Page 75 of The Law of Attraction
“I think this is a process we might want to continue long-term,” Carina said. “We have a little token of our appreciation for your help.” She handed an envelope containing a gift card to each of the associates.
“Thank you all for the extra effort while we get through this.” Whitney waited until the last of the staff left the room before she spoke to Carina and Olivia. “I love that we were able to pull together such attractive packaging too. It’s turning out to be a great long-term improvement.”
“It’s a game changer,” Carina agreed.
“Well, we better get moving, your first two appointments are already in the lobby,” Olivia said.
“Bring them on.” Whitney walked back to her office and pulled up the next appointment on her computer. She glanced behind her, remembering how Matthew had seen that video in the reflection. Reframing the picture with something matte was going to be a necessity. Meanwhile, she shifted her computer screen to get it off center.
The meetings went well, but toward the end of the second appointment, she noticed one of the firm’s senior partners, Grant, had paced by her door a few times. It was rare that he was even at this end of the building.
As she stood to shake Mr. Connors’s hand, she noticed her least favorite partner in the firm, Grumpy Grant as she liked to refer to him, again hovering outside her office.
She walked Mr. Connors out, and Grant practically stampeded her.
“What is it you and Carina think you’re doing? Turning away potential clients with information to help them reconsider getting a divorce?” Grant’s foot tapped. “You’re tossing money in the street.”
“I beg your pardon? We’re securing just as many clients with the new process, and I can assure you Carina has the data to prove it. Thank you very much.” Whitney was tired of Grant’s meddling.
“This is not how we work here at Barron, Winters & Wall. We’re attorneys. Not therapists.”
“I’m well aware of my job, Grant.”
His lips pressed so tightly together they whitened against his skin.
“Why are you so upset about this?” she asked.
“I don’t like it. It’s not the direction we’re taking this firm. You can’t just do whatever you want because you were born into the Winters name. You need to bring these ideas to the board.”
“I have control over this division,” Whitney said. “I’ll thank you kindly to keep your eye on your own.”
Carina walked up at that moment. “I couldn’t help but overhear. Grant, did someone complain to you?”
“No. But my secretary saw a copy of this.” He lifted a booklet in the air and shook it. “She passed it along to me. I’m glad she did.”
“We have full charge of the divorce and family law division, Grant. We provide our numbers every quarter, just like everyone else. And unlike in some areas, we are making money. As long as we continue to grow our portfolio and make money for this firm, I don’t think you should judge our approach. We aren’t inquiring about your practices.”
He lifted his chin. Everyone knew Grant hated change, but until now, he’d never thrown his attitude toward them.
“I’ll be watching.” He glared. “Those numbers better add up.”
He huffed off, and Olivia walked over. “I heard from one of the other assistants that he was on the warpath. It’s almost bonus time, and he’s worried that if our numbers are bigger than his, we’ll get a bigger cut of the overall bonus pool.”
“Well, he should keep his eyes on his own numbers.” Carina tsked and turned her back to the lobby. “What a drama queen!”
“I’m relieved it wasn’t the bigger problem he’d caught wind of.” Whitney muttered quietly to Carina before they parted ways to get ready for their next appointments.
Olivia carried a small box into Whitney’s office. “You only have fifteen minutes until your next appointment, Whitney. I grabbed this for you.”
“You’re an angel. Thank you.” She opened the box. “Carina, sit. We can split this.” She unwrapped the sandwich, handed half to her sister-in-law and took a quick bite into hers. “Mmm. I’m starving today. Whenever I eat junk the day before, I’m famished the next day. Too many carbs and hot dogs yesterday. Ugh.”
Olivia walked back into the office. “Excuse me. I just took this message.” Her hand shook as she slid a call slip onto Whitney’s desk.
“What’s this?” she asked.
Olivia bit down on her lip. “Your father wants to see you and Carina in his office at five o’clock.”
Whitney and Carina both stopped chewing.
