- 4.
Back at the office, I barely sat down when my
assistant knocked on the door:
“Sue, Mr. Harrison wants to see you.”
I frowned.
“Isn’t Mr. Harrison supposed to be at a
community outreach event today?”
“Apparently, Tommy and Dave called him
back.”
“And… he doesn’t seem too happy.”
<
My assistant said.
Mr. Harrison, or Frank as I call him, is the
founder of the firm and a legend in the legal
world.
He was also my mentor when I started out,
and has helped me so much along the way.
Even though I’m a senior partner now, I still
have a lot of respect for him.
Full of questions, I walked into the conference
room.
Amber, Tommy, and Dave were already there,
looking like I’d personally offended them.
“Sue, come on in.”
Frank greeted me warmly, not a trace of
anger on his face.
He cut straight to the chase:
“It was Amber’s first time in court. She cried,
so what?
“If you hadn’t jumped in, she might’ve pulled
it together. We might not have lost.”
<
“Sue, you’re too impulsive. Not that I’m
blaming you.
“”
“But that suspension and apology? Totally
unnecessary!”
Frank was all smiles, but he managed to shift
all the blame onto me in a few sentences.
I dropped the polite act and asked:
“Are you saying I handled this wrong?”
That’s when Dave jumped in:
“Frank’s right! Amber did a ton of research
before the trial.
“She just got nervous and froze!”
“Sue jumped in, so all Amber’s work went to
waste.”
Tommy chimed in:
“Of course, a newbie isn’t as polished as you
are, but you started somewhere too!”
“It’s one thing to take credit for Amber’s
work, but to make her apologize? That’s just
cruel!”
They’d both switched from blindly defending
Amber to trying to morally shame me.
I said coldly:
“I didn’t cry for Tommy in court, stop
comparing everyone to me.
وو
“Amber’s on my team, back off!”
“I will punish Amber.”
“Enough!” Frank’s face darkened, cutting me
off.
“Sue, you’re a senior partner, but you don’t
run this place.”
“I’m still alive, and I’m saying Amber did
nothing wrong.
وو
“You need to cool down. The two–hundred-
million dollar case you’re working on will be
handled by Tommy and Dave for now.”
That case was my top priority.
My team and I had been pouring all our
energy into it.
If I lost that case, then I’m as good as gone.
<
He started to walk out.
