of the law blogs—‘Which insider blew the whistle?’ They described me as a five-year associate on the partner track, who worked directly with Milton on the most recent case. I’d say that narrows the field.”
“And then what?” Sarah asked.
“Then people either think I’m a hero or a trouble-maker. And since we both know no firm is completely clean, I’m guessing trouble-maker is what’s going to stick. Not really expecting many job interviews once the news hits.”
Sarah groaned, then snuggled deeper against him.
“But we’re okay, right?” she asked.
He gave her a squeeze. “Yep.”
“And we don’t’ regret any of it, right?”
“I don’t,” Joe said, “do you?”
Sarah angled her face toward him so she could press a kiss to his warm lips. “Just you and me against the world, Burke.”
“Then I’d say our odds are good.”
***
Sarah waited in the law firm lobby for her nine o’clock interview, taking in her surroundings. The office was nice, but not plush. The receptionist behind the counter was dressed professionally, not cheaply. That mattered to Sarah.
Whenever she went to another attorney’s office for a negotiation, she always took note of the receptionist first. If it was a man, she assumed the lawyers in the firm were open-minded and flexible, and would be willing to make a deal that was advantageous to both sides.
If the receptionist was a woman, Sarah looked at her outfit. She knew it was probably a stereotype, but she always assumed if she could see too much cleavage, the attorneys in the firm didn’t respect women. If they did, someone would have taken the employee aside long ago and given her the same kind of speech Sarah gave women at her previous firm.
“You might be the smartest person in the room,” she told one new associate who had come into work for the second day in a row flashing a considerable amount of boob, “but if you dress like that, everyone’s going to assume you’re stupid. I know,” she said before the blushing associate could answer, “it’s not fair, it’s not true, but I’m just telling you, based on my experience, that’s how people are.”
“But . . . ” The young woman cleared her throat. Sarah worried she might cry. But instead the associate drew herself up as if ready to take Sarah on, and answered in a steady voice. “I like to dress this way. I think women can be both feminine and strong. I disagree that I won’t be taken seriously.”
“Okay,” Sarah said cordially. “I just wanted to give you the benefit of my experience. Good luck.”
It took a full month before the young woman appeared in her office again one day and closed the door behind her.
“Okay,” she said, slumping into the chair on the other side of Sarah’s desk. “I think you’re right.”
“What happened?”
The associate grimaced and rolled her eyes. “Judge Walters.”
“Oh,” Sarah said, understanding everything. “Right.”
The associate folded her arms across her still overexposed chest. “He called me back in chambers this morning after my hearing.”
“And said . . . ” Sarah prompted.
The associate looked behind her to make sure the door was really closed. Then she repeated a line Sarah had heard before. “‘I can’t wait to get into your pants.’”
“Yep. Old Walters.”
The associate shook her head in disgust. “This was after he ruled against me, you understand.”
“Of course,” Sarah said. “He thinks you’re stupid. He thinks I am, too,” she hastened to say. “All women. But you know what I always tell myself when I’m in his courtroom? ‘At least the creep doesn’t get to look at my boobs while he’s thinking that.’”
The associate nodded. “Got it.” She stood up to go.
“Sorry,” Sarah said. “I agree with you: women can be both sexy and smart.”
“I think I said ‘feminine and strong.’”
“Those, too.”
“Sorry if I was rude before,” the young woman said.
“You weren’t, and it’s fine,” Sarah answered. “Always happy to help a colleague.”
And after that, the associate started dressing almost exactly like Sarah. Showing a little leg, fine. Cleavage, no.
“Miss Henley?” the receptionist said. “I’ll show you back now.”
She stood up from the desk, and Sarah could see more of her outfit: skirt barely covering the booty. Breasts spilling out of her low-cut top.
“How long have you worked here?” Sarah asked conversationally.
“Little over a year,” the receptionist answered.
Sarah could already tell the interviewers weren’t going to like her.
Forty-one
“I’ve never seen you in these before,” Joe said, holding up a pair of modest-looking cotton underwear. “Sexy.”
Sarah grabbed them from him and added them to her suitcase. “They’re part