Legally Addicted

chapter Three



Georgia sat at her desk with her head in her hands. Before she left the partners’ meeting, and once she got over the shock of learning that their two firms would be merging, she had managed to pull herself together enough to say something lame like, ‘Congratulations, Brad, welcome aboard’. She shook hands with him, and then escaped back to her office.

Then it hit her. As a full equity partner, Brad Spencer would have an influence over the partnership equal to that of Dayton and Llewellyn, effectively making him senior to her. So, extrapolating on that, last night she may as well have gone and shagged her boss.

Well, as good as.

‘I assume from that pose of utter jubilation you’ve heard that we’ll be moving?’

The voice was Miriam’s. Georgia sat up and folded her arms. Her secretary held a clipboard with some sort of checklist pinned to it.

Georgia realised she should have seen this coming. There were only three corner offices in the triangular shaped building rented by the firm, and the Brad Spencer could hardly be asked to work in a cubicle and meet with his glittering client list in the shared conference room.

‘I don’t suppose we can expect the famous Brad Spencer to slum it out in the open-plan, now can we?’

‘No, not really. Sorry, Georgia.’ Miriam’s face had screwed up in an apologetic expression that was part sympathy, part trepidation, as if she was expecting Georgia to explode. But there was no point taking her frustrations out on Miriam. It was a backwards step for her too. Not that she had an office, but she would no doubt have preferred to keep her current spot right outside Georgia’s door than be pushed back out into the middle of the open-plan.

‘But if you look on the bright side, Georgia, having Brad Spencer around will give us girls something decent to look at. He’s going to raise the attractiveness profile of the men around here by quite a bit.’

Until now, there hadn’t been a man in the office capable of distracting Georgia. Dayton and Llewellyn would be hitting retirement in a few years, and the only other men consisted of a group of middle-aged lawyers who had all but given up on making partner and were working on enlarging their middle-aged spread instead. Aside from them, there were just two spotty part-time clerks who were both still at uni.

Georgia stood up and looked around the spacious office, wondering how much longer she had left to enjoy her workspace. Compared to the cubbyholes out in the open-plan, the office she had only recently moved into was positively palatial.

‘How soon is the shift?’

‘Pretty much straight away — the movers are coming in to do the job overnight.’

Georgia sighed.

‘Oh well, I had better enjoy the view while I can, I guess.’

Miriam didn’t reply; she was already striding away like a guided missile locked on to her next task.

Georgia turned towards the wall-to-ceiling window and braced herself against it with the heels of her hands, as if she hoped to affect a tranquillity transfer from the cool glass.

At least the view out across Sydney city never failed to inspire her. It was a metropolis equal to any in the world, and yet Sydney had been erected out of nothing, in little over two hundred years, on the backs of convict and poor immigrant labour. It was uplifting, and in many ways it mirrored Georgia’s own spectacular rise. She sucked in a breath. Sydney was still a city where anything was possible.

‘Are you okay?’

She hadn’t noticed Brad slip into her office, and now he was standing at her side looking out at her incredible view.

Scratch that.

He had slipped into his office, and was looking out at his incredible view.

She turned to face him, his annoyingly high cheek-boned features and brooding black eyes sending her mood plunging back to the new low it had found after Dayton and Llewellyn’s bombshell announcement.

‘Since you asked, I’m not okay, actually. I’ve just found out that this office, which I worked for — no, make that slogged for — is going to be yours, and I’m back out there in the office mosh pit.’

She stabbed a finger in the direction of the open-plan area in the middle of the floor rented by Dayton Llewellyn, where phones rang constantly, and even hushed conversations between colleagues were a constant distraction.

Georgia had coveted her ascension to this particular piece of office real estate ever since she joined the firm. Having made partner she felt like she had reached the summit, and now, all thanks to Brad, she was slipping back down as if she had grasped a greasy pole instead.

‘Not that you’d have any appreciation of what it is to have to slog for anything, Mr Silver Spoon.’

Brad’s head jerked back as if she had given him a quick poke in the eye. Then his eyes narrowed.

‘Actually, I think I do. My parents might have paid my way through law school, so I didn’t have to take out a loan like most students, and granted it was easier for me, not having to worry about money, but they don’t give coursework credits for upfront payment. I studied my arse off, same as you. And my parents never gave up trying to entice me into the family firm.’

‘Poor little rich boy encountered resistance from mummy and daddy. My heart bleeds.’

Brad shook his head, but otherwise didn’t rise to the jibe.

‘Believe me, I had no idea Roger and John planned to give me your office. You stay where you are. I’ll take one of the others — problem solved.’

He said it like he was Mr Reasonable and she was a toddler, kicking her legs in the air, having a tantrum. All that magnanimity in the face of her best efforts at provocation, fully justified provocation in her opinion, did nothing to improve Georgia’s humour. He could be Mr Reasonable all he liked; it wasn’t going to help.

‘There are no other offices. Well, nothing bigger than a stationery cupboard that is, and if I don’t give this office up to you, Dayton and Llewellyn will accuse me of being unco-operative.’

‘I am sorry about that, Georgia, but I’d be happy to take up the issue of renting more space at the next partner’s meeting, so it should only be temporary.’

Brad yanked at his tie, pulling it loose, and Georgia took some satisfaction in noting that playing the cool and composed better man was taking its toll. The friction at his neck, however, had the effect of releasing a whiff of his woody aftershave that sent her mind rattling backwards in time.

Woody.

Crass, Georgia, real crass.

But for goodness sake, why did this man have to send her mind to places it had no business going in a professional setting, which reminded her…

‘Why the hell didn’t you mention this merger last night?’

‘I didn’t want to steal your thunder. That party was for you. You earned it. Dayton, Llewellyn and I all agreed we should hold off announcing the merger until after the party. If news of it had gotten out, well, you know how it is.’

Georgia knew only too well how it was. A small boutique firm like Dayton Llewellyn merging practices with a celebrity divorce lawyer, and a Spencer to boot, would have completely usurped her own partnership celebration, but she wasn’t letting him off with that. That was only half the story, and he knew it.

‘You didn’t have to tell the whole world, but you sure as hell could have told me.’

Brad’s mouth curled at the corners, spreading out into a grin.

‘And where would we have ended up then?’

She glared at him, speechless. He knew precisely where it would have ended up, and there wouldn’t have been a super-king size bed involved.

‘Exactly my point,’ he continued, not even waiting for her to reply. ‘And it was spectacular, wasn’t it? I wouldn’t have missed it. Would you?’

She could hardly refute his logic. It was difficult to have any regrets about what had happened. They were both consenting adults, they’d been responsible with protection, and the sex had been so hot it was a wonder they hadn’t left singe marks on the sheets. Still, she wasn’t going to let him off the hook entirely.

She stared at him.

‘You should have told me.’

‘I did plan to tell you, this morning, so that at least you heard it from me first before you got in to work, except when I woke up you were already gone.’

Trying to deflect away from his own bad behaviour by bringing up her slightly shabby conduct in doing a dawn-flit was a good try, but she wasn’t about to be diverted. However, good the sex might have been, at best it had occurred with her labouring under a misapprehension and at worst, under false pretences.

‘Well, don’t think I’m going to apologise for that now. And lucky for you you’re not a lousy lay, or this could have been a very different conversation.’

‘Fair enough.’ He laughed, a warm hearty chuckle. ‘I guess I had that coming.’

It had been obvious when they were talking at the cocktail party that they shared a similar sense of humour. It was one of several things, along with his looks and the professional, rather than sleazy, compliments men usually paid her, which had attracted her to him in the first place. Now she pursed her lips rather than allow his amusement to become contagious and undermine her determination to give him the bollocking he deserved. She was pissed off and, for the time being at least, she wanted to make damn sure she stayed that way. It was a far more preferable alternative to having to work with a Brad Spencer she wasn’t furious with.

‘I meant what I said, Georgia, about passing over some of my client list. If you’ve made partner this young, you’re obviously an excellent solicitor.’

She wrinkled her forehead and willed the corners of her mouth to behave. Brad Spencer might have been handsome, funny, and charming, but he was firmly in the doghouse; accommodation he should get used to, since she fully expected him to be there for some time. He wasn’t going to win her over with a few spurious compliments.

‘Okay. I’m happy to look at them. But don’t think you’re using this as an excuse to dump your black files onto me.’

‘I wouldn’t dream of it.’

He paused, raking his fingers through his thick hair.

‘Look, can we agree to be professional from now on, at least when we’re around the office, irrespective of what might be going on with us?’

Her stomach did some sort of weird circuit she couldn’t control. He had said ‘us’ and ‘going on’ in the present tense as if there was still some level of intimacy to their relationship above and beyond the fact that they were now workmates.

‘Fine with me.’

‘Good. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.’

And every day after that.

Despite the strange things being around Brad Spencer did to her insides and other places, it looked like she was just going to have to get used to it.

‘Fine, whatever.’

It might not have been the most mature response she could come up with, but it was the only thing she felt like saying under the circumstances.

Brad didn’t respond, initially turning to leave; but then he stopped, making no move to advance any further towards the door. Georgia craned her neck to discover the reason. Miriam stood in the doorway, holding a jar of coins and a card divided into a numbered grid.

‘Want to put in for the sweepstake on the name of Josie’s new baby?’

‘Who?’ Georgia asked. She wasn’t sure she knew a Josie.

‘You know, Josie, in commercial litigation — the paralegal, who has been getting progressively bigger the last nine months?’

Georgia vaguely remembered one of the secretaries had been looking pregnant lately and reached for her purse, but Brad strode towards the door like he meant to exit whether Miriam got out of his road or not, forcing her to make a deft sidestep.

‘No thanks. I don’t go in for that sort of thing. Once you start with that, you’ve got your hand in your pocket all the time. Excuse me.’

Miriam flopped down in a client chair opposite Georgia’s desk.

‘What got up his bum? Like a Spencer can’t spare two dollars.’

Georgia found the requisite gold coin and skirted around the desk to hand it to her assistant.

‘That’s my fault. I wasn’t too rough with him, but let’s just say he’s under no illusions when it comes to how I feel about losing this office, and one or two other things.’

Her secretary’s features pinched up tight.

‘Georgia, what did you say?’

‘Nothing. He just knows how I feel, that’s all.’

Miriam waggled a finger at her.

‘Dayton and Llewellyn won’t like it if you let your personal relationship with Brad interfere with work.’

Georgia gave a dismissive wave of her hand.

‘There isn’t any personal relationship, and even if there was any chance of that before, there definitely isn’t now. So there’s nothing to worry about is there?’

After work, Brad swam the length of the heated rooftop pool he’d had enclosed in a glass atrium, to allow for swimming all year round. He was grateful to be able to cool down. Georgia had sent his internal heat level soaring from the moment he found her in an enticing brace position against the window in her office.

It was all he could do not to lean in and nuzzle her neck and run his hands up under her skirt, and when she had turned around to tackle him about losing her office, her bright eyes had burned a dazzling blue, like titanium passed through fire.

Watch it, Spencer.

Having gone where he shouldn’t have with Georgia, this merger was now an operation that had to be handled with care. One false move and the partnership could be blown apart, or worse, he could find himself slapped with a sexual harassment suit.

Now that he had entered into a binding partnership agreement with Dayton Llewellyn, conventional wisdom dictated that he and Georgia should remain just colleagues. While there was no clause against it in the agreement he had signed, and no law society rule prohibiting intimate relations between partners of a firm, there was still ample reason not to get involved with a colleague. Plenty of good law firms had busted up after two of the partners got together and then found they couldn’t make the relationship work.

On top of the professional conventions requiring they keep their distance from each other, he was also fairly sure Georgia would be wary about risking a repeat performance of the night before. As a non-equity partner, she would be the one who would have to leave the partnership if they got over-friendly and then things went bad. His fee generating abilities and client list made him much too valuable an asset to Dayton Llewellyn for the firm to voluntarily let him go.

From what he had seen, Georgia was far too level-headed to jump in and get involved in a romantic office entanglement that could be detrimental to her career. She had more than sufficient cause to go off at him for not telling her about the merger before he took her upstairs to his penthouse, but in the circumstances she had been fairly reasonable. If truth be told, she had been significantly more reasonable than he might have been if the tables had been reversed. He should have told her he was planning to join the firm right from the get-go. But then, he was a red-blooded male, she was hot, and quite willing as it happened, and in all likelihood it had been his one and only chance.

And he had made the most of it.

He also predicted that Georgia would be too professional to allow what had happened to stand in the way of their working together. You didn’t make partner at her age by being prone to letting emotion cloud your judgement.

No, the only potential issue he could see preventing their establishing a positive working relationship was that she obviously had a chip on her shoulder about his money. She had revealed that much with her snarky silver spoon comment. He didn’t know much about her background, but clearly, she didn’t come from wealth. If she had, he would have run into her before now at the yacht club, or some fundraiser or other, but apart from the odd glimpse around and about the family court, they had never met before. But, then being wealthy wasn’t something he could change, and if Georgia couldn’t handle it, that was her problem.

The next morning, after locating her desk out among the multitudes, and trying to be appropriately sympathetic as Miriam struggled with towers of packing crates, Georgia grabbed the file for her first meeting.

She was acting for the wife, Ruby Walsh, her first real high-value client, and the husband’s solicitor had agreed to a conference before matters escalated to the filing of applications. She expected to secure a generous settlement for her client, and due to the complicated nature of Douglas Walsh’s business affairs, bill a good number of chargeable hours, which would keep Dayton and Llewellyn happy.

Georgia flicked through the file, scanning the background information in chronological order, refreshing her memory with the details of the couple’s separation. Miriam had been the one to set up the meeting, so it wasn’t until Georgia came to the final document on the file, an email from the opposing firm confirming the appointment, that she noticed the name.

Spencer Law.

Damn.

The Walsh split would have been a lucrative file, except now that their respective firms had merged she and Brad couldn’t act for both clients. One of the Walsh’s would have to be dispatched to another firm. With Douglas Walsh the wealthier of the two by far, it didn’t take too much guessing to work out whose client that was going to be.

Miriam, who had been speaking into her headset, got up and walked the short two steps from her own desk to Georgia’s.

‘Sorry to interrupt, but Ruby and Douglas Walsh are already here. The receptionist has put them in the conference room. Should I bring tea and coffee in later?’

‘No, you can forget that, Miriam, this is likely to be the shortest conference in the history of the firm.’

Miriam covered her mouth with her hand.

‘Shoot, sorry. I should have thought and cancelled. We can’t represent Ruby now, can we?’

Georgia shook her head.

‘That’s okay. It’s probably best one of the partners tells Ruby in person anyway, but can you remind Brad about the meeting?’

If Brad was going to be the cause of her losing a lucrative client, the least he could do was be there when she delivered the news, and help her smooth things over.

Georgia took the file and strode down to the far end of the floor, stepping into the conference room that opened out through double doors into reception. She found the estranged couple sitting in silence on opposite sides of the conference table. Georgia hadn’t met Douglas Walsh previously, but before Georgia could introduce herself, Ruby spoke.

‘I hope you’re up to dealing with Brad Spencer, Georgia. They do say he’s the best in the city. He’s been our family lawyer for years, but Douglas got to him first, and so I had to come to you.’ Ruby said, appearing not the least bit embarrassed at having just told her solicitor she considered her second best and a poor substitute for the services of the legendary Brad Spencer.

Immaculately turned out, but overdone in heavy gold jewellery, patent leather shoes and a designer business suit, Georgia doubted Mrs Douglas Walsh had ever done a day’s work in her life, let alone anything in business. The ensemble was the sort of thing found on the higher floors of Castlereagh’s Department Store, floors Georgia rarely dared to visit. Not because she couldn’t face the additional escalators, but because the prices were well beyond what, even on a lawyer’s salary, she could afford.

‘Dealing with both of you now that you are separated would have been a conflict of interest. Brad has no choice,’ Georgia responded, referring to the relevant legal principle in an effort to avoid any of her rapidly rising irritation showing.

Now that she had made partner, Georgia knew she would be seeing a lot more of the firm’s wealthier clientele. She didn’t relish having to suffer the offensive superior attitudes and condescension that it would inevitably involve, but she had dealt with much worse as the poor scholarship kid at an exclusive private school, and she backed herself to be able to handle it.

‘Yes, conflict of interest — that’s what Brad said.’

‘I can assure you that Dayton Llewellyn Murray’s services are top rate,’ Georgia said, emphasising the ‘Murray’ then immediately regretting it, wishing she hadn’t tried to justify herself to this stupid shallow woman.

‘Good morning, Ruby.’

Brad strode into the conference room and leaned across the table to shake her client’s hand. Georgia caught a whiff of his cologne, all deep forest and evergreen, which rattled her. It made it difficult to concentrate on her main priority — making sure Brad helped her deliver the bad news, and hopefully doled out some of his charm.

‘Douglas.’

Brad acknowledged his own client with a nod before taking a seat in one of the leather and chrome swivel chairs beside him.

Previously feeling reasonably relaxed — well, apart from Ruby’s annoying comment about ‘having’ to come to her, as if she were a poor second best alternative to the amazing Brad Spencer — Georgia’s nerves were now on high alert. Brad had all his attention trained on her. While intellectually she knew he was only waiting for her to summarise any discussion that had occurred between their clients before he arrived, it raised disconcerting memories of the powerful weight his concentration had brought to bear on her at the cocktail party, and later, up in his penthouse apartment.

Without realising what she was doing, Georgia closed her eyes and shook her head, physically shrugging off the image.

‘Georgia, are you alright?’

When she opened her eyes Brad was looking at her with a bemused expression.

‘Perfectly, I was just about to apologise to both of our clients and explain that regrettably Spencer Law and Dayton Llewellyn Murray have recently merged their practices and Ruby will need to find another solicitor. Again. I’m sorry.’

Ruby snapped her head around to look at her, and Georgia observed with some satisfaction that she looked genuinely annoyed. Her client, it seemed, rated her services after all.

Georgia was about to respond when Brad beat her to it. ‘Well, she would have to go to another lawyer, if she actually had a case, but she doesn’t, and for that reason this was always going to be a short meeting, so you don’t have to be apologetic, Georgia.’

Brad confidently leaned back in his chair as if he were about to catch a few Z’s after a long wet business lunch.

What the hell was Brad playing at? Of course Ruby had a case. Any first year law student could have worked that out.

‘The law on this is very clear. The Walsh’s have been married well over the requisite time required for the statutory asset sharing provisions to come into play.’

Brad sat back up straight in his chair and, matching her professional tone, said, ‘Ruby has no case in view of the prenuptial agreement she signed before she married Douglas.’

As if in answer to Georgia’s question, which was suspended part way between opening her mouth and invoking her vocal chords, Brad opened a leather document holder and drew out a document. Based on the coversheet, it did indeed appear to be the couple’s prenup.

‘Ruby?’ Georgia turned to her client, trying again, but not quite succeeding this time, to keep the irritation out of her voice. There had been no disclosure of a prenup in any of their preliminary discussions. One of Georgia’s pet professional hates was being ambushed with a pertinent fact her client should have disclosed in their earlier interviews.

Ruby made a movement with her arm that was an almost perfect imitation of a royal wave.

‘Oh that old thing, I thought everyone would have forgotten about it by now.’

Georgia leaned forward to pick up the document.

‘Can I see that?’

Something about the front-sheet of the document looked odd, and on closer inspection Georgia saw immediately that she was right. She flicked through the entire agreement just to be sure.

‘I’m not confident that this document would stand up in court.’

Brad bristled, his usually dark eyes transforming to a blistering black, the intensity of his gaze causing her to look away.

He could stare her down all he liked, but she wasn’t about to capitulate on a legal principle. She knew she was right.

‘I think you’ll find the document was drafted to meet all of the relevant legislative requirements existing at the date it was signed — a little before your time of course, Ms Murray, but nevertheless correct.’

Georgia prickled at the flagrant attempt to undercut her experience, and sensing, perhaps, that she was about to contradict him Brad continued, ‘And may I remind you, Georgia, that now we have merged, Douglas is this firm’s client, not Ruby. Any further examination of the merits or otherwise of Ruby’s case is unnecessary and inappropriate.’

Technically Brad was correct, but even if that solicitor-client relationship needed to end forthwith, if Ruby did have a case, Brad had, however inadvertently, overstepped the mark in advising her that she didn’t. If his advice was incorrect, she had at the very least an ethical obligation to advise her of that fact before her client-for-now left the meeting.

‘I’m sure that substantively the prenup does conform to the legal requirements, but I don’t see any evidence that the necessary procedural requirements for a prenup were met, either on the coversheet, or anywhere else in the agreement, for that matter.’

Brad turned to his client.

‘Douglas? Tell me you did actually follow my advice.’

‘I know what you said, but I had every faith in you, Brad. I didn’t think there was any need to go through all that extra palaver.’

Douglas Walsh appeared bewildered, not yet comprehending the enormity of what Georgia had uncovered.

‘That’s not the point of it Douglas. The special requirements I told you about needed to be met to ensure that Ruby understood the magnitude of what she was signing.’

‘But we have a written agreement.’

‘That may be how it works in business, Douglas, but not in matrimonial matters. There are particular legal requirements for prenuptial agreements, which I explained to you at the time. A failure to comply with those potentially impacts on its enforceability.’

Georgia couldn’t help but admire the way Brad was handling himself, and his client. Legally speaking his case was in total meltdown, yet he remained calm, his responses controlled.

‘Well, you obviously didn’t explain it well enough, Brad. This is outrageous!’ Douglas Walsh was on his feet now, pointing in Brad’s direction, his voice rising to a shout. ‘I’ll be damned if I’ll give her anything, and you can be sure that I’ll be seeking alternative representation; for this, and all my other business.’

‘I think that would be for the best,’ Brad said, quietly.

‘Damn right.’

Douglas was halfway out the door when Ruby turned and beamed at Georgia.

‘So does this mean I can keep you, both of you, as my lawyers?’

‘Yes, I guess it does,’ Georgia said, unable to mirror Ruby’s enthusiasm. Being right wasn’t much comfort when she had just cost Brad his client.

She glanced at Brad, wondering how he was coping with being fired by Douglas, but his face gave no clue as to what he was thinking.

Ruby kept talking, ‘I can see why they made you a partner, now, dear. She’s a clever little thing, isn’t she, Bradley?’