Page 90 of After Everything
I stared at the screen, watching it vibrate across my desk. Let it go to voicemail.
She'd been calling since Monday. Three voicemails. Seven emails. One text message that said URGENT - NEED RESPONSE BY EOW.
End of week. That was tomorrow.
I opened my laptop and pulled up the email again. Read through the offer for what must have been the tenth time.
Dear Mr. Harrison,
Morrison & Klein is pleased to extend an offer of partnership-track associate position in our New York office. Base compensation: $425,000 annually, with performance bonuses up to $200,000. Full benefits package. Clear path to equity partnership within 18 months, with estimated annual compensation of $2-3M upon partnership.
Two point three million dollars, average.
I sat back in my chair and looked around my office.
One room above a coffee shop. A desk I'd bought used. Windows that rattled when trucks drove past. My bookshelf held more free legal aid pamphlets than actual law books.
Not exactly Morrison & Klein.
My calendar was open on my other screen. Tomorrow: custody hearing for Maria, whose ex-husband was trying to claim she was unfit because she'd left him after he'd hit her. Monday: restraining order follow-up. Tuesday: new client consultation—DV case, referred from Emma's clinic.
Emma.
I closed my eyes.
Four days since the clinic. Found days since she'd looked at me like maybe, possibly, there was a chance.
And now this.
My phone buzzed. A text from Marcus.
You seeing this?
A link to a legal blog. I clicked it.
Former Olson, Chen & Lowe Rising Star David Harrison Rumored to be Fielding Multiple Big Law Offers. Sources say Morrison & Klein and two other top NYC firms are competing for the disgraced attorney's return to corporate practice.
Disgraced attorney, huh.
Another text:
They callingyou yet?
Yeah.
You gonna take it?
I stared at that question for a long moment.
Three years ago, I wouldn't have hesitated. Sure, I’d have been turning down a few offers from NY firms these past few months, but… partnership track at Morrison & Klein? I'd have been packing my bags before they even finished the offer letter.
But three years ago, I'd also thought climbing the corporate ladder was the most important thing in the world. I'd thought partnership was worth destroying my marriage for. I'd thought ambition and money and prestige were what defined success.
Three years ago, I'd been an idiot.
I looked at the email again. $425,000. More money than I'd ever made, even at Olson, Chen & Lowe. Enough to stop worrying about whether I could pay rent. Enough to stop eating ramen three times a week. Enough to feel like I'd finally made it back to where I'd been before everything fell apart.
Except I didn't want to be where I'd been before.
