“He’s a partner too, isn’t he?” I’d read up on them all. Eli Ward was almost forty, had graduated from Oxford, made partner at the age of thirty, and had been mentioned numerous times in the law gazette.
Payton nodded. “Equity. He bought in. The firm isn’t just owned by those with Callaghan surname.”
This was good. This was my aim. A fixed salaried partnership was already a huge achievement considering I was thirty-two and my career hadn’t been straight-forward, but I wanted more.
The baby in my arms stirred, her eyes briefly opening. She gave me a look as if wondering who I was, and then settled again. I guessed Claire would have another hour before she needed feeding.
“I think every law firm has its characters. Anyone I should be wary of?” The answer should be yes. As much as society had improved in terms of equality, some people were still more equal than others, and the breed of man who thought he was better simply because he had a penis remained in existence. It was they who scaffolded that glass ceiling above the heads of women, purely because they were afraid we’d rise higher than them. I hoped that by the time little girls like Niamh were women, that ceiling had been permanently shattered, swept up and battered back into sand.
Payton tipped her head to one side. “There’s Roger who works as a paralegal. He used to be a solicitor but ended up not being able to practice. He can be a little creepy and I know Jackson would like him to leave. Alan works in accounts. He’s a sleaze. If you’re out and have had a few drinks, he will try to corner you and don’t get into a lift with him on your own. He develops an extra hand. And Belinda, she’s one of the legal secretaries in the pool, she’s a complete bitch and spreads gossip like its soft butter. Sandra in accounts needs an eye keeping on her too – she really likes to know what’s going on.”
“You forgot to tell her about Seph.” Claire sat back now. “You want me to take her back?” She nodded at the baby.
I did not want to hand Niamh back. “I’m good if you want the use of both arms for a bit longer.”
Claire grinned. “I learned with Eliza to never say no if anyone offers to hold, bathe or feed. Or babysit.”
“Seph isn’t that scary.” Payton frowned, rubbing her tidy bump. “He’s a bit like Tigger, you know, the bouncy tiger thing fromWinnie the Pooh. Always full of energy, and words. So many words.”
“And poor Georgia here will be working with him.” Claire gave a satisfied sigh. “You’ll love him. He’s easy going and likes to laugh, plus he’s not bad at his job. Speaking of which.” She looked at her watch. “What time’s your partners’ meeting this morning, Payts? I though Max was doing it early.”
“Shit. In about two minutes. Are you coming?” She pointed to Claire’s take out coffee.
“Technically, I don’t have to, but knowing just being there will piss Max off, I think I should. And I can offer some moral support for Georgia. It’s like being fed to the wolves…”
The wolves were situatedaround a large, probably antique, boardroom table. There were fifteen partners in total, including me. Six female, nine male, plus baby Niamh who Claire had proudly showed off as we’d walked through the offices to the room. I somehow doubted that this was the first time a baby had been present at a partners’ briefing.
“Morning, everyone.” Jackson Callaghan shuffled papers in front of him, before his eyes locked with mine and then he gave me a wide smile. If I didn’t know he was married, he would be my type. He’d interviewed me and gave off a serious but sexy vibe, one which disappeared when he offered me the post, and was completely erased when he mentioned his wife and son.
I didn’t do married men. It was unfortunate that one had done me.
Jackson poured himself a glass of water and passed the jug to Maxwell. “And, Georgia, welcome to Callaghan Green. We’ve been looking forward to you joining us, mostly so Seph can stop going on about being short-staffed and harassed.”
I looked across the table at the man opposite me, wearing thick rimmed dark glasses. This was Seph, the youngest partner, younger than Payton by minutes and my new colleague in the commercial litigation department. We hadn’t met during my interviews, but I’d read about him and seen his photo in magazines.
Five years ago, my beating heart would’ve fluttered immediately at the sight of him. Model beautiful, with a hint of vulnerability around his eyes, and shoulders that would probably struggle to fit through some doors. But five years ago, I knew a hell of a lot less than what I did now.
He caught my gaze and smiled, a big cheesy grin that had me smiling back as if someone had just offered me a calorie-free decadent hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows.
“I’m Joseph, and whatever my family tells you about me, ignore them. I’m a perfectly normal human being.”
Perfect, yes. Normal, no. Normal human beings didn’t look like him.
“Let’s move swiftly on from Seph.” Jackson shook his head at his brother. “Thankfully, most people round this table know Seph well, but we don’t want to scare Georgia yet. Let her at least sort her desk out first.” He looked at me. “Introductions, then we have a brief catch up on the cases we all need to have some knowledge of.”
They went around the table, introducing themselves with more joviality than I’d seen at my previous firm. I smiled when Eli introduced himself as the future Mr Ava Callaghan, ignoring the ribbing given straight after by Max and Jackson, and I saw a warmth from Lynn Summers, the oldest female partner who had been there since Seph’s father ran the firm.
“We’re really glad to have you join. In case anyone around the table isn’t aware, Georgia brings with her several clients.” Jackson started to list the dozen companies whose files I'd brought with me, most of them trophy clients that my previous firm hadn’t wanted to lose.
They hadn’t wanted to lose me, either, but my role there had become untenable. I’d loved parts of the company, but for the sake of more than me it had been time to move.
Jackson chaired the meeting, taking brief updates from each partner, most of whom had made notes to keep things brief. I was bringing a caseload with me, including two big files that I needed to get an assistant solicitor to help me on like yesterday. I gave my own overview, keeping it simple and brief, answering a couple of questions on the clients. Part of the role of partner was to bring work to other departments in the firm, not just for myself, and new clients usually meant new files for others. I knew that two of mine needed support with employment issues, and another had a personal issue and needed a family lawyer. I spent a little more time than the others had, but it was nothing new. I wasn’t new at being a partner, just new here.
Seph followed me, mentioning the name of a client whose case he’d just taken on, one that was going to be hell to work through.
“Seriously? He’s suing his brother?” Max sat up and frowned, pushing his fingers through his hair. “That’s like me trying to sue you.”
Seph chuckled and leaned back in his seat like an overgrown teenager with bigger biceps. “Can I have it in writing that you’ll never sue me, Maxwell? We have witnesses.”
