of the bar, and I know what my ethical duties are. I intend to abide by mine, and I want you to do the same.”

His jaw twitched. “You’re about to cross a line, Nicole. I suggest you take a moment and reconsider what you’re saying.”

She couldn’t believe this man she admired would go down this path. “So what? You want me to destroy evidence? Hide evidence? Because if that’s the direction we’re going, I want to hear it from your mouth.”

He ran his hand through his hair. “Can’t you just do as you’re told? We have a chain of command at this firm for a reason. You don’t get to question that.”

“That’s where you and I disagree. If you want a yes-woman, then I’m not it. If you want me off the case, then that’s fine, but you’ll have to find someone else to get up to speed on all of the documents. Someone you can trust. Tell me where you’re going to find someone like that.”

“What do you want, Nicole?” His voice got even louder. “What would smooth over the situation for you?”

She didn’t want to fight with him. “For you to be honest with me. That’s all I’m asking. I’m offering my help again.”

He walked over to where she sat and placed his hand on her shoulder. “It’s not your place. Just keep up the good work you’re doing. I’m still trying to find answers myself.”

She looked up at him. “If I find any other troublesome documents talking about Acreda and Celix, I should bring them to you?”

“Yes, please. That’s all I’m asking of you. If you do this for me, I’ll do everything I can for you on your partnership track.”

Nicole felt sick to her stomach. He thought she could be bribed. It disturbed her that he thought so little of her reputation and integrity.

“Nicole, remember, you have a duty to zealously defend your client.”

She didn’t want to hear any more from him. She stood up and walked out of his office. She had a job to do, but she also had a lot of thinking to do. Because she refused to be complicit in this unethical action.

The next day, Nicole sat alone in her office and stared at the folder of documents in front of her. Once she made this decision, there was no turning back. She’d gone through it in her head over and over again.

But there was no way around it. If she chose this path, she could be breaking ethical rules by going outside the normal discovery process. Going rogue and sending the documents anonymously, even if it was for the right reason, might not be acceptable under ethical standards. But the alternative seemed wrong and unjust.

What if she was fired? How would she pay off the remainder of her student loans? As the questions injected fear into her heart, she also thought about what she had been taught in law school, and for that matter, her entire life. Do the right thing.

But was the right thing sending these documents to the opposing lawyer in this way? There would be no official cover letter, no document numbering known as Bates stamping, nothing indicating that these documents came from the law firm Peters & Gomez. This would be an outside-the-box way of doing things.

Would she confess that she had done it? Because it was certain the documents would come out. That was the whole point of sending them.

Nicole liked to think she was a good person, but she didn’t have a spiritual connection to any particular religion. If she did, now would be the time to pray.

She sealed the envelope. She’d only included a handful of documents, but it was enough. Once she placed the package in the mailbox, it was all over.

She jumped at a loud knock on her door. Before she could even reply, Miles walked in.

“What’s going on, Sosa?”

Quickly, she shoved the envelope under a large stack of papers on her desk. “The usual, Miles. What do you need?”

“You’ve seemed weird lately.” He took a seat in one of her two office chairs. “Are you sure everything’s okay?”

She nodded. “I think we’re just under a lot of stress managing all of the issues with this case.”

“Yeah, but normally you’re cool as a cucumber, and lately you’ve been jittery. And you missed a meeting yesterday. You never miss a meeting.” Miles leaned forward in his seat. “Are you interviewing with other firms? You can tell me if you are. I won’t say a word. Your secret will be safe with me.”

She couldn’t believe he thought she was job hunting. Although that was a preferable alternative to the truth and would most likely be the truth pretty soon. “I’m not interviewing, Miles. I just have a lot on my plate right now.”

“You need to delegate more. That’s one thing they’re going to look for as we transition from midlevels to senior associates. You shouldn’t be so down in the weeds every single day. And I know you didn’t ask my opinion, but Ethan’s being a bit too needy for my liking. Everyone just needs to chill.”

If only it were that easy. “Miles, you realize how much pressure Ethan is under to keep this client happy and bring in more business. You should give him a break.” For some strange reason, she felt like she needed to defend Ethan even though she didn’t agree with how he was handling things.

Miles narrowed his eyes. “I’ve known you for how long? Since we were summer associates here after our second year in law school, right? And in all that time, you’ve never acted like this. Something is off, and I know it may seem like I’m oblivious to what goes on around here, but I’m more in tune than you may think.”

There was no way she could tell Miles. He wouldn’t understand, and he would definitely try to stop her. “Okay. You’re clearly not going to let this go. You’re right that I’m thinking about other employment.” That was the truth, because once Ethan found out what she had done, she wouldn’t have a job at Peters & Gomez any longer. Defying her boss on a direct order would certainly get her canned.

He slapped his hand on her desk. “I knew it! Where are you looking to go?”

“I’m keeping my options open right now.”

“Would you like to work in-house at a corporation, or are you thinking of lateraling over to another firm?”

“I’m not sure.”

Miles looked thoughtful. “You know, this is probably for the best. I don’t think you’re really cut out for the partner gig here.”

Talk about a blow to the chest. “Why do you say that?”

“You’re not cutthroat, and you don’t care enough about making tons of money.”

“Being a partner isn’t just about those things.”

“True, but if you don’t have that edge, it’s a lot harder to make partner in the first place.”

She knew deep down he was right, but it still hurt to hear it. Although it made her decision about the documents that much easier.

“Don’t take it as a criticism,” he said. “What I’m trying to say is that you’re a better person than most of the rest of us. I’ve always thought that you’d do better at a plaintiff’s firm, actually.”

“Student loans make that tough. Here we have a big salary guaranteed.”

“You live so frugally, though, that I’m confident you can make it work wherever you land.”

She couldn’t bear to talk about her future anymore. “What about you? What are your plans?”

“I’m not even sure myself. My family expects that I’ll stay here and make partner, but between you and me, I’m not sure that’s what I want.”

She couldn’t help gaping at him. “I thought making partner was the only thing you wanted.”

He shook his head. “I know my life has been pretty easy, and I’ve never wanted for anything, but my goals were always planned by my father. They were never my own. I wanted to go to music school, but after I mentioned that one time, I was quickly told it was out of the question.”

She suddenly saw Miles in a different light. Yeah, he could be lazy and cut corners, but it was because his heart wasn’t in being a lawyer. It actually made her sad. “I’m sorry, Miles. I never had any idea. I just assumed this life was what you wanted.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I like having nice things and the perks of the job, but there are definitely other things I’d rather be doing.” His cell rang, and he looked down at it. “Sorry, I have to run. I forgot I have a conference call I’m supposed to be jumping on. But if you need to talk more about anything, just let me know.”

“Thanks, Miles.”

As he exited her office, she had a clearer perspective—not only of him and who he was, but of who she was and what she had to do.