tried to get away with everything he could during his own. Jack Hirsch was lazy and old, and happy to let Scott run the case. That irritated Kate too since she could run rings around Jack, but Scott used some of the same tricks she did. It was like a game of chess, and they were equally matched. She always made a point of dressing well for depositions, to intimidate the people they were deposing. Sometimes it worked. She wore six inch heels, and Chanel suits she bought with Tammy’s discount. Jack Hirsch was overweight and his suits were old, and Scott White showed up looking like the cover of GQ. She was sick to death of him and couldn’t wait until the depositions were over. She knew there would be settlement battles after that. She had depositions in other cases scheduled in late October and November. She could easily see herself working like a slave until Christmas. She was used to it, but after a while it became wearing, and the strain started to show. She was tired, and hoping to wrap up several cases by the end of the year.
The last day of depositions in the case was November first and Scott bowed with a little flourish in her direction when they had heard the last one. It ended at six o’clock. At least that was done, and she hoped to see less of Scott White in future until the settlement conferences started. She was sure they would let her sweat it for a while before Scott contacted them. She had plenty of other cases to deal with in the meantime. She nodded at Scott and Jack, walked out of the conference room, and went back to her office.
She left at six-thirty with a briefcase crammed full of work, and when she got to the lobby she saw that it had been snowing all afternoon. She hadn’t noticed it. She hadn’t worn boots since the weather forecast had said it wouldn’t snow until the weekend. All she had was a pair of running shoes in her desk, and the six inch heels she was wearing. She was too tired to go back up to her office and put on the running shoes, and all she had to do was cross the street in front of the building, to hail a cab going in the right direction. She could manage that in heels, and decided to brave it.
When she got through the revolving door, she realized the temperature had dropped dramatically, and the streets were covered in ice with snow on top of it, and salt sprinkled here and there to keep people from slipping. It was like walking on an ice rink, as she crossed the street with the light. She was glancing around for a cab, and as she approached the curb, she didn’t see a sheet of black ice. She slid across it at full speed, and fell knees first onto the curb, as her shoes, briefcase, and handbag went flying. The pain in her knees was excruciating, and she couldn’t stand up in stocking feet. She didn’t even know where her shoes were, and hoped that no one would steal her purse, as she felt powerful arms lift her off her knees and help her hover over her shoes which someone had put next to her. She was fighting back tears and trying to catch her breath when she put her shoes on, and looked up to see that Scott White, her archenemy, had rescued her and was holding her up. When she glanced down again she saw that her knees, shins, and the palms of her hands were bleeding. The pavement and the ice had torn the skin, and the salt she had fallen onto had ground itself into the skinned areas. Both knees were bleeding profusely, with salt lodged in the wounds.
“Are you okay?” Scott asked her with a worried look. He continued to hold her up with one strong arm around her, and the other supporting her elbow. He had a solid grip on her and could feel her shaking.
“I’m fine,” she said in a trembling voice, and he could see that she wasn’t.
“I’m not letting go of you,” he said in a firm, reassuring voice. “Do you want to go back to the office?” She shook her head trying not to cry, as people gathered around them and stared at her. She had made a spectacular landing on all