Page 53 of Heist

Chapter Fourteen

The next morning, Austin left Patrick sleeping in his hotel suite and slipped into a waiting car at the back of the hotel. It wasn’t quite light out when she left and she wore dark glasses and a hat, hoping to disguise herself so the press didn’t spot her. Glancing around, it looked like she made her escape.

In her office, she got to work on pre-trial motions she wanted to file in her open cases and did some research with the information the paralegal team had gathered for her. Despite the early hour, there were several other attorneys already in their offices as well. It was a quiet time to get work done since they didn’t open for business for another two hours.

An hour before opening time, her phone rang. A glance at the caller ID told her it was her boss.

“Good morning, Mr. Thorley.”

“What the fuck is this about you taking Patrick Sutton on as a client?”

Austin frowned. Why would he have a problem with that?

“I did, Sir. I’ve done work for his company a few times. He needed someone quickly, so I took him on.”

“This case is going to be a media nightmare, Miss Yates. We don’t need those kinds of clients. I think it would be best if you tell Mr. Sutton you can no longer represent him. You need to focus on the case I gave you.”

“All due respect, sir but I can’t do that. I’m perfectly capable of juggling multiple cases and the one you gave me is a cakewalk. Mr. Sutton hasn’t even been charged yet. I’m just on retainer in the event that he is charged.”

Her boss growled. “Next time you want to take on a client like Patrick Sutton, you run it through the partners first. High profile clients are supposed to be a group effort. Set up a meeting with Mike and Jack to fill them in on the details.”

Austin shook her head, even though her boss couldn’t see her. “Sorry. I want to fly solo on this one. I think I’ve earned that much.”

“I mean it. Mike and Jack better be read in on this case. And set up a meeting with the three of you and your new client. I’m letting you run solo on the caseIgave you. Don’t make me regret that, young lady.”

Austin drew in a deep breath. “Don’t call me young lady and I have to, Mr. Thorley.” She slammed the phone into its cradle and closed her eyes. He was such a sexist bastard sometimes.

Two hours later, she was neck deep in research and feeling rather disgusted with the world when her phone rang.

“Why is Jack Desmond calling to set up a meeting with me about my case?”

Austin swore. “Sorry about that. When is he wanting to meet?”

“I told him I needed to work some things out in my schedule, and I would call him back. What’s going on, Austin?”

She sighed. “My boss is pissed that I took you on. Says your case is going to be a media shitstorm and we don’t need that. Since I insisted on keeping you, he’s making me bring Mike, the guy he fucking promoted over me, and Jack, the guy who will probably get promoted over me next, on board.”

Patrick whistled. “I know you won’t want to hear this, but it might not be such a bad idea. It would mean we aren’t crossing ethical boundaries if you let one of them take lead.”

“No,” Austin bit out. “I’m not letting those two ass hats take control of your case. I have a higher win rate than they do. A higher win rate in court. They’re going to get you to make some kind of plea deal. I don’t think Jack’s been in a courtroom in over a year and Mike… don’t even get me started on him.”

Patrick laughed. “So why did he get promoted over you?”

Austin sighed, “As far as I can tell, it’s because he has a dick and I don’t.”

Patrick gave a low growl. “Why are you working there again? You could have your own firm and give them a run for their money.”

Austin snorted. “Chadwick Thorley would bury me. There’s no way I compete with him.”

“We’ll have to disagree on that for now. So, do I take this meeting or not?”

Austin sighed. “Let me think about how to handle it. I’ll call you back.”

When she ended the call, she stood and marched to the elevator to ride up to Thorley’s office.

It was an unspoken rule that you didn’t interfere with another person’s client if they had been the one to bring them in. Why was Thorley doing this to her?

She ignored his assistant and knocked on his door. When her boss opened it, he scowled. “Miss Yates, to what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked.

---