Marina couldn’t speak with the way her mouth had gone dry. She pushed open the door.
Montgomery sat behind his enormous, dark wood desk. The whole room had the same heavy, overly important, masculine presence the man himself did. “Avoiding my calls was childish and unprofessional.” He waved toward the chair opposite. “I expected more.”
“Would you have listened to a word I said?” Marina asked. This was a courtroom with a cantankerous judge. She knew exactly how to handle that. “Or would you have yelled and threatened and given me instructions I wouldn’t have followed?”
For just a moment, he looked surprised. “I expected an apology. Not excuses.”
“And you’re getting neither one.” Marina felt her self-confidence returning. “I did what was right. If you weren’t her friend, you’d see that. And my reasons for not taking your call are valid. I didn’t need you to lecture me on ethics or hold my promotion over my head. She’s a vile human being, but that’s nothing we aren’t used to. What I wouldn’t go along with was the criminal activities she’s not just involved in, but actively promoting.” When he started to speak, she held up her hand. “I like to win, and by doing this, I’ve lost. But I don’t regret it.”
They sat there in silence for a long moment, not breaking eye contact. Eventually, he sighed. “You’re naïve, and it cost this firm a lucrative client. Obviously you no longer work here, and I expect you to clear out your office and be gone within the hour. Isaw your assistant in the crowd at the rally, and she’s no longer working here either. I’m sure you were expecting that.”
Marina started to stand, relief that it was over almost making her dizzy.
“However.”
She stopped and sat back down.
“While I don’t agree with what you did, I do admire your unwillingness to ignore the law and the way you went about keeping people safe. I’ll never admit that outside this room. But you’re a damn good attorney, and I said as much when I was interviewed about the investigation. While I can’t say for certain, I don’t believe you’ll be disbarred. To my understanding, Sheila is leaving the state today and is focused on a project in Europe. You won’t have any more dealings with her until such time as you’re called as a witness, if it comes to that.” He stood and held out his hand. “Good luck in whatever comes next.”
She shook his hand, stunned. “Thank you.” There didn’t seem to be anything further to say, and she closed his office door softly behind her.
Cari and Monty’s assistant rose from the couch, coffee cups in hand.
“Already?” Cari asked, looking toward the door like he might come storming out.
Marina shrugged. “Short and sweet.” She winced and touched Cari’s arm. “I’m sorry, but it looks like I pulled you down with me.”
Cari laughed. “Oh, I figured you’d be my downfall the moment I was told you liked to throw staplers whenever you got frustrated.” She linked her arm through Marina’s and gave Monty’s assistant a wave as they headed for the elevator. “We’ll go clean out our stuff, then we’ll go to lunch, get a pitcher of margaritas, and figure out what we’re doing next. Because you’re stuck with me.”
Marina’s eyes watered, but she wouldn’t allow any tears to fall while they were still in the building.
The elevator opened, and Rob came out. “You’re already done?” He kissed her cheek. “Wait for me. I’ll only be a second.”
He darted past Monty’s mildly protesting assistant, opened Monty’s door, said something, then closed it again. “Okay, off we go.”
In the elevator, Marina gave him an expectant look.
“I need to make enough money to keep my husband happy and to get the clothes that make me look incredible. Other than that…” He shrugged. “I couldn’t work here without you. I’d be bored to death.”
Marina blinked, and tears welled and fell. “You just quit your job?”
“Jeff would have divorced me if I didn’t make some grand gesture for my bestie.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her. “We’ll be fine.”
Cari filled him in on the plan, and he said he’d meet them at the restaurant. In a kind of daze, she filled boxes with her personal things, and she and Cari made two trips to put their things into Marina’s car. She ignored the security guards trying to be unobtrusive, but who were clearly there to make sure she didn’t grab a stack of files and scurry off with them.
They pulled out of the underground parking, and Marina headed toward Pilsen. Cari sat in the passenger seat, typing into her phone, her thumbs a blur. “Can we stop at the dry-cleaning place? I need to pick a couple things up,” Cari said, not looking up from her phone.
“Sure.” Marina shrugged, wondering why that couldn’t wait, but given the fact that Cari had been fired because of her, she should probably do just about whatever Cari wanted to do. It only took ten minutes, and she realized that several of thethings Cari put on the backseat belonged to Marina. She’d have forgotten about them completely.
“I promised I’d text River when I was done there,” Marina said when they set off again. Now that the adrenaline rush from fear and worry was gone, it was like she lost all her energy. Deflated and exhausted, she wanted to curl up in River’s arms and not worry about how she’d just taken a blow torch to her dreams.
They pulled up outside Senoritas, and Marina smiled when she saw River’s motorcycle parked out front. “You let her know we were coming.”
Cari grinned. “I’m your assistant till the end. I’ll probably even schedule in Death when she comes to take you to the underworld.”
“Grim.” Marina smiled at her. “Thanks.”
They went in, and it wasn’t only River waiting at a table. Audrey, Rob, Jeff, and Billy were there too. A bottle of champagne sat in pride of place in the center of the table. River got up and wrapped her in a big hug.
